Chapter 13: The First Monthly Exam Ends

The first monthly exam, which had excited and frightened the children in equal measure, was over.

Time flew. Even if Godzilla had appeared and Ultraman had landed on Earth yesterday, the sun would still rise the next day.

On a bright morning, sunlight passed through the rows of evergreens and fell across the school path.

In Class One, Grade Three, the usual restless commotion gave way, as the bell rang, to an oppressive mood like the eve of judgment.

“Please don’t let me get a zero!”

“Will I be able to enjoy the National Day holiday in peace?”

“No! Please let Old Wang trip on his way to school so nobody can announce the results!”

Naturally, exam results followed exams. And when they were announced, some people would be happy and others miserable.

National Day came right after the first monthly exam. A bad result could mean tears throughout the seven-day holiday, so the scores would certainly affect some children’s break.

I shouldn’t have cared about rankings on an elementary school exam, but I couldn’t help feeling a little curious. The System’s first mission for me was to come first in the class, after all.

Riiing! The second warning bell.

Not long afterward, Old Wang entered carrying a heavy stack of papers that would decide the fate of countless backsides over National Day.

Thud.

He set his insulated cup on the teacher’s desk. Most of the class jumped and sat up straight in unison.

His gaze swept across the room like arrows, and he pulled a very theatrical fake smile. “This monthly exam was our first major assessment in third grade! Some of you surprised me, but even more of you have embarrassed me!”

Wow. What a familiar opening.

The distribution of papers that followed was just as familiar.

“I’ll start with the lowest score. Come get your paper when your name is called!”

Several faces in the back instantly turned green.

“Zhang Wei! Total score, 142. Zero in English! Cheating—and you got caught! Is your brain just there to grow fat? Get up here!”

Zhang Wei’s chubby body shook. Head down, he shuffled to the front amid the class’s snickers, utterly humiliated.

Su Xiaoqing came next. Her total was well above his, but still only a little over 160. The combined maximum for primary-school Chinese, math, and English was 300.

As the stack in Old Wang’s hands grew thinner, Li Bo, Hou Jian, Xiang Wenjie, and the other boys went up one after another. Scores gradually approached passing and then good marks, and the classroom’s fear turned to astonishment.

When Wen Shuyao collected the third-to-last paper with the high score of 285, only two remained at the front.

The air in the room froze.

Two.

One belonged to Chu Hanya. Nobody doubted that. The class monitor had topped the grade for years; everyone at Xia Minghan Primary School knew it.

But whose was the other?

“The last two students tied for first in the class—and tied for first in the entire grade!”

Old Wang’s voice rose, his face glowing with undisguised pleasure. “Chu Hanya, total score 293! Fang Luo, total score 293!

“Both of you, come collect your papers!”

Boom!

It was as though a bomb had exploded in the classroom.

“Holy crap?! Fang Luo?!” Li Bo’s eyes went round, and he nearly sprang from his stool. “Wasn’t he only twenty-sixth in class before? Near the bottom?!”

“How’s that possible?” Hou Jian’s mouth opened wide enough to hold an egg. “Did Old Wang read the wrong name? Two hundred ninety-three? That’s a score for immortals!”

At the back, Su Xiaoqing stared at me openmouthed, then excitedly punched Zhang Wei and waved her arms. “Yay, yay, yay! Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay!”

The blow hurt Zhang Wei, but he understood what the score meant. He stared at my back as if worshipping a deity, muttering, “A pillar… a real pillar to rely on! My homework’s taken care of from now on. I’m sticking with Luo for life!”

That was the children’s reaction below the dais.

I had to go collect a less-than-perfect set of papers.

There was nothing to be proud of in failing to get a hundred in all three subjects; this was only third grade. In practice, though, a perfect score in Chinese was very hard because of the composition, and the same went for English.

At the front, Old Wang smiled so widely he couldn’t close his mouth. “Fang Luo only just transferred here. I was a little worried he wouldn’t keep up, but he’s given us all an enormous surprise! Applause! Applause!”

