What's Wrong with This Alpha? - Extra 1

Chapter 102 – Extra 1: The College Entrance Exam + School Anniversary

“Are you all ready?” Duan Yi asked, his eyes fixed nervously on Sheng Yunze.

“You’ve asked me a hundred times already,” Sheng Yunze replied, a hint of exasperation in his voice. “Do you have pre-exam anxiety or something?”

“What the hell?” Duan Yi retorted, clearly annoyed. “I’m just worried about you!”

He pulled out Sheng Yunze’s meticulously organized notebook of practice problems and looked at him earnestly. “Why don’t you review it one more time? Even though Old Class Teacher said we don’t need to study tonight, I think you should take another look. You never know, the questions you review tonight might be the exact ones that make a beautiful reunion on tomorrow’s exam!”

Sheng Yunze glanced at him, warning, “Keep bothering me?”

Duan Yi sulkily shut his mouth, slumped over the desk, and began playing with his eraser.

Sheng Yunze felt a twinge of guilt for teasing Duan Yi, but he also found his dejected expression strangely satisfying.

He straightened up and started playing with Duan Yi’s hair, idly twirling strands between his fingers.

“Mad?” Sheng Yunze asked.

“No,” Duan Yi replied, instantly perking up. He looked at Sheng Yunze earnestly. “Are you really not going to review the exam one more time?”

“Nope,” Sheng Yunze said.

“You’re so stubborn! The National College Entrance Examination is tomorrow! Aren’t you even a little nervous?”

“Not at all,” Sheng Yunze replied.

He added, “I’ll be eighteen in three months, right after the National College Entrance Examination.”

Duan Yi: ……

“Keep your dirty jokes out of public places. Do you think this solemn and sacred classroom is the right place for us to be discussing this? Hey! Keep your hands off my neck!”

A square pheromone-blocking patch was stuck to the back of Duan Yi’s neck.

The patch was gaudily patterned, with a small green dinosaur printed on it.

Sheng Yunze, unable to resist, poked at the back of Duan Yi’s neck twice before trying to peel off the patch.

His behavior was reminiscent of a grade-schooler pulling on the pigtails of the girl in front of him, or a middle-school boy mischievously tugging at the tank top straps of a girl.

Duan Yi slapped his hand away. “Stop being so grabby.”

“Have you changed it today?” Sheng Yunze asked. “I feel like your pheromone scent has gotten stronger. Are you about to go into Heat?”

Speechless, Duan Yi shoved the overly curious Sheng Yunze away with both hands and feet, gritting his teeth. “No! Are you crazy? How many times a month do you have to invent a Heat for me…?”

Sheng Yunze loved using this tactic.

He knew perfectly well when Duan Yi’s Heat was due, but he could conjure up several “Heats” for Duan Yi out of thin air.

Using this as an excuse, Duan Yi pinned Sheng Yunze to the bed and playfully teased him.

Duan Yi pushed him away, laughing, until the Old Class Teacher scolded, “Duan Yi, keep it down!”

Feeling wronged, Duan Yi blurted out, “Sheng Yunze started it—”

But when he turned his head, Sheng Yunze had already abandoned him in the face of trouble, pretending to be engrossed in a test paper.

“Making excuses now, are you?” the Old Class Teacher glared. “Sheng Yunze wouldn’t mess around with you. If you don’t want to study, don’t drag down someone aiming for Tsinghua and Peking Universities. I saw you bothering him—did he even acknowledge you?”

Sheng Yunze sat rigidly upright, staring intently at the test paper.

Duan Yi: ……

Damn it!

He slumped onto his desk, shielding his face from the teacher’s view with his arm, and mouthed fiercely at Sheng Yunze: You’ll pay for this!

Sheng Yunze raised an eyebrow, his expression provocatively ambiguous, as if suppressing a laugh. Duan Yi knew he was being mocked again.

The last evening self-study session before the National College Entrance Examination was neither completely quiet nor particularly noisy.

Xiaobudian, the petite girl, was the true embodiment of pre-exam anxiety. Her face was deathly pale, and her hands were already clammy with cold sweat before even entering the examination hall.

Jiang Wangshu pretended to be calm while chatting with Hao Shanshan, though he had no idea what he was even saying.

Abbot, after having his lighter confiscated by the Old Class Teacher, resorted to burning incense sticks directly, having been prostrating towards the Western Pure Land of the Tathagata for a week straight.

Pingtou, seizing every last moment, was desperately “clutching Buddha’s feet,” reciting English essays like scriptures all day long.

Looking around the classroom, the most relaxed person was surprisingly Sheng Yunze.

Was he not nervous at all?

