Cicadas chirp in the summer sun, which hangs high in the sky.

The only sound in the classroom was the scratching of pens. The TIP school preliminary selection was highly valued, and not many students dared to participate. The test paper was full of competition questions with an outrageously high level of difficulty, and almost everyone was scratching their heads in frustration.

Even though he was sick, Leon Lai insisted on participating, and he was having a headache doing it. On the other hand, Song Xijun, who kept saying "strive for one and secure one", remained unresponsive, writing down her thoughts concisely, as if she were doing 1+1 with ease.

The proctoring teacher watching couldn't help but marvel, his eyes full of admiration. However, he wasn't surprised by Song Xijun until the proctor turned around and saw Ruan Qing'an in the corner.

037: [Oh my god, why are you competing with the male lead for a spot?]

"This isn't about fighting for a spot."

The pen twirled between her slender fingers. Ruan Qing'an watched Song Xijun's retreating figure, her eyes narrowing slightly: "I'm just separating 'me' from 'Ruan Qing'an.' If he really is reborn..."

Just then, Nguyen Thanh An's thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

"Knock knock".

The proctor tapped on Ruan Qing'an's desk, his face grim: "Answer the questions properly, don't look around. If you want to participate, don't even think about cheating!"

"...Teacher, look around, have the people here written it down yet?"

Ruan Qing'an sighed. The prejudice in the proctor's eyes was obvious. She lowered her head, quickly finished the last question, and stood up: "Never mind, I'll hand in my paper."

"It's better to hand it in as soon as possible."

The proctor merely glanced at the fully written exam paper, shook his head, and said, "It's not like you can get points just by filling it up."

Ruan Qing'an had just stepped out of the classroom when Song Xijun followed her out. She was slightly taken aback: "Why did you come out?"

"It was finished a long time ago, I was afraid it would affect your mindset."

Song Xijun didn't ask much about Ruan Qing'an's situation: "Don't worry, you can relax after the exam. I still need to go and help look at the papers."

"Wait, didn't you take the exam?"

While adjusting Ruan Qing'an's cuffs, Song Xijun said, "Yes, mine is for reference. As long as I can participate, I will naturally have a spot."

He spoke casually, as if it were nothing.

Ruan Qingan: ...The original text was still too hasty in its praise.

No wonder Leon Lai was so ruthless as to want to bring down Song Xijun. As long as he's around, Leon Lai will never have any more limelight.

By the time Song Xijun returned to the office after escorting Ruan Qingan back to his dormitory, the TIP school preliminary selection exam had already ended, and all the exam papers had been collected.

When the teacher in charge of the exam saw Song Xijun, he immediately said, "Song, we've been waiting for you. The questions we chose this time are quite difficult, many of them are from international competitions."

"I've suggested a few more methods; you can adjust them as needed."

As Song Xijun spoke, she pulled out her test paper and expanded on the methods written on it, making them exactly the same as the reference answers.

The teachers looked at each other and gave a wry smile: "No, the problem now is that most of them are blank papers. We can clean them up quickly, and the quotas will probably be finalized as early as tomorrow."

Hearing their conversation, Song Xijun's gaze fell on the sorted papers. The top one was Ruan Qing'an's, but he only glanced at it.

The proctor who had previously warned Ruan Qing'an couldn't help but ask, "Would you like to see her exam paper, Song?"

"No, to avoid suspicion."

Song Xijun, as a childhood friend, spoke with self-righteousness.

After turning her test paper into a reference answer key, Song Xijun had just straightened up when Tang Siya walked in from outside the office: "Teacher, I've come to ask about the situation for Liming."

Tang Siya paused when she saw Song Xijun. She still remembered what happened at the library; it was as if her face had been rubbed into the ground.

For a moment, Tang Siya's expression turned rather unpleasant.

However, Song Xijun's gaze didn't even linger on her, as if she didn't exist at all, and he walked right past her. After he left the office, he could still faintly hear voices inside.

"Is this Ruan Qing'an's exam paper?"

"Yes, that's right..."

Upon hearing this, Song Xijun's eyes darkened.

...

As those teachers said, with half of the papers blank and the other half filled with random scribbles, selecting candidates is a fairly simple matter.

The results of the preliminary selection within the school were announced to the public on the morning of the second day, and Song Xijun's exam paper was published as a reference answer. Although it was not easy to understand, it was impressive.

The top three selected will be the recipients of the three spots. The first place naturally goes to Song Xijun, but the second place…

When Ruan Qingan received Zhao Xiaohan's call, she was still sleeping in bed and fumbled around on the bedside table for a while before finally finding her phone.

"Hello, Xiaohan?"

"You're still sleeping, Ruan Ruan? You're in second place!"

On the other end of the phone, Zhao Xiaohan's voice was filled with obvious excitement and intense disbelief. Ruan Qingan sat up abruptly: "I'm second place?"

Zhao Xiaohan said, "Yeah, you didn't expect that, did you?!"

Hearing Zhao Xiaohan's words, Ruan Qingan was at a loss for words, never expecting to lose to Song Xijun.

037: [Actually, I noticed one of the questions was wrong when you were doing the problems, damn it, but I didn't tell you.]

Which one?

[The question you're looking at, the one the male lead is pondering.]

Ruan Qing'an: ...Love has ruined me.

At that moment, Zhao Xiaohan on the other end of the phone asked cryptically, "Ruan Ruan, tell me seriously, is this for real? It's not that I'm not happy for you, it's just..."

"I made it myself, so don't worry about it."

"Oh, that's good, but—"

Ruan Qing'an countered, "Did something happen, Xiaohan?"

Zhao Xiaohan stammered, unable to explain clearly, her initial joy gone: "I just saw it too... Anyway, I believe you, Ruan Ruan, but you shouldn't go to the classroom yet."

"classroom?"

"Okay, I'll ask for leave first."

After Zhao Xiaohan finished speaking on the other end of the phone, she hurriedly hung up as the school bell rang.

Ruan Qingan got up and began to change his clothes.

037: [Ancestor, where are you going again?]

"The classroom, of course."

As Ruan Qingan spoke, his leaden eyes were filled with laughter: "When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it."

She wanted to see who was trying to make things difficult for her.

Seeing Ruan Qing'an's increasingly excited expression, 037 fell silent again. This strongest mission taker of the Three Thousand Planes Administration Bureau possessed a madness that was almost comparable to that of the main god.