E-Scum Gong Chapter 15
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 15
Under the combined efforts of all the teachers in the senior year, the test papers were quickly graded, and the results were soon released.
The first official mock exam since entering their senior year was very formal and nerve-wracking. It largely represented the ranking level of the students. For most, their results at this stage closely mirrored their likely scores in the college entrance examination.
Seated together were the top student in the class and the lowest-ranking student. Yue Shan seemed very calm and normal. Strangely, Lin Xu seemed even calmer.
At least, even though they're usually glued to their phones, they didn't have the time or energy to do so now.
“They look so good together. It's a pity this isn't a novel, where a top student and a bottom student can be together.” Some of the girls were quietly shipping them.
“If we’re talking about looks, the top student is certainly the biggest winner. But grades are what really matter! The top student might go to the best universities in the future, but who knows what will happen to Lin Xu.”
If one couldn’t get into a bachelor's program, the choices were either to repeat the year or attend a community college. To them, who had yet to enter society, that seemed like a less desirable outcome, as it was often associated with manual labor.
The gap between them would grow only wider, to the point where everyone would eventually forget about Lin Xu from high school, and how eye-catching he was just by standing there.
“Actually, I can feel that the top student has some feelings for his deskmate. It's a pity that Lin Xu seems oblivious.”
“Not necessarily. I’ve heard he used to hang out with some delinquent students from a vocational school in another district. He might already have a girlfriend. Birds of a feather flock together, right?” The thought of him being attracted to those heavily made-up girls made some people feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
How intoxicating it would be to see him become more perceptive when facing his girlfriend, completely different from how he was now.
How enviable.
So, one could only think that his poor grades might lead to an unsatisfactory future, making him less perfect. That way, they'd have fewer regrets in their hearts.
In fact, it wasn’t just Yue Shan. Many others had secretly imagined rescuing this handsome yet struggling student. They dreamed of becoming the guiding light in his life, making him depend on and trust them, and wholeheartedly favor them.
If Lin Xu were a bit more proactive, no one would mind if he ended up working manual labor in the future.
When the homeroom teacher’s footsteps approached, the classroom, which had not been particularly quiet, instantly fell into a hushed silence.
Lin Xu, alert as ever, quickly put away his phone after explaining to Zhizhi, “I have to attend an impromptu meeting. Can we chat later tonight?”
He had already consciously pushed back his bedtime. Young people shouldn’t indulge too much. Moreover, thinking about how Gu Jinzhi often sent him messages on his phone after he fell asleep made it harder for him to sleep.
He immediately straightened his back, looking very attentive, his eyes bright.
Although, deep down, he felt a little ashamed. Compared to his life in the real world, he seemed to have gone astray a bit, but it was also something he couldn't help.
The homeroom teacher cleared his throat and scanned the class, paying particular attention to Lin Xu with a scrutinizing gaze.
Lin Xu was not surprised. After all, his performance was somewhat unrealistic given his situation.
However, he didn’t believe the teachers would suspect him of doing anything dishonest. His methods were completely different from the reference answers and were supposed to be more straightforward and efficient. Typically, unconventional methods were not encouraged by teachers, so he might lose some points for the process.
Nonetheless, this would prove his innocence.
As he had expected, the homeroom teacher’s opening remarks didn’t mention him at all, only instructing the subject representatives to distribute the test papers.
The class monitor was tasked with distributing the class and grade ranking lists.
The cruel reality of senior year was immediately laid bare before the students.
The atmosphere in the classroom grew much more tense, with only the rustling of papers breaking the silence as test papers were handed out.
Yue Shan occasionally glanced at her deskmate, noticing that he showed no signs of panic. She worried that he might have completely given up. Although Lin Xu had no interest in her, he was someone who was hard to dislike. He spoke very little, but every interaction with him left her with a pleasant, tingling feeling.
Strangely, every subject representative who passed by Lin Xu to deliver his test paper would glance at him several times.
Yue Shan initially didn’t think much of it. After all, anyone might want to look at him a few more times, or linger near his seat for a moment. But gradually, her curiosity was piqued as she seemed to hear whispers among the others.
It seemed like something extraordinary was happening.
She was curious but felt too embarrassed to ask to see Lin Xu’s test paper.
When the ranking list was finally placed on her desk, Yue Shan first looked for Lin Xu's name, starting from the second page and working her way forward.
Not finding it on the second page, she began to sweat nervously, wondering if something had gone wrong with Lin Xu's exam, such as having his results canceled.
After all, wasn’t it rumored that many students in that exam room had been involved in a cheating scandal?
Then, with little hope, she looked at the first page. Her eyes first landed on her own name, still firmly in first place. Yue Shan wasn’t surprised. Her performance was consistently stable.
But then… she saw the second placer: Lin Xu.
Lin Xu, in his first mock exam, had achieved second place. She had scored 621 points, while Lin Xu had 596. The difference was significant, but everyone knew that the teachers at their school tended to lower scores. Therefore, Lin Xu's score had the potential to place him in the mid-tier 985 university.
But this was Lin Xu’s first time taking an exam under real conditions…
At this moment, almost all the students in the class had seen the rankings. Surprised, skeptical, and disappointed gazes turned toward Lin Xu.
No one could believe that he had achieved such a result in his first attempt. Moreover, Lin Xu had only recently received preparation for the college entrance exam. Could he really have reviewed everything so quickly?
Lin Xu remained indifferent. In his heart, he thought that he was still far from his goal.
Science scores in the college entrance exam could be very high, given that there were definite answers. Thus, this score already indicated that he had made many mistakes.
