Chapter 29
With a face that looked like a sinister villain plotting to overthrow the entire academy, his actual execution was just off-the-charts ridiculous.
This is supposed to be the strategist? He’d be a Zhuge Liang, alright—but only in hindsight.
He Ting felt an unnatural awkwardness, as if he were being implicated by Shen Xianqing’s stupidity. “Don’t ask. Let’s go back.”
Yan He: “Oh.”
Since they couldn’t find Shen Xianqing, they had to return the way they came. The path back was even muddier and harder to traverse. Yan He couldn’t care less about whether it looked gay or not; he grabbed onto He Ting’s hand for dear life, terrified of falling into the mud. They were practically interlocking fingers.
He Ting’s lips curved up slightly, and he held Yan He’s hand tighter.
“I want to hold hands too!” Seeing this, Yun Xiao immediately circled to Yan He’s other side and decisively grabbed his left hand.
Yan He looked at He Ting on his right, then at Yun Xiao on his left. Both men were half a head taller than him. Being led in the middle by the two of them created a bizarrely ambiguous yet harmonious feeling.
Yan He couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. “It feels like a mom and dad walking their kid.”
He couldn’t stop his mind from wandering. One was calm and self-possessed, the other explosive and thunderous. The contrast was perfect for a “CP” (couple pairing). He wondered if the readers of the original novel shipped this crack pairing?
He Ting and Yun Xiao fell silent for two seconds, then simultaneously flung his hands away.
Yan He always had the talent to kill the mood with a single sentence.
Yan He was still wailing, constantly tugging at the hem of He Ting’s jacket, afraid he wouldn’t stand steady and would face-plant into the mud.
By the time the three of them returned to the F4’s common lounge, it was already deep into the night.
Yan He sat on the sofa, scrubbing his shoes with wet wipes. However, the more he wiped, the more the mud seemed to spread across the shoe. Yun Xiao couldn’t stand watching it anymore and said, “I’ll transfer you ten thousand to buy new shoes. Stop wiping.”
Yan He immediately gave a thumbs up. “Generous boss.”
Xu Xingchuan came in from outside, scanned the room, and asked, “You didn’t find Old Shen?”
Yun Xiao almost died laughing. “He self-harmed by pulling out his snake scales until he was covered in cuts and bruises. The animal control people probably thought he was a national first-class protected wild animal in need of rescue and took him to the zoo for a government job. That’s even worse than me.”
Yun Xiao had thought he was the worst off in the F4, but now Old Shen had taken that spot.
“What do we do now? We can’t let the Academy officially go to the zoo to claim him, right? If we call the zoo, they’ll definitely notify the Academy. Then everyone will know Old Shen broke out of school.”
He Ting made a concise decision. “We’ll go out and bail Old Shen out.”
Yun Xiao shrugged at the suggestion. Ever since stepping into Bestia Academy over a year ago, he hadn’t seen the scenery outside. How were they supposed to bail him out? In their dreams?
Xu Xingchuan met He Ting’s gaze and smiled with instant understanding. “Got it.”
Yun Xiao and Yan He looked at Xu Xingchuan simultaneously: “?”
Got what? Just like that?
Xu Xingchuan patted Yun Xiao on the head. “The ‘Big Exam’ at the start of the term. Those who meet the transformation metrics are granted a temporary leave of absence.”
Yan He had heard roughly about the Academy’s Big Exam. “Xu Shao, I heard almost no one meets the standard, right? Isn’t everyone locked inside the academy?”
Yan He followed Xu Xingchuan’s line of sight toward He Ting. “He Shao can meet the standard? Isn’t it said that He Shao hasn’t left the school in a long time either?”
He Ting was calm and self-possessed, his emotions surprisingly stable. Rumor had it that even when his two uncles fully transformed into beasts, it didn’t cause a ripple in his composure, like an emotionless robot.
Yun Xiao draped an arm over He Ting’s shoulder and laughed. “Old He is a repeater. To reassure the Academy’s higher-ups, he wouldn’t leave even if he passed the Big Exam.”
