The Reincarnated Science Whiz

Chapter 32: The College Entrance Exam (2)

It was a sunny afternoon. Even after 2:00 p. m. , the Sun was still scorching. Qin Yuanqing had no choice but to buy a parasol; otherwise, he would have arrived at the exam hall drenched in sweat. At 2:30 p. m. , the bell rang, signaling the start of the exam, and the test-takers began entering the hall. After undergoing a thorough security check, Qin Yuanqing took his seat at the exam desk. The afternoon session was the math exam. Aside from an ID card, admission ticket, and writing utensils, only calculators approved for the college entrance exam were permitted; cell phones and all other electronic devices were strictly prohibited from the exam room. Math was no problem at all for Qin Yuanqing! The math exam format for the Gaokao is fixed, consisting of only three types of questions: multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and problem-solving. The multiple-choice section consists of 10 questions, each worth 5 points for a total of 50 points; all are single-choice questions. The fill-in-the-blank section has 5 questions, each worth 4 points for a total of 20 points. The problem-solving section has 6 questions worth a total of 80 points; each question varies in difficulty and is assigned a different point value. After receiving the exam paper, Qin Yuanqing first filled in his name, admission ticket number, ID number, and school, then began skimming through the questions. It was exactly as he remembered the math exam—not a single question had changed. When the announcement declared, “The exam has officially begun,” Qin Yuanqing filled in the answers to every multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank question without even doing any calculations, and completed the answer sheet. He then moved straight on to the open-ended questions, which presented no difficulty at all—it couldn’t have been any easier. “Math problems are really boring!” Qin Yuanqing muttered in exasperation after finishing the last problem. He glanced at the clock—it was 9:20 a. m. —and realized only 20 minutes had passed since the exam began. He had originally thought that his arrival—like a little butterfly—would flap its wings and set off a chain reaction, bringing about some change, but to his surprise, nothing had changed at all. It was too unchallenging—way too easy! “Teacher!” Qin Yuanqing raised her hand. The proctor looked over and asked, “Qin Yuanqing, what’s the matter? Is there a problem?” “Teacher, I’ve finished the exam and would like to turn it in!” Qin Yuanqing gave the teacher a good-natured smile, indicating he was ready to hand in his paper! “What? You’ve finished the exam?” The proctor was taken aback—how could he have finished so quickly? Walking over to Qin Yuanqing’s desk and seeing that his test was completely filled with answers, the proctor was instantly at a loss for words. Patiently, he said, “Qin Yuanqing, you can’t turn in your test until 45 minutes after the exam starts. Please sit back down at your seat and wait until 3:45 to turn it in!” “Waaah~~~” In the same classroom, a delicate-looking girl suddenly burst into tears with a loud wail. That’s so unfair! I haven’t even finished the multiple-choice questions yet, and you’ve already finished the whole exam! Why is my life so hard? Why was I so stupid back then to choose the science track? I should’ve chosen the humanities! The other test-takers looked just as devastated, their faces etched with despair. How could the gap be so huge? Are they trying to kill us?! Come on, guys! This is the college entrance exam—take it seriously and be more careful, okay? If you keep this up, you’ll end up with no friends! Seeing that this wasn’t going well, the two proctors quickly reported the situation to their superiors. They were then allowed to hand in their exams, but Qin Yuanqing wasn’t permitted to leave the school grounds; he had to rest in a designated area and couldn’t leave until 3:45. Qin Yuanqing handed in his exam, packed up his things, and left, reluctantly making his way to the shade of a banyan tree. Thankfully, the Sun wasn’t as scorching anymore, and with the breeze under the tree, it wasn’t too hot. “The questions were so easy—nothing had changed. How can they blame me?” Qin Yuanqing muttered to himself. This college entrance exam system was truly inhumane. Why on earth did he have to wait 45 minutes after the exam started before he could turn in his paper? It’s my right to turn in my exam whenever I want! “Hey, Qin Yuanqing, you turned in your paper this early?” At 3:40, the reporter who had interviewed him that morning walked over to ask, “Was the math exam easy?” “Early? No, I finished the test in just 20 minutes, but the teacher wouldn’t let me turn it in early. He didn’t let me hand it in until 3:25, so now I’m just resting here,” Qin Yuanqing complained. “Comrade Reporter, these rules for entering and exiting the exam hall need to be more humane—they’re just too inhumane.” “Was the math exam easy?” Qin Yuanqing answered in the affirmative: “Yes, it was very easy—not even as difficult as the mock exams at our school.” This wasn’t just Qin Yuanqing venting; the final question on this math exam was genuinely less difficult than the last question on their school’s mock exams. In just 20 minutes, Qin Yuanqing had already written out the solution steps and conclusions for all three parts of the final question—and for several of the problem-solving questions, he’d even provided two different methods. Otherwise, it would have taken him even less time. The reporter was speechless—this was a real blow. Back when she took the college entrance exam, she’d been tortured to death by math, and she was even a humanities student. She’d heard that math for science majors was even harder; if she’d been even one-tenth as good at math as Qin Yuanqing back then, she could have picked any top-tier university she wanted. Nevertheless, the reporter wrote a brief news item, paired it with a photo of Qin Yuanqing, and published it immediately. This time, it hit the trending list even faster—in just five minutes. At 3:45, Qin Yuanqing waved to the reporter and left school. After returning home, he called his dad, and his confident words put his father’s mind at ease. Then Qin Yuanqing opened his laptop, went to Sina News, and discovered that the story about him had become a trending topic. He was instantly at a loss for words—it seemed he’d been too flashy after all, with so many people idolizing him. A top student!? Am I a top student? No! I’m not just a top