MM | Chapter 4

A Small Goal

This was the longest exam ever.

With 30 minutes left, Sheng Wang twirled his pen around his index finger twice and set it on the desk. The movement was light, yet it still drew many eyes—curious, gossipy, sympathetic, and indifferent glances.

At this age, rumors spread quickly. Young people have no secrets, and everything becomes common knowledge.

Overnight, it was well-known that the handsome new transfer student in the Science Intensive Class was likely to score single digits in all five exams. Even the teachers from other classes, brought in to proctor, couldn’t help but glance at him.

The bell rang at the last second, and the proctor clapped his hands, “Alright, time’s up, pens down. Hey, the boy by the window in the first group, stop writing. You’re all in Class A, no need to worry about these last ten or twenty seconds. Leave a chance for the other class.”

There was a low laugh from the crowd. The boy blushed and put down his pen, rubbing his sweaty palms.

“Look how nervous you are, it’s just the last question. The new transfer student is calmer than you.” His classmate behind him kicked his chair and joked. Everyone looked over at Sheng Wang.

Such jokes weren’t exactly friendly, but not malicious either. Just because he was new, the words instinctively placed him outside the group. This was almost a rite of passage for every transfer student, and Sheng Wang wasn’t surprised. He even smiled and replied, “Exactly.”

The crowd didn’t expect this response and was momentarily stunned.

“Alright, enough joking. The last person in each group, collect the papers from the back.” The proctor said, and the classroom filled with the sound of chairs moving.

Jiang Tian stood up with the papers, tapping Sheng Wang’s desk lightly to signal him to hand over his paper.

Sheng Wang glanced at him, about to pass the paper over, when Gao Tianyang turned around amidst the chaos and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Still hanging in there,” Sheng Wang replied.

“Wow, you can still smile.” Gao Tianyang gave him a thumbs up, “That’s a great attitude. If I were in your situation, I’d probably shut down.”

Making mistakes on problems isn’t a big deal, at least you’re writing. But not knowing anything and enduring two hours, that’s torture.

Several classmates turned to sneak a peek at Sheng Wang’s paper to see how blank it was. Curiosity is normal, even Gao Tianyang wasn’t immune.

But no one succeeded because the true impatient cold-faced top student was standing nearby.

Before they could see anything, Jiang Tian had already taken the paper. As Sheng Wang was speaking, his hand suddenly felt empty. When he looked up again, Jiang Tian was already tapping on Gao Tianyang’s desk.

“Here, here.” Gao Tianyang, feeling intimidated, handed over his paper.

Finally, one subject was over.

Sheng Wang stretched his arms and stood up with his water cup.

“What are you doing?” The proctor looked at him, puzzled.

Sheng Wang was even more puzzled, “Going to the back to get some water.”

After speaking, he looked around and suddenly realized everyone else was sitting quietly in their seats. He was the only one planning to take a break.

The proctor placed the collected papers on the left side of the podium and picked up a brown envelope on the right, “The test isn’t over yet, there’s another paper. Did you forget?”

…

What????

Sheng Wang slumped back into his seat as the proctor opened the envelope to hand out new papers.

Gao Tianyang leaned back, his back against Sheng Wang’s desk, “Oh right, did you not know? We have two math papers. First, the main paper for two hours, then a bonus paper for half an hour. Of course, in the official exam, they give it out five minutes earlier.”

After he finished speaking and got no response, he turned to see Sheng Wang leaning back in his chair, his face already green.

“Just one question, how many points is your math worth?” Sheng Wang’s tone was lifeless.

“For science students, it’s 200 points. The college entrance exam total is only 480, so you can feel the weight.”

“……”

He leaned back for a few seconds, then felt a tap on his head.

Jiang Tian’s voice came again, “Get up from my desk edge and take your paper.”

The feeling of being tapped on the head was strange, sending shivers down Sheng Wang’s neck. He sat up abruptly, grabbed his paper, and tossed the last one over his shoulder.

With math as a bizarre foundation, the rest of the exams were nothing. In the blink of an eye, it was already 9 p.m.

“Jiang Tian, Teacher Wu wants you in the office.” Just after handing in the paper, a girl by the window passed the message.

Sheng Wang turned to look and saw that the Plague God was about to leave with his backpack. Hearing this, he frowned, “Now?”

“Yes. He came over when the bell rang and said to go after the exam.” The girl pointed to a corner of the window, “He said to go right after you finish.”

Jiang Tian seemed to be in a hurry, his expression unhappy, but he still left his backpack and went out.

The school had a night bus to take day students to various parts of the city. You just needed to swipe your school card. The departure time adjusted with the dismissal times of the different grades. On exam days like today, it was at 9:20 p.m., giving students plenty of time to pack up and walk to the parking area after handing in their papers.

“I’m taking the school bus, what about you?” Gao Tianyang asked.

Sheng Wang stood by the water dispenser at the back of the classroom, “I’m waiting for someone.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow.” He said with a local accent he picked up somewhere, grabbed his backpack, and left. But he returned shortly after, “Hey, go to the front office, Old He is looking for you. I ran into her just as I was leaving.”

“Which Old He?” Sheng Wang asked, taking a sip of water.

“The homeroom teacher, who else?” Gao Tianyang said, “Oh right, you probably haven’t met her yet. She wasn’t at school yesterday and was assigned to proctor another class today. She probably just got free now.”

After delivering the message, Gao Tianyang left. Sheng Wang put down his cup, sent a voice message to Uncle Xiao Chen, who was picking him up, and then headed to the office.

The Grade 2 Senior had a large office where most of the main subject teachers were, as one teacher often taught more than one class. But Class A was an exception. Old Xu had shown him the way; the main subject teachers for Class A didn’t teach other classes, so they had a separate five-person office.