The scattered claps quickly swelled into a thunderous uproar. Somewhere in it, I could hear someone nearly jumping for joy. “Yay, yay, yay, yay!”

Unlike my calm expression, Chu Hanya’s fair little face was drawn tight as she stood beside me. Her hands trembled slightly when she accepted her papers.

First place was normal for her. Tying with someone else was not, especially when that someone was her hypocritical deskmate!

Back at our seats, Old Wang cleared his throat and picked up chalk to go through the Chinese paper on the board.

Beside me, Chu Hanya fell into an unprecedented state of inner conflict. Shock, hurt, unwillingness to accept it, and bewilderment at the blow crossed her delicate face. She’d worked herself up to prove the arrogant transfer student wrong, only to end up tied for first.

Since we’d tied, neither of us had won the original bet, so it didn’t take effect.

Chu Hanya turned toward me and puffed out her cheeks. “You got lucky! Fang Luo, there’s no way you’ll score this high next time. No way!”

Naturally, I didn’t care about the competitiveness of children.

What interested me was what would change after the mission.

【Ding! The monthly exam has ended. Host achieved the goal: first in class (tied)!】

【The first-stage main mission of the Perfect Life is complete!】

【Reward issued: 5 Corner Shop Coins credited!】

【System upgraded: Monthly Goals and Personal Skills Panel unlocked!】

It seemed the extra functions had finally opened.

I turned my attention inward. The first thing to appear was the Monthly Goals function. I could select one of three, with a new set each month.

1. 【The Making of a Musical Prodigy】

Study guitar over the next month and independently perform three complete fingerstyle pieces with singing, reaching the standard required to perform at the Children’s Palace.

Reward: 500 experience, 5 coins.

2. 【Build Strength from Childhood】

As someone destined to stand above the crowd, you must never be physically weak. Complete a morning run and fitness check-in every day for thirty consecutive days to improve your overall condition.

Reward: 500 experience, 5 coins.

3. 【The Birth of a Local Celebrity】

Give an exclusive interview to the county TV station or morning paper as a child prodigy and make a name for yourself.

Reward: 500 experience, 5 coins.

…

Looking at the three options, I hesitated. They appeared to refresh monthly, like recurring missions separate from the main story.

Using elimination, I ruled out the third almost without hesitation. Fame was a double-edged sword, and I didn’t want that much attention.

As for music, I could actually meet the requirements now, but I wasn’t interested in performing at the Children’s Palace.

With those two eliminated…

Remembering my short legs aching and trembling as I carried Su Xiaoqing to the clinic yesterday, and my merely B-rank athletic ability, I felt keenly how weak this little body was.

There was a long life ahead of me, and health was the foundation of everything.

That was the one.

“Select mission two, Build Strength from Childhood,” I instructed silently.

【Ding! Monthly Goal established】

【October goal: Build Strength from Childhood!】

【Running: 0 km / 30 km】

【Jump rope: 0 / 3,000】

【Sit-ups: 0 / 1,500】

【Completion reward: 500 unallocated experience points, 5 Corner Shop Coins!】

Thirty kilometers of running, three thousand rope jumps, and fifteen hundred sit-ups in a month. A little difficult, but not impossibly so.

I didn’t know how strict the requirements were. When I played basketball with Zhang Wei and Su Xiaoqing, for example, I was running too. Would that count?

Also, this really did appear to be just a goal that would award experience and coins upon completion. It wouldn’t directly improve my athletic ability.

My current athletics were B. If they rose to B-plus after the October goal, it would probably be through my own exercise.

Although experience could be assigned directly to my three attributes, it took a great deal. The next level of athletic ability alone needed around ten thousand.

So I’d rely on sweat and effort.

With that thought, I looked at the newly unlocked skills panel. A clear list had appeared beside my personal attributes:

【Mastered Skills】

Guitar (Intermediate): 320 / 1,000 (Can be upgraded directly with unallocated experience)

Huh?

The bright experience bar made my eyes light up. So unallocated experience could do more than fine-tune my three attributes. I could level up skills directly, just like in an RPG?

