C16 The Results Were Announced!

Time flies like an arrow, and the days pass like a shuttle.

Before we knew it, the mock exam was upon us.

At Big Valley School, all official exams were sorted by performance.

As the student ranked last in 13th Grade, Class 5, Zhou Wen's standing was also within the bottom hundred, placing him in one of the final examination halls.

In this hall, there were absentees, those who came without a pen, and even some who brought a pen only to discover it was filled with red ink.

When a group of similarly performing students are together, cheating becomes pointless. The effort to copy answers hardly made a difference in the scores.

After completing the final English exam, Zhou Wen looked up at the clock hanging above the classroom—half an hour remained.

Staring at his completed test paper, Zhou Wen felt a wave of melancholy wash over him.

In the past, he would have been sprawled out on the desk, sound asleep, waiting for the end to simply hand in his paper. Now, he had actually finished the exam.

In just one month, so much had changed. Reflecting on his past, Zhou Wen's eyes shone with resolve.

He knew this would be his last time sitting in this exam hall.

From the moment he put on his underwear, he was destined to be more than just an ordinary student.

No matter the challenges and hardships that lay ahead, he would never regret his choice!

...

The classroom buzzed with chatter during the break.

Several days had passed since the mock exam, and the homeroom teacher, Lee Dan, had already announced that the papers were graded. The upcoming class meeting would reveal the scores and rankings.

Anxiety hung in the air as students sought to reassure one another.

Then, Lyu Xiang abruptly stood up from his seat, tilting his chin up, and declared, "Zhou Wen, the teacher's going to announce the results soon. Don't run away out of fear!"

"Forgetting already? Zhou Wen, if you don't make the top twenty, you should stand up in front of everyone and admit you're complete garbage!" Wang Chi chimed in with a smug grin.

"Top twenty? Keep dreaming!" scoffed the girl with the oversized glasses, joining in the mockery.

Zhou Wen sat quietly in his seat, flipping through the workbook in front of him, completely ignoring the others around him.

*Ring ring ring...*

The bell echoed through the room. Lyu Xiang snorted and taunted, "Zhou Wen, just wait to make a fool of yourself in front of everyone!"

Lee Dan entered the classroom, folder in hand, with a stern look on her face. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, and the chatter ceased instantly.

"What's so funny? Proud of your poor scores?" Lee Dan's voice boomed with authority.

"Was the test really that hard? Well? Once the results came in, your math, English, and science teachers all came to me!" Lee Dan banged her hand on the desk.

"I'm livid! Now, I'll read the scores," she announced, lifting the folder.

The students sat in silence, not daring to utter a sound. Lee Dan's post-exam outbursts were nothing new to them.

"Su Qin, 698 points, ranked first in the class," Lee Dan said, her tone softening slightly.

Zhou Wen glanced at Su Qin, who remained stoic, seemingly unfazed by her achievement.

"Wang Chi, 638 points, ranked second in the class," Lee Dan continued.

A collective gasp rose from the students as they turned their attention to Su Qin, the gap between first and second place starkly evident.

Wang Chi, initially smug, realized no one was looking at him and resigned himself to his fate.

Lee Dan went on with the scores.

"Lyu Xiang, 601 points, ranked eighth in the class." Lyu Xiang swelled with pride, having maintained his place in the top ten.

Both Lyu Xiang and Wang Chi sneered at Zhou Wen, who sat at the back of the room.

"Chen Wan'er, 563 points, ranked sixteenth in the class."

Chen Wan'er, sitting next to Zhou Wen, excitedly clenched her fists. Zhou Wen knew she had made progress; previously, she had only managed to rank around twentieth.

"Hui Yuming, 452 points, ranked fifty-first in the class."

"Damn!" Hui Yuming exclaimed, thrilled beyond belief.

"Zhou Wen, I can't believe I scored this much! Last time I was fifth from the bottom, and now I'm tenth from the bottom!" Hui Yuming was ecstatic, feeling on top of the world.

After a while, Lee Dan finished reading the last name, yet Zhou Wen's name had still not been called.

