In the two days leading up to the exam, Liang Hui followed Lin Suyu home to study late into the evening before her family came to pick her up. Lin Suyu focused on tutoring Liang Hui in math and highlighted the key points in Chinese for her to memorize.
The exam day quickly arrived. After breakfast, Lin Suyu arrived at school on time. Liang Hui had been eagerly scanning the schoolyard, looking out for her friend.
“Suyu, here’s an egg for you. My mom prepared me a fried dough stick and two eggs for today’s exam, but I can’t finish it all.”
Liang Hui handed the egg to Lin Suyu and hurried off to her exam classroom, completely ignoring the high hand gesture from Suyu trying to summon her back.
A fried dough stick and two eggs symbolized a full 100 points. With one egg missing… how many points would that be? Lin Suyu hoped Liang Hui would do well—if she failed, would she even remember this egg?
In the end, Lin Suyu didn’t eat the egg. She put it in her backpack and hid it in her space, planning to return it to Liang Hui after the exam.
At that time, the elementary school entrance exam only tested two subjects, and it could be completed in a single morning.
The classroom was quiet. The long wooden desks normally shared by two students had only one occupant each today. Everyone was bent over their papers, diligently writing.
Lin Suyu had relearned all the elementary school subjects from scratch. With her mental cultivation in the space, after leveling up, she could now project her mental power outward and possessed a photographic memory, making her an exceptional learner.
Forty minutes into the exam, Lin Suyu had finished all the questions and completed the essay. As she considered submitting early, a paper ball flew to her feet from the side.
Having lived over eighty years in her past life, Lin Suyu was worldly and experienced. In an exam setting, a flying paper ball could only mean one of two things: someone was cheating or someone wanted to frame her for cheating.
Either way, she didn’t want any part in it. Without hesitation, she stepped on the paper ball and sent it into her space.
Just as she did, a boy’s voice rang out:
“Teacher! Lin Suyu is cheating! There’s a paper ball under her foot!”
“Which one is Lin Suyu?” The proctor, not being from the school, didn’t recognize any of the students.
“Teacher, I didn’t cheat! I’ve finished my exam. The student accusing me is slandering me!”
During exams, no one really notices others, so the person reporting her was clearly the one who threw the paper ball to frame her.
Lin Suyu didn’t look back, but her mental power could scan a ten-meter radius, so she clearly knew who reported her.
It was… Huang Jinhua’s youngest son? Although she hadn’t seen him much, Lin Suyu still remembered his face—ugly just like his mother’s.
The proctor came over to Lin Suyu. Her neat, fully completed exam paper was spread out on the desk.
“Lin Suyu, have you finished your paper?”
Looking at the exam, there was no sign she would need to cheat. How could she be accused?
At this moment, the entire classroom paused. Huang Jinhua’s son, anxious that the proctor hadn’t checked under Suyu’s foot, shouted again:
“Teacher, I saw a paper ball under Lin Suyu’s foot. That’s proof she’s cheating! If you let her lift her foot, you’ll see it!”
“If there’s no paper ball, will you admit you slandered me?”
Whether a paper ball existed was up to Lin Suyu. Whether it was slander was up to the proctor. She wanted to provoke Huang Jinhua’s son a little—it wasn’t too much, right?
“I saw it! You’re cheating! I’m not slandering you!”
Damn, the kid was too stupid to understand provocation. He just threw a tantrum like a kindergartener.
“All right. If there’s no paper ball, then it’s slander. I hope you apologize to everyone here for wasting their exam time.”
Saying this, Lin Suyu lifted her foot beside the desk so the proctor could clearly see she wasn’t standing on any paper.
“To the student who slandered me, look carefully—there’s nothing under my feet. Come on, I’ll even lift my shoe for you. Nothing, right? Now apologize. If you don’t apologize, your framing charge is inevitable. Luckily, I’ve already finished my paper.”
Lin Suyu’s calm and cooperative stance earned the proctor’s approving look. After inspection, it was clear she hadn’t cheated.
The accuser naturally needed to apologize. The proctor turned to Wang Shunda, who had reported Lin Suyu, and walked toward him.
“Student, you really should apologize. What’s your name?”
There was no paper ball! He had thrown the one with the answers. Wang Shunda was shocked and shouted, “Impossible! There was definitely a paper ball!”
“Student, I’ve checked Lin Suyu’s desk and paper. She did not cheat. Repeatedly accusing her is nonsense and wastes everyone’s exam time. If you don’t apologize, please leave.”
The proctor glanced at Wang Shunda’s exam: messy handwriting, careless corrections, large blank sections. Clearly a poor student.
“Wang Shunda, I will report your behavior to the chief proctor. Are you sure you won’t apologize?”
Even at twelve or thirteen, Wang Shunda couldn’t defy the proctor.
“I’m sorry. I wasted everyone’s exam time.”
Lin Suyu didn’t mind this meaningless apology. She asked the teacher if she could submit early and left the classroom after turning in her paper.
“All right, everyone continue. Focus and don’t let outside distractions affect your exam.”
The proctor’s words sounded fine, but standing right beside Wang Shunda made him very self-conscious. He had failed to frame Lin Suyu and was now the center of the proctor’s attention. His mind went blank, and he scribbled random answers in math.
“Suyu, I noticed I could solve the good problems on the math paper! Great, my grades won’t be bad this time. Thank you for tutoring me!”
After the exam, the class returned for the teacher’s review. Liang Hui tugged at Lin Suyu, pouring out heartfelt thanks, even trying to hug her.
“No need. Here, this is for you. Don’t share the exam egg with anyone else.”
The overenthusiastic child wanted a hug in the sweltering heat, truly ungrateful! Lin Suyu quickly blocked Liang Hui’s chatter with the egg.