Li Ye's final exams went fairly smoothly.
After the first exam, he went to Teacher Luo and said that Director Yao seemed to be trying to "poach people."
Tang Feiyu, the dean of studies at County Second High School, came flying over on his bicycle.
Then he dragged Director Yao off, laughing and joking about who knew what. In any case, he disrupted Director Yao's proctoring duties and spared Li Ye the annoyance of seeing him.
Once the exams were over, the school prepared to break for vacation. They only had to wait for the grades to be released, then take their report cards and go home to their families and their moms.
Students who did well would receive their moms' praise and enjoy a cheerful New Year.
Students who did poorly, though—that was another story! Mental and physical punishment alike; only the one who got it knew the taste of it.
During the two days spent waiting for the grades, Li Ye saw several students crying their eyes out.
Because after an exam, everyone always compared answers. With this sort of thing, there was no such thing as checking and finding more answers right—only checking and finding more answers wrong, until they finally broke down.
Eighteen- and nineteen-year-old youths cried like children, a sight both pitiful and comical.
Students of this era had simple minds. In their lives, there were no games like Honor of Kings or PUBG to vent their emotions on,
nor were there action movies to distract them. Their only obsession was studying and getting into school. Once that obsession was shaken, their mental turmoil could be immense.
In those days, it was far from rare for someone's sudden emotional upheaval to develop into psychological trauma and leave them seriously ill.
Yet the atmosphere within the