"What did you score on the last mock exam?"

This question was difficult for Lin Ran to answer. After all, he had been reincarnated more than ten years later, and his past life was not something easily recalled—especially not under the stress of being a student again.

Luckily, before Lin Ran could even try to think of an answer, the teacher at the front of the class, Mr. Liu Chun, was already listing his scores in a fit of fury:

"Math: 71!"

"Chinese: 82!"

"English: 74!"

"Political Science, History, Geography: 143 in total—averaging less than passing!"

"We have 49 students in this class, and you’re ranked 44th!"

"That’s six places lower than your midterm results!"

Mr. Liu glared at Lin Ran, who sat at the back of the room, near the window, one of the lowest-ranked students in the class. Mr. Liu was practically fuming with frustration.

When Lin Ran first joined the class in the 10th grade, his scores had been barely passing, hovering around the 30th place. But since the start of 11th grade, his grades had dropped precipitously. Now, as the college entrance exams loomed, he was practically at the bottom.

As the homeroom teacher, Mr. Liu felt both frustrated and embarrassed. On one hand, he was upset by Lin Ran's lack of effort, but on the other hand, the teacher's performance evaluations and even his professional benefits were tied to the class's overall performance. Every student who dragged the average down felt like a personal failure to him.

To make matters worse, his rival, Mr. Wu from Class 13, was constantly mocking him. Mr. Wu's class consistently outperformed his, and the two of them frequently exchanged barbed comments. This was especially true today—Mr. Wu had once again gotten the better of him in some indirect way, which had left Mr. Liu in a bad mood.

Walking into class to hold a homeroom meeting, he had spotted Lin Ran daydreaming in the back, and the anger that had been simmering inside him suddenly erupted.

He seized the opportunity to lecture Lin Ran, his voice rising in frustration.

"And for the upcoming mock exam," Mr. Liu declared, his voice hard, "you have to increase your score by at least 20 points! You cannot continue dragging down the class average!"

"If you don’t improve, I’ll call your parents!"

The rest of the class, many of whom were seated near the back, couldn’t help but snicker. One boy in the front row, who seemed particularly amused, shouted out:

"Teacher, asking Lin Ran to improve by 20 points is impossible!"

"He’s too busy chasing after the Class 7 flower."

"He doesn’t have time to study."

The tone was full of mocking laughter, and the room erupted in giggles.

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Mr. Liu’s face grew even darker at the mention of the "class flower," and he shot a sharp look at Lin Ran.

"Forget about the flowers and nonsense!" Mr. Liu snapped. "You will improve by 20 points!"

"Whatever it takes. I don’t care if you have to cram, do endless exercises, memorize everything—get someone to tutor you if necessary. I’m only looking at the result, not the process!"

The boy who had started the teasing then called out again, laughing loudly:

"Teacher, don’t bother. If Lin Ran finds a tutor, he'll just drag everyone else down with him!"

"He’s too busy with his little crushes to focus on his studies. Don’t let him distract the others!"

The room was filled with even louder laughter now.

However, several of the top-ranking students in the class looked at Lin Ran with a sense of caution and even some wariness. They knew that this mock exam was important for them. They couldn't afford any distractions, especially not from a student like Lin Ran who might waste their time and derail their own preparations.

But Lin Ran remained unperturbed.

In his past life, such ridicule would have deeply embarrassed him, and he probably would have been at a loss for how to respond.

But this life was different.

With the soul of someone in his thirties, he had long since developed a thick skin. These petty, childish insults didn’t even faze him.

Moreover—improving his grades might have been a challenge in his previous life, but now, as someone who had been reborn, it was no problem at all.

No one in the room knew that, with his rebirth, Lin Ran had some serious advantages up his sleeve.

With a calm smile, he looked up at Mr. Liu on the podium and said:

"Don’t worry, Teacher."

"I’ll take care of my own studies."

He paused for a moment before adding, genuinely:

"I’ll work hard and make sure I don’t drag the class down."

"I’ll aim to raise my score by 200 points."

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At this, the entire class erupted into laughter.

The same boy who had mocked him earlier was now laughing so hard he could barely breathe, pointing at Lin Ran:

"200 points? You’re dreaming! You can’t even improve by two points!"

The boy turned to Mr. Liu and, still chuckling, said:

"Well, at least Lin Ran knows his place. He’s not even bothering to ask anyone for help since he knows none of us want to waste time with him."

"This way, you can focus on the real students and not worry about him."

Mr. Liu frowned slightly.

Although he didn’t like the boy’s sarcastic tone, he couldn’t help but agree.

Lin Ran had become a nuisance, but if he started asking the better students for help, it could disrupt everyone’s studying.

As for Lin Ran’s claim of improving by 200 points, Mr. Liu didn’t take it seriously. He assumed Lin Ran was just trying to save face and bluffing.

After a moment of thought, Mr. Liu sighed and said, his tone stiff:

"Fine. Focus on your own review. If you have any real problems, you can ask me or another teacher for help."

Before he could finish, a cool, melodic voice interrupted:

"You don’t need to ask anyone else."

"I’ll help."

Suddenly, the entire class went silent. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone, including Mr. Liu, turned their attention to the source of the voice.

There, standing up from her seat in the back corner of the classroom, was none other than Su Qing Yan—the ice-cold beauty of the school. She walked over and stood beside Lin Ran.

Su Qing Yan cast a cold glance over the students who had just mocked Lin Ran. Those who had laughed along with the boys quickly lowered their eyes, feeling guilty and uncomfortable.

Then she turned to face Mr. Liu, her voice calm yet firm, as she repeated:

"I’ll tutor Lin Ran."

At her words, the classroom erupted in shock and disbelief.

What?!