The System is Abstract, Luckily, So Am I

Chapter 172 : Do Unto Others What You Do Not Want Done Unto Yourself

"Eh?"

Looking at Yu Yu, who had her hand pressed against her chest and completely avoided eye contact with him, Lin Li's brain trembled.

*Quiet, I'm thinking.*

*Forget it, I'll just start talking.*

"No! Yu Yu, I meant your brooch looks nice, not that your chest looks nice!" After Lin Li said that, he realized he seemed to have made it worse, and quickly tried to correct himself again: "No, that's not it either! I mean this brooch of yours, the brooch! It! It looks pretty nice, and I wanted to ask where you bought it."

(Translator's Note: In Chinese, "brooch" is "xiong zhen" and "chest really" is "xiong zhen". They sound exactly the same).*

Coming back to her senses and realizing she seemed to have made a huge misunderstanding, Yu Yu completely buried her head in her chest this time: "S-sorry, I misunderstood."

It wasn't entirely Yu Yu's fault. Mainly, when Qu Wanqiu and Ding Sihan gossiped about Lin Li in their dorm, the labels they slapped on him were "Super Invincible Bastard" and "Ultimate Invincible Giant Pervert," and Chen Yuying basically never refuted them.

Yu Yu believed them.

So Yu Yu felt that it was quite... normal for Lin Li to say something like that.

Coupled with the fact that she intermittently felt a faint, inexplicable attraction to Lin Li, she subconsciously answered directly.

Now that Yu Yu realized what happened, being naturally shy, she wanted to die even more than Lin Li did. Fortunately, her chest was large enough to cover her face as much as possible.

"It was my phrasing that was ambiguous, my fault."

The impression Yu Yu gave Lin Li was that she was excessively shy and bashful. If it were Ding Sihan, Qu Wanqiu, or even Chen Yuying, he would have just rolled with the misunderstanding and continued being a pervert. But with Yu Yu, doing so would easily offend her, so Lin Li behaved himself.

"I made this myself too... you can't buy it," Yu Yu's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"I see, no wonder it looks so nice," Lin Li offered a sincere, perfunctory compliment. He placed the desk against the wall in the hallway, with the open side of the drawer facing the wall to prevent things from falling out. "Is here fine?"

"Yes, thank you."

"If there's nothing else you need help with, I'll be going now?" Lin Li immediately prepared to flee the scene.

"Mhm, thank you."

Lin Li turned and left. As he passed through the back door, he saw Bai Bufan winking and making faces at him:

"Your language is too artistic, bro. I've never seen anyone in this world who understands the art of language better than you. I really need to learn from you."

*You motherfucker.*

...

Wednesday.

Lin Li woke up very early.

*The early bird gets the worm, and the even earlier bird gets Prometheus.*

After working out, Lin Li returned home to continue studying.

There was only one exam this morning: Chinese. Because the Chinese exam was so long—two and a half hours, from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM—he could go to school a bit later.

However, Lin Li had long since memorized those ancient poems and classical Chinese texts backwards and forwards. So, his time this morning was mainly spent practicing the calculation problems that might appear on the Biology exam in the afternoon.

When it was about time, Lin Li headed to school.

Lin Li's exam room was in Class 12, Grade 10.

In the hallway, Bai Bufan was holding a textbook, reciting ancient poetry.

The seating for midterms and finals at Nansang Middle School was completely random, but for monthly exams, it was basically assigned based on the rankings from the previous major exam. Students in the same exam room had roughly similar grades.

Since Lin Li and Bai Bufan were previously evenly matched rivals, it was perfectly normal for them to be placed together.

As the saying goes: *Grades are three parts destiny, seven parts hard work, and ninety parts relying on your desk-mate.*

However, with this type of seating arrangement, the whispering method of cheating wouldn't be very effective in the lower-ranked exam rooms:

"Do you know how to do this question?"

"I don't know either. Do you know how to do this one?"

"I don't know either. What about this one?"

"Don't know."

"Great, neither of us knows anything. We're doomed."

It would probably look something like that.

"This is the last time I'll be in the same exam room as trash like you for a monthly exam," Lin Li walked up to Bai Bufan and said with a smile.

"Bringing a hundred companions, we once roamed here, recalling the eventful years of the past..." Bai Bufan, who was reciting poetry, merely shot Lin Li a sideways glance, too lazy to curse at him.

"Hey, Bufan, do you know what poem a cannibal exchange student studying in normal society would find the most artistic?" Lin Li immediately asked.

Bai Bufan ignored him and continued reciting: "Just as classmates in our youth, in the prime of our lives..."

(Translator's Note: "Qia tong xue shao nian" - "Qia" means "just as/exactly").*

"That's right, that's the line!" Lin Li snapped his fingers. "So smart."

Bai Bufan: "..."

