Chapter 61: Very Impressive

Seeing her shocked expression, Yang Yingwen spoke up indignantly for Chen Zijin:

“You just had a problem with Zijin, and immediately went chasing after Song Yu—you’re a complete bastard.”

“Xiao Han, you’re so beautiful, be careful to keep your distance from him, or he might turn to you after failing to win over Song Yu.”

“Mm-hmm.” Xiao Han nodded vigorously, eager to show solidarity with her best friend, and chirped: “You too, Yingwen.”

Yang Yingwen chuckled bitterly: “I don’t have to worry—he always calls me an old rag when we fight: old, dry, flat, not worth any interest.”

Xiao Han couldn’t help but smile sweetly, then quickly pulled two tangerines from her desk, handing one to each.

She comforted them: “Here, let’s stop talking about bastards and eat some tangerines.”

…

Class 204.

At this moment, Zou Ai returned from the academic office, enthusiastically telling everyone a joke.

A joke about Liu Yejiang.

Just now, something hilarious had happened in the academic office.

When Liu Yejiang learned he’d scored only 81 in math, his eyes turned red; he stubbornly asked the teacher entering scores:

“How much did Li Heng get?”

The teacher entering scores was Yang, homeroom teacher of the neighboring Class 205, who replied with a knowing look:

“Liu Yejiang, I heard from Wang Qi that before the exam you swore an oath—you were dead certain you’d beat Li Heng.”

“Teacher Wang even offered you five yuan as a reward to motivate you.”

“But your geography is four points lower, your politics six points lower, and your math? A shocking 39—every subject below his. How are you going to face this? I’m already worried for you.”

“Hahaha, I’m worried for him too.” Zhou, the PE teacher and a minor school official, chimed in, smoking a cigarette.

Liu Yejiang flushed and protested: “My Chinese, English, and history scores haven’t come out yet—I still have a chance!”

Hearing this, Teacher Yang turned to the vice principal: “Director, have you seen his Chinese score yet?”

The vice principal, grading papers, replied: “Not all are finished—I’ll check them tonight.”

At this, the vice principal glanced at Liu Yejiang and said: “You’ve been sitting here all afternoon without eating—go have dinner first. I’ll hand out the papers during evening study hall.”

Seeing Liu Yejiang was nearly unhinged, the teachers all tried to comfort him; it took a long time to finally get him to leave.

After recounting what happened in the academic office, Zou Ai began mimicking Liu Yejiang’s voice, whining:

“How much did Li Heng get? How much did Li Heng get? Just how much did Li Heng get, aaaah!…”

Zou Ai had a gift for mimicry—he captured Liu Yejiang’s voice and gestures perfectly, and everyone burst into laughter.

Zhang Zhiyong added fuel to the fire: “Exactly! Pfft! What kind of trash dares compare himself to my brother…”

Just as the two were turning Liu Yejiang into a punchline, a female classmate kindly warned: “Liu Yejiang’s coming.”

“Oh? So what if he’s here? An 81-point little monkey dares challenge a 120-point Buddha? Must’ve watched too much Journey to the West—thinks he’s evolved now. He dares do it, I can’t say it?”

Zhang Zhiyong valued loyalty above all—insulting his best friend was an insult to him; now that the wind was in his favor, how could he not press the advantage?

Liu Yejiang, entering the classroom, heard every word clearly, his anger flaring—but when he saw Zhang Zhiyong smirking at him, he swallowed some of it down:

“Zhang Zhiyong, don’t get cocky. Everyone knows Li Heng isn’t top in English or Chinese—who’s laughing last is still up in the air.”

Before Zhang Zhiyong could retort, Liu Li spoke up: “Li Heng isn’t top in Chinese or English, but his total score always beats yours—where’s your face?”

Zou Ai patted his own butt, sneering: “I gave him his face! I gave it to him!”

Liu Yejiang was furious but dared not strike—he’d been chased and beaten with a stool by Li Heng last time, and the memory still sent chills down his spine; yet he couldn’t swallow his pride, so he resolved to make up for it with his grades.

But now… his grades…

In the end, Liu Yejiang’s thunder was loud but his rain light; under the watchful eyes of many classmates, he slumped back to his seat in silence.

Li Heng entered the classroom just as the evening study bell rang.

But he hadn’t even sat down when the math teacher walked in carrying a stack of exam papers.

Teacher Pan first placed the papers on the podium, then picked a white chalk from the box, turned, and silently began writing on the blackboard:

Multiple Choice: Full Marks!

Fill-in-the-Blank: Full Marks!

Long Answer: Full Marks!

Total: 120!

After finishing, the math teacher held the chalk tip and said: “This is Li Heng’s math score from the scholarship exam.”

“Even though the final problem was flawed, increasing the difficulty severalfold, Li Heng still solved it using exceptional knowledge.”

“Very impressive. Very impressive!”

At this, the math teacher smiled gently: “‘Very impressive’ isn’t my phrase—it’s what other math teachers said. I’m just imitating their tone.”

“This exam was overall quite difficult—many questions were from competitions. Scoring over 100 is already impressive.”

“Scores above 90 are elite; 70 or 80 are excellent. When the papers are handed out, don’t be discouraged—believe in yourselves.”

“Alright, let’s start distributing papers. I’ll call names—come up to collect yours.”

Saying this, the math teacher put down the chalk and began calling out names:

“Song Yu, 101. Mai Sui, 100. Liu Li, 92…”

“Hey, I got 92!” Liu Li behind them rubbed her hands, beaming.

“Zou Ai, 90. Chen Lijun, 89. Sun Manning, 89…”

After that, the teacher only called names, not scores.

But when he reached Liu Yejiang, Teacher Pan asked kindly: “Liu Yejiang, how come you only got 81? Were you nervous during the exam?”

Of course he was nervous—he couldn’t solve the last three long-answer questions, and seeing Li Heng blaze through them all, his mindset collapsed; he didn’t even check his paper, just gritted his teeth and wrestled with those three problems!

The result was predictable…

Liu Yejiang said nothing, took his paper, and lowered his head back to his seat.

After distributing all papers, Teacher Pan asked: “Anyone without a paper? Any missing ones?”

Li Heng raised his hand: “Teacher, I don’t have mine.”

The math teacher leaned against the podium: “Your paper was taken by another teacher to be displayed as an example—it’ll be returned tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Sun Manning in the front row passed him a scratch pad, on which was written: So fierce! Treat us! Treat us!

Li Heng replied: What do you want?

Sun Manning wrote back: Spicy pork trotters!

After writing, she passed it to Mai Sui.

Mai Sui glanced at it, turned to look at Li Heng, and playfully wrote: A cup of tofu pudding, +++ sugar.

After writing, Mai Sui placed the pad on Song Yu’s desk.

After reading it, Song Yu smiled prettily, uncapped her fountain pen, and added her own: Dried plum.

Finally, the scratch pad returned to Li Heng’s hands.

Damn it! They’re really not holding back! Spicy pork trotters are expensive! Super expensive! 1.2 yuan a plate!

Li Heng wrote back: No problem. See you this weekend.

(End of chapter)