22 Results

For Mr. Liu, it was simply impossible for a student like Chen Ran to have finished the exam so quickly. He knew Chen Ran; the boy was, by all accounts, a good student. Why, then, had he emerged from the exam hall in less than an hour? Had something happened?

"Mr. Liu." Chen Ran approached with a wide, squinting smile, looking quite pleased with himself. "I found the math test quite simple. I finished it, checked it twice, and then handed it in."

"Oh?" Mr. Liu looked at him sternly. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"You rascal," Mr. Liu said with a chuckle. "Fine. But this test was significantly harder than last month's. If you didn't do well, I’ll be coming to settle the score with you."

"Don't you worry, teacher. There won't be any mistakes."

"Go on, then." Mr. Liu didn't say anything more and waved for Chen Ran to leave.

Chen Ran headed to the playground to wait for Wang Weidong. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, as he had neither a watch nor a phone. He stood on the playground, watching the clouds drift by. The sky was a clear, vibrant blue—perhaps because Ningchuan hadn't fully developed yet, it didn't have that perpetual gray haze. The azure sky and the crisp, fresh air made Chen Ran feel refreshed. In all the years that followed, he would rarely experience such winters. Though cold, the city sky remained a deep, brilliant blue, unlike the murky, leaden color it would take on more than a decade later.

"Don't you get tired of staring at the sky?" When Wang Weidong walked over, Chen Ran was still looking up. He lowered his head and smiled at his friend. "Not at all. Are you finished with your paper?"

"Just finished," Wang Weidong pouted. "Let's go."

"Chen Ran," Wang Weidong said, sensing something was off. Why would a top student like Chen Ran hand in his paper faster than him?

"What is it?" Chen Ran tilted his head, puzzled. "Is something wrong?"

"It’s... it’s not a big deal." Wang Weidong hesitated for a moment, then gave in to his curiosity. "It’s just... why did you hand in your paper earlier than me?"

"That's it?" Chen Ran had expected something much more serious.

"Well," Chen Ran said, waving a hand dismissively, "I finished, checked it over, found no errors, and turned it in."

"Then your score must be really good, right?" Wang Weidong said with a hint of envy. "Must be nice. Not like me."

Chen Ran didn't respond. With only the English exam left tomorrow, the monthly exams would be over. He vaguely remembered that for the final exams, they only tested on Chinese, math, and English; the other subjects were exempt. He had already mastered English, was nearly finished with physics, and had chemistry and the rest to go. He believed he could master them all within the time limit set by the system.

Before they knew it, they had reached their courtyard.

"I'm heading back!" Wang Weidong turned to look at Chen Ran, who was lost in thought. His bright eyes narrowed as he stared at his friend. "I've noticed you've been deep in thought lately. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing at all!" Chen Ran flashed a smile and shook his head. "Just some trivial matters."

"Really, just trivial?"

"Yes," Chen Ran nodded emphatically. "Alright, you go on home."

"Sure, see you later!" Wang Weidong waved and headed toward his building. Chen Ran let out a sigh of relief and jogged the rest of the way home. He opened the door, but his mother's shoes weren't in the entryway; she must have gone out. He thought back to how his older sister had blamed him and their mother for a long time after returning home and learning of their father's death, likely because such an important piece of news hadn't been relayed to her.

Rubbing his temples, he noticed the daylight was fading, though the winter sky still held a faint glow. Chen Ran pushed open his door, dropped his bag, pulled out his textbooks, and closed the door behind him to settle into his studies.

...

After the English exam, Chen Ran and Wang Weidong walked home together.

"My dad said he wants to invite you to dinner this weekend," Wang Weidong said. "Are you coming?"

"Sure." Thinking of Wang Weidong’s father’s piercing gaze, he felt a twinge of fear. Perhaps it was a professional habit, but the way he looked at Chen Ran made it feel as though he were interrogating a criminal.

It was an unsettling feeling that made one instinctively fear that the secrets hidden deep within their heart had been laid bare. But Chen Ran had no secrets to speak of—he was just a kid, after all. What secrets could he possibly have that would warrant such scrutiny? And even if he told people about the "Learning System," no one would believe him anyway.

"It's a deal, then!" Wang Weidong turned to look at him. "You’re bound to get a great score. I don’t know what’s gotten into my dad lately, but he’s suddenly asking about my grades. If I don't do well... I'll be in big trouble."

Wang Weidong’s eyes shifted away, looking genuinely frightened.

