Xu Yin roughly scanned through, finding the basic questions of this Chinese exam not difficult, but the difficulty increased in modern Chinese reading, classical Chinese, and composition.
After scanning, he focused on answering questions from the beginning.
On the other hand, Xu Ling also felt that this Chinese exam was relatively difficult, but he was in good condition today. Chinese and English were subjects he excelled in, so it shouldn’t be a problem. With full confidence, he started writing.
The exam room was quiet, with only the sound of pens brushing against paper. The invigilator stood at the front, occasionally walking around.
Two and a half hours seemed long, but time passed quickly when concentrating on the exam. Xu Yin had just finished the last stroke of his composition when a figure walked to the front of the classroom, drawing attention. Xu Ling handed in his answer sheet, surprising the teacher: “Are you turning in your paper early?”
Although it was allowed to submit early, very few students did so in high school exams, especially considering the difficulty of this test. Many students hadn’t even finished their compositions yet.
Xu Ling smiled weakly, saying, “Feeling a bit unwell.”
“Okay then,” since it was for health reasons, the invigilator didn’t object. After checking Xu Ling’s answer sheet, he said, “Alright, you can leave the exam room after turning in your paper.”
Xu Ling nodded, leaving confidently amidst the varied gazes of other students, claiming to feel unwell but walking with pride.
Seeing Xu Ling submit early, some students, already struggling with the difficulty, grew more anxious. Others had their essay thoughts interrupted by Xu Ling, expressing frustration.
Xu Yin glanced at Xu Ling and continued checking his paper. Today, the elusive 018 happened to be online. Xu Yin chatted with him while checking.
018: “Did you finish but not submit your paper?”
Being a system created by beings from another dimension, 018 hadn’t experienced the gaokao. Though knowledgeable, he didn’t fully understand. He asked, “Why?”
Ignoring exams before the senior year, any test afterward was a simulation of the gaokao. Every second in the exam room was crucial. Unless one was confident of getting a perfect score, wouldn’t it be better to use extra time for checking?
In the real world, Xu Yin’s high school was among the best in the city. Even when he was the top student, he wouldn’t submit his paper early in any exam.
As for what Xu Ling said about feeling unwell, well, let’s just take it as him not feeling well. After all, Xu Yin isn’t very keen on understanding what’s going on in this person’s mind.
018: “You high school students really have it tough.”
Xu Yin sympathizes: “Elementary and middle school students nowadays also face challenges.”
018 asks again: “Have you thought about what major you want to pursue after this college entrance exam?”
In the original world, Xu Yin studied design. In the previous world, he finally completed his design degree and became a renowned designer. Does he want to continue down the same path in this world?
Xu Yin: “Not really.”
Having pondered this question, Xu Yin, given the rare chance to return to high school, standing at the starting line of countless future choices, wants to explore other paths, like computer science or architecture.
018: “Hmm, you’re quite a daring man.”
Xu Yin continues checking until the end of the exam, then joins Yan Ningchuan to go to the cafeteria. The current monthly and midterm exams have become morning and afternoon sessions.
On the way to the cafeteria, many students discuss the exam just taken.
“So difficult, I couldn’t even understand the classical Chinese, and some questions were just random writing.”
“No idea what to write in the composition…”
“Some in our exam room didn’t even finish…”
“Did Xu Ling submit early? I saw him leave the hallway while I was writing the composition.”
“Damn, early submission in today’s exam?”
“He’s good at Chinese, though…”
Yan Ningchuan asks, “How do you feel?”
“Okay,” Xu Yin honestly replies, “just had a bit of uncertainty in the first modern Chinese reading, but the rest was fine.”
Yan Ningchuan nods, pats Xu Yin’s head, and says, “Eat more later.”
Xu Yin always feels like Yan Ningchuan’s complete statement is ‘Eat more later, supplement your brain’, and can’t help but chuckle.
This guy’s desire for him to achieve a good rank is probably stronger than Xu Yin’s own.
After lunch, students return to their respective classrooms for a break, and the afternoon exam begins at two.
The afternoon exam is math, and there’s not much to review. It’s mostly formulas, theoretically memorized through practice. However, Xu Yin doesn’t want to be overconfident. Reviewing formulas in the classroom might be boring, but it’s better than doing nothing.
While reviewing, strange things start circulating.
“Damn,” Wang Feifei enters the classroom and heads straight for Xu Yin and Yan Ningchuan, “Hey, someone’s betting on the results of your and Xu Ling’s exam this time!”
The students in the class are all stunned at this revelation.
“Huh? Who’s so stupid?”
“A few people from Class 10!”
After the incident last time, the entire grade is now paying double attention to Xu Yin and Xu Ling, these half-brothers with different mothers. In terms of grades, they have been in constant competition.
