Snow-white test papers were passed down one by one, and Lin Chaoxi took his.

She looked at the three blank questions circled in red and the remaining ticks on the test paper and sighed.

In their seats, many children were recalculating their grades.

She looked at the people who were going to be eliminated.

Some of them were still counting scores, some looked regretful, some were crying, and some were being patted on the back by their deskmates and were whispering something.

But no one was packing, and no one wanted to leave.

The impromptu class fell silent, as if the relaxed and lively atmosphere after the completion of the exam was just an illusion.

Vice Principal Zhang looked at his watch. The five minutes he had left for the students to question him had already expired. His tone was kind, but his expression was as cold as ever. He said, "The last five students, you should know your results now. Although it is a pity, I have to ask you to leave now. There will be teachers outside to take you home."

Many of the children's heads popped up - it was real.

This is their first reaction.

Summer camp is real, exams are real, elimination is real, and they will be sent home for failing grades. All of this is real.

Lin Chaoxi also felt melancholy. Although among them, only five people could represent Anning City in the final official competition, it was completely different to go through the whole process together and be eliminated at the beginning.

None of the last five children stayed. After Vice Principal Zhang finished speaking, they stood up one after another, lowered their heads and walked out of the classroom.

Outside the classroom, there was indeed a teacher standing at the door waiting for them.

The teacher rubbed the children's heads and whispered soothing words to them.

Lin Chaoxi didn’t know what the teacher would say to them, but she knew very clearly that she didn’t want to hear those words of comfort, she wanted to go to the end.

The back door was closed again, and the classroom regained some warmth. The students were obviously celebrating on a small scale, but I was glad I didn't have to leave for the time being.

The middle-aged man on the podium looked around the classroom and said slowly: "Although they left, soon, some of you will leave too."

"Ah..." The children in the audience dragged their voices, very reluctantly.

A brave student raised his hand and said, "Teacher, how long is very soon?"

"Did the teacher ask you to stand up and answer the question?" asked Vice Principal Zhang.

The student quickly retracted his hands and head, and the classroom suddenly became quiet.

"You don't need to know when the next exam is, because it may be when you eat or when you sleep..."

"What about when you go to the restroom?" someone inquired with a chuckle from the back seat.

Lin Chaoxi was startled and turned to look at Huajuan. The child half-raised his head, with a smile on his face, and he didn't care who was standing in front of the podium. Lin Chaoxi felt that he was fearless.

"Did I allow you to speak?" Chang Shuping's tone was still cold.

"Oh, okay." Huajuan lowered his head and shrank his body, but there was no fear in his eyes.

Vice Principal Zhang was interrupted twice, but he didn't look unhappy. His tone was always calm and indifferent: "I know you are very proud of finding that you don't have to leave for the time being and your bones are lighter, but what are you proud of? The full name of our summer camp is 'Jinjiang Cup Primary School Olympiad Mathematics Competition Anning Division Selection Summer Camp', which means that your competitors are not the 50 students in the class... No, not the remaining 45 students now."

"You may think I'm cruel, but learning itself is cruel. When you get out there, you'll know that there are always people better than you. Just looking at your own small achievements is far from enough..."

There was another small movement in the back seat. Lin Chaoxi vaguely heard Hua Juan say, "Tian Wai Tian is already next to me, what the hell is there for me to see?"

As if to refute Huajuan, the man at the podium changed the subject: "Yes, some of you are very smart, but before the really hard learning of mathematics, all of you are insignificant." He pointed to his head, and his eyes moved towards Pei Zhi purposefully, and he spoke slowly again.

"Intelligence is not the decisive factor, but hard work is. Because when you finally learn, you will find out how difficult and arduous mathematics is. You can't go on without great perseverance. It is definitely not as simple as you think."

Lin Chaoxi felt more and more uncomfortable listening to it. It seemed as if these words were specifically addressed to Pei Zhi? Thinking of the incident of Pei Zhi being called away just now, what exactly happened between Zhang Shuping and Pei Zhi?

She turned her head quietly and asked Pei Zhi tentatively: "Did you offend him because you didn't answer the question?"

"Student Pei Zhi, please stand up."

On the podium, Vice President Zhang suddenly called the name.

In the back seat, Pei Zhi pushed the chair away and stood up slowly.

Vice Principal Zhang said to the whole class: "On the test just now, Pei Zhi scored full marks and finished the test in just ten minutes. Let's applaud his performance first."

The whole class immediately burst into deafening applause. Lu Zhihao clapped his hands mindlessly and was very happy for Pei Zhi.

Lin Chaoxi frowned, feeling that this wave of emotion was like a veiled attempt to suppress something before revealing it.

