Chapter 11 — From the Ashes to the Pinnacle

“Third stage: midterm exam. Goal—top of the block.”One month later is the midterm exam. In my previous life, at this time, I had just experienced a fire, had my leg amputated and was transferred to a rehabilitation center, and did not take this exam. But in my head I have thirty years of life experience. Secondary school knowledge is not difficult for me. The problem is—I can't make progress too suddenly. A student who previously had a low average score suddenly finds himself at the top of his class? It will make people suspicious. There was no doubt that I would come back to life—no one in the world thought of that possibility. It's about suspecting me of cheating. So. Midterm exam this time—to be in the top ten of the block. Not first class. Steady progress. Nature. Wait until the next time—the final exam—to compete for first place. At that time, everyone will feel "this boy has understood". No one felt anything was wrong. I opened the math book. Eighth grade second semester content—first-order functions, Pythagorean theorem, and quadrilaterals. Too simple. I spent half an hour watching it all. Then open the previously purchased high school reference book— Required Mathematics, Sets, and Functions. This is what I should learn. If the plan didn't go wrong—three years later, in the high school entrance exam, I would have ranked first in the entire city. Entering a key provincial school. Then three years later, in the university entrance exam—he reached the top fifty in the entire province. In my previous life, I was confined to a wheelchair, and my highest degree was self-study college. This life? I will use my most dazzling achievement to tell everyone— Tham Ve Duong is not the "useless son-in-law" in Trieu Ngoc Phan's mouth. Nor is it a foil for Lam Phong. I am who I am. One month later. Midterm exam. The day the results were announced, the homeroom teacher stood on the podium and read the rankings. "First place, Luc Gia Minh, total score 487." "Second place, Chu Van Dao, total score 479." "..." "Seventh place, Tham Ve Duong, total score 461." The class was quiet for a moment. Then, eyes from front to back, left and right all focused on me. I sat in the fourth row by the window, looking out without emotion. Not unexpected. 461 points. 73 points higher than last month's exam. From 20th place in class, he jumped straight to 7th place overall. This level of progress is notable enough—but not unreasonable enough to cause suspicion of fraud. The homeroom teacher, whose last name is Ton, is over forty years old, teaches literature, and has a habit of pushing glasses. "This time Tham Ve Duong has made great progress and deserves to be commended." He just said one sentence softly and then ignored it. But after school—“Damn it, Tham Ve Duong, what drink did you drink?” Tablemate Ha Loi glared and leaned closer. “You got 121 points in math? Last time it was only 79!” “Do homework.” “Can doing homework be that effective? Did you secretly sign up for any tutoring class?” “No.” I closed my book, stood up. “Go out to buy water.” As I walked out class, I met someone in the hallway. Luc Gia Minh. Block leader. Tall and thin, wearing thin-rimmed glasses, uniform zipper pulled up to his neck. As he passed by, he tilted his head to look at me. Say nothing. Just take a look. I understand that look—“Who are you? Where did you come from?” It's okay. Next time, you will know who I am. I went to the small store to buy a bottle of water and then returned to class. As I passed by the seventh grade floor— I saw a familiar figure. Lam Phong. He stood by the hallway window, talking and laughing with another male student. Got a little taller. On his face, there was no longer the look of horror and consternation at the deployment point a month ago. Smile very brightly. When he saw me, his smile stopped. “…You.” His voice was very small. Like not sure whether to call or not. I don't stop. Just nodded slightly

head when passing by him. Unfriendly. Not hostile. Don't give any signals. The relationship between me and him stops here. He is the "creation" of Trieu Ngoc Phan. What kind of person he will grow into in the future has nothing to do with me. But if one day— He stood across from me. I won't hold back either. 【Chapter 9】 The days after the midterm exam passed calmly but fully. My daily rhythm is very fixed—Wake up at six in the morning, run three kilometers. The fourteen year old's body foundation is very poor. After my leg was amputated in my previous life, I no longer had the opportunity to run. Now, I feel like I'm making up for all the sixteen years I missed in my previous life. Breakfast at seven o'clock, porridge and eggs cooked by Aunt Luu. Seven thirty to school. Daytime learning was normal—eighth grade content wasn't challenging for me, but I wasn't going to show it. I listen seriously to lectures, submit assignments on time, and occasionally intentionally make one or two small mistakes that do not affect the overall results. After school, go home. From five o'clock to eight o'clock: self-study high school knowledge. Math, physics and English work together. After eight hours: exercise. Push-ups, squats and pull-ups. Ten o'clock bedtime. Repeatedly. Life is like sharpening a knife. And I am that da.a.o.