The main character at this table is Howard Payne, whose grades are among the lowest in the class, but whose family is very wealthy. His mother is a doctor, and his father is a powerful section chief at the Land Bureau. After starting work, David Bennett met Howard Payne twice—once he was driving an Audi, and once a Land Rover. It’s said that after failing the college entrance exam, he served in the army for a few years, and after being discharged, his family paid for a position at the Songjiang Land Bureau.

There are just over 40 days left until the college entrance exam. While other students are either desperately cramming or so anxious they can’t focus on anything, for Howard Payne, this is a “wonderful” time.

As the exam approaches, students develop a strange sense of indulgence. Previously well-behaved girls, under pressure, have started going to internet cafes, karaoke bars, and dance clubs to relieve stress.

During a break in the afternoon, in the school restroom, David Bennett overheard some boys gossiping that a girl in their grade—good-looking and academically strong—had just been “unwrapped” by Howard Payne at a small motel near the dance club.

Howard Payne ate while watching TV, and even shouted once, “Boss, change the disc.”

When Henry Jordan went to get more rice, Howard Payne leaned over to David Bennett and asked with a grin, “David Bennett, eager to get into college? I heard you’ve been going to Henry Jordan’s place with questions lately? Your grades are good, you’ll at least get into a regular university. I’ve figured it out—enjoy myself for another month, then who knows how my old man will deal with me.”

David Bennett found it odd—how had Howard Payne noticed him after just two days?

When Henry Jordan returned, Howard Payne complained to two close classmates, “You can’t pick your own seat for the college entrance exam, and they don’t tell you the seating arrangement in advance. If only I could sit next to Henry Jordan or one of the other top students from our school during the exam, that would be great. At least I wouldn’t get scolded at home every day.”

A chubby, dark-skinned guy named Gavin Duke finished the last bite of his meal and said, “What are you thinking? Sitting together? Next to the top students? My sister took the exam two years ago and said there were barely any students from the same school in one exam room.”

David Bennett understood. Although Howard Payne acted carefree and indifferent all day, deep down he still wanted to go to college. After all, there are more quality girls at university. He must have fantasized about sitting next to a top student like Henry Jordan during the exam and catching a lucky break.

He had the same idea as David Bennett, no wonder he noticed him hanging around Henry Jordan.

Maybe all the top students mature early. Henry Jordan listened calmly to Howard Payne and the others, as if the conversation had nothing to do with him. Of course, it’s also possible that everyone knows the chances of sitting next to a classmate during the exam are so low they’re almost negligible.

After eating, Howard Payne asked the boss for five cans of Coke. Each of them took one as they walked back to school.

Chapter 0004: Become “Best Buddies” as Soon as Possible

By this point in senior year, teachers and parents are pretty much on the same page—they don’t really bother with the kids anymore.

Back in the classroom, David Bennett lay on his desk and took a nap. When he woke up, it was already the third period of the evening. The teacher went over a few difficult question types, then pulled up a chair next to the podium and let everyone review on their own, saying they could come to her with any questions.

The classroom was filled with the sound of pages turning and pens scratching on paper. David Bennett was like a high-speed copier, scanning page after page.

Dylan Gordon watched as David Bennett buried himself in his books for a while, then put the book down, scribbled a few notes and drew some tree diagrams in his notebook, then went back to reading.

When David Bennett was reading, he was incredibly focused—a strange intensity that even Dylan Gordon could sense. If David Bennett hadn’t attended every class lately, Dylan Gordon would have suspected he’d been replaced by someone else.

In their grade, Dylan Gordon ranked more than ten places higher than David Bennett, and his ranking was much more stable. That’s because Dylan Gordon was well-rounded, while David Bennett was extremely weak in math. He remembered that during the first mock exam, David Bennett scored 23 in math, which shocked the whole class.

Judging by the past two days, David Bennett seemed to have given up on math. No matter what class it was, he was always poring over politics, history, and geography, starting from the textbooks of the first year. While others had a total score of 750, his max was 600—how could that work?

David Bennett knew Dylan Gordon was watching him, but he wasn’t afraid of being observed, nor did he have time to care. He only had 46 days left, and there were still many books he hadn’t read. He remembered clearly that his desk mate in the latter half of senior year, who usually did well, ended up failing the college entrance exam, barely passing the second-tier university cutoff by 10 points—over 20 points lower than David Bennett’s own score that year. The worst part was, Dylan Gordon overestimated his score by 30 points, which led him to attend the lowest-ranked second-tier university. After the exam, they never contacted each other again.

Dylan Gordon was right about one thing: David Bennett had given up on math.

With only a little over 40 days left, his plan was to focus on the subjects that tested memory first. If there was time at the end, he’d review the most basic math and geometry formulas. As for math, David Bennett planned to solve that problem another way.

Even if it didn’t work out in the end, he’d use his memory to fight his way to the second-tier university cutoff.

That night, the light in David Bennett’s room stayed on until 2:30 a.m.

After only three hours of sleep, David Bennett got up, went to school early, and bought two bottles of the best milk and two bags of small cakes on the way. He didn’t have time to waste with Henry Jordan anymore—he needed to become “best buddies” with Henry Jordan as soon as possible.

Everything was going smoothly.