"Ye Chen, I'm so nervous."
Before the exam, Xu Liang had already gone to the restroom several times.
He was starting to panic.
He hadn't even slept well the entire night before.
Although Ye Chen had tutored Xu Liang and his scores had soared.
It was precisely because of that progress that Xu Liang now had expectations.
He wanted to be one of those thirty lucky ones.
Ye Chen patted Xu Liang's shoulder. "Be confident. Believe in yourself. You've worked so hard all this time—you'll reap the rewards."
Ye Chen's words offered no comfort whatsoever.
He cared deeply about getting into the Sprint Class, yet he had no confidence.
"Sigh, Ye Chen, I really envy you—no anxiety. Anyway, first place is already yours."
Ye Chen sighed and looked out the window.
"You think because I'm first I don't get anxious?"
Xu Liang froze. "A Top Student like you gets anxious too?"
Ye Chen shook his head. "No—think about it. You still have a goal. What about me?"
He put on a tragic face. "I really envy you; you still have room to improve. I can only stay put and take first place."
As he spoke, regret filled Ye Chen's face.
"Why'd I have to accidentally score first back then..."
In an instant Xu Liang no longer felt anxious.
He had an urge to punch someone... The first Mock Exam ended in a tense atmosphere.
Of course, that tension didn't apply to Ye Chen.
He handed in every paper first; the questions were child's play for him.
The next day, the Mock Exam results were about to drop.
In the teachers' Office, undercurrents surged.
Though Wang Chao appeared to be reviewing lesson plans, his peripheral vision stayed locked on Chen Tao.
Every exam became a quiet rivalry between the two classes.
This Mock Exam in particular had both of them on edge.
After all, it determined who could break into the top thirty and enter the Sprint Class.
Once in the Sprint Class, admission to a 985 University was basically guaranteed—who wouldn't care?
"Teacher Wang, how do you think our classes did this time?" Chen Tao finally couldn't hold back.
"I feel our Class Five should do all right," Wang Chao replied.
Chen Tao sneered. "As I understand it, this head-teacher evaluation isn't about who produces the Top Scholar, but the class average."
A smug smile crept across Chen Tao's face.
In average scores, Class Two had crushed Class Five for three straight years of High School.
The smile on Wang Chao's face slowly faded.
Honestly, he wasn't confident at all.
Even with Ye Chen as his secret weapon, he couldn't be sure how effective it would be.
Seemed like the Outstanding Head-Teacher award was slipping away!
Right then, the Head of the Teaching and Research Group walked in.
"Results are out."
All the teachers stood up.
The section head's gaze fell straight on Wang Chao.
"Nice going, Old Wang—you've just launched a blockbuster for us."
Chen Tao's face twitched, but he stayed calm.
"So what if Ye Chen from their class is Top Scholar?" he said with disdain.
The section head shook his head. "More than that: Class Five's average is also first, beating Class Two by five full points."
The entire Office fell dead silent.
Everyone was stunned.
A five-point lead in average had virtually never happened in any previous Mock Exam.
"Impossible! How could Class Two trail Class Five by that much?" Chen Tao almost jumped.
The section head said firmly, "We've checked the papers repeatedly; the scores are accurate."
Other teachers now crowded around.
"Congratulations, Teacher Wang."
"Incredible—sweeping the top three and taking first in average. Awesome!"
Old Wang smiled modestly. "It's not my doing; the students worked hard themselves."
"Sweeping the Whole School top three and topping the average—truly amazing," a nearby teacher marveled.
"Looks like this year's Outstanding Head-Teacher will be none other than Teacher Wang."
"Not so fast—everything still hinges on the National Higher Education Entrance Examination results."
Wang Chao tried hard to stifle his grin.
But inside he was elated.
He sensed he might create a miracle at Jiangzhou Middle School this year.
"Heh-heh..."
The thought delighted him so much he couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
A female teacher beside him felt her skin crawl.
Chen Tao slumped in his seat, face pale, defeated.
Seeing Chen Tao looking like a rooster who'd lost a fight, Old Wang was overjoyed.
The more Chen Tao thought, the angrier he got. He couldn't understand how, after using even the key High School prediction papers from the provincial capital, he'd still lost to Old Wang.
Wang Chao picked up the result sheet.
He was ecstatic: this time five of their students had made it into the Sprint Class.
Ye Chen, Li Sitong, Xia Yingluo, and Sun Tao getting in was normal—they'd always scored well—but what shocked him was Xu Liang.
The kid had actually charged into the top thirty.
Just half a month earlier his scores had been mid-to-lower in the class.
Could Ye Chen really be that miraculous?
At the bottom of the list, he could hardly believe it: Li Xu, formerly dead last, had shot up to 40th in the class.
Though still mediocre, it was enough to secure University admission.
As the bell rang, Old Wang strode into the Classroom clutching the papers.
The room was pin-drop silent.
Students nervously eyed the grade sheet in his hand.
The only comfort was the bright smile on Old Wang's face.
It suggested the class had done well overall.
"This time we did great—Class Five's average beat Class Two by five points, ranking us first in the Whole School."
"Yeah!"
Cheers erupted.
Wang Chao looked at Ye Chen with mixed feelings.
He knew the real hero wasn't him but Ye Chen.
Sigh—after decades of teaching, to be outdone by a student stung a bit.
But then again, wasn't it he who'd let Ye Chen explain the problems?
So the credit still belonged to him—no doubt about it!
Wang Chao rapped the desk. "Quiet, please. Next I'll announce the students entering the Sprint Class."
The room fell silent once more.
Mid-level and lower-ranked students didn't care; the Sprint Class had nothing to do with them anyway.
But the Top Students were visibly tense.
Xu Liang's hands were even trembling.
Wang Chao cleared his throat and began.
"Ye Chen."
"Present."
"Xia Yingluo."
"Present."
"Li Sitong."
"Present."
"Sun Tao."
"Present."
"Xu Liang."
At Xu Liang's name the Classroom went dead quiet.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the stunned boy.
How could it be him?
Did the teacher misread it?