MM | Chapter 41

Honor

“What do you mean, what did I call you?” Sheng Wang feigned ignorance. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to answer, but saying “my brother” to Jiang Tian just wouldn’t come out smoothly.

Maybe it was just a guy’s inexplicable sense of competition, Sheng Wang thought.

Jiang Tian still looked over with a half-raised eyebrow.

Sheng Wang wanted to confront him but gave up in less than half a second. He pulled his right hand back from Jiang Tian’s fingers and said, “I’ll call you little brother.”

Qiu Wenbin, the honest kid across from them, laughed out loud. Sheng Wang, feeling like a victorious warrior, proudly raised his chin and said, “Alright, enough playing around, let’s read.”

He playfully squeezed his right hand’s knuckles and then seriously started reading.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Tian took a moment before withdrawing his gaze and putting on his headphones. The pen in his hand spun silently between his fingers, occasionally stopping to leave a soft scratching sound on the notebook.

Across from them, Qiu Wenbin was frowning over his correction workbook. He pulled a pair of scissors from the pen holder and hesitated for a long time before he could bring himself to cut the paper.

The homeroom teacher of Class 11 was an old-fashioned type who couldn’t turn a blind eye. If he said no phones in the classroom, then no phones it was. Qiu Wenbin, a rule-abiding student, had developed a good habit of not using his phone under the teacher’s pressure, which was better than 90% of the students in the grade, but perhaps a bit too much.

After struggling for a while, he remembered that phones could be tools too. He glanced awkwardly at the two top students, who hadn’t even looked up, completely focused. So he quickly pulled out his phone to search for efficient ways to handle correction workbooks and downloaded a scanning app to take pictures of his mistakes.

This method was indeed more convenient than copying. There was a self-service printer in the dormitory building, so he could just print and bind his mistakes regularly.

What used to take him an entire evening to copy was now archived in just five minutes today.

He hadn’t felt this sense of completing a task ahead of time since he entered the Affiliated High School. It was the first time he felt a sense of satisfaction in his studies.

Qiu Wenbin wanted to thank Sheng Wang for the reminder but felt a bit embarrassed.

He glanced at Sheng Wang a few times, just about to speak, when he saw this boss suddenly release his fingers, grab the pen that had been idle for a while, and start writing in the notebook.

Qiu Wenbin was stunned for a moment before he remembered, right! Wasn’t the boss practicing calligraphy? What had he been seriously looking at just now? A calligraphy guide?

A question mark slowly appeared above Qiu Wenbin’s head.

He suspected the boss was distracted, but he had no evidence and didn’t dare to say anything.

Shi Yu came out of the bathroom, his hair just slightly longer than a crew cut, and a couple of rubs with a towel had dried it to about seventy or eighty percent. He was digging water out of his ear and said to the others, “I’m done, who wants to wash up?”

Sheng Wang made a sound, finished writing the last two characters, and then looked up to ask him, “What time does the Affiliated High School turn off the lights?”

“11:20, I think,” Shi Yu said.

“Oh, then there’s no rush.” Sheng Wang finished his practice for the day, put away his notebook, and picked up another book.

Shi Yu sat by the bed, replied to a few WeChat messages, and played a mini-game. Once he felt his hair was completely dry, he stood up. He had been inspired tonight and wanted to try working hard for a change.

But he had already finished the papers handed out during the day before evening self-study. Even though he copied the Chinese and half of the English, he couldn’t just redo them all, could he?

He had been coasting for so long that, besides these, he didn’t know what else he could do for a moment.

Shi Yu wandered around and stopped beside Jiang Tian, patting him and asking, “Tian-ge.”

Jiang Tian frowned slightly, then removed one earphone. He didn’t like having his train of thought interrupted, and his already unenthusiastic expression turned even colder.

Shi Yu felt a bit awkward but still asked, “What are you reading?”

Jiang Tian lifted the book cover for him to see.

