The fantasy of a subject-slacking dog, bad at English, awesome at math. Admired by everyone, favored by teachers, swooned over by the class beauty.
Actually, bad at English, and a loser in math.
Even though the English teacher picked on him last semester, this semester it's still impossible to match him with a score of 140, feeling like there's no such person on the roster.
Back at his seat, classmates all around turned back to look at him.
Jiang Nian felt a bit embarrassed, coughed, and spread out his test paper, pretending nothing happened.
Despite the English teacher repeatedly forbidding chatting, he couldn't stop the enthusiasm of the surrounding classmates. One by one, they looked at Jiang Nian eagerly, with incredulous faces.
"Holy shit, did you really memorize all thirty-five hundred?"
"Yeah, just name one randomly."
"Jiang Nian, can I borrow your paper for a bit?" A girl in front of him asked shyly, "I want to see how you wrote your essay."
"Yeah, sure."
In the next group, Zhou Yuting held the corner of her English test paper, feeling like she was in an icy cave. Jiang Nian scored 573? Forty points ahead of her? Could there still be hope for moving up a class?
In principle, it's survival of the fittest; if you pass the line, there's hope, but in practice, only one person in a parallel class typically gets to move up.
The reason is simple, all the good students are sent out. The class level directly drops from the top of the parallel classes to the bottom, so why would the headteacher still stick with a regular class?
So regarding the promotion policy, each class headteacher is quite conservative. If you're truly outstanding, parents will request it anyway, so it might as well be straightforward to let someone go.
If there's just a chance to move up, headteachers usually take a gentle approach to talk it over.
Are you sure you want to go? Young one, the path ahead is hell, you know!
You're driving a Mazda; what are you doing squeezing into a circle of Mercedes and Rolls-Royce? Unable to keep up, you might be sent back.
Usually, at this point, the student backs down.
After moving up, there are two major exams. If the scores fluctuate too much, they'll be advised to step down. They don't care whether you cheated or just couldn't keep up; you're out.
Carrying your desk into the Olympic class is certainly glorious, but bringing it back to the original class is truly embarrassing.
Thinking of this, Zhou Yuting couldn't help but clench her fist. Her five pale fingers unconsciously curled together, knuckles turning white, slightly trembling.
An English exam ruined her Olympic dreams.
A new class, a new persona, a new admirer... Just thinking of those nerdy straight-A students with glasses failing to bow down under her charm made Zhou Yuting grit her teeth.
Jiang Nian! It's all his fault!
.....
"What do you want with me?"
Noon, in the shady corner of the basketball court, under the lush tree shade.
Jiang Nian held a red bean popsicle in his hand, unwrapped it, and took a lick before looking up curiously at Song Xiyun, who dragged him out.
"Sneaky, can you talk now?"
He hadn't interacted much with Song Xiyun before, due to Xu Qianqian. Plus, he had been running around frequently for the placement test, so they became somewhat familiar.
"What were you doing last night?" Song Xiyun looked uncomfortable.
Jiang Nian glanced at her suspiciously, thinking to himself how she looked like she caught a rich husband cheating, wanting to question but afraid of divorce... What's this all about?
A new play plot? Pinru's wardrobe?
Girl, we're perfectly innocent.
Song Xiyun wore a loose white summer school uniform, with light-colored pants. She was a cute wind-style beauty, with a score of over eighty in appearance, dressed rather plainly.
No, you can't.
"Nothing much, just studying in the classroom at night." He slurped his popsicle.
"Liar!" Song Xiyun blushed, "You weren't in the classroom, you clearly went out!"
I really wasn't on Shenyang Street, the era of tough living is over...
Jiang Nian slurped his popsicle, starting to answer nonsensically, "How do you know I scored 573?"
Who's asking you!
Because no one knows a girl better than her father.
"Wait, you scored 573?" Song Xiyun looked shocked, stunned for a moment, then asked, "How much? How much did you score?"
Jiang Nian grinned, slurping his popsicle.
"Since you're asking sincerely, then I will...."
Song Xiyun calculated on her fingers, "Doesn't that mean you'll be moving up? Even if the cut-off is high, it can't be higher than 550. With your score, you're mid-level in the science Olympic class."
"Yes." Jiang Nian slurped.
Song Xiyun was speechless, "Can you put down your popsicle, you're making me feel sick."
"Do you want a taste?" He offered it.
"No need, thank you." Song Xiyun steadied her emotions, remembered her purpose, took a deep breath, and asked, "Did you sign up at the gym last night?"
"Damn, are you tracking me?" Jiang Nian was taken aback, "Addicted to secret crushes?"
"Stop being narcissistic!" Song Xiyun somewhat couldn't keep up with Jiang Nian's whimsical thoughts and began to sympathize with Xu Qianqian, not knowing how her good friend could stand him.
Anyway, she couldn't stand it, she was so mad she wanted to vomit.
"Then how do you know I signed up at the gym?" Jiang Nian seemed to return to normal, squinting at the scorching field under the blue sky and white clouds.
The hot wind blows, and the mood is lifted.
"Aren't you curious how I know you signed up?" She retorted.
"Why?" Jiang Nian seemed a bit absent-minded.
"Because you signed up with my mom."
"Oh, hmm?" Jiang Nian looked up, "That was your mom? I thought she looked familiar, but your mom's temperament is much better than yours."
Song Xiyun became a bit shy, "I just wanted to ask, why did you suddenly sign up and spend so much money on classes?"
"Fitness, who knew that was your mom."
"How do you explain buying classes, you hardly have time for them, right?" Song Xiyun bit her lip, "Plus, with your body, being on the basketball team, what fitness do you need?"
"It's not like basketball players can't...." Jiang Nian stopped halfway, looked up at Song Xiyun, and saw her cautious yet doubtful gaze.
At that moment, he seemed to have realized something.
"No, sis, you don't think I'm interested in your mom, do you? Damn, are you stupid or what?"
"What?" Song Xiyun immediately broke ranks, her face turning red in an instant, "No, I didn't mean that, just... happened to know."
"My mom is worried you won't have time for the classes, so the money would go to waste. Uh... I think so too, your money didn't exactly fall from the sky, so if you want to cancel the classes..."
"No need, mind your own business." Jiang Nian waved his hand, "I was going to sign up for classes anyway, if not with your mom, I'd do it with someone else."
"Really?" Song Xiyun asked.
"Yeah, yeah, if you have nothing else, you can go."
"Hmph." Song Xiyun's heart was finally at ease. "Hehe, I'll leave now, I need to tell Qianqian you scored 573."
Watching Song Xiyun's back as she left, Jiang Nian was deep in thought.
This person is a bit dirty, indeed.
Ding! [The first day of your gym membership at thirty-eight years old, buying classes to see results initially, you've decided to purchase an additional sixty classes in your determination to turn things around.
Task: Purchase sixty classes again. Reward: 30,000 RMB]