Chapter 14: A Strategic Decision and an Unexpected Ally

Now that Bai Mengze’s current attributes were known, the next step was to decide which one to enhance. Based on the information gathered, her highest attribute, Physique, seemed like the most obvious choice. However, Ji Wenyan wasn’t convinced. Taking himself as an example, he would be breathless after just a few laps. Even if Bai Mengze was agile, he felt Physique wouldn’t be suitable for her either. Improving one’s Physique wasn’t something that could be done casually. Among the five attributes, Ji Wenyan believed Beauty would be the simplest to enhance. He could simply hire the best makeup artist to transform Bai Mengze into a stunning beauty. Wait, though the System had issued a quest, it hadn’t specified *how* attributes could be improved.

[System: The Host must discover everything on their own. A notification will appear when an attribute is enhanced. Please pay attention, Host.]

Alright, so he still had to figure things out himself. In that case, he would proceed with his original plan.

He would enhance Bai Mengze’s Beauty attribute!

****

“Everyone, please quiet down. We’ve just received news that this year’s National Mathematics Competition will begin in a month. Our school has five slots, so if anyone wishes to sign up, come find me in the teachers’ office after class.”

“Teacher, another competition? We’re third-year high school students; shouldn’t we be focusing on the college entrance exam now? Participating in these competitions is truly putting the cart before the horse.”

“Exactly! I’d rather spend the time studying more. Maybe I could score a few extra points on the college entrance exam and beat hundreds, even thousands, of competitors.”

“I’d love to participate, but I always get a zero on math tests. I doubt the math teacher would ever let me go.”

Just as Ji Wenyan was pondering how to approach Bai Mengze, the Mediterranean-haired homeroom teacher, who had led him to the class earlier, once again slapped a chalk eraser onto the desk. The sharp sound instantly drew the attention of the students.

As he spoke, the students immediately began to grumble, clearly disliking the idea of participating in various competitions. Ji Wenyan, a self-proclaimed academic slacker, held absolutely no interest in such matters.

Instead, his spirits lifted the moment he saw Bai Mengze enter through the back door of the classroom. There was no time like the present. Delaying even a single day would consume 10 Vitality points, making the cultivation of Bai Mengze’s attributes extremely urgent.

“Bai Mengze, do you have time after school?”

“?”

“I was hoping you could help me decide what kind of gift to get for a woman. My mother’s birthday is in a few days… The gifts I’ve bought before are often ridiculed by my dad. This time, I want to prepare something really nice, but I don’t know much about these things, so I was hoping you could come with me to pick out a present.”

“I can’t… Fine, I’ll go with you.”

Bai Mengze, who had just returned, looked a bit listless. After hearing Ji Wenyan’s words, she had initially intended to refuse outright.

However, seeing the sincere expression on his face, it seemed he wasn’t trying to deceive her. Considering Ji Wenyan had helped her on multiple occasions, Bai Mengze found herself unable to voice the refusal she had planned.

Ultimately, she could only nod at him, agreeing to his request to accompany him shopping. Ji Wenyan, who hadn’t held much hope, first froze in surprise upon hearing her agreement.

Then, as he processed it, he quickly suppressed the urge for his lips to curl into a wide grin, forcing himself to maintain an air of composure. He hadn’t expected it to be so easy.

‘Bai Mengze was truly too easy to trick!’

“Regarding your opinions, students, I’ve already reported them to the higher-ups, explicitly stating that for any more frivolous competitions, third-year high school students shouldn’t be called upon… However, this National Mathematics Competition is different! Besides the first-place team in the group competition receiving a hundred thousand yuan prize and an honor certificate, the top three in the individual competition will be directly admitted to Li University!”

“Li University? That’s a 211 university! Direct admission just like that? Teacher, are you pulling our leg?”

“Exactly! If you’re lying to us, Teacher, you’ll go bald!”

“A hundred thousand yuan prize, that’s huge!”

“If that’s the case, then I’m in!”

“Haha, Li Qiang, even if you wanted to participate, you couldn’t, could you? You only scored a dozen points on your last math test. The teacher would have to be crazy to let you go!”

As the homeroom teacher on the podium continued speaking, the classroom immediately erupted into a buzz of excitement upon hearing about the rewards for the National Mathematics Competition. No one noticed the faint, bitter smile that briefly flickered across Bai Mengze’s lips.