Chapter 16 The Balance Shattered by Force

The third-grade classroom fell utterly silent, immediately followed by gasps of astonishment--

"144 points in an English exam? Godlike!"

"Zhao Yi?!"

"Impossible! We must've heard wrong!"

Luo Rui got a bit angry being doubted, and she explained with certainty, "Teacher Luo of the Arts stream said it. Even Teacher Shen said she noticed Zhao Yi's English proficiency during her lessons."

"Is that true?"

In no time, Zhao Yi was surrounded by a crowd.

"How did you do it?"

"Over 140? Even if I knew the answers, I wouldn't score that high!"

"Talk! Be honest!"

Lin Xiaoqing shook off the embarrassment she had just experienced. Her eyes sparkling, she regained her tomboy spirit, and silenced the room with a powerful smack on her desk. "Quiet!"

"Zhao Yi!"

"Better confess!"

Zhao Yi got startled out of his wits.

Everyone else kept quiet, waiting for Zhao Yi to speak.

Facing sudden pressure, Zhao Yi tried to explain, "My English has always been excellent, but I just didn't feel like answering test questions."

The crowd shook their heads in disbelief.

Yeah, right!

They had been studying with Zhao Yi for over two years. There was no way they would buy such a story.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem!"

Seeing that they didn't believe him, Zhao Yi tried to come up with another excuse, "You guys have no idea, I spent most of my summer break studying Engli..."

"Haha! You spent most of your summer break hanging out with me in the Internet cafe!" Sun Liang interrupted.

"...Traitor!"

Zhao Yi gave Sun Liang a stare that purely screamed 'traitor.' Admitting defeat, he confessed, "I just looked at those multiple-choice questions and knew the answers!"

The crowd shook their heads again.

Nobody believed him!

Zhao Yi took a deep breath, "Alright! Alright! Fine! I'll confess. The paper was actually a test paper from 'I'm Really Making Up English Test Questions' I happened to have done a few days back."

"I really had no idea…"

They didn't really hear what book Zhao Yi mentioned, but they caught on to a vital keyword.

"You had solved it before?"

The crowd exchanged glances and nodded reluctantly.

This reason was somewhat reasonable by comparison, and it was the only explanation they could accept.

"You're so lucky!"

"144, that's insane! Even if I'd done the paper before, I wouldn't score that high!"

"It's English after all!"

Scoring above 130 in English was already amazing, let alone above 140.

English exams have listening tests and essays; reading comprehension can be difficult, multiple choice questions can be confusing. Just because you recognized all the words didn't mean you could answer all the questions. Even high scoring students usually get a couple of grammar questions wrong.

Getting a score above 140 in English, there's absolutely no exaggeration in calling it a 'divine score.'

Zhao Yi sighed at the complexities of reality.

No one believes the truth!

In fact, Zhao Yi's English was quite good. Otherwise, he could not have scored so high.

Besides multiple-choice questions, the English paper also featured error corrections and essay writing, and they added up to 35 marks. Securing 29 out of 35 marks—absolutely high.

This was borne out of experience.

During college, he strived hard for a while to pass Level 4, and his job involved using English as well as translating computer-related English articles.

Compared to general English, his computing English was way better. His vocabulary was more than enough for writing an essay or correcting errors.

The astonishment in his class didn't subside until it was time to pack up.

Eager to escape his over-excited peers, Zhao Yi quickly ran out of the school gates, only to soon realize he had overly simplified his predicament.

144 points in English, too astonishing!

The news spread rapidly throughout the entire senior year and even reached the junior and sophomore levels. They all heard that a senior named Zhao Yi scored 144 points in English.

While on his way home, students from other classes who were walking the same route would gather around him in surprise, asking, "Zhao Yi, how did you do that?"

"144 points, that's incredibly awesome!"

Some just went straight to the point, "How did you know the answers?"

Zhao Yi was thoroughly annoyed.

The most striking to him was Sun Jiali from the second class. She stopped her bike and walked next to Zhao Yi, unable to hold in her amazement, "You scored really high in English!"

Just then, Sun Liang rode by and blurted out, "He had done that paper before!"

"Oh!"

Despite knowing this, Sun Jiali still looked at Zhao Yi with surprise.

Zhao Yi swiftly reached out and grabbed Sun Liang's bike, "Get off!"

"Huh?"

Sun Liang dumbfoundedly got off the bike.

Zhao Yi quickly hopped on and pedaled away before Sun Liang could react. Even chasing at full speed, Sun Liang couldn't catch him.

"Monkey, it's time you got a little exercise. Don't worry, I'll ride the bike back to school tomorrow!"

"Goodbye!"

Sun Liang was left shouting back at him, "Stop! Stop! Stop right there! Zhao Yi, damn you, scoundrel! Beast! If you leave now, it's not over between us!"

Sun Jiali couldn't help but laugh as she watched.

That day rounded off with a quiet evening of studies.

