Sunny Xu did not expect that, in the situation where he did not step back and improved on his original grades, he not only failed to catch up with Seigetsu Zhu, but the distance between them was widened.

He was originally ranked second in the grade, and it was already very difficult to make progress. In fact, it was not easy to maintain his position. Guo Zixuan had been kicked down by him before...

In this case, it was indeed terrifying that Seigetsu Zhu continued to sit on the throne of the first place in the grade, and her grades were steadily improving. With no target to catch up to in front of her, she was able to make further progress.

When Sunny Xu went to the office a few days ago, the results of the monthly exam had not yet been released, and he had not received his report card. The head teacher of his class first smiled unusually and told Sunny Xu that he did very well this time and hoped he could continue to maintain it. Then, he learned something from the teachers' conversation:

It was said that the test paper this time was from the best high school in Jinjiang City. The test was relatively difficult. And Seigetsu Zhu's performance was better than the top students in that school.

Sunny Xu, who was ranked second, was the same. Although there was a gap with Seigetsu Zhu, his grades were still able to squeeze into the top five of that school. The gap with the rest of the students was much larger, and the third place was already ten places behind.

It can be said that after this exam, both teachers and students knew one thing: not only in Jinjiang No. 15 Middle School, but even in the entire city, Seigetsu Zhu and Sunny Xu were the most outstanding students in the exam.

Of course, the real college entrance examination was still more than a year away, and it was difficult to say what the situation would be in the future. To know exactly where his grades ranked in the entire city, he had to wait until the first city-wide unified exam in the second half of the year.

After hearing this news, Sunny Xu did not show too much joy.

For ordinary students, even for good students, it was worth being proud of to achieve this level. As long as they did not slack off, they could walk on a bright future in the eyes of the teachers, parents, and classmates full of envy.

But Sunny Xu was different. What was important to him was that before this exam, he had already challenged his friend.

Although he had anticipated this result and understood that the gap was not easy to make up, he still felt regretful that he could not defeat Seigetsu Zhu in the exam as he had previously determined and say the words "I can replace her" in the exam.

As for how others viewed it, and how he ranked in other schools... that had nothing to do with him.

Since he regarded Seigetsu Zhu as his goal, he did not care about anyone else.

Seigetsu Zhu's outstanding performance in this exam only confirmed Sunny Xu's previous belief: as long as he aimed for that perfect girl, he would not lose his way on the road to the college entrance examination.

"Sunny Xu, do you want to see your results for this monthly exam?"

So when the head teacher asked him this, Sunny Xu just shook his head.

But...

"Can I see the results of other classmates?"

After knowing that he had not been able to defeat Seigetsu Zhu, there was only one person left that Sunny Xu cared about.

"Who do you want to find?"

The head teacher picked up a stack of printed papers next to him.

"Starry Lin."

"...Her."

Although Sunny Xu mentioned this name on his own initiative, the head teacher, who had warned him about this matter two weeks ago, did not seem to care much this time, and began to look through the stack of papers as usual.

Perhaps it was because Sunny Xu's performance in this monthly exam was still very good, which made her feel relieved.

Even in the early love affairs that made adults panic, top students had privileges. As long as they did not go too far and did not neglect their studies, those who had the ability to prove themselves, everyone was willing to turn a blind eye.

"Teacher, please count from highest to lowest according to the grades, it will be faster that way."

Sunny Xu suddenly realized that the head teacher was counting from the back to the front, so he reminded her confidently.

"....Hmm."

The head teacher took out a report card, looked surprised, and then handed it to Sunny Xu.

"Starry Lin's performance this time is really good, and she has made a lot of progress."

"Yes," Sunny Xu answered proudly, "because both Seigetsu Zhu and I have been helping her, and more importantly, she really works hard."

The report card showed that Starry Lin's ranking in this exam was 121st, which was a significant improvement of more than 300 places from the previous exam, jumping from the bottom of the grade to the upper-middle level.

As expected. But when Sunny Xu saw this result, he still felt relieved.

"Helping and making progress together among classmates is indeed the best state. If everyone could be like you three..."

The head teacher noticed the gaze of the other teachers and coughed lightly before speaking.

"In the days to come, don't slack off, and continue to work hard."

"Yes!"Sunny Xu nodded hard.

...

After he left, there was another round of discussion in the office.

"Don't talk nonsense in front of the students, Teacher Liu," someone laughed and said, "If someone in our class really studies, what's the point of 'men and women working together without getting tired'? They will definitely fail the next exam."

"Yes, thanks to Seigetsu Zhu and Sunny Xu, both of them have perseverance and are not easily influenced."

"Starry Lin also has great potential..."

"Speaking of which, what's the relationship between the three of them? I originally thought they were a couple, but with three people, it doesn't seem like it, right?"

"Who knows, maybe they're relatives."

"I know, the school will definitely continue to crack down on puppy love." Teacher Liu waved his hand, showing a rare smile on his face, "But we have to admit that we don't understand the world of young people anymore. Since their grades won't be affected, just let them be."

*

The classroom was very noisy, some people were chatting with a smile on their faces. This is because they did well on the exam. Although children of this age have thin skin and wouldn't boast in public, they still want to share their joy with friends, so they would force themselves to talk to acquaintances with a helpless look on their faces.

On the other hand, those who sat quietly in their chairs were naturally the ones who didn't do well on the exam. Some of them seemed to still be in shock from failing the exam, staring blankly at their desks or the blackboard, completely stunned.

Because there was only one ranking on the report card. Some people were not satisfied with just knowing their own ranking and would sneak a peek at other people's report cards on their desks.

