Chapter 11: Getting Along with Classmates, City Mock Exam Results

This made him hesitate about whether he should come back every weekend. His study state was exceptionally good when he was with Zhang Wanyuan, and it was quiet at home, so he didn't have to worry about as much as he did at school.

The next day was Monday. Because Zhang Boyan was at home, the whole family was together, and Father and Mother Zhang were in much better spirits than usual when they sent them off in the morning.

The siblings walked together for a while before parting ways. On the road, Zhang Wanyuan ran into Ding Juncai and his friends, who were playing around on their bikes. Ding Juncai’s eyes lit up; he stopped to wait for Zhang Wanyuan and waved at her, saying, "Beautiful Wanyuan, how do you feel about this mock exam?"

Zhang Wanyuan looked as if she had seen a ghost. Had the sun risen from the west today? A slacker was actually starting to care about grades!

"It's alright. I didn't check the answers, so I don't really know what I'll get," Zhang Wanyuan said conservatively, her serene face looking very quiet and composed.

Ding Juncai grinned, looking cheeky. "My parents told me to apply to Yucai Middle School. Aren't you applying there too? That way we can be classmates again, and I can copy your homework then!"

Zhang Wanyuan stumbled and nearly fell. She looked at Ding Juncai in astonishment; there was truly no one else as shameless and thick-skinned as him.

The boy riding on the other side of Ding Juncai burst out laughing, mocking him without mercy: "You want to get into Yucai Middle School with your grades? Would the principal even agree? Even if you pulled strings, they’d be taking your money while dragging down the school's overall standard—it wouldn't be worth the loss!"

"Go away! Get lost!" Ding Juncai said, embarrassed and angry. He tried to kick the other boy while still riding his bike, looking quite dangerous as he wobbled. Zhang Wanyuan was so scared she quickly rode ahead, but that guy actually chased after her, continuing to try and get on her good side as if they had already been accepted into Yucai Middle School.

Zhang Wanyuan was still bewildered even after entering the classroom. She had been in the same class as Ding Juncai for three years, and he had never been this enthusiastic before. What kind of medicine had he taken today? She couldn't figure it out, and since the head teacher had already appeared, she immediately let go of her confusion.

Although the city mock exam results weren't out yet, that didn't stop the teachers of each subject from reviewing the papers so that students could estimate their own scores.

After two days, the students who had been full of fighting spirit were like wilted eggplants, especially Feng Ying and Ding Juncai, who sat on either side of Zhang Wanyuan. One sigh followed another, making Zhang Wanyuan feel depressed just listening to them. Helplessly, she put down her book and looked at them. "Are you trying to sigh all the crows down from the sky? It's been from morning until afternoon, and there's only one class left before school ends. Do you intend to keep sighing like this?"

"Sigh!" the two said in unison.

"I give up!" Zhang Wanyuan spread her hands and stopped paying attention to them.

Feng Ying pounded her chest in frustration. "How can the teachers be like this! Reviewing the papers before the results are even out. Now I'm a nervous wreck. When I went home yesterday, my dad asked me how I did, and I told him it was hard to say since they were only halfway through the review. I managed to muddle through, but now that the answers for every subject are out, my estimated score is thirty points lower than I expected. Tell me, how am I supposed to explain this to my parents? Wuwuwu..."

Feng Ying was originally fake-crying, but as she went on, she actually started shedding tears, which stunned Zhang Wanyuan, who quickly scrambled to find tissues for her.

Ding Juncai, sitting to the side, looked listless and wailed, "I'm the one who's miserable! My parents said if I fail even one subject this time, they're cutting off my allowance—all of my allowance for the whole year! Isn't that just killing me?"

Feng Ying’s crying stopped abruptly. She widened her eyes and scrutinized Ding Juncai suspiciously. "Forget it. If nothing else, you haven't passed English once since we were in the same class in middle school! You can even copy history and politics wrong when they're right in front of you. I think your parents' expectations for you are quite unrealistic."

"Pfft!" Zhang Wanyuan couldn't help but drop her head to her chest, her shoulders shaking.

Ding Juncai was even more indignant. "If you want to laugh, just laugh! It must be really hard for you to hold it in like that!"

"Hahahaha..." Zhang Wanyuan and the students scattered around them all collapsed in laughter.

The oppressive atmosphere became much lighter because of the commotion between Feng Ying and Ding Juncai, and the expressions of those who had been frowning earlier also eased up.

After trading a few barbs with Ding Juncai, Feng Ying ignored him and asked Zhang Wanyuan, "Wanyuan, what about you? I haven't heard you say what you estimated your score to be."

Zhang Wanyuan paused and said seriously, "I don't think my estimate is very accurate. First of all, I'm not sure about politics, history, or the essay. The teachers also said that what they published are just standard answers, and every teacher grades differently—some are strict, some are lenient. So I didn't estimate. I'll know the results tomorrow."

Seeing her calm and composed demeanor, Feng Ying shook her head repeatedly. "Tsk tsk tsk, if I had half your stability, my parents would wake up laughing in their dreams."

Ding Juncai chimed in at a very inopportune moment: "Forget it, you're not stable, you're just 'stable and heavy'!"

"Ding Juncai, do you want to fight?!" Feng Ying was so angry she threw her book, stood up, and lunged at Ding Juncai aggressively.

Ding Juncai wasn't good at studying, but his ability to slip away was unmatched. The two chased each other around the front and back doors of the classroom. By the time the bell rang for class, Feng Ying still hadn't caught him, and instead ended up panting, looking quite disheveled.

When the two sat back in their seats, they were still glaring at each other as if their eyes were blades.

Because the last period was a self-study session, the two couldn't be too reckless and could only throw paper balls at each other, which even resulted in Zhang Wanyuan getting hit a few times. She finally managed to endure until the end of the day. Before the final bell even rang, she had already packed her bag. As soon as it rang, she left the classroom immediately, while Feng Ying and Ding Juncai both stood up at the same time; judging by Feng Ying's posture, she clearly wouldn't give up until she caught Ding Juncai.

The next day, the results of the third-year mock exam, along with the school and city rankings, were posted on the bulletin board outside the school gate.

When Zhang Wanyuan arrived at school, she found the gate so blocked by third-year students that she couldn't even get her bike through. She was "locked out" just like that, holding the handlebars with both hands and occasionally standing on tiptoe to peek, but unfortunately, she couldn't see anything.

Just then, their class monitor managed to break through the crowd. Zhang Wanyuan was overjoyed and quickly called out, "Monitor! Monitor! What's the situation?"

The monitor, Su Yuxing, was a tall, sunny boy from the school basketball team. Hearing Zhang Wanyuan's voice, he ran over to her and said with a bright smile, "Zhang Wanyuan, congratulations! You did very well this time. You're first in our class, second in the school, and eighty-first in the city. If you keep this ranking for the high school entrance exam, you'll definitely get into No. 1 High School. You can pick any high school in Pu City you want!"

"Thank you!" Zhang Wanyuan was genuinely grateful, but she remained standing still, a reserved smile on her face.

(End of chapter)