The Slacker Academic Always Gets Caught (SLACKER)
Chi Ning: ...
Honestly, probably not by much.
Qin Heng had just finished reviewing the basics, and the monthly exam for the third year of high school at No. 1 High School tested students' comprehensive grasp of high school knowledge.
It was perfectly normal for Qin Heng to perform poorly this time.
Chi Ning: "Maybe... he could move up about 50 places."
Qin Heng still wanted to argue, "Not even 100 places?"
Lately, he had either been studying with his godfather or with Chi Ning, working nonstop from morning till night. Even after all that, could he only move up 50 places?
"You really are quite smart," Chi Ning offered a cautious compliment, and Qin Heng’s smile had just begun to form.
Chi Ning continued, "But the other students at No. 1 High aren’t slackers either. While you’re studying, they’re studying too."
This was the most tactful way he could phrase it.
Chi Ning paused with difficulty, then reached out and patted Qin Heng’s shoulder. "Comrade Xiao Qin, beyond Class 18 lies the Sea of Stars."
Qin Heng: "..."
A mouth at 37 degrees and lips the color of cinnamon—how could it utter such icy words?
A single "comrade" shattered all the thoughts he had been nurturing around Chi Ning’s soft belly, instantly sobering him to the point of utter asceticism.
Qin Heng escorted Chi Ning to the stairwell before returning to Class 18 to conquer the Sea of Stars.
Chi Ning climbed the stairs, walking all the way to the entrance of Class 1, where he spotted Ye Xinran leaning against the railing outside, catching some air.
Ye Xinran’s elbows rested on the railing with his forearms partially exposed and his face bathed in the morning light—giving off the vibe of a brooding, aloof top student straight out of a campus novel.
Chi Ning raised a hand to touch his own face. Lately, he had been too relaxed, leading to a bit of weight gain on his cheeks. When he looked in the mirror this morning, his face had already rounded out slightly.
Unlike his past life, where he had been so thin his cheeks were sunken, as if he couldn’t afford to eat.
Chi Ning didn’t want to disturb Ye Xinran or engage in meaningless small talk, so he turned to leave.
But Ye Xinran spoke up leisurely, "What did you mean earlier?"
"Nothing." Chi Ning waved a hand at him dismissively. "I just think you should eat more. Did my dad not give you enough money? You’re so thin it looks like you can’t afford food. A gust of wind and you’d float away."
Ye Xinran’s fingers tightened around the railing. "I’m not short on money now..."
He asked, "There were so many reporters blocking the entrance—how did you get in?"
Chi Ning answered succinctly, "Climbed the wall."
Ye Xinran pressed further, "Are you okay?"
Chi Ning was baffled. "If I weren’t, I wouldn’t be standing here, would I?"
Strange. Ye Xinran usually seemed quite sharp, but now he seemed to be grasping for conversation.
"If you have something to say, just say it."
Skip the pointless small talk.
Ye Xinran: "..."
"May I ask—do you know about MBTI?"
Chi Ning didn’t even look up. "What MBTI?"
"It’s a personality test. It’s somewhat popular in the U.S. right now. They often use the results as a reference for careers."
Ye Xinran paused. "I came across it on foreign websites. I took it during a competition there—I’m an ISFJ."
"Practical, responsible, loyal."
Chi Ning: "?"
Are you submitting a resume to me?
This feels like a job interview.
Ye Xinran took a deep breath. "No, I just think you’re probably an INTJ—rational, independent, with a bit of sarcasm and arrogance."
Chi Ning let out a soft "Oh," and said, "I wouldn't call myself independent."
He was just a little salted fish planning to live off dividends for a lifetime.
And besides... he probably just wasn't very articulate and not exactly venomous-tongued, right?
"While everything that exists has its reason, I still think frameworks like these—similar to zodiac signs—only subtly shape your personality over time. Rather than using them as a basis for actions or a criterion for making friends, it's better to treat them as just a bit of fun."
Chi Ning frowned slightly. "I'd still... prefer it if you came to me with questions you couldn't solve. What do you think?"
That way, they wouldn’t waste each other's time with unnecessary small talk.
Ye Xinran was left speechless, feeling somewhat defeated. Chi Ning was undoubtedly the hardest person to please he’d encountered in his short life.
He couldn’t possibly approach Chi Ning every time with an unsolved problem for the rest of his life.
How would they ever move beyond that?
