Li Yanwang only announced the rankings of the top ten students in this exam and then focused on praising several students who had made significant progress.
Zhang Peng was one of them.
This guy, who had always been at the bottom of the class, had surprisingly made a splash this time, ranking twenty-second in the class.
With a total of forty-eight students in the class, this was already a position slightly above the middle.
During the holiday study session, Qin Tian's requirement for him to surpass the class average in this exam had been barely met.
When Li Yanwang announced this news, Zhang Peng excitedly raised his arms and cheered loudly.
Including Zhang Peng's close friend Qian Sheng, the group of "fellow sufferers" who had consistently ranked at the bottom of the class were all green with envy and resentment.
But despite the jealousy, they didn't find it entirely unacceptable.
After all, Zhang Peng had been truly diligent in his studies recently. During the three-day holiday before the exam, they had spent most of their time hanging out in internet cafes and arcades, while Zhang Peng had been attending study sessions with Qin Tian and others.
The most crucial factor was that he had a prodigy like "Teacher Qin" as a brother.
Hadn't Xia Nuannuan, in less than two months, rocketed from the middle of the class to the top twenty in the entire grade?
Compared to the changes in Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan, Zhang Peng's progress didn't seem quite as exaggerated.
"That's all I'll say about the exam rankings for now. As usual, after class, Class Monitor, please post this chart on the back wall. Everyone, take a good look. There's only one month left, so think hard and do whatever you think will help you improve the most."
"Most students have made significant progress in this exam. Keep it up and try not to have any regrets in this final period."
"Alright, everyone, take out your exam papers. I'll go over a few points."
After speaking, Li Yanwang picked up the exam papers and officially began his lecture.
Nearly half of this class period had already passed. After Li Yanwang finished explaining the first few multiple-choice questions, the bell for the end of class rang soon.
After announcing the break, he called the class monitor, Mu Nan, over and handed her the ranking chart.
As Mu Nan posted the ranking chart on the back blackboard, heads eagerly crowded around it.
Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan didn't go; they already knew their scores and rankings.
They sat at their respective seats. Qin Tian was reading a book of full-score essays, while Xia Nuannuan was calmly working on math problems.
Although the goal for this exam had been achieved, the ultimate goal was the college entrance examination.
She wanted to go to Jiangcheng University with Qin Tian.
Based on the college entrance examination results of Yucheng No. 4 High School in recent years and the admission scores for Jiangcheng University, ranking in the top twenty of the grade was still not a sure bet.
Ranking in the top ten should be sufficient, but her goal was the top five in the grade, to not be surpassed by the school beauty in terms of academic performance.
She didn't have any animosity towards Su Yan; in fact, they had already exchanged contact information and could be considered friends.
But that didn't stop her from using Su Yan as a benchmark.
"Qin Tian, do you know what your essay was lacking to be a full-score essay?"
Li Yanwang, who had come to Qin Tian's side at some point, asked unexpectedly.
"What was it?"
Qin Tian looked up, his gaze filled with confusion.
A hint of curiosity also appeared on Xia Nuannuan's pretty face.
She had already read Qin Tian's essay and thought it was very well-written, much better than her own.
In her opinion, it should have been awarded full marks, and the grading teacher was a bit too harsh.
In fact, Xia Nuannuan even wondered if the grading teacher had intentionally deducted two points to prevent Qin Tian from becoming arrogant.
"To achieve full marks in the college entrance examination essay, besides meeting the basic requirements such as theme, word count, and proper structure, there is one most important point!"
Li Yanwang raised his right index finger and said seriously, "That is to have something that makes the grading teacher's eyes light up, something unique and different."
Qin Tian was stunned by his words and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
Li Yanwang picked up the answer sheet from his desk and looked at the essay section, saying, "Think about your essay again. From the theme to the structure and the final conclusion, the echoing of the beginning and end, there are no problems. It is undoubtedly a very excellent essay, but that's all. To get full marks, it needs the highlight I just mentioned."
"You've read so many full-score essays. Don't you feel that these essays all have a certain aspect, or a certain point, that you find refreshing?"
"Teacher, I think I understand."
Qin Tian nodded in agreement.
A look of relief flashed in Li Yanwang's eyes, and he said earnestly, "Even if you understand, it's still very difficult to write a full-score essay in the college entrance examination."
"I know."
Qin Tian smiled helplessly.
Li Yanwang didn't say anything more and changed the subject, "Your contribution to the significant progress of our classmates in this exam is not small!"
Qin Tian was stunned, looking at him with incredibly surprised eyes.
In his memory, this was the first time Old Li had praised him so directly.
"What is with that look?"
Li Yanwang questioned with a stern face.
"No, nothing, it's just..."
Qin Tian quickly shook his head. After a few seconds of pause, he suddenly grinned and said, "It's just that I'm not used to you being so candid, Teacher. You can say more of these words in the future."
Li Yanwang's face darkened, and his mouth twitched a few times.
Xia Nuannuan, sitting inside, watched this scene and giggled, covering her mouth with her hand, struggling to hold back her laughter.
"Heh heh..."
Li Yanwang forced a smile, placed his hand on his shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "Since that's the case, shouldn't you do more work on the review outline? Contribute more of your intelligence to your classmates?"
"Well..."
Qin Tian's smile froze on his face, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
"Also, why is it only for math and science? What about Chinese and English? What, you think Chinese and English are not important? Then you should get a perfect score in Chinese for me!"
"Old Li, calm down, calm down."
"Call me Teacher!"
"Yes, Teacher!"
Qin Tian felt the hand on his shoulder pressing harder and his attitude immediately corrected.
Li Yanwang let go with a smile and gently patted his shoulder, praising, "Very good. Then, for the next two days, take some time to prepare a Chinese review outline for me, targeted at the college entrance examination."
"Teacher, I really don't know how to do Chinese, and there's no need for it. You've also said the essential knowledge points many times. Everyone just needs to memorize them."
Qin Tian said with a distressed expression.
"You've said it many times, but not everyone might have remembered it. You are basically idle in class anyway, so help me summarize it."
Li Yanwang said with an unquestionable tone.
"I won't, it's too much trouble!"
Qin Tian shook his head and refused.
Li Yanwang glanced at Xia Nuannuan beside him and asked, "Classmate Xia Nuannuan, if I recall correctly, you also lost some points on the objective questions, didn't you?"
"Yes, I wrote the wrong word and lost two points."
Xia Nuannuan nodded with some shame.
Li Yanwang looked at Qin Tian with a smiling, meaningful gaze.
"Fine, fine, I'll do it!"
Qin Tian agreed with a helpless expression.