Chapter 368 - 196: Why Don’t You Let Me Hug You?
Chapter 368: Chapter 196: Why Don’t You Let Me Hug You?
5:00 PM sharp.
The jarring bell for the afternoon’s final exam finally shrieked, hysterically tearing through the stagnant air of the examination hall.
To many, it sounded less like a trumpet of liberation and more like the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.
After the proctor collected the papers, the classroom door was pulled open from the inside by the exhausted students.
Shen Yuan was practically shoved out with the tide of people. His face was covered in a visible, ashen exhaustion, as if he hadn’t slept for several nights.
His steps were immeasurably heavier than they had been that morning, and his shoulders slumped slightly. The relaxed confidence of the self-proclaimed "clutch player" from the morning had vanished without a trace.
His mind felt numb, still buzzing with the echoes of math problems and geometric figures he hadn’t been able to fully solve.
He didn’t even have the energy to imagine how Li Zhi might ask him about the exam. His mind was filled with a single feeling: exhaustion.
The kind of utter depletion that comes after being ravaged by an intense mental storm.
He subconsciously lifted his gaze to the faces of students pouring out from the various exam halls.
That morning vigor which had filled the classrooms—tense, yes, but still spirited—had now been utterly shattered.
The air in the hallway seemed to have solidified, thick with a suffocating despair.
Most of their expressions were identical to his—weary, defeated, and even a little numb.
Many walked with vacant stares, their lips unconsciously pursed or slightly parted, as if they hadn’t yet escaped the labyrinth of complex calculations and proofs.
"Damn..."
"I’m so done for..."
"Was this fucking test made for humans?"
"I had no fucking clue what the third part of the last two big questions was even asking..."
Muffled whispers and pointless complaints rose and fell within the crowd, low in volume but coalescing into a distinct torrent of despair.
Someone was forcefully rubbing the bridge of their nose, as if trying to scrub the torturous problems out of their brain.
Someone slid down the wall in a gesture of utter collapse, drawing a few equally feeble laughs.
Even more people just shuffled along, quietly merging into the throng. Their eyes were empty as they stared ahead, as if their souls had been ripped out, leaving them without the energy or desire to even discuss the answers.
A few faces looked even paler under the ghastly white fluorescent lights, some with visible marks on their lower lips from biting down too hard.
It was as if the entire examination area had been drained of all life by the brutal math test, leaving only a dead silence of defeat in its wake.
Shen Yuan let out a long breath. Even the air he exhaled felt bitter.
He silently merged into the flow of people, dragging his heavy feet toward the temporary classroom in the laboratory building.
The autumn afternoon air, which should have been crisp and clear, felt as heavy as lead.
When Shen Yuan returned to the classroom, he saw Ah Jie grinning from ear to ear, quizzing Chen Mingyu about the math test from his seat.
"Ai Muyu, how’d you feel about the math test?"
"Well, well, if it isn’t Lao Yuan! How’d it go?"
Shen Yuan looked at Ah Jie’s smug, punchable face, then his gaze shifted to Chen Mingyu and Yang Ze.
Just then, Yang Ze gave a slight nod.
The next second, Chen Mingyu pounced on Ah Jie, wrestling him into a hold.
"Damn it! Gloating, are you!"
Ah Jie was quickly hoisted up and carried by the group to the back door of the lab classroom.
Soon, Ah Jie’s miserable shriek echoed.
"AHH!"
[New Location Unlocked: Back Door of the Lab Classroom.]
Shen Yuan scoffed at the whimpering Ah Jie.
"Damn it, sooner or later we’re going to give you the Aruba treatment all over this school!"
"After the college entrance exams, we’ll give you a grand Aruba tour of the school!"
Hearing Yang Ze and Shen Yuan’s words, Ah Jie shivered dramatically, unable to stop himself from calling his two friends perverts.
Just then, the back door of the classroom was pushed open with a CREAK.
Li Zhi took one look and saw Shen Yuan and the others roughhousing with Ah Jie.
Seeing this, the girl’s worried expression relaxed slightly. The corners of her lips curved into a curious smile as she said in a clear voice:
"Sounds like the exam went well! I could hear you guys fooling around from outside."
The smile on Shen Yuan’s face froze instantly. His expression faltered, as if a sharp object had just pierced his spine.
He instinctively shed all traces of his carefree demeanor, leaving only a helpless silence flickering in his eyes.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He simply let his shoulders slump even lower, avoiding her gaze.
Li Zhi caught Shen Yuan’s silent evasion and instantly understood the reason behind it.
’This is clearly the face of someone who bombed the test.’
Li Zhi’s eyebrow twitched. Contrary to her usual strictness, her voice softened unconsciously. "Relax. The math test was hard this time. The whole classroom is full of long faces. It’s completely normal not to do well, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself."
Just as Shen Yuan was thinking the beautiful girl had a change of heart, Li Zhi paused. The gentleness in her eyes vanished, replaced by a sharp, almost severe glint. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it cut clearly through the air.
"But if you really did bomb it, I’m going to make you pay."
’Alright, she hasn’t changed at all.’
’That gentleness was just an illusion.’
Shen Yuan’s face soured completely. With a look of resignation, he tried to change the subject. "Let’s go, let’s go, time to eat, let’s go get food first. We can’t let a temporary setback in math affect the upcoming exams."
The moment Shen Yuan finished speaking, Ah Jie threw an arm around his neck.
"That’s the spirit! It’s just a small failure in math, nothing to be afraid of. Here, Yuan, let me share my math answers with you!"
Shen Yuan’s face darkened, and he shot a grim look at Ah Jie.
"Believe it or not, next time I’ll give you the Aruba treatment in front of the whole school."
Ah Jie’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately backed down.