We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"I've compiled the class rankings; you can take a look during the evening study break."

During evening self-study, Wu Changguo posted a form on the classroom bulletin board. After he finished speaking, he paused and continued:

"We'll talk about the final exams from last semester tomorrow."

Saying that made everyone feel that something bad was about to happen.

On the first evening self-study session of the new semester, with nothing much to do, Chen Qiuhe took out her notebook and played Go with Xie Shuzai, while Li Mubai started reading the new textbook.

"Don't you have anything to do? Can't you learn from Li Mubai and start previewing tomorrow's lessons during the first evening self-study session of the semester?"

I've never seen anything like it; I get praised for just reading a textbook.

Li Mubai closed the book with embarrassment, feeling somewhat out of place.

After evening self-study, the students immediately rushed to the bulletin board.

Wow, Huang Lingling, your math has improved!

"Yang Kun, how come you're ranked last in the class?"

Li Mubai sat as still as Mount Tai. When the results came out in January, he estimated his class ranking.

"Li Mubai, you're ranked 14th," Chen Qiuhe said after checking the results.

After going around in circles, he's back to 14th place. He's improved, and so will everyone else. Getting into the top ten is really difficult; it's no longer something you can achieve simply by reading Xie Shu's notes.

However, he still has a lot of room for improvement in math and English…

"Li Mubai, Xie Shu, guess what my ranking is?" Chen Qiuhe said smugly.

"Second place," Li Mubai said casually.

"No way, you actually dared to guess second place? I've never even dreamed of it."

"You told me to guess."

As for why I didn't guess it was first place, it's because getting first place isn't something you can achieve simply through hard work.

"I guess it's twenty-fifth place," Xie Shu said softly.

"Bingo, Xie Shu is so smart, Li Mubai is so stupid." Chen Qiuhe snapped her fingers.

Although you, Chen Qiuhe, have improved, how dare you, a mere twenty-fifth place, say that the fourteenth place is stupid? Only Xie Shu could say that, Li Mubai thought to himself.

"Li Mubai isn't stupid; he's very smart," Xie Shu said with a light laugh.

Did you hear that, Xiao Heizi? This is a verification from the number one player.

"Haha, Li Mubai, you better watch out so I don't overtake you." Chen Qiuhe said confidently.

"Sigh, learning is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. When you reach my ranking, you'll realize that a difference of one place is an insurmountable chasm," Li Mubai sighed.

"Hehe, it's either fine or it's not fine. There's no other reason."

"Since things have come to this, let's go to evening self-study first."

The bell for evening self-study rang just as he finished speaking.

Speaking of which, he has already finished reading "Loneliness is a Gift of Life," but he hasn't found a substitute yet.

After studying so hard every day, you naturally can't read any highly specialized books when you get back to your dorm after evening self-study, as it would damage your brain cells.

He plans to go to the bookstore again this Sunday when he returns to school to see if there are any books that interest him.

"Brothers, don't you think time flies? In the blink of an eye, we're already in the second semester of our junior year, and before we know it, we'll be graduating." Yang Kun sighed as he lay in bed after lights out.

……

The dormitory room fell silent for a few seconds.

"Is takeoff complete?" Zhao Feng asked.

"Holy crap, what are you talking about? Do you think I'm that kind of person, Chicken Bro?"

"Look, you're in such a hurry again."

Am I in a hurry?

Hard to say.

"It's not just my brothers, I'm genuinely feeling a bit emotional," Yang Kun continued.

"What are you lamenting about?"

"It's amazing how fast time flies. We should cherish the people around us, especially the girls around us."

"Do you have any girls around you? You're already treasuring them?" Zhao Feng shattered his fantasy.

"I don't have it, but Wang Rui does, and so does Lao Bai."

It turns out that Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was aimed at Liu Bang.

Uh—but what do I have? Li Mubai simply pretended to be asleep and didn't reply.

"No, what does this have to do with Bo Bo?" Jiao Yong asked, puzzled.

"Hehe, only Lao Bai knows the truth about this. Go ask Lao Bai." Yang Kun winked at Zhao Feng.

"Laobai, are you asleep? Laobai," Jiao Yong called softly.

Li Mubai remained silent, simply pretending to be asleep.

"Looks like he's asleep. Yang Kun, tell me quickly what's going on with Lao Bai," Jiao Yong said in a low voice.

"It's hard to say. I wouldn't dare to say anything without permission."

"It's alright, Lao Bai has already tacitly approved."

...Did I give in?

Fortunately, at this moment, Feng Wanli spoke up in time to stop it:

"It's twelve o'clock, everyone be quiet. Li Mubai is asleep and might be woken up, and besides, we have class tomorrow."

Li Mubai obediently rolled over.

"OK."

The dormitory head Feng Wanli's words carried weight, and the dormitory fell silent in an instant. Should we take this opportunity to assassinate the talkative Yang Kun?

Just kidding, he's innocent and there's nothing wrong with him, just like Yan Shu said, "The innocent are innocent."

However, Yan Shu has rarely chatted with him since New Year's Day. Perhaps she is too busy?

……

The following morning, after a soothing piano melody, came a neutral, mechanical voice:

"Students, a new day has begun. Tidy up your belongings and get ready for today's lessons."

Li Mubai has already arrived at the classroom.

After Xie Shu sat down and Deng Yi left, he took out a bag of Oreo cookies from his pocket.

"Class monitor, here, thank you for the bread yesterday." He gently poked Xie Shu with his pen, a strange nervousness rising in his heart.

"Okay, thank you." Xie Shu turned around and took it.

"Tsk tsk, what about mine?" Chen Qiuhe asked, arms crossed.

"Don't ask yourself what you have, but ask yourself what you have given."

"Ha, you've forgotten all the desserts I treated you to last semester?" Chen Qiuhe asked back.

"Alright, alright, this is for you."

Li Mubai took out another pack of Oreo cookies, which was originally intended for Chen Qiuhe, since there were exactly two packs in a box.

"Hmph, that's more like it."

"Brother, what about mine?" Wang Rui asked in a low voice from the side.

He bought a whole box of eggs, but didn't have any for himself...

The first class of the semester was Chinese, and the second class was also Chinese. Some elective subjects were canceled in the new semester and replaced with Chinese, math, and English.

The teacher was still the same, and the class meeting on Monday remained unchanged.

"Everyone, I'm sure you all saw the rankings of the three schools' joint entrance exam during the holidays. The situation is not optimistic."

Wu Changguo placed his hands on the podium, his eyes scanning the room, and those who met his gaze unconsciously lowered their heads.

"There were a total of 1324 liberal arts students, including 184 students in the top class, but only two of our students made it into the top ten."

Li Mubai glanced at the list and saw that five students from No. 1 Middle School had entered, while five more students from No. 3 and No. 6 Middle Schools had entered.

"Out of the top fifty, we only have thirteen students among them," Wu Changguo continued.

Li Mubai narrowly lost by one place.

"Everyone, it's already the second semester of our junior year, time to perk up!"

Wu Changguo picked up his water glass, took a sip of tea, and then said:

"So there are two things to do next. First, we're having a parent-teacher meeting next Friday to talk about the students' learning progress."

"The second thing," Wu Changguo suddenly raised his voice.

"On March 3rd, which is the Friday after next, our top class will represent No. 6 Middle School to go to No. 1 Middle School for an exchange and learning trip. The trip will last for one day, and students from No. 6 Middle School will also be there."

Wow~

That's No. 1 High School, the best-resourced school in the entire province, the school every high school graduate hopes to get into, just like entering a top-tier sect in the world of immortal cultivation.

On March 3rd, I went to No. 3 Middle School...