When they got home, Doctor Ji, as usual, reviewed Bo Xinghang’s exam paper from start to finish.
Bo Xinghang was prone to laziness. His answers were often as brief as possible, and for math, he’d simply write the final answer without showing any work. It was undeniably cool.
But the downside of his coolness was that Doctor Ji couldn’t gauge his score at all. All he had to go on were the hastily written answers, and he could only predict that the score would be decent.
Just how “decent” remained a mystery.
Doctor Ji flipped through the paper a few more times before setting it aside. He stared at Bo Xinghang in silence for a long time before finally asking, “How do you think you did?”
Bo Xinghang raised an eyebrow. “Do you even have to ask?”
His cocky attitude completely ignored the fact that he had been sweating bullets just before handing in the paper.
But his confidence wasn’t entirely misplaced. Even though he hadn’t shown his work, he knew in his head which answers were right and which were wrong.
Doctor Ji knew him well enough and decided not to dwell on the test.
“Alright.” Doctor Ji‘s cold expression softened with a hint of a smile. He set the test paper down on the table and crossed his arms. “Come on, let’s eat.”
Before picking up Bo Xinghang, Doctor Ji had prepared dinner, ensuring that food would be ready as soon as they got home, so he wouldn’t have to go hungry.
In recent years, Bo Xinghang had grown accustomed to living independently. At first, he thought the adjustment would be hard, but he soon realized he had adapted to it.
In fact, he had become dependent on this feeding routine.
Bo Xinghang pinched his now slightly fuller cheeks and asked seriously, “Doctor Ji, have I become too clingy lately? And… have I gained weight?”
Doctor Ji brought the heated dishes out from the kitchen and sat down next to him in one fluid motion. He then reached out and gently pinched Bo Xinghang’s cheek.
Doctor Ji’s cool fingertips sent a slight chill through him, but his tone remained warm. “Have you?”
“You were too thin before. It didn’t look good. Now, you look just right.”
Bo Xinghang: “So…”
So I have gained weight?
“So…” Doctor Ji’s calm voice had a way of making everything sound convincing. His black eyes met Bo Xinghang’s with a serious expression. “So, you haven’t gained weight.” He pushed a full bowl of rice in front of him and added, “Now eat, then get to your homework.”
“…Oh.”
Bo Xinghang nodded but couldn’t help thinking.
If I haven’t gained weight despite eating so much, maybe all that food is just fueling my brain?
Wait. Maybe it is.
With renewed conviction, Bo Xinghang nodded seriously and said with absolute certainty, “You’re right. I haven’t gained weight.”
“Mm, good boy.”
Doctor Ji’s expression remained unchanged as he handed him some vegetables, then rewarded him with a large chicken drumstick.
The chicken leg was plump and, after being reheated, sizzled with oil, filling the room with a rich aroma.
From its appearance, it was clear that Doctor Ji had marinated it with a special honey sauce, which explained its irresistible scent.
Bo Xinghang gave Doctor Ji a grateful look and happily started gnawing on the chicken leg.
As the boy ate, Doctor Ji’s fingers tapped more rapidly on the table.
His words had been genuine—he truly believed the boy looked better with a bit more weight than before.
However, this presented a new problem.
Lately, he had been feeding him more and more, like a mother constantly worrying her child might catch a cold.
Doctor Ji was well aware of his own emotional shifts. As the boy’s college entrance exams approached, his own feelings began to change too.
The final stretch of senior year in high school was viewed differently by everyone. Some found it stressful, precious, grueling, or fulfilling.
For Doctor Ji, his senior year had been nothing special—just another ordinary time. He couldn’t relate to the emotions others seemed to attach to it.
But as the boy’s exam day approached, he found himself feeling as though he were experiencing it for the first time, filled with unfamiliar anxiety… and nervousness…
These emotions, which had never belonged to him before, seemed to arrive late but came crashing in all at once.
Outwardly, he maintained his usual calm and composed demeanor. But during the boy’s four-school competition, his facade broke.
He couldn’t control his panic.
It wasn’t the boy’s performance on the exam that worried him; he feared the boy might feel disappointed or lose confidence if the results didn’t meet his expectations.
So, when he heard the boy’s slightly smug “Of course,” Doctor Ji secretly took a deep breath.
It was like a heavy weight that had been hanging in the air finally dropped to the ground in an instant.
–
Two days later, the results of the four-school competition were released to each class.
Since it was a rare event for four schools to compete simultaneously, the results included not only individual school rankings but also overall rankings and subject-specific rankings, all printed on the report card.
Provincial Experimental High School was the top school in the province, but it always had a sworn enemy—No. 8 High School.
With the school’s reputation on the line, all the students had been putting in extra effort for some time. When the rankings were finally released, it proved their hard work had paid off.
Provincial Experimental High School took first place overall.
In the subject rankings, Provincial Experimental High School topped every subject except for Chinese and Geography, which were won by No. 8 High School.
It was a complete and overwhelming victory.
The triumph was beyond impressive.
When the homeroom teacher walked in, he had an exasperated expression on his face. Holding the report cards, he gestured vaguely at the class.
“You all…”
“You always complain about how hard the questions are, acting like you can’t handle it. But when it comes to competing with other schools, you suddenly shine…”
The homeroom teacher couldn’t help but laugh, abandoning his usual stern demeanor. He put the papers down and shouted, “Provincial Experimental High School is badass!”