While he ranked second in his class, it was an ordinary class where most scores were quite average. In the entire senior year, Lin Xu had already fallen to the five to six hundred range, with more than half of the students in the experimental classes scoring higher than him.
“Everyone has seen the test papers, right? I won’t say much more. The results of this exam are not ideal. With the college entrance exams coming up, our class has only one student who scored over 600!”
After hearing Mr. Wang’s words, many students complained that the teachers had marked the papers too harshly, saying that their compositions were only given 38 points when the college entrance exam graders would surely score them higher.
“Yue Shan is still the top student in our class, but she is also outside the top 300 in the entire year. There’s still a lot of work to be done!”
Yue Shan, a bit dazed, merely nodded silently.
“However, what surprised the teachers was that the new student, Lin Xu, performed well and jumped to second place in the class. I reviewed all his test papers carefully and found that he had left many simple questions completely unanswered.”
He paused for a moment.
The students in the class couldn’t help but think along with his words. If he didn’t answer such simple questions, could he have cheated? If he didn’t cheat, then he must be very smart. As for how he might have cheated, no one bothered to think about that. Maybe he got his hands on the answers ahead of time?
Everyone was more inclined to believe he had cheated, as it would confirm he was just an ordinary person.
“Moreover, since the knowledge points are similar, it shows that Lin Xu hasn’t mastered these points well. But what amazed the teachers was that Lin Xu from our class was the only one who solved the several science composite and math problems that almost no one else in the entire year could solve.”
“Entire year?”
“Yes, these were questions that stumped the entire year.”
The students once again looked at Lin Xu with astonished eyes. So, did he cheat?
Mr. Wang quickly provided an explanation, “Unfortunately, Lin Xu’s methods included some advanced university-level calculus, which is beyond the scope of the high school curriculum. Therefore, the graders deducted points. You need to learn to use more conventional methods in the future.”
Lin Xu met his gaze and nodded slightly.
He had hastily used methods he thought were straightforward, forgetting that they weren’t included in the current college entrance exam syllabus. After all, it had been a long time since he graduated from high school and university, so his knowledge boundaries weren’t very clear.
So he didn’t cheat? After all, the answers on the test papers certainly wouldn’t include advanced topics.
Everyone was genuinely astonished and incredulous. Was Lin Xu really a student rejected by the international class? It didn’t make sense that someone so intelligent would struggle in the international class…
Mr. Wang tentatively believed in Lin Xu, though he suspected that perhaps Lin Xu’s family had urgently hired a more competent tutor for him.
Lin Xu’s English score was nearly perfect, with only a symbolic two points deducted on the essay. His scores in science and Chinese were lower, with some knowledge points completely missed.
As for Chinese, he hadn't written an essay in a while, so he was a bit out of practice. Plus, the teachers also tended to mark strictly.
“After this mock exam, I’m planning to have Lin Xu represent our class at the upcoming oath-taking ceremony. Does anyone have any objections?” Mr. Wang announced.
The pledge ceremony was a tradition at the affiliated high school, typically held not long after the first mock exam and lasting nearly half a day. It featured top students from the experimental classes sharing their study experiences. Most importantly, it provided a chance for everyone to relax for a half-day, so everyone looked forward to it.
Class 9 was just an ordinary class, and generally, top students in regular classes didn’t have much authority, so few people paid serious attention to them.
Mr. Wang had noticed several girls peeking through the classroom window, only to later discover that they were watching Lin Xu. Coupled with Lin Xu’s significant improvement in grades, the idea of having him speak at the ceremony took shape.
Not to mention, the top student in their class was definitely the best-looking!
The doubts about Lin Xu’s results were instantly dispelled, and everyone eagerly supported the idea. “Great! We second the motion!”
“Lin Xu is the face of our class, so he has to go up there. Who else dares to say that our class is the least attractive now!”
Since the first year of high school, Class 9 had endured all sorts of frustrations from various year-wide activities. Whenever all the classes sat on the steps of the outdoor sports field, they often heard the neighboring classes comment on how dark their boys were or criticizing their cheerleaders' legs during sports meet. They also made discriminatory remarks about their academic performance.
They had long been seething with frustration!
Now was the time to unite against outsiders. They didn’t believe that those so-called top students wouldn’t be dazzled by Lin Xu’s face!
The only person who was against it was Lin Xu himself. He wanted to raise his hand but was at a loss.
How had this decision been made without his consent? And the entire senior year — one or two thousand people… that was really a lot of people…
“Lin Xu, do you have any objections?” Mr. Wang asked when he noticed Lin Xu raising his hand and then lowering it, his face tense.
This should have been an incredible honor.
With the class waiting for him to speak, Lin Xu, who had initially been calm, found himself thrown into disarray.
“Teacher, I think Yue Shan would be a better representative choice.” After all, Yue Shan was the top student. Skipping over her didn’t seem right. Besides, Lin Xu was genuinely reluctant.
Yue Shan, who had been lost in complex thoughts, was jolted back to reality when she heard Lin Xu mention her name.
She looked at Lin Xu, her gaze lingering as she heard his suggestion. She was momentarily stunned.
She had been prepared to make the speech herself, and her father would have been very proud. However, Yue Shan knew her performance didn’t hold much significance on a year-wide scale, while Lin Xu was exceptional and had shown great improvement. He could truly inspire others.
She was willing to step aside and let him shine because he had first considered her.
“Teacher, I also support Lin Xu as our class representative,” she said firmly.
“Alright, then if everyone has no objections, Lin Xu, you should prepare well,” Mr. Wang said with a smile.
Lin Xu glanced around. Seeing the excitement and enthusiasm from everyone except himself, his gaze fell dejectedly.