The two-day opening exam flew by in a blink of an eye, leaving some joyful and some sorrowful. But Luo Chuan definitely wasn’t in the sorrowful category. What did bother him, however, was that the first stage of the system quest had yet to be completed after the exam.
Wasn’t his performance spectacular enough?
As the bell rang, Luo Chuan brought his mind back and quietly waited for the teacher's arrival.
Soon, Liu, the homeroom teacher, walked in with a stack of exam papers tucked under his arm. The years of accumulated authority made the entire classroom fall silent.
"The opening exam is over. I don't need to say much about how you all did, do I?"
"We won't be ranking this time, but you should honestly reflect on what you've done. Why did some of you improve while others regressed so drastically? You all know the answer."
"I'll pass out the papers now."
"Liu Yang, 91."
"Chen Bai Lei, 104."
"Sun Qi Chao, 112. Your scores dropped. You need to focus."
...
"Luo Chuan," the homeroom teacher looked at Luo Chuan, his eyes filled with a hint of relief.
"You made a big improvement this time. Keep it up."
"Yes, Teacher," Luo Chuan stood up and replied.
"Luo Chuan, 136."
As soon as the score was announced, the entire class erupted in an uproar. No one could believe Luo Chuan had scored so high. This was the Chinese language exam, which heavily weighed subjective scores.
As the classroom buzzed with discussions, Teacher Liu slammed his hand on the desk to silence the noise.
"There is no doubt that Luo Chuan's score is valid."
"I've checked. Not only in Chinese, but Luo Chuan has made significant progress in other subjects as well. Furthermore, every question on the exam was written by our teachers themselves, so there's no need to worry about leaks."
With the homeroom teacher's reassurance, the doubts in the class diminished, and the gazes directed towards Luo Chuan were now filled with astonishment and disbelief.
This time, everyone got a new look at Luo Chuan, who had previously been a transparent, background character in the class.
Luo Chuan walked up to receive his paper. As he was leaving, the homeroom teacher called him back.
"Luo Chuan, your answers are fine, but your handwriting needs improvement. You lost points due to sloppy handwriting, and you should pay attention to that."
"Alright, Teacher."
Luo Chuan nodded. He knew his handwriting wasn't good. It had some old habits from his previous life, making it look messy. He decided to find time to practice his penmanship.
Before he could even return to his seat, the paper was snatched away by Tu Jun. Looking at the bright red 136 on the paper, Tu Jun was filled with a mix of bitterness and envy.
It was hard for him to even reach that score across all six subjects.
Soon, Tu Jun came down with his 37-point paper.
Zhu Wei Jiao received her 42-point paper with a black face. Returning to her desk, she slammed it down with a "啪" and buried her head in her arms.
In the past, Zhu Wei Jiao never cared much about getting such a score. But today, it felt particularly harsh. The laughter of her classmates was also jarring, making her afraid to even look at Luo Chuan, fearing he would join in mocking her score.
As for Luo Shen Xi and Ding Rong Liang, they were fine. One was a wolf in sheep's clothing, and the other had his mind completely focused on Chen Yuan Yuan.
After class, Luo Chuan approached Zhu Wei Jiao's desk and gently patted her shoulder.
"Jiao Jiao."
Zhu Wei Jiao, with her head down, squirmed uncomfortably and said impatiently,
"Ugh, don't touch me."
"Get up, I have something to tell you."
Zhu Wei Jiao abruptly lifted her head and turned to look at Luo Chuan. If you looked closely, you could see her eyes were a little red.
"Spit it out. I need to sleep, I don't have time to mess around with you."
"Alright, actually, I wanted to ask if you'd like me to tutor you," Luo Chuan said softly, his eyes questioning.
After spending time with them, he genuinely considered Zhu Wei Jiao, Tu Jun, and the others as friends. If he could, he wouldn't mind helping them out.
This was high school, and if they started tutoring now, they could catch up and have a better starting point than their previous fate.
Zhu Wei Jiao was stunned, the ice on her face melted, and she said uncertainly,
"Really... really?"
"Of course. If you want, Lao Gou and Mimi can come too," Luo Chuan answered with certainty.
"But if you decide to get tutored, you have to commit. Don't give up halfway."
"Okay, Xiao Chuan Zi, my tutoring is in your hands," Zhu Wei Jiao waved her hand, the gloom on her face melting like ice, replaced by a bright smile.
It was as if she had untied a knot. Zhu Wei Jiao skipped off to find Luo Shen Xi and Ding Rong Liang, who readily agreed. The last one was Tu Jun.
Tu Jun was initially hesitant about the daily after-school tutoring. But hearing the other three in F4 had agreed, he felt awkward being the only one to decline. So, he reluctantly agreed, planning to find a way to "escape" later.
Little did he know, one day in the future, he would be grateful for this choice.
In the following classes, Luo Chuan became the center of attention. He scored full marks in math, biology, physics, and chemistry. His English score was close to perfect.
When someone surpasses you, people feel jealous. But when someone surpasses you by a large margin, all that's left is awe and envy.
By now, no one questioned the validity of Luo Chuan's scores. Everyone knew he was no longer the same Luo Chuan.
Luo Chuan's fame spread throughout the entire 12th grade. Now everyone knew their grade had produced a scholar, and what was even more impressive was that he used to be a poor student. It took him only one winter break to transform from a poor student to a scholar.
This served as a benchmark for all students.
Now, whenever a teacher criticized their students, they would say, "Look at so-and-so, they only took one winter break to achieve this and that. It's almost a template."
As the person involved, Luo Chuan felt indifferent. On one hand, he had always known he had this kind of ability. On the other hand, this opening exam was just an opening exam after all. It didn’t prove anything, so he wasn't overly excited.
However, with the fame came the completion of the first stage of the system quest, granting him one random draw opportunity.
"System, use the draw opportunity," Luo Chuan murmured, lying on his bed.
Instantly, a huge wheel appeared in his vision. The wheel was packed with countless items, and as Luo Chuan focused on any item, corresponding information would pop up.
A copper coin blessed by the god of wealth, virtual VR interactive technology of 2070, a kiss from the goddess of fortune, the swaddling cloth of a malevolent star...
Luo Chuan only took a quick glance, and his mouth started to water. They were all amazing items, except for the swaddling cloth, of course…
However, he knew the chances of drawing these extraordinary items were slim. But what if, what if he got lucky? If he got one, he would instantly take off.
Thinking about it, Luo Chuan couldn't hold back anymore. He sprung out of bed with a carp leap and quickly went to wash his hands, mentally chanting to the Jade Emperor, Amitabha Buddha, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, Jesus—basically whatever came to mind.
Luo Chuan muttered "draw" in his mind, and the pointer in the center of the wheel began to spin rapidly. After about ten seconds, it stopped at a corner.
Chapter Note: Thanks to "13135..." for the monthly ticket support, and thanks to all the readers for the flowers and comments. Please keep supporting!