Normally, he played the role of a strict, old-fashioned teacher, and not many students listened to him. But now, with his change of tone, the entire class was electrified.
“Are we impressive or not?!”
“Provincial Experimental High School is badass!”
“Provincial Experimental High School is badass!!”
The whole class erupted in chants, especially the boys. Their voices were so loud that the neighboring classes could hear them clearly.
This was the pride of the entire school. The class next door was stunned for a few seconds before joining in: “Provincial Experimental High School is badass!!!”
Several classes shouted together, shaking the school building.
Even when the homeroom teacher finally clapped to bring the celebration to an end, the class atmosphere was still buzzing with excitement.
Although the chants had stopped, many students were still whispering excitedly among themselves.
The loudest and most disrespectful toward the homeroom teacher was, of course, Blabbermouth Xu.
Despite his loud voice, Xu Yi leaned over to Bo Xinghang, covering his mouth with his hand, and whispered, “Our school’s performance was awesome! Do you think the old dogs at No. 8 High School are going crazy right now?”
Bo Xinghang, engrossed in his phone, quickly typed: “They haven’t announced individual results yet, but they should soon,” and then turned to Xu Yi.
Raising an eyebrow, he looked at him. “Our school’s performance was indeed impressive. How much did you contribute to this collective success?”
Xu Yi: “…”
Harsh.
“Don’t feel too bad,” Bo Xinghang casually glanced back at his screen. Doctor Ji still hadn’t replied, so he added flatly, “Just don’t be the one holding us back.”
Xu Yi: “…”
There was no comfort in that reassurance—just more sting.
Not retaliating wasn’t Xu Yi’s style. Wounded but determined, he had to fire back to save face.
“Did you bring glory to the school?” Feeling more confident, Xu Yi placed his hands on his hips and lifted his chin. “We’re all in this together. Can’t we just get along?”
“We’re all in this together?”
Bo Xinghang cast him a cryptic look and smirked. “Then you clearly haven’t seen the true strength of your Hang-ge.”
Hang-ge had indeed scored well enough to get into Provincial Experimental High School, but he’d been slacking off for so long that even Xu Yi had lost faith in his abilities.
Considering the average level at Provincial Experimental, it seemed foolish for an underachiever to dream of catching up, especially in such a short time. It was nearly impossible.
“Hang-ge, I see the power of love in you, so I won’t crush your fighting spirit.” Xu Yi looked at him solemnly and patted his shoulder. “But dream less, study more.”
Feeling quite proud of himself, Xu Yi expected a reaction. But Bo Xinghang didn’t even glance at him. Instead, he replied coldly, “You’ll cry over those words.”
Xu Yi: “…”
Ouch.
Even though he knew Hang-ge was just bluffing, Xu Yi still couldn’t help but shiver.
…Is this the power of a big boss pretending to be strong?
Feeling weak, pitiful, and helpless, Xu Yi hugged himself dramatically, shivering as his mind spiraled.
As it turned out, people’s sixth sense can be pretty sharp. Even before the homeroom teacher handed out the report cards, Xu Yi sensed something was off from the teacher’s stunned expression.
Because this was a four-school competition, the report cards were sealed and confidential.
That meant no one, aside from the teachers organizing the results, had seen the individual scores.
So when the homeroom teacher started reading the grades aloud, from highest to lowest, it was his first time seeing the students’ rankings.
The first few names were consistent with their usual standings, and the homeroom teacher maintained his typical commentary, mostly offering praise with the upcoming exams in mind.
“Wang Ming, great job in math this time—over 120 points? Impressive! Math used to be your weak spot, but you’ve really turned it around!”
He continued praising Wang Ming, “Well done, keep it up! Now, onto the next student… uh…”
“…Hold on!”
The homeroom teacher, shaking his chubby frame, flipped through the report cards several times. His gaze kept returning to Bo Xinghang, eyes wide with astonishment.
The teacher’s behavior was unusual. His undisguised stare shot across the room from the podium.
The surrounding students noticed but couldn’t quite grasp the meaning behind it. Moments ago, they had been celebrating, still riding the high of their victory. Now, the teacher’s strange demeanor caused the room to quiet down, everyone waiting for an explanation.
All eyes turned to Bo Xinghang, filled with curiosity.
Bo Xinghang: “…………”
Despite mentally preparing himself, being the center of attention like this felt awkward, no matter how many times it happened.
Unable to take it any longer, Bo Xinghang frowned and called out toward the podium, “Teacher, can you stop staring at me like that? It’s uncomfortable.”
It was, in fact, quite uncomfortable.
The homeroom teacher’s eyes were practically bulging out of his head.
Realizing his lapse in composure, the homeroom teacher quickly covered his mouth and cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment.
He waved the report card in his hand and took a deep breath. “The next person is someone I want to particularly commend. He went from being at the bottom of the class to the middle, and from the lowest rank in the school to the middle…”
As the teacher described the student, everyone began to piece it together. But when he finally said the name, the room was filled with disbelief.
The homeroom teacher looked up at the boy sitting in the back row and said slowly—
“Bo Xinghang.”
“…Congratulations.”
Congratulations—because from this moment on, you’ve gone from being a delinquent whispered about behind your back to someone admired by countless eyes.
You’ve proven yourself through your achievements.
