Chapter 30: Brains Boosted, Ego Included

"Heh! Look who finally showed up—Mr. Number One himself!"

As soon as Doug Feng stepped into the classroom, shouldering his backpack, he was greeted by a chorus of teasing. It was Lu Xiqing, the class vice rep and student council loudmouth, stirring up trouble again. Clearly, he hadn't forgotten Doug's bold proclamation yesterday.

"Watch your mouth, Lu Xiqing," Howie—Doug's best bud and self-appointed hype man—sprang up from his seat. At six feet tall with a sturdy build, he looked more than ready to throw hands if needed.

Lu Xiqing flinched for a moment, but quickly recovered with a scoff. "Oh please, Fatty Howie. Even if you guys did rough up Lin Yi yesterday, who cares? The guy had it coming. But I'm not scared of you two bozos."

He crossed his arms and leaned back with a smug grin. "Your bro here was the one who claimed he'd rank first in the class—first! That means beating Lin Jie, which would basically make him the top of the whole school. Might as well aim for the whole city while he's at it!"

Doug opened his mouth, but before a full-on argument broke out, Lin Jie—the class monitor and actual top student—stepped in with her signature calm voice. "Alright, enough bickering. We've got a big test coming up. Everyone, back to your seats."

She gave Doug a slight smile. "Even if you were just talking big yesterday, I hope you do your best today. Improvement matters."

Doug nodded, lips curled into a mysterious grin. "Thanks, Class Monitor. But I still stand by what I said—I'm aiming for first place."

With that, he tucked his backpack into his desk drawer like some protagonist from a drama series. It would've been a cool moment if Howie hadn't leaned over and ruined it. "Cut the act, dude. The test's in half an hour. Now's not the time for flexing."

"Come on, don't underestimate me. And speaking of yesterday—our bet still on?" Doug asked, eyebrow raised.

"Of course! But you never said what happens if you lose. Lin Yi interrupted before you could."

Doug rubbed his chin. "Alright, how's this? If I don't come in first, I'll call you Big Bro in front of the whole class and be your loyal sidekick. Carry your books, get your water, the whole shebang."

Howie laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. "Deal! I'll graciously accept you as my little minion."

Even Lin Jie chuckled at their antics. "You two are seriously something else. But Doug, first place isn't just something you can joke about. It takes serious effort."

She knew better than anyone how hard it was to maintain top rank. The sacrifices, the sleepless nights—it wasn't something that could be achieved on a whim.

"Alright, everyone. Time to head to your test rooms!" a teacher announced.

The clock struck eight. The placement exam was set to begin at eight-thirty, and the setup was modeled after the real college entrance exam—random seating, strict schedules. First up: Chinese in the morning, Math in the afternoon. Day two: Sciences, then English.

Doug glanced at his assigned room. "Huh. Room 305…"

He made his way up to the fifth floor and was surprised to see Lin Jie already seated. Turns out, she was assigned to the same room.

Though they weren't sitting next to each other, just being in the same room felt like some kind of fate. Doug was in the second seat of the first row, while Lin Jie sat in the middle of the third.

"Wow, what a coincidence!" he whispered. "Maybe I'll soak up some of your good luck."

"You wish," Lin Jie rolled her eyes, then added with a softer tone, "Good luck, though."

"You too," Doug replied with a confident nod.

By 8:30, two invigilators walked in—a man and a woman, both wearing thick glasses and serious expressions. They handed out test papers, and the two-hour clock began ticking.

Doug stared at the paper. His mind went blank. Poems? Literary analysis? Essay questions?

Nope. Nothing. Nada.

"Alright, time for the cheat code," Doug muttered to himself.

'Goodwill System: Activate—Redeem Primary Intelligence Boost.'

Ding!

Five goodwill points vanished from his balance. Immediately, Doug felt a rush—his brain tingled like it had just been zapped with knowledge. Random facts and formulas filled his head, but he didn't understand any of them.

That's when he noticed it. As he looked down at the exam paper, a faint overlay of answers shimmered across the page—standard answers, like a built-in cheat sheet.

"So it's not real intelligence, just… answer hacks?" he muttered. "Well, good enough."

And with that, he went into overdrive. His pen raced across the paper with machine-like precision. Essay? Already perfectly structured and worded. Reading comprehension? Done. Poem interpretation? Nailed it. He didn't even break a sweat.

By the one-hour mark, Doug was finished. Completely.

He raised his hand, handed in his paper, and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"You're done already?" the invigilator blinked. "It's only been forty minutes."

As Doug walked out of the room, a wave of murmurs followed.

"Who just turned in their paper?"

"Wait, was that Doug Feng? From Class 3?"

"No way he finished that fast. Probably gave up halfway through."

Lin Jie looked up from her test, lips pursed. Doug… you said you were going to beat me. But you finished this quickly? Did you even try?

Back outside, Doug plopped himself onto the school's grassy lawn, hands behind his head, humming a tune and basking in the breeze.

That was until—

"DOUG FENG!"

"Ow, ow, ow!" Doug yelped as someone yanked his ear. He spun around and came face-to-face with a furious Ms. Fang Qingxue.

"Miss Fang? What did I do now?!"

Her eyes were blazing. "Why are you lounging around here like a delinquent? Don't tell me you skipped your exam!"