In the days leading up to the高考, Principal He, Principal Xiao, the Grade Director, Bei-ge, and the Old Class Teacher took turns talking to Sheng Yunze, mostly offering platitudes like “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself” and “Just perform as usual.”

Sheng Yunze himself seemed unfazed, but the adults were visibly anxious, with Duan Yi being the most stressed of all.

Duan Yi showed Sheng Yunze his scores.

The total score for Zhejiang Province was 810, including the elective module. Without the elective module, the total score for the First Mock Exam was 750.

The First Mock Exam had been notoriously difficult, yet Sheng Yunze had performed well, achieving his usual standard.

The Second Mock Exam was also challenging, but Sheng Yunze maintained his performance, his scores remaining steady.

Unlike Jiang Wangshu, who had done decently on the First Mock Exam only to see his scores plummet like a roller coaster on the Second Mock Exam, scaring the Old Class Teacher half to death and prompting an emergency counseling session that night.

Fortunately, Jiang Wangshu’s grades rebounded by the third mock exam.

However, the difficulty of the third mock exam was deliberately low. With the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) just around the corner, everyone knew its purpose was to boost students’ confidence. Sheng Yunze achieved perfect scores in science, math, and English, making Duan Yi’s eyes nearly pop out of his head.

With only two days left until the Gaokao, teachers stopped assigning practice tests or homework. Their most frequent advice was: “Relax, do your best, stay positive. No matter the outcome, the process is what truly matters.”

On the final day, teachers entered the classrooms without teaching or reviewing. Instead, they leaned against the podium, chatting and laughing with the students, sharing their own Gaokao experiences, and reminiscing about their glorious past.

Before leaving, each teacher offered the students a final blessing for the Gaokao, sighing wistfully at how quickly the past three years had flown by.

A person’s youth had ended just as swiftly.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the last period of Evening Self-Study.

The Old Class Teacher stood up and repeated, “Give it your all tomorrow! Tonight, no one is allowed to study or review. Get a good night’s sleep, understood?”

“Understooood!” the class chorused in unison, dragging out the word.

Duan Yi joined in the drawn-out response, then yanked his backpack off and pounced onto Sheng Yunze’s back. “I’m hungry! Supermarket? I want a Crispy Ice!”

Sheng Yunze was so used to Duan Yi’s sudden attacks that he didn’t even flinch, continuing to walk forward without glancing sideways.

Duan Yi clung to his back, letting himself be dragged along until they reached the stairs. Only then did he straighten up and skip down the steps.

Third Year Class 1’s classroom was on the fourth floor. Duan Yi had walked these stairs for an entire year; he could navigate them blindfolded, knowing exactly where the next step would be.

The lights on the second and third floors were broken, so Duan Yi paused at those levels to wait for Sheng Yunze.

Whenever they passed students from other classes or met underclassmen on the second floor, the girls couldn’t help but steal glances at Sheng Yunze. They would then rush back to their classrooms, whispering excitedly to their friends about “meeting the school beauty.”

On their way back to the dormitory, they passed through the school’s front square. Duan Yi bought two popsicles from the supermarket and handed one to Sheng Yunze. “You can’t eat it, just hold it for me. I’m going to eat both.”

He bit into his own popsicle and continued leaning on Sheng Yunze’s shoulder. Glancing around, he noticed a peculiar vehicle parked in the square—smaller than a bus but larger than a private car, with several antennas sticking out.

“What’s that?” Duan Yi asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Probably a signal jamming vehicle,” Sheng Yunze casually guessed.

“Wow… is it to prevent cheating on the National College Entrance Examination?” Duan Yi licked his popsicle, leaving it dripping wet and his hands sticky with melted ice water. He made a mess everywhere.

Sheng Yunze grabbed Duan Yi’s hand, wiped it clean with a napkin, and said with a hint of disgust, “Can’t you eat a little cleaner?”

Duan Yi completely ignored him, staring at the popsicle in Sheng Yunze’s hand. “Ahhh! Yours is melting! Let me have a bite!”

Sheng Yunze took a bite of the popsicle in his hand and finished it in a few quick chomps. “Eating too much of this will give you a cold.”

Watching his popsicle disappear, Duan Yi let out a long, mournful wail.

They kept up their boisterous chatter all the way back to their dormitory, finally quieting down at the door.

Jiang Wangshu and the others had already finished showering. Duan Yi, realizing the hot water was about to run out, frantically grabbed his pajamas from the closet and rushed into the bathroom, showering with the urgency of a battlefield skirmish.

The Dormitory Auntie didn’t come to urge them to bed tonight, granting them maximum relaxation and freedom.

After his shower, Duan Yi flopped onto his bed with his phone and immediately started pestering Sheng Yunze with messages:

“Are you asleep? Are you asleep? Are you asleep? Are you asleep…?”

