"Ah... the teacher is here."

"You just realized that," He Yuqing said as she hastily returned to her seat upon hearing Zhong Meiya's stern reprimand. Before leaving, she added, "Youjie, you should have reminded me earlier."

"It's because you were so engrossed in chatting here," Thanks to him, my plan to rest during the break went down the drain.

"It's good to strengthen relationships among classmates during breaks, but don't get too absorbed in chatting. Students should prioritize their studies," Zhong Meiya said as she walked towards the podium and looked at me. I didn't intend to chat, though.

"The results of this weekly exam were not satisfactory in Chinese," Zhong Meiya placed a stack of exam papers on the desk.

"As your homeroom teacher, I believe there shouldn't be any problem with my teaching abilities. So why did some students fail in Chinese? I just can't understand it," Zhong Meiya's expression turned increasingly unpleasant as she flipped through the papers.

"Chen Ming, " Zhong Meiya picked up one of the papers and called out,

"Here, teacher," a male student stood up from a certain area.

"Please explain why your Chinese score is only twenty," Zhong Meiya turned the paper around to face everyone and pointed at the score on it.

"The score is given by the teacher, what can I explain?"

"The score is indeed given by the teacher, but it is based on the correctness of the answers. You got all the multiple-choice questions wrong. Can't you even do such simple pinyin? And for the essay, you left it blank?"

"There's nothing I can do about it, teacher. I tried my best to answer the questions, but I can't write an essay if I don't know how," this student replied with a helpless gesture.

"Then copy a few of the best essays from the perfect-score essays in the college entrance exam."

"Are you kidding, teacher?"

"Do I need to say it again?! Hand over the exam paper!" Zhong Meiya pressed on her eye rims, her gaze becoming sharp. This student was immediately intimidated and obediently went to the podium to hand back the exam paper.

"Liu Hai, do you know nothing about ancient poetry?" Another unfortunate student came up next.

"Is that so? I'm okay with ancient poetry, right? Teacher, look, I answered the questions."

"Answered? They are all wrong. You completely missed the point of the sentiments and thoughts the ancient poets intended to express. They were trying to convey their talent being unappreciated, so why did you interpret it as a misfortune of the times?"

"I think it's like this, teacher. It's precisely because we live in such an era where many things are beyond our control, that's why it feels like a misfortune of the times. If it were in modern times, it would be much better." This student rambled on.

"Having a leap in thinking is not necessarily a bad thing, but the main idea you expressed is still problematic, Liu Hai. You completely let your imagination get carried away with the ancient poetry in this Chinese exam, so you got everything wrong. Take some time for self-reflection," Zhong Meiya said firmly.

"Teacher, it shouldn't be like this. I don't think I did anything wrong," the student still felt unwilling to accept it.

"Talking won't solve anything. Hand over the exam paper!" Zhong Meiya didn't want to listen to any further explanations from this student either, so the student reluctantly returned to his seat with the exam paper.

"There are a few more students who performed poorly, but I won't mention them one by one. Let's distribute these papers first," Zhong Meiya handed some of the exam papers to the representative of the Chinese class, who then distributed them to those students.

"Next, I want to talk about a classmate in particular." Zhong Meiya's gaze suddenly swept across the room, and then it landed on me.

"Youjie, your Chinese test score is only 88, can you explain to the teacher?" Suddenly, everyone's eyes turned towards me.

"Only 88?" I stood up slowly, unsure, and asked.

"Yes, the total score is 150, and you didn't even reach the passing line."

"That's a pity... I missed it by only two points."

"Missing two points in the college entrance exam can also hinder your admission to undergraduate studies, not to mention that your grades are not good either. You should aim for a score like Zhiye, at least 137 in Chinese."

"137?" I exclaimed.

"Zhiye got the highest score in the weekly Chinese exam this time, the class representative got only 120. So everyone should learn from Zhiye."

"What? Are you kidding? Such a high score!"

"137, that's top-notch! It's a score I can't possibly reach."

"I... I didn't expect I was so far behind. No, I have to study harder."

"Zhiye is amazing... sniffle..."

The classmates present couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, some even shed tears, feeling like they couldn't surpass that height.

"This is the result of hard work. Everyone can achieve a score like mine, it's not difficult." Zhiye stood up and spoke comforting words to everyone.

"Zhiye, please teach me!"

"Ah... Zhiye, please let me be your student!"

"Why didn't we realize earlier? Zhiye is a top student."

Everyone was moved to tears, filled with motivation, except for me, He Yuqing, and the class representative Chen Ming, who had calm expressions on our faces.

"If you have any questions, ask the teacher or the class representative." Zhiye didn't want to take on disciples and teach them.

"Why? That's so strange."

"Yeah, we're all in the same class. Shouldn't we encourage and help each other?"

"Zhiye, you can't be so stingy..."

Zhiye's statement caused some dissatisfaction among them.

They looked at Zhiye one after another, trying to get an explanation, but Zhiye looked at me, leaving me in surprise.

"Because I belong to Jie. As long as he's willing, I will teach him without reservation. Others can't."

When Zhiye looked at me affectionately and said this firmly, I felt something was wrong. This scene felt too familiar.

"Is it just for the sake of this insignificant role?"

"Damn it! Why does he get to enjoy such treatment? It's so unfair, and he's not even good-looking."

"I want to challenge him to see who is more suitable for Zhiye's guidance."

Wherever I go, I always encounter situations where a large group of people make fun of me.

"Quiet! This is still class!" Zhong Meiya clapped her hands and finally stopped the commotion.

"Anyway, in this weekly test, some students did poorly, but some did well. He Yuqing got 110, and there were still quite a few in the high-scoring range. It proves that some students are diligent. Those who didn't do well should work harder." Zhong Meiya finished speaking and glared at those students who were still full of resentment and dissatisfaction.

"Whoever has any complaints or grievances, come to my office after class. Now, focus on your studies and start learning today's material. It's still a classical Chinese class, so make sure you study well."

Instantly, the classroom fell into silence, and everyone could only obediently listen to Zhong Meiya's lecture. However, I felt like another seed of discontent had been planted.