Thinking this, he still said aloud, "I understand."
Chi Ning gave a quiet "Mm," then turned and walked into the classroom.
But as he sat down, Qin Heng suddenly came to mind.
In both this life and the last, whenever Qin Heng sought him out, he always had something meaningful to say, with solid reasoning behind it.
Whether it was bringing him bayberry juice or asking if he wanted to study or play basketball together, Qin Heng always got straight to the point, never wasting a moment of time. Being in the same space as Qin Heng made one forget about the trivialities of socializing altogether.
It was... comfortable.
Chi Ning licked his lips and propped his chin on his hand, gazing out the window.
The first period was math. For the competition class students, the teacher was practically a mascot—everyone usually studied on their own below and only went up to ask questions when they got stuck.
Chi Ning could openly enjoy the view or challenge himself with self-made problems.
Class One was on the top floor. A month into the semester, their seating had been rotated once.
Chi Ning had moved from the aisle side to the window seat overlooking the sports field.
With just a tilt of his head, he could see the boys and girls running freely across the field.
A single downward glance, and there was Qin Heng, lining up by the sandpit.
Class 18 had P.E. as the first period?
Chi Ning straightened slightly and his senses sharpened in that moment.
A faint whistle sounded, and Qin Heng sprinted from the end of the track. Each stride was long and powerful, as if he could ride the wind itself, his jacket billowing behind him. He leaped gracefully before the sandpit, soaring like an eagle taking flight.
Qin Heng landed one foot in the sand and stumbled forward a few steps from momentum.
Zhang Qiuwen immediately slung an arm around his shoulders, grinning. "Nice one, bro."
Chi Ning couldn’t hear it, but somehow he was sure that’s what he’d said.
In Class 18, Qin Heng didn’t seem close to many people. Apart from Zhang Qiuwen, the other classmates kept their distance instinctively, as if wary or in awe.
"Chi Ning... Chi Ning?" Li Qiuhe poked his back with a pen. "Stop daydreaming. The teacher’s calling you."
Chi Ning snapped out of it and walked up to the podium.
The math teacher lowered his voice. "Class Two compiled the problems they couldn’t understand from your notes. They’d like you to go over and explain them. If you agree, their math teacher promised to treat Class One to KFC today."
"Their teacher’s loaded. Go teach them, and I’ll make sure he orders us ten family buckets."
Chi Ning nodded obediently, thinking privately how steep this tuition fee was.
Li Qiuhe had a sudden brainstorm. "If we rent out God Chi every day, could we get family buckets all through senior year?"
The math teacher on the podium rolled her eyes. "You wish."
Chi Ning also chuckled. "Drinking carbonated beverages long-term affects calcium absorption in the body, stunts growth, and also..."
Kills sperm.
"In short, you can't drink it every day."
For adolescent boys, nothing is more important than height.
Li Qiuhe quickly promised he wouldn't do it again, his panic barely concealed behind his small glasses.
Chi Ning smiled and turned to head to Class 2.
Teaching others came easily to him. Just a few words and a couple minutes later, he'd hear a chorus of enlightened "Oh~"s.
Much easier than dealing with guests at birthday parties.
He could even lecture while distracted as he kept thinking about how to use Sun Boxing's blunder to make his father take Sun Bowen more seriously.
First, play the recording from the teacher's office for his father. Then what?
This testimony was just Yue Yaozong's one-sided account. Yue Yaozong knew too little—he hadn't even asked about Sun Boxing's motives before falling right into Sun Boxing's trap.
Would his father care?
What to do?
Chi Ning pondered it all day.
After school, Chi Ning said to Qin Heng, "No tutoring today. Review on your own—I have something to take care of."
Before Qin Heng could even ask what it was, Chi Ning hailed a taxi and sped off.
Qin Heng: ...
Damn. Had Teacher Chi gotten tired of him, who might only move up 50 spots in the monthly exam?
Sigh... what to do?
—
Chi Ning got out of the taxi at his doorstep, just in time to run into Chi Baichuan returning from work with Chi Yang.
Chi Baichuan was lecturing Chi Yang. "Still don't get it? Business is war—you can't trust anyone. Look at what you did today. If I hadn't had my assistant switch the vitamins in your coffee for sleeping pills, would you still think your pretty assistant sister was just worried about your nutritional balance?"
Chi Yang was speechless.
