We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"The results are in! The results are in!"

Every time the results were announced, it was just like the announcement of the results of the imperial examinations in ancient times. Wu Changguo took the "announcement" and walked quickly to the bulletin board in the classroom to carefully post it.

The next second, a huge crowd surged forward.

However, what does it mean that the results were released the day before No. 1 Middle School and No. 3 Middle School came to their school on Friday?

It's quite inconvenient to view the results this way, because it's impossible to get in.

"I saw it! I'm finally not last anymore! Haha!" Yang Kun laughed as he rushed out of the crowd.

"You damned beast, what did you see?"

There's even a modern version of "Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Examination" available to watch.

Li Mubai looked at Xie Shu and Chen Qiuhe, both of whom were sitting quietly in their seats, showing no intention of squeezing over to see the results.

After waiting a few more minutes, the crowd gradually dispersed, and he slowly walked to the bulletin board.

The announcement only showed the rankings of students from No. 6 Middle School in the joint exam among the three schools; the results of other schools were not visible.

His gaze swept down from top to bottom.

Second place went to Xie Shu, from Pingyang No. 6 Middle School, with scores of 128 in Chinese, 138 in Mathematics, 142 in English, and 269 in Humanities, ranking first in his class.

Second place? Li Mubai paused slightly. Who was first place this time?

He continued to move his gaze downwards and quickly found his name.

Li Mubai, ranked 33rd, from Pingyang No. 6 Middle School, scored 128 in Chinese, 116 in Mathematics, 120 in English, and 261 in Humanities, ranking 8th in his class.

Fortunately, the overall score remained stable and did not decline, still ranking among the top in the class.

He scrolled down further and saw Chen Qiuhe's name.

Chen Qiuhe, ranked 58th, from Pingyang No. 6 Middle School, scored 115 in Chinese, 116 in Mathematics, 122 in English, and 257 in Humanities, ranking 22nd in her class.

That silly Chen, her English is actually better than his. It seems girls really do have a talent for learning English.

"How did it go? Did I make it into the top ten this time?" Chen Qiuhe immediately turned around and asked as soon as she saw him return.

Why don't you go see for yourself?

"Since you're the one who went, I won't steal your thunder."

Li Mubai was speechless, and spoke bluntly:

"You certainly didn't steal my thunder; you've fallen two places behind."

"Huh?" Chen Qiuhe's smile froze instantly, and she looked like a wilted eggplant, her shoulders slumping. "Then... what about Xie Shu?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Shu turned around gently, her gaze falling quietly on him.

"Thank you... Class ranking is still first, and the three-school joint ranking is second."

"Hmm." Xie Shu responded calmly, without any discernible emotion, simply nodding slightly. "Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome."

Li Mubai thought to himself with admiration that Xie Shu was always so gentle and polite, and always calm and composed.

"Okay..." Chen Qiuhe hung her head, clearly feeling down. It's hard for anyone to feel good about backing down.

Seeing this, Li Mubai gently comforted him:

"Don't be sad. Your English has improved a lot. You scored 122, which is two points higher than mine. Besides, life can't always be smooth sailing. When we encounter setbacks, it just reminds us that we still have shortcomings and room for improvement."

To be honest, if Chen Qiuhe continued to make steady progress, he would have suspected that she was carrying some kind of "system".

"Okay... alright." Chen Qiuhe forced a smile and said, "Then I'll wait for the test papers to be handed out and take a good look at which subject I went wrong in. Thank you, Li Mubai."

"fine."

No sooner had the two finished speaking than Xie Shu suddenly spoke up:

"I think I've... fallen one place."

Li Mubai and Chen Qiuhe were both stunned and didn't react at the same time.

"My ranking in the three-school joint exam was first last time, and second this time, a drop of one place," Xie Shu repeated.

The air was still for a few seconds.

"Second place is already very impressive," Li Mubai belatedly replied.

"It's not about how good I am, it's that my ranking has dropped," Xie Shu emphasized softly.

Xie Shu seemed to be emphasizing that he had regressed, but Li Mubai and Chen Qiuhe, who had never even made it into the top ten or even the top thirty in the three-school joint ranking, probably couldn't understand it.

"Uh...it's okay. Maybe the Chinese scores were generally lowered this time, so everyone's scores dropped a bit. We'll definitely be able to get them back next time," Li Mubai hurriedly organized his thoughts and belatedly tried to comfort him.

"Okay." Xie Shu immediately smiled, her eyes crinkling.

After Xie Shu and Chen Qiuhe turned back, Wang Rui immediately leaned over and whispered:

"No complaints, what were you doing just now?"

"Didn't you do anything?"

"I mean, you comforted cqh, so why did xs specifically mention that his ranking dropped? Wasn't that just waiting for you to comfort him?" Wang Rui said with a look of exasperation.

"Um—I didn't realize it either," Li Mubai honestly admitted.

"That won't do. You need to work on your emotional intelligence. I'll teach you properly when I have time."

"How do I teach him?" Li Mubai asked curiously.

"Let me think about it." Wang Rui stroked his chin, pondered for a few seconds, then suddenly changed the subject, "By the way, what about my grades? Have you seen them?"

"I see it, platoon seventeen."

"Damn! They've regressed!" Wang Rui's expression changed instantly.

……

Thursday's traditional Chinese painting class was filled with the faint scent of ink.

"After more than a month of classes, I believe everyone has gained a great understanding of traditional Chinese painting. I want to clarify that this class, like other elective courses, will end before the end of the semester, and there will be a final assignment."

"Teacher, what is our final assignment?" a student asked, raising his hand in the traditional Chinese painting classroom.

"It's very simple. Each person completes one artwork independently, whether it's a figure, landscape, flower and bird, or plant."

Drawing figures?

Li Mubai looked at his shabby bamboo and thought, "Forget it, I can't even draw plants."

Not everyone can be an all-rounder. If you can't draw well, you can't draw well. His drawing skills are barely passable at best.

He quietly turned his head to look at Xie Shu beside him.

She was holding a calligraphy brush, carefully outlining the shape of bamboo branches, the lines were clean and smooth, and the shape was upright and elegant.

"Li Mubai, is that a chicken foot you drew?" Chen Qiuhe teased as soon as she finished her drawing.

"Yes," Li Mubai admitted expressionlessly.

"Little chicken feet, you've shown your black spots." Chen Qiuhe chuckled, then turned to Xie Shu, her face full of doubt, "Shu Bao, have you really never studied traditional Chinese painting?"

"no."

"Impossible! Your drawing is almost as good as mine. I've practiced for a long time!" Chen Qiuhe said exaggeratedly.

"Thankfully, your lines are cleaner."

"Fine, let them flatter each other," Li Mubai thought, turning his head away to continue thinking about his novel, which he was currently writing an outline for.

Is this a final assignment?

Xie Shu, standing beside him, looked at the traditional Chinese painting he was creating, his eyes slightly vacant, when he suddenly remembered something that happened last semester.