“Oh, this one.” Shi Yu straightened up and said, “Our physics teacher recommended it too, said your class uses it for competitions. Is it good? If it is, I’ll buy a copy.”

Jiang Tian: “Not really.”

Shi Yu: “…”

Even across the table, you could feel the chill.

Sheng Wang, thinking “I’m such an angel,” added from his task, “That book’s not great. Old He only picked about ten questions from it. Once they’re done and explained, it’s time to switch.”

“Only ten questions, and the book’s useless?” Shi Yu clicked his tongue, “What else do you use?”

“A lot, but each book only has a part selected.” Sheng Wang asked, “Do you want to try? The books are in the cabinet over there; you can note the names.”

Shi Yu waved his hand, “I can’t handle that kind of effort, just asking.”

Sheng Wang smiled.

He wanted to say that the competition classes in Class A were open for auditing, and people from Class B had been moving chairs over recently. If Shi Yu really wanted to compete, he could join.

But seeing Shi Yu’s reaction, he felt there was no need to say it.

Shi Yu had been standing next to Jiang Tian, and after chatting for a bit, he finally moved behind Sheng Wang.

“What are you doing now? English?” Shi Yu spoke to him more casually, probably because he felt Sheng Wang had a good temper and his grades weren’t intimidatingly high.

Sheng Wang: “Yeah.”

He was getting a bit impatient. While skimming the questions, he replied, “Sister Jing said the competition results are coming out soon, so I’m just checking.”

“Competition?” Shi Yu was momentarily confused, then realized, “Oh, you mean that English competition?”

“Yeah.”

“That girl He Shu from our class went too,” Shi Yu said, shaking his phone, “I was just chatting with her. I wondered why she seemed so nervous.”

Sheng Wang’s expression was like he had amnesia. He remembered that besides Qi Jiahao and Li Yu, there were two other girls from different classes who participated, but he hadn’t figured out who was who.

“The competition’s over, what are you checking?” Shi Yu was even more puzzled.

Sheng Wang casually replied, “There might be a second round.”

Second round?

While pondering, Shi Yu’s phone buzzed again. He Shu replied to his previous teasing message, not seeming very enthusiastic.

Shi Yu took the opportunity to ask: Is there a second round for your English competition?

This time, He Shu replied quickly: Yeah, why are you suddenly asking?

Shi Yu glanced at the workbook Sheng Wang was working on and typed: Do you want to prepare? I saw a pretty good competition book, want me to send it to you?

He Shu: …

He Shu sent an emoji: [Are you kidding me?]

Shi Yu: Who’s kidding you?

Shi Yu: Seriously, do you want it?

He Shu: Why don’t you check the conditions for entering the second round?

Shi Yu: Too lazy to check, what are the conditions?

He Shu: Top 40 in the province

He Shu: Do you know what top 40 in the province means?

He Shu: It’s a concept you can’t understand

Shi Yu: …

Shi Yu didn’t expect to be mocked for asking a question. Even though it was from a girl he liked, he felt a bit embarrassed.

He typed heavily: I was just asking, no need to get upset

He Shu: Your question was a bit harsh…

Seeing her send a crying face, Shi Yu softened and replied: I didn’t mean to upset you, I saw Sheng Wang preparing, so I thought I’d get you a set too.

He Shu: Sheng Wang is preparing for the second round???

He Shu: …

He Shu: He transferred from another province, maybe he’s not familiar with the system.

She sent a few more laughing-crying emojis.

Shi Yu pondered and asked: Is top 40 really that hard?

He Shu: Of course

He Shu: Haven’t you noticed that our school assumes there’s no second round? Do you see anyone else preparing for it?

Shi Yu: No

He Shu: Our school hasn’t produced a top 40 in years, English is No. 1 High School’s strong suit.

He Shu: If I had known, I would have gone to No. 1 High School. I’m not good at the math and science that Affiliated High School excels in.

