Even as a "normie," I'm completely oblivious to it.

In Qin Ruoke's eyes, there were only two words to describe this: stiff.

Regardless of whether Qin Ruoke already knew they were pretending to be a couple, even if she didn't... she could still tell something was off.

She is a very straightforward person, so she believes that being realistic is the best approach.

"You don't need to do this. I know you two are just pretending to be a couple at school, but you're actually just siblings. So just be normal, I won't say anything."

"!"

Zixiao was startled. So you knew!

Yu Zhe, however, seemed puzzled: "How did you know? I don't remember telling you about this."

"Haha... It's quite a coincidence."

Qin Ruoke then told the two about her experience working at the amusement park.

It turned out to be the case.

Zixiao was a little disappointed. "Why did you know the truth? Well, now we can't put on this show today."

Somewhat disappointed, Zixiao let go of Yuzhe's arm and walked over to the sofa, where she dejectedly took out some cookies from the drawer and started munching on them.

"Alright, since you know, that saves you a lot of trouble. Let me see your last exam paper and find the problems."

Qin Ruoke pulled out the exam papers from the last unified exam and handed them to Yu Zhe.

I quickly flipped through it.

She's really amazing; her hard work is reflected in her exam paper.

With a score of over 680, it's practically flawless.

"Hmm, that's impressive," Yu Zhe concluded. "There's nothing seriously wrong with you. In the whole city or even on a larger scale, your exam ability is top-notch. But wouldn't you know it's just a coincidence that you ran into me? Well, your chances of getting first place are slim."

Although it was true, Qin Ruoke couldn't help but feel a little annoyed that it was said so bluntly.

"Really... really... is there really not even the slightest chance?"

She even gestured with her thumb and forefinger.

"No chance, no chance, really, don't even think about surpassing me."

"What should we do then..."

Hearing this, Qin Ruoke actually felt a little wronged. You said you were coming to a study session, but now you're telling her there's no hope at all.

"But this first place is really important to me..."

Seeing her like this, Yu Zhe suddenly had a mischievous urge: "Why don't you beg me? Say something like, 'I'm willing to do anything, so please let me pass the exam,' and maybe you'll secure first place!"

"You said you didn't have a bad sense of humor... You know I wouldn't say that as a joke."

Yu Zhe laughed heartlessly: "Haha, that's true. But it's okay. Although you definitely have no hope of surpassing me, I do have a way."

42. Rolling

To be honest, Qin Ruoke doesn't have much hope now. Even if she can't get first place, she will still try her best to get a high score and go to a top university. It's just that the cost is different from what she expected, and she will have to bear it herself.

But Su Yuzhe suddenly said he had a solution, which made Qin Ruoke seem to have suddenly grasped a straw.

"What method?"

"You think you can still get a guaranteed admission spot even if you don't get first place? What's the best way to do that?"

This…

Qin Ruoke pondered for a moment, and after a brief thought, she came to a conclusion that she found very impractical.

"Then the only option is... to increase the number."

Um, for example, increasing the number of guaranteed admission spots to the top two or three in the grade.

"That's right, aren't you pretty smart!"

"But is this even possible...? Each additional spot means the school has to bear more of the expenses, and there will be all sorts of other problems as well."

Yu Zhe propped his cheek up with one hand: "Do you know who owns this school?"

To be honest, Qin Ruoke didn't know, but judging from Yu Zhe's tone, it couldn't be the Su family...

Sure enough, Yu Zhe continued the topic, saying, "Fenghai No.1 High School was funded by the Su family, but the first guaranteed admission program was probably decided by my father. It does have an incentive effect, but there is only one spot. Don't you think it will cause many top students to give up, let alone ordinary students? So, I thought about adding two more spots."

Actually, there's another reason besides that. It's because Zixiao and Xiaolizhi, a year later, Yuzhe thinks that they will definitely compete for the top spot in their grade when they reach their senior year of high school. Although their families might not care, they shouldn't have any regrets because of this.

Like dew falling into a mountain stream, this sentence stirred ripples in Qin Ruoke's heart.

Because the fact that she could no longer get first place had been bothering her for many days.

Yu Zhe's words were clearly giving her an opportunity, an unprecedented opportunity.

Feeling somewhat pleased, she suddenly remembered that she should express her gratitude.

She quickly stood up and bowed ninety degrees to Yu Zhe, her long hair brushing past him and almost hitting his face.

"Thank you! I will not let you down. If I can change someday, I will do everything I can to repay you!"

The commotion made Zixiao turn around and look, then she turned back to continue munching on her cookies.

Seeing her excited expression, Yu Zhe felt happy for her as well.

