Chapter 12 Arming with Determination

od of using minimal effort to achieve maximum results would suit him better in his current situation. Without any favorable trends or momentum, this reincarnated Yellow Robe Taoist priest couldn't pos...Chapter Twelve: Striving for Honor

Just after Ling Shan arrived at the classroom, she slammed her bag onto the second desk with evident displeasure, completely ignoring Su Can without even making eye contact. This was a stark contrast to how they had interacted cheerfully by the school gate earlier.

Hearing that, Xue Yiyang asked curiously, "What's wrong with Chen Ling Shan Who upset her this time"

Su Can just smiled wryly without answering. It was hard to explain this situation clearly in words.

Xiao Rihua’s entrance into the classroom caught Su Can off guard. He had never before spoken to him in such a low tone, breaking his usual haughty demeanor. This sudden change surprised Su Can but also indicated that Xiao Rihua was no longer hostile towards him; it was something he earned through his own efforts.

The release of the scores caused two extremes within the class: Wang Xuebing, who had been second in their sub-class, performed abysmally and dropped to fifth place. On the other hand, Su Can advanced another two spots, ranking eighth overall.

These rankings stirred some excitement among students when read out by Xiao Rihua, evoking a sense of unexpected grandeur within him. Interestingly, he didn't seem particularly upset about Wang Xuebing’s fall to fifth place but felt relieved at Su Can’s rise to eighth place.

This boy has immense potential!

Su Can knew that if he focused more on memorization-type questions, his ranking would likely be even higher than this.

The biggest issue was the memorization questions. While Su Can wasn't bad at memorizing, it wasn’t because of a deficiency in memory; rather, he had no aversion to learning and mastering these basics. Apart from being reborn, he had no other advantages in this era. The significance of his rebirth lay in utilizing past experiences to plan out his life anew, maximizing the benefits by arming himself with wisdom and knowledge.

He could categorize current knowledge into different fields and study these subjects not just for immediate application but also for expanding his learning capacity. Furthermore, many advanced topics are based on a solid foundation of basic knowledge. For example, while someone focused solely on history might not need to delve deeply into physics, chemistry, or mathematics, they certainly couldn't go out shopping without knowing their multiplication tables.

Learning these basics also helped broaden his understanding and accelerate his learning ability.

Su Can would allocate the time he spent memorizing high-level material to reinforcing other knowledge points. Meanwhile, he used these memorization tasks as a way to train his memory skills. However, regarding the mandatory memorizations set by the curriculum, Su Can often remained vague and straightforwardly accepted lower scores.

Xue Yiyang ended up ranking around forty in the class with a score that made him nearly burst into laughter when he saw it. Knowing that Xue Yiyang usually hovered around seventy in his later life’s exams, his overall grades were dismal. At one point, he even achieved the dubious honor of being the lowest scorer in English, an achievement worthy of recording.

However, now he had ranked around fortieth in the entire city of Xia Hai, which is the best high school. A ranking of forty means that he has surpassed the minimum requirements to enter a second-tier university and can now aim for more prestigious colleges across the country.

In the past, Xue Yiyang was clueless about his future and had never even considered this possibility. It's hard to imagine that back when he started high school at such an exorbitant fee, he thought three years seemed so long and distant, with no clear path ahead for him. He was completely unsure which university to attend.

After putting in his own genuine efforts, Xue Yiyang now feels a sense of satisfaction and confidence within himself.

Tang Wu is still the top student in class, but Su Cen has realized that if he didn’t lose points from memorization questions or had been more careful, he might have closed the gap with Tang Wu. For the first time, Su Cen felt as though his life path was beginning to align closely with Tang Wu's trajectory, even though he hasn't achieved any remarkable accomplishments; rather, it’s a personal capability derived internally.

Xiao Rihua once again emphasized that students should register on March 1st and then dismissed the class.

As soon as Su Cen stepped out of the school gate, he saw Tang Wu standing at the top of the ramp. Shoulder to shoulder with him, Xue Yiyang patted Su Cen's back and pursed his lips, looking extremely aggrieved. He waved goodbye and said, "Bye! Don't forget to play games with me tonight!"

