Teachers' office.
William Yan called his old friend Ethan Li out to the office hallway.
"William, what do you want?"
Ethan Li asked, feeling sympathetic about William Yan's situation. With just over two months until the college entrance exam, William had been stripped of his homeroom teacher position—everyone knew homeroom teachers got better pay and bonuses than subject teachers.
"When you invigilate my class later, keep an eye on a student named Ian Song. I suspect he's going to cheat!" William Yan said darkly. Every monthly exam involved class rankings, so invigilation was strict, and teachers were rotated between classes.
Word of the feud between William Yan and Ian Song had already spread among the teachers, so Ethan Li also knew about their bet. "William, is this really necessary? Maybe you should just let the bet go."
"No way!" William Yan's face darkened, his voice venomous. "That little bastard dumped feces in my drawer and got me kicked out of my homeroom job. If I don't get him expelled, I'll never be satisfied!"
Ethan Li knew there was no point arguing further, so he just nodded. "Don't worry, I'll keep a close watch on him. If he cheats, I'll revoke his exam qualification on the spot."
"Great, thanks a lot, Ethan!" William Yan said gratefully.
As soon as morning self-study ended, everyone took their textbooks and materials out of their desks and placed them on either side of the podium.
"Ian Song, are you confident about this?" Leo Li was really worried for Ian; if he didn't score at least 120 on the Chinese test, he'd have to withdraw from school as promised.
"Relax, I never do anything I'm not sure of!" Ian Song replied with a confident smile. With Photographic Memory and Mastery Insight, his grades were skyrocketing every day.
"That's good! Otherwise, if you drop out, I'll lose my free meal ticket!" Leo Li let out a sigh of relief.
"Get lost!" Ian Song cursed playfully.
............
When the class bell rang, two invigilators—one male, one female—entered the classroom almost at the same time.
Ethan Li stepped up to the podium, his eyes sweeping the students with authority. Suddenly, he said, "Which one of you is Ian Song? Stand up for a moment."
"Do you need something, sir?" Ian Song asked, standing up in confusion.
"I just wanted to see what the famous Ian Song looks like. Okay, you can sit down now!" Ethan Li smiled slightly.
Ian Song sat down, a bit annoyed, wondering what Ethan Li was up to.
Ethan Li emphasized exam discipline, sternly declaring that anyone caught cheating would have their exam qualification revoked.
After the papers were handed out, Ian Song silently recited in his mind: "Activate Mastery Insight."
To be extra safe this time, he hadn't used Mastery Insight the night before, saving it for the exam itself.
His mind instantly felt lighter—he knew Mastery Insight was now active. Ian glanced over the test paper, scanning the questions quickly, and was surprised to find that this Chinese exam was much harder than any he'd taken before.
Clearly, William Yan had gone to great lengths to get him expelled—Ian was sure William had helped design the paper.
A faint smile appeared on his lips. "William Yan, you're bound to be disappointed!"
He picked up his pen and started answering questions.
Thanks to Photographic Memory, he'd accumulated a massive amount of literary knowledge—he could recite every textbook and key point from junior high to senior high by heart.
Because of William Yan's request, Ethan Li paid special attention to Ian Song.
Half an hour into the exam, Ethan Li hadn't noticed anything unusual about Ian Song—he was just buried in his work. Curious, Ethan walked over and stopped beside Ian's desk.
Ian Song glanced at him once, then ignored him.
At that moment, he was working on the big classical Chinese question.
This classical passage wasn't from the textbook or any review materials. Without Mastery Insight, even with all his accumulated knowledge, Ian would have struggled—but now, his mind was clear. He skimmed the passage, mentally translated it into modern Chinese, and got ready to answer.
He started writing, and in just a few strokes, finished the big question.
Ethan Li, who'd been watching closely, was secretly shocked. Whether it was translating the classical passage or explaining its meaning, Ian Song's answers were flawless.
"Is this really the level of a so-called poor student?"
He started to worry about William Yan. Then, he quickly scanned the other questions Ian Song had finished, and after checking them, couldn't help but admire—every answer was correct.
After just twenty minutes of answering, Ian Song had already finished everything except the essay.
Now Ethan Li was certain—William Yan was doomed to lose. But he was curious to see what kind of composition Ian Song would write.
This time, the essay topic was about the relationship between writing and personal character.
After briefly scanning the prompt, Ian Song started writing immediately. Seeing this, Ethan Li thought to himself, "This kid sure is confident—he's not even worried about going off-topic!"
All the knowledge he'd read with Photographic Memory flowed through Ian Song's mind like a stream, and under Mastery Insight, it fused into a beautifully meaningful essay.
His writing was smooth and natural, a truly masterful composition.
Ethan Li couldn't even find the words to describe Ian Song's essay. In less than twenty minutes, an 800-word masterpiece was finished—without a single pause, not a single mistake.
"Excellent! Truly excellent!" Ethan Li couldn't help but praise. If he were the grader, he'd award it a perfect score without hesitation.
The only sound in the classroom was the scratching of pens, so Ethan Li's sudden outburst was jarringly loud.
Instantly, countless pairs of eyes turned to look at him.
"What are you all looking at? Get back to work!" Ethan Li scolded lightly, then walked back to the podium, secretly worrying about his old friend.
After the exam, Ethan Li and William Yan ran into each other in the office.
William Yan asked anxiously, "So, Ethan, did that little brat cheat?"
Ethan Li hesitated slightly, then said, "William, if you go cancel the bet with Ian Song right now, it's not too late. Otherwise, once the scores come out, you're guaranteed to lose!"
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William Yan's eyes flashed with anger. "Ethan, what do you mean by that?"
"Sigh." Ethan Li sighed again. "I've already checked Ian Song's paper—except for the essay, every answer is correct. And his essay is excellent too. If I were grading, I'd give him a perfect score. Even if another teacher marked it, they'd probably only dock a point or two, just for show!"
"How is that possible? This month's exam was at least fifty percent harder than usual—how could he get everything right?" William Yan said, incredulous.
"William, that's all I have to say. What you do now is up to you! I'm off to the bathroom." Ethan Li patted William Yan on the shoulder, shook his head, and walked away.
William Yan was left standing there, his face alternating between green and red.
After a full day of exams, the students left the school, while the teachers stayed behind to grade papers.
Suddenly, a female teacher grading papers couldn't help but clap her hands. "This essay is truly outstanding—so meaningful, so beautifully written!"
The teacher was Mabel Lu, the notoriously strict homeroom teacher for Grade 12, Class 1. She's famous for being harsh when grading Chinese essays, so her open praise shocked the other teachers.
"Mr. Yan, Ms. Lu is grading your class's papers, right?" a male teacher joked. "Congrats! Having a student whose essay gets praised by Ms. Lu is really impressive!"
Hearing this, William Yan didn't feel happy at all—instead, he had a bad feeling: Could that essay be Ian Song's?
Ethan Li glanced at William Yan and shook his head to himself. He was certain—the essay Mabel Lu praised was definitely Ian Song's.