This was the first time Chen Ran had seen Wang Weidong look scared. He chuckled, "So even you get scared? I thought you weren't afraid of anything."

"Impossible!" Wang Weidong exclaimed. "My dad is terrifying. I just hope my grades aren't too bad, or he might beat me to a pulp."

"It's okay," Chen Ran said, smiling. "We're only in the first year of middle school. You have plenty of opportunities, you'll be fine."

"Don't try to comfort me. I know my grades are poor," Wang Weidong shook his head. "Your grades are so good; you probably don't have to worry about these things, right?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure what I'll score," Chen Ran replied. "Anyway, let's stop thinking about it."

"Yeah," Wang Weidong nodded gently. They arrived back at the courtyard. "I'm going home to eat."

Chen Ran watched him walk away, feeling a flicker of anticipation. He wondered what his score would be. Logically, he couldn't estimate his Chinese grade, but for math and English, he was fairly confident he’d gotten full marks. Only in Chinese was he worried; his essay was weak, and his handwriting was messy, which would surely cost him points.

Forget it. The exams were over, so there was no point dwelling on it. He would just go home and keep studying.

Over the next few days, while the teachers lectured in class, Chen Ran sat at his desk reading other textbooks. He was rushing, desperate to complete the tasks issued by the system within the allotted time.

On Friday, when Mr. Gao entered the classroom, the students were still whispering. Perhaps because it was Friday, they were more excited than usual, chatting about their weekend plans.

Chen Ran read silently, while Wang Weidong sat beside him with his eyes closed, sleeping as if he couldn't hear the chatter at all.

"Ahem!" Mr. Gao tapped the podium, drawing the class's attention. "I have an announcement: there will be a parent-teacher meeting next Monday. Please inform your parents."

"Also, your monthly exam results are out. Overall, our class performed quite well." Mr. Gao stood at the podium, scanning the room and taking in everyone's expressions. "Though there are still some students who are not putting in enough effort."

"Of course, our class has one student who ranked in the top ten of the entire grade—and that includes the honors classes."

"What?"

A student gasped. Including the honors classes, there were several hundred students in the grade. Someone from their class was in the top ten? How was that possible? Those honors students were far beyond their reach. Most of the best students in their class had struggled with many of the questions on the paper. Chinese was manageable, but the math and English exams were a nightmare for students in a regular class.

"Ours is also the only regular class to have a student ranked within the top one hundred in the entire grade," Mr. Gao said, looking very pleased.

"Chen Ran."

"Yes?" Chen Ran stood up, looking bewildered. "Teacher, me?"

"What about Chen Ran?"

"Could Chen Ran really have ranked in the top ten of the grade?"

"That's impossible, right?"

"Chen Ran, come to the office after class. The class monitor should come too; take the ranking list and post it on the wall so everyone can see how they did."

"Yes!" After sitting down, Chen Ran still felt confused, but he was too shy to ask.

Wang Weidong poked him with his elbow. "Chen Ran, what is going on?"

"I don't know," Chen Ran shook his head.

"You don't know why Mr. Gao called you to the office?"

"No idea." Chen Ran was equally baffled as to why he had been summoned.

The students whispered among themselves, but Chen Ran focused on his book. Their homeroom teacher, Mr. Gao, seemed to be in a very good mood; he hadn't even scolded them for not studying during morning reading.

After class, Chen Ran gathered his things and headed to the office. The class monitor followed him. Standing at the door, they called out, "Report!"

"Come in." Mr. Gao gestured for them to enter with a smile. The office was filled with other teachers Chen Ran didn't recognize.

"Monitor, you go ahead and take the exam results to post on the classroom wall."

Mr. Gao turned to Chen Ran. "Your grades improved quite a bit this time."

"Right." The class monitor was actually quite curious about who had broken into the top ten; he knew his own abilities, and it certainly wasn't him.

Handing the list to the monitor, Mr. Gao said, "Monitor, you can head out now."

"Chen Ran, sit down."

Watching the monitor leave, Chen Ran sat down, still feeling somewhat bewildered.

"Chen Ran, your grades improved significantly this time." Mr. Gao’s eyes were brimming with joy.

"Thank you, teacher." Chen Ran wasn't very articulate, and sitting across from the teacher, he felt a bit awkward.

"Do you know what your rank in the grade is?"

Chen Ran shook his head. "I'm not sure."

"You mentioned earlier that someone from our class was in the top ten of the grade. Could it be me?"