The Ultra-Alpha School Hunk Has Transmigrated into a Cannon Fodder Omega! - Chapter 22.2

Xu Lei smiled and asked, “Ji Cenzhou, could you share your study experience? How did you manage to improve so much all at once?”

Ji Cenzhou thought for a moment and said, “Overcoming nervousness, I suppose. I was capable of getting these scores before, but I used to get so nervous during exams that my mind would go blank and I could not even hold my pen steady. That is why my scores were never ideal.”

He had considered this. It was the only answer that would not arouse suspicion. With less than a month of time, if he truly had his original grades, he could not have reached this level even if he studied twenty-four hours a day. Therefore, he had to claim the original owner’s level was higher than it seemed, so that simply overcoming nerves would explain the current success.

“Pre-exam phobia, right? I had a middle school classmate like that.”

“I thought he was a beginner, but turns out he is a pro.”

“I knew it! Brother Ji does his homework so well with almost no mistakes. How could his grades be bad?”

The classroom was noisy. Xu Lei cleared his throat and continued, “Alright, settle down. Now I will show you Jiang Mosen’s report card.”

• • Chinese: 143

• • Math: 148

• • English: 146

• • Biology: 98

• • Chemistry: 97

• • Physics: 83

• • Total: 715

After a long silence, someone in the class remarked, “So this is the difference between a genius and a human?”

Xu Lei smiled. “I have researched Jiang Mosen’s grades from last year. Although he is still first, the gap between him and the second place has narrowed. My analysis shows the problem lies in Physics. The Physics scores for the top ten in the grade are all above ninety. The highest score was from the student in second place, who got a ninety-eight. So, it seems Jiang Mosen needs to put more effort into Physics.”

With Jiang Mosen and Ji Cenzhou’s results side by side, Xu Lei looked meaningfully at the Physics column and sighed. He then switched to the next slide to continue the analysis.

“That is the general situation. Everyone should know their rank now. My message remains the same. Those who did well should not be arrogant, and those who did not should not be discouraged. This is just one small monthly exam. The truly big exam is two years away. Keep working hard!”

Xu Lei took a sip of water and continued, “Next are the scores for each subject.”

After finishing the first few, only Physics remained. Xu Lei sighed. “Our class average for Physics is fifteen points lower than the grade average. Physics is only worth one hundred points, and we are already down by a sixth. I have analyzed everyone’s individual scores. Many of you improved in other subjects, but because your Physics was so poor, your overall rank actually dropped. Furthermore, there are two zeros in our class: Ji Cenzhou and Wang Hao.”

“I generally understand Ji Cenzhou’s situation. I want to ask Wang Hao how you got a zero in Physics. Did you do it on purpose?”

Wang Hao stood up, looking embarrassed. “Teacher Xu, I really did not mean to get a zero. It is just that the person who wrote the test might have a grudge against me. I guessed ‘C’ for every multiple-choice question, and it turns out there was not a single ‘C’ among the correct answers.”

The entire class fell silent. Li Tianrui could not listen any longer. “Wang Hao, are you stupid? It is not popular to pick all C’s anymore. Nowadays it is ‘among three long and one short, pick the shortest; among three short and one long, pick the longest.’ There is a skill to guessing! Are you even capable? You are a disgrace to us.”

Wang Hao was speechless.

Xu Lei stifled a laugh. “Li Tianrui, that is enough from you. How about you study properly? Next time, make sure you are certain about every question. Do not leave the big questions blank and rely on guessing for the multiple-choice. Are you going to rely on guessing for the College Entrance Exam too?”

Li Tianrui shrunk his neck and adopted a look of serious listening.

Xu Lei sighed. “What is going on with your Physics?”

The students looked at each other, but no one spoke. There was a gap between teachers and students. Although Xu Lei was a good person, the students of Class 10 were not sure if he would take their side. A Class Teacher’s work was already exhausting. Xu Lei earned a fixed salary; he could just do his job and be done with it. Why would he go to the trouble of helping them? Humans naturally seek benefit and avoid harm; there was no reason for Xu Lei to help them. Moreover, they did not want to cause trouble for him. They saw how hard he worked. Xu Lei was a good teacher, and they wanted to be good students. They did not want to exhaust him or disappoint him.

