Chapter 6
At five o'clock in the morning, Li Ming opened his eyes precisely before the alarm clock rang. Outside the window, the sky was still thick with darkness, but he could faintly hear his mother's deliberately light footsteps in the living room, as well as the subtle clinking of spatulas in the kitchen. He took a deep breath; the air seemed to still carry a trace of his father's cigarette smoke from the previous night, and an indescribable, silent support.
He rolled out of bed, his movements more composed and less strained than in the past few days. On his desk, Mr. Chen's notes were neatly categorized with different colored labels, and next to them lay his own notebook of correct mistakes. The empty milk glass his father had brought the night before still sat on the corner of the table, like a silent witness.
He picked up his English vocabulary book and, instead of rote memorizing it like he had in the first few days, tried to understand and connect the words using the "root and affix association method" and "contextual memory method" mentioned in Teacher Chen's notes. His efficiency seemed to have improved somewhat.
At breakfast, Li Jianhua, the father, was already sitting at the table with a bowl of porridge in front of him and half a steamed bun in his hand. When he saw Li Ming come out, his gaze lingered on his face for a moment before quickly looking away. He didn't say anything, but simply pushed the dish of pickled vegetables toward him.
The mother, Wang Xiuqin, brought out a plate of freshly stir-fried vegetables. Looking at the strange calm between the father and son, she hesitated to speak, but in the end, she just silently put a piece of vegetables in each of their bowls.
This silence, no longer filled with tension, is more like a tacit understanding, a tranquility as everyone gathers strength before the storm (mock exam) arrives.
However, the rumors in the class did not subside; on the contrary, they intensified as the mock exam approached.
"See that? He's still pretending to be knowledgeable. He's practically worn out Teacher Chen's notes."
"If last-minute cramming works, pigs can fly."
"I heard he's a distant relative of Teacher Chen, so he might be able to get the questions in advance..."
"Him? He definitely cheated on the math exam last time. This mock exam will be strictly proctored, let's see how he shows his true colors!"
These voices, like the buzzing of flies, were everywhere. Zhang Hao tried several times to refute Li Ming, but was stopped each time by a look from him.
“Competing with them is a waste of time.” Li Ming’s tone was eerily calm, his gaze never leaving his book. “The report card speaks for itself.”
It wasn't that he didn't care; rather, his past experiences with the harsh realities of life had made him far more resilient than his peers. He knew that in this stage where grades were paramount, any verbal arguments were futile in the face of unwavering academic achievements.
Chen Guohua had clearly heard some rumors as well. After one math class, he deliberately went to Li Ming's desk and tapped on it.
"Li Ming, how are the preparations going?"
"I will do my best, Teacher Chen." Li Ming raised his head, his eyes clear and firm.
Chen Guohua gave him a deep look and nodded: "Stay calm and just perform normally. Don't let irrelevant people and things affect your mindset."
"I understand, thank you, teacher."
Chen Guohua's public concern was like a shot in the arm, but also a double-edged sword, drawing more curious or malicious glances to Li Ming. Everyone was waiting to see if this student, who had suddenly "gotten it" and gained the favor of his homeroom teacher, was truly a gem or a bubble about to burst.
The day of the mock exam finally arrived amidst an eerie and tense atmosphere.
The examination room was silent, save for the scratching of pens on paper and the occasional suppressed cough. Sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air and the faces of each examinee, some solemn, some anxious.
Li Ming sat by the window, took a deep breath, and accepted the exam paper passed down to him. The cool touch of the paper instantly cleared his mind, which had been somewhat foggy from staying up all night.
Chinese, English, physics, chemistry... one subject after another.
He cleared his mind of all distractions and focused entirely on the problem. When he encountered a familiar problem type, he felt reassured and his pen flew across the page; when he encountered a difficult problem, he remained calm and tried to recall the ideas and methods emphasized in Teacher Chen's notes, attempting to break it down.
He no longer relied solely on those vague "predictions" in his mind, but instead utilized the knowledge system and problem-solving abilities he had rebuilt over the past month through almost self-torturing effort and with Teacher Chen's guidance. The feeling of dissecting a problem step by step and finally conquering it brought a solid and fulfilling sense of accomplishment, far surpassing the feeling of "knowing the answer."
The math exam was the last one, and also the one everyone was most concerned about.
After the exam papers were handed out, Li Ming quickly glanced through them. The last, most challenging question was novel in format and extremely difficult, immediately eliciting gasps and murmurs of dismay from the exam hall.
Li Ming frowned slightly. This problem was outside his "predictable" range, and there wasn't a completely identical type in Teacher Chen's notes. This was a true test of his mathematical abilities.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He carefully examined the question, grasped the key conditions, tried different ways of adding auxiliary lines on the scratch paper, and recalled the relevant theorems and formulas... Time passed by, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Finally, with most of the exam time gone, a flash of inspiration struck him! He remembered a clever method for constructing similar triangles that Teacher Chen had mentioned. Although the question types were different, the approach seemed to be applicable!
He immediately began writing, his thoughts flowing smoothly as if his meridians had been opened. Each step of the proof was rigorous and clear, ultimately leading to a perfect solution!
The moment he put down his pen, he let out a long sigh of relief, his heart filled with the joy of overcoming difficulties through his own abilities. This joy was more real and more exhilarating than any success he had achieved by relying on "precognition"!
When the bell rang to signal the end of the exam, the exam room erupted in chaos.
"That last question was way too difficult!"
"I didn't even understand the question!"
"Oh no, I'm definitely going to fail math this time!"
"Li Ming, did you finish that last question?" A classmate couldn't help but ask, his tone tentative.
Li Ming was tidying up his stationery when he heard this. He paused for a moment and didn't answer directly, but just mumbled, "Yeah, I tried it."
His calmness, in some people's eyes, seemed more like a guilty conscience.
"Keep pretending!" Not far away, a group of boys, led by sports committee member Zhao Qiang, who had always disliked Li Ming, openly mocked him, "Just wait for the results to come out and prove you wrong!"
Zhang Hao was so angry that he wanted to rush over to argue, but Li Ming grabbed him.
"Let's go." Li Ming slung his backpack over his shoulder and calmly walked through the murmuring crowd. Sunlight cast a long, resolute shadow on him. He didn't need any argument at this moment; he just needed to wait.
The results of the mock exam will be released in two days.
That was the day of judgment, and also the day he vindicated himself.
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