He then chuckled at Tang Wu and said, "I’m off now, Little Tang. Take your time dating!"

Tang Wu’s face turned slightly red, but before she could say anything, Xue Yiyang had already run away. In his heart, he has a lot of respect for Tang Wu who is both the class monitor and the most beautiful girl in their grade. He dares not beg her for leniency when he doesn’t hand in assignments because of her icy demeanor.

Tang Wu and Su Cen stood quietly on the platform, with Tang Wu turning to him and saying, "You did well this time."

Su Cen saw that Tang Wu’s face was flushed, and since they hadn't seen each other for about a week after the incident at the singing venue, he felt happy seeing her again. Su Cen knows that his meetings with Tang Wu have become more intimate, making him one of her closest friends compared to others.

"I'm content. If I keep up this performance, I think we can get into the same university," said Su Cen with a faint smile.

Tang Wu’s heart involuntarily skipped a beat at that moment. The bus arrived then, and for the first time she wished it would be delayed. She got on the bus, bought a ticket, sat down, but her mind kept replaying Su Cen's words.

The bus started moving downhill, passing through fields of wild oats and rapeseed flowers that haven't yet been turned into buildings—fields blooming with rapeseed in springtime as bright as her mood.

In Tang Wu’s eyes, this boy whose innocent face hides unassailable depths, his promise made in these simple times, though unrealistic and somewhat poignant, is something she wishes to drown herself in rather than wake up from.

Lunch over at the shop, Su Cen went out onto the street. The construction of Xinghai Square was in full swing. In the future, the pedestrian street would not yet have taken shape; a large area of Xin廣場 had been separated by several building barriers and became a bustling construction site. Through the glass windows of a nearby department store, Su Cen could see excavators, loaders, bulldozers, and people working like ants in coordination. "Pretty exciting."

Su Cen wandered aimlessly, standing within a relatively traditional department store. The bright white fluorescent hanging lamps above his head might be somewhat outdated and poorly maintained, with many places showing signs of dampness. Each counter still had several female salespeople, some of whom looked no older than eighteen, likely having started work immediately after graduation. Supermarkets were beginning to gradually gain popularity in this era, with large supermarkets emerging in various cities across the country. Although Xia Hai City developed more slowly compared to other places, these old things would soon be replaced by new developments.

Su Cen stroked his sunglasses and heard someone chuckle beside him, "I want those glasses! But if you pay double the price, I'll let them go!"

Su Cen turned around and saw Zhao Lu and his gang. At that time, they had a conflict with Wang Weiwei's group, even losing in a game of basketball. Later, Zhao Lu wanted to befriend Su Cen, but he was lectured by Lin Zhoudou instead. Su Cen remembered the dejected look on his face.

Now, however, they were smiling cheekily and leaning beside him with a grin. "I wondered who it would be! We happened upon you on our first trip back for tourism. Where are the rest of Lin Xiaoyi's gang Or is it just you alone"

There were three or four boys around him, and standing nearby was a manager-like woman in her forties named Wang. Though she had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, she still retained her charm.

The sight of Su Cen made Zhao Lu somewhat embarrassed. Zhao Lu and his gang were temporarily buying some camping items when they were brought to this famous department store by the city secretary in charge of vehicles. The people left, but these difficult-to-please ‘ancestors’ came along instead. Though she did not have to kowtow to Zhao Lu’s group, as a child, she was still handpicked by the secretary; unable to know their background and thus had no choice but to let them be.

“I finally understand why Lin Xiaoyi looks at you guys with that expression. It's truly what they invite upon themselves,” Su Cen immediately handed the sunglasses to a salesperson, pointing towards Zhao Lu, “Give it to him.”

One of the boys next to Zhao Lu jumped up but was stopped by Zhao Lu’s hand. His displeasure vanished instantly, replaced with a smile, "No problem, Lin Zhoudou and Wang Weiwei would have no attitude towards us; I know this already. As they say, only those who care get angry. Since I don't care, I won’t be petty! I said double the price; these glasses are mine!"

