Chapter 153: [Passing the Imperial Examination] Outstanding Student
More than just one or two people harbored murderous intent toward the teachers.
After all, none of them were real students.
Besides, most players viewed this as nothing more than a game—a game that could claim their lives, at that.
They had zero goodwill toward it to begin with.
Even so, no one could commit murder out in the open, unless someone possessed a particularly unique skill.
In short, another excruciating day began.
Bai Cha kept her word: whenever a teacher was about to call on someone, she immediately raised her hand.
“Teacher, I want to try answering this one.”
“Teacher, may I answer this question?”
“Teacher, I have an approach to solve this. May I share it?”
“Teacher…”
“Teacher…”
“Teacher…”
The teachers: “…”
The final period was math class. The math teacher pushed up her glasses, ignoring Bai Cha multiple times.
“Wang Jia—”
“Teacher!” Bai Cha raised her hand to interrupt her once again.
The math teacher reached the end of her rope.
“Student Han Yingying, I know you understand this problem, so could you please leave this opportunity for other students?”
Bai Cha put on a disappointed look before raising her hand again.
“Actually, Teacher, I don’t really understand this problem very well. I wanted to discuss it with you.”
The math teacher’s face darkened.
“May I, Teacher? Please, Teacher! I really want to study hard, Teacher! Teacher, the college entrance exam is right around the corner, Teacher! Teacher, look at me, Teacher!”
The whole class: “…”
The math teacher: “…”
The math teacher inhaled deeply.
“Han Yingying, even asking questions requires moderation! Each person is allowed to ask a maximum of one question per class period!”
“Alright then… Teacher, can I answer this problem, then?”
The math teacher: “…”
“Go ahead!”
Bai Cha stood up immediately to solve the problem.
The other four players cast deeply grateful looks in her direction from the shadows.
This big boss was truly a good person—helping out right when she said she would, from morning all the way to now.
Though realistically, she could probably only shield them for today.
Still, delaying things for a day was better than nothing. Tonight, they could investigate what was going on with that group owner.
A packed, grueling day finally came to an end when the homeroom teacher arrived to announce a mock exam for tomorrow, reciting each student’s exam room and seat number before dismissing the class.
The players dragged their exhausted bodies out of the classroom.
Suddenly, a teacher sprinted straight out of the faculty office, running headlong until he slammed into the wall of the academic building ahead, dying instantly on impact.
Everyone froze in shock.
The NPC students let out terrified shrieks.
Bai Cha’s homeroom teacher—who also served as the grade director—reacted swiftly, immediately shouting at the top of his lungs: “Stop screaming! Don’t run around! Everyone go back to sleep!”
Instinctively obeying orders, the students quickly dispersed from the scene, while the players melted into the crowd to leave as well.
However, quite a few players exchanged suspicious, uncertain glances, observing the crowd’s reactions.
No one knew who had acted, but this was glaringly the work of a player’s ability.
Evidently, under such high-pressure conditions, many players simply didn’t want to drag this out any longer.
Taking the exam was guaranteed to yield no good results anyway.
Forget the actual college entrance exam—there was no telling how atrocious the results of tomorrow’s mock exam would turn out.
Stepping out of the school gates, Mother Han was still waiting for her at the entrance.
Mother Han looked noticeably happier today—likely due to Bai Cha’s stellar performance throughout the day.
The other parents cast envious, sour glances in their direction.
After all, Bai Cha was the sole individual stealing the spotlight during classes all day today, and every single answer she gave was spot on.
Meanwhile, their own children kept their heads buried like muted quails.
Among the types of “other people’s children” students faced, they could generally be divided into two categories.
The first type: cheerful, excellent grades, hard-working, polite, and well-spoken. This was the ultimate killer.
No one could escape the fate of being compared to such a child. Even if another student had good grades, if their personality wasn’t exceptional enough, they would still be criticized.
The second type: excellent grades and hard-working, but quiet and reserved, not much of a talker.
This type was strictly compared based on raw test scores and effort.
Yet because of their stellar grades, even if they were quiet and reserved, if compared against a child who was cheerful but academically poor, that silence would be spun into a virtue, while the cheerful trait of the other child would be framed as a flaw.
As for the rest—those who didn’t study hard yet scored well—opinions on them tended to be mixed.
In any case, when Bai Cha stepped out today, she intentionally made herself look cheerful and optimistic, her eyes sparkling slightly compared to the numb individuals around her.
As a result, both Mother Han and Bai Cha walked along with radiant smiles on their faces.
Mother Han didn’t find anything strange about her daughter today in the slightest.
Even though Han Yingying would never have possessed the courage to take the initiative to answer questions in class, deep down, Mother Han might have known her real daughter lacked such guts. Yet, having a dream daughter who perfectly matched her idealized standards brought her far too much joy.
Moving forward, Bai Cha wouldn’t even need to pretend to be Han Yingying; as long as her grades held up, Mother Han likely wouldn’t suspect a thing.
What a tragic reality.
Accepting the food Mother Han handed her, Bai Cha walked home alongside her under the envious gazes of the onlookers.
She kept up her chatter without pause, talking about nothing but her studies.
“Mom, I don’t know why, but I felt so motivated while learning today!”
Mother Han nodded with a continuous, beaming smile, the corners of her mouth stiff from grinning so much, while tears of gratification welled up in her eyes.
Just as they stepped into the neighborhood and entered the stairwell of the apartment building, Bai Cha was still chattering away.
Han Yingying—who had agreed to coordinate with her—received her hand signal and manifested her form during a flicker of the voice-activated lights.
At the same time, Bai Cha intentionally let her voice turn faint and broken, switching seamlessly into Han Yingying’s eerie, ghost-like voice.
“Mom… are you happy?”
Mother Han was still smiling, but the ghostly shadow and voice she caught during the flickering light made her come to a halt in startled disbelief.
Bai Cha turned around with a look of confusion.
“What’s wrong, Mom?”
Just as Mother Han opened her mouth to speak, the voice-activated light went out again.
By the moonlight streaming through the stairwell window, Han Yingying appeared once more.
“Mom… aren’t you happy? I traded my life for this…”
Mother Han clapped her hands over her mouth, yet a gasp of horror still escaped her lips.
Bai Cha stomped her foot at that moment, triggering the light to turn back on.
“Mom?”
Mother Han shook her head rapidly.
“N-no, it’s nothing. Mom’s probably just been too tired these past few days…”
She clutched her rapidly pounding chest. For some reason, in that split second just now, she had felt a suffocating pain in her heart.
Yet her daughter stood right in front of her, alive and well.
Mother Han forced a gentle smile onto her face.
“Let’s go. Let’s keep heading up.”
“Alright. Make sure you don’t busy yourself tonight—go straight to sleep as soon as we get back.”
Mother Han hesitated briefly before nodding.
She felt her own stress levels had grown too high as well; she certainly couldn’t let herself collapse before her daughter did—how could her daughter take the college entrance exam then?
Thus, after returning to the apartment and pouring Bai Cha a glass of hot milk, Mother Han actually went to sleep, without lingering at the door to monitor her.
[Holy crap, in just two days, the streamer has already brought her mom down to this state?]
[Other streamers are still suffering, while things here look mostly settled already.]
[Turns out the college entrance exam really can change your fate!]
[Help…]
Having put on an act of enthusiasm all day, the smile faded from Bai Cha’s face, making her look considerably cold and exhausted.
When Han Yingying manifested, she had originally wanted to say a lot to Bai Cha, but seeing her in this state, she swallowed all those words back down.
“Sister… are you alright?”