Xu Lei looked around and saw the students with their heads down, refusing to say a word. He sighed. Although he had not asked specifically, he understood the general situation. He looked at the students and said earnestly, “The road of life is very long. Right now, you are on the ‘High School’ bus. This bus will drop you off in two years to let you start a new journey. This is only a small part of your life. I hope you can live it without regrets. The outcome might not be the best, but it must be the one that satisfies you the most. I once gave a piece of advice to Ji Cenzhou, and now I want to give it to all of you: your life is your own. Never, ever act out of spite. You must be responsible for yourselves.”

As Xu Lei finished, the bell rang. He took his books and left. He was going to have a talk with Liu Qi about this matter.

The Bet with Gu Lin

“Gu Lin, the results are out. Do you want to go see them?” Gu Lin’s desk-mate asked. Gu Lin agreed.

The desk-mate said with some frustration, “I was too careless in Math this time. I misread two big questions in a row. My rank probably dropped a lot. What about you?”

“It was alright,” Gu Lin replied. He appeared calm on the surface, but he was actually quite proud. He had performed exceptionally well this time and expected to move up quite a few spots.

No. 1 High School was the best in the province. At the high-score level, surpassing anyone was difficult. This time, he was confident he could jump at least ten places. Especially within the top one hundred, there were not many Omegas. His progress might even make him one of the school’s most outstanding Omegas. The feeling of being praised was simply too good. Furthermore, he had a bet with Ji Cenzhou. He was itching to see Ji Cenzhou making a fool of himself on the flag-raising platform.

The two walked to the results column. As soon as Gu Lin arrived, an Alpha greeted him. “Gu Lin, you are so amazing! You have improved quite a bit in this monthly exam.”

“No, no,” Gu Lin replied. He was humble on the surface, but his heart was blooming with joy.

The Alpha said, “You ranked eighty-first in the grade! You have left me far behind.”

Gu Lin feigned curiosity. “What was your rank?”

The Alpha sighed. “Ninety-fourth. I did not improve. I actually dropped three places.”

Gu Lin offered a few standard words of comfort, though internally he looked down on this Alpha. Alphas were naturally superior to Omegas in intelligence and physical strength. Facing an Alpha who could not even outscore him, Gu Lin naturally would not spare him a second glance.

When he first entered the school, he had fallen in love with Jiang Mosen at first sight. But Jiang Mosen was emotionally unavailable, like a block of ice that could not be warmed. Fortunately, there was Wan Xu nearby, whom he found acceptable. Even though Wan Xu was his best friend’s boyfriend, he would not let go. He had planned every step of his life. At every stage, he had to have the best, regardless of whether it hurt others.

Gu Lin stepped closer and saw his name at a glance. He then looked at the top of the list, and sure enough, the first place was still Jiang Mosen. He felt a pang of regret in his heart, but then felt relieved. If he could not have him, neither could anyone else, so there was nothing to worry about.

Gu Lin then remembered Ji Cenzhou. He let out a cold laugh. He wanted to see what kind of rank Ji Cenzhou had managed to get. Did that guy have no self-awareness? Daring to bet against him? Was that not just asking for trouble?

Gu Lin walked to the very end of the list to find Ji Cenzhou among the names. He scanned past the eight-hundreds and found no Ji Cenzhou. He felt slightly uncomfortable; this meant Ji Cenzhou had improved. Suppressing his bitterness, he continued searching. He did not find the name in the seven-hundreds either. At this point, he felt even more uneasy.

However, with so many people around, he could not vent. He could only think darkly to himself that there was no real difference between the bottom two hundred and the bottom one hundred. Compared to him, they were still worlds apart. So what if Ji Cenzhou moved forward? Thinking this way made Gu Lin feel better.

He kept searching.

• • 600s: no Ji Cenzhou.

• • 500s: no Ji Cenzhou.

• • 400s: no Ji Cenzhou.

• • 300s: no Ji Cenzhou.

• • 200s…

Seeing Gu Lin nearly burying his head in the ranking list, his desk-mate asked, “What are you looking for?”

Gu Lin was incredibly irritable. He snapped, “Shut up! You are annoying me. I am looking for Ji Cenzhou’s name.”

“Ji Cenzhou?” The desk-mate glanced at the list and saw it immediately. “Is it not right here?”

Gu Lin looked over. Ji Cenzhou’s name was very high up. It even surpassed his own rank. Looking at the number in front of Ji Cenzhou’s name, he felt for a moment that something was wrong with his eyes. Yes! Something must be wrong with his eyes. Otherwise, how could he see Ji Cenzhou ranked seventy-sixth, higher than his own rank?

Seeing Gu Lin’s features twisting into a grimace, the desk-mate asked, “Are you okay?”

