Chapter 48 (2/2)
Perfect score! Old Man Tang let out a sigh of relief and his mind was finally set to rest. His face was beaming with joy.
As expected, Cheng Nuo hadn’t let him down.
“Sss, this boy has really achieved a perfect score.”
“Congratulations, Old Man Tang!”
“You are a great teacher, Old Man Tang! It’ll be excellent if Cheng Nuo can get a perfect score in the Gaokao!”
“Haha, maybe,” Old Man Tang said. His heart was warmed by the praises and his cheeks were rosy from the excitement.
Suddenly, a female teacher suggested, “Let’s see how many people have gotten perfect scores!”
“Yes!” The other teachers agreed.
If Cheng Nuo was the only one, he would undeniably be a true genius, incomparable to any of his peers. However, if there were several perfect scores, his achievement wouldn’t be so remarkable.
One minute later…
A teacher hung up the call and announced excitedly, “I’ve asked. There’s only one student who’s gotten a perfect score in math across all the 48 schools!”
The group was exhilarated. They would have screamed in elation if they hadn’t had to uphold their image as teachers.
What an extraordinary feat!
The large-scale combined mock exam across the 48 schools had been continuing annually since six years ago. However, the performance of the Second High School of Qing Cheng had only been mediocre throughout the years.
But this time, they’d got all the cheek in the world since Cheng Nuo was the only one who had achieved a perfect score in math.
The department started to sort the tests after the brief celebration.
After they had registered the grades into the school system, the results could finally be released.
…
When Qingqing walked into class 18 with the list of results for the class, everyone couldn’t help but hold their breath subconsciously.
There was curiosity, expectation, nervousness, loss, and other complicated emotions in the students’ eyes as they looked at the list in Qingqing’s hands.
Qingqing glued the list beside the blackboard and told the class, “The results are out. You can come forward to take a look. Today, Old Man Tang will use the last class to talk about the exam results.”
After that, Qingqing returned to her seat while softly humming a tune. She had achieved a decent score this time, which was enough for her to have an enjoyable Labor Day holiday.
Swoosh!
Some students dashed to the blackboard immediately. In the next instant, many had crowded around the list.
It was reminiscent of the scene on the results release day in ancient times[3].
“Hey, Cheng Nuo, why don’t you want to go and take a look?” Hao Shuai asked when he saw that Cheng Nuo had no intention to go forward.
Cheng Nuo replied with a casual smile, “No need! I already know that I’m at the top!”
Hao Shuai rolled his eyes. “Stop acting cool, will you? You already knew that the top position is reserved for Mu Leng. You? Stop dreaming!”
“Ha! Shuai, you underestimate me. Come, sit down first,” Cheng Nuo said, pulling Hao Shuai back to his seat. Then he rubbed his hands and asked smilingly, “Shuai, do you want to make a bet?”
“What bet?” Hao Shuai was interested.
“Bet on my ranking,” Cheng Nuo said, “You’ll have to treat me to a seafood buffet if I’m the top in class. If I’m not, I’ll treat you to a seafood buffet! How about that?”
“Deal!” Hao Shuai agreed. “I’ll make sure you go broke!”
[1] Perfect score
[2] Unlike many countries, the Labor Day holiday in China is five days long
[3] In ancient China, there was an annual national exam where only the top scorers were selected to work for the emperor. This was the only way the commoners could break free from the poverty cycle. Hence, students would crowd to see their results when they were released