Happy Evil Heartbreaker [Modern LitRPG]

Xanthia had prepared extensively for this monthly exam, driven by her determination to earn the title of "Study Prodigy."

"Early bird catches the worm," she thought to herself. With this title in hand, she could ascend to become a "Study Expert," an "all-round Academic Overlord," or even a "Perfect Study God!"

Approaching each day of high school with the mindset to enjoy life, and considering Thessaloniki High as a typical "academics-first" institution, excelling academically was a prerequisite for her to have fun and indulge herself fully.

After all, what would people say behind her back if she didn't perform well? Thus, she needed the protective shield of being a "top student" to quell any rumors, akin to having an amulet for defense.

Thessaloniki High, being a prestigious key high school, operated under such an ecosystem—welcoming everyone to its meritocracy.

Therefore, maintaining good grades ensured various intangible privileges, such as teachers in each subject treating her with more amiability.

Why would some find high school so painful?

Naturally, it stemmed from poor academic performance, a lack of vision for the future, and feeling incapable of catching up despite one's efforts, leading to increased suffering and confusion.

Yet, choosing to completely slack off could only bring temporary amusement, coupled with guilt towards parents, perpetually stuck in a conflicted state.

Of course, there were exceptions—those who chose complete laziness and revelled in it, enjoying their youth to the fullest.

To be blunt, Xanthia's enjoyment-seeking mindset was ill-suited for the rigorous three years of high school, a classic case of improper study attitude. But who could blame her for having such a system?

Xanthia was not qualified to be a role model, nor did she aspire to be one. She only wished to enjoy herself and accumulate happiness.

If anyone were to ask who deserved to be a role model, it would undoubtedly be Luciel. Xanthia admired her diligence greatly, which bolstered her confidence for this month's exams.

It was now late morning, and the first subject of the monthly exams was Foreign Languages And Linguistics.

Due to her poor performance in the previous school-wide assessment, Xanthia had been relegated to the exam hall upstairs, carrying her pencil case and stationery.

For every major exam at Thessaloniki High, seating arrangements were based on the previous academic rankings. The top students were placed in Class 1 of their respective grades.

This ranking-based seating arrangement had its advantages—it deterred cheating, as students couldn't easily collaborate with others, especially in the rear seats where everyone was less trustworthy and copying others might result in lower accuracy than guessing alone.

Furthermore, each exam hall had its own atmosphere.

In the current building, there were four exam halls for Grades 10 to 12, concentrating the top two hundred students of the entire school. Before entering the exam room, they meticulously reviewed their materials in the corridors, reluctant to part with their notes until the last possible moment.

On the third floor, where Xanthia's Class 12 of Grade 10 was situated, it was an entirely different scenario. Most students seemed to wear expressions of joy, not caring at all about the impending exams.

Some were clearly athletic types, towering and chatting in groups of two or three, discussing everything except academics.

When they encountered pretty girls passing by, they would whistle to catch their attention—classic behavior.

Wearing the blue and white sports uniform, Xanthia didn't stand out as conspicuously as when she wore her JK uniform. Her presence was somewhat subdued.

Yet even so, there were observant boys who loved to surf the internet, frequent the campus forums, and were keen-eyed enough to recognize her, even daring enough to strike up a conversation.

These were evidently the frivolous type of boys.

He couldn't help but think, "This JK cute girl is definitely pretty, but her grades seem lacking. Girls like her should be easy to hook up with—after all, I've never seen a beauty with poor grades shy away from high school romance."

You see, this is the consequence of not having the "top student" status—a lot of frivolous guys wouldn't dare to approach a studious girl.

They feel like they're from different worlds compared to those top students who even have teachers covering for them. But if you're both 'average students' and you happen to be good-looking, you naturally become their target.

Actually, you don't need to aim for top student status. Even if your grades are in the middle, you'd be seated in the exam rooms on the second floor, from Class 5 to Class 8, where trouble is less likely. After all, most average students are low-key, ordinary folks who avoid trouble.

"Back off, she's under my protection! You guys better watch out!" Marcus, looking fierce and full of attitude, boldly chased away the flies buzzing around Xanthia.

Behind Marcus were Leon and Miguel. Though they wore school uniforms, their shoes were all branded. High school boys who couldn't compete in clothes loved to show off their shoes.

The boy who had approached Xanthia was Gonzal, shamelessly thick-skinned. He was a track and field athlete, accompanied by two classmates.

Seeing Marcus, who looked like a school bully, Gonzal couldn't help but shrink back slightly. Someone who liked to hang out and stir up trouble like him naturally knew Marcus. He immediately grinned and responded, "No wonder you're my bro, picking up such a pretty girl!"

Hearing this compliment, Marcus's expression changed. He stepped forward and gave Gonzal a warning kick, not too harsh, just enough to insult. He said coldly, "Watch your mouth. None of that 'pretty girl' nonsense. Her name is Xanthia, she's like a sister to me. Offending her is like offending me!"

"Xanthia... Sister Xanthia... Oh, you mean that one?" Gonzal sucked in a breath, nodding slightly at Marcus. Immediately, without a second thought, he apologized to Xanthia.

Xanthia didn't take this incident seriously, waving them off. She indeed had the demeanor of an elder sister.

Right now, the monthly exams were crucial. She didn't have time to fool around with these spirited young men.

In the end, the Foreign Languages And Linguistics exam in the morning didn't go as smoothly as she had hoped.

There was no way around it—Foreign Languages And Linguistics exams, especially the Syntax questions, were quite mystical. 

Having the "Wisdom" attribute, Xanthia indeed had a profound understanding of texts and sentence structures. However, it was like an author reading their own text—often causing her to overlook common pitfalls, which had become a long-standing joke.

Xanthia hadn't expected that such a strong "Wisdom" attribute would unexpectedly have this downside. It seemed that for achieving better academic results, attributes like "Study Prodigy," "Academic Overlord," or "Perfect Study God" upgraded from "Study Expert" were more suitable. They were more professionally aligned.

As for composition, she had no special advantages. She could only write classic three-part essays, ensuring she'd score above the class average.

But after all, it was just the Foreign Languages And Linguistics exam. She performed very well in subsequent exams like math, physics, chemistry, and comprehensive subjects, feeling quite pleased with herself.

During this process, she also discovered her minor flaw—lack of attention to detail. Sometimes, she'd make careless mistakes in questions she actually knew how to answer.

There was nothing she could do about it. The "Wisdom" attribute was a broad type of intelligence, suitable for becoming a monk or finding the meaning of truth, but it couldn't prevent her from making mistakes due to carelessness.

Regardless, this month's exams were actually favorable for Xanthia to achieve her goal of being first in the class.

The difficulty level of the science subjects was generally high, but it didn't trouble Xanthia at all. Even if she made some minor mistakes due to carelessness, she could still widen the gap with difficult questions.

And so, the exams concluded smoothly, and now everyone awaited the eagerly anticipated results.