The Reincarnated Science Whiz

Chapter 19: Final Exams

A solemn, serious, and tense atmosphere surrounding the final exams enveloped the entire Jinpu No. 1 High School. The final exams spanned two days: Chinese in the morning and math in the afternoon on the first day; English in the morning and the science comprehensive exam in the afternoon on the second day. Indeed, with the completion of the entire senior year curriculum this semester, the school introduced the first-ever senior year Science Comprehensive exam for these final exams. The entire Science Comprehensive exam was designed according to the question formats, subject weightings, and testing points of the college entrance exam. The teaching staff at Jinpu No. 1 High School is exceptionally talented; many were poached from other schools in Jinpu County and possess a high level of competence. The school places great emphasis on the college entrance exam and has established a dedicated research team for it. This team consists of the top teachers from each subject, who analyze the exam syllabus and key topics; they are responsible for setting the questions for both the midterm and final exams for the senior class. Qin Yuanqing was now fully prepared and appeared quite relaxed. Over the past ten days or so, he had reviewed all his high school subjects and completed his first round of revision. To him, these final exams seemed a bit of a walk in the park. It was actually the math and science comprehensive exams that gave him a taste of what the college entrance exam would be like. He secretly admired the skill of the test writers, but for both math and the science comprehensive exam, Qin Yuanqing handed in his papers before even half the allotted time had elapsed. Academic Affairs Office “Year Level Director, Qin Yuanqing’s Chinese exam has been graded—he scored 139 points!” “Year Level Director, Qin Yuanqing’s math exam has been graded—he scored 150 points!” “Grade Level Coordinator, Qin Yuanqing’s English exam has been graded—he scored 150 points!” “Year Level Coordinator, Qin Yuanqing’s integrated science exam has been graded—he scored 300 points!” What Qin Yuanqing didn’t know was that every time he turned in a test, the proctor would hand it to the grade-level coordinator, who would then pass it on to the respective subject teachers for grading—and he always received his scores immediately. “It’s enough that everyone knows the scores, but don’t mention them to anyone outside the school until they’re officially announced. Got it?” the grade-level coordinator emphasized repeatedly. This was also something the principal had instructed in advance. According to the established schedule, exams were held on January 14, concluded on the afternoon of January 15, and results were to be announced on the afternoon of January 16—marking the end of the first semester of senior year and the start of winter break for the students! Qin Yuanqing’s exams were graded by his teachers immediately—an exception to the usual procedure. To ensure fairness, confidentiality was essential; otherwise, if word got out, some people would inevitably jump to unfounded conclusions. Nevertheless, the teachers were still utterly amazed. Except for Chinese, Qin Yuanqing had actually scored a perfect score in every subject. Out of a possible 750 points, he scored 739—a result that left them absolutely stunned. In all these years, no student had ever achieved such a high score. This also meant that even though Qin Yuanqing had spent less time at school than his classmates due to participating in the math competition, he had not let up in his studies. The grade-level coordinator immediately went to the principal’s office to report: “Principal, Qin Yuanqing scored 139 on the Chinese exam and perfect scores on the other three subjects. With a total of 750 points across the four subjects, Qin Yuanqing achieved a total score of 739!” “Principal, as long as Qin Yuanqing maintains this level of performance, he has a very good chance of competing for the top spot in the provincial science track on this year’s college entrance exam!” The year-level director grew more and more excited as she spoke. As the head of the senior class, Yu Geng—though a woman—was undeniably capable; otherwise, she wouldn’t have earned the wholehearted respect of the talented students under her guidance. “Mm-hmm!” Principal Fang Jianguo’s mood immediately brightened upon hearing this. Thanks to Qin Yuanqing’s repeated achievements, Jinpu No. 1 High School had gained significantly more prestige in the eyes of county leaders. The construction plans for the gymnasium and the synthetic track had already been finalized, and the projects had been put out to bid two years prior. Construction was set to begin as soon as the students went on winter break. As the principal of Jinpu No. 1 High School, leaving a lasting legacy for the school is every principal’s mission. Otherwise, when the school’s history is written, the principal’s legacy would likely be described as merely mediocre. But this was clearly not Fang Jianguo’s ambition; he wanted to become the most outstanding principal in the history of Jinpu No. 1 High School. Every year, Jinpu No. 1 High School has two or three students admitted to Shuimu University or Yan Da University; unless there is a historic breakthrough, these results are not considered outstanding. Through persistent efforts over the past few years, Fang Jianguo had pushed for the completion of the Comprehensive Teaching Building, equipping Jinpu No. 1 High School with modern multimedia lecture halls and computer labs. Every classroom was outfitted with computers and projectors, enabling multimedia instruction, and he gradually improved teaching methods and academic quality across the school. However, this alone is not enough to make him the most outstanding principal at Jinpu No. 1 High School! But once the gymnasium and the synthetic track are completed, if Qin Yuanqing goes on to become the top science student in Fujian Province on the college entrance exam, then his status as Jinpu No. 1 High School’s most outstanding principal will be unquestionable. Even if no one follows in his footsteps, he has at least surpassed many of his predecessors! Moreover, Fang Jianguo is already making plans; he’s just waiting for Qin Yuanqing to excel at the IMO. If Qin can achieve outstanding results, Fang will be able to propose to the leadership the construction of two new dormitory buildings to improve students’ living conditions. In fact, Fang Jianguo had already secured