At that time, the top 70 students from the first semester of the third year of junior high school will be selected and divided into two classes for the final accelerated high school entrance examination preparation.

Although it sounds good, it also reflects that Baishi No.1 Middle School is indeed declining.

Her prized science and technology class, in fact, could not serve as a leading example for the entire school.

With the gradual decline in the quality of future students, it is conceivable that this junior high school will completely lose its former glory, disappear into the masses, and become a joke of its past brilliance.

Returning to the seven students, after realizing the gap in their grades, Ma Shaolong felt a pitiful barrier instantly separating him from the six in front of him. This precisely illustrates the extent of his academic decline since entering junior high school, inadvertently crossing the watershed of around seventy places in the rankings.

So everyone awkwardly withdrew their gazes from Ma Shaolong and pretended to continue chatting as if nothing had happened.

The reason is simple: it's too embarrassing. What can we say to Ma Shaolong? How can he maintain such an indifferent attitude while his grades are plummeting?

While this might seem to offer Zhang Xinyu some help, exposing someone's shortcomings is simply unethical.

Therefore, it's better for everyone to skip this topic and act as if nothing happened.

Just then, Fang Anmin returned from his office to get some documents, and Ma Shaolong and Zhang Xinyu went back to their respective seats.

After the class quieted down a bit, Fang Anmin had the students distribute the materials they had, and then said, "I want to emphasize a few points: take the winter vacation safety commitment letter, the letter to parents, and your report cards home to show your parents..."

Let me reiterate the relevant precautions. For example, safety, such as firecrackers...

Finally, let me address one more issue regarding studies. The winter break for first-year junior high students is crucial. Those who aren't doing well need to step up their efforts; this is your best chance to catch up...

Alright, I won't ramble on anymore. Finally, I'll give each of you a certificate so you can have a good New Year.

After talking about a lot of random things, the homeroom teacher brought up something that would interest the students.

Although everyone has certificates, having one is better than having none. You can go home and fool your parents to get some benefits.

As for the school, the certificates are worthless anyway; you can buy a stack of them for ten yuan at Xinhua Bookstore. They're just scraps of paper, and you can have as many as you want. They have no real value, and their actual worth is practically zero. But if issuing them can ignite students' enthusiasm for learning, then it's a huge profit.

After the less prestigious certificates have been awarded, the more valuable scholarships come next. Of course, not everyone receives one. Given the limited financial resources of Baishi No. 1 High School, they are only awarded to the top twenty students in each grade.

The first place gets 1,000, the top five get 500, and the rest get 100. Although it's not much, it's still something to be happy about for junior high school students of this age.

The top nine students from Zhang Xinyu's previous class took turns receiving plaques symbolizing scholarships; the actual scholarships would be awarded later.

Seeing her classmates' joyful expressions, Zhang Xinyu's mood, which had initially eased, gradually turned somber again.

"Okay, that's all. Those who want to go home can go home now, and those who want to stay at school a little longer shouldn't stay too late. Leave the school before midnight."

After saying these words, Fang Anmin waved his hand and sat down by the podium, chatting happily with several classmates who had come to see him.

"Brother Long, let's go, let's go play some football before going home, okay?" Ma Shaolong originally wanted to find Zhang Xinyu to continue their previous conversation, but after seeing the green football in his good buddies' hands and meeting their expectant gazes, he wavered.

If I refuse, I won't have anywhere to play football for a month.

In the midst of his struggle, Ma Shaolong saw Zhang Xinyu chatting with Shang Yunmiao and other girls again, so he stopped hesitating, responded loudly, and ran out with his buddies.

"It's still early, how about we take a walk around the school? The snow from a few days ago hasn't melted yet." Zhang Xinyu, who hadn't noticed Ma Shaolong's struggle at all, suggested to the girls around her after taking Shang Yunmiao's hand.

Wen Xin and Ma Lele were both interested, but Shang Yunmiao, acting as a younger brother, subconsciously looked towards Chen Bing first, thinking of asking for his opinion.

Just as Shang Yunmiao was self-aware as a younger brother, Chen Bing, as the older brother, naturally had his manners. It's just going out for a stroll with someone, making me wait a little while—what's the big deal? I approve.

After receiving Brother Chen's approval, Shang Yunmiao turned around and accepted Zhang Xinyu's invitation. The girls then quickly left the classroom.

After they left, Chen Bing chatted with Song Ze for a while. Soon after, Liu Yuan joined them.

However, the three of them lacked common ground; after discussing the results and test questions, they didn't know what to say next.

Just then, the class soccer team, which was missing a player, found the classroom and warmly invited the three of them to play soccer together.

It's so cold, why are you playing football? Honestly, I don't understand you guys.

Alright, let me show you all my strength, Chen Bing!

Chen Bing took the lead in accepting the invitation, followed closely by Song Ze and Liu Yuan as they left the classroom.

Leaving aside how Mr. Chen dominated the basketball court, attracting frequent glances from passersby, let's turn our attention to the quiet path and listen to how four pretty first-year junior high school girls chat together.

"So I really care about not getting the scholarship. If my mom asks about it when I get home, I'll be too embarrassed to tell her... She told me a few days ago that she went to Nanjing for winter break..." The sadness in Zhang Xinyu's eyes was undeniable; it seemed she really cared about her grades this time.

The others initially wanted to offer some words of comfort, but before they could even speak, Zhang Xinyu changed her tune and started discussing fun things to do in Nanjing with them.

Her ability to change her expression so quickly is unparalleled; it's as if the person who was just heartbroken wasn't her at all.

However, discussing interesting things is always better than being sad, and the others followed suit, happily talking about the topic.

Just as the discussion was coming to an end, the group heard the name "Xinyu" coming from behind them.

Turning around, I saw that it was a rather unkempt boy in a junior high school uniform who looked quite mature who had shouted that.

Upon seeing that it was the other person, Zhang Xinyu took a few steps forward and waved to them warmly.

"Brother Ocean".

Soon, Zhang Xinyu and the boy were standing face to face.

"You haven't gone home yet?"

"Yeah, I came out for a walk with my classmates."

"Okay, then I won't bother you anymore. It's been a long time since we last met. I just came over to say hello. You guys go on chatting. Oh, by the way, these are purple-wrapped candies I brought from home. You can have them all and share them with your classmates."