Team Eliminated

Jiang Min looked like she was on the verge of tears. His attack must have been a lot more effective than he thought. "You really think I've gained weight, Chen'an?" she asked, cupping her cheeks self-consciously. Even the slightest suggestion that she was fat was a hopelessly raw spot for the voluptuous Jiang Min.

He hadn't expected she would be so flustered. Chen'an coughed twice. "No, not really. I mean, it's not obvious or anything. The extra roundness is kind of cute, actually. Makes me want to pinch it."

Jiang Min's face flushed red. "Dream on," she muttered, wrinkling her nose as she turned away from him.

Now Gao Tianjie was the only one left to take down. Then, he could move on to attempt his side task.

Coincidentally, his target had just finished taking notes. "Can you help me with this question, Chen'an?" she asked.

Gao Tianjie loved to eat; she was still wallowing in sorrow over the loss of the snacks Chen'an had asked her for earlier, and was silently praying he wouldn't request for more. Chen'an wasn't that shameless–obviously–so he waited till he was done explaining the question before springing his attack.

"I'm going to get some snacks later. Want me to get some for you?"

Gao Tianjie's eyes sparkled. "What snacks?"

"Spicy bars with extra spice," he declared, and her expression crumpled instantly.

"I'll be… indisposed for the next two days, so no spicy food for me. How about something else?"

[You stumbled upon Model Worker Gao Tianjie's weakness and exploited it. Her current Lifeblood: -30]

[Congratulations on defeating Model Worker Gao Tianjie. You have gained 4 experience points and 8 gold coins.]

[Congratulations on leveling up. You have received 1 potential point. Please allocate it as you see fit.]

Chen'an was stunned. He hadn't known it was… that time of the month for her. He had only wanted to turn her off with the prospect of extra spiciness–not encroach upon sensitive territory.

He fought desperately to salvage the situation as the monster icon over Gao Tianjie's head faded. "Don't worry, Tianjie. I'll get you some warm water later, okay?"

She stared back at him with expectant eyes. "And the snacks?"

"Of course. I'll get you a roasted sausage. You like them, don't you?"

Gao Tianjie nodded eagerly and beamed. "Thank you!"

"What about me, Chen'an?" Jiang Min piped up.

"You'll get one too," he promised magnanimously.

"I'm sure it'll taste better if it's from you." Jiang Min hid a smile and resumed her work.

"I want one too, Chen'an," a voice whined from beside him.

It was Lu Gang. How predictable. Food, if nothing else, was a surefire way to catch his attention–like a puppy that only behaved itself when it was begging for treats.

"Get lost. You've got some nerve, considering you still owe me for that time when you stole my spicy bar." He shoved Lu Gang away.

"Choosing girls over bros, are we? Fine. Don't ask to borrow any movies from me in the future, then. Your free supply ends here."

"Now, now. I won't get you one sausage–I'll get you two. How about that? As long as you promise not to tell anyone about the films…"

Chen'an had grown up; looking back at his past self, he could feel his ears turning red from embarrassment. He made a mental note never to borrow such films from Lu Gang again.

Having dealt with all his team members, Chen'an directed his focus to the other groups. But first, he had to deal with his new potential point. He activated his stats window.

[Name: Chen'an]

[Level: 1]

[Title: None]

[Experience: 0/20]

[Lifeblood: 60]

[Vitality: 6]

[Power: 6]

[Agility: 6]

[Spirit: 7]

[Charm: 5]

[Luck: 1]

[Potential points: 1]

[Achievement points: 6]

[Gold coins: 20]

[Skills: High school physics, high school chemistry, high school mathematics, high school biology, high school history, junior high school Chinese, junior high school English]

[Items: None]

As any respectable and virtuous young man would, Chen'an added his one potential point to 'Spirit'. That way, staying up late to read, or whatever else he was busy with, wouldn't pose as great a hindrance to his studying the next day.

The effect of the boost to his Spirit was instantaneous, a cool, refreshing breath of life throughout his body. His mind sharpened, turning crystal clear. His memories of the past, once fuzzy, turned crisp, and his senses became newly alert.

It felt damn good. Or at least, it did, because just a few minutes later, the soothing sensation he had been basking in disappeared.

The comfort might have been temporary, but his memory and senses remained heightened, giving him a nudge of confidence to embark on his side task. Chen'an was about to make his way over to the 'monsters' in the other groups when Boss Cao, who had been looking through their scripts, stood up.

"Your time is up. Let's go through the questions now."

[Attention! BOSS Chemistry Teacher has arrived. Please prepare accordingly.]

Ah, crap. Twenty minutes had passed and he hadn't even realized it. Being a student could be so demanding at times.

If Chen'an's memory didn't fail him, Boss Cao would focus on common mistakes he had identified while examining their scripts. And–again, if he recalled correctly–Boss Cao expected his students to take notes; only, most of them didn't bother, which is why Boss Cao tended to explain the problem-solving process instead of diving deep into content. If students wanted a more detailed walkthrough of the question, they had to find him after class. Essentially, Boss Cao prioritized the class' collective progress; he was more than willing to take the time to address individual needs outside of his lessons.

He was also particularly fond of arrowing a select few lucky students and asking for their views during his lectures–just like every other teacher. Every time it happened, the class would go as silent as the grave, praying that they wouldn't be whichever poor soul was about to be called to execution.

Boss Cao held a broken piece of chalk to the blackboard. "The first question is too easy, I won't go through it. Same with the second question. And the third…" It went on and on, until, "Most of you got question seven wrong, so I'll go through it. Who answered incorrectly? Raise your hands."

Most of the students raised their hands.

Chen'an eyed Lu Gang. Shockingly, his deskmate had answered correctly. According to Lu Gang's wise and mysterious formula for answering multiple-choice questions, the answer that looked just different enough was B–except in this case, D was the right answer.

"Did you cheat or something?"

Lu Gang gave a wry laugh, catching Chen'an's meaning. "Would you believe me if I told you it was an accident? I was going to choose B, but ended up writing D instead."

Chen'an met his gaze blankly. Seriously?