Chapter 30: So I’m the Academic Underachiever?!

The language exam wasn’t difficult, at least not for Chu Nan. The only challenge lay in whether the teachers who set the questions would have some wildly imaginative ideas.

For example, questions like “This poem expresses such-and-such thoughts; please discuss your views based on reality” were a bit tricky.

Because the poet himself probably didn’t think that deeply, but the question setters forced a profound interpretation, which was quite frustrating.

Fortunately, there were templates for these kinds of answers, and Chu Nan could handle them with ease.

Besides, in his previous life, the company had subscribed to several newspapers weekly. Whenever he was free, he would read them. Having read so many newspapers, language exams were a breeze.

For other students, even if it wasn’t a breeze, it wouldn’t feel too difficult. After all, language at its core tests one’s mother tongue, and no matter how poor one’s language skills might be, it couldn’t be that bad.

Perhaps this was why language was placed as the first subject in the college entrance examination.

Of course, while language might not be hard, achieving a high score was difficult. Moreover, language was the most unpredictable subject in terms of scoring—you might think you did well, but the results could be average, or you might feel you did poorly and end up pleasantly surprised.

The language exam lasted 150 minutes. Chu Nan finished in 130 minutes, then spent five minutes carefully reviewing his answers. Finding no issues, he was about to submit his paper when he noticed Jiang Yuwei, sitting at the first desk, already packing up and leaving.

Without hesitation, Chu Nan raised his hand to indicate he wanted to hand in his paper early as well.

Seeing some students leave early inevitably stirred anxiety among the others.

Could they not be anxious? At this point, most people hadn’t even finished their essays, yet these two were already submitting their papers.

Of course, some handed in their papers even earlier—half an hour ahead of time.

Submitting the language exam half an hour early usually meant only one thing: the student wasn’t writing the essay and was likely a poor performer.

Don’t think this is strange. Students in special classes often did this. For them, writing an essay was less worthwhile than going out to do manual work.

There were guides outside the classroom to keep them from returning.

“Teacher, can we go home now?” Chu Nan suddenly asked.

“Not yet. You have to wait until the language exam finishes and the bell rings. You’re free to walk around near the school.”

“Okay, thank you, teacher,” Chu Nan replied politely.

Soon, the two walked out of the classroom in silence.

Perhaps other boys would feel awkward walking with a girl like this, but Chu Nan, being in his thirties, had no such qualms. He regarded Jiang Yuwei as a friend and naturally felt no discomfort.

He wasn’t uneasy, but Jiang Yuwei felt somewhat awkward.

“Why are you following me?” Jiang Yuwei asked as they stepped out of the teaching building.

Chu Nan scratched his head. “Well... I don’t really know where to go, so I thought I’d walk with a friend.”

Jiang Yuwei glanced at him, feeling an indescribable emotion. If it had been anyone else, she would have refused, but her impression of Chu Nan wasn’t bad.

Especially since he stood up for her that day, driving away that idiot Luo Xiang, which even sparked a bit of affection.

Moreover, those days, the song Chu Nan sang that day occasionally echoed in her mind. She had to admit, it was truly beautiful and she liked it a lot.

Still, hearing Chu Nan’s words, she was a bit surprised. “You consider me a friend?”

Chu Nan smiled. “Of course. Ever since you lent me your notebook, we’ve been friends. Even if you don’t recognize it, I do.”

Jiang Yuwei simply responded with a faint “oh” and fell silent.

The two silently circled the playground.

For some reason, Chu Nan felt very comfortable walking with her, even though neither spoke a word.

“Thank you for that day,” Jiang Yuwei suddenly said.

“Thank me? For what?”

“For helping me get rid of Luo Xiang and the others.”

Chu Nan waved his hand. “Hey, it was nothing.”

“But next time, you don’t have to help me with things like that. I don’t need it, and it might cause you trouble.”

“I’m not afraid of trouble when helping you!” Chu Nan said quickly when he saw the sincere gaze in Jiang Yuwei’s clear eyes, as if she could see right through him. “Ahem, I mean... since we’re friends, it’s only natural to help each other.”

“Chu Nan, let me be clear—I don’t like hearing things that can easily be misunderstood.”

Actually, when a girl says that, it means she isn’t interested in you. Chu Nan understood this well, and he didn’t dare to have any illusions about Jiang Yuwei.

“Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. Rest assured, I know my place. What I said was heartfelt.”

“It was just a notebook. Not worth thanking me for.”

“No, that notebook might not mean much to you, but it helped me a lot. Do you remember the promise you made to me?”

Chu Nan smiled as they walked.

Jiang Yuwei gave a soft “hmm.”

“That’s good. You’ll understand how important that notebook is to me when the time comes. Of course, besides the notebook, I also have to thank Zhou Xiaonan, who lent it to me…”

Of course, there was someone else to thank as well—Huang Jingjing—but Chu Nan didn’t say that to her face.

“Let’s talk about that when you really get admitted to a top university.”

“Chu Nan?!” Suddenly, a girl’s voice rang out ahead.

The voice was clear, pleasant, and familiar.

“Huang Jingjing!” Chu Nan was delighted to see a familiar face. “You’re done early too?”

“Yeah.” Huang Jingjing wore a faded white blouse and no makeup. Although she looked quite pretty, perhaps because of her outfit, she seemed to pale in comparison to Jiang Yuwei standing beside Chu Nan, whose clothes looked new and spotless. The contrast was clear.

Appearance is often influenced by attire; even the most beautiful girl’s looks can diminish with poor clothing choices—that was a fact.

So facing this girl, Huang Jingjing instinctively felt a bit inferior.

Seeing how close the two seemed, she regretted coming over to greet them. She had only called out because the side profile looked like Chu Nan’s, and now that she knew it was really him, regrets were useless.

“Oh, this is our classmate, Jiang Yuwei,” Chu Nan introduced to Huang Jingjing.

Huang Jingjing smiled suddenly. “I know.”

“You know?!” Chu Nan was stunned.

“Yeah, she’s always a regular on the honors list in the liberal arts class.”

“I know her too. She’s hardly ever dropped out of the top five in the science honors list, Huang Jingjing,” Jiang Yuwei said calmly.

Chu Nan was momentarily stunned, then smiled bitterly. “So that makes me the poor student, huh?!”

“Chu... Chu Nan, don’t say that. Maybe your grades aren’t as good as ours, but you’re not a poor student,” Huang Jingjing comforted him, lowering her head.

Just as Chu Nan was about to reply, a rough voice sounded from behind.

“Jingjing, so you’re here! You made me look all over for you.”