After successfully getting the confession wall's QQ number from Peipei, Shen Yuan immediately dug up the president's masterpiece from the account's journal.
He then spent the entire evening self-study session reading it with great relish.
How should I put it... just what you'd expect from someone who could score over 130 on the Chinese exam.
"I feel like I should join the Kissing Association too."
Hearing Shen Yuan's saccharine words, Ah Ze turned around and laughed. "Then next time Ai Muyu is dreaming, you can be the one to... *inspire* him. Give him a taste of sweetness."
Chen Mingyu shot a one-inch punch at Yang Ze. "You're really asking for it!"
Facing Chen Mingyu's attack, Yang Ze quickly retaliated, and the two soon devolved into a childish slapping game.
Watching this scene, Ah Jie laughed. "Ah Ze, you're hitting Ai Muyu like that... aren't you afraid you'll just get him excited?"
At these words, the expressions on both Yang Ze's and Chen Mingyu's faces froze.
Suddenly, Zhou Shaojie felt a force from behind him.
It was Shen Yuan, putting him in a headlock!
"We are without fault! You two are the ones from Nantong! Nantong!!"
Grabbing Ah Jie's legs, Yang Ze and Chen Mingyu put their backs into it.
As for Shen Yuan, he had already made a graceful exit.
If Li Zhi found out he'd been involved in the Aruba prank again, the Painful Sacrifice would surely cause the seeds of pain in his heart to sprout.
One seed was named Tong Churou, and the other was named "Grades."
After toughing it out until the end of evening self-study, Shen Yuan went to Li Zhi's desk as usual, waiting for the beautiful girl to pack her things.
"Let's go."
Handing her schoolbag to Shen Yuan, Li Zhi took his in return.
The two walked out of the school in silence. Once they reached the main road, Shen Yuan suddenly noticed that Li Zhi was walking very far from the flowerbeds.
It was clear that yesterday's scene had left a rather deep psychological scar on the beautiful girl.
Thinking of this, Shen Yuan suddenly took a step toward the flowerbeds.
Just as he expected, Li Zhi immediately shot him a wary glance.
Shen Yuan grinned mischievously. "Triggered."
"Boring."
The beautiful girl quickened her pace toward home.
"Seriously, do you have any math study materials?"
"Want my 'Mistakes of a Top Student' notebook?"
Shen Yuan's mouth twitched. "Something simpler."
"Wu San."
'It has appeared! The Painful Sacrifice's magical weapon!'
The Book of Pain, *Five Year Gaokao, Three Year Mock Exams*!
Shen Yuan rolled his eyes. "If I could learn well from reading that, would I still be asking you?"
Li Zhi let out a soft "Tch." "You're pretty hard to please."
"After all, I'm impervious to knowledge."
"It's not that bad, not that bad."
Just when Shen Yuan thought Li Zhi was about to comfort him, the beautiful girl's next words nearly gave him internal injuries.
"If you try hard, you might just be able to surpass Gengzi."
'He has some intelligence, but not much.'
'At least he can understand his own name.'
After Li Zhi spoke, the two fell into silence.
As they passed a late-night snack stall, Li Zhi suddenly spoke up. "You're not getting all emo on me, are you?"
"If you're willing to buy me some oden, my emo-ness might just cure itself."
As Shen Yuan finished speaking, he came to a stop in front of the oden stall.
Immediately, Li Zhi stepped up to the stall, muttering, "A good deed a day, for good karma."
Shen Yuan chuckled. "I'll buy you a cola."
"Coca-Cola. I like the ones with lots of fizz."
"OK."
After getting two servings of oden, Shen Yuan went to the convenience store and bought two bottles of Coke.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
They tapped their oden cups together and began to enjoy their late-night snack.
"Shen Yuan, open my Coke for me!"
Shen Yuan took the Coke and easily twisted off the cap.
'Such a gentleman.'
Watching Li Zhi gulping down her drink, GLUG GLUG GLUG, Shen Yuan was suddenly reminded of something from self-study earlier. "Studying is tiring, huh?"
"Are you broken?"
"Just showing some concern."
Li Zhi looked at Shen Yuan warily. "Nothing's scarier than a friend suddenly showing concern."
Shen Yuan laughed and held up his oden. "Hey, I already got my food out of it, didn't I?"
The beautiful girl laughed too, but her smile quickly faded.
Li Zhi poked her cup a couple of times with a skewer.
"It's tiring."
"Being a good student is actually tiring too. Sometimes it gives me a lot of anxiety, I'm terrified my score will drop. You know? Sometimes I'm afraid I'll drop below 670."
'Is that what you call a human problem?'
Shen Yuan's smile collapsed. "Young Master Li, this is a conversation I am not qualified to be a part of."
"Think of it like you dropping below 600."
Shen Yuan became even unhappier.
'Is that even fucking comparable?'
"So is that why you choose to read *Love in the Era of Lecterns*?"
"You have to get some mental sugar sometimes. Otherwise, what's the point of suffering like this every day? Grinding problems, reading books... If I didn't take good care of my eyes, I would've been nearsighted long ago."
Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi's bright eyes and nodded.
"Anyway, studying is just for exams. As long as you do well on the tests, no one can say anything to you."
"Actually, I sometimes think, I already get such good scores, can't I just enjoy myself a little?"
"Then why don't you?" Shen Yuan asked, confused.
Li Zhi broke into a wide smile. "Because it's fun to put the pressure on you guys! As long as I pretend to be studying, you all feel the pressure to study too. But in reality, I'm just spacing out."
Shen Yuan was speechless.
"Sis, you really are the Painful Sacrifice!"
"Hahahaha! Taste my skill! Domain Expansion: Sea of Questions Hell! Anyone whose grades are below the class average must now grind practice problems without stopping for a single moment!"
"Ah! I suddenly have the urge to do practice problems! Quick! Give me a test paper!"
Seeing Shen Yuan's exaggerated acting, a happy smile spread across the beautiful girl's face.
Shen Yuan also came to his own conclusion.
Li Zhi's intake of sugar wasn't to balance the pain she inflicted on others, but to balance her own pain from studying.
As a top student, a Painful Sacrifice often puts pressure on those around them simply by being excellent, creating academic stress and, in turn, causing pain.
But at their core, they are the anointed of the exam-oriented education system, its perfect creations.
Li Zhi was more like a rebel among the Painful Sacrifices. Unlike the Painful Sacrifices in other classes, she didn't piously await the intake of knowledge and the arrival of exams.
While Li Zhi accepted her teachers' approval of her scores, she was also keenly aware of the purpose behind the education she was receiving.
Studying wasn't for acquiring knowledge, but simply for passing tests.
She was like any other normal student—she'd sleep in class when she was tired, do her physics homework during Chinese class, and sometimes even skip her homework altogether.
And because of her grades, the teachers could rarely say anything to her.
Li Zhi knew clearly that the ultimate fate of a Painful Sacrifice was to become a Gaokao Immortal.
Because while a Painful Sacrifice is nearly omniscient when it comes to exams, they are also becoming a prisoner of that eternal life of tests.
Li Zhi didn't want that.
But the power of an individual's rebellion was too small. She could only adapt while finding something to dissolve her inner pain.
Such as sugar.
Just like the Iced Red Tea Divine Sect's pursuit of sweetness and tea polyphenols.
Or the Cola Party's devotion to carbonated drinks—the fundamental core was the same.
All the sugar and caffeine were the biochemical weapons used by teenagers to fight against the exam-oriented education system.