Shortly after the morning reading session began, the homeroom teacher arrived in the classroom. He first looked around the room and found that the students in this class were quite proactive, so the homeroom teacher wasn't too worried about their learning attitude.

After the routine inspection was over, the homeroom teacher called Shi Jing over before leaving and asked her to come to the office with her.

Shi Jing guessed it might be for the arrangements of the upcoming finals. One of the requirements for participating in the national finals is winning first prize in a provincial competition, and Shi Jing met the selection criteria in two subjects.

Sure enough, as soon as Shi Jing entered the office, the homeroom teacher beckoned and said, "Shi Jing, come and sit down. Your competition results this time were quite good. Have you thought about what to do next?"

After the provincial finals, the national finals require final verification, and whether or not to continue participating in the subsequent competitions is entirely up to the participants. Of course, it's practically unheard of for someone to withdraw despite meeting the requirements; the homeroom teacher's inquiry was merely a routine one.

Even if it was just for a chance at the prize money, Shi Jing couldn't just give up like that. When her homeroom teacher asked, she readily explained her plan. Provided the finals schedule didn't conflict, she wanted to register for both; however, if there was a conflict, she would prioritize math and skip physics.

The homeroom teacher smiled and said, "The final competition schedule has always been separate in previous years, so there won't be any conflicts. However, for now, you should register first, and I will keep an eye out for you."

"Okay, thank you, teacher."

"This year, the physics competition will be held first. You should prepare yourself. Once you successfully register, you need to arrange time to go to Beijing to participate in the summer camp."

"OK."

Shi Jing was naturally familiar with the competition process and knew that a summer camp would be held before the national finals to help students get used to the competition atmosphere and cultivate team spirit.

After thanking the teacher, Shi Jing took the test paper prepared by the teacher back to the classroom. Before the competition, Shi Jing also needed to prepare for the monthly exam.

Shi Jing is quite confident in her performance. She doesn't say she'll stay in first place 100%, but being among the top performers is definitely not a problem.

At lunchtime, Shi Jing and Qi Shuang went to the cafeteria for lunch. After getting their food, Shi Jing ran into Zhou Linlin, who was also eating in the cafeteria.

Although they had met by chance before, she had never paid attention. This time, she noticed that the other person's plate only contained a plate of stir-fried cabbage, a plate of edamame and pickled mustard greens, and a free plate of plain tofu soup.

As if noticing Shi Jing's gaze, Zhou Linlin looked up at her, then lowered her head again and continued eating as usual.

Shi Jing and Qi Shuang found a place to sit down. As Qi Shuang handed the chopsticks she had brought to Shi Jing, she asked, "Xiao Jing, I heard from them that you're going to participate in another competition in a few days?"

"Registration is still open. If nothing unexpected happens, we should depart at the end of the month," Shi Jing replied.

"That's amazing!" Qi Shuang exclaimed earnestly.

"Okay, let's not talk about that anymore. Tell me, how's your study progress lately? Is there anything you don't understand? The monthly exam is in a couple of days."

"I think it's okay. If I don't understand something, I ask other people. If I still don't understand, I ask the teacher."

Shi Jing nodded. Qi Shuang's enthusiasm for learning is very high now, so she doesn't need to worry.

"We'll have two days off after the monthly exam. I won't be able to leave yet, so let's go find Qi Yan to play."

Qi Shuang was quite surprised: "Finally, you're willing to relax and go out and have fun?"

Shi Jing knew that she asked this question because she had studied too hard before, and said with a smile, "The provincial competition is over, and I should relax. Do you really think I'm a learning machine?"

"Okay, then I'll practice with Qi Yan. She was complaining to me the other day that you've been nowhere to be seen since school started."

"It's not that exaggerated."

Shi Jing laughed, but she really hadn't had a moment's rest since the second semester started, and she hadn't made many phone calls. Not only Qi Yan, but also Ms. Yan, Brother Rong Yu, and Brother Zhang who specifically called to tell her about the start of filming for his new drama—she had only had brief conversations with them, and then nothing more.

"Once all the competitions are over, things will be a bit easier. I don't plan to participate in any more competitions for the time being," Shi Jing said.

Only those within the family know their own situation. Shi Jing doesn't consider herself a particularly gifted person. She may have some cleverness, but her rapid academic progress is inseparable from the help of the system and others. Therefore, Shi Jing hopes to accumulate more knowledge and skills.

"That's a good idea." Qi Shuang always supported Shi Jing's ideas.

After lunch, the two went back to their dormitory for a nap.

Two days later, the monthly exam began. It wasn't difficult, and Shi Jing left the exam room feeling relaxed. Compared to the brain-teasing questions in competitions, the monthly exam questions were quite basic. After the results were released, the whole school had a two-day break, and most students chose to go home.

Shi Jing didn't stay at school this time either. She packed some belongings and stayed away for two days. She and Qi Yan hadn't seen each other for a long time, so the three of them made plans to relax and have some fun together.

That evening, the three of them went to see a movie together. After the movie, they returned to the hotel that Shi Jing had booked. The hotel room was spacious enough, and the three of them lay comfortably on the sofa.

"I feel like I've been spinning like a top these past few months, but I can finally breathe a sigh of relief," Shi Jing couldn't help but sigh.

"That's because you're too stressed. Your grades aren't bad right now, you should relax a bit. We're only in the first year of high school," Qi Yan said with a smile.

Shi Jing did not refute it; she herself had some feeling about it.

After taking a sip of the juice from the coffee table, Shi Jing smiled and said, "I won't be so frivolous in the future."

"Let's hear what you have to say first, and then we'll believe you once you can actually do it," Qi Yan said with a smile.

"Xiao Shuang, what have you been doing lately?" Qi Yan asked Qi Shuang after finishing talking about Shi Jing.

"Me? I didn't do anything, just went to school and did my homework every day," Qi Shuang replied. "However, there really is one thing..."

"What's up?"

Seeing her hesitation, Shi Jing and Qi Yan became curious.

"It's about the campus web series we talked about before. I didn't agree to it before because the timing wasn't right. But Director Chen called me again last week, saying that the production team isn't ready yet and filming won't start until June. He wants me to give it a try..."

Shi Jing was somewhat surprised, not expecting Director Chen to value Qi Shuang so much. Even though it was just a web series, there should have been plenty of actors wanting to participate, right?

"What's the situation with that show? Have you looked into it?"

"I don't have time. I've been busy preparing for the monthly exams lately."

That's true. The advanced students have been going crazy with all the monthly exams lately.

"It's okay, let's ask tomorrow. Brother Zhang is in the entertainment industry, right? Or maybe I can ask my brother to help us find out," Qi Yan suggested.

Shi Jing also had this idea. Director Chen had invited him twice. If it was indeed a good drama and the timing was right, then participating in it would be a good idea.