As soon as the two cars stopped, someone inside pulled open the doors.
Immediately, ten people got out of the cars—half men, half women.
Most of them were dressed in black professional attire—the men wore ties, the women had crisp white shirts, making them look especially competent.
"Principal Deng."
A woman about 1.7 meters tall glanced at Principal Damon Deng, nodded slightly, and greeted him.
She wasn’t very old—maybe twenty-five. Her figure was excellent, her looks above average, but what really set her apart was the intellectual, refined aura she gave off.
Her voice was gentle when she spoke, with the soft warmth typical of a southern woman, but the slightly worn Patek Philippe watch on her wrist instantly boosted her presence several notches.
"You’re... Director Zheng!"
Principal Damon Deng was momentarily stunned when he saw the woman, but quickly recovered, his face lighting up with delight as he stepped forward to shake her hand. "I just got the news yesterday—I thought the exchange proctor this time would be Old Song again, but I didn’t expect you to lead the team."
"This time we’ll really be relying on your teachers. Once the exam’s over in two days, I’ll host a welcome dinner for you all."
Principal Deng was all smiles, looking completely energized.
After saying this, he first introduced Ben Lu, then turned to him and said, "This is the youngest director at Oceanport Pearl Academy I mentioned before—Ms. Autumn Zheng!"
Ms. Zheng is a top graduate of Harvard’s mathematics department—she could have taken a teaching post at elite universities like Huaqing National University or Beijing University!
Principal Deng’s face was full of excitement as he said all this.
In previous years, the Hundred-School Joint Exam always had schools exchange proctors to guarantee absolute fairness and impartiality.
For such a large-scale joint exam, if a school’s results stand out, it has a huge impact on next year’s admissions—and becomes a major bargaining chip to attract top students.
Exchanging proctors is also a way for schools to interact—put simply, it’s proof of a school’s status.
If your school is good enough, the teachers you send for exchanges will have higher standing.
Getting to meet Autumn Zheng is proof that Pearl Academy recognizes Capitalview First High.
No wonder Principal Deng was so happy.
"Hello, Ms. Zheng! It’s great to finally meet you!"
Ben Lu was stunned for a second, then quickly reached out with an excited grin. "I’ve heard so much about Pearl Academy! This is the first time Capitalview First High has hosted teachers from your school—it’s a real honor."
"Thank you all for coming!"
Ben Lu honestly felt a little flattered by all this.
Pearl Academy was a private high school, and even in Oceanport, it was top-tier—crazy expensive, super elite, and packed with standout teachers and students.
Every year, the principal and directors at Pearl Academy would travel around offering sky-high salaries to recruit star teachers. Anyone who made the cut was basically the cream of the crop, and most had top-tier teaching credentials.
It was exactly because Pearl Academy had so many big-name teachers that Autumn Zheng, who’d become a grade director in her twenties, seemed even more impressive—everyone was blown away.
"You’re too kind, Mr. Lu. Your school’s college acceptance rate has been off the charts these past few years, and your faculty is seriously strong. I bet you’ll crush the Hundred-School Joint Exam this time."
Autumn Zheng smiled graciously, totally at ease.
"Shall we head in? It’s getting late."
A male teacher in his thirties standing behind Autumn Zheng looked a little impatient.
He’d just watched Damon Deng and Ben Lu shake Autumn Zheng’s hand like crazy, and you could see the jealousy in his eyes.
As soon as he spoke up, Autumn Zheng felt a bit annoyed, but she didn’t say anything.
Damon Deng nodded quickly. "Right, right, let’s not forget what we’re actually here for."
"We’ve got a little over an hour before the exam starts. Let’s head to the conference room—most of the teachers are waiting there. There’ll be twenty-five exam rooms, and the seating is set up just like the college entrance exam."
Damon Deng led the way. As the group headed into the school, Autumn Zheng suddenly turned her head, almost on instinct, to glance outside the campus.
In her line of sight was a boy with his hands in his pockets, face calm, strolling in from outside. Every step was steady and chill. Just one look gave Autumn Zheng a weird feeling.
"Qiu Chan, what’s up?"
The thirty-something male teacher noticed Autumn Zheng turning her head and immediately asked with concern.
"It’s nothing."
Autumn Zheng shook her head, caught up with Damon Deng, and pushed that odd feeling she’d just had to the back of her mind.
"Twenty-five exam centers, and half an hour before each test, we draw lots to assign proctors to rooms. That way, teachers can’t cheat for their own students."
"Here we are—the conference room."
Damon Deng stopped at the conference room door, pulled it open, and stepped aside with a big smile, letting Autumn Zheng and the others go in first.
Evan Lin’s exam room was Room 11.
This time, the seating wasn’t sorted by grades—it was totally scrambled, all random.
Evan walked into the exam room and glanced around. He barely recognized anyone. Most of the students were hunched over their Chinese textbooks, cramming last minute. When some of them spotted Evan coming in, a lot of faces froze in shock.
Some of the girls even looked totally starstruck—their faces lit up like they’d just spotted a celebrity.
Thanks to Evan, the whole vibe in the classroom instantly got way more relaxed.
"Hey, I’m from Class 6. You’re Evan Lin from Class 12, right?"
In the front row sat a girl with braided hair. She wasn’t exactly pretty, but she was kind of cute. She worked up her nerve, turned around, and looked Evan in the eye as she spoke.
"Yeah," Evan nodded.
"Good luck on your exam!" The girl never expected Evan would actually talk to her, and her whole face lit up with joy.
"Hope you crush it too."
Just those couple lines from Evan got the girls nearby buzzing—suddenly, they were all thinking about striking up a conversation.
"He’s not nearly as hard to talk to as the rumors say."
Someone was already getting up, ready to go chat with Evan.
The legendary transfer student was usually impossible to approach, especially Evan Lin, who’d made it onto the school-wide livestream N times since Capitalview First High was founded. He was basically rarer than a panda.
But just then, footsteps sounded outside the exam room.