"Ms. Lee, why didn't you announce Zhou Wen's score?" Lyu Xiang inquired, having eagerly awaited Zhou Wen's name, only to be surprised that Lee Dan hadn't mentioned it.

"Could it be that Zhou Wen didn't even take the exam, so there's no score to report?" Wang Chi mocked.

"Hahaha, that's quite likely!" Lyu Xiang chimed in.

The classroom erupted in laughter.

Lee Dan surveyed the room and announced loudly, "This time, I want to commend Zhou Wen!"

"Zhou Wen has shown the most improvement in our class! He earned a score of 541 points, ranking him 18th in our class!"

The moment her words fell, the classroom was abuzz with excitement.

"Zhou Wen actually scored 541 points!"

"Am I hearing this right? Zhou Wen is ranked 18th?"

"All this in just one month!"

The students were nearly all astounded.

"What?" Lyu Xiang was dumbfounded.

His gaze was vacant for a moment before he bellowed, "Impossible! How could Zhou Wen score so high? He must have cheated!"

At that moment, Zhou Wen stood up, his gaze steady and his demeanor composed.

"Lyu Xiang, our school assigns exam rooms based on previous scores. You should know which room I was in. Do you think it's possible for me to score this high by copying from those in my room?" Zhou Wen spoke with tranquility.

"How do we know you didn't cheat with a phone!" Lyu Xiang blurted out, flustered.

Zhou Wen chuckled, "Before the exam, all students surrendered their phones, and the school even activated signal jammers. How could I have cheated with a phone?"

Still in disbelief, Lyu Xiang persisted, "Impossible! Impossible! How could you possibly score so high?"

Standing at the back of the classroom, Zhou Wen's eyes swept over his classmates, taking in their varied expressions of shock and disbelief.

"I told you I could make it into the top twenty, but none of you believed me. Now, what do you say—the results speak for themselves, don't they?" Zhou Wen stated coolly.

The students who had previously ridiculed him exchanged glances, speechless.

"Do you really think you're the only ones who take your studies seriously? I memorize vocabulary on my way to school every morning, and I'm still solving problems after evening study." Zhou Wen's voice grew louder with each word.

"Do I need to show off my efforts for you to see?" Zhou Wen seemed to release the pent-up words he'd been holding in for so long.

Su Qin gazed at his slightly frail figure; he appeared to have lost some weight since before.

He was truly working so hard...

Reflecting on Zhou Wen's dedication over this period, Su Qin felt a surge of emotion.

He truly earned this achievement.

"You didn't believe me, did you? Well, I'm telling you now, I've done it!" Zhou Wen declared with resolute eyes.

"And it's not just this once. From now on, I'll consistently be in the top twenty! And later, I'm aiming for the top ten!"

With that, Zhou Wen took his seat.

The classroom fell silent.

Then, a single clap broke the quiet, starting with Chen Wan'er. Soon, Hui Yuming joined in, followed by Su Qin, and even Ms. Lee from the podium, until the students all erupted into applause.

Eventually, the scattered claps merged into a thunderous ovation that filled the room.

Ms. Lee, looking at the student who had once ranked last, felt a deep sense of pride.

"We should all take a page from Zhou Wen's book; he's an example for us all!" Ms. Lee commended.

After class, Lyu Xiang and Wang Chi were sneaking out of the classroom when they were confronted by a figure.

"Zhou Wen, what do you think you're doing? This is a classroom, don't start anything!" Lyu Xiang blurted out, flustered.

Standing before them was Zhou Wen himself.

"You lost the bet! Go on, do it yourselves!" Zhou Wen commanded sternly.

"The bet was just for fun, you can't possibly take it seriously!" Wang Chi said with an awkward smile.

"Seriously? If I hadn't made it into the top twenty today, would you still say it was just for fun?" Zhou Wen retorted, giving them a chilly stare.

"Wang Chi, Lyu Xiang, come on, get moving. Everyone's waiting!" Hui Yuming burst into laughter.

"Hurry up there!"

"Are you even a man? Quit dawdling!"

