Chapter 9: Preparing for the Midterm? An Explosion!
In the days that followed, Min Han found himself shuttling back and forth between playing basketball and studying. Yuhang’s MP4 player was also getting fuller by the day. Every time the two of them went to the music store, their veiled conversations always left Min Han feeling rather awkward.
“So, how much do you want?”
“How do you charge?”
“Five yuan per gig.”
“Then just this one gig.”
“Alright.”
“Wait, I don’t want this one gig, I’ll take the rest.”
…
Sometimes Min Han couldn’t help but think that Yuhang was truly a character—apart from having little interest in academics, he was quite the expert in basketball and Japanese pop culture.
But now, an insurmountable mountain loomed before them all: the midterm exams.
Unless you were among the top two or three students in class, the despair brought on by exams would linger for a long, long time.
Review? How could you call it review when you hadn’t even paid attention to the earlier lessons? First, you had to teach yourself a chunk of the material, and only after that could you even think about reviewing…
This was the secret weapon that Yuhang and Daxu relied on. Min Han, fortunately, was in a much better position—he usually kept up with both classes and homework. So his main task was to organize key concepts and tackle difficult points.
Of course, Min Han wasn’t among the top three in the class, but he was certainly in the top ten. The students in the top three of the honors class were generally already poring over second-year math textbooks, muttering formulas under their breath, “How do you differentiate this integral?”
Meanwhile, their deskmates behind them would be mumbling listlessly, “Quadratic equations are so hard…”
Amid the tense rhythm of revision, most people seemed to forget that right after the midterms, there would be a sports meet.
What made Daxu green with envy was that Chen Li, who sat in front of Min Han, always turned around to ask him questions whenever she was stuck. Daxu complained bitterly to Yuhang, “It’s moments like this that make me realize how important it is to be a top student. Just look at that smug face of Min Han’s. Why can’t exams test us on Dungeon Fighter instead?”
Chen Li had plenty of admirers, not just within Class Thirteen. There was always a pile of love letters and chocolates under her desk. Though she had a sweet tooth, she never touched any of the chocolates gifted by others.
The task of returning these chocolates usually fell to Min Han.
“Hey, buddy, here’s your chocolate.”
The guy would look utterly crestfallen. “You’re the one who sits behind Chen Li, right? I’ve seen you before. Do you think there’s any way I could win her over?”
Min Han could only shrug. “Man, I’ve never been in a relationship myself!”
“Then what do you think Chen Li likes?”
“She likes sleeping and daydreaming!” That was the truth—she was always lying quietly on her desk, or staring blankly ahead, lost in thought.
That evening, after explaining a geometry problem, Min Han asked Chen Li curiously, “With so many handsome guys chasing after you, is there really none that catches your eye?”
Chen Li smiled and shot back, “Is there a girl you fancy?”
“Sure, but I didn’t know how to date in middle school.”
“Same here,” she replied.
The midterms came and went in a flash, and the results were released soon after. Min Han checked his scores: eighth in class, forty-second in the year group—a bit of a drop, but still decent.
Daxu was next to him, ecstatic. “Hahaha! One hundred and ninety-sixth in the year group. Does this mean I’ve earned another month of life?”
Chen Li turned around and flashed Min Han a sweet smile. “I’ve made progress. Let me treat you to bubble tea.”
Min Han glanced at the report card on her desk: ninety-second place.
“Sure! I’m heading out to play basketball now. Pack it up for me for evening study, will you? I want coconut jelly milk tea, no pearls.” With that, he grabbed his basketball and dashed out, leaving Chen Li behind, shaking her head in helpless resignation.