Chapter 5: Farewell to Youth

Dawn broke.

Shen Ye yawned and started to wash up.

Last night, he had planned to venture into the Elf Territory to earn an Evaluation Entry after midnight.

But his physical strength simply didn't allow it.

He had just awakened his ability and used it several times in quick succession, even executing the "Moonlight Deer Step" once.

He was actually exhausted to the extreme.

Just like he hadn't slept for several days, he barely managed to muster enough energy to hide his mask and medal before collapsing onto his bed and falling asleep.

He slept all the way until the next morning.

He could only wait until he got to school today to see if he could find a secluded place to earn the Evaluation Entry first.

Yes.

He was to attend concentrated review sessions at school today and inform the teachers of his decision to continue participating in the middle school exams.

All in all, a bunch of things.

"Xiao Ye, come and have breakfast—you're about to be late!"

"Coming, coming!"

Shen Ye placed his packed school bag in the living room and then immediately sat down at the dining table.

"Here, eat some eggs."

Zhao Xiaochang placed two boiled eggs in front of Shen Ye.

Shen Ye picked up an egg and started tapping on the shell while looking at the table.

Today's breakfast was porridge, steamed buns, and pickles.

Shen Shi'an sat at the table, picked up a few strands of pickles, took one bite of steamed bun, then slurped some porridge, enjoying his meal.

The breakfast in the past, although not sumptuous, had never been so meager that only he could eat eggs.

It seemed that the Marrow-Supplementing Pill had indeed taken a toll on the family's finances.

Zhao Xiaochang watched him eat the eggs until they were gone, then turned her gaze away and sat down beside the two of them to start eating.

"Did you take the Marrow-Supplementing Pill last night?" Shen Shi'an asked.

"I did—look at how lively I am." Shen Ye showed off his muscles that didn't actually exist on his arms.

"Hmm, do you have any discomfort in your body?" Zhao Xiaochang also asked.

"No more, just waiting for the exam," Shen Ye said.

Seeing his confidently assured demeanor, his parents exchanged a look and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"You just focus on preparing for the review. Do your best on the exam," his father said.

"It's okay if you don't do well on the exam. Your dad and I have no problem feeding you; we'll take our time looking for jobs," Zhao Xiaochang added.

A warm current surged in Shen Ye's heart.

In his previous life, he was an orphan who had weathered all sorts of hardships in the world, knowing the bitterness and warmth only to himself, never having anyone care for him in this way.

He set down his chopsticks and said sternly:

"What are you guys talking about? Have some faith in me, will you? Even if I don't get into a top school, getting into a normal high school shouldn't be a problem."

In fact, with one subject missing, the chances of getting into high school were already slim.

Only high scores in the remaining three subjects could possibly meet the cut-off.

But Shen Shi'an and Zhao Xiaochang both remained tacitly silent about this.

"Eat quickly, I'll take you to school later," Shen Shi'an said with a smile.

"I'll go by myself," Shen Ye said.

"You're just recovering; I'll take you," Shen Shi'an said in an indisputable tone.

Twenty minutes later.

Qingzhou No.2 Middle School.

Teachers' office.

"It really is a pity, Shen Ye, but with your grades, there is still hope for a normal high school," exhaled Teacher Jiang Hantao with a look of regret.

"That's why I've come back for the review, to prepare for the second exam the day after tomorrow," Shen Ye said.

"If you can get into high school, considering your original talents and grades, you might have even better job prospects in the future—I'll go talk to the principal and the examiners, and you go back to class," Teacher Jiang said.

"Thank you, Teacher Jiang," Shen Ye said gratefully.

"Focus on preparing for the exam, don't think about anything else," Teacher Jiang patted his shoulder and stood up, leaving the office.

Shen Ye also headed towards his own class.

Class 3 (5).

Upon reaching the fourth floor, the first classroom on the left side of the stairs was his.

He pushed open the door of the classroom.

Someone whispered, "Shen Ye is here," and the various noises inside suddenly quieted down.

The students looked at Shen Ye with complex expressions.

