Chapter 73 - Possessed by Exam God (1/2)

Possessed by Exam God

That same evening, everyone learned that Shi Jin was going to take the college entrance examination.

Seeing Shi Jin’s pale and haggard face, Gua Two comforted, with the attitude of someone who had personal experience, “Don’t panic, in the end, it’s just a test, is there anything to be afraid of? It only takes two days, it will be over before you even know it.”

Shi Jin looked at him with a blank gaze. “Did you take it?”

“I did,” Gua Two replied. Pointing at Gua Nine, who sat tapping at his laptop, he continued, “Except for Gua Nine, who went to school abroad, all of us who grew up in Annihilation with Jun-shao have passed the college entrance exam and have a domestic university diploma.”

Shi Jin immediately perked up. “You did? You have officially attended high school? Did you spend four years at university, going to classes like ordinary law-abiding citizen?” The answer to the last question was the one that he was the most interested in!

“Of course I have, no one can take the college entrance exam without being listed as a student, can they? Little JinJin, this is yet another common sense thing you might want to know: ‘Gua One,’ Gua Two,’ and so on are just our code names, our identity in the underworld. Everyone, naturally including me, has their own name and identity, and our school memberships and academic qualifications are all linked to our real names. When we leave the underworld, we will go back to our real identities,” Gua Two explained. He put his arm around Shi Jin’s back and patted him on the shoulder. “So you should do your best on the exam, it’s about your future—Jun-shao is making you take it for your own good. And judging from the present situation, after you get into university, it’s quite likely that you’ll just go to school to report in at the beginning, then only go back to take the end-of-term exams. That’s how we did it—we had classes with the teachers in the organizations whenever we had time and didn’t need to go to school every day. It was quite free, no different to what are you doing now. It won’t prevent you from accompanying Jun-shao.”

“But you’d better not fail the end-term exams or Jun-shao will force you to take a month off to take remedial classes with Mr. Feng,” Gua Nine added with a meaningful glance at Gua Two.

Gua Two scowled and raised his fist at him threateningly.

It won’t prevent you from accompanying Jun-shao.

All of Shi Jin’s attention was stuck on that sentence. His resistance to taking the exam disappeared in a flash, and the light of hope rekindled in his eyes. He didn’t need to leave Lian Jun for a whole day every day to go to class, only get admitted in university and pass the end-of-term exams?

Then he didn’t mind taking the college entrance examination.

Lightening up, he casually said to Gua Two, “I didn’t expect that you took it too. What was your score?”

Gua Two smiled at Shi Jin’s improved mood. He replied, “A bit over 600, if I remember right… Eh, I was quite unlucky, that year, the math exam was very difficult. I was too overconfident and didn’t study enough.”

A bit over… 600? Out of 750?

Over 600???

Shi Jin deflated again. He looked at Gua Two in disbelief—it was hard to imagine that Gua Two used to be a top student. Shaking the man’s hand off his shoulder without a word, he turned to Gua Nine.

Gua Nine thought that he wanted to hear about everyone’s exams and learn from their experiences. At Shi Jin’s glance, he said at once, “I didn’t take the college entrance examination in China. There was no compulsory national examination in the country I was studying in, only two kinds of voluntary ones. I took both of them, my scores were…”

“Okay, I get it, I get it,” Shi Jin hurried to interrupt him, remembering Gua Nine’s doctorates. He thought about his own academic achievements (if they could be called achievements), forced himself to calm down, and got up. “Okay, I won’t bother you any longer, I’m going to prepare for the exam.” He walked away without looking back, legs soft.

After that, he made some roundabout inquiries about the other Guas’ college entrance exam results. What he discovered was painful—none of Lian Jun’s top generals were bad students! Even the worst of them, Gua Five, got admitted to his first university of choice!

“They’re all gangsters, so why…” Shi Jin lay paralysed on the sofa. Thinking about the scores he got on the preparatory exams Mr. Feng gave him, he was bitter. “If I knew I would have to take the college entrance exam, I would’ve studied much more seriously…”

<But JinJin, you have studied seriously. It’s obvious that you’re very good, to be able to get these kind of results just by reviewing for a few months,> Xiao Si said.

“No, you don’t understand,” Shi Jin replied with melancholy, hugging his tablet and crying without tears.

Ignorance really was bliss—there were some things better left unknown. Now it turned out that he, an underachiever, had to take the exam with a group of studying tyrants looking on. Perhaps he would have to check his score while they watched, and wait to see to which school he got admitted to… What’s the difference between that and a public shaming?!

It wasn’t not that he couldn’t stand a little shame, but he wasn’t a masochist!

So, in order to avoid the public shaming, Shi Jin began last-minute cramming, working hard and giving it his all.

That night, he reviewed until midnight. If it wasn’t for Lian Jun dragging him to bed, he would have stayed up all night. He still didn’t let go of the tablet the next day, and also asked Xiao Si to help him sift through some relatively easy-to-remember knowledge, spending the entire day memorizing it. After dinner he picked up the tablet again and kept doing questions, looking as if he had no intention of putting down the electronic pen and going to sleep.

In the end, Lian Jun couldn’t stand it anymore. He pulled the tablet out of his hand and shoved him into the bed.

