When the results were announced, something completely unexpected happened again.

  Zhou Yi had scored a perfect mark in his Chinese literature exam!

  As Liu Wei read out Zhou Yi's score, the students below began whispering among themselves once more.

  "Is he serious? Did he memorize modern literature too?"

  "I couldn't even understand some of the questions-how did he manage a perfect score?"

  "Why was he at the bottom of the class during freshman year finals? That's what baffles me the most."

  "Was he doing it on purpose?"

  Even Su Ning glanced curiously at Zhou Yi.

  Could someone hiding their true abilities really make such a drastic difference?

  "This is insane. Has Zhou Yi been possessed by someone? Or has he been secretly pulling all-nighters behind our backs?" Zhang Lili started gossiping with Su Ning again.

  Su Ning frowned and shook her head. "I don't think so. Pulling all-nighters might explain Chinese lit, but what about math? How do you explain that?"

  Su Ning couldn't shake the feeling that Zhou Yi wasn't actually a failure-it was just her intuition.

  Putting aside her previous biases against him, this young man seemed to be starting to shine.

  When Zhou Yi recited the text, Su Ning's gaze was already fixed firmly on him. She thought she saw something different... something almost magnetic about him.

  It was as if no matter how hard the questions got, they felt effortless to him-a quiet confidence radiated from him.

  It was something Su Ning envied but couldn't replicate herself.

  No matter how much money she had, when it came to studying, she still had to take it step by step like everyone else.

  So how much effort must Zhou Yi have put into achieving this?

  [Su Ning Affection Level + 3.]

  [Su Ning Regret Value +10.]

  Zhou Yi, who had just received his test paper, heard the system's announcement and smiled faintly. It seemed Su Ning's icy exterior had finally cracked open, even if only slightly.

  Men may never fully understand women-they're always overthinking things. Who knows what Su Ning imagined to bring about this change?

  Just grades alone probably wouldn't cut it, otherwise, she'd have fallen for Wang Yang instead.

  Zhou Yi rested his chin on his hand and glanced over, accidentally meeting Su Ning's eyes as she turned around.

  The girl jumped in surprise, quickly turning away and shutting her eyes tight.

  Su Ning didn't even know why she'd looked in his direction, but their eyes met nonetheless.

  A blush crept across her delicate, beautiful face.

  She was blushing.

  For Su Ning, this was rare.

  And now, her heart raced. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, afraid to look back again.

  [Su Ning Affection Level + 5.]

  He lowered his gaze and smiled softly. He hadn't expected the campus beauty queen to act so shy and stubborn.

  The bell rang, signaling the end of today's classes.

  Full course loads were uncommon in college life.

  At this hour, it wasn't quite dinner time yet. Students either headed back to their dorms to sleep, went to internet cafes to play games, or went out to hang out.

  Don't ask why they didn't stay in the dorms to game-the campus Wi-Fi was notoriously terrible, practically unusable.

  The original owner of this body was used to being alone, often eating by himself, sometimes even fetching meals for the few girls he liked.

  But this time, as soon as Zhou Yi stood up, he received several invitations from classmates.

  "Zhou Yi, want to join us for a gaming session?"

  "How about grabbing dinner together tonight? Cafeteria or the back street works."

  "I've got a couple of questions I'd love your input on."

  "Let me treat you to some skewers! Let's hit up the snack street!"

  Several high-performing boys in the class extended the first invitations, clearly impressed by Zhou Yi's academic performance.

  Zhou Yi's three roommates exchanged glances from afar, shook their heads, and walked off.

  They hadn't treated Zhou Yi well before, and now they felt too awkward to approach him.

  Zhou Yi looked at the boys in front of him, some of whom had mocked him previously, but he didn't refuse their offers.

  "Sure, let's go."

  Zhou Yi accepted the invitations, and the boys collectively sighed in relief.

  As they walked toward the cafeteria, nearly every head turned to look at Zhou Yi.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Girls whispered amongst themselves, stealing glances.

  "Wow, isn't that the senior from Visual Arts? So handsome."

  "He looks even better in person than in the forum photos."

