Exam Grades
Wen Yi’s eyes widened in surprise. “Lin Yang? You came in too!?”
Lin Yang frowned slightly. “I was hired to protect my employer.”
The “employer” he referred to timidly poked his head out from behind him, trembling as he looked at the group.
He looked to be pushing 200 pounds. After climbing all those stairs, he was drenched in sweat, his small eyes squeezed by the fat on his face gleaming with excitement. “Are you Wen Yi? The actress Wen Yi?”
Wen Yi nodded. The man grinned dumbly. “You’re just as good-looking as on TV.”
Some murmurs broke out from behind them. A stylishly dressed young man was the first to speak. “So where the hell is this place? Is this some prank show you dragged us into?”
He had dark circles under his eyes, clearly sleep-deprived for days. Afraid of having another nightmare, he had gone clubbing to stay awake, but exhaustion got the better of him. He dozed off at the bar, and the next thing he knew, he woke up in this world.
When he saw an actress present, he immediately assumed it was one of those prank shows like the ones overseas. His face darkened.
Others who had cluelessly followed Lin Yang earlier also began to get noisy.
He now glared at Lin Yang and Lu Congxing with suspicion. His originally handsome face now looked less appealing thanks to his hostile expression.
Lin Yang felt a headache coming on. “Didn’t I just explain? You were dragged in by a malevolent ghost. You’ve been cursed—this isn’t your original world anymore.”
Lu Congxing stared at him and suddenly asked, “What’s your name?”
He didn’t ask with any ulterior motives—he just thought this guy seemed bold and might be useful.
But the young man misunderstood. He smirked and raised an eyebrow. “I’m not gay, you know.”
He assumed Lu Congxing was a wannabe celeb trying to make it big—or maybe he was just tempted to tease him after seeing those big, round, puppy-like eyes.
He had a naturally cocky, roguish personality. Despite his good looks, he was still single, largely thanks to this attitude.
Lu Congxing didn’t react at all. He just blinked slowly, almost sluggishly.
This only made Deng Zhi more intrigued. He added, “But you are really good-looking. I guess I could consider it. I’m Deng Zhi.”
He wasn’t arrogant enough to believe someone would fall for him at first sight in a situation like this—especially not someone as pretty as that boy.
He was just messing around, enjoying the idea of teasing someone cute.
But the reaction he expected—those tearful, flustered eyes—never came.
Lu Congxing just thought he might have some kind of mental issue and chose to ignore him.
Before the tension could get any worse, a young girl in pajamas, who looked like a student, finally spoke up timidly. “I-I think Mr. Lin is telling the truth. I was sleeping at home and ended up here.”
Her apartment complex had strict security, and she’d only dozed off while doing homework. It was almost impossible she’d been kidnapped. Her parents had been in the living room watching TV, completely unaware of what their daughter was now going through.
The thought made her start crying again.
Her words silenced the group once more. Only Deng Zhi still looked skeptical. He was starting to wonder if this was some elaborate scheme by the nightclub—even though he hadn’t seen a single camera.
Frustrated, he ran his fingers through his hair, revealing his sharp brows and defiant gaze.
That’s when Pang Ziwen, who had been standing behind Lin Yang, finally spoke up. “You’ve all been having nightmares lately, right? That’s why I hired an exorcist. We’ll be fine if we stick with him.”
His family was wealthy, and he was terrified of dying. Even though hiring an exorcist from the Lin family cost a fortune, he’d gritted his teeth and paid up.
His explanation turned everyone’s attention back to Lin Yang.
Even the student from earlier, Xue Shuangshuang, stopped crying and looked at him hopefully.
What had been just a headache before now felt like a heavy burden on Lin Yang’s shoulders. To avoid spreading panic, he forced himself to nod.
In truth, he was completely unprepared. He thought this was just a simple job—he never expected to be dragged into a high-level illusion.
No, this was the first time he’d ever seen a dreamscape capable of holding this many people. Not even the books mentioned something like this. It meant this illusion might exceed any known classification, and he was likely in way over his head.
Fortunately, there was a disciple of a reclusive master among them. Unlike the Lin family, who had many disciples and could afford to lose one or two, a reclusive master was known for taking only a few apprentices and fiercely protecting them. Maybe he’d sense his disciple’s danger and come to the rescue.
The key was surviving long enough for that to happen.
He could deal with being in danger himself, but he had to make sure Wen Yi made it out safely.
That thought brought back his seriousness. “What happened just now? Why’d you turn on the lights?”
Lu Congxing nodded and calmly said something terrifying: “Someone died.”
As he spoke, he stepped aside to reveal the door—and the bloody, gruesome scene beyond it.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“Someone’s dead!!!”
Screams rang out one after another.
Lu Congxing turned his head slightly and was momentarily stunned.
The severed head that had just fallen beneath the podium table was now inexplicably placed neatly on top of it. Its pale face was turned toward the classroom door, and its wide-open, lifeless eyes stared straight at them.
Apparently, while they had been talking, a pair of eyes full of resentment had been watching them from behind.
It was a deeply unsettling feeling. So Lu Congxing strode forward, and under everyone’s incredulous gaze, he calmly reached out with his delicate, innocent-looking face—and rotated the head so the back of the skull faced them instead.
Satisfied, Lu Congxing smiled slightly with his eyes, but when he turned around again, he saw many people staring at him in terror. He tilted his head in confusion.
Lin Yang quickly coughed to change the subject. “Hey, did he die because of the fan?”
The scene made it clear—it didn’t seem like foul play.
Wen Yi nodded. “When I woke up, I was in the classroom next door. I heard the noise and came over. He had just stood up when the fan suddenly turned on and killed him.”
She had only wanted to find someone to ask what was going on but ended up walking right into a scene of death.
