Chapter 62: A Step Closer to the Wish

Class 204 had 64 students, and in the mid-term exams, 52 of them ranked within the top 120 in the whole school.

The academic level of Class 205 next door was roughly on par with Class 204.

This meant that practically everyone in the entire school qualified to take the scholarship exam was concentrated in these two elite classes, while the other classes were allocated an average of only about two spots each.

Since nearly every student had their own test papers in hand, the teachers took advantage of the last two self-study periods of the evening to go over the papers right there in the classroom.

During the break after the second evening study period, the class monitor, Liu Hui, came in from outside carrying a stack of history papers, panting slightly. Instead of reading out names one by one to distribute the papers like the math teacher did, he personally delivered them to the students' desks.

Liu Hui was not tall, and his appearance was rather unappealing—well, perhaps calling it unappealing was putting it too mildly.

In fact, many students felt a slight psychological revulsion the very first time they laid eyes on him.

His prominent, bulging forehead and thick, upturned lips caused many people to involuntarily think: *Good heavens! How can someone look this ugly?*

However, after three years of seeing him every day, everyone gradually grew used to it.

Based on his prominent forehead, they even affectionately nicknamed him "God of Longevity."

Because Liu Hui's grades were always near the bottom of the class, he had always held high-achieving students in high respect:

"Song Yu, Mai Sui, both of you scored 96, the highest in the class."

He then turned to Li Heng and said, "Old Heng, your history score is 94, one point higher than Liu Yejiang's. Keep it up!"

Li Heng took his test paper with a smile and asked, "God of Longevity, you possess supernatural powers—do you happen to know the scores of Xiao Feng and Luo Zhijie next door?"

Liu Hui patted his chest proudly. "Since you've called me the God of Longevity, how could I not know? Xiao Feng got 97, and Luo Zhijie got 94."

Hearing these scores, Li Heng could not help but sigh inwardly. Damn it, top students really were top students. He was feeling the pressure now, and he hoped Chinese and English would pull their weight; otherwise, his special scholarship might just slip away.

Just as he was quietly calculating his scores, the English teacher finally made her long-awaited appearance.

Wang Runwen stood on the podium, pressed her hands down slightly, and spoke in her characteristic magnetic voice:

"Quiet down, everyone. When I call your name, come up and get your paper yourself. If anyone is in the restroom, your deskmate can pick it up for you."

"Mai Sui, a perfect score of 100; Song Yu, a perfect score of 100; Chen Lijun, 98; Peng Yan, 96; Sun Manning, 95; Li Heng, 95..."

Hearing that Li Heng had scored 95 in English, the whole class let out a collective exclamation and instantly erupted.

Everyone turned their heads synchronously to stare at Li Heng, their eyes filled with utter disbelief.

In the past, English had been Li Heng's weakest subject; ever since the arts and sciences streams were divided, he had never broken 85. Now, for it to suddenly skyrocket to 95 was something many people found hard to process immediately.

After all, English was the one subject where many students could still maintain a sense of superiority over Li Heng. For it to vanish so abruptly was thoroughly aggravating.

The most irritated person of all was Liu Yejiang. Li Heng's score of 95 was equivalent to casting him straight down into the eighteenth layer of hell, with no hope of ever reincarnating.

Feeling his head swim with frustration, Liu Yejiang decided to wager his last shred of dignity. He raised his hand and asked, "Teacher, are you sure there wasn't a mistake?"

Because of a past scandal rumor, Wang Runwen had never been very fond of this person. She never called on him to answer questions during regular classes either. She shot him a cold glance and said:

"Your papers were graded by the sophomore English teaching team, and the scores were recorded personally by the vice principal. If you have any issues, go take it up with them."

Hit by this bucket of cold water, Liu Yejiang felt his entire body go limp and his mind clear up instantly. Realizing that the teacher deeply detested him, he slumped over his desk and dared not utter another sound.

Wang Runwen continued calling out names: "Li Fang, 94; Wang Shubin, 92; Wang Lirong, 92; Zou Aiming, 92; Liu Yejiang, 90..."