Of course, most people were prepared for this kind of peeping and would use books to cover their report cards before leaving their seats, or simply put them in their bags. Only a few people who were confident in their grades would openly display them.

"Ah, I'll do better next time!"

Sunny Xu waved the report card in his hand, sighed, and stuffed it into the drawer of his desk as if it were a piece of scrap paper.

"Sunny Xu, did you not do well this time?"

A girl who happened to pass by saw that he didn't seem very satisfied and asked curiously.

Sunny Xu looked at her, then took out the test paper and placed it on the table.

"Second place... 50 points higher than me."

She took a look and couldn't help but comment.

"Isn't this the same as last time! Who do you want to 'fight again' with?"

"You're right," another girl from the back row came over and said with a smile, "Just let us off, academic overachiever."

"Of course it's with Seigetsu Zhu."

Sunny Xu answered seriously.

"I made a promise with her to do better in this exam than the last one."

"By the way, Seigetsu Zhu is very close to Starry Lin, so you're probably close to her too..."

The classmate nodded thoughtfully.

"In fact, a few of us from Class 5 privately think she's a 'lone ranger' because Seigetsu Zhu is really amazing. No one thinks anyone can surpass her in grades."

"Who knows what the future holds."

Although Sunny Xu was a bit discouraged just now, he was still confident in the fact that "one day I will surpass Seigetsu Zhu."

As long as he can still make progress, there is still hope for him to surpass her.

"Well, you work hard. At the moment, it seems like you have the best chance."

After chatting for a few moments, the girls quickly left because they noticed Starry Lin walking towards them.

The girl with long hair walked past her classmates without looking at them, walked to his desk, and slapped the report card on the table.

"See that?"

Starry Lin stood with her hands on her hips, chest puffed out, and a smile on her face.

"Uh, it's really impressive."

Sunny Xu glanced at it and replied with a smile.

"...You don't seem very happy?"

"No, I'm very happy."

"Then why don't you seem surprised at all?" The girl pouted slightly, complaining unhappily, "I improved by three hundred places in one go, you know? Although I can't compare to you and Seigetsu Zhu, it's still amazing, right?"

"Because I asked the teacher about the grades a few days ago."

Sunny Xu raised his head and said seriously.

"Congratulations, Starry, this is the result of your hard work. Be proud of yourself."

"Oh, I see..."

Starry Lin's face blushed slightly, she put her hand to her lips to hide her shy expression, and pretended to cough.

"Cough, not bad. I'll consider it a pass."

You could hear her satisfaction in her tone.

"...What do you mean by 'consider it a pass'? I've been helping you with your studies all along, haven't I? Whether your grades have 'passed' the test or not, whether they are qualified or not, I have the final say."

Sunny Xu was a little helpless.

"Yeah, you're right."

Starry Lin leaned her upper body on the table, her jet-black long hair flowing down her back and waistline.

She propped her chin with both hands, turned her face slightly, her pure white skin was delicate, and her ink-jade-like eyes stared at him without blinking from an extremely close distance."Am I meeting your requirements now?" The girl whispered in a voice that no one else could hear.

Starry Lin's eyelashes trembled slightly. Her eyes, as beautiful as the night, seemed to possess a charm that could draw people's souls into them, making it impossible to look away from her for a day and night.

"Um..."

Before Sunny Xu could answer, Starry Lin took advantage of his distraction and swiftly snatched the report card from his hand. Then she stood up straight, glanced at the rankings, and quickly got the expected result.

She shook the paper in her hand, with a slight smile on her lips, and said with an air of superiority, "Didn't you and I agree to compete in the exam? It looks like the results are out."

"Yeah," Sunny Xu came to his senses and sighed regretfully, "I still can't beat her."

"Hmph, serves you right for being so mean to me every night," Starry Lin said with a mischievous smile, "This must be karma."

"A strict teacher produces outstanding students."

Sunny Xu shook his head, sighing at his friend's inability to understand his good intentions.

"But, when Seigetsu was teaching me, she was very gentle, nothing like you."

Sunny Xu was suddenly taken aback.

Indeed, there was more than just himself teaching Starry Lin now.

Given the girl's past performance, she might even have better teaching abilities than himself.

"...Different teachers have different styles," Sunny Xu began to try to salvage his pride, "And, even with Seigetsu, it's because of the foundation I laid for you that she has the space to excel—"

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread.com".

"Well said."

"Huh...?"

Sunny Xu thought it was Starry Lin speaking, but then he noticed the long-haired girl in front of him turning around with a surprised look on her face.

Seigetsu Zhu was standing there quietly, gazing at them with gentle eyes.

It was only then that Sunny Xu noticed the sudden decrease in noise in the class, as everyone looked in their direction, watching her enter the classroom.

"You're here."

"Yes, I've heard about Starry Lin's test results this time. You've improved by over three hundred places in one go, right?"

Seigetsu Zhu applauded her.

"You're really amazing, congratulations."

"Oh, it's all thanks to Teacher Zhu's good teaching."

Starry Lin replied earnestly.

"Don't be so modest, it's mainly the result of your hard work, Starry. Of course, there's also something else—"

The girl walked slowly to Sunny Xu's desk.

And then...

She reached out a hand directly towards Sunny Xu, making a "yeah!" gesture, with two fingers almost poking him in the eyes.

"I won!"

- What's there to be proud of!

Sunny Xu, publicly mocked by the top student, looked at the adorable girl in front of him, but couldn't muster any anger, and could only smile wryly and shake his head.