122 - How Could the Villainous Young Master Be a Saintess?

# 122~Is this what it feels like to be an overachiever? "Eh, seals are just asking for trouble, messing up my mood to play cards. By the way, isn't Saint Elysia your ancestor, Wenny?" Fred turned his gaze to Wenny. "So what?" Wenny glanced at Fred. "Hey, Wenny, stop bragging. I know you've probably gone through a ton of card packs, right?" Fred looked at Wenny's blue card on the table with disdain. "We've all been through it; who are you trying to trick? Everyone here gets it." "Oh, so you guys have indeed bought dozens, if not hundreds, of card packs to get rare pulls, right?" Wenny raised an eyebrow. "And yet you all pretended you got something good from just one pack." "You almost made me bankrupt! Are you aware of that??" "Honestly, I didn't expect anyone to actually believe that!" Fred scratched his head sheepishly. "Card buddies tend to exaggerate; it's all for fun. Any true card player knows it's not credible. Even if someone gets lucky once, they can't always be that lucky. The odds show that most won't get ultra-rare cards, and there are always times when you open hundreds of packs and still get nothing." "You deceived my genuine feelings; I've been duped by you all! Card buddies my foot." Wenny scowled, biting his lip. "Hey, it happens all the time. To be honest, don't laugh, but the unluckiest time for me was when I bought out an entire store's worth of cards and didn't get a single gold card." Fred spread his hands. "Luck is really a mysterious thing." "I bought dozens of packs because they were featuring Saint Elysia as the ultimate card. I thought drawing them near you, her descendant, would bring me luck. Turns out, you, her descendant, couldn't even draw your own ancestor's card." Fred's tone carried a hint of schadenfreude. "How dare you bring that up?? This new card pack was not cheap! Do you know how much I spent??" "Just for that, I'm done believing in card buddies or their bonds. It's all pure deception!" "Alright, alright, don't be mad, Wenny. It was wrong of me not to consider that you're new to this. To make it up to you, I'll give you my leftover card packs! How does that sound?" Fred patted Wenny's shoulder. "Oh? Really?" Hearing the chance for a free gain, Wenny's eyes lit up. "Of course, when have I ever lied to you?" Fred thumped his chest. He had bought a whole batch, nearly opened four-fifths of the packs, and got nothing notable. The remaining packs were likely useless. So, he decided to give them all to Wenny. Ah, worrying about a brother living poorly, but also fearing he'll end up luckier. Fred shook his head. "By the way, you mentioned you want to compete for a spot in the first-year student council? If I remember correctly, there are only five positions and it's limited to the top fifty ranked first-years." Fred recalled Wenny mentioning it earlier. "That's right. I'm planning to run for it. Do you know the process?" "I know a bit, but I'm surprised you want to compete. That position is really busy, often requiring you to give up leisure time for emergencies. We agreed to be carefree, and now you seek ambition?" "The first-year student council evaluation involves two rounds. The first is a written exam, and the second is an interview where student council interviewers ask about your views on certain campus issues. Pass both, and you'll just wait for the notice." Fred then explained the student council evaluation process to Wenny. "What does the written exam cover?" Wenny pondered, rubbing his chin. "Are you serious about this? What got into you to suddenly become proactive?" Fred gave him a sidelong glance. "They cover academy history, school regulations, student organization structure, main duties, and work content." "You need to know so much?" Wenny was slightly shocked. "Even remembering all this, how often will it be useful?" "What do you think? The student council and campus know this. The test isn't about how much you know but about your work capability and skills, with learning ability as a part." "By the way, the written evaluation is scheduled for next weekend, followed by the interview. You have only one week." "Whaaat? Why didn't anyone tell me sooner!?" "How was I supposed to know you'd suddenly want to join the student council? How about giving up? Sometimes, knowing when to retreat is wise. Growth is realizing one’s ordinariness and limited potential." Fred spoke with a heavy tone of reason. "Oh, do you not believe I can pass the assessment?" Wenny gave Fred a side glance. "Hey, I'm just saying it as it is, Wenny. A man should know his limits. With your academic record, I’m not expecting much—you’re as lost as a student can get. Culturally speaking, it seems like you and academia never clicked." If anyone knew Wenny, it was Fred. A born card buddy with zero noble grace, he could sit in any town wearing common clothes and engage in card games with peasant-like flair. "If I do manage to pass, what will you say?" Wenny just smiled slightly, not explaining. "Stop the pretense. If you can learn all those topics in a week and pass, I'll give you a gold card for free." Fred clearly didn't believe him and made a bold wager. "Oh, did you say that? Remember, if I pass the exam, you'll owe me a gold card." Wenny grinned, ready for Fred to take the bait. "Hey, are you planning on something shady?" Fred sensed a trap given Wenny's confident demeanor, but couldn't figure out how he could actually pull it off. "Brother, I'm advising you not to resort to tricks. Cheating will get you expelled if caught!" "Who says I'm cheating? A proper young man like me, emanating justice, would never do such a thing." Wenny snorted. "I'll earn my place in the student council fair and square. Are you afraid to wager?" "Afraid? Why would I be? Let's bet. I know you all too well; this is just a passing