*You motherfucker, you mean "qia" as in "qia fan" (eating), don't you?*

But Bai Bufan, the foot fetishist, was currently busy hugging Buddha's feet (cramming at the last minute), so he truly didn't have time to deal with Lin Li. He continued reciting his own: "The ancient sage has already ridden the yellow crane away, leaving only the empty Yellow Crane Tower here..."

Seeing this, Lin Li felt the pressure and had to start studying too. He began reciting: "My old friend bids farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower in the west, one VIP heading up to the third floor. The little sister's smiling face is still there, but the old bald head from back then is nowhere to be seen."

"Get lost! If I think of this during the exam, I'm fucking doomed!"

Bai Bufan unceremoniously kicked Lin Li away.

Lin Li smiled and didn't bother him anymore. He left his backpack outside the door—three pens were enough for the Chinese exam—and found his seat according to the seating chart on the door and the blackboard.

Second to last row by the window, but this time it was the window facing the hallway.

The owner of the desk had cleaned it up quite nicely. Even the drawer was completely empty, leaving nothing for him to snoop on.

Because he arrived right on time, it wasn't long before the students in the hallway trickled into the classroom. And this usually meant the invigilator was right behind them.

Sure enough, the invigilator arrived carrying a stack of exam papers that didn't even have a sealed envelope.

It was an acquaintance. The invigilator for the morning session was his homeroom teacher, Wang Ziyan.

When Lin Li and Wang Ziyan made eye contact, Wang Ziyan covered his mouth and dry-heaved.

Lin Li: "..."

Although he knew the reason, it looked like the teacher was disgusted by his appearance, which was a bit much.

"The exam is about to start. Everyone put all unrelated items on the podium or outside the door. Go to the bathroom if you need to. A reminder: unless it's a special circumstance, you are not allowed to go to the bathroom during the exam."

Tapping the exam papers on the podium a few times to straighten them, Wang Ziyan spoke loudly to everyone.

Lin Li, who had only brought three pens, stayed in his seat without moving.

While idly looking around, he saw the guy next to him—he had glanced at the seating chart earlier and remembered his name was Feng Kai—carefully take a cheat sheet covered in tiny writing out of his backpack, place it in his drawer, and then go hand in his backpack.

Did he do something wrong?

No.

Wang Ziyan said to hand in items *unrelated* to the exam. He prepared the cheat sheet specifically *for* the exam. If that was unrelated, then nothing was related to the exam.

From beginning to end, Lin Li had never thought about completing the system task by cheating. It wasn't out of high moral standards, but simply because it was meaningless.

Cheat sheets were basically only useful for humanities subjects, but for those, *Photographic Memory* was already engraved in his mind.

What the hell kind of cheat sheet could you make for science subjects?

Copy formulas?

Are science subjects something you can solve just by having the formulas?

That's no different from saying, "These are black stones, these are white stones. If you surround them, you can capture them. Come, face your first opponent, the Go grandmaster Ke Jie."

Moreover, Lin Li didn't like that sneaky, anxious feeling, unless it was having an affair.

[In the sect's internal competition, true strength should be shown openly and honorably. Taking crooked paths is tantamount to destroying one's Dao heart, and there is a fear of being corrupted by demons in the future.

As a member of the sect, how can one watch fellow disciples go astray? Upon seeing cheating, one must stop it.]

[Task Triggered!]

[Task Four: During this sect competition, stop any acts of cheating you see or hear.]

[Rewards: Physique Improvement: Comprehension increased by 10%; Random System-Oriented Reward 1; System Currency 100]

[Random System-Oriented Reward: Upon opening, receive a system-related reward.]

The system really could change a person's class. Ever since Lin Li got the system, he always wanted to steal something.

For example, right now, Lin Li wanted to steal Feng Kai's cheat sheet.

But it was too late. The other party had already put his backpack away and was on his way back. If Lin Li went to grab it now, he would definitely be caught red-handed.

Although the other party probably wouldn't dare call the police.

Lin Li glanced at the system again.

This task was easy to understand: become Captain Dragonfly and judge the sins during the exam.

It sounded easy to complete, and it really was. After all, if he saw someone cheating, he just had to stand up and report them, and that would be it.

However, Lin Li didn't really want to use this method to complete the task.

Openly and frantically reporting cheating was a behavior that was easily misunderstood by others.

Let alone other students, even the teachers might not appreciate it. They might think he was doing too much, advise him to just focus on himself and ignore others, or even label him a troublemaker and find him annoying.

Even Lin Li himself, if he heard of someone indiscriminately reporting cheating, would think that person was a weirdo and a bit too extreme.

So, unless there was no other way, Lin Li didn't want to use this crude method.

The system wasn't so cheap as to make him stop *all* cheating in the monthly exam, only the parts he saw and heard. So as long as he didn't see or hear anything later, it would be fine.

