The future seemed bleak

Peng Jianda seemed to be in a very good mood and said to his team members, "With Brother Jing, we will be safe. There's no need to panic."

Tang Jie, who stood to the side, glanced silently at Lu Qingyan and thought in his heart that that wasn't necessarily true. In addition to Wang , they also had Lu Qingyan.

Tang Jie, who was leaning lazily against his desk and spinning a pen in his hand, glanced subtly at Lu Qingyan from the corner of his eye. His expression didn't change, but inwardly, he thought, 'Safe? Who said anything about being safe?'

Sure, Wang Jingyuan was the top student in the school's Special Class—a walking cheat code if there ever was one—but then there was Lu Qingyan. A total unknown. Mysterious. Elusive. Kind of unpredictable.

And then… there was Peng Jianda himself.

Tang Jie's gaze slid sideways toward the very person making the most noise.

If he remembered correctly, this guy had scored second-to-last in the last major exam. Just one more point and he'd have made it all the way to rock bottom.

A true academic miracle, Tang Jie mused dryly. One who survives despite all odds.

The future seemed bleak.

Peng Jianda said full of fighting spirit, "Since we were all signed to the same study group, it is fate!"

Peng Jianda, completely unaware of Tang Jie's internal roast session, raised a fist in the air with dramatic flair. "Since fate has brought us together, let us cherish this sacred bond of scholarly unity!"

He turned to Lu Qingyan with a wide, overly sympathetic smile and said warmly, "Student Xiao Yan[1], don't worry. We're all in this together! Everyone will help you catch up!"

Lu Qingyan, who had been sitting quietly like a polite NPC in the background: "?"

Hold on, why did this sound like he thought she was academically challenged?

Peng Jianda pressed on with pure motivational speaker energy. "Although you might not be able to keep up with the class just yet, miracles happen every day! As the saying goes: After three days apart, one must view a scholar with new eyes!"

He paused, eyes sparkling. "And we still have nearly two months before the next exam! Two whole months! That's, what, like… twenty-three three-day cycles?! You could evolve from a bronze player to a top-tier boss in that time!"

Lu Qingyan raised a brow and opened her mouth, "Actually, I—"

But Peng Jianda was already on a roll. He gestured grandly toward Wang Jingyuan, who was seated calmly beside her, entirely unfazed as he filled in answers on his English worksheet with swift, confident strokes.

"Besides! Look at who's sitting next to you!" Peng Jianda said reverently, as if introducing the second coming of Confucius. "That's Brother Jing—our school's one and only Learning God! Never defeated, forever ranked first!"

"You are seated by our Brother Jing, bathing in the breath of the Learning God every day. Over time, under the influence of the Learning God's breath, how could you not become stronger?"

Lu Qingyan: ???

She didn't realize he was such a colorful bootlicker.

Wang Jingyuan didn't even blink at the exaggerated praise. He casually flipped to the next page of his worksheet, looking like someone who'd survived a hundred of Peng Jianda's worship sessions and was now immune.

Peng Jianda clenched his fist with the solemnity of someone making a blood oath. "So! Xiao Yan, don't doubt yourself. With the combined power of our group, we'll all make progress! Together, we rise!"

Lu Qingyan waited for him to finish before she slowly spoke, "Well... Actually..."

Lu Qingyan finally managed to speak up after waiting through what felt like an extended TED Talk. "Actually, there's really no need to worry about me. I'm doing fine."

In fact, she'd perfect mark in the entrance exams, but it felt like such a mood-killer to mention it now.

She glanced at Peng Jianda and added internally, 'You should probably focus on yourself instead. The final boss isn't going to save you from flunking.'

But Peng Jianda laughed heartily, completely misinterpreting her composed expression. "Xiao Yan, there's no need to pretend to be strong! If you have any difficulties, just tell us! We'll support you all the way!"

Lu Qingyan: "…"

Lu Qingyan: "Ah. Okay. Thank you very much."

When it was time for English class, Lu Qingyan finally realized who Peng Jianda had learned his passionate speech from.

Because there was no English class yesterday, this was Lu Qingyan's first time meeting their English teacher.

At first glance, Teacher He looked like a mild-mannered grandpa. Small, squinting eyes behind thick glasses, a thermos of wolfberry tea in hand, and a slightly hunched back as he shuffled into the classroom. Harmless. Peaceful. Possibly someone who played Chinese chess in the park.

But as soon as class began and he started talking about exciting academic topics, he became a whole different person.

He opened wide his originally small and unnoticeable eyes and danced with his hands and feet as if he was a member of a disco dance group.

He exclaimed in a strong tone, "Students! Students! Open your eyes and look here!"

"Students! You are so fortunate to have such good conditions, how could you not study well!l

"Students! Tell me confidently and loudly what I should choose for this question!"

Every sentence was delivered like a lightning strike. Every point ended with a flourish. It was less of a lesson and more of a performance art.

"STUDENTS!—You must speak with confidence! Confidence, like a lion chasing its dreams!!"

"Students!—"

At the same time, the teacher also liked to use strong and colorful adjectives.

"Good!"

"Perfect!"

"Unbelievable!"

Lu Qingyan was stunned. She stared at him, half expecting back-up dancers to appear. Is this still English class, or am I watching a motivational variety show?

After a while, she deeply understood why the school arranged the English class to be the second class of the day, which was also the time when students felt the sleepiest. It all made sense.

It was impossible to sleep under the verbal onslaught of Teacher He. His voice alone could power through a 3 a.m. study session.

But under the influence of such powerful agents, once English class was over and Teacher He's eyes narrowed back into slits as he left the classroom with his wolfberry black tea, a lot of students fell onto their desk.

This included Lu Qingyan, who silently arranged her books, tucked her arms under her head, and conducted a live demonstration of "instant sleep mode."

There was no fighting fate.

And fate had just spent the last 45 minutes yelling "STUDENTS!" at her at 120 decibels.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

1. Xiao- xiao means "little" and is used to indicate familiarity/friendliness