Chapter 24: I'll Slap You with My Grades

"I... I..." 

Xu Muyan couldn't stand Chu Bai's boasting and really wanted to retort.

But she didn't want to accept Chu Bai's bet either.

After all, the stakes were too high.

"Stop stammering. Are you in or not?" Chu Bai pressed her.

"She's in! My daughter agrees!" Xu Muyan's father suddenly chimed in and then added, "It's getting late. Muyan needs to rest now. Young man, you better work hard."

"Alright, Uncle Xu. Goodbye, Xu Muyan, goodbye."

The call ended.

"Dad, what are you doing? Why did you agree on my behalf?" Xu Muyan was frustrated.

"I saw you hesitating, so I decided to answer for you," her father said.

"If I lose, I'll have to be his girlfriend... Are you really my dad?" Xu Muyan complained.

"Do you think you'll lose?" her father asked.

Xu Muyan thought seriously for a moment and then confidently replied, "No!"

Moving up from the bottom to the middle of the class wasn't too hard with some effort, but becoming one of the top ten students seemed impossible.

As a top student herself, Xu Muyan knew this all too well.

"Then it's fine," her father chuckled.

The reason he had answered on her behalf was that he suddenly remembered how he had once tried to win Xu Muyan's mother over during his student days with a similar gesture.

Chu Bai reminded him of his younger self.

Moreover, Xu's father appreciated Chu Bai, finding him to be a good person overall.

So, he agreed on Xu Muyan's behalf.

After all, his daughter had said it herself—Chu Bai had little chance of winning.

But if by some miracle, Chu Bai did make it into the top ten...

That would prove that the young man was truly in love with his daughter.

To go from being a failing student to a top student for her sake—he must have worked incredibly hard.

Such a young man would be worthy of becoming his daughter's boyfriend.

Xu's father was quite open-minded when it came to his daughter's love life.

"You go back to watching your TV. I'm going to bed. Hmph."

Xu Muyan was still a bit frustrated. She made a face at her father and went back to her room.

Back in her room, Xu Muyan tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She took out her phone and found Wen Jing's number in her contacts.

She wanted to vent to Wen Jing.

Xu Muyan dialed the number, and after a long ring, Wen Jing finally picked up.

"Jingjing, did I wake you?" Xu Muyan asked.

"I... I'm not asleep yet. What's up, calling so late?" Wen Jing's voice was a bit broken and intermittent.

"Why does your voice sound strange? What are you doing?"

"I'm... eating spicy sticks. Wow, they're so... so spicy."

"Haha, eating spicy sticks this late? That's so you."

"I didn't eat enough at dinner, and I got hungry again when I got home. There was only spicy sticks left."

"Jingjing, something happened earlier that left me speechless. You have no idea how weird my dad is. He actually..." After a bit of small talk, Xu Muyan began to vent to Wen Jing.

---

"Chu Bai and Xu Muyan made a bet that if he gets into the top ten in the joint exam, she'll be his girlfriend?"

Wang Haoran, who was next to Wen Jing, shuddered when he heard Xu Muyan's complaint.

With the school exams approaching, it was the classic story: the underdog protagonist makes a bet with the beauty, then shocks everyone with his results and wins the beauty's heart.

Wang Haoran knew this cliché all too well.

Although Chu Bai was currently a failing student, with his X-ray vision, he could copy off the top students during the exam, ensuring a decent score.

Getting into the top ten was almost a certainty for Chu Bai.

Xu Muyan was bound to lose!

Wang Haoran was relieved that he hadn't let Wen Jing go home today. By a stroke of luck, he had gotten this crucial information from her.

There were still a few days before the joint exam, giving him plenty of time to foil Chu Bai's plan.

Chu Bai's only advantage was his ability to cheat using X-ray vision.

But if he couldn't cheat, there was no way he could get into the top ten on his own.

After a while, Wen Jing finished her call with Xu Muyan.

Wang Haoran, after finishing his work, opened his system panel.

[Villain Points: 1400]

Just last night, he had spent points on mastering Wing Chun, and tonight he had already earned so many Villain Points again.

These points were accumulating so fast.

Should he redeem them for acting skills or youth-preserving pills? Or maybe try his luck with a lottery draw?

Wang Haoran thought for a moment and decided to go for the lottery.

He was still young, so there was no rush for youth-preserving pills.

And acting skills weren't an immediate necessity either.

Time to test his luck!

After spending 500 Villain Points, the lottery results were in.

[Unfortunately, the host did not win any rewards. Would you like to spend another 500 Villain Points to try again?]

"One more time!" Wang Haoran was getting hooked, so he gave the command.

[Ding, congratulations to the host for having extraordinary luck. You've won the 'God-level Singing Skill' worth 1500 Villain Points. Would you like to use it immediately?]

At least it wasn't a total loss.

Wang Haoran breathed a sigh of relief and replied to the system: Use it immediately.

He was quite pleased with this "God-level Singing Skill."

With his good looks and this skill, if he ever decided to enter the entertainment industry, he could easily become a top-tier celebrity.

But what Wang Haoran valued most was not becoming a superstar.

The real benefit of this skill was how it would help him attract female leads.

A guy with a great singing voice is always a hit with girls.

With god-level singing abilities, combined with his persona as a top student and wealthy, handsome guy...

How could any girl resist?

Wang Haoran was already eager to show off his singing talent in front of Song Zhenyu and Xu Muyan.

"Should I call them now and sing for them?" The idea suddenly popped into Wang Haoran's head.

But he quickly dismissed it.

It was too late now. Calling them at this hour might be seen as harassment.

He'd wait for the right opportunity.

---

The next day.

At the crack of dawn, Chu Bai was already up.

He was the first student to arrive in the classroom.

There was still some time before the morning class, so Chu Bai sat at his desk and buried himself in his books.

He wanted to make a splash in the joint exam, so of course, he needed to lay the groundwork first, pretending to be working hard.

During the morning reading period.

Some students were reading English, others were reciting ancient Chinese texts; the room was filled with the sound of studying.

Chu Bai grabbed his Chinese textbook and loudly recited ancient poems, his voice booming.

Amidst all the reading, his voice stood out like a sore thumb.

Gradually, the students near him couldn't take it anymore.

"Chu Bai, can you lower your voice? My ears are going deaf."

"Yeah, if someone didn't know better, they'd think you're reading, but it sounds more like you've got rabies."

"Read if you want, but can you keep it down? You're disturbing everyone."

"My poor ears..."

...

The surrounding students kept complaining about Chu Bai.

"I'll read as loud as I want! It's none of your business!" Chu Bai snapped back at them.

"Hmph, poor grades but full of attitude."

"Yeah, losers always act out."

...

"Don't look down on me. The joint exam is coming up soon, and then you'll see who the real loser is. Just wait until my grades slap you in the face!" Chu Bai retorted again.

Among those who criticized him, none were top students, so Chu Bai didn't take them seriously.

He was determined that once his joint exam results were out, he would use his outstanding grades to shut them all up!