the land—a full 40 mu over at the branch campus, acquired at the same time as the land for the gymnasium. While two dormitory buildings wouldn’t require that much land, he had to think ahead: it would be disastrous if he needed the land later and found there wasn’t any available. Fang Jianguo picked up the phone, called the Education Bureau to chat with his superiors, and then casually brought up Qin Yuanqing’s end-of-term exam results. The call lasted five minutes before he hung up. Qin Yuanqing, of course, had no idea about any of this. After the exams ended, he treated his entire class to a meal—not at a restaurant, of course, but at KFC! The students were all excited, screaming and shouting with joy. For them, KFC was a real luxury. They knew Qin Yuanqing was wealthy—they’d seen those rewards with their own eyes time and time again. All kinds of burgers, chicken strips, and chicken wings were brought out, and before long, they were all rubbing their round bellies. Then everyone went to West Lake together. At that time, West Lake was still in decent shape, but in another couple of years, the water there would become completely foul—so stinky it was unbearable. West Lake Park is currently the largest park in Jinpu. Many residents come here to take walks and exercise, and it’s also a popular spot for students. Qin Yuanqing was a bit lazy, so he’d only been to West Lake Park five or six times. Once, he came here to learn how to ice skate but ended up twisting his ankle. He really admired those who were great at ice skating, and the boys who were good at the rink were often very popular with the girls and found it easy to get girlfriends. Qin Yuanqing chatted and laughed with his classmates, while some of the boys kept glancing casually at the girls. Their class had more boys than girls—forty boys and only twenty girls. In Qin Yuanqing’s eyes, only two or three of the girls were actually pretty; the rest were quite ordinary-looking. But in the eyes of his classmates, it was a different story—with their surging hormones, they were prone to letting their imaginations run wild all day long. However, in high school, very few boys have the courage to confess their feelings to a girl. The vast majority are the “shy yet passionate” type—they harbor secret crushes but dare not speak up. It’s only after graduation, when these feelings become part of their memories, that they’re filled with deep regret. And this is what people call a “secret crush”! He still remembers that only two students from their class ended up together—and it was quite a surprise. Nan was unremarkable-looking, while the girl, though she had nice features, had darker skin and spoke in a sweet, girlish voice; she loved hanging out with the boys in class. Yet, after they graduated from college, the two actually ended up together—he became an engineer, and she became a high school teacher. They even had a child early on and walked proudly among their former classmates. That day, since they’d already finished their exams, everyone was feeling relaxed. They partied until past 9:00 p. m. before heading back to campus and returning to their respective dorms. The next day, in the afternoon The school had just posted the scores on two bulletin boards, and immediately a crowd of students gathered to look! “Oh my God, perfect scores in three subjects, a total of 739 points!” “That beast Qin Yuanqing—scoring that high, does he even let the rest of us live?” “The runner-up scored 630—the first-place finisher beat the runner-up by over 100 points!” “What a beast! It’s so unfair! I only got 450 points!” “This exam was so hard that everyone’s scores dropped significantly, but Qin Yuanqing didn’t slip—he actually improved, scoring even higher than he did on the midterms!” The seniors stared at the scores posted on the bulletin board, each of them pounding their fists on their chests in frustration. Normally, everyone would start from the top and work their way down until they reached their own scores. Because of this, the names of those in the top twenty were often memorized, making them celebrities in the students’ eyes. So when they saw at first glance that Qin Yuanqing had taken first place with a total score of 739, everyone was dumbfounded and stunned—such a high score was beyond their wildest imagination. After all, every subject on this exam was designed to simulate the actual college entrance exam. The questions covered a vast range of material—some topics from freshman and sophomore years that students had long since forgotten, and others that combined multiple areas of knowledge. As a result, students’ scores had generally dropped significantly this time around. They all knew this deep down, but when they saw that Qin Yuanqing had scored 739, it was as if each of them had taken a 999 critical hit. In their minds, they pictured a man holding a broadsword, saying, “Hello everyone, I’m Zha Zha Hui. Welcome to come and slash at me—one swing lands a 999 critical hit!” Then they saw the second-place score: 630 points—a full 109 points behind Qin Yuanqing! Keep in mind that this student had consistently ranked first for years; it was only this semester that Qin Yuanqing had suddenly risen to prominence, and even in several previous exams, he’d still managed to come in second! At four o’clock, Qin Yuanqing went to the classroom to pick up his report card, only to be met with a wave of envy. Qin Yuanqing felt a bit helpless—this sudden transformation into a top student after his rebirth was still quite unnerving for him. Maybe, given time, everyone will just get used to it! Qin Yuanqing thought to himself. Once the exam papers for each subject were distributed and the homeroom teacher handed out the report cards to everyone, he repeatedly emphasized the importance of staying safe during winter break—especially not going into the water—and then wished everyone a happy New Year in advance before officially declaring the break open. Instantly, the students expressed their delight at the arrival of winter break with enthusiastic applause. The heavy academic workload had made every student eagerly anticipate the break—a time when they could sleep in as long as they wanted and watch TV to their heart’s content. Unfortunately, they soon realized they’d been far too naive. Teachers from each subject carried in exam papers—not many, just four per subject—as winter break homework, and issued a stern warning: anyone who failed to complete the assignments would not be allowed to return to school when the next semester began.