The sleeping pills hadn't fully worn off yet. Yawning, he said, "What kind of father takes his son to work on the first day and teaches him that the beautiful assistant might be a spy from a rival company?"
Chi Baichuan scoffed. "What else? She graduated from a top university, has dual master's degrees from abroad, won Miss Hong Kong, ranks first in ability and performance, bought a villa in Yangcheng City on her own—decisive and capable. What could a girl like that possibly want from you?"
Dad Chi patted his eldest son on the shoulder. "Stop daydreaming and be more cautious. She serves you coffee and fawns over you because I paid her enough to put on an act."
Chi Ning: ?
Huh?
His brother’s first day at work was this intense?
His dad’s parenting style was a bit... unique.
Well, in that case...
"Dad, have you ever considered that there are probably more spies around you than around my brother? Like those buddies you always go out for skewers with," Chi Ning said, mimicking the motion of grilling air skewers near his cheek.
Chi Yang chuckled and ruffled Chi Ning’s fluffy hair. "Now you’ve made me hungry. How about we grill some skewers at home today?"
"Fine," Chi Baichuan replied, giving Chi Ning a deep look. "But first, tell me—do you already suspect someone?"
This son of his wore everything on his face. He was transparent, never speaking without reason.
Chi Ning hesitated for a moment before pulling out his phone. "Listen to this first. I’ll explain afterward."
The voices of Yue Yaozong and Wang Quan crackled through the speaker, but every word was still clear.
As he listened, Chi Baichuan’s expression darkened. "Sun Boxing went out of his way to spread rumors about you? To ruin your reputation? Why? You two shouldn’t even know each other."
Chi Ning mentally applauded.
As expected of his dad—he immediately pinpointed the issue!
"Because he likes Shen Minyi."
Chi Yang let out a puzzled "Huh?" as he lounged on the sofa. "What does him liking Shen Minyi have to do with you?"
Suppressing his disgust, Chi Ning recounted in detail how Shen Minyi had sent the gold medal to the birthday party and how he had eavesdropped on Sun Boxing and Shen Minyi’s conversation.
Ten minutes later, Chi Baichuan and Chi Yang sat on the sofa in stunned silence.
Chi Baichuan clenched the small wooden teacup in his hand until it creaked.
After a moment, he could no longer hold back. He abruptly stood up and slammed the cup onto the floor with a loud bang. "That old dog Shen Zongze! His son is just as filthy as he is!"
They had all assumed the newspaper photo incident was solely Madam Shen’s doing. Never had they considered what role Shen Minyi might have played.
Chi Baichuan paced back and forth across the living room while breathing heavily as his blood pressure skyrocketed.
His youngest son was so good—raised in an ivory tower since childhood. How could that vile Shen Minyi have set his sights on him?!
"What’s gotten into you?" Chen Mingxian came downstairs with her hair wrapped in a towel, slipping into her hometown dialect. "Did someone hit you? Old Chi, why are you so angry? Trying to tear the house down?"
Chi Baichuan was practically steaming with rage. "Shen Minyi has his eyes on your son!"
Chi Ning: "..."
Things had escalated far beyond his expectations.
He had thought his father might not believe him—after all, he had no evidence of Sun Boxing and Shen Minyi’s conversation. It was just his word against theirs.
But never mind that...
Chi Ning tugged at his brother’s sleeve. "Isn’t the bigger issue that Shen Minyi conspired with Sun Boxing to steal our research direction and data?"
Chi Yang pulled his sleeve back and rolled it up instead. "You don’t understand. Shen Zongze originally wanted to marry our mom."
Chi Ning’s eyes widened, and he shot to his feet. "That’s disgusting! How dare he! He’s not worthy!"
Chi Yang reached out and ruffled his younger brother's hair. "See? Now you can empathize, can't you?"
Same principle.
After hearing the whole story, Chen Mingxian yanked off the towel wrapped around her hair, abandoning her hair treatment. "Goddamn little brat, absolute idiot, can't tell black from white."
Chi Ning opened his mouth but obediently sat back down.
With a wave of her delicate hand, Chen Mingxian declared, "Old Chi, invite your brothers over for barbecue. It's time for some proper communication."
She paused, flipping her hair, then added, "Invite Boss Xu too, tell him to bring his son along."
Chi Ning froze—invite Qin Heng?
Why?
Chi Baichuan chuckled twice. "That young man is indeed quite clever."
Too good at winning his son's favor.
"We should invite him over to express our thanks."
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