Chapter 22: Xu Ming Is Actually Still Writing

Inside the sixth examination hall, Xu Ming sat upright, his gaze fixed on the Chinese language paper spread out before him.

He wrote with rapid, fluid strokes. Relying on his recent review, he breezed through the questions he was familiar with, and for the classical Chinese and prose analysis sections, he filled in his answers based on his own understanding. It took him little more than an hour to reach the essay section.

"One should patiently listen to the opinions of others and carefully consider whether those who criticize you are right." (Leonardo da Vinci)
"Follow your own path, and let others talk!" (Dante)
...
"Please write an essay of no less than 800 words, using 'Believe in yourself and listen to the opinions of others' as the topic. You may choose your own theme and style, provided the content remains within the scope of the topic."

Xu Ming paused his pen for a moment. After silently reading the requirements, a clear train of thought emerged in his mind. "A dialectical core essay is nothing more than 'believing in oneself' and 'listening to advice,' exploring how the two can coexist and complement each other."

With that thought, his black fountain pen began to move. His handwriting was vigorous and upright as he wrote the title: "Steering One's Own Sail, Listening to All Sides."

Since there was still plenty of time left, Xu Ming did not rush, writing at a measured, steady pace. Enhanced by the effects of the [Advanced Penmanship] skill, the entire essay looked incredibly pleasing to the eye—far neater than anything produced by a computer. It wasn't until there were only about twenty minutes left before the end of the exam that he finally stopped and relaxed his tense body.

"Done."

As for the remaining time, Xu Ming had no intention of checking his answers. His Chinese subject level had reached Tier 1, so even if there were minor flaws, they would be well within the acceptable range.

Soon, the final bell rang. The invigilator at the podium immediately called for those who hadn't finished to stop. "Place your papers on the edge of the desk. Do not write any further. Wait until the papers are collected before leaving your seats."

After handing in his paper and exiting the classroom, Xu Ming stood in the corridor to wait, remembering what Qian Hong had said that morning. As others passed by, he could sense that everyone seemed to be in a fairly good mood. No one was discussing the answers to the Chinese paper; after all, the overall standard at Dongping No. 1 High School was high, and even a "bad" result in Chinese wouldn't be particularly low.

Qian Hong was very eager to hand in his paper and came running down from the upper floor in less than two minutes. "Let's go eat, Xu Ming," he shouted, waving his hand.

Without the lower-grade students competing for meals, the cafeteria felt much more spacious. They were able to get their food almost without queuing. Just as Qian Hong found a good spot and they were about to start eating, he let out a soft exclamation.

"Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Xu Ming asked, looking up.
Qian Hong smiled, looking mysterious. "Look to your left."

Though he didn't know what kind of mischief the other was up to, Xu Ming turned his head and glanced over. Zhang Yinxin immediately came into view, and standing next to her was a boy holding a tray of food. His expression and gestures felt strangely familiar, as if he were looking at his past self.

"I haven't seen that guy before. Which class is he from?"
"I think he's the monitor of Zhang Yinxin's class," Xu Ming replied expressionlessly, pulling his gaze away. Having spent plenty of time visiting the liberal arts classes to wait for Zhang Yinxin in the past, he naturally had some impression of certain people.

Hearing this, Qian Hong took over the conversation, indignant. "No wonder Zhang Yinxin keeps you on a leash without confirming the relationship; it turns out she has a backup waiting to step up at any time. That kid looks even more attentive than you were." He couldn't help but add a playful jab at the end.

"As long as he doesn't come to pester me, they can do whatever they want." Having said his piece, Xu Ming turned his attention back to his meal, too indifferent to care about Zhang Yinxin any longer.

In the afternoon, with mathematics being his strong suit, Xu Ming handled the paper with ease. Even though the overall difficulty was significantly higher than the previous practice test, he proved the final derivative problem—the most difficult one—with plenty of time to spare.

He flipped through the paper, confirmed there were no errors, and was just beginning to feel bored when a thought occurred to him. "Since I'm just sitting here anyway, I might as well derive it again using university-level knowledge." According to school regulations, students were not allowed to raise their hands and leave early during this mock exam. This was intended to encourage students to review carefully and ensure they didn't miss anything they might regret later.

Xu Ming was a man of action. Once he made up his mind, he didn't hesitate. He pulled over his used scratch paper and, on a fresh page, began to derive the problems using university theorems like the Taylor formula and the Cauchy equation. Although these formulas could not be used for the exam questions themselves, there was no harm in doing so after completing the paper.

Meanwhile, Li Wenhui was also sitting in the sixth examination hall, though his seat was further back. He was currently racking his brain to calculate the major problems. Because the question types were complex and involved many mathematical formulas, his progress was not very smooth. As time ticked away, his palms became sweaty with anxiety, forcing him to wipe them on his trousers repeatedly to keep them from dampening the paper.

He glanced around and felt a sense of relief seeing that everyone else was struggling just as much. In particular, Xu Ming, who sat in the third row by the window, seemed to be in the same position.

When the final bell finally rang, he managed to finish his proof and let out a long sigh of relief. "Finally solved it."

With a faint smile on his face, his first instinct was to look toward Xu Ming. Seeing that Xu Ming was still writing intently, he paused, then shook his head in pity. "Still writing when it's time to hand in the paper? Looks like he didn't finish. He probably won't score as high as me this time."

In his view, Xu Ming had improved quickly in math, but in terms of the sheer volume of practice over the last two years, he was certainly far behind. Once the difficulty of the paper increased, he wouldn't have enough time. Li Wenhui had originally planned to give up on math and beat Xu Ming on the total score, but he hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise. Pleased, he moved much faster to hand in his paper.

Xu Ming, unaware of what others were thinking, simply placed his paper on the edge of the desk for the invigilator to collect, his focus entirely on the derivations in his scratch book. It wasn't until other candidates began to leave that he stood up, a look of joy flashing in his eyes. He realized that by re-calculating the problems using university-level formulas and theorems, he had successfully gained experience points in mathematics.

[Through diligent study, your [Mathematics] level has increased. You have gained 4 experience points.]

Although he was still a long way from reaching Tier 2, this was a rare and precious achievement at the high school stage. With all other subjects stagnating, and mathematics serving as the foundation for all others, he had to level it up first to break the limits of his other subjects.