“Rest. It’s just a small exam, don’t worry so much. It doesn’t matter if you don’t do well,” Lian Jun appeased in a calm and gentle voice, regretting telling Shi Jin about the exam in advance.

If he knew Shi Jin would be so nervous, he would’ve just delivered him to the examination venue on the day of the exam to avoid this pre-exam torment.

Shi Jin was too keyed up to sleep, but because of Lian Jun’s wrinkled eyebrows and worried face, he didn’t insist on getting up to study, and obediently closed his eyes instead… then asked Xiao Si to call up the textbooks so he could review in his mind.

Xiao Si: <……>

Shi Jin couldn’t remember when he fell asleep, but remembered that he’d been taking exams even in his dreams, exam after exam, one examination room after another, as if they were never-ending. He woke up with a heavy head and a weak body; he felt so uncomfortable that it was like he’d really filled out countless exam papers.

He frowned and rubbed his forehead. “It’s over. Now I’m in this state, I’ll bomb the exam for sure.”

Xiao Si had great confidence in him. <No, you will definitely do well and get a good score, JinJin. I believe in you!>

Shi Jin’s heart felt warm. “Xiao Si, you’re such a good system.”

<Not really. It’s because you taught me well, JinJin,> Xiao Si replied, bashful.

Talking with Xiao Si made Shi Jin feel a little more energetic. After a brief wash, he went to the dining room with Lian Jun for breakfast, then took the exam bag Lian Jun prepared for him and left the club with him.

“Xiao Jin.”

As soon as his foot stepped out of the door, a familiar voice sounded from nearby.

Shi Jin stopped, both his eyebrows and his heart jumping. He looked around for the speaker.

Just outside Nightlight’s gate was Shi Weichong. Next to a low-key black business car, wearing a suit and looking like the elite boss he was, he stood there like a wooden stake. The moment he laid eyes on Shi Jin, he stepped forward, saying, “I heard from Yujing that you’d returned to B city and that you were hurt. I happened to be free today so I came to see you. How is your injury?”

“……” Why did you have to come today, rather than a few days earlier or later? I knew it, B city really is a trouble spot!

Shi Jin hid his exam bag behind him, smiled politely, and replied, “My injury is already healed. Thank you for your concern.”

Lian Jun noticed Shi Jin hiding the bag. His finger tapping on the armrest of the wheelchair, he motioned for Gua Two to get the car out. He didn’t interrupt Shi Jin and Shi Weichong’s conversation.

Shi Jin’s polite, alienated attitude left Shi Weichong at a loss. On instinct, he glanced at Lian Jun next to the teenager and frowned as he remembered their current relationship. About to look away, he noticed a corner of a plastic wallet in Shi Jin’s hand. It looked familiar; he recalled seeing many students on the way here, and most of them were holding something similar. Startled, he then thought of all the different kinds of traffic control and college entrance examination slogans hanging everywhere, and a sudden flash of insight crossed his mind. “Are you going out?” he asked.

Tense, Shi Jin gave a vague reply. “Ah? Ah, yes, I have something to do.”

Seeing his expression, Shi Weichong became more sure of his guess. He took out his phone and checked the date, then his gaze fell upon the corner of what he suspected was the exam bag, peeking out from behind Shi Jin. “Are going to take the college entrance examination, Xiao Jin?”

Shi Jin: “……” Fuck, he hated smart people!

The hand holding the exam bag stiffened, and he couldn’t maintain the polite smile on his face. Noticing that Gua Two had brought the car, he hurried to push Lian Jun’s wheelchair, saying, “It’s getting late, I need to leave now, bye.” He didn’t look back at his brother.

Shi Weichong wasn’t going to stop him. Helpless, he watched Shi Jin and Lian Jun get in the car and disappear from sight. After a moment, he remembered the time and hurried back to his car, calling his assistant while starting the ignition to cancel his next business trip.

If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.

The car got on the main road and headed for the examination hall.

Gua Two glanced in the rearview mirror. “Shi Weichong is following us,” he said. “Should I shake him off?”

Lian Jun looked at Shi Jin beside him, who was holding his tablet, immersed in last-minute cramming, and replied, “No, drive as smoothly as possible. It’s easy to get carsick with sudden changes of speed.”

Gua Two acknowledged, and ignored Shi Weichong from then on.

After getting in the car, Shi Jin completely threw his brother out of his mind and focused on reviewing the ancient poetry which would likely appear on the first part of the exam, Chinese. He mostly used his phone or his computer and rarely wrote by hand, which made it easy to forget the characters. He wanted to refamiliarize himself with them while he still had time.

Ten minutes later, the car stopped near the examination hall. Shi Jin put down his tablet, looked at the deluge of students, teachers, and parents outside, and said to Lian Jun, “Stay in the car, I’ll go by myself. It’s too crowded outside, it’s not safe.”

Lian Jun also knew that with his identity, going to a place with too many people was asking to be killed, so he nodded and squeezed the teenager’s hand. “Let Gua Two go with you. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, stay calm. I’ll be waiting for you here.”

“I know.” Shi Jin hugged him, exchanged a few words with Gua Five, who was sitting in the passenger seat, and got out of the car with Gua Two.