student—I’m a super top student! These trending college entrance exam news stories and comments are so boring! Qin Yuanqing sighed in exasperation. What a bummer—smartphones had just come out back then, but compared to what they’d be a few years later, they were practically junk. The smartphone era had only just begun; there was no WeChat, no TikTok… Otherwise, a round of Honor of Kings wouldn’t have been so bad! Closing his laptop, Qin Yuanqing saw that it was already 4:40 p. m. —the exam would be over soon. He hurried downstairs to pick up his dinner; otherwise, if he missed this restaurant, he’d have to wait until 7:00 p. m. to go down again. At 9:00 a. m. on June 8, the exam for the subject with the highest point value on the college entrance exam began—the Science Comprehensive Exam, commonly known as “Science Comp.” This year’s Science Comprehensive exam, as always, was worth 300 points, with 120 points for physics, 72 for biology, and 108 for chemistry! This was exactly the same as the scoring breakdown for the Science Comprehensive exams Qin Yuanqing and his classmates had taken at school! The Science Comprehensive exam was incredibly challenging: each multiple-choice question was worth 6 points, with a total of 18 questions accounting for a full 108 points. The first 12 questions were single-choice, followed by 6 multiple-choice questions. The rest of the paper was divided into a required section and an elective section, with the required section worth 157 points and the elective section worth 35 points. Qin Yuanqing gave the exam a quick scan; it was still exactly the same as the science comprehensive exam he remembered. He sighed. “There’s no way to keep a low profile here. I want to stay under the radar, but fate insists on putting me in the spotlight—what can I do?” Qin Yuanqing spent five minutes completing the single-choice and multiple-choice questions, immediately securing 108 points. He wondered how many test-takers wouldn’t even reach 108 points after two and a half hours of testing. For the subsequent non-multiple-choice questions, Qin Yuanqing didn’t distinguish between required and optional sections; he simply answered them one by one in order. Questions 19 through 22—four physics problems—covered experiments, electricity, classical mechanics, motion, and electromagnetism. Qin Yuanqing’s train of thought was crystal clear, and his pen moved as if guided by a higher power. Next came Questions 23–25, which were chemistry questions covering experimental procedures, elemental properties, and sets of chemical reaction equations. Qin Yuanqing already had these topics thoroughly mastered; he could have answered them with his eyes closed. Questions 26–27 were from the biology section, testing the investigation of yeast respiration under different conditions—an experimental procedure question. The subsequent questions focused on genetic recombination and mutations, which are essentially mandatory topics on the college entrance exam every year. Though the questions may vary in form, they all adhere to the same core principles. The elective section was worth only 35 points, covering material from the elective textbooks. It wasn’t particularly important or difficult, so Qin Yuanqing worked through the questions one by one. Many students, when tackling the elective section, tend to choose the questions that look easier to answer first to avoid running out of time. By the time Qin Yuanqing finished, only 40 minutes had passed. He didn’t hand in his exam immediately; instead, he scanned through it from start to finish, checked his answers, and made sure everything was perfect before raising his hand to submit it. Since 50 minutes had already passed since the exam began, Qin Yuanqing didn’t need to take a break at the designated rest stop. However, Qin Yuanqing was somewhat surprised this time, because in addition to the female reporter from earlier, there were quite a few other reporters waiting to interview him at the door—including representatives from Sina News, Tencent News, and Southeast News, among others. “It went okay. The science comprehensive exam was very well-crafted this time—the question types were classic, and there were no questions beyond the syllabus.” “My estimated score? Hard to say, but no less than 300 points!” Qin Yuanqing answered the questions modestly, but for some reason, the reporters were all stifling their laughter. What are they holding back for? If they want to laugh, just laugh. People just aren’t what they used to be! Why is it that when you tell the truth, no one believes you? In the afternoon, it was time for the foreign language exam. Qin Yuanqing arrived at the school gate at 2:15. In his previous life, he’d been just a little late because he’d been at an internet café checking for updates on *Panlong*, and as a result, he wasn’t allowed into the exam. He’d had to wait outside until the listening section was over before he could enter the classroom. This time around, he wasn’t about to make that same rookie mistake. No matter how good *Pan Long* is, it’s no match for the college entrance exam; and no matter how chubby a tomato gets, it’s still just about as round as a Bostonian’s face. English is different from other subjects—it starts with a listening section, and you simply can’t answer any questions until it’s over. The listening section lasts 20 minutes and is worth 30 points. It’s the kind of test where if you don’t listen, you can’t answer. Based on experience, if you just pick “B” for every question, your chances of getting it right are over 25%—roughly 30% accuracy. In his previous life, Qin Yuanqing had guessed his way through by selecting “B” for every question, scoring 10 points on the listening section. Qin Yuanqing listened to the audio with ease, filling in the answers for each question as he went. When the listening section ended, he didn’t rush to move on to the next section; instead, he first filled in the answers on the answer sheet with a 2B pencil as required. Then he began answering the questions. He worked his way through the test from start to finish, shading in the answers with a 2B pencil after completing each major section. The final section was the English writing task, requiring about 120 words. For this, it’s best not to write too much or too little—around 150 words is ideal. After a quick review to ensure he had answered every question and filled in the answer sheet correctly, Qin Yuanqing finally turned in his exam. By then, it was already 3:55 p. m. , making this the latest he had ever turned in an exam among all his subjects.