Gu Lin turned sharply. “Are there two Ji Cenzhous in our grade?”

The desk-mate thought for a bit. “There should only be one. I have not heard of anyone having the same name.”

“Impossible. That is absolutely impossible,” Gu Lin began muttering to himself in disbelief. “How could he do so well? He was at the bottom of the grade! How could he score better than me? No, no, this cannot be. I am so outstanding. How could he surpass me! He… he must have cheated! Yes, he cheated! Otherwise, he could not have gotten such a high score.”

Gu Lin turned and left. He did not respond even when his desk-mate called out to him. He went straight to Class 10 to find Ji Cenzhou.

Ji Cenzhou was napping on his desk and was very unhappy to be woken up. But seeing it was Gu Lin, he suddenly brightened up. “Have you thought of the words you are going to use to praise me on the flag platform?”

Gu Lin looked at him with a cold laugh. “I have not lost, so why should I be punished? Ji Cenzhou, I advise you to go and confess now. Do not wait for me to expose you. You know that if you are caught cheating, you will be expelled!”

Ji Cenzhou was actually angered into a laugh. He looked at Gu Lin with a look of disbelief and asked, “What evidence do you have that I cheated?”

Gu Lin snorted. “If you did not cheat, how could you possibly beat me?”

Seeing Gu Lin say something so shameful with such righteous conviction, Ji Cenzhou felt that Gu Lin was truly unwell. He asked, “Is something wrong with your head? You are way too conceited. You think you are number one in the world? Why on earth would I not be able to beat you?”

Bai Yu happened to return with water. Seeing Ji Cenzhou and Gu Lin standing outside, he caught an earful and immediately stepped in front of Ji Cenzhou. Protecting his friend, he said, “Gu Lin, why is your mouth like a garbage can? You open it and only filth comes out. If you do not want to speak like a human, you can donate your mouth to someone in need.”

“You!” Gu Lin was about to hurl an insult when Ji Cenzhou cut him off.

“What about ‘you’? I think your condition is very serious. I suggest you go to a psychiatric hospital immediately. I am afraid if you miss the window for treatment, you will stay this brain-dead for the rest of your life. Also, how old are you? You are acting like a primary schooler, thinking you are the center of the universe. Accusing me of cheating without evidence? Do you not think you are pathetic and ridiculous?”

Ji Cenzhou gave Bai Yu a look. When it came to verbal sparring, he had never lost.

Bai Yu understood immediately and felt the urge to play along. “Is the reason you have not sought treatment because you are afraid the costs will be too high? Do not worry, your big brother here is very charitable. I have a lot of pity for brain-dead people like you, especially those who are brain-dead and do not even know it.”

“I am not brain-dead! You are the one who is brain-dead!” Gu Lin nearly choked on his anger, stammering his response.

Ji Cenzhou looked at him with pity. “Your level is not quite up to par. Someone who does not even know how to argue dares to challenge me? Isn’t that just seeking trouble? But then again, that fits your behavioral profile. That is what brain-dead people do. Fine, you say I cheated? I will give you a chance. Go to the Grade Dean right now. Ask him to let you see the surveillance footage to see if I cheated. You can even say a teacher leaked the questions to me. Go check. If you find something, you win. If you do not, you apologize and accept the consequences of our bet!”

Bai Yu chimed in, “Cenzhou, do not waste your breath. He is just trying to back out of his promise. He is chickening out. If you are a coward, just say so. Why go through all these twists and turns? Gu Lin, we actually understand you. You look proud on the outside, but you are a coward on the inside. Seriously, I suggest you write a book: How to Be a Sore Loser.”

Gu Lin trembled with rage. “Who is a sore loser? Who is a coward? If I really cannot prove you cheated, I will accept the penalty. On Monday, I will stand on the platform and shout…”

“Shout what?” Ji Cenzhou interrupted.

Driven to the edge, Gu Lin blurted out without thinking, “Ji Cenzhou is awesome! Ji Cenzhou is the most handsome! Ji Cenzhou is my father!”

Ji Cenzhou suppressed a laugh. “Alright, good son. I will remember that.”

With that, he and Bai Yu exchanged a look and turned to leave without a second glance. Gu Lin stood there stupidly, staring blankly at their backs. It was not until Ji Cenzhou and Bai Yu finally could not help but burst into loud laughter that he snapped out of it. Regardless of the final outcome, he had already called Ji Cenzhou “Father.”

“Ji Cenzhou, you bastard!” Gu Lin was so angry he abandoned the persona he usually maintained and started swearing.

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