Doug Feng sprinted up the stairs to the fifth-floor exam hall, only to freeze in place as he spotted Linda standing at the doorway, arms crossed and eyes blazing with fury. From the look on her face, she was practically breathing fire.
Uh-oh… I'm dead meat.
Clearly, there was no avoiding the storm this time. Doug put on his most charming grin and ambled up as if nothing was wrong.
"Hey, class prez! Lovely afternoon, isn't it? Great weather for an exam!"
"Save it!" Linda snapped, stepping forward like she was about to arrest him. "What did you promise me this morning, Doug? No early submissions! And what did you do? You turned in your paper early anyway! Do my words mean nothing to you?!"
Doug scratched his head sheepishly. "I swear it wasn't intentional! My neighbor got hospitalized, so I had to leave early to check in on her. I was just trying to be a good Samaritan!"
The commotion had caught the attention of several students inside the classroom. Faces started appearing in the window, peering out curiously.
"Lame excuse," Linda shot back.
Ding-ding-ding!
The preparatory bell rang just then, and down the hallway came the proctor, clutching a stack of exam papers. Linda huffed, clearly still furious, but there was no more time to argue. She jabbed a finger at Doug.
"This is your last warning. If you dare submit early again, I'm cutting you off—permanently!"
"Whoa, hold up! That sounds kinda serious, doesn't it?" Doug protested as she turned and marched into the room.
Still rubbing the back of his head, Doug followed, confused and annoyed. All this fuss just because I turned in a paper early? What's the big deal?
What Doug didn't know was that Linda had always been like this. Raised under a mother who drilled discipline into her from birth, Linda had developed a personality as unbending as reinforced steel. Her word was law, and in all her years as class president, no student had dared defy her instructions more than once—until Doug came along.
In her eyes, he wasn't just being careless. He was outright challenging her authority.
Tap tap tap…
The sharp clack of high heels on the floor snapped Doug's attention to the classroom door. And there she was.
Red stilettos. Knee-length leather skirt. Black stockings. Fitted blazer over a crisp white blouse, straining ever-so-slightly across her chest. Her long hair was tied back in a professional ponytail, and a soft touch of makeup made her look both elegant and dangerously approachable.
Ms. Fang?!
Doug almost choked on his own spit.
Wasn't today supposed to be a different proctor? What's she doing here?
He glanced at Linda, who looked just as puzzled. Normally, proctor schedules were fixed and rarely changed.
Fang Qing, meanwhile, had clearly not expected to see her two most "unforgettable" students in the same classroom. Linda—the perfect straight-A student—and Doug—the guy she'd recently dragged home to pose as her fake boyfriend.
Why are they here? she thought as she placed the exam packets on the desk. Her colleague began reading out exam instructions, while Ms. Fang's gaze bounced between Doug and Linda like a tennis match.
In truth, she hadn't been scheduled to proctor today. Her original assignment had been the math exam yesterday, but she'd swapped shifts so she could bring Doug to meet her mom. Who could've guessed that fate would line up this perfect comedic timing?
"Each of you should have five sheets in total, including the answer sheet," she said, her voice soft and pleasant—classic English teacher energy. "Don't start yet. Just check if everything's there and flip to the listening section for now."
Doug stared at his test papers, doing his best impression of a focused student. But he couldn't help sneaking glances at Ms. Fang.
Business suit Fang… Pajama Fang… No-suit Fang… His imagination was going off the rails.
Unfortunately, Ms. Fang caught him mid-peek and shot him a death glare. Doug flinched like he'd touched a live wire, instantly gluing his eyes back to the page.
Hmph! Little perv, Ms. Fang thought, smirking to herself. She looked smug—until she remembered that morning when Doug had seen her undressing while hiding in her closet.
Her cheeks puffed out in a flustered pout.
"English listening exam is about to begin. Starting with a soundcheck," the speaker crackled.
The test had begun.
The room fell silent except for the soothing British-accented voice coming from the speakers. Students quickly flipped to the listening section, scanning questions and jotting notes. The tension was palpable—no one dared even sneeze too loud.
Doug, of course, had nothing to worry about. With his brain power upgraded by the system, the English listening section might as well have been nursery rhymes. He could hear each sentence crystal clear, and what's more—each correct answer shimmered faintly on his test paper, like the world itself was giving him cheat codes.
Still, he couldn't just fill in all the answers in ten seconds flat. Ms. Fang was pacing the room like a panther on patrol, especially around his desk.
So he played along, scribbling in answers at a believable pace, nodding slightly as though deep in thought.
Meanwhile, Ms. Fang hovered nearby, her gaze drifting over his paper.
Huh? Her brow furrowed.
First ten questions… all correct?
Given how the school had cranked up the difficulty for this baseline test, the fact that Doug was breezing through the listening section was more than a little suspicious.
What's gotten into him today? she wondered.
But Doug, for once, kept his head down. Not flirting. Not chatting. Just quietly answering every question… correctly.
Well, mostly.
Because somewhere behind that serious face, his brain had already moved on to a far more chaotic daydream involving Ms. Fang, a whiteboard marker, and a "private tutoring session"…
Fortunately, the exam hall remained peaceful. At least for now.