After that, whatever she said, Shi Yu replied absentmindedly.

He looked at the messages, hesitating whether to remind Sheng Wang, as it would be quite disheartening if he was preparing for nothing.

Sheng Wang, of course, had no idea what they were chatting about. He just heard the phone buzzing non-stop, while Shi Yu scratched his head like a restless monkey.

“Do you want to say something?” Sheng Wang couldn’t help asking.

“Ah.” Shi Yu laughed awkwardly, pointing at his phone, “No, I was chatting with He Shu. I wanted to get her a competition book too, but she said she definitely won’t make it to the second round. Is it really that hard to get in?”

Shi Yu, like a long-legged egret, started to probe. He was a bit more tactful than Jiang Tian, knowing how to set the scene.

Sheng Wang was straightforward: “A bit. Sister Jing said you need to be in the top 40 in the province.”

Shi Yu: “…You knew?”

Sheng Wang: “?”

“Nothing.” Shi Yu pointed at the book, “Carry on.”

After saying that, he quickly typed on WeChat: Sheng Wang knows the conditions for the second round.

He Shu: What?

Shi Yu: He probably thinks he can make history at Affiliated High School.

Shi Yu: Confident

Shi Yu: Impressive

Shi Yu: Let’s wait and see

He Shu: …

Actually, Shi Yu didn’t dislike Sheng Wang, nor was he targeting him. He just wasn’t used to such a straightforward personality.

He himself wouldn’t work too hard usually and would humbly say during exams or competitions, “I can’t do it, I didn’t prepare much, just here to make up the numbers.”

Having seen many like himself, suddenly encountering someone who says “I’m okay” makes him feel the person is a bit arrogant. Perhaps it was the rebellious phase at play; he wanted to see the arrogant person fail.

They used to think the same about Jiang Tian, but Jiang Tian was too steady, never failing once, and even won them over. His friends who usually played games, drank, and played basketball with him secretly called Jiang Tian a “cheater.”

Unexpectedly, fate sent them another Sheng Wang.

According to probability, this one was bound to fail, Shi Yu thought.

No way a “cheater” comes with a buy-one-get-one-free!

Three days after that conversation, the English competition results came out.

Yang Jing walked into the classroom wearing a black dress with gold trim, bringing a gust of wind as she opened the door. She slapped the papers to be reviewed onto the desk, propped one hand on the edge, and looked down at the class.

Her stern expression made the students nervous.

Gao Tianyang leaned back and whispered to Sheng Wang, “Why does Sister Jing look like she’s at a funeral? Did the competition bomb?”

Sheng Wang barely moved his lips, humming, “I don’t know, those teachers are tight-lipped, haven’t heard a thing.”

Gao Tianyang: “Didn’t Sister Jing give you and Jiang Tian a heads-up? You two have the best chance of winning, right?”

Sheng Wang thought for a moment and said, “She did.”

Gao Tianyang: “What?”

Sheng Wang said, “We handed in our papers early. Last time, she said to wait for the results and then she’d deal with us.”

Gao Tianyang: “…”

Yang Jing pursed her lips, her already straight lip line even drooping a bit.

Just as the atmosphere in Class A was about to solidify, the lady graciously opened her mouth: “The competition results are out, let me announce them.”

She spoke lightly, and the students didn’t dare breathe.

Yang Jing extended a slender finger, “I have two certificates here, one second prize, one first prize.”

Most of the students breathed a sigh of relief, thinking as long as there were awards, Sister Jing wouldn’t drag them down with her.

Gao Tianyang directly slumped, giving a thumbs-up to the back, “Steady, now let’s see which of you two gets second and who gets first, doesn’t really matter, an award is an award.”

Sheng Wang raised an eyebrow, his hand quietly reaching into his backpack.

Last time Sheng Mingyang went to the Political and Educational Office, and somehow got educated. The next day, Big Mouth Xu returned the phone, warning, “Don’t let me catch you a second time.”