Shen Ye calmly returned to his seat, opened his school bag, took out the "Physique" Volume 3 and practice questions, and began to flip through them.

"Brother Ye, I'm sorry."

A voice came from behind.

Shen Ye turned to look, and saw a tall boy looking at him with a face full of guilt.

He remembered now.

The boy's name was Chen Haoyu, one of his good buddies.

A few days ago, it was he who got a fever and was hospitalized. Shen Ye went to visit him, which led to that incident.

But now Shen Ye understood that the whole thing was no coincidence.

Someone wanted him dead.

"It's nothing; it's not your fault, just my bad luck," Shen Ye said with a smile.

Chen Haoyu looked moved and said, "Brother Ye, I'll treat you to stir-fry at noon."

"Sure," Shen Ye responded.

He flipped through "Physique" once, then glanced at the workbook and put it aside.

At middle school level, the knowledge of movement techniques in the books was all about laying the foundation.

In high school, he would learn some martial techniques.

Having absorbed the knowledge of the Elf Race's movement techniques and learned the battlefield-worthy "Moonlight Deer Step," he felt like these things were child's play.

What really needed attention were the next two subjects.

— "Spiritual Enlightenment" and "Language and Scientific Knowledge."

Spiritual power was relatively easier to deal with.

After all, he had an Attribute Point which, when added to spiritual power, would be 1.7.

This value was already far beyond the requirements of the exam.

He just needed to familiarize himself with the exam procedures and give his best effort to have a good chance of obtaining the scores he wanted.

The real challenge was "Language and Scientific Knowledge."

This subject combined middle school's language arts, mathematics, foreign language, history, physics, and chemistry into one subject.

It was vast in content.

The exam time was also a whopping four hours.

Damn it! Reborn in a different world and he still couldn't escape studying these subjects, and the exam demands were even higher.

Shen Ye opened "Language and Scientific Knowledge" and began to read silently.

He had never seen the essays in the language arts section, and the history was completely different too.

Fortunately, the content of other subjects was similar to his previous life.

Having studied reasonably well in his previous life, plus this one, Shen Ye's grades were already one of the best in his grade.

— It was best to do more practice papers and get a feel for them.

Shen Ye took out his workbook and dove into solving the problems.

In the classroom.

Everyone began to buckle down and review.

After all, the day after tomorrow was the exam that would decide their fate.

Morning self-study ended.

The students left their desks and rested in small groups in the hallway.

Shen Ye was still engrossed in working through problems.

Sounds suddenly rang in his ears, and looking up, he saw several girls knocking on the window glass.

His train of thought interrupted, Shen Ye reluctantly put down his pen.

"What's the matter?"

"Zhao Yibing is looking for you, in the stairwell," one of the girls said.

Zhao Yibing?

Shen Ye pondered for a moment and finally remembered a pretty girl.

Zhao Yibing from Junior Three (2) class, who also had good academic performance, had always been friends with Shen Ye, often coming to discuss studies with him.

There seemed to be a vague connection between the two of them.

——What does she want from me?

Oh, I am Shen Ye.

Shen Ye really didn't want to waste time that could be spent on problem-solving, but remembering his predecessor's relationship with Zhao Yibing, it seemed strange not to go.

Better go after all.

He stood up with resignation, left the classroom, and followed the girls to the stairwell.

There stood Zhao Yibing, looking pretty as ever.

She had her hair tied in a ponytail, with a slim figure and features as picturesque as a painting. Even though she wore a plain school uniform, she carried herself with grace that drew involuntary second glances.

Even Shen Ye couldn't help but reflect—

Youth really is the best beauty treatment; she looked so beautiful without much adornment.

"You were looking for me?"

Shen Ye went straight to the point.

There were only ten minutes for the break between classes.

If he could quickly deal with this matter, he'd still have time to work on a major problem.

"Shen Ye," Zhao Yibing said with a sympathetic look, "I heard you're still preparing for the exams?"

"What's the matter?" Shen Ye asked.

