C16 Like the Wind.

As the voice shattered the stillness, every student in Grade 12, Class 8 whipped around, their faces etched with astonishment. They followed the sound to its source.

"Jiang Hao?"

"How can that be? Jiang Hao couldn't have forgotten—he's got a bet with Liu Xuan!"

"Man, it's only been twenty minutes. Did Jiang Hao just throw in the towel?"

Liu Xuan also looked back and saw Jiang Hao standing there, hand raised, his expression serene. A wave of panic washed over him.

But then he remembered Jiang Hao's past performance in English and relaxed, casting a dismissive glance at him.

"He's just showing off for attention!"

Even Zhou Hong was taken aback for a moment. But her surprise turned to a scowl when she saw it was Jiang Hao, the student who barely scored above thirty on any test.

Seeing the classroom erupt into chaos, she barked out an order.

"Silence!"

She strode down from the podium, heading straight for Jiang Hao.

Standing beside him, she furrowed her brow and issued a stern warning.

"Jiang Hao, if you don't want to work on the problems, that's your choice, but don't disrupt everyone else.

If you're not going to work, then leave. Don't bother the others."

Zhou Hong's biting words clearly pained Jiang Hao.

He shot her a look and, amid the stunned stares of his classmates, he turned and walked away.

Zhou Hong watched him go, fury rising in her as she pointed in the direction he'd left.

"You?"

"Is that your attitude?"

"Fine! I'll see how you've done on your test!"

With that, she snatched up the English exam from Jiang Hao's desk, her anger palpable.

"Look at this sloppy handwriting!"

She was quick to criticize his penmanship, but as she examined the paper more closely, she was about to launch into another rebuke.

"Look at this..."

But a detailed inspection left her speechless—Jiang Hao had gotten the answer right.

Quickly searching for an excuse, she said,

"Fine, maybe you guessed this one right!"

But as her eyes continued down the page, she was struck with disbelief.

"How is this possible? He got all the questions right!"

Zhou Hong scrutinized Jiang Hao's test paper thoroughly, and after triple-checking, she stood there, utterly dumbfounded.

This set of questions came from a provincial exam from previous years.

Excluding the 30 points for the listening section, there was another 120 points up for grabs.

Jiang Hao's answers on this test were even more perfect than hers!

She could award him the full 120 points!

In that moment, Zhou Hong was struck by a profound doubt.

Why had Jiang Hao only scored 20-30 points before?

The idea of Jiang Hao cheating crossed her mind, but after glancing at his classmates, Zhou Hong dismissed it.

That was out of the question.

Could it be that Jiang Hao had been concealing his true abilities all along?

If so, with such skill, he might even vie for the top score in the college entrance exam!

At that thought...

Zhou Hong forcefully quelled the surge of excitement within her and, as she watched Jiang Hao walk away, she made a resolute decision.

Meanwhile, her unintentional murmurs and the shock in her voice resonated with unusual clarity in the silent classroom.

Suddenly, every student in the room overheard Zhou Hong's inadvertent soliloquy.

The revelation sent a ripple of astonishment through the crowd.

"What? Did Teacher Zhou just say Jiang Hao got all the answers right?"

"How can that be possible!"

"No way! Has Jiang Hao really been hiding his talent?"

In that instant, Liu Xuan's composure shattered.

"This can't be true! It's impossible, it has to be a mistake. He's just a poor student!"

The memory of his bet with Jiang Hao turned his face an unsightly shade of pale.

And in that moment, everyone noticed Liu Xuan's distress. They looked at him with eyes brimming with pity.