Initially, Xu Yin consistently ranked just above the hundredth in the grade. However, when Xu Ling transferred in, within a year, he managed to push Xu Yin to the bottom of the grade while securing a position within the top two hundred.
In the first monthly exam of this semester, Xu Yin unexpectedly reclaimed a spot within the top two hundred, ranking around one hundred and fifty, while Xu Ling, for the first time, fell out of the top two hundred.
It’s quite exhilarating.
How will this exam turn out?
It’s evident to everyone that Xu Yin has been putting in a lot of effort since the beginning of this semester, and Xu Ling has been striving harder since returning from the week off. It’s clear they both want to improve their rankings.
Someone asks, “So, who do you think will win more bets now?”
Wang Feifei scratches the back of his head.
Well, it seems like more bets are leaning towards Xu Ling.
Wang Feifei says, “Many heard about Xu Ling submitting early, so a lot of people are betting on him winning.”
Even he feels a bit unsure now. The morning Chinese exam was challenging; he wrote the classical Chinese and two modern Chinese reading passages randomly without understanding them. If Xu Ling could submit early with such a paper, he probably prepared well this time.
As for Xu Ling not being sick, this guy was lively and energetic in the cafeteria just now. Anyone could tell he’s using the excuse of feeling unwell to avoid the teacher’s inquiry. The essence of submitting early is still showing off!
Well, he does have the capital to show off.
Although Wang Feifei is Xu Yin’s good buddy, Xu Yin fell behind in the entire year’s curriculum before, compared to Xu Ling now. It’s probably a bit challenging to surpass Xu Ling.
Xu Yin has no thoughts about these students, finding them quite idle. He raises an eyebrow and continues reading.
Seeing this, Lin Jia lowers his voice and says to Wang Feifei, “Stop talking about it. Let those idiots play on their own. We just need to do better than the last exam!”
Wang Feifei covers his mouth, furrows his brows, “So, you also think Xu Yin might not surpass Xu Ling this time?”
Lin Jia shrinks his neck, “That idiot Xu Ling, although he’s foolish, submitting early probably means he’s very confident.”
Lin Jia is usually carefree but turns into a little brother when it comes to studying.
Other classmates chime in, “Sit down, focus on reviewing, don’t mind those idiots.”
“Just pretend you didn’t hear anything. What’s the point of comparing yourself to Xu Ling in an exam?”
“That’s right, if you want to compare, it’s better to compare with our Yan Ge.”
As they speak, they turn to look at Yan Ningchuan.
And then, they meet Yan Ningchuan’s seemingly caring but puzzled gaze.
They wonder, “?”
When Xu Ling enters the exam room in the afternoon, his steps are light.
Some classmates from other classes who knew Xu Ling before came over. While they pretended not to know each other in the morning, now they ask, “Did you do well in the Chinese exam this morning?”
“Quite well,” Xu Ling replies vaguely.
People suspect that with the collective struggle during the morning Chinese exam, Xu Ling’s “quite well” undoubtedly means he is confident. Who knows, he might score well even on such a challenging paper, perhaps around 130 points.
Seeing Xu Yin entering the exam room and taking his seat, someone, enjoying the spectacle, smiles and says, “Keep up the good work this afternoon.”
Looking at Xu Yin’s back, Xu Ling curls his lips.
At exactly 2 PM, the math exam officially begins.
For this exam, Xu Yin completely loses interest in chatting with 018.
Science itself is not his weak point, but having been away from high school for too long, catching up with the knowledge points of senior year inevitably takes some time. However, after two months of intense review, Xu Yin clearly feels that he has regained his state from high school, even better than before. After all, he wasn’t as diligent back then, so his speed is steady and not slow.
The invigilator for this exam is a math teacher from the first year group, not involved in setting the paper but having seen the questions. The difficulty level is exceptionally high.
She scans the entire exam room, and shortly after most students start answering questions, many show signs of struggle. Some, with unstable mental states, are already getting anxious after attempting two consecutive multiple-choice questions they don’t know.
Starting from the left side of the classroom, she walks to the end of the left row and notices Xu Ling, a student who had caused quite a stir before.
Approaching, she takes a careful look at Xu Ling’s paper and is somewhat surprised.
Xu Ling’s speed is fast, but…
She furrows her brows.
The accuracy of the completed multiple-choice questions so far is worrisome.
Doing it so hastily without even realizing the traps in the questions – how could this midterm exam be so simple?
She shakes her head and continues her rounds.
Looking around, it’s quite pitiful. The average score for this exam might look bad, probably affecting these high school seniors.
Sighing in her heart, she reaches the door. Initially not intending to continue watching, but since teachers also gossip secretly, she can’t help but pay attention when she sees Xu Yin sitting at the door.
Upon careful examination of Xu Yin’s paper, she stops and is astonished.
