The proctoring in Jiang University’s Class A had always been strict, adhering almost entirely to the standard rules—students arriving more than fifteen minutes late were not allowed to enter the examination hall.
However, most students at the school lived on campus and had few activities outside of class. Not only were they present fifteen minutes before the exam, but they were also seated in the classroom a full half-hour in advance.
In recent years, the only thing that had persistently echoed through the classroom was the small speaker announcing, “Late examinees are not permitted to enter.”
Xu Yichen was dazed. He had practically chased Jiang Wan out of the classroom, though he didn’t quite understand why he had run.
The chemistry teacher, Yang Yulin, was nearly 55 years old, tall but with a pronounced stoop. When he squinted at students, it gave off a somber, almost “funereal” vibe.
It wasn’t anything too serious—just that the unfortunate soul being scrutinized was likely to fail chemistry…
The four of them had rushed in just as the bell rang. Jiang Wenyan was slightly out of breath, her cheeks flushed red. Jiang Wan instinctively braced her knees, and when she straightened up, her brow was tightly furrowed. She turned and gave Xu Yichen a meaningful look.
…After the exam, she’d have to find a plausible excuse to give Xu Yichen a good kick.
Xu Yichen grinned foolishly at Jiang Wan. It wasn’t until he heard the “life-or-death” ringing of the classroom speaker that he snapped back to reality and scurried back to his seat.
During exams, textbooks were not allowed on the desks. Jiang Wan neatly organized Lu Xingheng’s textbooks and stuffed them under the lectern.
Yang Yulin squinted at Lu Xingheng. “New student, right?”
Jiang Wan replied, “Yes, he just arrived today. He’s here to take the exam.”
Yang Yulin glanced at the digital clock and didn’t waste any more time. “Alright… There aren’t any extra seats in the class. You can sit at Jiang Wan’s desk, the one by the window in the second-to-last row.”
Jiang Wan: “…”
Yang Yulin lowered his voice. “Keep quiet and don’t disturb the other students during the exam.”
It wasn’t until all the students had received their exam papers—and fast writers like Jiang Wenyan had already flipped to the second page—that Yang Yulin finally remembered Jiang Wan.
It wasn’t entirely his fault.
The class monitor had been helping Li Yun supervise evening self-study sessions for so long that Yang Yulin had almost forgotten, nearly mistaking Jiang Wan for a proctor.
And Jiang Wan… was currently “exchanging glances” with Xu Yichen.
Taking advantage of Yang Yulin’s inattention, Xu Yichen frantically mouthed words at Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan watched for a while but couldn’t make sense of it.
Out of options, Xu Yichen resorted to using both his hands and feet, gesturing an exaggerated “eight” with his index finger tilted sharply to the left.
Jiang Wan was utterly confused.
She tilted her head and happened to meet Lu Xingheng’s expressionless, coffin-like face. He looked as though chemistry had drained all the life out of him.
“Come here, Jiang Wan,” Yang Yulin belatedly pulled an exam paper and answer sheet from the sealed bag, his voice gentle. “Can you take the exam standing at the lectern?”
Jiang Wan replied, “Sure.”
Lu Xingheng glanced up. Jiang Wan stood lazily, her knees slightly bent, but her face was oddly pale.
The class monitor’s name was Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan… “Evening breeze murmurs on the river.”
A nice name.
Jiang Wan marked her answers quickly. By the time Lu Xingheng snapped back to attention, she had already flipped to the next page.
Lu Xingheng lowered his head and scanned the chemistry exam paper from start to finish. For the first time, the student who had consistently topped the grade rankings felt a sense of bewilderment.
Elements, valence, balancing equations… they swirled together endlessly, unfamiliar yet strangely familiar.
There was still half an hour left until the end of the exam. Various faint sounds echoed in the classroom, with Jiang Wenyan sitting right in front of Lu Xingheng. Lu Xingheng heard him cough softly twice, somewhat deliberately.
At the front of the classroom, Jiang Wan closed his pen cap, his voice very quiet. “Teacher, I’m handing in my paper.”
Almost as soon as Jiang Wan stepped out, Jiang Wenyan rushed out after him.
The two didn’t start talking until they were outside the classroom.