phase, and you won't seriously commit!" Fred asserted confidently. "Alright then, let's wait and see." After the card game, Wenny didn't head home but went to a bookstore. Despite the pain of spending, he bought all the books relevant to the student council exam. "Wenny, what’s up with all these books?" Shikondell, wearing a cooking apron, asked with a large question mark in her eyes as Wenny returned with a stack of books. "Ahem, upon consideration, I think joining the student council has promise, so I'm changing plans. I need to study hard these days. Please refrain from disturbing me." Wenny explained. "Huh? Oh." Shikondell tilted her head, puzzled by his sudden change, but obediently nodded. "In the meantime, I'll be burning the midnight oil as the exam's only a week away. Just ignore it if you see my light on; you just go ahead and sleep." "Oh, alright." Shikondell nodded, having no objections. After all, her sole income relied on Wenny's 'cooking fee,' and he also paid for groceries. Without him, she'd probably struggle even to eat. After dinner, Wenny returned to his room, turned on the light, and took a deep breath. This week, he was determined to hit the books hard! He settled at his desk and opened the thickest book among the lot. It didn’t take long before the sheer volume of tiny print made his head spin and his vision blur. How is there so much? Just one book alone is overwhelming; how on earth is he going to finish multiple books in a week? It was exactly as Fred had said—just flipping through the densely packed pages made him want to pass out. There was no motivation to continue studying. Alright, whether in his past life or this one, he was never the scholarly type and couldn't get into studying. Forcing oneself to learn things that don’t interest them leads to fatigue. Initially, Wenny thought he could learn whatever he could and understand whatever he could comprehend, but he barely managed to get through the table of contents before his eyelids drooped. By the next morning, he found himself asleep on the book. Relying on his own learning ability seemed unlikely to get him through the student council assessment. Wenny struggled like this until Friday. For five days, he maintained the attitude of learning as much as possible, yet he couldn't even finish half of one book. Ugh... He didn’t know if it was due to his poor learning ability or just a complete lack of interest; his study efficiency was painfully low. At this rate, making it into the student council was an impossible dream. Thus, he had no choice but to turn to the omnipotent Vannesa. He hoped Vannesa could come through. Returning to his dreary desk once more, Wenny clasped his hands together in a praying gesture. With a burst of light as graceful as cherry blossoms, the person at the desk transformed into a poised young woman with cherry pink hair. She gently flipped through the pages with her slender, white fingers and focused on the dense lines of text, finding each word remarkably clear and comprehensible. Her previously sluggish mind was now operating at breakneck speed, as if upgraded from an old, rusty gear to the best in modern technology. The drowsiness vanished, replaced by enthusiasm and focus. As the sentences linked together and formed a complete picture, Vannesa effortlessly grasped the once-daunting, fragmented knowledge points. It was as if her cognitive abilities had undergone a leap, akin to the evolution from an outdated first-generation computer to a state-of-the-art model. No matter how complex the sentence, or how intricate the knowledge point, Vannesa felt she only needed to read it once to fully grasp its essence. She could even recall it verbatim, retaining every word after a single read-through. Is this what it feels like to be a top student?? Vannesa felt an unexplainable sense of emotion at her newfound prowess, having been an underachiever all her life and now finally knowing what it's like to excel. She had anticipated her brain and learning ability as Vannesa would be superior, but not to this extent—a true qualitative leap. Initially, she lacked confidence in competing for a first-year student council position. But now, with such rapid learning and comprehension, who else but her deserved the spot? Two full evenings were all she needed to finish those books. Vannesa placed her hands flat on the book, swiftly flipping through the pages. Her reading speed was astonishing, her eyes moving rapidly across one page before swiftly turning to the next. To an onlooker, it might seem like she wasn't even reading, merely going through the motions. "Wenny, dinner’s ready!" During this time, Shikondell had come by to call Vannesa out for dinner, but beyond the light in the room, the only sound was the turning of pages. From outside, Shikondell caught a whiff of a delightful white camellia fragrance, unsure if it was her imagination. Seeing Wenny so absorbed, Shikondell didn’t disturb him further, leaving his meal at the door before departing. Thanks to a week of intensive study and with Vannesa's help, Wenny managed to grasp about seventy to eighty percent of the student council exam content. You might wonder why only seventy to eighty percent? Because after reverting back to Wenny and sleeping, he forgot a lot of the information he had memorized. But remembering even seventy percent was sufficient for the exam. Wenny arrived at the exam venue to find fewer participants than expected—only about thirty or so. It seemed not every student ranked in the top fifty was interested in joining the student council; many had their own ambitions. Amusingly, when some saw Wenny at the exam, many assumed he'd submit a blank paper again, only to be taken aback when he actually started writing furiously. Much like in the original story, Wenny encountered Aesphyra and Ishtiya at the exam. 2025/04/18/21/18