"Any student who can score full marks on this test paper has to be one of Mr. Wang Xiu's students. Don't be shy—just say it," Director Ben Lu said with a broad grin as he took the test paper.
Wang Xiu, standing next to him, looked a bit embarrassed. He glanced at Byron Yang, who stood nearby looking utterly dejected, his eyes filled with a complicated mix of emotions.
"Well then, let's see who scored full marks..." Director Ben Lu said loudly. At that, everyone immediately turned to look at him.
The entire school's attention was fixed on his face. Director Ben Lu's eyelids twitched, and his voice suddenly dropped: "Evan Lin..."
"Full marks? Evan Lin?" The paper was immaculate, and the solution steps flowed seamlessly, radiating an effortless brilliance.
"Evan Lin?"
"Who's Evan Lin?"
My grades might be trash, but even at my worst, I can stomp your so-called pride of the school under my feet. What a joke.
Even the principal and a few teachers looked confused. None of them could recall any top student named Evan Lin.
I think that transfer student is called Evan Lin, isn't he? Evan Lin's words were like knives, slashing straight through their pride—every 'study god' in the room was left fuming.
A few students from other classes suddenly recalled this and spoke up.
More and more people realized it, and the whole school went wild.
In Class 12, Jason Liu had already been mourning Evan Lin in his heart, but after hearing Director Ben Lu's announcement, he froze in his seat!
"No way! That guy must've cheated!"
"If he could really score that high, why would he be in our Class 12?"
Every student in Class 12 couldn't believe their ears.
Principal Damon Deng frowned. "Evan Lin? Which class is this Evan Lin from?"
Class 12! Evan Lin from Class 12—it’s his paper. He got full marks, it’s... it’s him, the transfer student! Director Ben Lu stammered, flustered, barely able to string a sentence together.
Wang Xiu turned his head, his face pale as a sheet. He never imagined the honor that should have belonged to his class would be snatched away just like that!
Outside the multimedia room, Lynn Chen happened to walk in. With her impressive 140-point score, she should have been greeted with praise from every teacher. But as she entered, all she heard was wave after wave of exclamations about Evan Lin!
Evan Lin stood in front of Principal Damon Deng, his expression calm from start to finish, posture straight as a mountain peak.
Byron Yang, who'd been hanging his head in despair, heard the wave of exclamations and looked up, dazed. Keeping a student like this around is just dragging Capitalview First High's name through the mud!
"You?"
Principal Deng looked at Evan Lin standing before him. Just a moment ago, he thought this student was nothing but trouble—impossible to predict, disrespectful, breaking every school rule, and academically hopeless. But now, his throat felt dry.
He snatched the test paper from Director Ben Lu, lowered his head, and stared hard at the name column. There, 'Evan Lin' was written in elegant, confident strokes, full of flair. The entire paper was spotless, the solution steps linked perfectly one after another—just looking at it gave a sense of clarity and ease.
"Class 12, Evan Lin, transfer student, public fighter... full marks?"
Phrases flashed rapidly through Principal Deng's mind. He looked up at Evan Lin standing there, momentarily at a loss for words.
"My grades are bad, sure, but even at my worst, I can still stomp all your so-called top students under my feet. Ridiculous."
Evan Lin let out a faint, mocking laugh. As soon as he spoke, Director Ben Lu and Wang Xiu's faces darkened, Principal Deng's arm trembled, and Byron Yang suddenly remembered how Evan had finished the entire paper in less than half an hour—making his heart skip a beat.
In every classroom, the self-styled academic elites of Capitalview First High School were furious. Evan Lin's words were like knives, stabbing straight into their pride.
"Did you cheat on this test? This set of problems comes from the Olympiad competition in Seacrest Province next door. Did you already know about this exam? When you transferred, I had this paper right on my desk!" Director Ben Lu suddenly spoke coldly.
When Evan Lin transferred, Director Ben Lu happened to be looking at this test paper. He thought he saw Evan glance at it, so now he spoke up, voicing his suspicion.
"That's right, it must be! This paper is way harder than any regular test, and you came from Seacrest Province—maybe you've seen it before!" Wang Xiu stepped forward, pressing aggressively, his eyes sharp as he stared at Evan.
He suddenly turned to Byron Yang, who was still frozen in place, and demanded, "Mr. Yang, tell us—did this student do anything suspicious during the exam?"
"Well..." Byron Yang hesitated, his face blank for a moment before finally saying, "He finished the entire test in less than half an hour and handed it in early."
"Less than half an hour!"
"Even Superman couldn't do it that fast!"
"Damn, does he really think he's some kind of math prodigy?"
Hearing this, the students in every class outside the projector room exploded.
They'd used up all their time and still couldn't finish the paper, but this transfer student managed to ace it in less than half an hour?
"He definitely copied! You must've had the answers ready all along! I knew it!" Director Ben Lu shouted, then turned to Principal Damon Deng. "Principal, a student who cheats and has bad character should be kicked out as soon as possible!"
"Keeping a student like this here will only ruin Capitalview First High's reputation!"
Principal Deng hesitated at these words. He looked at Evan Lin, just about to say something.
But at that moment, everyone heard Evan Lin speak in a cool, indifferent tone: "This isn't the first time I've seen this test paper."
Hearing Evan admit it so bluntly, Principal Deng and Byron Yang were stunned, while Director Ben Lu and Wang Xiu instantly lit up with joy.
"See? He confessed right away! Cheating! That's cheating!" Wang Xiu yelled loudly.
The students below shifted from shock to scorn. If it was cheating, then everything made sense.
Just as everyone started accusing Evan Lin, Lynn Chen sighed at the doorway and finally stepped forward.
"I can testify—he did see the paper in advance, but scoring that high is absolutely not cheating!"