Chapter 44-Part 1

The 8th classroom remained in a state of immense shock, to the point that no one in the entire class spoke. Finally, someone daringly turned their head to look in the direction of Ji Ran and Shen Zhi.

It’s not surprising to say that Ji Ran scored seven hundred points. Honestly, many people weren’t that amazed because, although she scored only 22 points in the last math test, she aced English.

So, the most surprising thing was Shen Zhi.

This is Shen Zhi we’re talking about.

When Shen Zhi is mentioned, everyone thinks of his wealthy background, and his looks firmly secure his position as the school’s top male beauty in 4th middle School. Although this matter is not openly discussed, everyone takes it for granted.

Also, he’s known for being formidable in fights, even daring to confront those troublemakers from the vocational school.

The only thing that no one brings up is his academic performance, and occasionally, it’s mentioned as, “Oh, consistently ranked last in the grade.”

Some underachievers even jokingly say that as long as Shen Zhi, the big shot, is around, they’ll never have to worry about being the last in the class.

And now, what did the class teacher say?

Ranked first in the grade.

Even the 8th class students doubted if they were hallucinating.

Even Xia Jiangming couldn’t help but ask Chen Song next to him in a low voice, “Song, did the class teacher say that Shen Zhi is ranked first in the grade? Our brother Zhi?”

Chen Song didn’t speak; instead, he directly poked Xia Jiangming’s hand with a pen on the back of his hand and asked, “Does it hurt?”

He was not polite; he really used force. Xia Jiangming winced in pain as the pen jabbed into his hand.

“It hurts; damn, it really hurts.” Xia Jiangming nodded, quickly saying.

Chen Song nodded. “Then it should be true; you’re not dreaming.”

Xia Jiangming was a bit dazed, subconsciously asking, “Why did you jab me instead of yourself?”

“I’m afraid of pain.”

Xia Jiangming was angry. If it weren’t for being in class right now, he would definitely retaliate. However, he turned to look at Shen Zhi and suddenly said in a low voice, “Old Chen, do you think Zhi-ge intentionally ranked last before?”

At this moment, Xia Jiangming felt a faint sense of sadness.

Thinking that they were all struggling students together, both of them underachievers, but now he was still an underachiever, and Shen Zhi had betrayed him, suddenly becoming a god of learning.

Xia Jiangming instantly felt abandoned.

Chen Song also glanced at the side. Compared to the curiosity, doubt, surprise, and speculation that others had, Shen Zhi sat quietly in his chair, leaning back against the chair with a somewhat lazy posture.

Even his expression remained as indifferent as ever.

He suddenly laughed and said, “Do you know how long I’ve known Zhi-ge?”

Xia Jiangming snorted unkindly. In fact, he had the shortest time of acquaintance with Shen Zhi. Chen Song and Xu Yihang had known Shen Zhi since junior high school, with Chen Song having an even earlier connection.

His family seemed to know Shen Zhi’s family; in other words, his dad’s company was a supplier under Hengchi Group.

Chen Song lowered his voice and said, “Zhi-ge won awards in math competitions before.”

“F*ck !.” Xia Jiangming was completely shocked.

He met Shen Zhi in high school, and by then, Shen Zhi had already been consistently ranked last in the grade. So, Xia Jiangming always thought Shen Zhi was a solid underachiever.

After all, with such a big reputation as a school bully, who would expect him to have high academic expectations?

But today, Xia Jiangming realized that indeed, he did.

Teacher Qiao stood on the podium, seeing that no one below was speaking, and said with a smile, “Dear classmates, although our class is an ordinary class, I believe that everyone has tremendous potential. This time, our Class 8 secured the first and second places in the grade. Although it was a miracle created by Shen Zhi and Ji Ran, I believe that you all can do it too.”

People looked at each other.

In the face of Old Qiao’s poisonous chicken soup speech, everyone felt a kind of helpless feeling. Seven hundred points—this kind of miracle was something they couldn’t achieve even if they were killed.

(T/N: A motivational speech turns into something depressing.)

But teacher Qiao was full of enthusiasm, leading the applause and saying, “Come on, let’s give them a round of applause.”

Thunderous applause immediately filled the classroom.

Later, Teacher Qiao started distributing the exam papers. After they were handed out, the whole classroom sank into an unparalleled feeling of frustration. This time, the math test had several new question types, and the overall difficulty was higher than the first monthly exam.

As a result, the average math score was several points lower than last time.

Although it would be okay under normal circumstances, there are now two math geniuses sitting in the classroom. So, when others received their test papers, there was a kind of depressing feeling of, “How did I score so low?”

Full marks: many people hadn’t scored full marks in math since the third grade of elementary school.

After Ji Ran received her test paper, she just glanced at it. Wen Qianxia turned her head and said, “Ranran, can I take a look at your test paper?”

Ji Ran nodded and handed it over to her.

After Wen Qianxia took it, her deskmate, Sun Yao, immediately leaned over. The two stared at the test paper. The multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions in the front were okay. When they flipped to the back for the essay questions, both of their eyes widened.

Sun Yao whispered, “It’s the first time I’ve seen someone get full marks on question 16.”

For question 16 on the math test,the teacher does not impose a strict requirement. Basically, as long as you answered the first sub-question, it was considered fine.

Wen Qianxia said with a pitiful expression, “I only wrote a solution for question sixteen; there wasn’t enough time.”

Sun Yao nodded.

Teacher Qiao, on the podium, began to discuss the test paper. Ji Ran lowered her head and quietly listened. However, the person next to her had no intention of letting her off. His fingers reached over to Ji Ran’s desk, tapping lightly on the tabletop with his index finger joints.

Ji Ran turned to look at him, just an ordinary glance.

But her cheeks gradually flushed, and the drumbeat in her heart slowly started.

Shen Zhi looked at the little girl and watched the blush spread on her cheeks, feeling a bit cute and a bit amused. He whispered, “This weekend, where do you want to go?”

Ji Ran widened her eyes, feeling a bit stunned.

Shen Zhi chuckled. “I won; now it’s time for me to claim my reward.”

Ji Ran hadn’t expected him to bring this up so quickly. Naturally, Ji Ran also thought about losing to him by one point. Initially, her mood wasn’t so bad, but under the provocation of this person, Ji Ran suddenly felt a bit dejected.

Originally, she thought that she had studied so hard and had a natural golden finger. After all, she had learned all these knowledge points. Although she had indeed forgotten almost all of them after so many years, once she remembered them, it would be easy to get first in grade.

However, she ended up losing again.