The academy was silent both inside and out.

Zhao Rong took a few steps towards the lectern, then suddenly turned around and helplessly said, "Why are you just standing there stunned, don't you want to attend my class anymore?"

"Oh oh oh!"

Everyone immediately responded and dashed back to their seats. Yu Huaijin couldn't help but glance at the smiling man on the lectern, and then obediently returned to his seat.

Once everyone sat down again, Zhao Rong picked up the textbook. Wu Peiliang couldn't help but stand up and awkwardly said, "Brother Zhao, I..."

Zhao Rong waved his hand and smiled.

Wu Peiliang was momentarily stunned.

For a moment, no one spoke in the academy.

The two exchanged glances, everything was understood without words.

Then Zhao Rong turned his head and gestured with his chin towards a certain serious girl sitting in the front row.

"Regarding this major examination, didn't Senior Yu say everything that needed to be said while I was away? Well, I'm lucky that I avoided the limelight and perfectly dodged it."

Actually, it was the most handsome student who didn't need to 'avoid the limelight' who jokingly said, "Now let me say a few words, standing in the position of the calligraphy assistant teacher, about this major examination."

Zhao Rong lowered his head, rolled up his sleeves, and tapped his fair right hand on the pearwood tabletop of the lectern: "The total score of our academy's calligraphy fell short of Justice Hall's first place in calligraphy, and worse, it lagged behind Cultivation Hall, ranking only third. This doesn't match our first place total score, and I'm not satisfied. I won't curse, nor do I have Senior Yu's strong presence to suppress others; my punishment is more straightforward..."

He raised his head and tugged at the corner of his mouth, "From this class onward, recent classroom assignments will be doubled. Homework assigned in class must be completed at home if not finished during class time, and if not done during the lesson, then during days off. Our academy has fallen too far behind Justice Hall's progress, we must catch up."

As he spoke, Zhao Rong took out paper and a pen, spread them on the lectern, and while writing something, he assigned: "Practice this calligraphy in clerical script a thousand times before the next class, you can't attend class if you don't finish it."

Immediately, the students' spirits were lifted. Usually protesting when asked to write calligraphy three hundred times for classroom assignments, now they straightened their backs, seriously watching Zhao Rong writing the exemplary calligraphy on the lectern. Even though his tone suddenly became stern, everyone was eager and ready to try, no longer careless or lax, focused intensely on Zhao Rong's back on the lectern. However, when Zhao Rong posted the assigned calligraphy on the blackboard, everyone was taken aback, then took deep breaths, sniffed, or pursed their lips...

On the blackboard was a row of clear and elegant big characters, seeming both like a slogan and a motivation.

"Shuaixing Hall First."

Yu Huaijin was silent for a moment, the students were moved and bowed their heads.

...

When all the students of Shuaixing Hall, led by Yu Huaijin, respectfully paid respects towards the lectern and said "Goodbye, Teacher," during the soothing sound of the morning dismissal bell, Zhao Rong truly felt that this best group among the Six Halls had finally acknowledged him.

Or rather, was taught hand-in-hand by him to acknowledge him.

Zhao Rong let out a slight breath, carrying his teaching materials as he left Shuaixing Hall, yet he was not overly joyful or proud, as being first in the academy and first in the school was just a beginning. He had boasted to Qing Jun, and even though the latter said he didn't want his husband's aims set too high, the words of a seven-foot man are like water once spilled and cannot be taken back, lest his wife laughs at him. Even if, by any small chance, he were to fail, Qing Jun would at most glance at him with a knowing smile, but he would never allow such a thing to happen...

The Old Zhao Family has its own family dynamics, and the vast Mochi Academy, which gathers many talented young men, also has its operating rules. The influence of parachuting to first among the Six Halls is spreading and fermenting at a speed Zhao Rong could not have imagined...

After class, Zhao Rong quickly left, not giving his classmates a chance to surround him for chit-chat, but was chased down by his fellow companions Fan Yushu and Jia Tengying.

