Cheng Nuo briefly described how he felt about the test, which amazed Old Man Tang.
"In that case, you seem to be pretty confident about this exam," Old Man Tang said.
"Well." Cheng Nuo scratched his head and replied in a humble tone, "I guess I can only get 150
"Woah!" Old Man Tang drew a startled breath. Then he clapped his hands and laughed. "Good. Let's see whether you can get a perfect score this time!"
After that, Cheng Nuo asked curiously, "By the way, are you not the invigilator for the First High School today?"
"Oh. I swapped with Mr. Li. He's not free to invigilate tomorrow's test," Old Man Tang answered.
Mr. Li was the young, male math teacher with glasses.
Cheng Nuo acknowledged with a nod. Then he fished out some revision materials from his stack of books and walked out of the office after saying goodbye to Old Man Tang.
…
The next day, it was a combined science test in the morning and English in the afternoon. Science was Cheng Nuo's strength, and English was more or less manageable too.
The two-day mock exam had finally come to an end.
The following days were all grading days, when teachers had to grade the tests, tally up the points, and consolidate the scores.
Labor Day was coming soon. Hence, teachers had put in their best effort so that students could report their points to their parents and have a fulfilling holiday
Therefore, all of the tests had been graded and checked within two days, or slightly more than one day and a half, to be more precise.
Never underestimate teachers' grading speeds. It was insanely fast when they wanted to!
At the math department.
The teachers had just received their students' tests because each school was not allowed to grade their own students' work.
"Where's Cheng Nuo's test? Let's see what he got first!" Old Man Tang said anxiously, resting his hands on his hips.
He had thought that the test was an easy one after his conversation with Cheng Nuo. However, he had realized that it wasn't the case when he received the questions.
The question types were rather novel, and there were many traps too. Moreover, a lot of the questions were logically challenging and required tedious calculations. Even the teachers couldn't do some of the questions at first and needed more time to think.
As for the last question, Cheng Nuo was right—it was indeed a recycled question. However, almost no one had had the time and energy to attempt a test from more than a decade ago.
As a result, few students managed the last question.
Overall, students didn't perform well this time. Among all the tests that the math department had graded, none of them had achieved a perfect score. That's because the test was indeed too difficult, not because the students were not good enough.
Nevertheless, Old Man Tang remembered Cheng Nuo's promise. He would really feel proud of him if Cheng Nuo had indeed obtained a perfect score.
"Yes! Find Cheng Nuo's test first," another teacher said.
"Yeah! Quick!"
"Hahaha, let's see whether that boy got a perfect score."
Other teachers agreed. Like Old Man Tang, they were also curious about whether the smart boy who had always taught them how to solve problems would give them another surprise this time.
"Found it!"
The young, male teacher fished out a test from the stack of tests. Cheng Nuo's name was written on it.
"How much?"
"What did he get?"
…
All the teachers from the entire department swarmed forward to take a look at the grade on the test.
150 points!
Perfect score! Old Man Tang let out a sigh of relief and his mind was finally set to rest. His face was beaming with joy.
As expected, Cheng Nuo hadn't let him down.
"Sss, this boy has really achieved a perfect score."
"Congratulations, Old Man Tang!"
"You are a great teacher, Old Man Tang! It'll be excellent if Cheng Nuo can get a perfect score in the Gaokao!"
"Haha, maybe," Old Man Tang said. His heart was warmed by the praises and his cheeks were rosy from the excitement.
Suddenly, a female teacher suggested, "Let's see how many people have gotten perfect scores!"
"Yes!" The other teachers agreed.
If Cheng Nuo was the only one, he would undeniably be a true genius, incomparable to any of his peers. However, if there were several perfect scores, his achievement wouldn't be so remarkable.
One minute later…
A teacher hung up the call and announced excitedly, "I've asked. There's only one student who's gotten a perfect score in math across all the 48 schools!"
The group was exhilarated. They would have screamed in elation if they hadn't had to uphold their image as teachers.
What an extraordinary feat!
The large-scale combined mock exam across the 48 schools had been continuing annually since six years ago. However, the performance of the Second High School of Qing Cheng had only been mediocre throughout the years.
But this time, they'd got all the cheek in the world since Cheng Nuo was the only one who had achieved a perfect score in math.
The department started to sort the tests after the brief celebration.
After they had registered the grades into the school system, the results could finally be released.
…
When Qingqing walked into class 18 with the list of results for the class, everyone couldn't help but hold their breath subconsciously.
There was curiosity, expectation, nervousness, loss, and other complicated emotions in the students' eyes as they looked at the list in Qingqing's hands.
Qingqing glued the list beside the blackboard and told the class, "The results are out. You can come forward to take a look. Today, Old Man Tang will use the last class to talk about the exam results."
After that, Qingqing returned to her seat while softly humming a tune. She had achieved a decent score this time, which was enough for her to have an enjoyable Labor Day holiday.
Swoosh!
Some students dashed to the blackboard immediately. In the next instant, many had crowded around the list.
It was reminiscent of the scene on the results release day in ancient
"Hey, Cheng Nuo, why don't you want to go and take a look?" Hao Shuai asked when he saw that Cheng Nuo had no intention to go forward.
Cheng Nuo replied with a casual smile, "No need! I already know that I'm at the top!"
Hao Shuai rolled his eyes. "Stop acting cool, will you? You already knew that the top position is reserved for Mu Leng. You? Stop dreaming!"
"Ha! Shuai, you underestimate me. Come, sit down first," Cheng Nuo said, pulling Hao Shuai back to his seat. Then he rubbed his hands and asked smilingly, "Shuai, do you want to make a bet?"
"What bet?" Hao Shuai was interested.
"Bet on my ranking," Cheng Nuo said, "You'll have to treat me to a seafood buffet if I'm the top in class. If I'm not, I'll treat you to a seafood buffet! How about that?"
"Deal!" Hao Shuai agreed. "I'll make sure you go broke!"