Chapter 829: Chapter 559: Face-Slapping Scene

As soon as Mr. Lu finished speaking, the students let out a collective “ah”—some were happy, others worried.

Listening to Mr. Lu, Liu Shuang glanced at Xiaofeng and the others: “Mr. Lu, let’s begin. We’re quite eager to see the true capabilities of certain people.”

“Exactly, Mr. Lu, let’s start. I’m also eager to verify my own strength.” Yu Shuiling was never afraid in front of others, especially not at a time like this.

“Please return to your desks. I’ll hand out the test papers in a moment.” The test papers Mr. Lu distributed were his own handwritten, printed versions, not the standard ones distributed by the school. The strong scent of ink was evident.

Because of this, everyone believed these were Mr. Lu’s own tests.

Once the test papers were in hand, the students immediately quieted down and began the exam with concentration.

Mr. Lu stood at the lectern; one glance around, and only the sound of pens on paper could be heard.

Liu Shuang was a bit dumbfounded as she received the test paper; the questions were tricky and strange, leaving her unsure where to start.

She glanced at her deskmate, Wang Jieyu, who was working quickly, seeming very confident. No, she definitely couldn’t fall behind. If she scored poorly, she’d have to apologize to them.

She couldn’t afford to lose face like that, so she quickly started with the questions she knew, planning to tackle the harder ones later.

Xiaonian glanced at the test paper; the question types seemed misleading, but once their meaning was understood, they didn’t seem too difficult.

Xiaofeng was even more confident. The questions set by Mr. Lu resembled reminiscent of 21st-century college entrance exams, highly flexible, no longer rote memorization but required adaptable application.

The first two classes were both Mr. Lu’s, where he let everyone work on the test paper.

With ten minutes left before submissions, Liu Shuang still had one large question unfinished and was beginning to panic. Her gaze once again landed on Wang Jieyu, discovering she was nearly done.

Feeling anxious, she then glanced at Quan Xiaonian and saw that she, too, was almost finished.

The thought of having to apologize in front of all teachers and students if she lost made her very nervous.

No, she was not going to apologize, she wouldn’t lose.

So what if they finished? The final scores depend on the results, after all.

Wang Jieyu turned back to glance at her, noticing Liu Shuang eyeing her test, so she opened it up wider for her to see more clearly.

Mr. Lu cleared his throat at the lectern: “Everyone, focus on your own work. This exam won’t be recorded in the school’s file, so there’s no need to be nervous.”

The content was created by her, not distributed by the school, and whether one did well or poorly only served to check one’s baseline knowledge, without a record in school files.

Wang Jieyu realized Mr. Lu was looking in their direction, so she slightly shifted to cover her test paper, leaving only half visible for Liu Shuang, who then resumed searching for answers.

After the exam ended, Xiaofeng stood up and asked for Mr. Lu to grade the tests publicly, which, for the other students, would be more convincing.

Mr. Lu nodded: “Since you requested it, I’ll grade your papers right here.”

As Mr. Lu graded the papers at the lectern, a few students crowded around, perhaps wanting to see the answers and whether they were correct.

Xiaofeng didn’t mind and pulled out a book to read.

Xiaonian and Shuiling quietly whispered to confirm their answers, checking if what they had done was right.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Lu had finished grading the tests for the five of them.

Out of a total of 150 points, Xiaofeng scored 120, Xiaonian 100, Shuiling 95. Wang Jieyu scored 123, while Liu Shuang got 88.

The passing mark for the 150-point test was 90. Xiaonian and Shuiling both passed, but Liu Shuang almost did not, falling below the pass mark.

Seeing her score not only below Xiaonian and Yu Shuiling but also below passing, Liu Shuang felt like dying.

How could this be? How could Quan Xiaonian and Yu Shuiling be better than her?

“Teacher, could there be a mistake in grading? I shouldn’t have scored so low. I usually get more than 100.” How could she possibly not pass?

“You misunderstood two questions, so your solving method was wrong, and you lost quite a few points.”

Liu Shuang bit her lip and looked at her test paper: “Can I look at Quan Xiaonian’s and the others’ test papers?”

