When the English teacher said three students had scored over 130, Jiang Nian's ears immediately perked up like antennas.
After the English exam, he had checked his answers with Xu Qianqian.
Calling it a sure thing would have been an understatement-it was practically guaranteed. If three people had scored over 130, then, as the saying went, wherever three gathered, he was bound to be one of the lucky bastards.
Even so, he still felt nervous.
"Someone who usually scores 130-Zhou Yuan, 101." The English teacher sounded displeased. "How did you end up with this lonely-looking score? Been dating lately?"
The students burst out laughing. A tall, skinny boy scratched his head and dragged his feet as he went up to collect his paper, filling the classroom with merriment.
Behind Jiang Nian, some students were already whispering that Zhou Yuting must have scored 130. Her total this time was over five hundred, so she was probably first in their class.
Hearing that, Jiang Nian could only laugh inwardly. Zhou Yuting, first?
Even with full marks in English, she would only have 550. He only needed 120 in English to cruise past 550.
Calling her first was like a broken money counter-utterly clueless about the numbers.
Still, chances to flex this hard were rare at school. Naturally, Jiang Nian wouldn't chuckle aloud like some villain. He just sat quietly and waited for his BGM.
Ah, where's my imperial victory-screen BGM? Bring it on!
If someone had taken a manga-style picture of him at that moment, Jiang Nian's eyes would have been hidden in shadow, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
Throw in a tiny speech bubble: "Heh."
"Chen Niannian, 131."
The classroom stirred. The first student to score over 130 had been announced. The teacher continued reading out scores until she reached another girl's name.
"Zhao Fangfei, 137."
Another commotion rippled through the classroom. Zhao Fangfei usually kept a low profile and barely had any presence in class. After one summer break, apparently everyone and their dog had something to show off.
A girl turned around to look at Zhou Yuting.
"Study rep, what was your estimated score? A hundred and thirty-something?"
As far as they were concerned, there were three students with scores over 130, and two girls' scores had already been announced. The last one could only be Zhou Yuting.
"I'm not sure. Around 135, probably," Zhou Yuting said, pretending to be embarrassed while inwardly bursting with joy. With 530, she could move up a class and leave this place.
It almost felt like switching sects in a fantasy novel.
"Whoa, 135? That high?" The girl sucked in a breath. "Then your total would be over 530! That's enough to get into a top-tier university."
"What are you talking about? It's just a placement test, not the actual college entrance exam." Zhou Yuting felt delighted, but she still hedged. "It might not even be 130. Estimates aren't accurate."
Her words proved prophetic. Just then, the English teacher reached Zhou Yuting's name.
"Zhou Yuting, 127."
Zhou Yuting's expression stiffened slightly, but she still stood up. At first, she felt embarrassed. After all, she had just announced an estimated score of 135.
But on second thought, 127 wasn't so hard to accept. Her total was still close to 530.
She could ask Liu Feipeng to find out the cutoff for moving into the Olympiad Class. Maybe the scores across their grade were low, and hers would be just enough.
When she returned to her seat, she was still greeted with admiration. Of course their study rep had done well. Her estimate was only a few points off. No big deal-a little short was still impressive.
"Wait, if our study rep only got 127, who's the last person over 130?"
Zhou Yuting paused too. "Maybe Sun Xue."
Someone said, "Her score's already been called. She got 113. There are only a few people good at English in our class, and they've all got their papers."
Zhou Yuting couldn't help frowning. That meant there was another dark horse in English in their class. If they were only good at that one subject, it wouldn't matter.
But what if...
"Does anyone know what Wang Jie got?" she asked quietly.
"Sixty-two, I think. His name was called right at the start."
Hearing that, Zhou Yuting relaxed again. Wang Jie's total was 499, still a long way behind hers. Her total was 527, so barring any surprises, she was first in class.
Oh, right. There was still Jiang Nian.
"Hey, has Jiang Nian's score been called?"
The nearby students had no idea why Zhou Yuting had suddenly asked about Jiang Nian. Nobody had been listening that closely.
"Probably. Didn't notice. Sixty or seventy-something, maybe."
Somewhat reassured, Zhou Yuting went back to weaving her dream of moving up a class. Once she entered the Olympiad Class, she would need to build a new image. She couldn't hang around too many boys.
But she couldn't cut them all off either. Keeping one or two around would show off her charm.
Should she try a different hairstyle? She hadn't tried innocent-looking bangs yet. She could dress more sweetly, find a handsome top student to tutor her, and build good relationships...
While Zhou Yuting was lost in her fantasies, the English teacher suddenly paused.
"Our highest English score this time is 141. An excellent result."
The moment those words landed, the already noisy classroom erupted in a chorus of "Whoa!" Cries of "Holy shit, who?" rang out nonstop. Hadn't everyone it could possibly be already been called?
"Quiet!" the English teacher said.
"Miss, do we have someone named Quiet in our class?"
The English teacher said, "...I told you to be quiet. Jiang Nian, come up and get your paper."
Normally, very few students were afraid of the English teacher. Even when she told them to be quiet, most wouldn't pay much attention. But once she said "Jiang Nian"...
The classroom fell silent. Everyone turned toward Jiang Nian's seat as though they had seen a ghost.
Zhou Yuting froze. Her pupils contracted slightly, and her heart began racing.
Jiang Nian?
Why Jiang Nian?!
Damn it, his total for the other five subjects was 432! How could he get 141 in English? Wouldn't that make his total...573?
You've got to be kidding. How could anyone in a Parallel Class score 573?
You're fighting monsters way above your level, you bastard!
After two or three seconds of silence, the classroom erupted in enthusiastic cheers. If Jiang Nian had excelled in just one subject, someone might have accused him of cheating. But with a total over 570...
Any such accusation became a joke. Someone scoring 570 in a Parallel Class was like pulling a legendary gold drop.
"Holy shit! Holy shit! Jiang Nian got a hundred and forty!"
"Seriously? That's fucking awesome!"
"Wait, guys, you actually studied over summer break? Was I the only one messing around?"
"Me too."
"Same here. I was messing around too."
"Get lost, Mr. Four Hundred and Eighty! Humblebrag again and we'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!"
Jiang Nian had already stood up when the English teacher called his name. He did his best not to laugh aloud, keeping his expression calm and unruffled.
Honestly, a score over 140 in English had exceeded his expectations too. He had gotten pretty lucky.
"You did well. You must have put in plenty of effort at home over the summer?" For once, the English teacher smiled at Jiang Nian. "Do you have any tips to share with everyone?"
"Uh..." What tips could Jiang Nian possibly have? "Just memorize the thirty-five hundred words for the college entrance exam."
Hearing that, the English teacher's smile widened, and she raised her voice.
"See? What do I always tell you? Memorize your vocabulary! But you won't listen. You'd rather fumble around on your own and do math during English class. Do you think I don't see you?"
"If you all listened like Jiang Nian, you'd save me so much trouble!"
Jiang Nian was already getting embarrassed, once again wearing the expression of that sweating yellow emoji. The person the English teacher was talking about-the one doing math during English class-was him.
Thanks to Light Feather in the Glimmer for one monthly vote, Crazy Little George for two monthly votes, and It's Xizi for two monthly votes.
(End of chapter)
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