Sure enough, after the applause gradually died down, Vice Principal Zhang continued, "While you were waiting for your grades, I called Pei Zhi to my office. I know you want to know why I called him, and you also want to know what happened in the office, so please let Pei Zhi tell us for himself."

Lin Chaoxi half turned sideways, half raised his head to look at the young boy who stood up, frowning, feeling even worse.

Pei Zhi looked ahead and answered directly: "Just now, Principal Zhang brought a new test paper and asked me to finish it in 20 minutes."

"And then?"

“Then, I didn’t do any of the questions.”

"Why?"

"Because I can't." He answered naturally.

Lin Chaoxi's heart skipped a beat. Beside him, Zhang Liang and his gang were already laughing out loud with a strong sense of mockery in their expressions.

Hua Juan was also shocked. He looked at Pei Zhi helplessly. He didn't expect this result. Among all the people in the class, only Pei Zhi remained calm.

"Why can't you do it?" William Chang continued to ask.

"Because I haven't learned it." Pei Zhi replied.

Lin Chaoxi didn't know what to say. Vice Principal Zhang was obviously using Pei Zhi's example to tell everyone that they should have awe for learning. In layman's terms, he was killing the chicken to scare the monkey.

She wanted to stand up and speak for Pei Zhi, and she was about to do so, but suddenly, someone shouted:

"Lin Zhaoxi!"

"Here!" she answered suddenly and stood up.

The classroom fell silent again.

One in front and one behind, she and Pei Zhi stood abruptly, receiving the attention of all the classmates.

"I heard from Teacher Jie Ran that you were questioning me just now. What is the meaning of the test requirement that students have to carry their luggage upstairs?"

Lin Chaoxi first looked at Jie Ran, pursed his lips and pouted, meaning: You actually told the secret.

Jie Ran stood behind the principal and poked the middle-aged man's broad back, meaning: He is so fierce that I dare not not speak out.

Many students were laughing secretly under the podium.

"Yes." Lin Zhaoxi replied.

"Why?" asked the vice-president.

“I feel that by having you take the exam in this extremely tired state, you are not testing our true level,” she said.

Vice Principal Zhang: "Is it extreme to take an exam in a state of exhaustion? Can you guarantee that you will be 100% mentally ready for every exam in your life? Can you guarantee that you will not have a fever, a headache, or insomnia before an exam?"

Lin Chaoxi recalled how she had diarrhea and a high fever before the last summer camp exam and therefore failed. After thinking about it, she realized that she really couldn't guarantee it, so she shook her head honestly.

"Today's test situation is just one of the situations you may encounter in the future. Imagine if the road is congested and you have to run several kilometers to take the test, and you have to start answering questions immediately after sitting in the examination room. With today's experience, will you be a little calmer? And it is very likely that it is this calmness that gives you the opportunity to go to a prestigious school."

The middle-aged man was very passionate, but Lin Chaoxi asked in a low voice: "But the purpose of studying is not to take exams. Is it really meaningful to prepare for extreme situations with a very small probability?" She was indeed very confused.

"But unfortunately, in the current social system, the only goal of learning for most people is to pass the exam. And the purpose of this summer camp is also for the exam."

It seemed as if William Chang was speaking to her, and also to all the children present.

"If you fail, you will be eliminated. There are only so many real social resources. Society uses tests to select people with different abilities in a relatively fair way to distribute social resources. This is the cruel reality."

Lin Chaoxi was speechless for a long time.

She knew very well that every word that William Chang said contained cruel truths that few people would tell their children.

But this fact is contrary to what Lao Lin has taught her since she was a child about what she likes and what she interests.

Lao Lin never forced her to become a certain kind of person, so even though she was forced to choose the liberal arts when the class was divided into arts and sciences, Lao Lin just felt sulky.

But now, she was suddenly reminded of the difficulty and cruelty of the learning path, and became confused again.

She suddenly wanted to know, if the person teaching at the podium was Lao Lin, what would he say to them?

Thinking of this, she shook her head again. Lao Lin was now dozens of miles away and was a park manager. How could he possibly come here to teach them?

In front of the podium, Vice President Zhang spoke up, interrupting her fantasy.

"You are very smart, I admit," he said. "I also understand that you stood up this time not for yourselves, but for your classmates. However, your behavior itself did take the lead in violating the exam rules, so I will impose the following punishment on you."

Lin Zhaoxi raised his head again.

"In the next week, you will be required to go to the cafeteria at six o'clock every morning to prepare breakfast for the other students in the summer camp. This is a punishment for the two of you."

After saying this, the vice-principal said "dismissed" and left.

Lin Chaoxi was still standing, and suspected that there was something wrong with her ears. For ordinary people, this was a punishment, but for her, it didn't seem to be entirely the case?

She turned around and glanced at Pei Zhi.