Chapter 17: With Books in Hand and Beauty in My Arms

If writing the Chinese-style translation of "Strolling Through Sally's Garden" last time was just the first hint of his talent, then this time, drawing the entire map of China outright made Lin Yu truly stand out in Class Seven of the third year. Many girls began to think that if Lin Yu's grades weren't so poor and his family background not so humble, it wouldn't be impossible to pursue him.

However, the defining traits of the students at No. 1 High School were either wealth or noble birth. After the dust settled, Lin Yu still remained an ordinary figure among them. What people remembered about him was still his combative and violent nature—traits most detested and scorned by these precocious students.

Within a few days, the ripple caused by the map incident faded away, like a small stone cast into the clear waters of Biluo Lake—stirring circles of not-so-large ripples that inevitably sank to the bottom and eventually returned to the shore and to tranquility.

Lin Yu cared nothing for all this. So, in the days that followed, he listened attentively in class, and, upon returning home, diligently perused the materials provided by Yang Zhilin. During this period, Qi Yue was always by his side, offering considerable help.

Qi Yue, though not particularly fond of studying, was, after all, Yang Zhilin’s deskmate, and she at least knew that the total score for the liberal arts college entrance exam was 750 points: 150 each for Chinese, English, and Mathematics; 100 each for Geography, History, and Politics. As for the physical education test, it was little more than a formality and not included in the total score, though some students with athletic talents could receive bonus points or special admissions from sports colleges. The same went for most art students.

Lin Yu did consider special admissions for sports, but the bonus points were mainly awarded in basketball, soccer, and track and field. Though he enjoyed these sports, his skills were far from professional level, so he could only give up on this path.

As for special admissions in the arts, Lin Yu was even more dismissive. Though he sang well, he knew all too well the hidden rules and underhanded dealings in the arts, and his family's finances could never support such an avenue. Besides, it wasn’t the path he wanted.

Over several days of classes, Lin Yu found that he understood almost nothing the teachers were saying. The materials from Yang Zhilin thus became his breakthrough point. Unlike other students, he had the advantage of a search system in his mind, so he only needed a general understanding of the material.

In his spare time, when Qi Yue wasn’t around, Lin Yu would secretly pull out previous years’ entrance exam papers to test himself. He found that for Geography, History, and Politics, finding the answers was simple—he could usually complete a subject in an hour and consistently score over eighty points.

For Chinese, English, and Mathematics, things were trickier. With Chinese and English, he could find many original questions, and with about two hours of aid from his search system, he could score seventy or eighty points. But for Mathematics, it was difficult to find the original questions in his system. As a result, on a math test with a full score of 150, Lin Yu could only manage thirty or forty points.

All told, if he took the college entrance exam at this level, Lin Yu would score around 450 points. This was more than a hundred points higher than his usual score, but in the province’s liberal arts exams, it would only just allow him to reach the cutoff for the third-tier universities, not even the second tier. The first-tier liberal arts line, always above 550, and the prestigious universities above 600, were out of reach.

After careful analysis, Lin Yu decided to give up on Geography, History, and Politics and focus solely on Chinese, English, and Mathematics, with Mathematics as his top priority and reading comprehension and composition in Chinese and English as secondary.

He had no memory left of the college entrance exam he had taken ten years ago, not even the Chinese composition topic. But he estimated that with some study and by mastering the scoring techniques, he could probably write a high-scoring essay, since his search system could supply him with an abundance of elegant phrases and classical references.

Lin Yu’s sudden transformation was noticed by the substitute teachers and many students in Class Seven, but their reaction was almost unanimous: if only he had realized this sooner.

Many top students felt a strong sense of superiority rising within them. After the college entrance exam, everyone would be divided into ranks, and they would have finally emerged from years of arduous study, making all the hard work worthwhile.

As for Lin Yu’s mother, Wang Chunhua, she was delighted to see her son becoming increasingly reserved and low-key, even avoiding the Taekwondo club and heading home to study every day after school.

The only thing that left her slightly uneasy was that, on two or three occasions when she got up at night, she had stumbled upon Lin Yu and Qi Yue being intimate.

But as a mother, she felt that her son wasn’t being taken advantage of, so she chose not to intervene, thinking that as long as the two children didn’t cross the final line, it was fine.

Moreover, she believed that her son’s once restless nature had settled, and this change was inseparable from Qi Yue’s daily companionship.

With his mother tacitly turning a blind eye, Lin Yu grew bolder, often putting his hands all over the beautiful ponytailed girl after a bit of studying.

This left Qi Yue both shy and flustered, feeling both resentful and deeply attracted to Lin Yu.

Over time, as the girl tasted the sweetness of first love, she began to enjoy kissing more and more… and later on, the two would often end up tangled together on the bed.

Fortunately, they found other ways to release their hormones and never truly crossed the point of no return. Yet, Qi Yue, stimulated by Lin Yu, became more radiant and beautiful—her charm almost rivaling that of the school beauty, Yang Zhilin.

With her good looks and improving figure, Qi Yue was naturally delighted. The only thing that disappointed her was that Lin Yu had never once told her he liked her.

In high spirits, one weekend while shopping with Yang Zhilin, Qi Yue deliberately picked out for Lin Yu a blue Nokia 3610, a phone later hailed as “the strongest brick among phones, the strongest phone among bricks.”

Lin Yu didn’t refuse Qi Yue’s gift at all; he accepted it outright and kept the gesture in his heart.

For the next half month, Qi Yue stayed at Lin Yu’s house almost every day, and her own tastefully decorated European-style apartment was left to the cleaning lady.

Lin Yu thoroughly enjoyed having both books and beauty at his side. He never said it aloud, but in his heart, he was utterly content.

But good times never last. On the eve of National Day, Lin Yucheng, returning from a business trip, happened to walk in on Lin Yu and Qi Yue kissing—Lin Yu’s hand firmly squeezing the girl’s chest.