Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Old Gao and the other teachers, along with the school’s heads, heard the commotion and rushed over.

Amid a series of roars and shouts, everyone’s emotions were finally suppressed.

The dean was red in the face as he slammed the table and shouted at the people who were fighting.

“You’re real capable now, huh? Since you still have so much energy, why don’t you solve two more math questions and memorize a few more essays!? You are in the graduating class, so you should be sprinting with all your might, not fighting!

“The smallest factor is intelligence. The biggest one is perseverance. The most painful thing isn’t failure but giving up early when you would have made it if you tried!”

After the dean shouted, everyone fell silent.

He glanced at the few badly battered people below the podium and said to Old Gao, “I’ll leave this matter to you.” With that, he turned and left.

As Old Gao looked at the dean, who left angrily, he still had that kind look on his face. He even asked with a smile, “Do you all think that you’ve dodged a bullet just because the dean didn’t give you a demerit point?

“If any of you really had such thoughts, you would be gravely mistaken. You guys are the college entrance examination candidates, and there are 30 days until the college entrance examination. Therefore, the dean didn’t say anything about demerit points, but…

“The dean’s reputation as ‘Demon King’ isn’t for nothing. Maybe after your college entrance examination, your resume will have another black mark.”

As soon as Old Gao finished speaking, a few people who had originally heaved a sigh of relief felt their hearts skip a beat. Their expressions instantly turned ugly.

At this moment, Old Gao also retracted the smile on his face and became serious. “Although the dean is a great demon king, he likes hardworking people the most. No matter if your results are good or not, as long as you work hard enough, he might not care about today’s matter anymore, seeing how hard you worked.”

After saying this, he deliberately paused for a moment before continuing:

“From tomorrow onwards, it will be the last monthly examination for the Grade 12 students. After this monthly examination, time will pass even faster. Before things are finalized, everyone is a dark horse! At that time, I will let you all see how what you thought was impossible has become possible for someone.”

Most people didn’t understand Old Gao’s last two sentences, but he deliberately kept them in suspense.

The monthly exam came quickly. While everyone was passing down the exam papers, the person who received the exam papers first suddenly exclaimed, “Heavens, there are several difficult essay questions this time!”

Grade 12, Class 4 students weren’t the only ones complaining about the difficulty of the last monthly examination—the entire Grade 12 echoed the same sentiments.

After three days of exams, most people felt like they had shed a layer of skin.

At this moment, Old Gao called Chu Luo to his office.

“Chu Luo, how many points do you think you can score this time?”

There weren’t many teachers in the office, but coincidentally, Teacher Li was there.

Before Chu Luo could speak, she heard Teacher Li snort.

Chu Luo and Old Gao both ignored her.

Chu Luo frowned slightly. It was her first exam and she wasn’t used to it. As such, she could have managed the time limit better. “Seven hundred thirty.”

Old Gao’s eyes lit up. He restrained the excitement in his heart and nodded. Then, he asked further, “Which subjects do you think you lost most marks in?”

“None. It’s just that I was a little slow at doing the questions and didn’t have time for the last question in the English paper.”

“Alright, then, you should focus on doing more English questions to increase your speed. You…”

“Hur! You make it sound as if it’s true. I say, Old Gao.”

Teacher Li finally couldn’t stand it anymore and interrupted, “It’s fine if your student likes to fantasize, but you’re actually believing her. As her form teacher, don’t you know what she’s capable of?”

Pa!

This time, Old Gao couldn’t help but smash the teapot on the desk. Then, he stood up and pointed at Teacher Li’s nose as he scolded:

“Teacher Li, I’ve tolerated you for a long time. You can criticize me, but you can’t criticize my students. What does Chu Luo’s performance have to do with you, who didn’t teach her?”

“Hmph! You don’t know how to appreciate kindness. I’m just advising you to recognize the truth. Who doesn’t know that last month, your student Chu Luo scored last in the batch?”

“You…”

“Teacher Gao,” Chu Luo called out in a calm and doubtful tone. “The results will be out in a few days. Why do you have to waste your breath on her?”

These words immediately calmed Old Gao down. He nodded and said, “Teacher Li, I advise you to be merciful with your words.”

Then, without waiting for Teacher Li to speak, he said to Chu Luo, “Go back to the classroom first.”

Chu Luo nodded at him and turned to leave the office.

As for those who looked down on her, she liked to use facts to tell them that she wasn’t the joke that they thought she was.

Chu Luo had just walked to the corridor outside the classroom when she was suddenly stopped by Li Tao, who was standing by the ledge.

“Chu Luo.”

Chu Luo stopped and looked at him.

Li Tao felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, so he opened his eyes and said, “The questions for every subject this time were very difficult. Even if you fail, there’s nothing to be sad about.”

Then, he added, “Your results aren’t that good anyway.”

With that, he turned around and entered the classroom.

Chu Luo stood there and looked at the classroom door with a baffled expression.

This person was asking for a beating.

The teachers had to work overtime to mark the monthly examination papers, and they managed to finish them within two days.

When everyone saw the overall ranking, they could no longer remain calm.

“The test this time was so difficult, but the highest score was 731.”

“Am I seeing things? The second place is Chu Luo? And it’s only one point lower than the first place!”

“Who is Chu Luo?”

“The twin sister of the school belle.”

“Isn’t that person always at the bottom of the rankings? How did she score so high? Did she copy someone?”

“Copy?” Li Tao and He Jiang happened to hear this. Li Tao asked in a low voice, “The first place is in Class 2. From whom did our class’s Chu Luo copy?”

Although He Jiang was also shocked by Chu Luo’s results and didn’t come back to his senses for a long time, he was also unhappy that someone dared to question his classmate. “Don’t measure other people’s corn by your own bushel. Even if Chu Luo wanted to copy, someone had to have let her do it.”

The person who spoke immediately shut up.

Only then did Li Tao and He Jiang walk towards the classroom. After walking for a while, He Jiang suddenly said, “How do you think Chu Luo managed to score so high all of a sudden?”

Li Tao said in a disgruntled tone, “How would I know?”

Then, he quickened his pace and left He Jiang behind.

He Jiang quickly caught up to him and put his arm on his shoulder. “Hey! What’s wrong with you? Why are you so angry? Are you feeling upset?”

Li Tao suddenly stopped and looked at He Jiang. He asked angrily, “Wouldn’t you feel upset if you were overtaken all of a sudden?”

He Jiang thought about it and nodded. “Indeed. That’s why I’ve decided to reduce my rest time by another hour. In the last twenty days, we’ll have to fight with our backs against the wall.”

“Me too.”

The two of them walked into the classroom as they spoke.

In the office, all the teachers were present. Everyone congratulated Old Gao.

Old Gao smiled and said, “Not bad, not bad. That child didn’t disappoint me.”

Speaking up to this point, there was a hidden meaning behind his words. “We also have to thank Teacher Li for your continuous whipping. Otherwise, how could Chu Luo be ranked second in the level?”

Everyone looked at Teacher Li meaningfully.

Their gazes made Teacher Li’s face switch between red and purple. Her heart was filled with panic, so she straightened her neck and said in an eccentric tone, “If Zhang Tianyi from our class were still in school, no way would Chu Luo be ranked top two!”

The others: “…”

Old Gao: “Hur hur!”