“……”

Seeing Sheng Yunze’s reply, Duan Yi instantly fired back: “I think I’m getting a little nervous!”

He glanced at the time. The Chinese exam started at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Duan Yi swallowed hard, belatedly realizing he was actually anxious.

Sheng Yunze: “I’ll come to your dorm.”

Duan Yi: “No, no, no! That’ll just make it harder for me to sleep. I’m going to start counting sheep now.”

How am I supposed to sleep early if I’m playing on my phone? Duan Yi thought. And I have no self-control—I’ll end up playing until midnight.

He switched on his flashlight and began checking his stationery pouch. As he sat up, he noticed Jiang Wangshu sitting on the lower bunk, doing the exact same thing.

Xiaobang and Bookworm were also awake, and all four of them nervously checked their belongings for anything they might have forgotten.

“Hey, Xiaobang, which exam hall are you in?” Duan Yi knocked on the lower bunk.

“I’m in the Second Division,” Xiaobang replied. “We’re really far apart. President Duan, are you close to Secretary Sheng?”

Duan Yi grimaced. “We’re in completely different buildings. He’s in the Science Building, and I’m in the Media Building. Jiang Wangshu, where are you? I saw you talking to Hao Shanshan for ages. Are you with her?”

“No. Secretary Sheng and I are both in the Science Building…”

Second High School was the examination center for the Upper City District’s National College Entrance Examination.

Five schools were taking the exam at Second High School: First High School, Second High School’s own students, Fourth High School, Seventh High School, and Xia City High School.

Students were assigned exam halls based on their city-wide rankings from the First Mock Exam. To prevent cheating, students from different schools were mixed up, so even being in the same building as someone you knew was considered lucky.

Duan Yi’s luck wasn’t great; he definitely wasn’t taking the exam with Sheng Yunze.

He rolled over in bed, placed his admission ticket over his face, and closed his eyes.

“Actually, I’m a little nervous.”

Bookworm: “President Duan, who isn’t nervous? Actually, I’d rather be reading. My head’s crammed with classical Chinese essentials, and I’m terrified tomorrow’s exam will be on the passage I know worst.”

Duan Yi: “I’m hoping for On Teachers tomorrow…”

“Holy crap, me too! That’s the easiest one!”

“Dream on…”

After chatting with Jiang Wangshu and the others for a while, Duan Yi felt sleepiness creeping in. He closed his eyes and drifted off.

The next morning, as the sun rose, Duan Yi—who had spent three years in high school—woke up before the school alarm for the first time ever.

As soon as he sat up, he sensed an unusual atmosphere. Even Jiang Wangshu, usually the biggest chatterbox, was silent.

His expression made it clear he was mentally reciting passages.

Duan Yi couldn’t help but feel his own anxiety rising. He frantically reviewed the idioms he often mixed up and the sentence structures he struggled to correct.

After washing his face and changing into his school uniform, he found Sheng Yunze waiting for him at the dormitory entrance.

Sheng Yunze was also slightly nervous, though his anxiety wasn’t as intense as Duan Yi’s.

Seeing Duan Yi speechless, Sheng Yunze chuckled. “What’s wrong? Scared you’ll bomb the exam?”

Duan Yi replied solemnly, “Don’t talk to me. My brain’s completely filled with textbook material right now.”

Then, patting Sheng Yunze’s shoulder with shameless confidence, he added, “But don’t worry. I’ve already prepared for the worst. If all else fails, you can go to Tsinghua, and I’ll go to Tsinghua Tongfang…”

As they approached the exam hall, Duan Yi’s heart pounded faster, nearly bursting out of his chest.

Yet, the moment he sat down and the exam papers were distributed, he suddenly calmed down.

First came the question paper, then the answer sheet. Duan Yi exhaled deeply and, at the first ring of the bell, completely immersed his thoughts in the exam.

The two days of exams passed in a blur.

When Duan Yi walked out of the classroom after finishing his last exam, he finally noticed how blue the sky was and how green the grass was. Completely relaxed, he almost teared up.

He hadn’t taken the elective module, so he had one fewer exam than Sheng Yunze and the others.

Around 5 PM, the elective module exams also concluded.

Everyone returned to the classroom. Jiang Wangshu, having performed well, emerged beaming with confidence. He even estimated his score high enough for Tsinghua University, though it was hard to tell if he was exaggerating.

Duan Yi waited directly outside Sheng Yunze’s exam hall. As soon as Sheng Yunze emerged, Duan Yi scrutinized his expression. Seeing no signs of anguish or despair, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “How did it go? Tsinghua or Tsinghua Tongfang? Peking University or Peking University Bluebird?”