Once the papers were all distributed, the English teacher walked down the aisle and asked Li Heng, "Have all the papers been handed out yet?"

Li Heng replied, "Only Chinese is left."

The English teacher said, "Chinese grading takes a bit longer, but it should be soon. What is the total score for your five subjects?"

Li Heng had already calculated it just a moment ago: "496 points."

The English teacher asked him, "How much do you estimate you got in Chinese?"

Since that subject had the most subjective questions, it was the one he felt least confident about scoring. He could only shake his head and say, "Hard to say. I'll just have to wait and see."

Hearing this, the English teacher turned to Song Yu and Mai Sui. "What about you two? What are your five-subject totals?"

Song Yu answered quietly, "486."

The English teacher turned to Mai Sui.

Mai Sui quickly did the math on a piece of scrap paper, looked up, and said, "484 points."

Liu Li, sitting behind them, drew in a sharp breath of air. She poked her head forward, bared her teeth, and said:

"I only got 83 in English! Li Heng, you rascal, are you going to take first place in the whole school?"

Noticing the surrounding students turning to look over at the same time, Li Heng humbly replied, "Chinese hasn't been handed back yet, and there are still Xiao Feng and Luo Zhijie next door."

Upon hearing this, the English teacher tossed her long hair and said, "I'll go ask Teacher Yang."

With that, she turned and strode briskly away.

Three minutes later, Wang Runwen returned with a smile and announced, "Xiao Feng's five-subject total is 487, and Luo Zhijie's is 476. Li Heng, you still have a real shot at first place."

As she said this, Wang Runwen's tone wasn't entirely certain either.

After all, Li Heng's Chinese, much like his English used to be, fell slightly short compared to the four major high-achievers, making it less than rock-solid.

With Xiao Feng, who was closest to him, trailing him by 9 points, Li Heng felt there was great hope.

Yet he also felt a tinge of frustration.

Damn it, even though he had built up such a huge lead in math, he was still being slowly reeled back in bit by bit.

If he hadn't been reborn, and had scored around his usual level of 84 or 85 in English, he probably would have been overtaken by now.

Talk about being hard done by!

Thanks to the deliberate publicity campaigns by Zhang Ziyou, Zou Aiming, and others, everyone in Class 204, Class 205, and all the subject teachers now knew about Liu Yejiang's wager to stake his honor.

Unfortunately, imagination was wonderful, but reality was cruel.

Just as Zhang Ziyou roared out from the back of the classroom, "Liu Yejiang, your five-subject total is exactly 444, which sounds like *die, die, die* in Chinese! You were usually so arrogant, and now heaven wants to wipe you out! Woohoo...!"

Zou Aiming wore a grin as bright as a newlywed groom's, tossed his head back, and howled along: "Woohoo...!"

In an elite class like Class 204, recreational activities were scarce, studies were burdensome, and stress levels were sky-high. It was rare to see someone making a fool of themselves, and many students laughed with uninhibited glee, sounding like squealing pigs.

Oh, the fury Liu Yejiang felt! Oh, the hatred! His back molars were practically ground to dust! His right hand was clenched so tightly under the desk that veins bulged on the back of his hand, and a rush of blood to his head almost drove him to snap and throw a tantrum. Yet, amidst the waves of surrounding laughter, his courage slowly evaporated once more.

It had been said that the Chinese papers would be handed out during the third evening study period, but despite straining their necks in anticipation, they never arrived before the bell rang.

Curious to find out who would ultimately take first place in the school this time, Wang Runwen even ran over to the academic affairs office herself to check on the situation.

The answer she received was: the grading was not yet finished, and the names were sealed beneath stapled paper, so they could not be seen.

In truth, Wang Runwen recognized Li Heng's handwriting and could easily have found out which paper was his without looking at the name.

However, considering that she had once been linked to rumors involving her own student, and with so many leaders and colleagues present at the time, the English teacher ultimately refrained from doing so and extinguished the thought.