However, the target that triggered the task right in front of him definitely had to be dealt with first.

Not a big problem. Lin Li had always been a genius.

Lin Li still had a way, especially since the invigilator was someone he knew, and he knew Wang Ziyan wasn't a particularly strict person.

Lin Li stood up and walked toward Wang Ziyan.

"Teacher Yan," Lin Li spoke up.

"Lin Li? What is it?" Wang Ziyan asked.

"I'm going to cheat."

"Then go ahead. The exam hasn't started yet," Wang Ziyan didn't even look up, just gestured toward the front door with his chin, indicating he could go to the bathroom now.

Wait.

That's not right.

It seemed Lin Li didn't say he was going to the bathroom.

"Lin Li, what did you say?" Wang Ziyan looked up to confirm.

"I'm going to cheat," Lin Li repeated.

Wang Ziyan: "..."

*You motherfucker.*

*So what do you mean by telling me this?*

"First of all, cheating is shameful, a meaningless act for your life, and a serious violation of school rules. Secondly, why are you telling me this? Do you expect me to cover for you or even cooperate with you? Don't even think about it. Behave yourself," Wang Ziyan's expression became a bit more serious.

"No, I respect your status as an invigilator, so I am purely provoking you," Lin Li shook his head.

Wang Ziyan: "?"

*You son of a bitch.*

*Provoking me?*

This somehow felt even more infuriating than asking him to cover for him.

Before Wang Ziyan could speak, Lin Li revealed a dark smile and continued:

"Teacher Yan, I have made ample preparations to cheat on this Chinese exam. After discovering that you are the invigilator, I became even more excited. Teacher, you must have watched Conan, right? I am the modern-day Phantom Cheater Kid. I love the feeling of announcing my intentions to the teacher and then cheating right under their nose. It gives me an unparalleled sense of accomplishment.

"After all, ordinary cheating is simply too unchallenging for a master like me."

Wang Ziyan: "..."

*Senior Xue never told me Lin Li was this kind of kid.*

*Seriously, is he sick in the head?*

*Phantom Cheater? Fucking idiot!*

Although Wang Ziyan had spoken very severely just now, as a teacher who hadn't graduated that long ago, how could he not know that cheating was actually quite common?

In an extreme sense, successfully cheating without being caught was also a skill.

But someone like Lin Li... Wang Ziyan swore this was the first time in his life he had ever seen anything like it.

"The challenge letter has been delivered to your hands, Teacher Yan. Whether you accept it or not is your freedom. Anyway, no matter what, I will cheat."

Looking at Wang Ziyan's twitching mouth, Lin Li let out a disdainful chuckle, snapped his fingers, and coolly turned around to walk back to his seat.

Wang Ziyan watched somewhat dumbfoundedly as the cool guy Lin Li returned to his seat and continued to look at him with a provocative gaze.

"Teacher, teacher, the exam has started. You can hand out the papers now," someone finally urged.

Hearing this voice, Wang Ziyan snapped back to reality. He took a deep breath, blew his bangs up with his mouth, and then distributed the exam papers to each row.

According to his plan, after handing out the papers, he should have started secretly playing on his phone. Invigilators couldn't be too blatant about playing on their phones because the dean would patrol during exams, not only to help keep an eye on the students but also to check if the invigilators were being too lax.

For a new teacher like Wang Ziyan, who didn't have the zen attitude or the connections and influence of the older teachers, he was quite worried this would affect his performance review. He could only play secretly, so the dean would turn a blind eye.

But now, Wang Ziyan had absolutely no desire to play on his phone.

Anyone who could endure being provoked by a student like this was truly a god.

"Take the exam seriously! Don't have any little thoughts about cheating! I will be watching you the whole time!"

Wang Ziyan looked in the direction where Lin Li was sitting and said loudly and seriously.

Was that it?

That wasn't enough. So, upon hearing Wang Ziyan say this, Lin Li's expression remained disdainful. He even pretended to glance at his drawer, shook his clothes, and then looked up even more confidently, wearing an expression of certain victory.

Wang Ziyan immediately walked over to Lin Li, bent down to look at the last row, but found Lin Li's drawer completely empty.

Then he noticed Lin Li's smug smile.

*Very well, kid. You've successfully caught my attention.*

Wang Ziyan walked up to the podium, carried his chair down, placed it right next to Lin Li, patted his sleeves, and coolly sat down.

Lin Li turned his head and made eye contact with Wang Ziyan.

Lin Li smiled.

This was exactly what he wanted. *Feng Kai, let's see how the fuck you cheat now.*

Wang Ziyan also smiled.

This was exactly what he wanted. *Lin Li, let's see how the fuck you cheat now.*

Feng Kai also smiled.

This was not what he wanted. *Fuck, let's see how the fuck I cheat now.*

*(End of Chapter)*