"I did well on the first subject and am confident about the rest. I should be able to get into a provincial key school," Zhao Yibing said.

"Congratulations," Shen Ye said.

"What I mean is... don't come looking for me anymore," Zhao Yibing said.

After finishing, she took a step back as if afraid Shen Ye would react excessively.

The other girls looked toward Shen Ye.

Passing students also pricked up their ears.

For the first time, Shen Ye took the matter seriously.

He carefully sifted through memories, beginning to face up to his relationship with this girl.

Zhao Yibing went on to explain:

"Shen Ye, what I'm saying is—going forward, we'll each have our own paths to take, so let's not develop this further, but we can still be friends."

"Even though..."

"Sooner or later, we'll have nothing in common anymore due to our different social strata."

Shen Ye listened in silence.

Yes.

The world is indeed so pragmatic.

Starting in high school, countless people can't break through a certain grade and end up having to find a job.

Each time one advances a grade, one gains more power, a wider range of job prospects, and a more prestigious status.

But—

This is just middle school.

Shen Ye had already missed one exam, and now she wanted to add insult to injury. Wasn't that a bit much?

Zhao Yibing said softly:

"Don't come looking for me again in the future. I've deleted your contact information; I hope you lead a good life from now on."

She observed Shen Ye's expression, with a sidelong glance at the other students.

But Shen Ye just scratched his ear nonchalantly and said:

"I remember over these years, it's always been you who came to our class to find me. I don't think I ever looked for you."

Zhao Yibing was taken aback, her face suddenly flushing red.

She realized that the expressions of the surrounding students had also become somewhat strange.

Yes, Shen Ye was the top student in the grade, and it was Zhao Yibing who always pestered him.

Now that Shen Ye had missed one exam—

Zhao Yibing was immediately trying to publicly draw a line between them.

Wasn't that a bit too much?

"Zhao Yibing, I never wanted to be friends with you," Shen Ye continued.

"The exams are coming up soon, so I hope you'll do as you say and not come bothering me, affecting my revision."

He was decisive and swift, leaving immediately after finishing.

Shen Ye turned and left swiftly.

Zhao Yibing stood there, both anxious and helpless.

She had intended to announce to everyone in public that she had officially gotten rid of him—

How did it turn into her being the one bothering him?

She wanted to ask Shen Ye to stay.

But if she spoke up to keep him now, wouldn't it exactly prove that she was still bothering him?

"Wait, don't rush off!" one of the girls said.

"Bingbing gave you quite a few gifts, right? How can you talk to her like that?" another girl said.

"Shen Ye, you're so disappointing," said a third girl.

They blocked Shen Ye's way.

Shen Ye looked at the few girls, then at the onlooking classmates, and finally turned to Zhao Yibing.

What the hell.

What do you really want?

Didn't I tell you I need to study?

Zhao Yibing tearfully said: "Shen Ye, I thought we were friends."

Playing the sympathy card... not letting me go...

It seems she really isn't content until she's stepped on me a few times.

But—

That's a bit naive.

Shen Ye said expressionlessly:

"Zhao Yibing, I did accept your gifts, but accepting gifts doesn't mean accepting you."

The onlooking students were dumbfounded.

Shen Ye crossed his arms and said coldly: "Giving gifts was your choice; I never forced you. If you couldn't become my friend, that's your own inadequacy."

The girls were stunned.

"If you truly cared about me, you wouldn't try to bind me with gifts. I certainly have the right to strive for better people, don't I?"

After speaking, he looked fixedly at Zhao Yibing, as if waiting for an answer.

Zhao Yibing didn't know whether to respond, how to respond, or what to say.

It was over.

He was on another level, simply unreachable.

"I have nothing more to say to you. If you want your gifts back, I'll compensate you, but don't delude yourself into thinking we can be friends," Shen Ye said, then turned and walked away.

"Scumbag!"

"Shen Ye, you're a scumbag!"

"Jerk!"

Several girls said indignantly.

Even a few boys joined in the denunciation.

Shen Ye snorted, held his head high, and swaggered upstairs.