Chapter 23: The Assessment Exam

The following morning, Meng Xue, the class monitor, began distributing the results from the placement test held yesterday.
“Tan Zhenghao, seventy-nine…”
“Lu Xiao, eighty-four…”
“Song Ming, ninety-five…”
“Zhou Ziyi, forty-eight…”
“Su Yunqin… fifty-two…”
“Wang Kun, one hundred…”
As Meng Xue finished announcing the scores, the expressions in the classroom were tinged with surprise.
To their minds, the results of the newcomers—Wang Kun and Su Yunqin—ought to have been reversed for things to make sense.
After all, the story of Wang Kun’s dramatic beating of Zhou Ziyi and others had already spread throughout the school on the very first day.
Now, most boys kept their distance from him, not daring to raise their voices in his presence.
He was, unmistakably, the school’s reigning tyrant.
As for Zhou Ziyi and his companions, victims of Wang Kun’s wrath, though their faces were swathed in bandages, Wang Kun had exercised precise control over his strength. Aside from some lingering pain, they suffered no real harm.
Pride kept them from reporting the incident to the school.
Since yesterday, they had become notably subdued in class, never daring to provoke Wang Kun again.
Clearly, the storm of Wang Kun’s methods had left them with a deep psychological scar.
At that moment, however, the girls in the class regarded Wang Kun’s score with entirely different thoughts.
Not only was Wang Kun handsome and strong, but now he had the best academic performance in class as well—he seemed to embody their ideal of the perfect man.
The only pity was that their dream boy seemed interested only in the new girl, Su Yunqin.
Unless it was between classes or lunchtime, Wang Kun was always at Su Yunqin’s side, clinging to her so closely that the other girls could barely contain their jealousy.
In the cafeteria at midday, Wang Kun sat across from Su Yunqin, eating as he watched her, and said,
“From now on, you should set aside two hours every day. I’ll tutor you, up on the school rooftop.”
Su Yunqin gave no reply, simply bowing her head to eat.
She had grown accustomed to his presence these past days. Though Wang Kun teased her with his playful words, she felt no trace of annoyance within.
Hearing his suggestion now, she did not object. She too hoped to improve her grades and secure admission to a better university,
so as not to disappoint her parents’ expectations.

After all, she knew her parents had invested much effort to send her to this school.
Now her father was hospitalized with a serious illness, and their already modest household was growing more strained.
Days passed, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.
During this month, the original male protagonist, Cheng Zheng, remained confined to a hospital bed.
Wang Kun’s days were full—he bantered with Su Yunqin during class, and after school devoted time to tutoring her.
Naturally, during these sessions, he would take the opportunity for a little mischief.
But that was all. If he pressed further, Su Yunqin would grow angry, evade him, and for a day or two would neither message him nor speak to him at school.
That weekend, as usual, Su Yunqin took the bus from downtown to visit her parents.
Over the past month, she’d made one trip home; on other weekends, she visited her father in the hospital.
Unbeknownst to her, Wang Kun had quietly followed her last time and learned her home address,
as well as the fact that her father was undergoing cancer treatment at the city’s People’s Hospital.
The family’s savings had been depleted by medical bills, and they had borrowed heavily from relatives.
Once Wang Kun had figured all this out, he began to put the next phase of his plan into motion.
That weekend, when Su Yunqin arrived at the hospital, her mother greeted her with excitement,
“Yunqin, in a few days your father and I will be heading to the capital. There’s a hospital offering free treatment for all your father’s expenses.”
“Free treatment? Mom, what’s going on?”
“I don’t know all the details. I just received notice from the hospital that a medical foundation in the capital has a program, and your father qualifies for assistance. We’re to go to the capital for treatment.”
“I’ve checked with the doctor, too. The hospital in the capital is the most authoritative in the country for cancer treatment—they’re very confident about the surgery.”
Hearing this, Su Yunqin was overjoyed.
For weeks, the thought of her father’s illness had weighed heavily on her.
“When are you leaving for the capital?”
“The doctor said a car will take your father this afternoon.”
“Once your father and I are gone, you must take care of yourself at school.”
“I will!” Su Yunqin replied.
That afternoon, her parents departed in an ambulance bound for the hospital in the capital.
After seeing them off, Su Yunqin returned to school.

In the days that followed, Su Yunqin’s mood improved noticeably.
With the burden of her father’s illness lifted, she was much more relaxed.
Every day, she received good news from her mother in the capital.
That afternoon, after class, Wang Kun invited Su Yunqin once again to his home for tutoring.
“Wife, come over today for a study session. Afterwards, let’s go out, stroll around, and have a feast.”
“Don’t call me that! Who’s your wife?”
Though she protested, Su Yunqin was secretly delighted.
Now, with her father no longer gravely ill, she was less annoyed by Wang Kun’s frequent displays of affection and the nickname he shamelessly used.
At ten o’clock that evening, at the school gate, Su Yunqin complained to Wang Kun,
“It’s all your fault—the school gates are locked. How am I supposed to get back to the dorm?”
During their outing, Wang Kun had purposely led her far from campus, so the gates were closed by the time they returned.
Of course, though this was all part of Wang Kun’s scheme, he would never admit it.
“What can we do? You’ll have to stay at my place tonight.”
“Well…”
“It’s fine. I have two bedrooms. We’ll each take one. I promise not to bother you.”
“You’d better keep your word!”
“Of course! When have I ever broken a promise?” Wang Kun swore earnestly.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the apartment not far from the school.
“Wife, you go shower first!”
“You—no peeking!” By now, Su Yunqin was too weary to protest the nickname.
After all, Wang Kun had called her that every day; everyone at school knew, and even her objections had become futile.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of peeking! Go ahead!” he thought, if he wer