Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 335 Before the Exam
Before embarking on the arduous path of solo queue, Ma Yu suddenly thought of this matter.

[Speaking of which, Xiao Ai, your birthday seems to be coming up soon.] — Ma Yu

[Next weekend.] —Ai Liang

"It's such a pity, if we had exams next week, we could have come to celebrate your birthday." — Ma Yu

"No need, I don't really like celebrating birthdays." —Ai Liang

Ma Yu was about to ask Ai Liang how she used to celebrate her birthday.

But then he suddenly remembered the family relationships Ai Liang had revealed before leaving Nevada, and silently deleted the words he had typed.

[Where are Sister Hua and Xingyue? Don't the top classes have holidays?] — Fang Xiaoxiao.

Grandpa still won't allow us to travel far... — Yang Xingyue

【Xingyue, you're here! What were you doing in the kitchen just now?】——Fang Xiaoxiao.

"I'm practicing my cooking skills. I'm already a high school student, so I should at least learn to cook." — Yang Xingyue

"Hmm...that makes sense. I'll have Ma Yu learn it when the long holiday comes." —Fang Xiaoxiao

【？？？】——Ma Yu.

"Why are you using a question mark? Aren't you a high school student?" Fang Xiaoxiao asked, puzzled.

"Don't you care about the atmosphere at times like this...?"

Ma Yu turned to Fang Xiaoxiao with a long face: "Aren't you a high school student too? Why should I cook for you?"

Fang Xiaoxiao pouted: "Atmosphere is not such an inconvenient thing. Besides, you know my cooking skills. If you ask me to cook, it will just end up being takeout anyway."

"Don't you always help out at home during Chinese New Year? You're definitely more talented at cooking than me."

Fang Xiaoxiao's words left Ma Yu speechless.

As Fang Xiaoxiao said.

This little thing can turn dumplings into wontons; its cooking skills are worse than the eight-year-old downstairs.

Occasionally, when neither set of parents is home on weekends, she is asked to cook, and the cooking process often turns into takeout.

Ma Yu was amazed by Fang Xiaoxiao's cooking skills the first few times she cooked.

Until one day, he ate the exact same rice bowl at a restaurant...

Fang Xiaoxiao's height is also a problem; she needs to stand on a small stool to cook properly.

On the other hand, Ma Yu has some peculiar little quirks when it comes to food plating.

But overall, the stir-fried dishes are at least edible.

Being able to cook is a good thing, but Ma Yu always felt that his future was bleak.

【Let's play games another time, you guys chat, I'm going out.】—Ai Liang

Ai Liang seized the opportunity to leave, as for the game...

Definitely next time.

Yang Xingyue was about to chat with Ai Liang for a while, which showed that the other party was ready to go out.

All I could do was send a goodbye message.

She didn't plan to chat with Ai Liang while she was out.

If someone has other things to do, and you insist on chatting with them, this behavior will really damage their goodwill.

It is a major taboo in interpersonal communication.

Unless you two are childhood best friends.

Here is a typical example.

A certain student surnamed Jin has always had trouble getting along with people his own age because he doesn't know how to maintain appropriate boundaries.

He is an upright person who is willing to sacrifice himself for those around him.

But why is he still unpopular?
Because he pushed people too hard, making it hard for them to breathe.

Just because you're overly nice to someone doesn't mean they'll treat you as a friend.

There needs to be distance between people.

This distance can be gradually shortened, but you must never jump directly into someone's face.

………………

When you're busy, time always seems to fly by.

The two-day weekend holiday passed in the blink of an eye.

Monday arrived in the blink of an eye.

Two weeks ago, Ai Liang was called by Mu Si to deal with Cat's Eye, and also to open accounts at underground banks and secret warehouses in Qianhua City to store things.

Two days were wasted dealing with these matters.

Last Saturday and Sunday were spent dealing with all sorts of odds and ends under the bed.

Two more days have been wasted.

Fortunately, the matter concerning his other identity has been mostly resolved.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Ai Liang will remain uninvolved until the Countermeasures Bureau takes action against Janus.

As for Mus...

Who cares if he lives or dies?

Muslims are as tenacious as cockroaches in a garbage dump.

Now it has the added blessing of being engraved.

As long as he doesn't do something reckless like jumping around in front of Janus, it'll be hard for him to die.

Therefore, Ai Liang decisively blocked the communication sent by Mu Si through the engraving.

This afternoon, the school will be holding a diagnostic test.

The atmosphere in the class was noticeably more somber than before.

It was supposed to be morning reading time, but the classroom was deathly quiet.

Everyone was staring at their books, reciting in hushed tones, giving the impression that a religious group was collectively praying.

Ai Liang looked around the classroom.

Jin Ping'an's figure came into view.

It seems he has been released by the countermeasures bureau.

Ai Liang thought Jin Ping'an would skip the diagnostic test by asking for leave.

But to my surprise, this guy went straight to the classroom to study as soon as he got back.

Although his grades were terrible, his attitude towards learning was surprisingly good.

Ai Liang withdrew her gaze, returned to her seat as usual, took out the novel from the drawer, and flipped back to where she had left off to continue reading.

"You really seem quite at ease. Aren't you worried about the placement test?"

Chen Zili looked at Ai Liang, who seemed no different from usual, and said softly.

Ai Liang didn't look up: "There's no need to review the knowledge you've already mastered, and you won't be able to learn the knowledge you haven't mastered in this short time anyway."

"What if you forget what you've learned?"

Chen Zili asked.

"How can I forget what I've learned?"

Ai Liang stared at the novel, reading as she spoke.

Now it was Chen Zili's turn to be speechless.

Seeing Ai Liang's confidence, he didn't try to persuade her further.

Those who can get into this school are all top students, so it's normal for them to be confident, especially since Ai Liang ranked first in the entrance exam.

What Chen Zili didn't know was that this wasn't confidence, but rather indifference.

For Ai Liang, taking exams was a piece of cake.

For example, would someone who has attended university feel nervous taking a test consisting entirely of addition and subtraction problems within ten? Would they study hard before the test?
of course not.

Chen Zili's current thoughts and ideas are exactly the same as those of Ai Liang's junior high school classmate.

But it's only the beginning of the semester, and he hasn't yet experienced the academic genius's beating.

It's understandable that people would think that way.

This entire week will be dedicated to exams.

Monday morning classes and evening self-study sessions were all canceled, leaving students to review on their own.

Ai Liang can read novels openly without caring about the teacher's gaze.

The classroom was very quiet for the entire morning.

Even after class, few people make a lot of noise or move around; they simply go to the toilet and then return to the classroom to continue studying.

Apart from Ai Liang, everyone, including Jin Ping'an, is working hard to learn.

They planned to use this exam to assess the gap between themselves and the students in other classes.

It would be incredibly embarrassing to be surpassed by someone from the direct-entry class on the first exam.

(End of this chapter)