Unlike other students scratching their heads or frowning, Xu Yin looks calm. The solution steps on the draft paper are clear and concise, and the paper is neat.
Rubbing her chin, she watches for a while, gaining a great appreciation for Xu Yin, the gossip center. The frustration from the rounds of inspection is finally relieved, and she returns to the podium feeling content.
Not bad. Students like Xu Yin shouldn’t be bothered by trivial family matters all the time. Focusing on studying and getting into a good university is what really matters.
When Xu Yin finishes the last major question, he checks the time and still has forty minutes left.
Starting from the beginning of the exam, when there are twenty minutes left… Xu Ling submits early again.
This time, the entire exam room is really in turmoil.
“Quiet, it’s an exam, manage yourselves!” The invigilator scolds sternly.
Holding Xu Ling’s paper, she asks with a strange expression, “Are you sure you want to submit early? Won’t you check again?”
Xu Ling softly says, “I’ve already checked. I’m feeling a bit unwell, so…”
“Alright, then go.” The invigilator waves her hand.
After all, it’s not her taking the exam; it’s none of her business.
Xu Ling nodded. When he walked out of the exam room, he could feel many jealous or admiring eyes behind him. He glanced at Xu Yin again; the latter was still focused on drafting, and Xu Ling had no idea if he had finished the questions. Xu Ling felt quite satisfied in his heart.
Although science was not his strong suit, he had been studying seriously for over a month, and the effort seemed to have paid off. Despite thinking that this math paper wasn’t too difficult, judging from the situations of other students, it seemed challenging for them.
He never expected that in a little over a month, he could open such a big gap compared to other students. If he had started studying earlier, maybe his grades would have been in the top fifty by now.
Thinking about this, Xu Ling walked out with a light and brisk pace.
…
The two days of exams passed quickly, and after the exams, the students in the science class were exhausted.
This exam was too difficult! Incredibly challenging!
The first day’s Chinese and math exams had already left many students in despair, and the second day’s English and comprehensive science were even more hellish!
Lin Jia, Wang Feifei, and others were seriously studying for the first time, and they happened to encounter this kind of exam for their “first time.” They were at a loss.
After the exams, many students approached Yan Ningchuan to discuss answers. Yan Ningchuan showed them the multiple-choice answers on his paper. Some had notes, and some didn’t, but it was enough for the students to analyze.
A group of students gathered around Yan Ningchuan and Xu Yin’s desks, discussing eagerly. Occasionally, cries of despair could be heard.
Seeing Xu Yin also entering with stationery and exam papers, Yan Ningchuan asked with a keen look, “How did it go?”
Xu Yin raised his eyebrows slightly.
Yan Ningchuan understood and curved his lips into a smile.
The grading speed was still fast, and on the second day, Friday, the scores for all six subjects were released.
Class 7 and Class 12 had some overlapping courses on their schedules, and the first class on Friday was math for both classes.
Class 7.
Little Curly was nervous early in the morning. It seemed like he messed up the math this time. At least two of the multiple-choice questions were confusing, and he left almost the entire last major question blank.
He didn’t know if he could even score a hundred this time. He was so nervous that he couldn’t eat breakfast.
“Don’t be so nervous; it’s just a midterm exam,” Xu Ling comforted.
“Xu Ling, your score must be very high, right?” Little Curly admired, “Can you get over 120?”
In the past, Xu Ling wasn’t strong in science, and his math scores were almost always perfect, but this time, with the effort he put into studying before the exam, Little Curly thought Xu Ling would surely make significant progress!
Hearing this, Xu Ling waved his hand modestly, “It’s not that impressive; I’m not very confident either.”
In his heart, however, he secretly thought he might even break 130 this time, surprising everyone.
After finishing breakfast, the two went to the classroom. After sitting down, the anxious student in the front row turned around and said, “Xu Ling, your score should be quite high this time.”
Since Xu Ling started studying seriously, some attitudes towards him in the class had changed. Of course, the enthusiasm was not as before, but a student like him, regardless of whether his grades had reached the level of a top student, at least the effort was there, making people feel somewhat positive.
After four exams, Xu Ling submitted early in three of them, only finishing the comprehensive science on time.
Xu Ling remained modest, “Let’s wait for the results to come out; I submitted early because I didn’t feel well physically. It’s not that remarkable.”
The student in the front row waved his hand; everyone knew he was just talking about not feeling well.
Seeing the reactions, Xu Ling smiled without saying anything.
On the side, Ye Xunran listened to their conversation for a while, then suddenly spoke, “Are you okay?”
This was the first time he had spoken to Xu Ling so actively, seeming to convey a certain message.
The student in the front row sprayed, not expecting Ye Xunran to take it seriously. He shook his head and turned away.