Sheng Wang walked down the corridor.

The Mingli Building was the territory of Grade 2 Senior at the Affiliated High School, with four floors, each with several classes, except the top floor. The top floor only had Class A, the Class A teacher’s office, restrooms, and two small dark rooms.

The small dark rooms didn’t have signs and had been locked for the past two days, so Sheng Wang didn’t know what they were for.

As he approached the office, he noticed people in the corridor. The two small dark rooms were unlit, and two people were standing there, leaning against the corridor railing, talking.

The one with his back to him was obviously Jiang Tian, so the other must be Teacher Wu.

Sheng Wang had no habit of eavesdropping on others’ private matters, but since they weren’t far, some words still reached his ears.

“Alright, that’s settled for the exam. I’ll give Director Xu an answer tomorrow.” Teacher Wu was speaking.

“Okay.” Jiang Tian responded simply.

“And your dad—”

Teacher Wu had just started when Jiang Tian interrupted, “My matters have nothing to do with him.”

When he said this, his voice suddenly turned cold, with an indescribable sense of annoyance. Even Sheng Wang, who had clashed with him, had never heard such a bad tone.

Teacher Wu didn’t say much more, patting his shoulder.

“Is there anything else, teacher?” Jiang Tian asked directly.

“No, that’s all.”

“Then I’ll be leaving.”

After saying this bluntly, he turned to leave but locked eyes with Sheng Wang. In that moment, Sheng Wang felt a rare sense of guilt.

It was obvious that such a conversation wasn’t meant to be overheard.

Sheng Wang quickly said, “Teacher He asked me to come to the office.”

Jiang Tian’s dark eyes fixed on Sheng Wang, and it was unclear if he believed him. He stood there for a few seconds before expressionlessly lifting his foot. As he passed by Sheng Wang, he suddenly lowered his head, placing a hand on Sheng Wang’s shoulder, and said coolly, “Teacher He just turned thirty, not old enough to be called ‘Old He.'”

With that, he left without looking back.

Sheng Wang stood there stunned for a moment. When he turned back, the corridor was empty. Clicking his tongue in his mind, he stepped into the office. The homeroom teacher’s desk was the first one, with a nameplate that read “He Jin.”

As Jiang Tian said, the homeroom teacher looked just over thirty, with an oval face, glasses, fair skin, and shoulder-length curly hair. A little grooming, and she’d be quite pretty. The only downside was that she was too thin, giving off a slightly sickly vibe.

Yes, He Jin was a female teacher, teaching physics to Class A.

Recalling his earlier slip of calling her “Old He,” Sheng Wang scratched his nose with his index finger, blaming that idiot Gao Tianyang for calling such a homeroom teacher “Old He.” What was he thinking?

“You’re here?” He Jin’s eyes curved behind her glasses, warm and friendly.

Sheng Wang smiled back, “Did you need something, teacher?”

“Not much, really. I just felt bad for not being at school to welcome the new student yesterday.” She said to Sheng Wang, “And there’s the issue of the curriculum progress.”

She nodded towards the back, “We heard from Old Xu that you’re behind by a whole book in every subject. It’s my fault for not being at school yesterday. Otherwise, I could’ve helped you apply, and you wouldn’t have had to force yourself in today’s weekly exam.”

Sheng Wang smiled internally, feeling like coughing up blood, thinking, why didn’t you say so earlier!

He Jin noticed the frustration beneath his smile and was amused, “Was today a bit tough?”

Sheng Wang humbly said, “More than a bit.”

The other teachers laughed along, including Old Wu, who had just spoken with Jiang Tian, “No worries, we know your situation. We won’t take this score seriously. Five or ten points are normal, no pressure.”

“Wait a minute, I don’t care about the others, but if you score five or ten in Chinese, that’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“Same for English.”

The teachers joked around, and the atmosphere in the office lightened considerably. He Jin glanced at Sheng Wang, seemingly observing if he was nervous, but found this new student genuinely relaxed.

So she got straight to the point, “We won’t take this exam seriously, but being so far behind is a problem, and not a small one. Class A moves quickly. We aim to finish all of high school content in the first half of the semester, so we can’t stop for just one person. So… you might need to find a way to catch up while keeping up with the new lessons.”

This was within Sheng Wang’s expectations, and he nodded.

He Jin continued, “Make good use of your spare time. It will be tough, but grit your teeth, and you can get through it. During the recent summer break, there’s more free time. Evening self-study only goes until 8 p.m., and there’s no evening self-study the night before exams, just a break.”

Sheng Wang chuckled dryly at the notion of calling that a break.

The teachers laughed along. He Jin waved her hand, “Let’s not be so dry. Alright, back to business. We won’t take this exam seriously, but there’s another weekly exam next week. Can I see your progress then?”

“Of course.”

He Jin exchanged a glance with the other teachers, “We’ve estimated how much progress you can make in a week and set a small goal for you.”

Sheng Wang replied straightforwardly, “Sure, how much?”

“Physics and chemistry papers are 120 points each. We hope you can score above 50 in a week. For math, not counting the bonus paper, it’s 160 points, aim for 70. We won’t set goals for Chinese and English, they’re flexible.”

As He Jin spoke, she noticed the new student had a slightly odd expression and asked, “What’s wrong, is it too hard?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

Sheng Wang hesitated, “It’s nothing, let’s stick with that.”

The teachers were puzzled all day, but the next evening during self-study, when the weekly exam papers were graded, they saw the scores of this new student, who had only received the textbooks the day before the exam:

Physics and chemistry, one scored 62, the other 68. Math 83. Chinese and English were even higher than the average scores of Class A.