“Bro, for the last answer—that ionic equation—was it the one we discussed yesterday?”
Jiang Wan: “I filled it in too quickly, didn’t look carefully.”
Jiang Wenyan: “You really have a big heart, don’t you?”
Jiang Wan: “Watch your language. Kids shouldn’t swear.”
“…”
Jiang Wenyan suddenly grabbed Jiang Wan’s fingertips. “Bro, why are your hands still so cold?”
Jiang Wan: “Are you a pervert? Holding my hand right after the exam.”
Jiang Wenyan was speechless for a moment. “…I can only say that if your heart is dirty, everything you see is dirty.”
“Speaking of which,” Jiang Wan sounded puzzled, “Xu Yichen suddenly called the new classmate ‘Dad’ during the exam.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Jiang Wenyan didn’t pay it any mind. “Don’t worry about him. Should we go to the cafeteria or back to the dorm now?”
“No.” Jiang Wan shook his head. “I’m going to the infirmary.”
Jiang Wenyan: “What for?”
Jiang Wan replied expressionlessly: “My kidney hurts from being kicked by Xu Yichen at noon.”
“Alright.”
Just as Jiang Wenyan was about to leave, Jiang Wan suddenly asked, “What’s the new classmate’s name?”
Jiang Wenyan: “How would I know?”
“Why are you suddenly asking?”
Jiang Wan: “It feels like I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
“Liar again.” Jiang Wenyan pouted. “How could you have seen someone from another province?”
“Yeah.” Jiang Wan smiled and gave Jiang Wenyan a light push on the back. “Hurry back.”
Must have remembered wrong.
A gentleman is like a jade pendant, his robes shining brightly; his virtue is as radiant as sunlight, his brilliance like brocade.
Jiang Wan inexplicably recalled these four lines of poetry.
Completely nonsensical.
He couldn’t even remember where they came from anymore.
…
Even those who scored seven points handed in their papers early, while Lu Xingheng’s answer sheet was cleaner than the exam paper itself.
Lu Xingheng thought for a long time and decided to attempt a couple of chemistry answers for luck.
This was something his unreliable mother had randomly blurted out right before the exam.
“Xingheng, if the entrance exam doesn’t go well… we can just start in the regular class. The Advanced Class papers are difficult.”
“And, back when I was in school, you could still get points just for writing ‘Solution’! With your foundation—”
He had been annoyed by the noise at the time.
Now, Lu Xingheng’s pen tip moved lightly, but he didn’t even have a chance to write…
For no other reason than that this absurd school had already pre-printed the word “Solution” on the answer sheet.
So why was the Lorentz force appearing on a chemistry exam…
Since sitting there was just a waste of time anyway, Lu Xingheng simply handed in his paper.
As he was leaving, Yang Yulin squinted at Lu Xingheng and asked a pointless question, “Why do you still have so many blanks? The exam is almost over!”
Lu Xingheng: “…”
Yang Yulin frowned, even fishing his glasses out of their case to put them on. “Just yesterday in the office, I heard you scored 140 on the math exam, and that paper was already quite difficult!”
Yang Yulin couldn’t understand it. “How can someone so young be so unbalanced in their subjects?”
Lu Xingheng explained, “I haven’t studied chemistry in depth before.”
They had only covered the basics, just enough to pass the standard proficiency test.
Yang Yulin still seemed unsatisfied. “You took the math exam in the office on the spot, right?”
“Yes, Teacher Yang.” Li Yun had walked over at some point, raising her hand to knock on the doorframe. “Papers are distributed five minutes early, and they’re handed in five minutes early too!”
“Stop writing and hand in your papers. The last row, please collect them.”
Yang Yulin: “He’s a bit unbalanced in his subjects.”
Li Yun stood at the doorway, her voice clear and bright. “He arrived late back then. By the time he came, the math exam in the class had already finished. I watched him take it in the office.”
Yang Yulin: “He got first in math?”
“Really?” Li Yun asked while watching the people in the back row collect the papers. “What about the class monitor, Jiang Wenyan, Xu Yichen, and the others?”
Li Yun thought for a moment. “I didn’t grade a perfect score, but I did grade one with 147.”