This is probably the first time Qin Ruoke has lowered her head. I always thought she was stubborn and overly competitive, but now she's starting to change for the better. People shouldn't be too stubborn.

Sometimes, the help of others is necessary.

Yu Zhe helped her up and pressed her back into her seat: "Don't rush to thank me. I've added a spot for you, but that doesn't mean you're guaranteed a spot. We'll aim for second place and secure third. Do you think that's a good idea?"

Looking at Yu Zhe with a meaningful gaze, Qin Ruoke felt that she could do it!

However, Yu Zhe noticed something else in that look.

For example, you tell me to aim for second place and secure third, but I want to try aiming for first and securing second...

He was too stubborn and needs to be taught more lessons so he understands that there are limits to human beings.

Setting goals too high often results in failing to even reach previous levels.

Yu Zhe had an idea.

He leaned back slightly and called out towards his room, "Yu Che! Yu Che! Come out here for a second!"

"Here I am!"

"..."

In Qin Ruoke's view, this girl named Su Yuche seemed to have been prepared all along; she appeared immediately as soon as Yuzhe called her.

"What's wrong, brother?"

Yu Zhe took out a math workbook from his bag, the same one Qin Ruoke had brought, opened it to the same page, and handed one to Qin Ruoke and the other to Yu Zhe.

Then he said to Qin Ruoke, "She's my sister. She's about as smart as me, but she never studies. You two will do these ten questions at the same time and see who is more accurate. If you can't even beat her, then don't keep thinking about challenging me. Just study at your usual pace, okay?"

Yu Che scratched the back of his head and laughed: "Haha, brother is joking. I'm not as quick-witted as you."

Qin Ruoke looked at the silver-haired loli that Yu Zhe had summoned, and had some doubts.

"But...your sister doesn't seem to be in high school yet, is it really appropriate for her to be doing high school level problems?"

Su Yuche is furious!

However, she still maintained a smile: "Miss Qin Ruoke, right? We're the same age, and this is something my brother asked me to do. I'll do my best to complete it. I hope you'll do your homework well too, and don't let me down."

Peers?

Okay, Luo Xiaomeng is even more exaggerated than you, so it's not surprising.

"Okay, since we're going to do the problems, I'll definitely give it my all. This is a study session, after all."

Yu Zhe stood up, gave his seat to Yu Che, and became the referee himself.

"Then everyone get your pens ready. I'll count down from three, and then you can start doing the questions."

"3, 2, 1! Go!"

Qin Ruoke instantly got into the zone, using an exam-taking mindset honed through years of practice and problem-solving. There was no lapse in concentration; faster! While maintaining accuracy, increase speed!

The pen tip moved across the workbook without pause, like autumn wind sweeping across fallen leaves.

Yu Che, however, calmly picked up his pen, looked through all the questions, and then started writing.

Qin Ruoke got more and more into writing, and in just five minutes, she had reached the fourth of the ten questions. She was silently telling herself: "Hurry up, I have to be faster. I can't underestimate my opponent."

But at that moment, she heard the sound of a pen falling beside her.

"Brother, I'm done."

"..."

Are you serious?

Qin Ruoke's hand froze in mid-air, unable to utter another word, because her opponent had already finished. But that shouldn't be the case! Her speed was definitely not slow. Even if her opponent was faster, what about accuracy?

What did the referee say?

Turning his gaze to Yu Zhe, Yu Zhe simply confirmed with Yu Che again: "Are you sure? You did it pretty fast, but if you get even one question wrong, I'll declare Qin Ruoke the winner."

"No problem." Yu Che confidently raised her head. "There won't be any mistakes, brother, you can check it. Oh, if there's nothing else, I'm going back to my room to play games! That last game..."

"I haven't finished playing yet, brother, hurry up and come play with me after you're done studying!"

Without even looking at the results, Yu Che got up obediently and went back to Yu Zhe's bedroom.

Yu Zhe will grade her paper next. Qin Ruoke doesn't even bother with her own questions and comes over to take a look.

The result was obvious, just as Yu Che said, it was completely correct, and although the process was brief, it was all reflected.

Qin Ruoke was stunned: "How...how did you do that?"

There was only one word in her mind.

crush.

“She did all ten questions at once. That child doesn’t like to do them one by one. You see, she had already constructed the thought process for all the questions at the beginning, and then she just copied down what she had in mind.”

After hearing Yu Zhe's explanation, Qin Ruoke sighed with a sense of relief, "Are all the people in your family monsters? I'm speechless."

Zixiao turned around and said, "No, it's just my brother and Yuche who are like that."