We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

Ye Chen spread his hands, a bright and clean smile on his face.

"Teacher Liu, you're wronging me. This is a confidential exam paper just issued by the province. Where would I possibly steal the questions?"

"Besides, if I had this ability earlier, would I have needed to be kept after school every day to memorize formulas?"

Liu Haifeng chuckled and playfully tapped him with a red pen: "You brat, still talking nonsense!"

"But seriously, if you can maintain this level of performance in the college entrance exam, you'll have a chance not only to get into a top-tier university, but also to get into a better one."

At this point, Lao Liu's smile faded, and his tone became serious.

"But don't get too cocky. Math is a sure thing, but you also need to keep up with the combined science subjects."

"Go back and review the mistakes you made in physics and chemistry. Don't get high scores in your strong subjects but suffer in other areas."

"Alright!" Ye Chen stood up straight, gave Lao Liu a not-so-standard military salute, and said with a grin.

"Yes, Commander Liu. I'll eat the science exam paper as dinner when I get back, and I promise I'll fill in all the gaps in my knowledge."

"Alright, alright, hurry up and go back to the classroom. Just looking at you gives me a headache." Liu Haifeng waved his hand dismissively.

Ye Chen smiled, turned around, and prepared to leave.

"Ye Chen".

Behind him, Liu Haifeng's voice suddenly lowered, losing some of its usual sternness and gaining more of the gentleness and expectation that only an elder could have.

Ye Chen paused and turned around.

Liu Haifeng looked at him, a glint of light in his eyes: "It's the last few days, grit your teeth and hold on."

"After teaching for so many years, I don't expect everyone to be a dark horse, but you... don't let me down, and don't leave yourself with regrets."

Facing the intense gaze of his homeroom teacher, Ye Chen abandoned his previous nonchalant attitude.

He folded the test paper neatly, stuffed it into his school uniform pocket, grinned, and revealed two rows of neat, white teeth.

"Don't worry, Lao Liu, it definitely won't crash."

"Get lost! You have no manners! How dare you call me 'Old Liu'?"

Liu Haifeng pretended to grab a piece of chalk from the podium and smash it down.

Ye Chen had anticipated this move. He nimbly dodged to the side, opened the office door, and slipped out like a gust of wind, leaving only his youthful and crisp laughter in the corridor.

In the corridor, Zhao Peng was pressed against the wall in an extremely lewd posture.

Ye Chen glanced at him: "Having your fill of eavesdropping?"

Zhao Peng chuckled: "I'm just concerned about my brother."

The two walked side by side toward the classroom.

At lunchtime, the stairwell was packed with people.

Lin Wanqing stood by the railing.

She was wearing her summer school uniform, with a loose white short-sleeved shirt neatly tucked into dark blue athletic pants.

This, on the contrary, accentuated her slender waist, making her astonishing waist-to-hip ratio visually striking.

As she turned around, her slightly loose pants stretched out an alluring curve on her pert buttocks.

Following the line downwards, there was a pair of straight and shapely long legs. Under the midday sun, the fabric clung to the contours of the thighs, perfectly showcasing the graceful curves of a teenage girl.

She always attracts the attention of a lot of boys when she stands in a crowd, and Ye Chen used to be one of the most loyal ones among them.

As soon as Ye Chen and Zhao Peng stepped out of the teaching building, Lin Wanqing took a step forward and softly called out, "Ye Chen."

Zhao Peng immediately understood, and winked and touched his nose: "Oh my god, my stomach suddenly feels a bit urgent. Chenzi, you two chat, I'm going to the bathroom!"

After saying that, he ran off faster than a dog.

Ye Chen stopped, a sunny smile on his face, but his tone was very polite: "What's up? Is something the matter?"

Lin Wanqing clutched a math test paper tightly to the edge: "I want to ask you about these challenging questions."

Ye Chen glanced at it and said with a smile, "That's easy. Just turn left and go straight out the door. The teachers from all subjects are bored out of their minds in the office. Ask them, and they'll explain things more thoroughly than I can."

Lin Wanqing paused, then bit her lip, looking somewhat aggrieved: "But you clearly said before that I could ask you anytime if I didn't know something."

"Hey, you said it yourself, that was before." Ye Chen patted his backpack, his voice calm and undisturbed. "Back then, we were young and naive. Now everyone's pretty busy, right?"

All suffering is experienced, but I will only save myself in this life.

The corridor was bustling with noise. Lin Wanqing stood there, experiencing for the first time what it meant to be at a loss.

Seeing her like this, Ye Chen didn't say anything too harsh and just waved with a smile.

Everyone's busy before the college entrance exam. I wish you all the best in getting into a good university and achieving top marks!

Although this statement is polite, it acts like an invisible wall, creating a distance that seems vast.

Lin Wanqing clutched her notebook of incorrect answers, her eyes slightly red, her voice trembling slightly: "You...you're still angry with me for rejecting you that day?"

Ye Chen chuckled and shook his head: "Really, no, you're overthinking it."

"Then why...?"

"Lin Wanqing," Ye Chen interrupted her with a smile, his eyes clear, "a forced relationship won't be happy. I accept your rejection and respect your choice."

"So, please respect my boundaries, okay?"

After saying that, Ye Chen slung his backpack over his shoulder, laughed heartily, and went straight downstairs without looking back.

Lin Wanqing looked down at her error notebook. The wind blew the pages open, revealing a pink letter tucked inside.

But Ye Chen didn't even glance in their direction.

Over the next few days, Ye Chen entered "genius mode".

In each mock test, Ye Chen's score increased terrifyingly.

The teachers went from doubting themselves at the beginning to beaming with joy later on, praising him to everyone they met as the school's dark horse this year.

The students were even more amazed, their eyes filled with disbelief.

No one expected that this once unremarkable average student would suddenly burst onto the scene with such brilliance on the eve of the college entrance examination.

June 5th, two days before the college entrance examination.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the homeroom teacher finished distributing the admission tickets, gave a final pep talk, and waved his hand.

"After school today, I'll rest at home tomorrow, and then head straight to the battlefield the day after!"

The last day of senior year wasn't as exciting as in the movies; all I saw were endless study materials to move and empty classrooms.

Zhao Peng packed the book like a bomb, patted Ye Chen on the shoulder and chuckled.

"Chenzi, we have to get this going after the college entrance exam! I've already topped up my internet cafe membership card, let's battle it out until dawn tonight, whoever logs off first is a coward!"

"Sure, but don't cry if you lose." Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and jokingly put his arm around his shoulder.

"But Fatty, you should worry about yourself first. Don't panic if you really fail the exam."

"When I make a fortune, I'll take care of you and order you double portions of pork ribs rice every day!"

"Damn it! Can't you have any hope? I'm a grown man, do you think I'd live off your woman? I deserve at least a big chicken leg!" Zhao Peng laughed and punched him.

Ye Chen laughed heartily. Just as he put away his admission ticket, a tall figure walked over with light, quick steps.