It’s not that he was afraid of Old Brooks getting angry, but he was worried the teacher would call his parents. This was the most critical time—if his parents found out he was skipping class, they’d be furious.

Without even talking to William Clark, David Thompson hurried to the office to find George Brooks.

……

In the office, George Brooks was grading papers. He looked up, saw David Thompson, and said with a dark face, “You skipped class this morning? Do you know what you scored on this mock exam?”

David Thompson was momentarily stunned, then remembered William Clark had mentioned there was a mock exam a few days ago. But at that time, he hadn’t been reborn yet, so he hadn’t paid attention.

George Brooks didn’t wait for David Thompson to reply and said himself, “Five hundred and twenty points!”

“Thirty-seventh in the class. I remember when you first entered high school, your class rank was seventh. You’ve dropped thirty places! With these grades, even getting into a first-tier university is hard, and a second-tier one is barely possible. Do you think you’re living up to your own potential?”

George Brooks looked both disappointed and frustrated. David Thompson was actually quite smart—otherwise, he wouldn’t have made it into the experimental class at No. 1 High School.

But this guy’s heart just wasn’t in his studies. He spent all day either online or fighting, didn’t come to school for evening self-study, and now he was even skipping classes during the day.

David Thompson put on an innocent face and quickly forced a smile. “Teacher, I know this time it’s my fault. But I really wasn’t skipping class—I had diarrhea this morning when I left home and didn’t have time to ask for leave. That’s why I rushed here this afternoon.”

Seeing that David Thompson really didn’t look well—of course, after a whole day on the road, who would?—

George Brooks didn’t make things difficult for him and instead reminded, “The college entrance exam is coming up soon. Don’t eat anything strange during this time. Taking care of your health is most important.”

Seeing that David Thompson still hadn’t left, George Brooks asked curiously, “What is it? Something else?”

“Um, Teacher Brooks, I’d like to ask for a few days off…”

“At a time like this, you still want time off? Are you still sick?” George Brooks’s face darkened.

David Thompson shook his head and gave an awkward smile. “It’s just some personal stuff, but don’t worry, Teacher Brooks, I definitely won’t slack off in my studies. It’s just for about a week, and it’s all review now anyway. I always review by myself at night, so it won’t affect anything.”

George Brooks frowned. That’s what he said, but self-studying alone and reviewing together with everyone at school were definitely not the same in terms of efficiency.

But since graduation was near, being too strict might just trigger teenage rebellion.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “If it’s not urgent, it’s best not to take time off. If it’s really urgent, then at least come to school for evening self-study. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask the teachers.”

David Thompson thought about it and agreed. He probably wouldn’t be busy at night anyway, and it would be a good chance to ask about the questions he didn’t understand.

Walking out of the office, David Thompson thought to himself that Old Brooks was actually pretty nice—he hadn’t expected him to agree.

Back in the classroom, the afternoon classes had already started.

David Thompson didn’t listen to the lesson. He kept searching through all kinds of materials, seeing if he could find more college entrance exam questions.

And sure enough, in just one afternoon, David Thompson found several questions of the same type. Aside from some changes in the data, the questions were almost identical.

He’d made money, found college entrance exam questions, and David Thompson was in a great mood.

There were a few questions he didn’t quite understand, but David Thompson wasn’t worried. There were plenty of top students in the class, and the teachers were around—he just needed to ask more questions to figure them out.

Still, he had to be careful. It was best to mix in some other questions. Otherwise, after the college entrance exam, if people found out all the questions he’d asked were actual exam types, he’d have a hard time explaining.

Chapter 11: The Rich, Handsome Guy Arrives

Warren Wade didn’t wait for David Thompson after school. When he came to Class 8 and saw David Thompson still reading, he was shocked!

He circled around David Thompson a few times, clicking his tongue in amazement, thinking to himself, “Did the sun rise in the west today?”

“Dongzi, what’s up with you today, working so hard?”

David Thompson looked up, rubbed his temples tiredly, and said, “The college entrance exam is almost here—how can I not work hard? The mock exam results are out: 520 points. Last year, the first-tier university cutoff was 562. I have to at least try for a first-tier school.”

“Damn! You go online and sleep all day and still get that score?” Warren Wade looked resentful and grumbled, “I asked around—I only got 456. Our homeroom teacher said even getting into a regular university would be tough for me.”

“You deserve it!”

David Thompson snorted. Who told this guy to go talk bad about him to Hannah Quinn? So shameless!

“What are you so proud of! Hannah Quinn scored 645 this time. Even though she’s in the liberal arts, she’s definitely getting into a top university. You used to beat her in the high school entrance exam—what’s there to be proud of now?” Warren Wade shot back, refusing to be outdone.

David Thompson couldn’t be bothered with him and waved him away impatiently.

Of course, Warren Wade hadn’t come to talk about grades—he wanted to ask David Thompson to go to the internet café.

But David Thompson had no interest in those slow internet cafés now and refused without even looking up.

Warren Wade had no choice but to pull out his trump card again: “Then how about we go block Hannah Quinn?”

“Get lost!”

David Thompson exploded with anger. This jerk always used him as a shield, but in reality, he just wanted to follow Hannah Quinn around all day.

The current David Thompson would never agree. He said fiercely, “Hannah Quinn is going to be my sister-in-law in the future. Don’t go looking for her again!”

“In your dreams! A toad wanting to eat swan meat. I’ve already decided—when it’s time to fill out college applications, wherever Hannah Quinn applies, I’ll apply too. I’ll stick by her side forever!”