CDJMM – Volume 2 – Chapter 12 The State Slaps and Teaches the Scum a Lesson (12)

For nearly three weeks now, Le Jing had been racking his brain, coming up with countless methods to try and break free from the so-called shackles of the plot.

He had even considered sabotaging the male and female leads’ relationship to disrupt the storyline, and at one point, he wondered if he should act childishly and report them to the teacher for early romance.

But before he could do anything, someone else had already beaten him to it, reporting Li Yian and Song Caiying to the teacher for having an improper relationship between a boy and a girl.

The teacher took the matter seriously and spoke to both of them separately.

The result of the conversation was that Li Yian, who had only harbored a faint affection for Song Caiying before, was now fully determined to be with her.

Le Jing: ……

He had a premonition: if he also tried to break them up, under the program’s push and with teenage rebellious psychology thrown in, it might actually push their relationship further instead.

So, Le Jing gave up on the idea of breaking up the leads and shifted his focus to Li Yian instead.

At his instigation, Class 9 had a weekly exam.

The test was held in a very formal manner—it was said to be the final mock exam before the end-of-term tests.

Then Le Jing came down with acute appendicitis.

The only fortunate thing was that he didn’t need surgery; after a few days of IV drips, he recovered.

But this completely crushed his thoughts of relying on himself to break free from the shackles of the plot.

Last time it was food poisoning. This time it was acute appendicitis. Who knew if next time he’d suddenly have a heart attack and die on the spot?

Le Jing didn’t dare take that gamble.

So now, he could only rely on the power of the nation to break free of the plot’s constraints.

And so, on the day of the final exam, just as Le Jing sat down in the exam hall, he received an important message from the system:

【Host! Good news! The police have already found your homeroom teacher, Wang Lei. They’re learning about your situation from him! Very soon, you’ll be able to connect with the nation!】

Le Jing was slightly surprised—they had arrived faster than he expected.

【Panda: Aaaaaahhh!!!! They finally came!!! Daddy Nation is finally here!!!】

【The World Is Hell: The overpowered national-protection plotline is about to begin, everyone! I’m so excited!!】

【Snow in the Southern Year: Will the streamer immediately be taken under state protection? From now on, will he have to live under a hidden identity and erase all traces from society?】

【WikiMonster: Wait, I just realized something. Since the streamer will definitely be classified as a top-secret expert, does that mean he might meet my goddess, Ms. Li Shuran?!】

【Xiu Yu: Ahhhh and Mr. Nakamura Ryota!!! My beloved male god who betrayed his nation and people for revolutionary faith ahhh sob sob!!!】

【Drama Bunny: Bai Shaoyao!! The streamer will definitely meet Grandma Bai Shaoyao!! And also General Wang Xiaoni!!!】

【Jun Xi Jiu: …What should I do? I suddenly feel like I’ve turned into a lemon spirit girl. I’m so jealous!!!】

【10086: Streamer!! When you meet Ms. Li Shuran, please help us thank her! Make sure to tell her—this prosperous era is just as she wished!】

Le Jing lowered his gaze, concealing the complexity within.

Shuran… his younger sister.

She too had become an old grandmother with a face full of wrinkles.

Old friends were all silver-haired now, while he alone remained in his prime.

This was a world constructed from a novel’s plot. The Li Shuran here would not be the same Li Shuran from his memories.

The young people he had once known were already long gone, buried beneath the earth as bones.

So, if he were to meet this timeline’s Li Shuran and those old friends, what could he say to them?

Perhaps only that one line:

“Nice to meet you. I am Chang Jingchen.”

Chang Jingchen, not Li Jingran. Just like how the Li Shuran of this world was not his younger sister Li Shuran.

Le Jing suddenly had a fated intuition.

He would be the last person to die in this lifetime.

For Wang Lei, today was just another ordinary day.

The final exams started today, with the first subject in the morning being Chinese. The school was silent, the air thick with the tense atmosphere of the exams.

Wang Lei sat in her office, expressionless, mechanically grading the midterm Chinese test papers. It wasn’t until she opened a new exam and her eyes fell on the neatly written name at the top that her lips couldn’t help but curl up, her gaze softening.

Chang Jingchen.

Correcting this student’s papers was simply a pleasure. Especially his essays—mature in style, sharp in tone—reading them was like drinking a bowl of ice water in the sweltering heat of midsummer: indescribably refreshing, invigorating, and satisfying.

What was even more remarkable was that Chang Jingchen’s word choice and sentence structure carried a touch of Mr. Li Jingran’s style.

Mr. Li Jingran, after all, was an old hand at writing critiques and essays. Beyond novels, he had written many articles exposing social injustice and criticizing corruption. As expected of a literary giant—his novels were not only brilliant, but his essays and commentaries were equally outstanding, his words so sharp and powerful they left readers pounding the table in admiration.

