After the sun sets and rises, it is the most anticipated yet dreaded Monday for every student. Especially for the students of Class 13 and Class 1, this is not just a simple midterm exam, but a competition between the two classes, a showdown between the poor class and the top student class. The answer will soon be revealed.
As soon as Luo Xiao and Ye Lan entered the campus, they constantly heard discussions from the surrounding students. They too were very concerned about the outcome of this competition. Some even placed bets, with the majority betting on Class 1 to win.
Ignoring the scorching eyes focused on them, the two walked calmly into the classroom of Class 13.
“Ah, the class representative and the class monitor have arrived.” Someone shouted. The students who were originally discussing among themselves all turned their attention to the two.
Luo Xiao and Ye Lan twitched the corner of their mouths. Just what is going on?
“Class monitor, do you know how our class’s exam scores are?” Jiang Li stood up and asked excitedly.
“No, I don’t.” Ye Lan, following behind Luo Xiao, put down his backpack and slowly spoke, “Don’t you have confidence in yourselves?”
“Hehe, of course we do have confidence. But, this is after all…” Jiang Li touched his nose, “This is the first time I’ve prepared for the exam so seriously after many years, so I’m naturally anxious about the result.”
“Yes, me too!”
“Same, my mom also said that if I passed this time, she’ll take ma abroad to play!”
“Eh? So good? But I also got a promise that If I passed the exam, I can buy the new game console!”
“Wow, really?”
Listening to the enthusiastic discussion among the classmates, Ye Lan’s eyes carried a smile. He then turned to Luo Xiao and softly said, “Xiao Xiao, if I do well on the exam this time, what reward will you give me?”
“You wan a reward?” Luo Xiao lifted his eyes and said lightly, “If you rank first in the grade, I’ll give you whatever you want.”
“Really?” Ye Lan was secretly delighted. “Any gift will do?”
“…That’s right.” Looking at his expectant expression, Xiao nodded in agreement after hesitating for a moment.
“Then, a gentleman’s promise.” Ye Lan raised his right hand and looked at Luo Xiao.
Luo Xiao gave him a high-five and spoke, “A promise that is as hard to break as taming four horses.”
Obtaining the promise he wanted, Ye Lan was overflowing with joy. Although he felt a little guilty for already knowing his midterm exam results and ranking, for the sake of the “reward” he wanted, he felt that the guilt was insignificant.
The sound of the bell ringing “Ring!” signaled the start of the class. The expressions of everyone became tense.
“Ah, what’s going on?” He Ben pushed open the door while holding his textbook and was immediately met with eager gazes from the crowd. He raised an eyebrow and said, “Why do you all look so serious? Did something happen?”
“Teacher, can you stop pretending you don’t know?” Jiang Li rolled his eyes. “You clearly know what we want to know the most right now!”
“But I’m not a worm in your stomach, how could I possibly know?” He Ben concealed the smile in his eyes and shrugged innocently, “If you don’t tell me clearly, how am I supposed to know?”
“Teacher!” Ye Lan did not miss the slight expression on his face and warned him sternly. He knew very well about this guy’s mischievous nature.
He Ben curled his lips unhappily. Fine, he couldn’t provoke this little ancestor.
So after adjusting his expression and clearing his throat, he said to all the students below in a serious tone, “Regarding your exam scores, I have both good news and bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?”
“Huh? There’s both good and bad news? Does that mean…” The students immediately started discussing, their hearts suspended in midair.
“Teacher, please tell us the bad news first.” Ye Lan looked around the class, and under his powerful aura, the classroom immediately quieted down.
“Alright then.” He Ben sighed, “The bad news is, you didn’t win against Class 1 in this exam.”
“Huh? No way!” Sounds of disappointment rose from below, their spirits plummeting. Does this mean they are still a class of poor students, even after all their efforts?
Seeing the dejected little heads, He Ben felt a twinge of reluctance. Was this just his imagination? Yes, definitely just his imagination!
“Okay, since I’ve told you the bad news, let me share the good news.” He Ben continued, “In this midterm exam, not a single student in the entire class failed!”
“Oh, no one failed. Huh? Not a single one?” The students who had just regained their composure immediately widened their eyes, suspecting if they had misheard it.
