Wendy Wen gripped the door handle and opened the conference room door.
Inside, a long conference table was set up, with some documents still scattered messily across its surface.
Wendy walked over, familiar with the routine, and quickly tidied up the table.
Evan Lin pulled out a chair and sat down. Eric Yu, across from Evan, hurriedly pulled out two chairs with a big smile: "Lynn, come sit here!"
He called out to Lynn Chen. Lynn glanced at the chairs Eric had pulled out, then at Evan's calm face. After a moment's hesitation, she walked over and sat down next to Evan.
Eric's eyelid twitched at the scene, but he quickly hid his displeasure and hurried over to Lynn's side, pulling out another chair.
"Lynn, I really owe you for this exam—especially for those math problems you explained after school the other day. Turned out they were exactly the same type! If you hadn't helped, I would've had no clue what to do."
As soon as Eric sat down, he started talking to Lynn.
"I only explained it once. You remembered and solved it because you worked hard yourself—it had nothing to do with me," Lynn shook her head.
She turned to look at Evan, just about to ask him something.
Outside the conference room, Director Ben Lu and Henry Wang were already leading twelve students over.
From Classes 1 to 12, each of the three Experimental Classes sent their top scorer and their most improved student—two per class, six in total. The remaining nine regular classes each sent their most improved student, including Evan Lin, making nine more.
Wendy counted as the interviewer and wasn’t included in the student count.
"Everyone, just find a seat. In a bit, we’ll each talk about our study habits," Henry Wang said with a big smile.
The students sat around the conference table, forming a circle.
Most of the boys, once seated, immediately focused their attention on Lynn Chen and Wendy Wen, while the girls paid more attention to Eric Yu.
By comparison, quite a few people deliberately ignored Evan.
"Alright, now that everyone’s here, let me explain: I invited you all to share your study tips and how you worked hard to improve your scores, so others can learn and do even better next time," Ben Lu said, clapping his hands.
He turned to Wendy: "Wendy Wen, you’ll be in charge of taking notes and putting together a summary for the Teacher–Student Assembly."
"Got it," Wendy nodded.
"Alright, let's get started. Before we begin, let's set a rule: when it's your turn, first state your previous rank, then your current rank and total score."
After Ben Lu finished, he paused: "Once you've shared your ranks, summarize your study methods and techniques."
"And finally, remember to list your scores for each subject. That way, everyone can see your strengths and weaknesses, which helps with sharing experience."
This last part was something Ben Lu thought up on the spot.
As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at Evan, a sly smile on his lips and a playful look in his eyes.
With a total of only 425, if Evan had to list out his scores by subject, wouldn't it look absolutely miserable?
Ben Lu knew Evan's math was pretty good—even if he scored high, say 130, the remaining three subjects—Chinese, integrated science, and English—wouldn't even add up to 300. The real reason he wanted everyone to list their scores last was to see how Evan explained his study methods.
He wanted Evan to rattle off a bunch of study tips, then reveal his disastrous scores and shock everyone.
Ben Lu was scheming hard in his mind, while Henry Wang caught on and grinned even wider.
"Alright, let's start with Class 1," Ben Lu said.
Soon, a boy with glasses stood up, glanced around, and began: "Hi everyone, I'm River Liu. Last exam I was first in the entire grade, and this time I'm first again, with a total score of 653."
"My study methods are pretty simple: I take notes in class, mark questions I don't understand, and after class I find similar problems and practice them several times. I memorize ten English words a day, and lately I've been doing two integrated science mock tests per week."
"My scores are: 120 in Chinese, 125 in math, 207 in integrated science, and 138 in English."
River finished and sat down, looking very proud.
The regular-class students listened in awe. While others talked about their class rank, only this guy mentioned his grade rank—his scholar aura was unmatched.
"The total is only 653 because the exam papers were tough this time, as everyone knows. Alright, next."
Ben Lu nodded in satisfaction.
Next up was Class 1's most improved student. He stood, said a few words, then sat down.
His rank rose from 18th to 15th in Class 1—a jump of three places, which earned him a seat here. It showed just how fierce the competition was among Experimental Class students.
"Next is Class 2's top scorer, Lynn Chen."
As soon as the Class 1 student sat down, Henry Wang called out eagerly.
Everyone immediately turned their attention to her.
Lynn Chen was sweet-looking and had caused quite a stir when she first arrived at school. Many had only heard her name or seen her on the big screen at the last Teacher–Student Assembly, but few had ever been this close to her.
Lynn slowly stood up and spoke softly: "Last time I was 10th in my class. This time, I'm 1st, with a total score of 641."
"I wasn't a great student at first, especially in math. But during the winter break of our second year, I heard about a student whose grades were terrible, but whose math suddenly got amazing. I thought he must be studying all night, burning the midnight oil where no one could see. That really inspired me, so I started pushing myself to tackle tough math problems every day."
"At first, those problems seemed impossible—I couldn't make any sense of them. But every time I thought of that student, imagining him working so hard, I kept pushing myself to catch up, because I figured if he could work that hard, I definitely couldn't just stand still."
Lynn spoke calmly, almost like she was recounting her inner journey. Her eyes shone with a moving light, as if she was reliving all those memories.