Chapter 23: Is This Question Really That Difficult? [Seeking Monthly Tickets and Recommendation Votes]

Unlike the mood at noon when the papers were first handed in, Xu Ming was met with a chorus of wailing the moment he stepped out of the classroom.

Everyone was discussing their performance. Joy and frustration flickered across their faces in turns.

"The long-answer questions were brutal this time. I spent forever on that final calculus problem, and I only managed to prove the first part."

"Who said only the long-answer questions were hard? You’re completely ignoring the fill-in-the-blanks!"

"I couldn't derive the answer either."

"Could you all stop comparing answers? Have some consideration for those of us who didn't finish."

...

Xu Ming took in all these snippets of conversation, a question mark slowly forming in his mind. Were the questions really that difficult? He admitted that the mock exam papers were more complex and varied than standard practice sets, but fundamentally, they covered the same material. As long as one mastered the formulas and applied a flexible approach to problem-solving, he truly couldn't perceive any difficulty—at least, that was his personal take. Of course, he kept this to himself.

Just as he was thinking this, he felt a light tap on his shoulder and immediately turned around to look. He was met with the familiar, broad face of Qian Hong.

"Let’s go grab something to eat."

Although Qian Hong’s grades were at the lower end of the class, his mindset was far superior to most. On the way out, he managed to refrain from comparing answers with Xu Ming. In his words, the papers were already submitted, and even if he knew he had made mistakes, he couldn't change them now. It was better to wait until the papers were returned to study them. Xu Ming agreed, and naturally, he didn't bring it up either.

During evening self-study, the students in the class spontaneously swapped their books for comprehensive science review materials, using the time to brush up on physics formulas and chemical equations. Xu Ming, however, continued to hug his copy of "Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Simulation," calculating and deriving his own math problems.

What made him frown, however, was that Li Wenhui, standing at the podium, kept casting glances his way, whether intentional or not. It felt incredibly strange, and had he not wanted to disturb everyone’s review, he would have stood up and questioned him directly in front of the whole class.

The next day, the remaining exams—comprehensive science and English—went off without a hitch.

It is worth mentioning that this was the first time Xu Ming had taken an English listening test since acquiring the "Language Proficiency" perk. When the standardized audio played from the speakers, he could accurately grasp the key information and even predict the upcoming content, which eliminated the comprehension barriers typically caused by missing an individual word here or there. After finishing the listening section, although there were no answers to check against, he felt entirely confident. It would be no exaggeration to say his accuracy rate was ninety-nine percent.

Five o'clock in the afternoon.

As the city-wide college entrance mock exam concluded, the students pouring out of the exam halls were filled with excitement and agitation. The scene was like a zombie apocalypse. The senior students had started their winter term early and had barely had any time off; having been cooped up in school for so long, they were at their breaking point.

Students living in the county seat had at least a few hours on Sundays, but those from towns or villages could only return home during school holidays. Knowing they had two days off following the mock exam, their mood was understandable. Everyone was eager to get home.

Xu Ming bid farewell to Qian Hong, grabbed his math textbook, and headed straight for his parents' wonton shop.

Unlike a typical weekend afternoon, the area outside the school gate was dominated by rural shuttle buses rather than the usual tricycles. The drivers and conductors were aggressively enthusiastic, grabbing every student they saw to ask which town they were heading to. Xu Ming had long since crossed to the other side of the road to avoid any contact with them—he still had bad memories of being forcibly pulled onto those buses.

"Too savage!" he remarked, watching from afar as a boy was tugged on by two bus conductors, shaking his head in sympathy. He patted himself on the back for his foresight.

...

His family's handmade wonton shop was on the same street as the Dongping No. 3 High School. Since students often frequented the shop, his parents were very well-informed about the lives of the seniors. As soon as Xu Ming arrived home, his father, Xu Jianguo, couldn't help but probe.

"Was the pressure high for this exam?"

Before Xu Ming could answer, Wu Xiulan, wearing her apron, immediately steered the conversation away. "The child has finally gotten two days off; don't bring up unpleasant things." She didn't forget to glare at Xu Jianguo as she spoke.

Xu Ming listened to their exchange, a smile spreading across his face. He knew his mother was worried about his academic stress. Although he would have to wait until he returned to school to see his results, he didn't mind giving his parents a pleasant surprise now. After all, ever since they had rented a place in the county to run the wonton shop and accompany him through his studies, they had always looked forward to good news about his grades.

"Actually, I think I did quite well this time. I estimate I might have scored between six and seven hundred."

Xu Jianguo and Wu Xiulan had beamed at the first half of the sentence, but were stunned by the latter half, their expressions instantly replaced by shock. They couldn't believe the number.

"Say that again—how many points do you estimate?" Wu Xiulan was the first to react, pressing him for confirmation. They weren't highly educated, but they understood what those numbers meant, which was why their reaction was so intense.

"Six or seven hundred," Xu Ming repeated with a smile.

Xu Jianguo swallowed hard and asked, "Are you sure you didn't estimate wrong?"

"You'll know in two days anyway. With this score, my homeroom teacher—maybe even the principal—will be contacting you."

Seeing his parents' reactions, Xu Ming shrugged and headed toward the back room. He wasn't wrong; once the mock exam results were out, the school would certainly reach out to parents immediately upon seeing such a significant improvement. After all, no school would turn away a student with the potential to get into a top-tier university.

Wu Xiulan and Xu Jianguo, knowing their son would never lie to them and bolstered by his confident tone, exchanged a look. They saw the excitement and surprise welling up in each other's eyes.

"You must be hungry. What do you want to eat? Mom will make it for you."

"I'll go to the market and buy two fish; we'll have a good meal to build up your strength tonight."

The moment the words left their mouths, they busied themselves. Xu Ming enjoyed a wonderful family evening. The next morning, he tried to help out in the shop, but his parents chased him away, refusing to let him lift a finger.

With no other choice, he went for a morning run around the street to check off his planned exercise routine. Even though it was a holiday, he didn't slack off; he kept his discipline and headed to the Xinhua Bookstore to see if he could find any books on university-level mathematics. He was a bit disappointed in the end, though, and had to keep pinning his hopes on Qian Hong.

While all the senior students in the school were enjoying their two-day break, many teachers were hard at work in a large office at the school, grading the exam papers.