Chapter 247 – Planning (1/2)
Chapter 247 –Planning
Nie Yan answered question after question without breaking a sweat. By the time they were 30 minutes into the exam, he was roughly half-finished. He glimpsed around him and noticed the majority of others had burrowed their heads into their papers in frantic thought. On his end, he was certain that he’d gotten a bit over 700 marks, a grade more than enough for his needs. Any significant amount more and he would be seen as a monster. So, he left the remaining of the exam poorly completed.
The two hours were up, marking the end of the examination. The grades were publicly listed on the main screen in front: Xie Yao took first place with a grand total of 763 points, with Nie Yan taking a close second at 731 points. Third seemed to be roughly 590 points, while the greater part of the remaining grades were occupied by the 300s and 400s, quite unbearable to look at compared to the top scorers.
Truth be told, marks around that neighbourhood were considered quite good already. In fact, incorrect answers did not represent inability; rather, the system evaluated the incorrect solutions and nonetheless gave partial marks. It judged fairly, since each person did have their own strong and weak subjects.
Zhai Hao looked at the list of grades, then looked at Nie Yan sitting a bit farther away. “Damn, what a monster!” he exclaimed, unable to keep the gloom away from his tone. Nie Yan was already so skilled in kickboxing, and now his studies were on another level! He would likely have no problems being recruited by the Top Military Academy.
Xie Yao glanced at Nie Yan with slightly widened eyes. I didn’t think his academics were this good as well!
Behind the podium, Yang Boyi smiled, pleased at Nie Yan’s results. In his office a bit earlier, he was quite amazed to hear that the new student had defeated Liu Rui. He was also informed that Nie Yan had been transferred over from Ningjiang, supposedly squeezed in for a small fee. So, he had thought that Nie Yan would be lacking in all departments, but to his surprise, it was the complete opposite. Without a doubt, it would be worth it to foster his talents. So long as his academics were sufficient, he would have no difficulty entering the Top Military Academy. And now, he was amazed once again. His academics were beyond sufficient—they had even matched Xie Yao’s, the top student in the class! By his estimations, Liu Rui should achieve roughly 600 points, and even that would be a slight overestimation.
“I didn’t know you were this good!” Xie Yao exclaimed as she looked at her new desk-mate.
“It was decent.” Nie Yan kept about a modest tone. He felt just a tinge of guilt, knowing very well that he had scored so highly not because of much hard work, but rather his rebirth.
In the eyes of his classmates, Nie Yan did indeed appear humble and collected—an entire world of difference from Liu Rui, who would have been itching to let everyone know the tiniest of accomplishments.
Xie Yao recalled Nirvana Flame, who was similarly collected no matter what he came across. Only when his guild was provoked would he become firm and haughty. As she further recalled such memories, the thread differentiating the two in her mind become all the more thin.
Xie Yao’s thoughts were thrown into shambles. Are they the same person?
Yang Boyi held Nie Yan at an increasingly higher regard. From what he had seen of Nie Yan, he was much calmer than Liu Rui, whose arrogant attitude was indeed something not quite desirable.
I really lucked out this time, Yang Boyi thought. That year-end bonus is pretty much mine by now! It was truly a brilliant decision to decide to accept Nie Yan back then.
“All right, we’ll end it here today. You’re free to go. Tomorrow we’ll begin full lessons. First class will be kickboxing, so don’t forget to prepare!” Yang Boyi said, as he explained a good deal of their class work.
He pulled Nie Yan to the side for quick word; it was no doubt the usual speech about hoping he would become a part of the class soon.
The teacher was a pretty good one. In the student reunions of Nie Yan’s past life, many would mention him with a good deal of respect.
There were no signs of Xie Yao in the classroom by the time Nie Yan returned. He ran to the school entrance, and caught up to her there. She was chatting with a group of other female students, but Nie Yan cared not for any of that. He threw himself immediately into the group and started up a conversation with them as well.
“Xie Yao, do you want me to send you home?” Nie Yan asked.
“Hey Nie Yan, you seem pretty eager to please her, huh? Are you interested in Xie Yao? If so, then you better step it up! There’s probably millions in our school alone who are interested in her as well. At this pace, you’ll never win her heart!” Xia Ling teased.
A few other female students also started poking fun at Nie Yan.
“Your outer appearance isn’t attractive enough. Look at your clothes! Even if you don’t own a Solun, then at the very least you should have a Karlna. Otherwise, you’d be hardly presentable to ask our goddess out!”
“Sure, you have good marks, but for a man it’s most important to be kind and gentle!”
The female students let out a slew of criticizing remarks, but they were of course just joking. Even they had to admit that Nie Yan had many attracting features such as his calm demeanor, and more notably, his strength—Liu Rui’s flight through the air continued to be an image deeply imprinted in their memories.
These female classmates held nothing back, and Nie Yan laughed along with them. He was unperturbed. He didn’t care if the fact that he was pursuing Xie Yao was out in the open.
“I’ve gotta go now!” Xie Yao quickly said, breaking up the embarrassment as she escaped the scene in a hurry. “My family’s here to pick me up.”
Xie Yao bid farewell to her fellow classmates. She met Nie Yan’s eyes, but quickly shifted them away and jumped into the car.