This exam was extremely challenging, and time was very tight.
During the Chinese language test in the first session, many students in the class hadn’t finished their papers when it was time to collect them.
It’s important to note that the school Su Jie attended was a national key school; even the weakest student could easily get into a top university. Yet now, faced with the test paper, everyone was at a complete loss.
Even Qian Zheng’s expression was grave.
“How can this exam be just 50% more difficult? It’s more than double the usual difficulty. What exactly is Haoyu Group trying to do?” After one session of the exam, Ning Zixi couldn’t help but complain.
The entire class was very dejected.
But before they could adjust their mindset, the second exam began.
They had to finish four sessions in one day, which was a huge drain on both their physical stamina and mental energy.
The second session was mathematics, and the questions were even tougher; most students couldn’t complete even half of the problems.
After the two morning sessions, many students were completely exhausted. They barely managed to eat lunch and rest for a while before beginning the foreign language test, followed by either the comprehensive liberal arts or science test.
Su Jie’s class was the science track, so the test papers were even harder. After the comprehensive science exam, the entire class felt as if they were soldiers defeated in battle.
“Finally, the test is over.” The moment Su Jie handed in his paper, he felt even more exhausted than if he had been competing all day. His brain felt completely drained, and even his physical strength nearly gave out—a testament to how difficult this exam was.
Qian Zheng looked pale as well.
Of course, there were also students who had given up early. Seeing that the questions had exceeded their limits, they simply stopped trying, which made things much easier for them.
But Qian Zheng was determined to preserve his honor, so he racked his brain to solve every problem, naturally leaving him utterly exhausted.
After everyone had submitted their papers, the homeroom teacher, Chen Juan, entered with a smile. “The test results will be completely graded in one hour. This time, the papers were scanned by artificial intelligence and then entered into the system for scoring. There won’t be any errors, and the rankings will be published on the computer. Please wait here.”
In the past, if it had been a city-wide exam, the teachers would have had to organize a huge grading team, and it would have taken at least three or four days to release the scores.
Now, however, the papers are simply fed into a scanner, each image entered into the system, and the exam results are produced—the efficiency has increased by over a hundredfold.
‘Maybe in the future, homework grading can be done this way too, saving the teachers so much time,’ Su Jie thought.
All the students sat in the classroom, waiting with teacher Chen Juan for the exam results.
At the front of the classroom, there was a large computer projection screen that would immediately publish the city-wide exam rankings. It seemed that this test was the result of long negotiations between Haoyu Group and various high schools’ education departments—a very tightly scheduled exam where everything was about efficiency.
Time ticked by second by second.
Suddenly, a countdown appeared on the big screen.
Ten, nine…
Everyone grew tense, as if they were truly facing the moment when their college entrance exam scores would be announced.
Teacher Chen Juan nodded repeatedly as she observed, “This kind of atmosphere lets everyone experience the intensity of the college entrance exam in advance. If we have more sessions like this, all the students will become accustomed to the pace of the college entrance exam, and that will help avoid situations where too much pressure causes poor performance.”
Having been a homeroom teacher for many years, she had seen too many cases where students, who usually performed excellently, underperformed in the college entrance exam because of psychological factors, which she found very regrettable.
“The exam scores are out. Who is the city’s number one?”
“Two hundred thousand. That’s a prize of two hundred thousand! I still can’t believe that Haoyu Group is offering such a huge reward.”
“This exam left me completely exhausted. I never want to take another exam in my life. I think whoever scores above 700 on this test should get the two hundred thousand.”
“Yeah, the questions were too difficult. Normally I could score 600, but this time I doubt I’d even reach 500.”
“It must be Qian Zheng, after all he always scores first.”
“I think so too.”
“But I wonder if he can manage to score 700. Even if he comes in first, without a score of 700 he won’t get the bonus.”
“Look, look—the results are out.”
Everyone held their breath.
Then they all watched as festive red characters jumped onto the screen.
First place, Su Jie, total score 723.
Second place, Qian Zheng, total score 700.
Third place, Ning Zixi, total score 690.
Then the list continued, scrolling until the top one hundred names had been published.
For a full minute, the room was silent before it finally erupted.
Everyone was staring at Su Jie—it was simply unbelievable. Even Qian Zheng only scored 700, yet Su Jie managed to pull off an astronomical score of 723.
In previous exams, Qian Zheng’s scores usually ranged between 710 and 730. Given the extreme difficulty of this exam, Qian Zheng scoring 700 was still nothing short of miraculous.
When everyone first saw the exam questions, they all believed that it was impossible for anyone to score above 700 on this paper.
“Good grief, is this even humanly possible?”
“How did Su Jie improve so much over one summer? Did he take some kind of divine medicine? Or was he secretly taught some techniques?”
“Have you read too many novels? Did Su Jie get the exam paper in advance?”
“No, it can’t be. I heard this exam paper was generated automatically by the system within an hour before the test, and then printed. The Haoyu Group developed this system precisely to prevent anyone from leaking the exam paper beforehand, ensuring complete fairness.”
