Zong Wenxiu listened in astonishment, but quickly regained his composure and praised, "Jincheng, you’re learning so fast. That’s right, as long as you pay attention to others, you’ll notice their unusual behavior. This is called reading people."
Zong Jincheng hopped around, proudly saying, "Of course, I’m the smartest person in the world! I can understand everything!"
Zong Wenxiu smiled with relief. His younger brother’s confidence, which had been lost for half a day, had returned. This was much more comfortable to see.
At Qingbo Academy, the students were already buzzing:
"Lin Yu made it to the list, 48th place! He’s now second in the rankings!"
"Qin Ye left, and ahead of him is Zong Jincheng, who’s still in third place."
"It’s fine. His father only cares about rankings. He’ll probably come to pick him up soon. Lin Yu, on the other hand, can stay at the academy for a month."
Zong Wenxiu and Zong Jincheng overheard the conversation and hurried over to check the list. Sure enough, at the 48th spot, it read: Qingbo Academy, Class A, Lin Yu.
He had surpassed four students from Hanlin North Academy and made it onto the list.
"Lin Yu’s progress is impressive too," Zong Wenxiu remarked.
Zong Jincheng laughed, "Haha, not bad, not bad. Although he’s still a bit behind me, he’s already better than many others."
Zong Wenxiu quickly covered his mouth, warning, "Stop talking like that. These are real people. You’ll end up offending everyone."
"Mmph…" Zong Jincheng was dragged toward the top of the list to find his own ranking, secretly fuming that these people were so thin-skinned and couldn’t handle the truth.
Then, his brother’s voice rang out excitedly, "Ninth! You’re ninth! Jincheng, you surpassed 42 students from Hanlin North Academy in just one month! Just one month! That’s incredible!"
Originally, he had thought that making it into the top 20 would be a great achievement for his brother, considering the top ranks were dominated by the studious maniacs from Hanlin North Academy. Surpassing half of them would have been impressive enough, but his brother had outdone them all.
Other students also congratulated him:
"Jincheng is amazing! Last time, he was at the bottom of the list, and now he’s almost at the top. We can’t even catch up."
"Exactly! He improved so much in just one month. I heard he didn’t even come to the academy to study. Did he undergo some special training at home?"
"He’s from the Yangyuan Marquis Manor, which is insanely wealthy. I heard they hired a teacher from Hanlin North Academy to tutor him privately. One-on-one lessons must be way more effective than what we get here."
"Ah… I’m so jealous. I wonder how much the Hanlin North Academy teacher earns in a month. I wish my father could hire one for me too."
"Haha, we can’t afford it. I heard it’s a hundred taels of silver a month."
"A hundred taels???"
"Damn!"
"Money really does blind people…"
The little demon ignored the chatter around him. He looked at the names of the eight people ahead of him, all from Hanlin North Academy. Although they still overshadowed him, it didn’t feel as suffocating as before.
He turned and asked, "Brother, where’s Qin Ye’s ranking?"
Zong Wenxiu replied, "He’s in the Child Prodigy Class. His ranking should be on that list. Do you want to check?"
The little demon nodded like a pecking chicken.
The two hurried over to find Qin Ye’s ranking, but as a hot topic at Qingbo Academy, the Child Prodigy Class list was surrounded by a dense crowd.
So, Bùyán (the silent one) made his appearance again.
Zong Jincheng sat on his shoulders and craned his neck to look at the list.
Before looking, he thought, Qin Ye is competing with all the students under twelve years old. With the Child Prodigy Classes from both academies combined, there must be around two hundred students, including a bunch of maniacs from Hanlin North Academy. Even if Qin Ye is talented, there’s no way he could make it into the top fifty, right?
At most, top thirty, he thought.
After all, Qin Ye had defeated him before, so he couldn’t be too far behind.
But the moment Bùyán lifted him up, he saw the glaring ranking at the most prominent spot:
First place, Class A, Qingbo Academy, Qin Ye.
"Qin Ye, it’s Qin Ye again!"
"Hanlin North Academy is definitely going to cry this time. They specially organized this revenge exam for Qin Ye, and yet they suffered another crushing defeat."
"Is he planning to dominate every ranking list he’s on?"
"He’s incredible! He’s like an unbeatable god of exams!"
"I really don’t understand why he stayed in the eight-year-old class before. Even if he wasn’t at his best, he should have been in the ten-year-old class. What’s the point of competing with eight-year-olds? It’s like bullying chicks."
The bullied chick himself clenched his fists in anger.
"Damn Qin Ye, I’ll definitely defeat you one day!"
Zong Jincheng’s shout was loud, and the students turned to look at him. Seeing it was him, they weren’t too surprised. The students around here were of various ages, and not many eight-year-olds idolized him. Most were dismissive.
"His slogans are loud, but who can actually compete with Qin Ye?"
"Zong Jincheng, even if he becomes the top of his class, he’s still no match for Qin Ye."
"Dreams are good to have. Who knows, they might come true."
"Haha, true, true…"
"This is too much, way too much," the little demon muttered, his fists clenched tightly, his anger burning.
Zong Jincheng climbed down from Bùyán’s shoulders and stomped over to Zong Wenxiu, shouting, "Brother, I want to transfer classes! I’m going to the Child Prodigy Class to crush Qin Ye!"
What unbeatable myth? What god of exams? What existence that crushes Hanlin North Academy? These titles will belong to Zong Jincheng in the future, not that cold-faced Qin Ye!
Zong Wenxiu was stunned for a moment, then smiled. His brother’s determination was terrifying. He seemed to have endless energy.
But… "Isn’t that a bit too rushed? The Child Prodigy Class moves fast. You’ll have to wait a few months before you can join."
Though that was already considered quick. For others, it would take at least two years to catch up.
"I don’t care, I don’t care! I want to join that class! I don’t want to stay here playing with a bunch of eight-year-olds. I don’t want to, I don’t want to, I don’t want to…" The little demon tugged at his sleeve, throwing a tantrum, alternating between whining and mischief. No one could withstand it.
Zong Wenxiu sighed helplessly, "Alright, let’s go back and ask Madam and the teachers. If they say you can transfer, then we’ll do it."
"Okay, okay," the little demon nodded repeatedly. "Let’s hurry back to the manor. I’m so smart; the teachers will definitely agree to let me transfer!"
"Alright…" Zong Wenxiu scratched his head. "You get on the carriage first. I need to check my ranking."
Zong Jincheng’s hurried steps suddenly stopped.
That’s right. He had been so eager to check his own ranking, and even looked at Qin Ye’s and Lin Yu’s, but he had completely forgotten about his brother’s results.
His brother had always been so good to him, accommodating him in everything, comforting and encouraging him, and even accompanying him to check the rankings.
But he hadn’t thought about his brother at all.
The little demon felt deeply remorseful. "I’m sorry, Brother. I’ll go with you to check your ranking now!"
Zong Wenxiu smiled gently. "It’s alright."
As they walked, the little guy’s guilt grew heavier. He even started recalling all the times he had ignored his brother since they had met.