Seeing Zhao Lu paying up, Manager Wang could not say anything against his stubborn look and gestured to a service staff to take the payment for now; she would return any excess later.

Su Cen shook his head, ignoring them and turned towards deeper shelves. Glancing at the price of a fountain pen, he picked one up just as Zhao Lu’s group stealthily appeared again, pointing at the pen and saying to Manager Wang, "I’ll buy this pen at double its price! But if you offer me an equal amount, I'll let it go!"

This was clearly an open provocation, testing whether Su Cen would dare take up the challenge or not.

Manager Wang looked troubled as she thought about how young Zhao Lu was yet so domineering.

Su Cen smiled at Manager Wang who had wiped her brow, "Wrap it, give to him." Zhao Lu originally thought Su Cen would explode but found that he calmly allowed the transaction. This stubbornness made Zhao Lu feel like he was in a confrontation with Su Cen; it felt quite satisfying.

From then on, as long as Su Cen was seen looking at something for more than a minute within the department store, Zhao Lu would preemptively offer double its price to buy it. Furthermore, the general manager of this department store accompanied him all along, so even if service staff had bad attitudes, they dared not say anything.

Miss Wang was embarrassed, but she didn't pay much attention to Su Can. However, many customers who were strolling around the building witnessed this scene of arrogance and bullying, which made it hard for her to maintain a composed face. Therefore, she comforted herself with childish thoughts. Nevertheless, looking at these teenagers, all seventeen years old yet more mature than each other, such thoughts seemed rather ridiculous. By the end of Su Can's shopping trip, everything he had intended to buy was snatched away by Zhao Lu. Of course, Zhao Lu wasn't stupid; items that were too large or insignificant for him to care about were left untouched.

Seeing that he couldn't fool Zhao Lu anymore, Su Can felt rather disheartened.

Zhao Lu noticed this and began to feel quite smug. Recently, many TV stations had been broadcasting 'Journey to the West', and he believed his eyes were even more magical than Sun Wukong's fiery eyes in detecting people's intentions. Su Can’s little thoughts couldn't escape his scrutiny, ensuring that everything Su Can wanted to buy would be collected.

His two companions on either side of him were left suffering as they carried the bags and boxes, yet dared not say anything.

"If you offend Brother Zhao, Brother Zhao will personally tell you what is impossible!" Watching Su Can aimlessly heading towards the supermarket entrance, Zhao Lu felt quite accomplished. Those large bags and boxes seemed to be his trophies, proving his overwhelming power and財力絕對壓倒蘇燦的證明。

Upon reaching the storage point at the door, Su Can turned around and smiled at Zhao Lu.

What does this mean He can still smile Zhao Lu and the others were stunned.

Although these items could be bought elsewhere or in other sections of the supermarket, it was about maintaining one's pride. With so many people watching, Su Can had been suppressed and troubled from start to finish without daring to stand up for himself. If he didn’t care about this situation and was willing to lose face, Zhao Lu and his friends would be happy for him to do so.

While Zhao Lu was stunned, the service staff handed over a clear plastic bag containing a soft Yún brand cigarette pack and a red méi brand cigarette pack to Su Can. The two packs of cigarettes were quite mismatched in price but before anyone could think too much about it, Su Can waved the bag at Zhao Lu.

As an indication that these were the items he wanted, he then carried the plastic bag and left.

Zhao Lu was left with a face changing like the weather. Miss Wang watched as Zhao Lu bought all sorts of unnecessary things and couldn't tell if she felt amused or annoyed.

As for Zhao Lu's friends who were carrying the heavy loads, they stared in disbelief at Su Can's retreating back. "This kid..." They held their breath but didn’t know what to say except, "Buying so much smoke will surely kill you!"

I saw an increase in votes this month; fish-grilling thanks everyone for your support! We still have a way to go compared to the leaders, but with everyone's efforts, we will definitely catch up!g found it somewhat dull and went back to his own business.Su Can reviewed the overall situation but didn’t know if he had altered the occurrence of Wang Weiwei’s group arriving at First High School o...