For the school Zhao Youyue attended, the half-day off on weekend afternoons was easily the most anticipated break, second only to the rare monthly leave or holiday vacations. It was a precious chance to head out for a proper meal that tasted nothing like the bland cafeteria fare, to buy snacks the school shop didn't sell, to go online and party up for a few rounds of League of Legends, or even to go on dates reserved for couples. Still, the time was short. Everyone had to be back in the classroom by three-thirty in the afternoon to continue self-study until dinner, then return for evening self-study once they had finished eating.
The entire weekend was, in truth, just an extended stretch of self-study, since the teachers assigned a massive amount of homework that piled up on their desks like small mountains of paper.
It could only be said that in a school with such a strict academic atmosphere, most students lived fairly tough lives. The payoff for this grueling schedule was a first-tier university admission rate of ninety-five percent and an undergraduate admission rate of ninety-nine percent.
Many alumni were destined to become successful figures, forming a network of valuable social connections. At the same time, students like Zhao Youyue, a young lady from an exceptional background, also studied there. Who knew? Perhaps some smooth talker would manage to win over a rich and beautiful girl, or perhaps a Cinderella would find her prince among the elite.
There were quite a few second-generation types at this school. However, the arrogant kind who practically wore their status on their sleeves were rare. If anyone got too arrogant and violated the school rules, punishment came exactly as it should, delivered without any leniency by the administration.
A school was meant to be a place for students to study, not a venue for messy nonsense.
For many students, the four periods of self-study in the morning were excruciating. They had to suppress hearts that were already itching to fly beyond the school gates and into the city.
Zhao Youyue was naturally an exception to the rule. Although teachers supervised all four periods, aside from Lao Qiu, most of them simply sat at the podium playing on their laptops. Some even put on headsets and watched movies, their faces illuminated by the glow of the screens. They hardly cared about the students below as long as the classroom stayed quiet and orderly.
The young and handsome math teacher, Gu Yaoyan, couldn't even resist playing a round of League of Legends during his shift. Unlike Lao Qiu, he deeply resented having to supervise on weekends. Since the school insisted on it, he decided to play games while he sat at the front of the room. He was popular with the students anyway, so no one ever reported him.
When the bell rang and his match wasn't over yet, some bold male students gathered around the podium to watch. He happily showed off his Diamond-tier skills while talking trash to the screen. "Watch closely, everyone. Teacher Gu is about to get a pentakill. The other side is a bunch of noobs, like a free point question. Pay attention, students, this is a free-point question."
If he pulled it off, the classroom erupted in hushed amazement, and the feeling was incredible for him. If he finished talking trash only to get counter-killed, he would snap the laptop shut without a word, turn around, and stride straight toward the office. He truly lived by the motto that death was like the wind, always by his side.
In reality, he was worried the next supervising teacher might catch him gaming, which would be an awkward encounter.
As for Zhao Youyue, during self-study, she naturally took out her phone and played happily under the cover of her books. If the teacher at the podium could play on a computer, she saw no reason why she shouldn't play on her phone.
Besides, without a phone, how was she supposed to do her homework?
The real Zhao Youyue wasn't a patient top student like Xu Jing. Sometimes she would have a sudden attack of conscience, or perhaps just give herself a bit of psychological comfort, and choose to work on problems alone. More often, though, she couldn't resist the urge to slack off. One look at a difficult math question and she would click her tongue. It looked so troublesome, and thinking about the complex formulas made her head hurt. It was much better to look it up online.
The hardest self-study class for her was when Lao Qiu supervised. He never brought a laptop, only textbooks and lesson notes. The students studied below while he studied above, often walking around the classroom with his hands behind his back like he was proctoring a high-stakes exam.
Zhao Youyue admitted she was quite afraid of her homeroom teacher. Qiu Yingchun didn't look fierce at all; if anything, he seemed honest and plain. Yet she felt he was like a dog that didn't bark, but once it bit, it never held back.
Honestly speaking, a slacker like her really did need someone like Lao Qiu to rein her in. At the very least, during his supervised self-study classes, she would calm down and do her homework using her real ability. Her true level wasn't enough to qualify her as a top student, but it was more than sufficient for regular assignments. Only the final boss-level questions were beyond her reach. For the rest, as long as she seriously thought and worked through them, she could definitely solve them, even if it took more time.
Finally, when the bell rang at eleven-thirty, some students who had already packed their books rushed out of the classroom like unleashed horses, clearly cherishing this rare chance to get some fresh air.
Zhao Youyue, on the other hand, packed her things unhurriedly. She didn't plan to return to school for the afternoon or evening self-study sessions. Others only got a few hours off, but as the ultimate slacker among the day students, she could rest for half a day plus the entire night. She decided that after lunch, she would watch a movie in the afternoon, then go eat a big meal. After that, she would buy a copy of Wind Manga and go home to read it at her own pace.
She wasn't in a rush to read comics, but that didn't mean others weren't just as eager. For example, Wang Yang's deskmate, Jiang Chao, had recently become deeply obsessed with Pure Love. As soon as class ended, he didn't even head to the cafeteria. He ran straight to the bookstore across from the school, bought the latest issue of Wind Manga without hesitation, and then rushed back to the dormitory.
Only when he reached the dorm entrance did he remember he hadn't eaten lunch. Too lazy to go to the cafeteria, he went to the school shop instead and bought a Master Kong black pepper beef mixed noodles and his favorite Shuanghui corn sausage, planning to make that his lunch. He thought the spicy, savory aroma of the noodles tasted much better than the cafeteria food.
While eating the noodles, he happily read the newly purchased Wind Manga. At that moment, he felt his life was incredibly blissful. A week of hard studying seemed to exist solely for this weekend afternoon, when he could indulge without restraint in the world of comics.
In fact, he used to read comics online on his phone, and they were usually pirated. It wasn't that he looked down on official releases; he just felt they weren't worth the money, since Pure Love was nothing more than a formulaic harem manga. Recently, though, the plot had become genuinely interesting. It felt as if the story had broken free from the shackles of the harem genre. Even all the previous content now seemed like setup for a single character—a character who had just walked into his heart, the goddess Xu Jing.
To follow in the footsteps of the newly risen, expressionless goddess Xu Jing, he naturally chose to buy the magazine directly, chase the fastest updates, and support the official release.