If no one failed, then why didn’t they win against Class 1? Could it be…?
“Teacher, our two classes… ended in a tie?” Jiang Li hesitated and spoke up.
Seeing He Ben nod, the students looked at each other for a moment, and then suddenly burst into a loud cheer.
Although the result was a tie, which was a little disappointing…
At the very least, neither of them won against the other, right? And even better, none of them failed any courses. Oh, this is truly wonderful news!
“My overseas trip, I’m ready to go!”
“My video game console, I’m ready to play!”
“Haha, I finally didn’t fail any subjects!”
Seeing the excited reactions from everyone below, He Ben was happy to let them be even more delighted. After all, sharing this news would help increase the cohesion and unity of the class, wouldn’t it?
“Ahem, alright, calm down for a moment, I have another piece of good news to share with everyone.” He Ben raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet and listen to him finish his words.
“Huh? Another good news? What is it?”
He Ben looked fondly towards the direction of Luo Xiao and Ye Lan, “In this midterm exam, there were a total of five students who tied for the first rank in our 7th grade, and two of them are from our class.”
“Really?” The class’s excitement level went even higher, “Our class representative is amazing! Our class monitor is amazing!! Class 13 is amazing!!!”
Unexpectedly, their Class 13 also had students ranking first! And not just one, but two! Sure enough, their Class 13 was now a force not to be underestimated!
“Oh? First place?” Luo Xiao’s eyes lit up as he immediately understood, looking at Ye Lan with a half-smile.
Ye Lan awkwardly scratched his nose. Well, he should have known that his Xiao Xiao would see through it. But he still smiled calmly and said softly, “Xiao Xiao, we are real men, and since we’ve already made a promise, we have to keep it no matter what!”
Luo Xiao raised an eyebrow, “Did I say I wasn’t going to fulfill the promise?”
“Hehe, that’s good!” Ye Lan nodded with a smile. The reward, don’t worry, I’ll be right there!
“Alright, alright.” He Ben saw that the class had cheered enough and raised his hand to signal them, “If you want to get excited, do it after class. Now, Bai You, please distribute the exam papers. We’ll start going through the papers. You all better listen carefully. If your grades in all subjects improve in the end-of-term exams, I have a big surprise prepared for you!”
“Teacher, what kind of surprise is it?” A student curiously raised his hand to ask.
He Ben smiled mysteriously, “It’s a surprise that none of you would have expected!”
“Huh?” Now everyone’s curiosity was piqued. After all, at their age of 13-14, they were at the height of their curiosity about the world.
Someone still couldn’t resist asking, “Teacher, can you at least give us a little hint? What kind of surprise is it?”
But no matter how the students asked, He Ben just smiled and didn’t say a word. After Bai You had distributed all the exam papers, he slowly began, “Okay, let’s start going through the exam papers. The main content of the test paper this time was…”
Listening to him analyzing the papers seriously up there, the students also gradually calmed down and listened carefully. They will definitely achieve even better results in the end-of-term exams!
The next two days passed in the analysis of various exam papers. The announcement of the results of this exam had many people in Class 13 greatly surprised: Unexpectedly, the notorious Linxiang Middle School Class 13 in the city would also have a day of reform.
The parents of Class 13 were even more eager to come to the school to thank the principal, the director of teaching, and especially the class teacher He Ben after learning about their children’s exam scores. This made the usually unflappable He Ben feel a bit overwhelmed. The ‘combat power’ of enthusiastic parents was indeed formidable!
Moreover, after this midterm exam, the students of Class 13 also noticed that the students from other classes no longer had the same disdainful and contemptuous looks towards them. Instead, they started looking at them with a normal gaze, like how they would look at ordinary people. This made the somewhat sensitive group of students secretly happy for a long time.
In fact, no one was born this way. They all started to become indifferent to learning and lose motivation for various reasons. After all, they all came from backgrounds with influence, right?
Don’t be fooled by their outwardly nonchalant appearances, they actually cared deeply inside. It’s just that after pretending not to care for so long, they even lost touch with their true feelings.
But after this midterm exam, they not only changed others’ perceptions of them, but also underwent changes within themselves. They liked the effects of this change, and they wanted more, even more…
Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 43.2