The words "barely passed the exam" instantly stung Chu Yuning's pride.

His face flushed red, and he glared at Shen Yuan with shame and indignation.

Among the onlookers were students from Ziyun Academy. They recognized Chu Yuning and, seeing his name second to last on the list, couldn't help but say, "Brother Chu! Our teacher said you were destined to be the top scholar, the best student among us! How come you did worse than me now? Even I, the worst student in the academy, am listed before you. What's going on?"

Chu Yuning looked up and saw that the person speaking was Xu Fengche. He frowned and looked back at the list posted on the outer wall of the examination hall.

Xu Fengche's name was in the very center, a full sixteen places ahead of his.

Xu Fengche's results were even better than his!

Chu Yuning stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

How is that possible?

Xu Fengche was once the worst student in his class at the academy, and was scolded by the teacher for his lack of understanding.

The knowledge points that he could grasp in a day or two, Xu Fengche couldn't understand even after spending half a month.

Therefore, Xu Fengche always liked to bring his books and ask him questions.

At first, in order to appear approachable, he had given Xu Fengche some pointers two or three times. But later he found that Xu Fengche was really too stupid, so he became too lazy to continue explaining to him and just gave him a few perfunctory words to get rid of him.

Chu Yuning felt that she hadn't done anything wrong.

First of all, he is not a teacher and has no obligation to impart knowledge, teach skills, or resolve doubts. Helping his classmates is a sign of his high moral character, while not wanting to help them is simply because he has no such obligation.

Secondly, explaining concepts to others would take up his study time. Why would he waste his study time teaching a pig with such poor comprehension?

Furthermore, if he were to teach everything he knows to others, wouldn't that inadvertently create more competitors for himself?

After all, the students of Ziyun Academy all have to take the imperial examinations, and the number of successful candidates is limited each time. He doesn't want to do something like teaching his apprentices to starve their master.

Therefore, Chu Yuning never gave Xu Fengche any more guidance after that.

At first, Xu Fengche didn't think he was really too busy, so he came to him at another time to ask for advice. Later, after being repeatedly turned down by him, he realized that he shouldn't have come to him.

Scolding and disliked by his teacher, and despised by this academic superstar, Xu Feng could only study hard on his own or exchange "knowledge" with other academic underachievers.

He secretly despised this, yet also felt a sense of relief.

A bad student is a bad student; all they do is study by rote and memorize. No matter how hard they try, they can't compare to someone as naturally gifted as him.

But why? This time, Xu Fengche actually scored higher than him in the autumn imperial examination?

Only a year had passed in between.

In just one year, Xu Fengche, who was at the bottom of the class, actually surpassed him!

If Shen Yuan's sarcastic words had only hurt his pride, Xu Fengche's words now completely shattered it.

Chu Yuning leaned weakly against the wall, a bitter smile playing on her lips. "Xu Fengche, you've surpassed me. Are you pleased with yourself?"

"Can't I be proud?"

Xu Fengche crossed his arms. After three years of studying with Chu Yuning at Ziyun Academy, he was finally able to hold his head high. How could he let go of this opportunity to properly humiliate Chu Yuning?

In the past, when he asked Chu Yuning for guidance, Chu Yuning would not only refuse to teach him, but what was even worse was that he would deliberately give her incorrect answers several times later, causing her to answer incorrectly when the teacher asked her questions.

The teacher scolded him for not being diligent, so he could only say that the answer was taught to him by Chu Yuning. However, Chu Yuning told the teacher that he had not taught him.

As a result, the teacher felt that he was slandering his classmates and was dishonest, and in the end, the teacher completely rejected him.

Whenever he thought of these things, Xu Fengche studied even harder. So what if he was born slow-witted? As long as he dared to put in a thousand times more effort than the average person, he believed that one day he would surpass those who had looked down on him.

Now, he has finally surpassed Chu Yuning!

"It seems that although I am not at Ziyun Academy, my image has always been shrouded in the hearts of you students of Ziyun Academy, and I am the benchmark that you all strive to surpass."

Chu Yuning looked up at Xu Fengche, who was in a lower position, but his gaze was full of arrogance and haughtiness. "Now that you've only surpassed him once, you're already smug. How laughable!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Fengche chuckled and then said, "In the past, you were indeed the benchmark that all students in our academy wanted to surpass, but after today, you are no longer!"

"Because there are dozens of people who are better than you!"

A total of fifty-six people passed the imperial examination this autumn. Fifty-four of them ranked ahead of Chu Yuning. Most of these people were students from Ziyun Academy, and they all performed better than Chu Yuning.

Hearing Xu Fengche's words, Chu Yuning could no longer maintain his arrogance and aloofness. He glared at Xu Fengche resentfully and said, "What's there to be proud of? You just got lucky this time and did a little better than me! The real test will be next spring!"

Xu Fengche smiled and said, "Then let's see who comes out on top next spring!"

Having said that, Xu Fengche turned and left without any hesitation.

After he left, someone else said, "Brother Chu, how come you've become so unkempt after just one year? Passing the imperial examination was nothing, and you almost had a stroke and lost your life. If this gets out, won't it become a laughing stock?"

Chu Yuning struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall. He stared at the person who had spoken, his gaze gloomy, and remained silent, making the other person feel uneasy.

The person who was speaking pursed their lips, found it uninteresting, and left.

Chu Yuning also wanted to leave, but after taking only two steps, he suddenly felt dizzy and almost fell.

Seeing his condition, Shen Yuan said, "You've had a stroke, so you're prone to having a relapse whenever you're stimulated. You'd better go to the clinic for a few days to recuperate."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yuning glanced at Shen Yuan again.

But Shen Yuan didn't speak to him again, and left with Tian Tian.

Watching Shen Yuan's retreating figure, Chu Yuning felt a mix of emotions, but he couldn't afford to think about it at the moment. What he cared about most right now was his own physical condition.

If he were truly suffering from madness, and could have a stroke at any moment, with convulsions and foaming at the mouth, then even if he passed the imperial examination, it would be useless, as the court would certainly not appoint him to an official position.

He would be held back year after year until he died of old age, and would never be able to enter officialdom.

Then all his years of hard study and all the effort he put into his studies have been for nothing!

He must preserve his health.

Thinking of this, Chu Yuning hurriedly grabbed the passerby beside her, "Could you please call me a carriage? I need to go to the clinic! I need to go to the clinic!"