"Total score, four hundred twenty-five?"
When Evan Lin said it, the students who thought he was some kind of academic genius all froze for a second, thinking they'd misheard.
Of everyone in the conference room, not a single person had scored below five hundred.
Now here was Evan Lin from Class Twelve—the legendary transfer student from back then—actually sitting here with just four twenty-five?
"Four twenty-five and you call that 'natural talent'? If I ever scored that low, I'd run straight into a wall. How did you even get in here with a score like that? Your last test must've been a disaster." River Liu, the usual grade number one, looked down on him, arms folded, slouched back in his chair.
"Wasn't it zero last time?" A student who'd heard Evan skipped the monthly exam piped up timidly.
"Zero! No wonder, no wonder scoring four twenty-five this time makes you the most improved student. That's a pretty insane jump—over four hundred points! I wish I could improve that much, but I've got nowhere left to go." River Liu pretended to sigh, shaking his head.
As soon as he said that, a bunch of people nearby burst out laughing.
Eric Yu was absolutely thrilled inside—he'd been waiting for this moment forever. "Hey, Evan, you still haven't told us your rank this time. Last time with zero you were definitely dead last in Class Twelve, but now you've got four twenty-five. You must've moved up, right?"
"Class Twelve's scores have always sucked. If you got that in my class, you'd still be ranked the same as someone with zero—dead last either way." Hearing Eric's jab, a student from Class Three chimed in right on cue.
For a moment, just about everyone in the conference room was giving Evan Lin curious or mocking looks.
But Evan stayed perfectly calm, which made Ben Lu and Henry Wang—who were hoping for drama—feel a bit let down.
If Evan had shown even a hint of embarrassment, they would've felt satisfied, but his cool attitude just didn't fit their plans.
"Mr. Wang, so when it's over, can we leave?" Lynn Chen turned to Henry Wang.
Evan from Class Twelve was the last student.
Lynn really didn't want to watch Evan get treated like some kind of circus monkey anymore.
"Of course you can leave when it's over, but it's not done yet, is it?" Henry Wang smiled and turned back to Evan. "Evan Lin, that speech of yours just now really brought me back to my youth. When we're young, it's normal to be a little cocky, but when it comes to studying, you have to keep your feet on the ground. Don't get ahead of yourself or chase after things that aren't real."
"You say you're naturally gifted, that you pick things up just by looking at them—but even River Liu, the grade number one, wouldn't dare say that. And you're saying it with a four twenty-five? If word gets out, people will think Capitalview First High students are all arrogant slackers. That's not a good look!"
Henry Wang grinned.
Ben Lu nodded along, acting all serious: "I totally agree with Mr. Wang. As a student, doing well in school is the bare minimum. Sure, four twenty-five might be middle of the pack somewhere else, but here at Capitalview First High, that's rock bottom."
At that, Ben Lu switched gears: "Since you got that score, I guess you don't have any useful study tips to share. Just report your individual subject scores, then."
"Once you're done, everyone can go back to class. Less than a year till the college entrance exam—even last-minute cramming helps a little."
Ben Lu nodded slightly.
As soon as he said that, some people started getting ready to leave, while others stared at Evan, waiting to hear his scores.
Wendy Wen just shook her head—she didn't even bother writing down Evan's earlier comments. With a four twenty-five, if he goes up at the Teacher–Student Assembly, he'll get roasted alive.
Lynn Chen frowned slightly, clearly annoyed at Ben Lu and Henry Wang, but as a student, she couldn't say anything.
After all, all the previous students had gone through this same process.
"Why so quiet? I thought you liked talking. Come on, don't be shy—just say it." Eric Yu smirked, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Evan just looked at him calmly.
Under Evan's gaze, everyone saw Eric Yu—who'd been gloating a second ago—instinctively shrink his neck like he'd been startled. It surprised quite a few students, and Eric's face went stiff; deep down, he felt humiliated that a single look could rattle him!
"I don't know."
Evan just said those four words, glancing around the room.
"Don't know?"
Hearing that, everyone assumed Evan was just too embarrassed to say.
"Makes sense. With a total like four twenty-five, remembering each subject score must be tough. If it were me, I probably wouldn't remember either." River Liu folded his arms, shaking his head and looking down on Evan.
River had always been a legend, top three in the grade since freshman year. But ever since Evan showed up in senior year and stole the spotlight, River had been quietly resentful.
Now Evan said he didn't know, and to River that just sounded like an excuse.
But in reality, while other classes had already handed out their score sheets, Byron Yang from Class Twelve was still calling out scores one by one—so Evan genuinely hadn't seen his individual marks yet.
After River finished, he turned to Ben Lu: "Sir, this student can't remember his scores, but I'm really curious about his breakdown. Could you read them out for us?"
"Yeah, Mr. Lu, we're all curious too."
The other students all grinned, chiming in one after another.
Ben Lu put on a show: "Normally, if Evan Lin didn't want his scores revealed, I wouldn't say anything."
"But since this is a commendation meeting, and Evan's progress is obvious to everyone, I'll make an exception and check for you all."
Ben Lu's voice dripped with sarcasm; the master grade sheet was right in front of him.
He reached out and flipped through it—each class had its own page of scores.
He kept turning pages until he finally got to the last one: Class Twelve's results.
Then Ben Lu started scanning from the very bottom of the rankings, working his way up.
"Found it!"
Spotting Evan Lin's name, Ben Lu's eyes lit up.
"Thirty-third place!"
The corners of Ben Lu's mouth curled up, and he quickly glanced at the scores next to it.
But when he actually saw the subject breakdown, his just-raised smile couldn't help but twitch several times.