Jiang Chan blinked. “It wasn’t that bad, was it? Aren’t you exaggerating?”
She thought the difficulty of this monthly exam was fairly reasonable, so why did all her classmates look so miserable? Mo Xingyu rested her chin on Jiang Chan’s arm. “Boss, you are already up in the clouds. How could you possibly understand the struggles of us mere mortals?”
Jiang Chan pushed Mo Xingyu’s head away. “Old Wang is looking at you.”
Mo Xingyu immediately sat up straight in an instant. When she looked up, she saw Old Wang staring in their direction, his eyes cold and piercing. She immediately shrank back, her expression sheepish, not daring to say another word to Jiang Chan.
With his arms crossed, Old Wang simply stood there, watching as the classroom noise gradually died down until it was completely silent. He smirked. “Nothing left to say?”
Seeing the students below looking like a flock of quails, Old Wang continued, “Since none of you have anything to say, then be quiet and listen to me.”
He placed both hands on the podium and scanned the room, his expression only softening slightly when he landed on Jiang Chan.
“This was our first monthly exam of the semester. To be honest, I am extremely disappointed with the results. As the top-performing class in the grade, our class’s average math score was actually lower than Class Two’s. I will start handing out the test papers now. Come up when your name is called.”
The classroom fell into an even heavier silence. Jiang Chan observed everything with indifference. Did all teachers enjoy doing this? Her previous homeroom teacher had also liked announcing scores and making students retrieve their test papers one by one.
Mo Xingyu, on the other hand, was restless, fidgeting like an ant on a hot pan. Watching her classmates go up one by one only made her more anxious.
If Old Wang called names from highest to lowest, she could accept her fate. But his order was completely random, jumping between high and low scores, so no one knew when their name would be called.
Jiang Chan could not stand seeing Mo Xingyu so anxious. She flipped open a high school math book. “Relax. Did we not compare answers last time? You should score around 120.”
Mo Xingyu: “Wow, I really have to thank you. So far, no one has scored above 120, and you really think that highly of me.”
Jiang Chan propped her head up with one hand. “Want to bet?”
Mo Xingyu puffed up her cheeks. “Bet what?”
“Let me think. Oh, right, the braised pork they make in the cafeteria every Monday is pretty good. If you score above 120, you have to go and get me a serving at lunch today.”
“Deal. And if I don’t get 120 points?”
Mo Xingyu was no longer nervous and started discussing the stakes with Jiang Chan.
“That is not going to happen. I still trust my judgment. But to be fair, if I lose, I will cook a meal for you myself.”
“Deal?”
“Deal.”
Mo Xingyu grinned. “You are definitely going to lose.”
Jiang Chan sighed. Was she really hoping to score below 120?
Seeing that she was about to win the bet and get to choose a meal, Mo Xingyu was feeling smug, already thinking about what dishes she should order. Out of nowhere, Old Wang suddenly spoke. “Mo Xingyu, 121.”
Mo Xingyu responded instinctively, “Here! Wait, how much? 121?”
Old Wang shot her a glare. Seeing that she was still sitting there in a daze, he raised her test paper at her. Mo Xingyu immediately jumped up and rushed over in a few quick steps to grab it.
Seeing Mo Xingyu’s overly excitable reaction, Old Wang’s eye twitched. He had initially planned to praise her for doing well, but in the end, he silently swallowed the words back down.
Back at her seat, Mo Xingyu whispered to Jiang Chan, “Boss, you are amazing. You even guessed my score that accurately.”
Jiang Chan pushed her away. “I just remembered the answers you told me and made a quick estimate.”
Seeing Mo Xingyu grinning from ear to ear, Jiang Chan reminded her, “Do not forget my braised pork at lunch. A deal is a deal.”
Mo Xingyu was already too giddy to think straight. She had never expected to score this well on such a difficult test. At this point, she could not even hear what Jiang Chan was saying and just kept nodding.
As the number of test papers in Old Wang’s hands dwindled, yet Jiang Chan’s name still had not been called, murmurs began spreading throughout the classroom. At this stage, if someone’s test paper had not been given out yet, it meant they had either scored exceptionally high or disastrously low.
Thinking about Jiang Chan’s usual performance, everyone unanimously dismissed the possibility of her scoring poorly.
If there was anyone hoping for Jiang Chan to score poorly, it was undoubtedly Jiang Lianyu. At this moment, she was staring intently at the glaring red number on her test paper, 116. This score was already considered decent.
Hearing that none of the students called before her had scored higher, the corners of Jiang Lianyu’s lips lifted slightly. But the moment Mo Xingyu’s score of 121 was announced, her smile froze.
She waited and waited, eager to find out Jiang Chan’s score. She had been waiting this whole time just for this moment.
Old Wang, showing a rare smile, announced, “I would like to commend Jiang Chan. In this monthly exam, Jiang Chan scored a perfect score in math, ranking first in the entire grade. At the same time, her overall score is also the highest in the grade.”
As soon as those words were spoken, the entire classroom erupted into an uproar. No one had expected Jiang Chan, who sat in the last row, to be this incredible. A perfect score, many students in the class struggled to stay around one hundred. What kind of concept was a perfect score?
Jiang Lianyu could not bring herself to smile at all. Bitterness filled her heart. In the past, she could use her grades to suppress Jiang Chan, but now, what could she even compare with? A perfect score in math, how was that even possible?
Under the admiring gazes of her classmates, Jiang Chan calmly retrieved her test paper without any change in expression. Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Old Wang picked up his textbook and said, “Class dismissed. We will go over the math test papers in the next period.”
As soon as Old Wang left, students immediately swarmed around Jiang Chan. Mo Xingyu, using her position as Jiang Chan’s deskmate to her advantage, quickly snatched Jiang Chan’s test paper. “Desk buddy, a perfect score! How did you manage that?”
“Hurry up and let us touch it for some luck. Maybe it will bless me to do well on the next exam.”
“Sigh, Jiang Chan, how do you study? You’re younger than us, yet you score better than all of us?”
“I am so jealous.”
“Who isn’t? Is there anyone here who isn’t a sour lemon right now? Sister Chan, you are way too amazing!”
As her classmates chattered away, Jiang Chan remained completely unfazed. Some quick-witted students had already come over to ask her questions, and with just a few simple explanations, she quickly pointed them in the right direction. Before she knew it, even more students had gathered around her.
Mo Xingyu was already fuming like a pufferfish. She was Jiang Chan’s deskmate. Shouldn’t she, of all people, be the one benefiting from this close proximity? How could these little outsiders just swoop in and take advantage?
Without hesitation, she grabbed her own test paper, pushed her way through the surrounding classmates, and eagerly squeezed in beside Jiang Chan. She blinked her big, innocent eyes at Jiang Chan, looking at her expectantly.
Jiang Chan’s hand paused. She had not expected Mo Xingyu to be this good at acting cute.
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Honestly, I’d rather have gotten a lower score just below 120 (aka 119) to get a meal from Jiang Chan. XD