She couldn’t solve it; she was skeptical that those two, with previously worse scores than hers, could solve it.

Mr. Lu picked out their test papers: “I have to say, Xiaonian and Shuiling have improved a lot. Now they can find solution ideas for such difficult problems. Although there are errors in the final results, the process and logical thinking are right, hence I gave some points.”

“Teacher, someone said my answers were cheated. You must help clear our names. Otherwise, if we achieve good results in the future, those jealous of us would accuse us of cheating or memorizing answers beforehand, which we can’t bear.” Xiaonian raised her head; she used to have poor grades, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t improve.

She felt her own progress every time she took an exam; the questions seemed less challenging, and as she wrote, she felt like she could solve them all.

“Liu Shuang, does what you said before still hold? If we could prove we didn’t cheat and scored better than you, you would apologize to all students and teachers on our behalf,” Yu Shuiling raised an eyebrow at Liu Shuang.

Weren’t you so arrogant before? Why aren’t you now?

Liu Shuang bit her lip: “Mr. Lu could have privately tutored you before. Who knows if Mr. Lu had taught you these kinds of questions beforehand?” Performing well this time doesn’t prove anything.

How could it prove they didn’t memorize answers before the test?

Listening to Liu Shuang’s words, Mr. Lu was very displeased and spoke sternly: “Liu Shuang, you need to accept the fact that others performed better than you. Don’t start doubting others’ progress just because they scored higher than you. Channel that energy into studying harder to improve yourself instead.”

Liu Shuang turned pale.

“I’m not partial to anyone. My reputation is known for zero tolerance towards cheating. If these three indeed had suspicions of cheating, I wouldn’t need anyone to tell me; they wouldn’t remain in class. I won’t keep students of questionable integrity here.”

Incidents like this need addressing; as the form teacher, one has to step up.

Letting it go unchecked wouldn’t benefit the class as a whole.

Allowing the class’s reputation to be tarnished is something I absolutely won’t agree to.

“Mr. Lu, Liu Shuang is just concerned about the class’s reputation. She didn’t intend to target anyone. These three new students have no suspicion of cheating, which is definitely good for our class.” Wang Jieyu spoke up for her deskmate, seeing Mr. Lu upset.

Liu Shuang felt deeply touched hearing Wang Jieyu stand up for her; truly, Jieyu was always the best to her.

“We didn’t cheat. It’s just that some people can’t stand how much progress we’ve made and insist on calling us cheaters. Since we proved we had the skills, surely these people haven’t forgotten our wager, right?” Yu Shuiling leaned against the desk, her eyes on Liu Shuang: “Liu Shuang, a bet is a bet. Keep your word; you promised everyone something, so fulfill it.”

“Yeah, Liu Shuang, you’re not going to go back on your word, right?” Xiaonian also smiled at Liu Shuang: “You made a promise in front of Mr. Lu. Now that Mr. Lu has proven there’s no cheating suspicion, surely you’re not thinking of backing out?”

Mr. Lu didn’t speak again but picked up the test papers, addressing the class: “Being part of our class means being one of us. I hope there’s unity and friendship among students.”

With that, he left with the papers.

Once Mr. Lu left, everyone looked at Liu Shuang: “Liu Shuang, you’re not planning on apologizing, are you?”

“Backing out isn’t an option.”

Liu Shuang wore a troubled expression as she looked to Wang Jieyu; who would want to apologize in front of all teachers and students? Such an apology would mean she could never lift her head high in class again.

Wang Jieyu patted her: “Liu Shuang, if we lost, we apologize. Others’ grades just need to remain steady, and if they fail to score as much during college entrance exams, who knows whose face would be lost then.”

“Losing is losing. Stop the talking. Our capabilities will prove themselves,” Xiaofeng closed her book: “Since you lost, show your attitude. Don’t let classmates look down on you even more.”

Classmates watched Liu Shuang, wondering how she would respond.

Liu Shuang bit her lip: “It’s just an apology; what’s the big deal? I’ll go to the broadcasting room now and apologize to you all in front of the whole school.”