You Like The Smart Ones? You Should Have Said So Sooner! - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: The Birth of a New God

In the past, the grading speed at No. 2 High was never particularly fast. However, because this exam was a joint mock exam held with other schools (technically a joint exam, but the “League” didn’t actually invite No. 2 High—the school simply bought the test papers themselves), the Grade 12 teachers were grading like madmen to release results at the same time as the League.

In the Grade 12 Mathematics Office

“This Big Dipper League is so strong; why is our school looking for trouble by participating?” a young female teacher complained, her hand moving non-stop as she graded.

She was the head teacher of Class 2, surnamed Cai. Judging by the motion of her pen, most of the marks she was making were “X”s.

The math teacher from Class 14 chimed in: “Exactly. The difficulty of the Big Dipper League papers is quite high; they aren’t really suitable for No. 2 High students. They said it was meant to ‘toughen them up,’ but I hope it doesn’t just destroy their confidence.”

“I think it’ll be hard for the average score to even hit 90 this time,” Teacher Cai said, shaking her head as she looked at the sea of red ink on the papers.

She placed her remaining hope on Qin Mian from Teacher Ding Zi’s class: “Hey, has anyone graded Qin Mian’s paper from Teacher Ding’s class yet?”

“Not yet,” the other teachers replied.

The papers were collected in order, but when distributed for grading, they were shuffled and the names were sealed.

Ding Zi said modestly: “The last question on this paper goes beyond the syllabus; Qin Mian might not necessarily solve it.”

At that moment, an older female teacher didn’t join the conversation. She pushed up her glasses and picked up the paper in front of her, seemingly unable to believe her eyes.

The paper was clean and tidy, the handwriting elegant yet powerful. The logic in the answers was clear, concise, and hit every marking point perfectly—even the final “impossible” question was answered flawlessly.

It was a textbook full-score paper!

Since she started teaching at Dong’an No. 2 High, how long had it been since she’d seen such a perfect script?

“…Is this the one you were talking about?” Teacher Wu’s voice trembled with excitement.

The teachers stood up one by one and crowded around Teacher Wu to see the paper.

Teacher Cai marveled: “Oh wow, that’s impressive. No wonder they can rank in the provincial top 100!”

“Yeah, even I almost fell into a trap while doing that last question!” the Class 14 teacher added.

The teachers nodded in agreement. Only Ding Zi frowned, staring at the paper back and forth.

Teacher Cai asked curiously: “Teacher Ding, what’s wrong? Is there an issue with the paper?”

“I don’t think this is Qin Mian’s handwriting.” Ding Zi suddenly slapped his forehead. “Look at my memory! This should be that other student in my class.”

Sure enough, Teacher Wu peeled back the sealed name. The name “Song Ying” was written there in bold strokes.

Teacher Cai was shocked: “Oh! Is this the one Director Cai mentioned in the meeting last time?”

Ding Zi nodded.

“Wow, he really does have the skills! Teacher Ding, you’re quite lucky!”

A moment later, Ding Zi found Qin Mian’s paper. It was a standard high-level performance. He missed a small part of the final question, resulting in a 2-point deduction for a final score of 148.

Back in Class 18

The class was as silent as a grave.

Since the next period was the class meeting, their results were about to be projected onto the big screen. Of course, while they were quiet on the surface, their inner thoughts were experiencing a nuclear explosion.

The Crouching Dragon Class 18 Group Chat

Yu Canxing: What do I do, what do I do!!! I want to die!!! The anxiety!!!Yu Canxing: AAAAAHHHHH!!!! Why not just give me a swift death with a blade!!!Qin Mian: …….You’re being loud in my eyes.Lin Zhixia: I’m so nervous! I feel like I’m doomed this time!Yu Canxing: No meat for ten days! If my math score is over 90!Ye Jun: Heh. You’d be lucky to skip one meal. Ten days?Cao Wei: I heard our school applied to join the League for this exam but was rejected.Yu Canxing: QAQ It’s good we were rejected. If we weren’t, wouldn’t we be losing face in front of all the other schools?Lin Zhixia: @CaoWei Which league? How come I haven’t heard of this?Cao Wei: Big Dipper. Since the school was rejected, they obviously wouldn’t tell us. I overheard the teachers talking in the restroom.Lin Zhixia: This just goes to show: never discuss important matters in the bathroom.Qin Mian: @CaoWei Which schools rejected us?Cao Wei: I heard it was the founding schools of the Big Dipper League—Linjiang No. 2 High, Xinghua Middle School, and a few others.Qin Mian: @SongYing Given the circumstances, aren’t you going to say something?Song Ying: Squeak.Lin Zhixia: ?Cao Wei: ??Yu Canxing: ???Yu Canxing: What kind of riddles are you two playing that I can’t understand!!!

At that moment, Ding Zi appeared at the door and knocked on the frame. Everyone shoved their phones into their desks with a loud thud. Although No. 2 High didn’t strictly ban phones during breaks, most people felt a sense of “guilt” from potentially failing and didn’t dare play with them in front of Ding Zi.

Ding Zi didn’t pay attention to them. He waved at Qin Mian: “Qin Mian! Come here and get the papers.”

As the class monitor and math representative, Qin Mian usually transported assignments and tests from the office.

“Coming.” Qin Mian was in a great mood. He stood up gracefully. He gave one last friendly tip: “Friends, let us witness the birth of a new god!”

He patted Song Ying’s shoulder before leaving. Cao Wei asked the person next to him blankly, “Has Qin Mian finally lost his mind?”

The person next to him nodded in terror.

Qin Mian soon returned with a stack of papers. Ding Zi held a USB drive and ordered, “Get some people to hand these out.”

The students cautiously observed Ding Zi’s face, trying to analyze whether they had done well or poorly. But his face was a mask of neutrality. Ding Zi propped his hands on the podium while waiting for the computer to boot up, scanning the room.

Immediately, everyone looked down, terrified of eye contact.

“Tsk. That’s enough. Look at how scared you are. Have some backbone,” Ding Zi said with a teasing smile.

Hearing this, Class 18 let out a collective sigh of relief.

Ding Zi plugged in the USB drive and said, “This exam was quite difficult; low scores are normal. Our class ranked second in the grade, which is decent.”

“There’s also some news worth celebrating,” he added unhurriedly. “Our class has two students with a total score above 690. If ranked within the Big Dipper League, they would be 1st and 17th. Very impressive!”

His words were like a stone causing a thousand ripples. A wave of audible gasps filled the room.

“Holy shit!” “Woah!!” “What the hell!?” “What did I just hear!!!”

Students looked at each other, seeing the same shock in everyone’s eyes. What terrifying scores! Yu Canxing’s jaw literally dropped.

After the initial shock, everyone’s gaze eventually landed on Qin Mian.

“Wait, besides Qin Mian, who is the other one???” “Our class—basically a zoo—actually has a big boss like that?” “Our class is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons!” “Friends, I suddenly have a theory…”

At the same time, the transcript flashed onto the screen.