When Zhao Yi woke up the next day and checked his system as usual, he found a surprising piece of information--

[Name: Zhao Yi]

[Brain Domain Progress: 5.3%]

[Intelligence: 60]

[Energy: 103/103]

[Study Coins: 52.]

[Ability: "Causality Law" (To activate the next level ability, it costs 1000 Study Coins.)]

Energy 103?

The maximum value increased a bit!

Zhao Yi started pondering. He didn't complete any tasks, nor did he receive any system prompts. His daily activities were only related to Study Coins.

Could it be the effect of exercise?

He had been jogging to and from school for the past few days, and the exercise effect was pretty good. His physical stamina had slightly improved. Perhaps the maximum value of his energy was related to his physical condition?

Maybe!

Pondering the reason too much would be pointless, so he simply dismissed it from his mind. After a quick breakfast, he left for school.

Right!

Cycling!

The effects of cycling exercises were a bit mediocre, yielding only one or two Study Coins, whereas the efficiency of jogging to school was higher, usually yielding two or three coins.

But the difference wasn't that significant.

Zhao Yi originally thought occasional cycling to school wouldn't be a bad idea but upon discovering that physical exercise could increase his energy properties, he at once lost interest.

Nothing he could do!

He couldn't just leave Sun Liang's bike at home!

Zhao Yi simply pushed the bike for a while, then having felt slightly tired, got on the bike and rode the rest of the way to school.

[Physical exercise, Study Coin+3.]

"Perfect!"

Zhao Yi went to class in a rather good mood.

Lin Xiaoqing?

He suddenly remembered yesterday's incident. Everyone was discussing English grades and he didn't get the chance to pursue the question of her enrolling him.

"Zhao! Yi!"

A loud shout interrupted his thoughts.

Sun Liang was approaching with a furious expression. His hair was still dripping with sweat, it seemed that he really had jogged to school.

Zhao Yi immediately turned his head and shouted, "Lin! Xiao! Qing!"

Lin Xiaoqing, who had been looking at Sun Liang, turned to see Zhao Yi shouting at her, instantly gave an awkward laugh, then realizing, also shouted, "Sun! Liang!"

"…"

"…"

"Why are you shouting at me so loudly?" Sun Liang was utterly bewildered.

"Ha, Ha~"

"I saw you guys were shouting..." Lin Xiaoqing, a bit shy to meet Zhao Yi's gaze, replied to Sun Liang's question then immediately lowered her head.

Zhao Yi simply walked to Lin Xiaoqing, tapped the desk a few times with his hand, "Lin Xiaoqing, you can't hide it! Speak up! What's this registration all about?"

Lin Xiaoqing raised her eyes to meet Zhao Yi's gaze.

One long second.

Two long seconds.

Three long seconds... she held up two fingers.

"Peace?"

Lin Xiaoqing rolled her eyes, pouted and said, "Consider it a bet. I lost!"

"If you get into the Elite A class, I owe you two favors, otherwise it's voided. But, you must participate and not tell our teacher."

Zhao Yi hesitated as he thought it over.

He didn't want to participate in any competitions, but refusing to participate in front of the teacher would embarrass Lin Xiaoqing.

The competition?

The favor promised by Lin Xiaoqing?

In his mind.

The scales began to weigh the options.

Zhao Yi eyed Lin Xiaoqing up and down, noticing her 'A grade' spot, the scale lurched towards refusing to participate, then further down, noticing her strong long legs…

It balanced out again?

Lin Xiaoqing felt uncomfortable being stared at. Her face flushed and she suddenly banged the table.

"Bang!"

She stood up, her fist clenched and her eyes threatening, "That's settled then! Any objections?"

Zhao Yi quickly covered his chest, "None, none! I'll do as you say, I'll do as you say."

"That's more like it!"

Only then did Lin Xiaoqing sit down with a smile.

"But, Xiaoqing!"

Zhao Yi leaned over to Lin Xiaoqing's ear, smelling the sweet fragrance of a youthful girl, whispered, "Aren't you afraid that I might make a… hehehe… you stand by your word, right?"

After saying that, he patted Lin Xiaoqing's shoulder and went back to his seat.

Lin Xiaoqing shivered.

After a few seconds.

She turned her head, with a sweet smile on her face, "If you make some weird request, it's okay. I'll agree. I always keep my promises and I have many friends. When the time comes, Sun Liang will complete it for me."

"Right, Sun Liang?"

Lin Xiaoqing turned and looked at Sun Liang.

Zhao Yi also turned to Sun Liang, asking with a slightly nauseated expression, "Can I renege on this?"

"No!"

Sun Liang appeared utterly bewildered, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Tsk——"

Zhao Yi turned away.

Lin Xiaoqing also turned away.

Sun Liang suddenly realized, "Wait! Zhao Yi! The bicycle! What about the bicycle!"

Zhao Yi raised his middle finger at him, "A bottle of cola!"

"OK! I want a large one!"

"Deal!"

Satisfied, Sun Liang sat back down.