Some classmates from the back row also yelled out.

These were the students with the lowest grades in the class, and they had long been fed up with the two.

Today, Zhou Wen stood up for them and taught the pair a lesson, which had them buzzing with excitement.

Zhou Wen cracked his neck and clasped his hands in front of his chest, producing a series of crisp pops.

"Do I need to personally invite you up?" Zhou Wen narrowed his eyes, a slight chill seeping from his gaze.

Lyu Xiang and Wang Chi trembled, convinced that Zhou Wen was bold enough to start a fight right in the classroom.

The two sluggishly made their way to the podium and muttered, "I am an idiot."

"I can't hear you. Louder!" Hui Yuming mocked.

"The students in the back can't hear you. Speak up!" Zhou Wen commanded coldly.

"I am an idiot!" Lyu Xiang and Wang Chi repeated, their voices quivering more than before.

"We still can't hear you!" a few boys in the back row laughed.

"I am an idiot!" Lyu Xiang and Wang Chi shut their eyes, as if bracing for a significant ordeal, and shouted.

No sooner had they spoken than they covered their faces and bolted from the classroom.

Laughter erupted throughout the room.

From that day forward, they would struggle to hold their heads high.

Yet, Zhou Wen harbored no sympathy; had he not ranked in the top twenty, he would have been the one standing up there.

Aside from their academic prowess, Lyu Xiang and Wang Chi were utterly devoid of any moral fiber.

Their downfall was well-deserved!

"Hahaha! I've definitely improved!" Zhou Wen returned to his seat to find Hui Yuming howling with laughter at his test scores.

"Zhou Wen, let's plan a time to hang out this weekend!" Hui Yuming suggested.

He then whipped out his phone and snapped a photo of the scores.

"This is something my parents have got to know about!" Hui Yuming beamed, wrapping an arm around Zhou Wen in excitement.

Zhou Wen chuckled, agreeing that it was indeed a joyous occasion to share with his parents.

That evening, Zhou Guangrui and Xu Hui were watching their usual TV drama, and surprisingly, Zhou Xue was not studying but lounging on the sofa as well.

Zhou Wen approached the TV with his backpack slung over his shoulder, inadvertently blocking the screen.

"Bro, I'm trying to watch TV here. Move out of the way!" Zhou Xue grumbled.

Removing his backpack, Zhou Wen pulled out a stack of test papers.

"Did you bomb another test? Is the teacher asking for our parents to come to school?" Zhou Xue teased with a chuckle.

"What's the matter, Wen?" Zhou Guangrui and Xu Hui inquired, clearly puzzled.

"Did you not do well? Don't worry about it. You've even lost weight recently," Xu Hui expressed with genuine concern, yet she refrained from taking the papers.

She was aware of Zhou Wen's grades and didn't want to see them, to avoid placing any additional pressure on him.

"Wen, keep the papers. We're not interested in the score. What matters is your happiness. Leave the studying to your sister," Zhou Guangrui said warmly.

"Exactly, brother. I'll be the one with the highest education in our family someday, so don't you worry," Zhou Xue added with a laugh.

Zhou Wen was caught between laughter and tears. His own parents didn't even want to look at his grades—how little faith they must have!

But Zhou Wen understood that his parents meant well. Clearing his throat, he began, "Zhou Wen scored a total of 541 points, placing 18th in the class."

"What?" Zhou Guangrui and Xu Hui exclaimed, jumping up from the couch.

They snatched the test papers from Zhou Wen's hands.

They held the combined test papers and report card for all six subjects.

The papers had been distributed during that evening's study session.

Zhou Guangrui and Xu Hui pored over the test papers and the report card dozens of times.

As they did, tears began to stream down their faces.

Zhou Guangrui slumped onto the sofa, overwhelmed with emotion.

"Fantastic! Wen, you've really made us proud!" Xu Hui said through her tears.

Seeing his parents' elated reaction, a smile of satisfaction spread across Zhou Wen's face.

Then, suddenly, he felt a vibration in his lower body.

His underwear was vibrating again!