So Sheng Wang behaved—honestly setting all notifications to silent, the screen would light up but not vibrate. He even forced Jiang Tian to do the same.

He quickly typed to Jiang Tian on WeChat: Wanna bet?

Jiang Tian: Bet on what?

Sticker: Who gets first, who gets second.

Jiang Tian: Wager

Sticker: I want BBQ!

Jiang Tian: Sure

Sticker: So, what do you think you’ll get?

Jiang Tian: Definitely not second

Sticker: …

Sticker: Coincidentally, I don’t think I’m second either

As he was using emojis to playfully argue with Jiang Tian, Yang Jing spoke again.

“First, congratulations to the class rep,” Yang Jing said, “Qi Jiahao performed as expected and got second prize.”

The class was silent for a moment, then sparse applause broke out, and half the class looked toward the back, including Gao Tianyang.

“What’s going on?!” Gao Tianyang mouthed exaggeratedly, “Did one of you not get it?”

Sheng Wang pressed his fingers, signaling him to stay calm.

Once Gao Tianyang turned back, Sheng Wang sent Jiang Tian a new message: Alright, now we can guess if you’re done for or if I am.

Jiang Tian: I don’t think I’m done for.

Sheng Wang started sending emojis to provoke.

The sparse applause stopped, and Yang Jing continued, “Next, congratulations to our class monitor Li Yu. The class monitor surprised me, but I don’t think this is an extraordinary performance. You just get nervous easily. As long as you manage your time and relax, any result is deserved. See, this time you surpassed the class rep, you got first prize.”

Li Yu was cute and had a good personality, and the class liked her. Normally, they would have been cheering and clapping the tables. But today, even Li Yu didn’t have time to be excited.

Because everyone was looking at Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian at that moment.

Gao Tianyang’s eyes were about to pop out: “No way? Did one of you not…?”

Sheng Wang felt a bit innocent, and also quite surprised. He thought he did well; otherwise, he wouldn’t have handed in the paper early. As for Jiang Tian… he’s a bit arrogant in exams, but he’s not reckless. He should have done well too.

At this moment, Yang Jing spoke again: “I just said, there are only two certificates now, one first prize, one second prize. That’s all for now, but there were four people from our class who took the exam, so what’s up with the other two not getting certificates?”

Exactly!

Forty pairs of eyes looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

Yang Jing took a breath and said, “Because the two of them are going to the next round.”

The class was bewildered, then suddenly realized, and the buzzing discussion exploded like hot water hitting boiling oil.

“Yes, the top 40 in the province go to training, and after training, they participate in the second round. If they can still win, it’s a national award. If not, it’s a provincial first prize.” Yang Jing nodded at Jiang Tian, “You, 11th in the province.”

She then nodded at Sheng Wang, “You, 5th in the province. You two were just two points apart, and the ones in between were all those little brats from No. 1 High School. But it doesn’t matter—”

Yang Jing couldn’t hold back anymore. She grinned, lifting her chin, “You’ve both got a ticket for early admission. Having two top 40s in the same year is a first for our school, making history, so you’re definitely going on the honor wall!”

She raised her voice, smiling, “Is our class awesome?”

“Awesome!!!”

The whole Mingli Building could hear the screams from Class A, and Class B felt like the ceiling was about to collapse.

The other classes were startled, then learned the news from their teachers, and soon the whole building was buzzing.

Gao Tianyang grabbed Sheng Wang’s shoulders and shook him, overjoyed.

In a dizzy state, Sheng Wang tenaciously sent the last two messages to the back table—

Sticker: It’s a tie

Sticker: So, two BBQ sessions!

After sending, he smiled at Yang Jing and said, “Sister Jing, are you still going to settle accounts with me and Jiang Tian?”

Yang Jing laughed and scolded, “Settle what! You’re getting off easy!”