Xu Ling, however, was momentarily stunned and then perked up. He softly replied, “I’m fine, maybe just a bit tired from the intense review earlier.”
After a moment of silence, Ye Xunran whispered, “Even when you work hard, you need to pay attention to your health. It’s not worth it if you get sick.”
Xu Ling smiled gently, “Okay, I got it.”
With that, the curvature of his lips gradually increased.
At this moment, the math teacher and the math class representative entered the classroom.
The math class representative held the corrected answer sheets in his hands, and all the students’ eyes in the class focused on him. He subtly glanced at Xu Ling.
On the other side, Class 12.
The math class representative rushed into the classroom with the answer sheets, causing a commotion.
“He’s here! He’s here!”
“I’m scared to death!”
“Just kill me; I don’t want to see this paper!”
The math class representative, with a flushed face, exclaimed, “What’s there to be afraid of? Everyone did well this time!”
This statement instantly lifted the spirits of the whole class.
“Really?”
“What’s the average score?”
“Mr. Li, what’s my score?”
The math class representative replied, “Wait until you get the papers in your hands!”
Following the math class representative, the math teacher walked in, glancing at Yan Ningchuan and Xu Yin sitting in the corner. With a cheerful tone, she praised, “Yan Ningchuan and Xu Yin did well this time, especially Xu Yin, showing significant improvement!”
Immediately, the whole class turned their gaze towards the two.
Yan Ningchuan was the top student in the grade, and his consistently high performance was expected. However, for Xu Yin…
The math class representative specifically found Xu Yin’s paper, picked it up, and rushed over. Along the way, students caught sight of the red-penned score written on it, and expressions of “Fvck!” and “Holy sh*t!” were heard.
The math class representative slapped the paper in front of Xu Yin excitedly, “You really did exceptionally well!”
Xu Yin glanced at the score on the paper and smiled, “Thank you.”
Yan Ningchuan swept his gaze, and a smile appeared on his face too.
In Class 7, when Xu Ling saw the math class representative, his heart started beating faster.
After giving Xu Ling a glance, the math class representative silently began distributing the answer sheets. As each student saw their score, they either remained silent or lowered their heads, holding their heads.
Seeing the math class representative coming towards his desk, handing out papers to the neighboring students but not to him, Xu Ling couldn’t wait and asked, “Is there mine?”
“Yes, don’t be so impatient.” The math class representative sighed. Since he was being rushed, he stood directly beside Xu Ling’s desk, flipping through the papers. The surrounding students also looked here, equally interested in Xu Ling’s score this time.
After a while, the math class representative finally found it and placed it on Xu Ling’s desk, saying, “Here you go.”
Having said that, he walked away.
Xu Ling eagerly checked his score, only to be dumbfounded.
Ye Xunran was also somewhat astonished.
Front and back desks, even the neighboring desks, everyone stretched their necks to look. When they saw the score, they were all surprised, and hushed discussions ensued.
Xu Ling’s score… was only 97 points!!!
He didn’t even reach a hundred!
What happened? Didn’t he submit early? He should have done well, so how come it’s only 97 points?!
Xu Ling was truly dumbfounded.
How was this possible?
How could it be only 97 points?
He answered all the questions; the paper wasn’t that difficult!
In a fluster, he flipped through the entire paper. Seeing that Ye Xunran also received his paper, scoring 135 points, Xu Ling was sure that there must be some mistake. He ran to the front and asked the math teacher, “Teacher Shen, is there a mistake in my score?”
The math teacher frowned and said, “There’s no mistake. Wait until I finish explaining the paper, then take another look. But, Xu Ling, there’s something I really need to tell you. The difficulty of this paper was significant. If you finished early, why didn’t you stay back to review the paper properly?”
Xu Ling froze, his face turning red. Stammering, he said, “I, I wasn’t feeling well…”
He never expected the score to be like this!
He… he just thought he did it quickly and smoothly, and there was no need to stay back and check…
The math teacher sighed helplessly, “Alright, but you should pay attention to your health before exams. You can’t afford to do this during the college entrance examination.”
Having heard what the invigilator said, that Xu Ling claimed not to feel well, yet walked out energetically, the teacher could guess what these kids were thinking. However, he didn’t want to spell it out so bluntly.
Gritting his teeth, Xu Ling wanted to leave, but the moment he turned around, he hesitated.
He completed the entire paper so smoothly, yet the score was like this. What about Xu Yin…
He asked softly, “Teacher Shen, do you know Xu Yin’s score?”
The math teacher was amused. Instead of focusing on studying, this kid was so concerned about his half-brother, and he didn’t even bother to hide it!
With a helpless expression, the teacher said, “Xu Yin ranked in the top ten for math in the grade this time, with a score of 142!”
Xu Ling was dumbfounded, completely stunned.