That made the experience I’d thought could only be accumulated little by little much more versatile and useful.

…

Time soon reached the last lesson of the afternoon. After it came the long-awaited seven-day National Day holiday.

Outside, the sunset dyed the sky orange, and the afternoon wind stirred the curtains with the fresh coolness of autumn.

The once-neat chorus of reading had long fallen apart. Students whispered to one another, hands picking at schoolbag straps under their desks, their minds full of which little shop would sell them spicy snacks and what episode of *Journey to the West* would be on TV today.

Everything seemed especially buoyant in the brilliant evening light.

Old Wang knew exactly what the little rascals were thinking. Partway through the latter half of the lesson, he set down his chalk and clapped his hands.

“All right, that’s enough for today.

“We’ll use the remaining time to change seats. We have twenty minutes, so let’s arrange the new seating before dismissal.”

The cheers nearly lifted the roof.

Everyone was relieved to stop studying. The announcement also meant that my month as Chu Hanya’s deskmate was finally ending.

Honestly, I felt nothing in particular. Changing seats was perfectly normal. Chu Hanya looked equally unconcerned, meticulously arranging her notebook and pencil case as though she didn’t care who her next deskmate would be.

“Goodbye, Monitor Chu.”

“Oh.”

For actual nine-year-olds, however, who sat next to you was a matter of supreme importance to your chances of surviving the semester happily. If you ended up beside a slob with a runny nose or a classroom enemy, every day would feel like a year.

Old Wang called out the assignments from his list. The room filled with scraping desks and chairs, cheers, and cries of dismay.

“Li Bo, second row, third group!”

“Aw, why do I have to sit with Xiang Wenjie?”

“Hou Jian, back row by the door. Sit up straight!”

“Teacher, I don’t want to sit next to the trash can!”

After a dusty round of moving, the new arrangement was finally settled.

I carried my light schoolbag to a seat near the window in the middle of the second row. As soon as I sat down, a pleasant scent of oranges drifted over.

“Fang Luo, we’re deskmates!”

A soft voice sounded beside me. I turned to meet a face wearing a gentle smile.

Wen Shuyao had both hands on the desk and was looking at me with clear, bright eyes, a smile on her fair cheeks.

“Mm. Please take care of me,” I replied naturally.

Let me briefly introduce my new deskmate, Wen Shuyao.

On registration day, she’d softly pointed out and closed the big zipper on my Digimon schoolbag. Later, we’d met again in the courtyard outside the guitar class at the Children’s Palace.

To repay her for the zipper, I’d casually played and sung “Sunny Day,” and afterward she’d earnestly given me an expensive piece of Dove hazelnut chocolate as a reward.

We didn’t interact much in class, but on weekends, when I sat on the Children’s Palace courtyard bench with my eyes closed to pass the time, Wen Shuyao would run downstairs from her third-floor calligraphy class during breaks and chat beside me, complaining of boredom. Over time we’d become comfortably familiar.

Now that we were actually deskmates, I felt secretly relieved.

In fairness, if I had to choose a deskmate in noisy, childish Class One, Grade Three, Wen Shuyao was probably the best choice.

She was gentle and quiet, with a scholarly air. She’d never scratch herself in the aisle or hide trash in her drawer like the boys. Nor would she police my daydreaming and carve a dividing line down the middle of the desk like Chu Hanya.

I still couldn’t really play with the third-graders, though I wasn’t as melancholy as before. A gentle, quiet girl like her was hard for anyone to dislike, which was why I thought we could share a desk.

“You’re amazing. You actually came first.”

“It was all right. Didn’t you get over 280 too? Maybe you’ll be first next time.”

We were already chatting quietly. But before I could enjoy the peace, a rather chilly gaze came from directly ahead.

Chu Hanya, sitting in front of me, slowly turned around.

Huh? How had the little monitor ended up in front of me?

My former deskmate looked at Wen Shuyao and me sitting side by side. Her expression shifted almost imperceptibly. Then, like a little police officer guarding against a sly fox, she seriously took Wen Shuyao’s hand and lowered her voice.