"Hey Ziyu, wait for us, you kid secretly amazed so many people, even kept it from me, you're so despicable, you owe lunch." Fan Yushu, along with Jia Tengying, caught up, speaking with confidence.

Zhao Rong kept his sleeves wrapped and did not turn around, but slowed his pace a bit to wait for them. The three walked together towards the academy gate, but from a distance, they could see the crowd gathered at the academy exit.

Meng Zhengjun had posted the total score Red List at the academy gate, and there were students from all Six Halls looking at it. They had already seen the rankings of their own hall, now they were checking the overall ranking, checking the scores of other halls that are their competitors. Unlike the familiar name in the top rank of previous Red Lists, the unfamiliar name that now tops the rank was, naturally, the focus of the gathered students' gaze, leading them to whisper amongst themselves.

"Zhao... Ziyu, who is this person? Actually suppressed Shuaixing Hall's Yu Huaijin, is he also from Shuaixing Hall?"

"Wait a minute, Ren No.13! So, he's the Ren No.13 who was talked about from Jingchen Hall this morning? He's actually from Shuaixing Hall? First and second are both in Shuaixing Hall! This is sky defying."

"Sky-defying? Shuaixing Hall being first every time has become a habit... but hey, look at this Art Studies score, six subjects scored full marks, including Classics and Poetry two major arts!?"

"No way, did someone actually score full marks in Classics? Has anyone ever achieved that in previous years, senior brothers and sisters have never talked about it... what kind of monstrosity is this Zhao Ziyu, or has Professor Zeng retired and been replaced by a young teacher to change the grading?"

"Nonsense, I saw Teacher Chen accompanying Professor Zeng into Shuaixing Hall this morning... Actually, I'm more curious about how he scored in the one subject he didn't get full marks. Oh my, Music Art scored only six points, did he take the same exam? Or is he an unbalanced 'horse with a limp'?"

"His Music Art only scored six points and yet it's still first in the academy. Have you ever seen such an outrageous 'horse with a limp'? Maybe he took it deliberately, or perhaps he accidentally fell asleep during the exam..."

At the gate after school, as students from all Six Halls gathered, shocked and awed by the marvel, speculating wildly, Zhao Rong and his two companions passed through the crowd at the gate. Zhao Rong remained oblivious, quickened his pace, while Fan Yushu intentionally or not, loudly shouted:

"Hey hey Brother Ziyu, why are you walking so fast, wait for us, aren't you going to look at the Red List?"

Zhao Rong's face darkened.

And the originally buzzed crowd of students, started to quieten down seemingly from some part of the crowd, within just a few short breaths, the academy gate fell into silence. The distant figure of the young Confucian scholar trying to walk quickly away became like a magnet, attracting curious gazes, then a certain student with the last name of Fan did not forget to speak sharply, adding another blow: "Brother Ziyu, everyone's so enthusiastic, why don't you pause and say a few words? Any thoughts and experiences being first in the Six Halls?"

"..."

Thoughts and experiences? Abstaining from 'Qing Jun and Qian'er' during the exam, does that count? With no women on my mind, naturally, my strokes flow...

Zhao Rong was speechless inside, then was surrounded by eager students wanting to know him better, Zhao Rong could only respond politely, fortunately not too many students were bold or overly friendly, most of the students from the Six Halls were just observing from a distance, yet all couldn't hide their curiosity and admiration.

Among those, some keen-eyed and good memory students even recognized Zhao Rong as the salted fish student who frequently handed in his exam early, the shock and astonishment were self-evident.

Then, seeing the stream of students gathering after school increase, Fan Yushu stopped fooling around and helped Zhao Rong dismiss some enthusiastic comrades, then they left, heading back to East Fence Small House together.

However, from snatching the crown among hundreds of students across the Six Halls in Mochi Academy's mid-month major examination and surpassing Yu Huaijin, the impact, after a mere half day's fermentation, was even larger than Zhao Rong had anticipated...

...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.