On Monday, Jiang Xiaoli entered the classroom and saw that all her classmates were engrossed in reading.
She took out the math competition book that Teacher Shang Run had given her. "Hey, how's your revision going?"
Xie Yitao scratched his head and said with a troubled expression, "I think it's pretty good, but my brother complained yesterday that I always fail the exam when I think it's good. I need to take a closer look."
Jiang Xiaoli chuckled, "What kind of logic is that? Can't you even be a little more confident?"
Xie Yitao frowned with a bitter expression. "Sigh, I don't know either. It's been like this for all these years of schooling. Every time I feel like I did well on a test, my grades are actually terrible. On the contrary, sometimes I feel like I did poorly on a test, but my grades are actually pretty good."
Chen Jing, who was behind her, chimed in agreement, "Yes, yes, yes! Me too!"
Jiang Xiaoli chuckled. "Have you ever considered the possibility that when you felt you did well on the test, you unconsciously raised your expectations for the results, which is why you felt you didn't do well when the results came out? And vice versa?"
Xie Yitao looked conflicted. "Maybe so. Oh well, I still want to do well on the exams. My mom said if I get into the top 20 in the grade for both the midterm and final exams, she'll take me to Kyoto to watch the flag-raising ceremony during winter break!"
She couldn't help but give her deskmate a thumbs up, "Getting up in the dead of winter to watch the flag-raising ceremony, you're a true hero!"
Chen Jing, however, was envious. "If I had good grades, my mom would take me to see the flag-raising ceremony too."
Jiang Xiaoli didn't expect that going to Kyoto to watch the flag-raising ceremony would be so tempting to her friends. "Then you should study hard and apply to universities in Kyoto when you take the college entrance exam. Then you can go every day if you want to watch the flag-raising ceremony."
Xie Yitao seemed inspired by her, "Yes! I will definitely work hard!"
When the bell rang, Jiang Xiaoli stood up and smiled, "Let's go! We can't go to Kyoto, so let's attend the flag-raising ceremony at school first!"
They went to their respective class's spot on the playground and stood there.
Jiang Xiaoli nudged Xu Xing next to her, "Why do I feel like today's flag-raising ceremony was much more formal than usual?"
She noticed a row of teachers and school leaders in formal attire standing in front of the podium, and even the podium itself looked like it had been carefully cleaned and was gleaming!
Xu Xing shrugged. "I don't know, I just arrived too."
Suddenly, as if she had discovered a new continent, Jiang Xiaoli exclaimed, "Hey! Look, Teacher Chen! I must say, Teacher Chen really does look like an old scholar in his formal attire."
Xu Xing glanced at her. "You mean Teacher Chen's hair is even balder?"
Jiang Xiaoli chuckled, "You said that, I didn't!"
Soon, the flag-raising ceremony began, and as usual, the national flag was raised and the national anthem was played.
During the teachers' speech, the principal stood in front of the podium, looking very energetic.
"Teachers and students! In this refreshing autumn season, I have some good news to share with you!"
Just last weekend, our school achieved outstanding results in the city-wide joint examination for senior high school students!
Among all high schools in the city, our school ranks ninth overall, with a total of 23 students ranking in the top 100 in both arts and sciences!
Special commendation goes to Xu Xing and Jiang Xiaoli, who were exceptionally admitted to this joint examination and tied for second place in the city's science stream with a score of 702!
Let's give them a warm round of applause!
Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
Many high school seniors exclaimed in disbelief, "702 points! Is this even human?! The full score is only 710!"
Jiang Xiaoli and Xu Xing looked at each other simultaneously.
She raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "What a coincidence!"
Seeing that the exam had ended inconclusively, Xu Xing simply asked, "I wonder who came in first place?"
Jiang Xiaoli had a guess in her mind, "I'll ask Teacher Chen later. He's dressed so formally today, he must know."
After the principal finished his long speech on the stage, the two found Chen Zhe, who was surrounded by several teachers.
Jiang Xiaoli teased, "Teacher Chen, you're just beaming with joy!"
Chen chuckled and rubbed his forehead, "You two really made me proud! Hahaha, today was really great!"
Xu Xing, being straightforward, asked, "Teacher Chen, if we're tied for second place, then who's first?"
Chen patted him on the shoulder, "You two have achieved very good results. The first place is Zong Jiayu from No. 1 High School. This child has excellent grades. If it weren't for a bit of an accident during this year's college entrance examination, he would probably be studying at Tsinghua or Peking University now."
Jiang Xiaoli was delighted to hear that it was Zong Jia. "Teacher Chen, how many points did he get?"
"705 points, three points higher than both of you." Chen Zhe chatted with the two as they walked. "You two still lack exam experience, and your answers to the politics questions aren't polished enough. That's where Zong Jiayu pulled ahead of you in the politics section."
Xu Xing nodded modestly, "Teacher Chen, I understand. I will make up for this shortcoming in the future."
Jiang Xiaoli really wanted to tell the two of them that the science-oriented college entrance examination next year would cancel the subjects of politics and biology.
She pinched herself to stop herself from crying, thinking that the official announcement wouldn't be long, so she decided to let things take their course.
She and Xu Xing returned to the classroom, and the whole class erupted in cheers, "Xu Shen! Xu Shen!" "Jiang Shen! Jiang Shen!"
Xie Yitao became a huge fan of Jiang Xiaoli, exclaiming, "Classmate, you're amazing! Second in the whole city! You could take the college entrance exam directly next year!"
Jiang Xiaoli made two gesturing gestures in the air, "Don't get excited, don't get excited, it's normal operation, it's normal operation!"
Despite her arrogant expression and words, none of the classmates who saw her this time dared to criticize her.
True strength is respected. For the students in Class 1 of Grade 1, Xu Xing and Jiang Xiaoli's outstanding achievements are on a completely different level from theirs.
The first class in the morning was physics. When Mr. Liu entered the classroom and saw Jiang Xiaoli, he teased, "Isn't this the little genius that the whole school praises!"
Laughter erupted in the classroom. Jiang Xiaoli shrugged helplessly at Teacher Liu, "Even a genius has to behave properly in your presence."
Ms. Liu was very satisfied with her answer. "That's right. Our class has a great learning atmosphere. I hope everyone will keep it up. Okay, everyone, turn to page 42..."
After the second class, Chen called the two of them to his office and handed each of them a red envelope, saying, "This is a bonus the school gave to you two."
Jiang Xiaoli opened the red envelope, "Wow, 100 yuan! The school is so generous!"
Chen looked at them with a smile, as if they were two gold nuggets. "The school has never been stingy. Don't worry, in future exams at the city level or above, as long as you achieve excellent results, you will receive a bonus!"
"Hehe, Teacher Chen, maybe we can get rich with the bonuses," Jiang Xiaoli laughed.
Although Xu Xing didn't speak, his expression was relaxed, and the corners of his lips were turned up in a smile.
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