Chapter 35
Qin Shuang’s voice attracted the crowd’s attention.
Does that mean the results are good or not?
Just as they were deep in their pondering, they saw Xue Xi frown.
She was a little surprised. She felt that she had gotten all of it correct while she was doing them, so why were 12 marks deducted?
Alas, her expression was easily misunderstood.
Xue Yao instantly heaved a sigh of relief.
She thought that Qin Shuang must have been that surprised because the girl had scored below 100 marks. After all, her Mathematics were full marks during the pre-test.
Gloatingly, she peered at Fan Han and said in a hypocritical voice, “Cousin, don’t be sad if you didn’t get good results. After all, this is an Olympiad-level examination and the questions are exceptionally hard. There are many people who score less than 100.”
Old Liu had high expectations of Xue Xi, but he was still stunned when he heard this. He repressed the disappointment he felt inside and reassured her, “Xue Xi, don’t feel dejected!”
Fan Han raised his chin and turned to look at the girl, feeling smug inside.
Indeed, it is impossible without going through proper Olympiad training! I must have made a mistake in the pre-test last time and so she scored higher. Now, it is time that I displayed my prowess.
Mhm. With this now, Xue Xi should acknowledge me already, right?
The rest of the people who disliked Xue Xi also wanted to chime in, but when they recalled her grand entourage this morning, they promptly swallowed their words.
Soon, a few of them lowered their heads and anonymously posted on the school’s forum.
Live stream! The results are out! A certain someone flopped!
?? Waiting for the actual scores!
Study-God image crumbling?
Scores! Report the scores!
The forum was in an uproar. Meanwhile, Qin Shuang was still in a state of shock, and the little girl who was usually gossipy and talkative gulped.
It’s already good enough for an average person to score 88 marks for Olympiad questions!
Xue Yao smiled and said, “The average person usually just gets below 100. So, Cousin, how many marks did you get?”
Xue Xi did not reply, but Qin Shuang had already shouted, “288!”
“What? Did I hear wrongly or did you say wrongly?”
“You reported an extra 100 marks, right? 188 sounds more reasonable.”
“288 marks? You must be joking! Qin Shuang, you’re just talking big!”
“Shouldn’t it be 88 marks?”
Fan Han and Xue Yao widened their eyes in disbelief, thinking that Qin Shuang must have misspoke…
Old Liu had already rushed over to Xue Xi’s side with a look of surprise. “Xue Xi, how many marks did you get?”
The girl passed her phone over to him. After snatching the phone over, Old Liu felt that his eyes must have cheated him. Hence, he rubbed his eyes roughly and stared at the phone again. Although the phone display was not as huge as a computer’s, the numbers were still very clearly displayed: 288 marks!
Xue Xi, who automatically ignored the crowd’s discussion, slowly asked, “Mr. Liu, did I get poor results?”
Old Liu: “??”
He tugged at his lips and explained to her, “This is not an average examination. Since the inception of the Math Star Competition, the highest score ever achieved was 271, and that person was a genius. That person subsequently represented the country to take part in the IMO competition and almost obtained a gold, becoming the pride of the country.”
He was reluctant to return the phone to Xue Xi and repeatedly stared at the score. His hands were trembling with excitement.
At this moment, a phone ringtone sounded.
Old Liu whipped out his random-and-local branded phone to answer the call. The other party was the Mathematics head, Mr. Zhang. His voice roared through the receiver, as though it was on speaker, “Mr. Liu, how many marks did your class’s Fan Han get?”
Old Liu replied, dazedly, “212 marks.”
Mr. Zhang grinned. “Not bad, not bad. That is a confirmed First Prize! He he, but it looks like the first place in our school is Sun Jie this time. Ha ha, he scored 224 marks!”
Old Liu subconsciously replied, “Congratulations.”
“What is there to congratulate about? Isn’t it a given that our school is the first? It’s already an amazing feat for your international school to get a First Prize. Still, Old Liu, I have to say this: with your mathematics standard, you can actually come to First High to teach the Olympiad class, but instead, you chose the International School’s high salary. It is a pity when you think about it. As teachers, what makes us proudest should not be our salary but the outstanding students we nurtured, right?”
If it were the usual, Old Liu would have hung up the call a long time ago.
Mr. Zhang called clearly to gloat. Alas, Old Liu was justified this time and had the right to be. He stood up and chuckled. “Old Zhang, it has been so many years and I truly think that you are right! But if it’s regarding first place, I’m afraid your expectations have fallen short.”
Mr. Zhang was taken aback. “What do you mean?”
Old Liu raised his chin cockily. “Oh, I forgot to say it just now. Our school’s Xue Xi scored 288 marks.”
“What?”
…
At the school field.
All members of the Roaring Flame Society were gathered in a row on the staircase, holding their phones.
Gao Yanchen stood up and rested one leg on the stairs, declaring, “I have printed 200 sentences for scolding people. We have eight people here, so we will need to bring out the aura of an 800-people troop. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
Following his call of “start,” everyone quickly entered the forum.
Probably less than 100 marks? Hurry and post the result!
Gao Yanchen: F*ck. Go take the exam. If you can score 8 marks, I will call you dad. Oh, my apologies, you don’t even have the right to take part in the examination.
…
The results are out. Prepare for it, I will be announcing the results! You guys will definitely be shocked!
“The marks are out!”
Flame Number One nervously shouted, “Everyone, prepare to refresh the page! We must definitely crush them! I have already thought of the words to spam. Just say: Still your father even without results! Type this out, then copy and paste it, so we can save on the time needed to type. Hurry, refresh!”
The few Flames rushed and spammed a few hundred messages, instantly overtaking the thread.
As they spammed, someone finally noticed the anomaly. “Why don’t I see any crude comments?”
Another asked, “How many marks did you guys see just now?”
Flame Number One: “You guys continue. I’ll go take a look.”
By the time he finally painstakingly scrolled through the thread and found the post with the scores, he was totally dumbstruck.
Gao Yanchen kicked him. “Speak.”
“That… Sister Xi couldn’t possibly have scored 8 marks, right?”
Flame Number One gulped. “288.”
Flame Number Six, who was a stranger to the Mathematical Olympiad, asked, “What is the total score?”
Flame Number One: “…300.”
“…”
The field was instantly silenced. The scorching sun blazed its rays on them, making them feel as though their Sister Xi emitted light on her own. Her image suddenly became much nobler and awe-inspiring.
…
In the living room of the Xue family.
Ye Li nervously keyed in the examination ID number. Her hands were trembling.
Xue Sheng waited beside her, smiling. “I already told you to not be nervous. Xixi went there only as practice.”
Despite saying this, his gaze was still firmly stuck on the iPad screen.
Old Lady Xue sneered. “It’s impossible for her to get a good ranking anyway. I don’t know what you’re nervous about. That’s true, though. Scoring too low would be a disgrace…”