Chapter 24: The Gap Between People

"This student definitely didn't check their paper after finishing; they even misspelled a line from a Wang Anshi poem."

"They still don't realize that every single point in the college entrance exam is vital."

"But truth be told, after the '100-Day Sprint' pep rally, the mock exam scores have seen a general improvement."

...

In the faculty office, several teachers grading papers chatted away. When they encountered a particularly unusual paper, they couldn't help but share it with those nearby, though most of the time it was just to vent.

Yu Jing, a Chinese teacher for the grade eleven science track, had been assigned to grade papers over the weekend. Being the youngest and least experienced in the office, she mostly listened to the other teachers, nodding or chiming in from time to time.

Flipping to a new paper, she began grading mechanically. However, as she noticed that almost all of the multiple-choice questions were correct, she realized she had likely encountered a student from the advanced track.

Soon, she turned to the back of the paper. The moment the answers to the reading comprehension section and the essay came into view, her eyes widened. Her attention was instantly captured.

"What beautiful handwriting."

She whispered to herself, her face full of appreciation for the calligraphy. It was the first time in this school she had encountered a student with such exceptional penmanship. As she read the essay, her expression became even more pleasantly surprised. The argument was sharp, the structure rigorous, and the language refined, rich, and elegant.

A thought immediately formed in her mind: she had found a perfect-score essay for this mock exam. She quickly shared it with the others.

"I have an essay here that I feel deserves a perfect score."

This immediately piqued everyone's curiosity. They gathered around to take a look, and exclamations of surprise followed one after another.

"It’s rare to see an essay that gets a perfect score from Teacher Yu. Let me see what’s so special about it."

"Which class is this student from? The handwriting is good enough to be a copybook."

"It really is well-written."

"I think giving it a full score is perfectly fine."

Hearing their agreement and seeing that her judgment held up, Yu Jing smiled and added, "Although a few points were deducted from the first half and the prose reading section, with this perfect-score essay, the total is quite impressive. It’s the highest score among all the papers I’ve graded so far."

However, because the names were hidden on the papers, she felt a slight pang of regret at not being able to identify the student.

By Tuesday afternoon, the grade twelve students, having rested for two nights at home, were forced to return to school to face the final "devilish month" before the college entrance exam.

Xu Ming arrived at the dormitory just past three. After tidying up his things, he sat on the edge of his bed, reading his own books. He wasn't in a hurry to head to the classroom.

As other students trickled in, the room grew lively. The most discussed topic was, naturally, the mock exam results. According to school tradition, the homeroom teacher would announce everyone's scores and rankings during the evening study session. Everyone was filled with a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

Xu Ming, by contrast, did not join the discussion. His expression remained as calm as a placid lake, without a ripple. Ultimately, it was a display of confidence in his own abilities.

Just then, Qian Hong walked into the dorm carrying a backpack. He stopped directly in front of Xu Ming.

"I brought what you wanted." As he spoke, he unzipped the bag and began pulling things out. This drew the attention of the others.

Qian Hong handed three books to Xu Ming: *Mathematical Analysis (Volume 1)*, *Higher Algebra (Volume 1)*, and *Analytical Geometry*.

"I searched through my house for ages; these were the only ones left that weren't sold. Are you sure you want to study these so close to the big exam?" Qian Hong sat down, looking somewhat puzzled.

Xu Ming flipped through *Higher Algebra* and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

To boost his mathematics skill to level 2 as soon as possible, early exposure to university-level mathematics was inevitable. He had remembered that Qian Hong's older sister had studied mathematics—though she switched to finance in her second year—so her textbooks were likely still at home. He had mentioned it to Qian Hong when they were on break after the exam, not expecting it to actually yield results.

In a small county like Dongping, it was nearly impossible to find a place that sold university textbooks. Now that he had these three, he could combine them with the university-level formulas he had already mastered to continue accumulating subject experience points. After all, math competition students were exposed to higher algebra and mathematical analysis quite early on.

The conversation between the two shocked the others in the dorm. Their heads were spinning.

"No way, we haven't even mastered derivatives, and you're already studying university-level math, Xu Ming?"

"The gap between people really is huge!"

"So that's what university math looks like? Are there any majors that don't study this?"

Several of them picked up a book, flipped through two pages, and silently put it back, mentally crossing "Mathematics" off their list of potential majors.

Just as everyone was expressing their awe, a familiar voice sounded from the doorway:

"It's best not to treat the college entrance exam as a joke. With so little time left, instead of focusing on your subjects, you're studying things you can't even use right now. You'll regret it when it's too late."

Everyone turned to see Li Wenhui standing there, backpack on his shoulders. He felt conflicted. Originally, hearing that Xu Ming was studying university material, he should have stayed silent—after all, if Xu Ming's grades dropped, he would never have a chance to surpass him. But thinking of the exam, where Xu Ming hadn't even finished his math paper, he couldn't help but offer a warning.

Xu Ming looked up at Li Wenhui, feeling somewhat surprised. As the saying goes, "don't slap a smiling face." Even though he, like many in the class, didn't care for Li Wenhui's usual attitude, he decided to respond politely since the warning was intended for his own good.

"The class monitor is right. I will manage my time wisely."

With the small episode over, Xu Ming took his textbooks and, without lingering, said goodbye to the others and headed to the classroom.

Meanwhile, in the faculty office in the main building, Wang Qingtao looked at the math paper spread out before him, his expression far from happy.

Physics teacher Guo Qihua, who had just walked in with some papers, saw this and teased him out of habit: "What's wrong, Teacher Wang? Did the students not do well on the math test this time?"

He walked over, glanced at the paper, and let out an exclamation. "That's not right. This score is excellent—Xu Ming, 150 points."

"It's precisely because it's a perfect score that I feel sorry for him. If he doesn't participate in math competitions with this kind of subject mastery, his total score won't look good if he just takes the standard entrance exam," Wang Qingtao finally sighed. "Xu Ming's other subjects are a bit weaker than his math."

When he had received his class's math papers, the first thing he did was check Xu Ming's score. He had been happy for a moment, but then immediately worried about his other subjects.

Guo Qihua disagreed. "Xu Ming's other subjects don't seem that bad. At the very least, his physics has improved quickly. He got 281 in the combined science section this time." As he spoke, he placed the papers on the desk and pulled out Xu Ming's science section.

"How much?"

Wang Qingtao almost thought he had misheard. When he saw the number in the total score column, he jumped up from his chair and ran out of the office. Before reaching the door, he turned back to call out to Guo Qihua:

"I'm going to the Academic Affairs Office to see if the total score printouts are ready."