Yan He was incredibly shocked. “Huh? A repeater?”
Yan He immediately guessed that He Ting being held back was related to the rumor that he had once bitten someone to death.
This was a Siberian tiger that had truly tasted blood. Beneath that calm, ripple-less handsome face, there was actually infinite danger. He had almost been blinded by the money He Ting threw at him.
If Bestia Academy were compared to a prison, He Ting would be considered a violent felon.
Yun Xiao clapped his hands. “Then it’s settled. He Ting will pass the Big Exam, go out, and quietly bring Old Shen back.”
Yun Xiao had great confidence in He Ting taking the exam. Old He had no desires or passions; if he hadn’t seen his beast form, he would really think He Ting was an ordinary human.
“Old Shen can just apply for an exemption from this exam on the grounds that he just returned from medical treatment outside the school and hasn’t recovered yet.”
Yan He pointed at himself and asked curiously, “Do we new students have to participate too?”
Yun Xiao nodded. “You have to participate. It’s probably to record the initial beastization values for you freshmen.”
Freshmen hadn’t been beaten down by Bestia yet, and hadn’t even taken a single anti-transformation shot, so they wouldn’t pass the entrance exam metrics.
As for him?
Yun Xiao planned to just skip the exam. He was on the verge of full transformation just a few days ago anyway, so what hope did he have of passing? Yun Xiao had self-awareness.
He didn’t know if it was because Yan He had arrived, but although he still longed for the outside world, the urge wasn’t as severe.
Yun Xiao suddenly thought of how prisons outside would give well-behaved inmates little kittens. Yan He was his little puppy-cat!
Xu Xingchuan smiled gently. “Ting-Ting, you go back and prepare well. We’re relying on you to pick up Qing-Qing.”
He Ting nodded and looked at Yan He.
Yan He immediately read the room, claiming it was late and he needed to go back to sleep.
Walking out of the F4’s lounge area, the cold air outside made Yan He shiver. He involuntarily buttoned the top button of his jacket.
The nights in the mountains were truly cold.
“Yan He.”
Someone called his name.
Yan He turned to look at He Ting. His handsome face remained cold under the streetlights, his emotions indiscernible.
“What is it, He Shao?”
Don’t be afraid of me.
He Ting’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, but what came out was: “Is there anything you like or want from outside the school? I’ll bring it for you.”
“Free welfare from the boss.”
Yan He’s eyes lit up: !!!
Look at this, the ultimate pride of a top student. Popping the champagne before the exam has even started. As expected of the head of the F4.
When He Ting returned to his private villa, his WeChat vibrated. He clicked open the message from Yan He.
[Little Sprout He: Thank you, Boss! There are a few things I want [Shy.jpg]]
It was a long, long list.
He Ting: “…”
What he liked was truly a lot.
[Pan Ze: Boss, do you want me to get you a few anti-transformation shots? The time for the Big Exam has been set, and everyone’s rushing the school hospital to buy them. I managed to get a few.]
The time for each Big Exam was announced at the last minute to prevent rich kids from hoarding anti-transformation shots. Although the shots had minimal effect, they were the only “pay-to-win” option available.
Pan Ze was truly dedicated. Ever since he started paying to work for Yan He, he had really begun to fulfill his duties as a lackey.
Yan He didn’t need that stuff, so he politely declined.
He saw Bai Yuzhou take that shot last time, and the effect seemed mediocre anyway.
Pan Ze curled his lip, thinking Yan He didn’t understand good things. He thought for a moment, kept one for himself, and gifted the other four to his own underlings in Yan He’s name.
Yan He had never participated in this kind of opening exam. Thirty or so students sat in a waiting room, being called in one by one. It sounded a bit like the driving test the instructor had told him about.
Since phones weren’t allowed, he had to sit there for hours.
Every student whose name was called looked as if they were being summoned by the King of Hell, their faces pale. Some were so nervous their legs went soft from fright.
