Qian Hong nodded in agreement, “That’s true. With your grades, if you study hard, you’ll definitely get into a university.”
“As for me, I’m destined to be inseparable from a vocational college.”
When he spoke the last sentence, there was a clear hint of self-mockery.
Upon entering the third year of high school, due to various influences, quite a few people made up their minds to study hard.
He, too, had more than once been ambitious, shouting the slogan, “Give me one year, and I’ll give you a miracle in the college entrance exam.” Unfortunately, he would often only last a few days before returning to his lazy state of daydreaming in class and lacking energy during the day.
He was forced to make peace with himself.
So, he understood Xu Ming’s thoughts very well.
After a period of silence, he thought of something else and picked up the conversation from earlier.
“I thought you and Zhang Yingxin were already together. I didn’t expect that after all this time, you’re still at a standstill. I think it’s good to completely cut ties. What’s the fun in dating when you can go to an internet cafe and play Warcraft?”
Xu Ming heard Qian Hong calmly accept vocational college and did not try to persuade him, as studying was something one had to do for himself.
However, the other party’s later remark almost made him burst out laughing.
Mainly, who would have thought that his good buddy, who hardly ever spoke to girls, would go to internet cafes every week supposedly to play games, but was actually in an online relationship with someone else?
He only found out about this after the college entrance exam in his previous life.
“You’re right, dating is boring,” Xu Ming nodded, deliberately agreeing.
Soon, after the two finished eating, they washed their utensils at the water tap, went to the restroom, and then returned directly to the classroom.
There were three self-study sessions in the evening.
During this time, the homeroom teacher only peeked through the window a few times, and since no other teachers came to occupy the class, the class monitor, Li Wenhui, sat in front managing discipline.
This, however, made it convenient for Xu Ming to fully immerse himself in his own revision rhythm.
The math textbook in his hand had also been switched to the second semester of the first year of high school.
As time passed minute by minute, his understanding and mastery of mathematical knowledge points gradually strengthened.
【After diligent study, your 【Mathematics】 level has increased, gaining 3 experience points.】
【After….】
Soon, it was 9:50 PM, and the regular classes finished evening self-study.
“I’m heading back to the dorm first.” Qian Hong glanced at Xu Ming, who was still studying, and greeted him before packing his things and leaving.
Soon, only about a dozen figures remained in the classroom.
Because the key classes on the west side and the re-study classes in another building all finished self-study twenty minutes later, some high-achieving students in the regular classes would also follow this schedule.
Xu Ming had limited time left, so he naturally needed to make full use of it.
The hands of the clock on the wall ticked, and people left one after another. When the classroom was almost empty, he finally picked up his things and went to the middle seat in the front row, next to the female classmate with a simple ponytail.
According to their usual custom, it would be fine to just call her by her name at this time.
But perhaps because his state of mind was different, the words that came out of his mouth were exceptionally polite.
“Classmate Chen Lu, could you give me the classroom key?”
“I should be coming earlier tomorrow.” His tone was very firm, and his expression was full of seriousness.
Apart from the one in the homeroom teacher’s office drawer, the only other classroom key was with her. To avoid being locked out of the classroom if he arrived too early for morning self-study tomorrow, getting the key in advance would be much more convenient.
Chen Lu had been focused on solving problems throughout the entire evening self-study session.
In the empty classroom, she was suddenly startled when a boy called her name out of the blue.
“Ah?” Her shoulders suddenly twitched.
She came back to her senses, looked up, and upon realizing it was Xu Ming, a hint of suspicion appeared between her brows.
Although she hadn’t spoken much with Xu Ming, she knew that he usually entered the classroom for morning self-study just barely on time, even though he was rarely late. He was the type who would rush in just as the bell rang.
If she really gave out the classroom key, there would probably be a crowd of people standing in the hallway tomorrow morning.
However, even though she thought clearly, she found it difficult to refuse verbally, and her words came out hesitantly.
“The key… that…”
Xu Ming carefully observed Chen Lu in front of him. In terms of looks, she was prettier than Zhang Yingxin, exuding youthful beauty accentuated by her high ponytail.
But due to her gentle personality, she rarely interacted with classmates in class.
So, he didn't know much about her.
However, he clearly remembered that Chen Lu got into Yanjing University, breaking the college entrance exam score record for regular classes.
In fact, with her grades, she could have transferred to the key class, but he heard that she had a relative relationship with the homeroom teacher, which was why she remained in Science Class Three. Unfortunately, by the time he got into graduate school in his previous life, she had already graduated, so they couldn't become university classmates.
His thoughts raced, and seeing that she still hadn't given a definite answer, he proactively interjected.
“Is it not here?”
“Yes, Yang Huijuan took it. It’s with the dorm key,” Chen Lu’s eyes lit up when she heard him, and she quickly nodded in agreement.
However, her left hand secretly reaching into her desk made this answer sound a bit less confident.
“Alright then.” Xu Ming didn’t think much of it and directly walked away, planning to leave.
As soon as he reached the podium, he heard Chen Lu’s voice from behind him again: “When you come tomorrow morning, the classroom door will definitely already be open.”
He turned his head and glanced, feeling that her expression seemed to carry a bit more apology than before.
His gaze lingered for a few seconds, then he softly uttered two words.
“Okay.”
Xu Ming returned to the boys’ dormitory building, carefully walking along the corridor to prevent his shoes from stepping into puddles.
He pushed open the dorm room door, and the familiar layout immediately came into view.
Seven bunk beds were tightly packed inside, resembling a large communal sleeping area. The narrowest part of the aisle was less than fifty centimeters wide, and even though the temperature was still a bit cold, the window had to be kept open.
Otherwise, the air would be truly unpleasant.
Qian Hong had already burrowed into his blanket, fiddling with the MP3 he brought to school, and a copy of “Yilin” was tossed by the wall.
Hearing the sound of the door, he looked up and greeted Xu Ming upon seeing him.
“Just getting back?”
On the upper bunk near the dorm door, the class monitor, Li Wenhui, was chatting with the boy on the opposite bed.
“That math practice sheet this afternoon really wasn’t difficult. The homeroom teacher had explained many of the problem types before. If the college entrance exam paper was this simple, that would be great.”
“Anyway, I didn’t do so well. I only solved half of the last big problem.”
Xu Ming nodded at Qian Hong, ignoring others’ idle talk. He found his bed, changed into slippers, and took his basin to wash up.
He lay down on the bed to sleep before the dorm lights went out at 10:20 PM.
…
The next day.
He was the first to open his eyes, then sat up with the momentum, completely free from his usual difficulty waking up.
It seemed his body had established a new biological clock.
“Is this what self-discipline feels like?”
While silently sighing, he quickly got dressed and quietly walked out of the dorm room.
He did not disturb his other roommates who were still sleeping.
Upon reaching the main entrance of the dormitory building, he looked at the clock on the wall, and it was precisely 5 AM, his planned time, half an hour earlier than the usual wake-up time for third-year high school students.
To complete his review of all subjects and improve his subject levels as quickly as possible, he could only sacrifice sleep time appropriately.
After all, there were only a hundred days left until the college entrance exam, all told.