Everyone else crowded outside the classroom, too scared to enter. Lin Yang was stuck close to his employer and couldn’t leave, so he told Wen Yi to step out for now. After all, no one could be sure if this classroom—where someone had just died—might experience another “accident.” Especially since there were four fans in this one room.
Wen Yi glanced at Lu Congxing. Once he gave a slight nod, she jogged over to the group.
But Lu Congxing didn’t leave. He ignored the gruesome blood splattered across the floor and walked over to the body. Although the head had somehow moved, the body itself remained in its original position.
Lu Congxing first moved the fan off the corpse before carefully examining it.
Aside from the decapitation, there were no other visible injuries. It seemed almost certain that he had died from the fan slicing off his head. Judging by his appearance, he was just an ordinary person from the outside world. The reason for his appearance in this illusion wasn’t clear yet, but for now, Lu Congxing assumed he had just wandered in by misfortune. Encounters with the supernatural were often tied to luck. The only mystery left was why he was the first to die—or in other words, what condition had triggered his death?
Lu Congxing crouched beside the corpse, studying it intently. Even though he looked attractive, no one had the heart to admire his features at a time like this. They huddled together like frightened little lambs, trembling as they watched him.
Only Lin Yang managed to maintain his usual expression. Even though he hadn’t entered the room to protect those outside, he still felt that letting Lu Congxing bear all the risk alone was unfair. So he called out, “Come back out for now!”
Someone muttered, “If he wants to show off, let him. Who knows, maybe he’ll actually find a clue.”
Wen Yi frowned. “If you’re so brave, why don’t you go in yourself?”
Her blunt and straightforward attitude hadn’t changed even after entering the entertainment industry—something that had gotten her labeled as a controversial figure after a few maliciously edited clips.
The person she snapped at clearly saw that she and Lin Yang were close and didn’t want to offend an exorcist, so they shut up with a resentful look.
Lu Congxing stood up and shook his head. “If we don’t figure out how he died, then any one of us here could be next.”
There were nine people in total, including himself—and that wasn’t counting others who might still be somewhere else in this university. The longer they delayed, the more dangerous it became. The first death was like the shot that started it all—now the second, third, and more would follow.
Lin Yang understood that too. He clenched his fists and watched as Lu Congxing searched the room alone. Every time he tried to move forward, his employer Pang Ziwen grabbed him in fear.
Lu Congxing didn’t force anyone to help. He first searched the podium. The chalk and textbooks on top were slightly disordered—but it was that subtle messiness that made everything feel so real.
He suddenly recalled that when he first arrived in this illusion, he had woken up with his head down on a classroom desk. Could that be important?
“Did everyone wake up at a desk in a different classroom?”
The others froze for a second, then all nodded.
Lu Congxing pointed toward Wen Yi. “Do you know where he was sitting at first?”
Wen Yi thought for a moment, then pointed to a chair near the corpse. “He was sitting right there. He stood up when he saw me, and that’s when the accident happened.”
Without hesitation, Lu Congxing boldly reached his hand into the desk.
Everyone held their breath at his daring move. When they saw the surprised look on his face, their nerves instantly tightened.
Unexpectedly—but also somewhat logically—there really was something inside. Lu Congxing felt the thin texture against his fingers and pulled it out.
To everyone’s surprise, though it somehow made perfect sense, the item in the drawer turned out to be a report card.
Only after confirming that this was the only desk—with which the deceased had interacted—that contained a report card, did Lu Congxing finally step back out.
Everyone quickly crowded around, staring anxiously and curiously at the paper.
It listed all the subjects and grades, along with the student’s signature—written, bizarrely, in red ink. A woman who had been silent until now murmured, “In where I come from, writing your name in red ink is very unlucky.”
A female student chimed in, “This guy’s grades were awful.”
Not a single subject had a passing score. History, in particular, was only 25 out of 100.
Since the person was already dead, they couldn’t confirm for sure if the report card belonged to him. But the implication hung heavy in the air.
Suddenly, Wen Yi remembered that the classroom she woke up in was right next door. She shared the thought, and everyone hurried off in a group to Class 2, Grade 11.
They watched as Lu Congxing and Wen Yi walked inside—only to come back out with another report card.
This one clearly had Wen Yi’s name on it.
She pouted and muttered, “My grades were not this bad back in school.”
Still, compared to the previous one, this report card looked much better. At least two subjects had passing scores, and the lowest score was above 30.
Lu Congxing didn’t think this illusionary realm had created report cards just for fun—clearly, there was a purpose behind it. He looked up and exchanged a glance with Lin Yang.
Lin Yang immediately understood. He frowned at everyone and said urgently, “Quick, go back to the classrooms you first entered and find your report cards!”
His voice was fast and anxious, making everyone realize that this was a serious matter.
Some people still hesitated, unwilling to move. But Deng Zhi, who had been rebellious just moments ago, suddenly became strangely obedient. Like a real school bully, he knocked on a desk and threatened, “Didn’t you hear what the little lamb said? Get moving!”
Lu Congxing, who had already gone downstairs, had no idea he’d just earned himself a new nickname. Wen Yi quickly grabbed her report card with her name on it and followed him.
In Class 1 of Grade 10, Lu Congxing found his report card in the drawer without issue. The grades on it were shockingly bad—far worse than anything this little genius had ever received:
Math 79, English 56, Chinese 92, Physics 41, Chemistry 49, Biology 44, History 51, Politics 60, Geography 56.
By current college entrance exam standards, only two subjects were even passing.
Unlike Wen Yi, who was in Grade 11, his subjects weren’t yet divided into arts and sciences—probably because he was still in Grade 10.
Author’s note:
Regarding the grading system and subject categorization—everyone is assumed to be separated into arts and science tracks starting from Grade 11. The total score for the college entrance exam is set at 750 points.