Xiao Tu, sitting next to him, whispered an exclamation, seemingly having heard some gossip from somewhere. “Holy crap, did they increase the difficulty of the Big Exam this time? The Gossip Club says He Shao from the F4 didn’t pass!!”
Yan He, who had been drowsy, suddenly snapped his eyes open and sat up straight, looking at Xiao Tu in surprise.
He Ting didn’t pass?
Sure enough, those who pop the champagne early always get slapped in the face!
Yan He thought somewhat melancholically: So that super long list I excitedly wrote out the other night… I wrote it for nothing?
“Really? Isn’t He Shao the most emotionally stable person in the F4, or even the entire academy? No one has ever seen him transform, so how could he fail?” someone chimed in quietly, clearly doubting the authenticity of this gossip.
“Is it really that hard? I’m so scared. But on the other hand, this exam really doesn’t allow for cheating.”
“Quiet in the exam area! Any more noise will be treated as cheating!” the teacher scolded with a dark face.
The sparse exam room instantly fell silent.
Yan He rubbed his chin, contemplating this piece of gossip, occasionally turning his head to look at Bai Yuzhou.
The rumor was that F4’s He Ting, who was a sure pass, bizarrely failed. Could this actually be the plot of the original novel?
According to the novel’s development, this situation probably meant the protagonist shou would step on He Ting, leading to either offending him or making He Ting see him in a new light, thereby advancing their romantic development.
Thinking of it this way, Yan He instantly understood!
So He Ting bizarrely failing the exam—that was normal!
Sure enough, building a good relationship with Bai Yuzhou was the right choice.
A name suddenly popped up on the cold screen, accompanied by a mechanical male voice: “Candidate No. 233, Yan He!”
Hearing his name, Yan He immediately grabbed his ID card and went, feeling a bit uneasy.
First came the ID check and facial recognition to pass through the corridor. As Yan He walked toward his designated exam room, he glanced up and saw a familiar figure in the distance.
He Ting stood there with his hands behind his back. His usually cold, handsome face showed a trace of blankness. The moment their eyes met, He Ting immediately looked away, somewhat unnaturally.
Yan He understood again. He failed the exam and was too ashamed to face his lackey.
Sigh, some people’s standards are just too high. It’s just failing one time by accident.
Yan He heard the mechanical voice calling his name from inside, so he could only take his ID and walk in, closing the door.
He Ting walked along the corridor toward the exit of the exam area. He pulled his hands out from behind his back; the wide sleeves were nearly burst open by tiger paws that had undergone beast transformation.
Bestia Academy’s Big Exam was designed to detect the students’ beastization status, and the impulses for transformation came down to two things—survival and reproduction.
For a Siberian tiger, survival wasn’t particularly difficult.
But… for the first time, Yan He had appeared in his exam questions.
Yan He had never taken this kind of exam before, and he was uneasy inside. He wasn’t afraid of failing—because passing was impossible anyway—he was afraid of being discovered as an ordinary human.
After sitting down obediently, Yan He saw a spread of snacks on the table: fresh fruit, beef jerky, pork jerky, and so on.
Yan He faintly smelled a fishy scent, or more accurately, the smell of livestock blood, lingering around his nose and making him want to gag.
Yan He rubbed his nose to adjust, then saw high-tech 3D human figures generated by light and shadow in front of him. Handsome male college students struck various poses, looking almost tangible.
Yan He was bewildered. Did they put on the wrong thing?
Yan He rang the bell a few times, but the computer in front of him prompted that the exam questions were correct and asked the candidate to continue.
Yan He didn’t understand, nor did he comprehend. He could only stare wide-eyed at the 3D figures in front of him, involuntarily critiquing the various handsome guys, wondering if they were AI-generated.
The scene shifted, and continuous footage began to play. Yan He relaxed completely, simply watching while reaching out to grab snacks from the table and stuffing them into his mouth.
He felt immersed in the scene. It started out normal enough, but then he saw two men start kissing, followed by uncensorable mosaic events.
Yan He’s pupils shrank: ????
Holy crap, what kind of legitimate academy uses gay porn to test a straight man as an exam question?
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