Of course, Tan You wasn't so incredible that she immediately shot to first in her class. She ranked fourth in the entire grade, just one point away from third place. Naturally, some people questioned this result, but no one could produce any concrete evidence of wrongdoing.
In the exam room where Tan You took her test, everyone else was at the bottom of the rankings. Who could she have possibly copied from?
Tan You became well-known throughout the grade, but in Class 3, things became a little difficult for her. First, there was the former math group leader, Wang Hong. She wasn't just the leader for her group, but also the math representative for the entire class.
But this time, she had actually scored lower than Han Tingting in math. 'How could she stand for that?' A struggling student who used to copy homework all the time had actually done better than her on the monthly exam. Wang Hong was definitely not going to take this lying down.
At that age, even if you were resentful, you would mostly just work harder in secret, not knowing how to resort to petty tricks. Tan You's monthly exam results had thoroughly provoked Wang Hong. The already diligent student now studied even more intensely.
Except for bathroom breaks between classes, she was almost always at her desk, thinking only of avenging her defeat in the final exams.
Tan You had no idea she had become Wang Hong's rival. She just kept to her study routine. Perhaps because she had learned all this once before, or maybe because things were just starting to click, Tan You's math scores were also steadily improving.
On the next weekly test, Tan You's math score reached 120 out of 150. Tan You herself was a little dissatisfied with this score. She was a competitive person, and when you're a student, grades are the most important thing.
Just as she loved Chinese and English, she pushed herself to be the best in those two subjects. Now that her math scores were gradually rising, Tan You wanted to be the best in that as well.
By now, many people were paying attention to Tan You. She was a true model of a struggling student turning things around.
The head of the math department said happily, "I've said it before, promotion rates aren't as important as the students themselves. Even if a student's grades are usually poor, we as teachers can't be the first to give up on them."
A Chinese teacher from the class next door also smiled. "This is the compulsory education stage; we have to let everyone finish it no matter what. We teachers don't have the right to deprive anyone of their education."
Both teachers' words were pointed. The other teachers in the office fell silent, but their eyes all drifted unconsciously toward Wang Lanfeng.
Wang Lanfeng gripped her fountain pen tightly, remaining silent. She knew she couldn't hide her thoughts from colleagues she saw every day, and she had never expected Han Tingting to change so drastically.
Before, she had been completely unremarkable, always at the bottom of the pack. But in just two short weeks, she had staged a comeback from the very bottom to the top five in the grade.
'Why couldn't you have been like this sooner? Don't tell me you were just pretending all this time?'
Tan You didn't care what Wang Lanfeng thought. Now that her grades had stabilized, Tan You was confident she could help Han Tingting get through all of middle school without a hitch.
As for high school... Tan You shook her head. 'I'll worry about that later.' As long as her grades were good enough, schools would come to her.
As for Han Tingting's biological parents, Tan You wasn't counting on them at all. Making the comparison again, Tan You was once more certain that her own parents were actually pretty decent compared to Han Tingting's.
At least they worked hard at their jobs to earn money to support her education and had never made her drop out. Of course, that didn't excuse their other flaws, but that was a separate matter.
Pushing these thoughts aside, Tan You buried her head in her studies again. She was the type of person who could easily quiet her mind; even the noisiest dorm room couldn't affect her in the slightest.
Right now, she was sitting on a small stool, hunched over her mattress doing exercises. She was focusing almost all her energy on math and physics. The thought that she'd also have chemistry in the third year of middle school gave Tan You a headache.
But the thought of the Beauty System forced her to rally her spirits. What she wanted most was Intelligence Value. 'Speaking of which, how many Intelligence Value points will I get for this mission?'
Two third-year middle school girls were also doing homework near Tan You. The third-years' evening self-study session didn't end until ten. When they returned, Tan You was still doing her homework. They had heard of Tan You, too.
So after they came back from their evening study session, they started studying together with Tan You. Most of the students at this middle school were from surrounding villages. They all understood the importance of the high school entrance exams, and everyone studied until around midnight.
Tan You was no different. And so, after studying together once, the three of them made it a nightly routine.
"Tingting, can you help me with this problem? I've been thinking about it for a long time and still can't figure it out..." Tan You had just put down her pen when the girl to her right nudged her elbow.
Just as Tan You was about to speak, another girl snapped impatiently, "This is so annoying! Are you going to let anyone sleep or not?"
The girl to Tan You's left was about to open her mouth to argue, but Tan You stopped her. "Let's go downstairs. The other students need to sleep."
The girls all lived on the second floor, and the first floor was the dining area. The dining tables were usually wiped spotless, so if they stayed downstairs, they wouldn't disturb the other students.
Zhou Wen and Cao Xia didn't say anything more. They just gathered their homework, grabbed their bookbags, and went downstairs. The proprietress of the establishment was about to go to her room to sleep, but when she saw the three girls come down, she was a bit surprised.
"You're not allowed out at night," she said sternly. But when she saw Tan You, her expression softened into a smile. "Where are you headed, Tingting?"
Tan You, clutching her bookbag, answered obediently, "We came down to work on our test papers. Everyone upstairs is sleeping. Ma'am, we'll turn off the lights when we're done."
The proprietress's mood brightened whenever she saw Tan You. "How much electricity can you use in an hour or two? Wait here, I'll get you a desk lamp. The light in the main room isn't bright enough."
After bringing them the desk lamp, the proprietress went to the front room to sleep. The three girls sat under the lamp doing their homework, occasionally discussing problems in hushed voices, worried they might disturb someone.
The proprietress yawned as she entered the front room. Her husband, who was also getting ready for bed, looked over in surprise. "Weren't you just going to turn off the lights? What took you so long?"
"Tingting and those two third-year girls are doing homework on the first floor. I found a desk lamp for them," the proprietress said softly after getting into bed.
Her husband was a little surprised. "I see you've really taken a liking to Han Tingting. I've never seen you be so nice to any of the other girls before."
"I do like her," the proprietress didn't deny it. "She's just a really good girl, and she's observant. When I'm busy, she'll lend a hand. She doesn't talk much, but she's very polite."
"Her family life is a bit tough, but she knows how to strive for better, and her grades are good now. In the future, that girl will definitely go far."
Her husband smiled. "Alright, I know you're a good judge of character. Get some sleep. You have to wake up early to make breakfast tomorrow."