At two in the afternoon, the school bell finally rang.
In the classroom, the students' expectant yet nervous gazes were focused on the math teacher standing at the podium.
"Class!"
"Attention!"
"Good morning, teacher..."
"Good morning, students, please be seated."
Shen Yi, with a smile plastered on his face, raised his right hand and gestured for them to sit.
As the students settled down, he picked up the stack of test papers.
"First, I want to commend all of you in the class. For this mock exam, our mathematics performance has seen significant improvement. Seventy percent of students scored above one hundred, and five students scored above one hundred and forty."
Hearing this, the classroom erupted in a clamor.
Excitement flickered across the students' faces.
Seventy percent scoring above one hundred was unprecedented.
At the same time, everyone couldn't help but wonder who the top five scoring students were.
"Wu Xin, you must have gotten the highest score, right?"
Xu Ying asked Wu Xin with a sweet smile.
She hadn't thought much of this bookworm before.
However, the bet Wu Xin had made with Qin Tian had significantly changed her attitude.
Especially now, with the attention of the entire class focused on him, she quite enjoyed the feeling of being noticed.
"Probably, but I can't say for sure."
Wu Xin replied modestly, but his face radiated confidence.
Xu Ying leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "If you get first place in the class this time, I'll agree to be your girlfriend."
Wu Xin's body trembled. He instantly felt energized, his voice quivering with excitement.
"Are you serious?"
"Mhm!"
Xu Ying nodded shyly.
"Hahaha..."
Wu Xin could no longer contain his elation and burst into loud laughter.
The classroom instantly fell silent, and all eyes, filled with confusion, turned towards the two in the back.
Wu Xin realized he had lost his composure and quickly suppressed his smile, his lips pressed together. His body trembled slightly from excessive excitement.
Everyone was bewildered, completely clueless as to why he had suddenly started laughing like a madman.
Weren't they supposed to start announcing the scores later? Was he getting happy too soon?
Those with quicker minds, seeing Xu Ying's flushed face beside him, began to suspect something.
"Qin Tian, what's he doing? Laughing so happily."
Xia Nuannuan blinked in bewilderment.
Qin Tian smiled and shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe he's daydreaming!"
In fact, he had a rough idea of what was happening and found it amusing.
"Pfft!"
Xia Nuannuan was tickled by his remark and quickly covered her mouth with her hand, patting her chest in lingering shock.
It was all Qin Tian's fault for almost making her look foolish too.
"Wu Xin, what are you laughing at?"
On the podium, Shen Yi, who had been beaming with pride, frowned.
"Teacher Shen, I apologize."
Wu Xin quickly apologized.
"I asked what you're laughing at. Is there something to laugh about? How did you do on the exam? Don't you have a clue?"
Shen Yi questioned him sternly.
Wu Xin and Xu Ying were stunned into silence.
The students in the classroom widened their eyes in disbelief.
What did Teacher Shen mean?
Could it be... Wu Xin had failed the exam this time?
Their first reaction was disbelief, as Wu Xin had consistently ranked in the top ten of the grade, and his math scores had never dipped below one hundred and forty.
However, Teacher Shen's angry demeanor made them believe otherwise.
"Teacher Shen, what do you mean? Is there something wrong with my exam?"
Wu Xin asked anxiously.
"What's wrong? There are big problems! What happened with your last question? Your problem-solving approach was completely off track, do you know that?"
"That's impossible!"
Wu Xin's face changed drastically as he stood up and retorted, "That's impossible. The last question was so simple, I couldn't have gotten it wrong."
"Are you saying I'm talking nonsense? Come here, come and see for yourself!"
Shen Yi's frustration grew, and he flipped over Wu Xin's test paper.
Wu Xin hurried forward. The moment his eyes landed on the bright red "132" on the paper, his face turned ashen.
For most students, this score would have been a pleasant surprise.
But for him, it was a humiliation he had never experienced before.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!!!"
Shen Yi placed the test paper face down on the desk and slapped it heavily several times.
"Look for yourself. Not only the last question, but you also made careless mistakes on two earlier foundational questions."
"This is not your usual standard. Everyone in the class has improved, yet you've regressed. You need to reflect on yourself."
"I'm very curious, what were you thinking about during the exam? You were laughing, you had the nerve to laugh?"
The torrent of harsh criticism flushed Wu Xin's entire face with shame.
He focused on his test paper and discovered he had made a mistake on one multiple-choice question and one fill-in-the-blank question, totaling ten points lost.
For the last problem, worth thirteen points, he had only written two steps before his approach went astray, costing him eight points.
Beside it, Shen Yi had clearly marked the errors in red pen, leaving no room for argument.
Wu Xin suddenly remembered.
While solving that last major problem, he had felt the math paper was too easy and was confident he would get a perfect score.
Therefore, his thoughts began to wander. He imagined Qin Tian bowing in defeat, apologizing to Xu Ying, and then Xu Ying, moved, throwing herself into his arms.
Perhaps it was then that his problem-solving approach began to deviate, leading him to a vastly incorrect answer.
After finishing, he was too preoccupied with his fantasies to even check his work, sitting there lost in thought.
To his surprise, not only was the last problem wrong, but he had also made mistakes on two incredibly simple foundational questions earlier.
At that moment, Wu Xin was filled with regret, wishing he could slap himself twice on the spot.
"Why are you still standing there? Do I need to teach you where you went wrong? Take it back and reflect on it carefully. This is just a mock exam. If this happens in the college entrance examination, you'll be crying!"
Shen Yi waved his hand impatiently.
In reality, Shen Yi was a generally mild-mannered person.
His current outburst was due to his high expectations for Wu Xin, which had led to extreme disappointment.
Of course, Wu Xin's complete lack of awareness and his sudden, unrestrained laughter also contributed.
Wu Xin, holding his test paper, walked back to his seat with his head lowered.
"Hey, Mr. Top Student, weren't you laughing happily just now? Why aren't you laughing anymore!"
As he passed Zhang Peng's seat, he heard a taunt that almost made him vomit blood.
"What's it to you, trash? I still scored over one hundred and thirty, which is higher than you."
Wu Xin retorted, his eyes red.
Normally, he wouldn't dare to speak like this.
But he was truly infuriated at the moment.
"That's right, why compare yourself to a slacker like me? Compare yourself to Brother Tian!"
Zhang Peng sneered.
"Heh, is he even worthy? Can he even pass?"
Wu Xin said dismissively.
"Teacher Shen, Wu Xin just said he doesn't need to reflect, that one hundred and thirty is high enough."
Zhang Peng suddenly raised his hand and shouted.
Wu Xin's expression froze. He almost couldn't resist cursing this scoundrel.