In Wang Lei’s view, Chang Jingchen had already captured at least thirty percent of Mr. Li’s essence. For someone his age, that was already an incredible achievement.

She thought, given time, Chang Jingchen would surely make a name for himself in the literary world—perhaps even become a great writer.

Just then, someone knocked on the wide-open office door. “Excuse me, is Teacher Wang Lei here?”

Wang Lei looked up and saw two people standing at the doorway. They were dressed in plain clothes, one middle-aged and one a teenager.

The teenager had a crew cut and bright, lively eyes that immediately revealed intelligence. The middle-aged man had a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes—an upright appearance that naturally inspired trust.

Judging by appearances, they looked like father and son.

Wang Lei stood up and instinctively looked at the middle-aged man, puzzled. “I am. And you are…?”

Transfer students? At this time of year? They’d normally switch schools at the start of the next term. Perhaps they were just visiting early to get familiar with the environment?

But what followed had a distinctly surreal, almost magical quality.

The “transfer student” pulled a badge from his pocket and handed it to her. “Hello, we’re from the police bureau. This is my ID. We need to ask you a few questions, and we hope you’ll cooperate with our investigation.”

Wang Lei, dazed, took the officer’s badge and glanced at it. On it were the photo of the crew-cut teenager, his name, unit, and police number. His name was Peng Guang—a very ordinary name.

She stammered, “Wh-what do you want with me?”

At this time, most teachers were out proctoring exams. Wang Lei, busy grading, hadn’t gone, so she was the only one in the office.

The middle-aged man closed the door behind him—and even shut the windows.

The teenager quickly explained, “Sorry, we’re investigating a classified case, so we have to be cautious.”

Wang Lei nodded, her heart racing with unease. She was just a Chinese teacher—how could she possibly be connected to a classified case?

Her voice trembled as she asked again, “Wh-what do you want to know? Whatever I know, I’ll tell you.”

“Don’t be nervous. We just need to ask a few simple questions, mostly procedure.” The middle-aged man smiled kindly before asking a rather odd question: “Has your class had any particularly outstanding students recently?”

“Outstanding students?”

The teenager prompted her, “For example, a sudden transfer student, or someone whose personality changed drastically, whose grades improved rapidly, or perhaps a student who recently brought honor to the school in competitions. Any of these, you can tell us about.”

With their guidance, Wang Lei recalled two students. “As for transfer students, that would be Li Yian. He came from the capital and has been studying quite diligently. His grades are improving quickly. As for someone whose grades improved a lot, that would be Chang Jingchen. He used to be middle-ranked, but now his progress is astonishing—he’s practically one of the top in the entire grade.”

The two officers then asked her many strange questions focused on these two students—their personalities, their progress. Though Wang Lei was bewildered, she still told them everything truthfully.

Finally, after their questioning ended, Wang Lei could no longer contain her curiosity and worry.  “Comrades, what’s going on with these two students? They’re both good kids—surely they wouldn’t do anything illegal. Is there some kind of misunderstanding?”

The two officers exchanged a look. The crew-cut teenager then smiled and explained:  “Technically, we shouldn’t disclose this, but since you’re his teacher, you’ll find out sooner or later. We’re here as part of a secret national program for selecting prodigies. The goal is to identify extraordinarily gifted youth across the country, concentrate resources on their development, and help them serve the nation more effectively.”

Wang Lei’s eyes lit up. “You mean—two of our students have been chosen?”

The middle-aged man shook his head with a smile. “Not both. We believe only Chang Jingchen is the one we’re looking for.”

Wang Lei was first stunned, then overjoyed.

She blurted excitedly, “I knew it! That child is brilliant—he sleeps through class and still scores full marks! If it weren’t for that sudden food poisoning during last month’s exams, he would’ve taken first place in the entire grade!”

“This program is confidential for now. We hope you won’t tell anyone else.”

“Of course, of course.”

“If possible, we’d like to meet Chang Jingchen for a one-on-one interview.”

Wang Lei hesitated. “But he’s in the middle of his finals…”

The teenager’s smile deepened. “That’s fine. We can wait outside the exam hall.”

And so, when Le Jing (alias Chang Jingchen) finished his Chinese exam and walked out of the hall, he was immediately greeted by the two plainclothes officers—no, perhaps it was more accurate to call them agents.

The crew-cut youth stepped forward. “You’re Chang Jingchen, right?”

Le Jing smiled calmly. “I am.”

The teenager—real name Ge Yi, an agent from Military Intelligence—scrutinized him closely. The name “Peng Guang” on his badge was just a cover.

The boy before him was undeniably striking: fair skin, phoenix eyes, thin lips, a refined and scholarly air.

But before Ge Yi could probe further, the youth met his gaze squarely, lifted his chin slightly, and looked at them with eyes cold and assessing. His smile never wavered.

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Finally, you’ve come. Congratulations—you’ve won this game of hide-and-seek.”