The phone, recharged successfully after being cut off for two days due to non-payment, finally regained functionality.

"Beep beep beep."

A new text message arrived. Wang Zhuo opened it; it was from Gan Lin: "How's your body? I’ll come see you after the exam."

Gan Lin was the class study monitor and quite attractive. Wang Zhuo and she had a slightly ambiguous relationship—in truth, it was mutually beneficial. Gan Lin used Wang Zhuo as a shield against male suitors, while Wang Zhuo used Gan Lin to appease teachers and avoid trouble.

Seeing the message, Wang Zhuo suddenly remembered he still had the final English exam that afternoon. He checked the time: exactly three o'clock; the test had already started.

Wang Zhuo’s grades had long reached the point of "a dead pig fears no boiling water," so whether he took the exam or not was irrelevant. Just as he was about to brush off his pants and head home to sleep, he suddenly recalled his X-ray vision ability—couldn't he use that to cheat?

The thought of the teachers' and classmates' expressions when they saw his high-scoring paper immediately ignited an uncontrollable mischievous impulse. He hailed a taxi and sped directly to the school.

By the time he entered the classroom, he was already fifteen minutes late. The returning hero did not receive a cheering welcome, only a barrage of astonished glances.

There were a few classmates who would have greeted Wang Zhuo with cheers, but unfortunately, they had been assigned to different classrooms for the exam. Thankfully, Sun Donghao gave him a heavy, grateful nod, which significantly improved Wang Zhuo’s mood.

Sitting up straight, Wang Zhuo first wrote his name on the test paper. Then, instead of looking at the questions, he fixed his gaze on the back of Qian Xiaomeng’s head, who was sitting directly in front of him.

X-ray vision!

Instantly, his sight pierced through Qian Xiaomeng's thin body, landing directly on her test paper! First major section, fill-in-the-blanks, first sub-question, the answer is… Second sub-question, the answer is…

Shasha shasha, Qian Xiaomeng was absorbed in her thoughts and answers. Wang Zhuo, completely at ease, peeked and copied…

Quickly, Wang Zhuo finished copying the answers Qian Xiaomeng had already worked out. He withdrew his gaze, smugly crossed his legs, and closed his eyes to rest.

His eyes stung slightly, perhaps from using his X-ray vision for too long. However, Wang Zhuo was delighted to discover the side effect wasn't severe; a brief rest would return him to normal.

Thus, he would copy for a while, then rest for a while. Later, he even projected his vision onto the papers of two other top students, synthesizing their answers with Qian Xiaomeng’s before copying them!

The invigilator patrolled the examinees, occasionally glancing at Wang Zhuo with surprise. A student who answered a bit of the paper then squinted for a while was indeed rare; perhaps he suffered from some eye ailment.

Unfortunately, this teacher, being from an external school, neither recognized Wang Zhuo nor understood a single word of English on the test paper. Thus, he noticed nothing unusual, allowing Wang Zhuo to copy smoothly until the exam ended.

"Ring—"

The bell sounded, papers were collected, and the classroom erupted. Students compared answers, estimating their scores. Wang Zhuo also analyzed his potential points. Qian Xiaomeng was one of the best English students in the grade, and the other two top students were formidable figures capable of cracking the top five in the class when performing well. Having pooled the strengths of these three, his score was certainly not going to be low.

"Wang Zhuo." Sun Donghao walked over, his face etched with gratitude. "Thank you so much for what happened this morning. I was supposed to be at the hospital accompanying someone, but Director Deng from the disciplinary office told me to come back for the exam. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I don't blame you," Wang Zhuo chuckled, patting his shoulder. He thought to himself that a good deed brought good fortune today; how could he blame him? He should be the one thanking him.

Sun Donghao asked with concern, "Is your injury okay? What did the doctor say?"

"It’s nothing, this little scratch is nothing. I’ll be fine after a nap," Wang Zhuo smiled, turning his head to show Sun Donghao the back of his skull. "See? It's perfectly fine."

Although Wang Zhuo insisted he was fine, Sun Donghao still felt terribly uneasy. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let me treat you to a meal!"

Wang Zhuo was indeed hungry, so he nodded his agreement. Since the exam was over, school would essentially be dismissed, and they could leave anytime.

As the two stepped into the corridor, a crisp shout came from behind them: "Wang Zhuo, stop!"

Hearing that voice, Wang Zhuo immediately thought, This is bad. He had been too busy admiring himself and forgot about this formidable deity. When he turned back, his face was already plastered with a smile: "Gan Lin, just out of the exam room? How did it go?"

Gan Lin was about 1.65 meters tall, with skin almost unnaturally fair, and exquisite features. She was the type whose beauty wasn't immediately stunning but grew more appealing the longer you looked. As for her figure, she showed signs of "precocious development," so she always wore loose clothing to ward off the fiery gazes of the boys.

She and Wang Zhuo had formed a secret alliance since the second half of their junior year. She helped Wang Zhuo ask teachers for leave when he was late, left early, or skipped class, and Wang Zhuo played the role of her boyfriend when boys pursued her, dealing with the endless stream of suitors.

To many classmates, they looked like a rather unconventional couple, but in reality, they were more like "buddies"—they had never even held hands.

"Why didn't you reply to my text?" Gan Lin went straight to the point, giving Wang Zhuo no chance to deflect.

If it were another girl, she would surely have asked first about his health or how the exam went. But Gan Lin was the type who never dawdled with tasks. Since Wang Zhuo was standing there perfectly fine, she didn't need to ask about his health. As for the exam, in her opinion, it made no difference whether Wang Zhuo took it or not; his grades were bound to be at the bottom anyway.

Wang Zhuo thought, As expected, this woman is here to hold me accountable. He shrugged in a gesture of helplessness: "My phone service was cut off due to non-payment; I didn't get your message."

"Out of money again?" Gan Lin frowned slightly and reached for her wallet.

Wang Zhuo quickly waved his hand to stop her; he had no habit of spending a woman's money. "I still have money for food. I'll recharge my phone in a few days when I have funds."

"Alright." Gan Lin withdrew her hand. She knew Wang Zhuo received his living allowance from his mother at the end of every month, so she didn't insist.

"Gan Lin, Sun Donghao and I are going to eat. Want to join us?" Sun Donghao extended the invitation.

Gan Lin hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I need to go back and compare answers. You two go ahead."

After bidding farewells, Wang Zhuo and Sun Donghao went downstairs. Gan Lin watched Wang Zhuo’s receding back, remained silent for a moment, shook her head, pushing away thoughts of romantic entanglements, and turned back toward the classroom.

Gan Lin’s feelings for Wang Zhuo were complicated. It wasn't quite a secret crush, but describing it as liking him felt inadequate. Perhaps it was somewhere between love and liking—indefinable.

A few minutes after returning to her seat, she heard a classmate standing by the window exclaim softly, "Quick, quick! Look! Wang Zhuo and Liu Donghao are being dragged away by some shady people!"

"Boom!" Gan Lin sprang up clumsily, knocking over her desk. Books and stationery scattered across the floor.

By the time she rushed to the window, she caught sight of Wang Zhuo and Liu Donghao being jostled by a group of youths in outlandish clothing, leaving the school gate and disappearing from view.