Zong Wenxiu rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
He was hesitating whether to give his younger brother a heads-up to avoid disappointment later.
But then he turned to look at his wife, Xu Wan, who was trying hard to suppress her laughter.
"..." She was clearly enjoying her brother-in-law's antics again.
Zong Jincheng, completely oblivious, walked cheerfully into the academy.
On the way, he ran into some students who knew him, and they warmly congratulated him: "Congratulations, Jincheng! You’re one of the two hopes of our academy!"
"Yeah, yeah! Who would’ve thought you’d perform so well against three top academies!"
"I heard you only started studying a few months ago. How did you learn so fast? Teach us your secrets someday!"
Zong Jincheng had been praised many times growing up, but those compliments were usually about his boldness, cleverness, or his fortunate family background. This was the first time so many people had praised him for his academic achievements.
Look, they were all congratulating him.
No jealousy, no resentment, no ill will.
Zong Jincheng felt on top of the world—powerful and unstoppable.
He cleared his throat, straightened his posture, and said in a lofty tone, "Oh, it’s nothing. I just took the exam casually, and I’ve only shown less than half of my true potential. Although the gap between you and me is still quite large, if you study hard, you might catch up to me a little."
"......"
The students exchanged awkward glances, their lips twitching, and they quickly walked away.
The conversation had been thoroughly killed.
Zong Jincheng watched as the people who had just praised him suddenly left and asked Zong Wenxiu in confusion, "Why did they all leave so suddenly?"
Zong Wenxiu chuckled helplessly, "The way you spoke to them, it’s no wonder they got upset."
"Was I wrong?" Zong Jincheng said matter-of-factly. "They’re just not as smart as me. Who else could achieve so much after only three months of studying?"
Zong Wenxiu: "..."
You’re not wrong, but...
"Jincheng, there’s an art to speaking. When they praised you, did it make you feel good?"
Zong Jincheng nodded.
Zong Wenxiu continued, "But when you told them to study hard, you also said they’d only catch up to you a little. No one would feel good hearing that."
Zong Jincheng frowned, "But I was telling the truth."
The exhausted older brother tried to explain, "The truth isn’t always pleasant to hear."
"So, should I lie? Tell them that if they study for three months, they’ll become as good as me?"
Zong Wenxiu: "..." That’s not necessary.
Xu Wan walked over and chimed in, "You could just hold back your honest thoughts and simply thank them, then wish them good luck on their next exam. No one expects you to answer every question. Since when did Young Master Zong become so obedient?"
Zong Jincheng glared at her defiantly.
She looked at the little troublemaker and continued, "Speaking is an art. One wrong word could cost you a good friend, even if you didn’t mean to offend them."
Zong Jincheng turned his head away, ignoring her.
On the surface, he seemed to be thinking, "I won’t listen to this bad woman’s advice," or "Her suggestions must be wrong, and I’ll only regret it if I follow them."
But the next time a student came over to congratulate him, the little troublemaker casually replied, "Thank you. I hope you do well on your next exam too."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Zong Jincheng covered it in shock.
Damn it, how did he learn so quickly?
This was practically admitting defeat to Xu Wan!
However, Xu Wan didn’t laugh at him, and the guilt-ridden Zong Jincheng didn’t dare look back. The student in front of him, pleasantly surprised, continued to praise him, "Thank you for your kind words. I didn’t expect you to be so easygoing, without any airs of a young master."
Unlike the students who had walked away earlier, this group now liked Zong Jincheng even more, and the difference was obvious.
Zong Jincheng couldn’t help but smile and added, "Come visit me at the Marquis Manor sometime. I’ll teach you how to study!"
"Sure, sure! Thank you, Jincheng. We’ll definitely come."
After they left, Zong Jincheng turned to Zong Wenxiu and boasted, "See? He said I’m approachable. They like me!"
Zong Wenxiu smiled and said, "You’re talented, well-behaved, and polite. Of course, people will like you."
Zong Jincheng snorted proudly, "Of course. I’m not like Qin Ye. That guy’s always so arrogant and annoying. He probably doesn’t have any friends."
Zong Wenxiu shook his head with a smile but didn’t say anything.
In fact, he thought that someone like Qin Ye, who was completely dedicated to his studies, probably didn’t want to make friends because he’d see it as a distraction.
The two of them walked forward and arrived at the results board once again.
The bright red board was longer than before, with each student’s name followed by their academy. At a glance, the list was filled with straight A’s and the name "Hanlin Academy."
"With four academies participating, only the top-tier students made the list," Zong Wenxiu said. "Hanlin Academy truly lives up to its reputation as the top academy in the capital. They’ve almost completely dominated the board."
Zong Jincheng looked at the sea of Hanlin Academy names and snorted, "So what if they’re all on the list? They’ll just be stepping stones for me to climb over."
Zong Wenxiu chuckled and shook his head helplessly.
Zong Jincheng pulled Zong Wenxiu straight to the top of the list. Since this was the first place in the four-academy joint exam, it had to be someone who had crushed all the other students.
But the area was crowded with students. Hearing that someone from Qingbo Academy had taken first place, kids of all ages had gathered to see the spectacle, as if they’d won a major victory.
Zong Jincheng, being young and short, couldn’t squeeze through, and even jumping didn’t help. He shouted, "Buyan, lift me up so I can see!"
Buyan hoisted him up, and Zong Jincheng’s height suddenly increased by a significant margin. He craned his neck to look ahead.
"The results of the four-academy joint exam are as follows: First place, A, Qingbo Academy, Qin Ye."
"......"
The academy was buzzing with noise, the students’ cheers and shouts were deafening, and among them were countless exclamations of "Qin Ye is amazing!" The excitement had reached its peak.
Meanwhile, Zong Jincheng felt like he’d been struck by lightning.
"How... how could this be...?"
Wasn’t he supposed to be first in the four-academy joint exam?
Just now, so many people had congratulated him...
How did Qin Ye end up taking the top spot? How did Qin Ye do it???
Why wasn’t it him, the smart, hardworking, and talented Zong Jincheng???
No, this couldn’t be right. He must have done well too; otherwise, why would they all congratulate him?
Zong Jincheng pulled himself together and continued scanning the rankings, but all he saw was a sea of Hanlin Academy names, which made him want to punch something.
Just moments ago, he thought these people would be his stepping stones, but now he couldn’t find his own name. Those stepping stones had turned into heavy weights, crushing him until he could barely stand straight!
"Buyan, move to the left. Let’s check the next column."
"Move left again."
"Check the next column."
"Keep looking..."
