Xu Lanlan saw how awkward Chen Zhao looked and helped him out, shooting a meaningful look at the classmates crowding around.
When everyone saw Chen Zhao's unhappy expression and Xu Lanlan frantically wiggling her eyebrows at them, they realized something must have gone wrong. They changed the subject, then gradually dispersed in small groups.
The break passed quickly, and Chen Zhao didn't say a word.
The next period was self-study.
Chen Zhao looked as if he'd lost his soul. He couldn't focus on his book and just stared blankly at his desk, repeatedly wondering why he hadn't qualified for the provincial round. He felt like a top student whose grades had always been good enough for Tsinghua University or Peking University before the college entrance exam, only to finish the exam and find an acceptance letter from an excavator-training school in the mail. It was no wonder he felt completely dumbfounded.
A few minutes into the self-study period, someone passed Xu Lanlan a note.
Sitting beside her, Chen Zhao glanced over and saw what it said:
"Lanlan, what happened? Chen Zhao doesn't look too happy."
Xu Lanlan wrote a reply:
"How could he be happy? His name wasn't on the qualifying list. He told me before that he could qualify in all five subjects, but he didn't pass a single one. He looks like he's lost his soul. Don't bring it up around him. Let's move on."
The classroom was quiet, but lots of little notes were being passed back and forth. Before long, the news of Chen Zhao's failure in the subject Olympiad had spread through the whole class.
Many students whispered to each other on their notes:
"Chen Zhao's big talk fell apart. He said he'd pass all five subjects, and what happened? He didn't pass even one."