Sheng Yunze sighed calmly, stretched, and replied, “I don’t know. We’ll see when the results come out.”

Duan Yi grew frantic. “You didn’t estimate your score?! Hurry up and estimate it!”

Sheng Yunze found Duan Yi’s anxiety amusing, but seeing his friend’s excessive worry, he relented. “The difficulty was similar to the First Mock Exam, so the scores should be about the same. I don’t think I lost any points in math or the science comprehensive.”

Duan Yi: “Really?”

Sheng Yunze: “Don’t you believe me?”

Duan Yi: “It’s just hard to believe my own ears!”

Back in the classroom, they had already compared answers.

During the exams, the Old Class Teacher forbade them from comparing answers, fearing it would affect their performance on subsequent tests.

Only after the final exam did the classroom erupt in excitement. Sheng Yunze’s arrival added to the commotion.

Comparing answers with Sheng Yunze brought joy to some and disappointment to others. Duan Yi, however, felt little inclination to check his answers.

After all, his best performance would only earn him 520 points, while his worst would still net him 250. Regardless of the outcome, his parents wouldn’t blame him.

He had initially imagined the days of the National College Entrance Examination would drag on endlessly.

Yet it felt like a fleeting moment. Such a monumental event had concluded quietly, without fanfare.

Duan Yi still felt like he was living in a dream until the Old Class Teacher announced that there would be no immediate break after the exams. The Second High School’s Centennial Celebration was scheduled for June 20th.

The school planned to host a grand evening gala, combining it with the graduation festivities.

Their class had previously submitted a dance performance and a recitation piece. With no time for rehearsals before the exams, the Old Class Teacher announced this during evening self-study.

“Damn, I completely forgot about that,” Duan Yi muttered.

Sheng Yunze had gone to the Political Education Office and hadn’t returned yet, so Duan Yi had no choice but to stick with Jiang Wangshu.

The Old Class Teacher announced, “Fang Yun will be in charge of the recitation. Over the next few days, find some graduation-themed verses and have everyone memorize them together. Our class’s dance performance will be paired with the recitation. Little Ma, please coordinate the rehearsal schedule.”

Hao Shanshan eagerly raised her hand. “Teacher! What kind of dance are we doing?”

“You’ll vote on it yourselves,” the Old Class Teacher replied.

“I suggest ‘Crying, Crying’—” Jiang Wangshu began.

“Objection!” Hao Shanshan retorted. “We’re not doing your old-person dance! This is graduation season, our final high school memory! We need to leave Old He and the others with an unforgettable impression!”

“I’m fine with anything,” Xiaobang chimed in. “I just want to know what we’ll be wearing. Our own clothes or custom-made outfits?”

“Ta-da!” Hao Shanshan exclaimed, pulling out a picture of a JK uniform. “We’re wearing this!”

Duan Yi leaned over to take a look. “Holy shit, that’s hot! You guys are actually wearing that?”

This pure and innocent navy uniform with its blue-and-white checkered mini-skirt—isn’t it just perfect for girls?

Duan Yi’s interest was immediately piqued. Although he already had a boyfriend and wasn’t particularly interested in the girls in his class, seeing girls dressed up beautifully was every guy’s secret wish, right?

Hao Shanshan wagged her finger. “No, no, no!”

She let out a sly chuckle. “I meant the boys in our class wearing these skirts.”

Duan Yi froze. “What the hell! I’m not doing that! I’m not dancing!”

Hao Shanshan had anticipated this reaction. While the other boys also refused to wear the skirts, she had already prepared her countermove. “Fine, you don’t have to wear it…”

She glanced casually at Duan Yi, then offered sincerely, “President Duan, don’t you want to see Secretary Sheng in a skirt?”

Duan Yi froze again.

This time, he didn’t just freeze—he fell silent.

Hao Shanshan lowered her voice. “A miniskirt, you know!”

Duan Yi made a snap decision. “I think your suggestion is excellent. Yes, wear that.”

Then he glared at the boys in the class with a murderous glint in his eyes. “Anyone have any objections?”

Everyone immediately straightened up. “No, no, no…”

So, when Sheng Yunze returned to the classroom, he found Duan Yi staring at him with a strange, unsettling gaze.

Sheng Yunze, bewildered by the look, asked, “Is something wrong?”

Duan Yi’s eyes lingered on Sheng Yunze, already fantasizing about the school beauty wearing a girl’s uniform.

At that moment, he had no idea that he himself would soon be donning the legendary JK uniform.

Author’s Note:

This timeline coincides with the National College Entrance Examination in the real world, and it also includes the Centennial Celebration!

Hao Shanshan might just become the biggest winner of all!