“Wen Shuyao, you need to be careful…

“Fang Luo is super hypocritical! At school he pretends to daydream and not listen, but behind everyone’s back he practices with advanced reference books at the library. Don’t let his appearance fool you.”

Wen Shuyao blinked at me, then gently reassured her. “No, Hanya. Fang Luo is very nice.”

Chu Hanya gave a little huff and turned back, presenting us with her proud ponytail as she sat up straight again.

Before I could reflect on my front-seat neighbor’s persistence, someone slapped me hard on the back.

“Fang Luo! What a coincidence!”

An energetic voice burst out behind me. Su Xiaoqing, seated in the row directly behind, had stood up and was showing her white little canine teeth.

Her face glowed healthily in the sunset, and she slapped her desk in excitement. “I can’t believe I ended up right behind you! It’ll be so convenient to copy things in class, and I won’t be scared when Teacher Liu asks me questions!”

Me: “…”

I’d just been enjoying the thought of sharing a desk with Wen Shuyao.

I surveyed the surrounding ecosystem and silently fell into thought.

In front sat the cold-faced academic genius Chu Hanya. Beside me was gentle, artistic Wen Shuyao, the kind of girl everyone admired. Behind me sat Su Xiaoqing, the tomboy who got into trouble every few days.

At least before, Xiang Wenjie had been behind me, so I could turn around for a casual chat. How had I somehow ended up surrounded in a triangle by the most noticeable girls in class?

Well, whatever the case, the chaotic seating change was finally over.

At the front, Old Wang raised his peeling insulated cup and took a deep sip.

“All right, settle down!

“These new seats are so you and your deskmates can help each other improve, not gather together and whisper!

“Now, a few things to remember for National Day.

“You have seven days off. Safety first! No swimming in the river without permission. Watch for cars when crossing the road. Don’t spend all day at the arcade. If I catch anyone fooling around in there, I’ll call your parents in after the holiday.”

He paused, casting a meaningful look over several habitual troublemakers, then eased up. “And there’s homework for the seven days. Wen Shuyao, come copy it into the left corner of the board. Everyone, remember to do the proper amount each day and do it well. Don’t leave it until the final night and stay up rushing! All right… Group leaders, close the windows. When the bell rings, you can go home!”

“Ohhh!!”

“Quiet!”

My deskmate Wen Shuyao got up. I watched her walk to the front, her smooth black hair falling down her back, and write on the board in beautiful chalk strokes.

As expected of someone practicing calligraphy. Her handwriting was lovely, like the person herself.

A moment later, the long-awaited dismissal bell rang throughout the campus.

The classroom instantly became a sea of joy. Children grabbed the schoolbags they’d already packed and raced out.

“Goodbye, Teacher!!”

The boys yelled, slung their bags over their shoulders, and pushed for the front and back doors. The corridor filled with hurried footsteps and laughter.

The pure, exuberant National Day holiday of elementary schoolers at the turn of the millennium had arrived in a rush.

I slowly unzipped my bag and neatly put in the textbooks and exercise books from my desk. The only reason was that there were seven days of homework to do, and I needed to take the books home for Su Xiaoqing and Zhang Wei.

“Come on, Zhang Wei! Hurry and grab a spot!”

“Wait for me, Qing!”

“Wen Shuyao, I’m telling you, you absolutely mustn’t…”

“All right, all right.”

Watching the lively scene before me, I picked up my schoolbag and felt an indescribable stirring inside.

In my previous life, National Day had meant ordering takeout in my rented room and sleeping numbly until dark. A long holiday was never really rest; it was merely another place to bear the exhaustion and anxiety of adult life.

Now I stood in the golden sunset of 2004. No barrage of smartphones, no crushing competition or pressure of life. Only plane-tree leaves rustling in the evening breeze outside, the Corner Shop Coins I’d just earned in my pocket, and seven full days of freedom without worries to deal with.

Thinking about it, I was gradually beginning to appreciate how easy these days were. Was this the perfect life I’d been given another chance to live?

Elementary school really was carefree.

…