Morning sunlight fell across the school's athletic field. The morning assembly was almost over, but Gu Chen had only just appeared at its edge.
"Gu Chen!"
A clear voice cut through the crowd. Sharp-eyed Su Qingqing had spotted him. She hurried over, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into their class's formation.
"Why are you only getting here now?" Su Qingqing asked, a hint of reproach in her voice. "Good thing it's the morning assembly today, or Song the Tiger would be giving you trouble again."
Song Qianhan, that old scholar, was highly learned, but his temper was like a raging fire. Behind his back, the students had nicknamed him "Song the Tiger." As class monitor, Su Qingqing couldn't help blurting out the nickname in her haste.
Gu Chen paused, then looked up at the flag-raising platform. The vice principal was still up there, delivering a rousing speech urging the students to work hard and strive. Gu Chen casually asked, "Is it almost over? What part are they at?"
"They're about to announce the midterm results." Seeing how unconcerned Gu Chen looked, Su Qingqing grew even more annoyed. "How can you not be worried at all? Did you forget about your bet with the teachers? I heard this midterm was really hard, and the average score dropped a lot compared to the last mock exam. The school is furious."
Gu Chen shrugged, a nonchalant smile appearing on his face. "What's there to worry about?"
He paused, then said, "Oh, right. Can you let go of my hand?"
Only then did Su Qingqing realize she had been holding Gu Chen's hand the whole time. Her pretty face instantly turned bright red. She quickly let go and explained, "I didn't do it on purpose. I was just worried about you."
Gu Chen rubbed his nose and laughed. "Don't worry, I won't read too much into it."
His gaze returned to the flag-raising platform, and he seemed not to have noticed Su Qingqing's loss of composure. But for some reason, a sense of disappointment welled up in her heart. She didn't understand why Gu Chen's reaction had been so indifferent.
At that moment, the grade director on the flag-raising platform began announcing the midterm results. His voice was full of anguish. "The results of this midterm are deeply regrettable! There are only two months left until the graduation exam, and our grade's overall results have dropped by 6.3 percent. Quite a few students didn't even score 300 points! We're a key university, and even if this exam was a little harder, the graduation exam will be harder still! So I hereby announce that, for the time being, any student whose grades have dropped will not be allowed any days off during the week. They will stay for additional tutoring, arranged by their respective homeroom teachers!"
A chorus of wails immediately rose from the field. Quite a few students had been caught.
However, the grade director changed tack. "But... there's also some exciting news! Our school has produced a genius who scored full marks in every subject! In this midterm, this student shone brilliantly, securing first place in the grade with the outstanding result of full marks in every subject!"
"What?"
"Full marks?!"
The students on the field instantly erupted, all guessing who this genius with full marks in every subject could be.
"Is it Zhang Haoran from Class 1?"
"No, it should be Zhou Xue'er from Class 5, right?"
"Damn, who else could it be? Those two have always had first place in the grade locked down."
"Yeah, which one of them is such a freak this time, scoring that high?! Are they going to leave the rest of us any way to live?!"
The students buzzed with discussion, while Zhou Xue'er and Zhang Haoran became the focus of everyone's attention. Zhou Xue'er wore a white dress, her expression calm. She had a clear understanding of her own abilities. This exam had been very difficult, and after checking the answers when she got home yesterday, she had found that she'd gotten quite a few wrong. There was no way she had scored full marks. So she stole a glance at Zhang Haoran from Class 1.
Zhang Haoran was the son of a middle-class family. Although he didn't come from a wealthy family, his grades had always been excellent. That he had actually managed to score full marks this time was truly beyond Zhou Xue'er's expectations. Yet when she looked at Zhang Haoran, she found that he looked somewhat stunned as well. His expression then grew serious, and he actually looked over at her too.
"Not you?" Their eyes met for an instant, and the same thought arose in both their minds.
How could that be? Then who was it?!
Even Su Qingqing looked incredulous when she heard the news. Her grades were good, but she only managed to stay in the top twenty of the grade, to say nothing of something as far beyond her reach as full marks. Five hundred points-the student was simply a genius! She hadn't expected one to appear at their school! Su Qingqing knew perfectly well how difficult this exam had been, which made her all the more excited. She tugged at Gu Chen's clothes and said excitedly, "Did you hear that, Gu Chen? Someone actually scored full marks! That's 500 points! This exam was so hard, and our school actually has a freak like that?!"
Gu Chen, however, seemed indifferent. He merely nodded lightly to show he knew.
"Don't let it get you down," Su Qingqing said. Looking at Gu Chen, she immediately thought of the bet.
She comforted him. "As long as you have the desire to improve, you can always try harder next time. I remember you used to rank somewhere in the seven hundreds in the grade, right? If you can get into the five hundreds this time, that'll already be a huge improvement! Song the Tiger definitely won't make things difficult for you, either. The person in first place got full marks this time. It wouldn't be your fault if you lost."
Su Qingqing had already tried to put it as tactfully as she could, but Gu Chen merely curled his lip and said nothing.
Just then, the grade director began announcing the scores of the top three. As expected, Zhou Xue'er and Zhang Haoran took second and third place respectively, earning a round of applause from those around them. Zhang Haoran had done very well this time, scoring 460 points and receiving praise from the director. However, nobody cared about that. After all, compared to Zhang Haoran, the students around them were more interested in the freak who had scored full marks!
After all, a student's primary task was still to study, and university students were no exception. This time, someone had actually broken the pattern of Zhou Xue'er and Zhang Haoran chasing each other for the lead, naturally drawing countless discussions and attention from those around them.
"Next up is first place in the grade." The grade director was still beaming onstage. He then beckoned and said, "This time, let Song Qianhan, the homeroom teacher of Class 06, make the announcement! Because the genius who scored full marks is in his class!"
"What?!"
Everyone was shocked again! All eyes turned toward Class 06, especially Su Qingqing's! Something seemed to occur to her, and her beautiful eyes narrowed sharply! They locked onto Gu Chen!
Gu Chen still looked as calm as a light breeze beneath drifting clouds.
He stood there quietly, as though he hadn't heard the grade director at all.
Yet at the sight, Su Qingqing's chest began heaving violently. An absurd thought flashed through her mind. Could it be...
Just then, Song Qianhan stepped onto the flag-raising platform. With the top student in the grade coming from his class, he naturally felt especially proud! He chuckled and said, "Thank you for your trust, Director, and for giving me the chance to make this announcement."
"As I should! Without Teacher Song's guidance, such a genius would surely have been buried!" the grade director replied with a smile.
But by now, the students on the field could hardly wait to find out who the genius with full marks in every subject was! Their gazes were all fixed on Song Qianhan, waiting for his announcement!