“Does that mean this is his true ability? That’s just terrifying. This time, the title of ‘Number One’ finally slipped from Qian Zheng’s grasp.”
“Maybe after the love letter incident, Su Jie reflected deeply and spent the whole summer determined to study. But Qian Zheng wasn’t idle either—he seemed to be diligently studying and exercising.”
“He even broke the 700-point mark. Honestly, if it weren’t for Su Jie, he would have been first this time, and he’d have easily secured the 200,000. It’s a pity something unexpected happened.”
Class teacher Chen Juan was also shocked. She had been astonished that Qian Zheng could score 700, and she never imagined that Su Jie could score 723. Her first thought was that the exam paper must have been leaked.
But thinking about it, that was impossible—the exam paper was generated only an hour before the test, so even if someone got hold of it an hour in advance, it would still be too late.
“It can’t be!” Qian Zheng suddenly stood up in a burst of shock when he saw Su Jie’s score, clearly losing his composure.
He knew very well how difficult the exam was. He had pushed himself to his limits just to barely hit 700 points, and he thought he would be able to outshine everyone. He hadn’t expected Su Jie to surpass him by so many points.
In the past, the difference between his and Su Jie’s scores was always 20–30 points, and Su Jie never stood a chance of catching up. Now, he had been overtaken by a wide margin, and his first reaction was disbelief.
After a long while, he finally sat down, still trying to maintain his composure. Then he walked over to Su Jie and said, “Congratulations, you finally got first place this time. Could you share some study tips? But mark my words—for the next exam, I’m going to take it back.”
“Let’s study together and improve together,” Su Jie replied calmly. He wasn’t really shocked; he thought it was only natural, and there wasn’t even a ripple of disturbance in his heart.
He had now seen another side of the world of martial arts, broadening his horizons significantly.
“Su Jie, remarkable,” Ning Zixi said with a curious gleam in her eye.
Clap, clap, clap…
“Everyone, please return to your seats and be quiet.”
Class teacher Chen Juan clapped her hands, and the classroom immediately quieted down. A barely contained look of joy appeared on her face as she said, “You all performed exceptionally well this time—our class has all three of the top spots in the city. Of course, don’t get too cocky; keep striving for even better results. Su Jie, come up here. The principal will present you with an award shortly, and your bonus will be deposited directly into your account.”
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before all the school leaders arrived.
Su Jie stood on the podium, practically basking in the spotlight. Of course, he was one of the top three students, and the school leaders had already marked him as a key student to watch and nurture.
“This time, Su Jie truly achieved both fame and fortune, stealing all the limelight. The Second Brother Su finally turned the tables.”
“Yeah, Qian Zheng may seem calm on the outside, but I’m sure he’s feeling pretty upset. Just wait and see how he plans to take it back in the next exam.”
“Even if he does manage to retake it, there won’t be such a huge bonus again.”
“This was a publicity stunt by the Haoyu Group to promote their artificial intelligence, with no expense spared. There definitely won’t be such an opportunity next time—the 200,000 scholarship is enough to buy two or three square meters of a house.”
“In our area, luxury homes go for over 200,000 per square meter.”
“Later, Su Jie should treat everyone.”
Su Jie showed no hint of restraint while standing on the podium.
“Su Jie, would you like to share your thoughts? Also, now that you’ve received this enormous scholarship, how do you plan to use it?” The principal, a middle-aged man named Zhao Ming, spoke. He didn’t have any bureaucratic airs; instead, he exuded a strong academic vibe.
“I’d prefer if this money isn’t deposited into my account. If possible, please donate it directly, in our class’s name, to the students in the mountainous regions who are struggling to continue their education,” Su Jie said after a moment of thought.
“Wait, listen everyone—Su Jie said he wants to donate the entire bonus to the underprivileged students in the mountainous areas.”
“200,000, just donated like that? And it’s in his name or the class’s name?”
This comment immediately caused another uproar.
“Su Jie, are you really going to donate all this money in our class’s name?” Class teacher Chen Juan was momentarily stunned when she heard Su Jie’s words.
“Yes, donate it all in our class’s name,” Su Jie said decisively with a nod.
He had just reflected on the fact that he was in dire need of money—especially after learning from his martial arts training that physical fitness is built on financial means. That 200,000 could have enabled him to do a lot, but in the end, he decided to donate it.
Once he had made up his mind and spoken it aloud, he felt an immense sense of relief.
Money was important to him, but having seen the left-behind elderly and children in the countryside, he realized that although his family wasn’t as well off as those rich kids, he was fortunate enough to enjoy a better education in the city compared to those rural children.
If he could do something with what he had, he’d do it. As the saying goes, “all the money in the world will come back to you if you have the ability.”
During study sessions, in the second class taught by Gu Yang, they were taught to deliver rice, grain, and oil to rural areas to comfort the left-behind elderly and children—a lesson that had deeply moved him.
Donating the money would be a way to see if he was truly willing to let it go, and to measure the gains and losses as his attitude shifted. Money was important, but would it ever truly affect his inner self?