  "I agree-he's way hotter in real life."

  "Should we ask for his contact info?"

  "No point. I heard he doesn't add anyone. Pretty aloof."

  The boys walking with Zhou Yi couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy hearing all the chatter.

  "Zhou Yi, we judged you unfairly before and said some harsh things. We hope you won't hold it against us."

  "Yeah, sorry about that. Let me treat you to dinner today-it's my way of apologizing."

  Zhou Yi knew exactly why they'd changed their tune.

  But people were predictable: they admired strength and mocked weakness. Only by becoming strong could you earn respect.

  College was like its own little society-if you were strong, people respected you; if you were weak, you got pushed aside.

  Zhou Yi wasn't arrogant. He smiled humbly and replied, "Don't worry about it. I wasn't exactly likable back then."

  His words made the boys feel even guiltier.

  Before long, they were calling each other brothers.

  Later, they headed to an internet café and played a few rounds of games together. Surprisingly, Zhou Yi excelled at gaming too.

  "Whoa, dude, what kind of skills are these?"

  "Incredible!"

  "What rank are you? Take me under your wing next time, bro!"

  Zhou Yi calmly operated the mouse while the others, who had initially joined him, gathered around to watch him dominate the game.

  If you're wondering why Zhou Yi was so good at gaming, it was thanks to a temporary cheat from the system-only active for three hours, but enough to make an impression.

  By dinnertime, Zhou Yi still insisted on heading to the cafeteria.

  During the meal, they all grew curious about how Zhou Yi's grades had improved so dramatically.

  This was probably the biggest mystery on everyone's mind-and perhaps the real reason they'd invited him to dinner.

  Zhou Yi stuffed a mouthful of rice into his mouth and, under their expectant stares, casually remarked, "Maybe I suddenly unlocked my full potential."

  The boy sitting next to Zhou Yi, Xu Yu, laughed and nudged him with his elbow. "Come on, stop teasing us. Just share your secret already, will you?"

  With food still in his mouth, Zhou Yi mumbled, "If you insist... I guess it's talent plus hard work."

  Wang Yang chimed in curiously, "But why did you bomb exams before? Math doesn't improve overnight. What's your secret?"

  Xu Yu leaned in mysteriously. "Were you hiding your true abilities back then? Intentionally failing to fly under the radar?"

  Zhou Yi seemed caught off guard by the question. He paused for a moment, gave Xu Yu a complicated look, and then fell silent.

  His silence spoke volumes-it was as if he'd confirmed their suspicions without saying a word.

  The group exchanged glances. Could the rumors circulating about Zhou Yi be true?

  Had he intentionally pretended to be a low-key loser?

  Without Zhou Yi knowing, speculations about him had already spread through the Visual Communication department multiple times.

  In addition to the main class group chat, there were always smaller cliques exchanging messages.

  The people having dinner with Zhou Yi that day had seen Zhang Lili's wild theories floating around in those chats.

  Xu Yu pulled out his phone and sent a flurry of exclamation marks in one of the smaller group chats.

  [Xu Yu (Profile stays the same until I rank #1): !!! Guys, GUYS! I'm having dinner with Zhou Yi right now. Guess what just happened?!]

  [City Belle: What?? Stop dragging it out, tell us already!]

  [Su Ning: .]

  [18-Year-Old Pure Stepmom: ??? You're eating with Zhou Yi and didn't invite me?? Get his WeChat ASAP!]]

  All ten members of the group urged Xu Yu to stop beating around the bush.

  [Xu Yu (Profile stays the same until I rank #1): Lili was spot-on! Zhou Yi WAS pretending to be a loser this whole time!]

  [City Belle: Spill the tea!!!]

  [18-Year-Old Pure Stepmom: Where are you guys? I'm coming to join!!]

  [Xu Yu (Profile stays the same until I rank #1): We asked him straight-up if he was hiding his true skills and purposely tanking his scores. Zhou Yi froze for a moment, gave me this intense look, and then stayed quiet. Total confirmation, right?]

  [City Belle: OMG, I NEED to see this for myself! Give me your location NOW!]