Zhou Xiu was assigned to take her exam in the classroom of Class 25.
Also in the same exam room were Du Feiyang and Tan Ming. Du Feiyang clasped his hands together and muttered, “Let’s bask in the glory of Xiuxiu’s academic prowess.”
Zhou Xiu put down her backpack and looked around.
At the same time, she noticed that Xi Shaoyuan and Lu Lingshan were also in this exam room. Zhou Xiu couldn’t help but marvel at the coincidence that they were both assigned to the same room.
Zhou Xiu settled in, took out a black water-based pen, and started answering the questions seriously.
The morning’s Chinese exam was quite difficult, with classical poetry and prose writing that went beyond the syllabus.
To earn money, Zhou Xiu had memorized all the required passages for the semester in advance. She didn’t waste much time and smoothly wrote all the way to the essay section.
After finishing the test, Zhou Xiu had enough time to review her answers.
Two hours passed, and after the exam, Du Feiyang looked like a lifeless fish.
“I’m doomed. I can only rely on my Chinese and English scores. What kind of stupid questions were those? Ming, give me some of your pocket money next month.”
Tan Ming pushed Du Feiyang away and said, “Get lost.”
Tan Ming was in a bad mood.
He kept imagining his rival holding hands with his goddess and going on a date, which made him feel terrible.
He had no focus for the Chinese exam.
Moreover, during the exam, Lu Lingshan glanced at Xi Shaoyuan several times after finishing her test. Tan Ming felt as sour as if he had eaten a lemon, his heart in turmoil.
After the exam, the students gradually dispersed. Zhou Xiu went to a study table in the corridor and habitually took out a math test paper to work on.
When she got to the last difficult multiple-choice question, her pen hesitated for a moment.
Just then, a voice came from behind.
“Classmate, the answer to that question should be C.”
Zhou Xiu wrote down B. She put away her test paper and glanced sideways, not recognizing the person.
Zhou Xiu often did her test papers in public places and occasionally encountered students trying to chat her up, but she was in a hurry to eat and didn’t respond.
The girl said, “Can you show me the solution steps?”
Zhou Xiu grabbed her backpack and ignored her.
In the afternoon, they had the math exam.
Mr. Huang walked slowly into the Class 25 classroom with a thick stack of test papers.
As usual, he wrote the exam rules on the blackboard, “Closed book exam, 120 minutes, no reference materials allowed.”
Mr. Huang solemnly said, “Be honest in your exams and in life. Since I’m the invigilator, don’t let me catch any cheating.”
He glanced around and was surprised to see Zhou Xiu.
Mr. Huang frowned and looked away, feeling displeased.
He had a very bad impression of Zhou Xiu.
In his decades of teaching, no student had ever dared to defy his discipline. The students of Class 24 were already unruly and hard to tame, and Zhou Xiu’s defiance had encouraged the entire class.
She led the whole class in causing trouble, and just seeing her gave Mr. Huang a headache.
Mr. Huang stared at Zhou Xiu, watching her place her backpack on the podium.
Suddenly, he said, “Wait—Zhou Xiu, bring your backpack here and let me see it.”
Zhou Xiu stopped, her expression calm as she handed over her backpack.
She looked at the math teacher with a cold gaze.
Mr. Huang rummaged through Zhou Xiu’s books and suddenly a pristine test paper fell out.
He picked up the test paper from the ground, looked at it, and his face turned from serious to angry.
He threw the test paper at Zhou Xiu, furious, “Zhou Xiu, explain to me why this test paper is in your backpack?”
Zhou Xiu was stunned.
She glanced at the test paper Mr. Huang had pulled out of her backpack and then at the stack of math exam papers he was about to hand out; they were identical.
A buzzing sound filled Zhou Xiu’s head; she was bewildered.
She couldn’t understand how the math exam paper ended up in her backpack.
Mr. Huang, feeling triumphant at catching Zhou Xiu, coldly said, “Zhou Xiu, how dare you cheat right under my nose!”
He looked at her as if she were garbage, “You don’t need to take this exam. Your math score for this monthly exam will be recorded as zero.”
Students from other classes in the exam room were completely stunned; they never expected to witness such a scene.
Zhou Xiu froze for a moment, then quickly responded, “Wait… Mr. Huang, I have reason to suspect you of framing me.”
“Am I wrong? You never wanted me to do well in my exams, not even letting me take the weekly tests and refusing to uphold our agreement for an apology.”
This exam was crucial for Zhou Xiu; she needed to be in the top 5% of her class, and she couldn’t afford to miss the math test.
The other students watching were baffled: “???”
What was she saying?
Had they heard correctly?
Mr. Huang, already furious at Zhou Xiu’s defiance, was even more enraged when she dared to argue.
If corporal punishment was still allowed, he would probably have kicked Zhou Xiu out of the exam room by now.
Zhou Xiu, with a cold expression and clear words, said, “You didn’t check anyone else’s backpack, just mine.”
“With so many test papers in your hand, you could easily slip one into my backpack and accuse me of cheating. After all, you’re the teacher, and everything you say is right.”
What did she mean by “accuse her of cheating”?
Mr. Huang’s chest heaved with anger, nearly causing a heart attack.
Zhou Xiu continued, summarizing calmly, “The classroom cameras only monitor students, not the podium. Who knows what you did to my backpack just now.”
Mr. Huang roared, “Zhou Xiu, get out!”
Zhou Xiu spread her hands and continued, “If it wasn’t you framing me, it could be someone else. For example, Lu Lingshan might have put the test paper in my backpack earlier—”
The students’ faces changed dramatically, especially those from the Rocket Class: “???”
Are you a devil?
What does this have to do with Lu Lingshan?
The students of Class 24 burst into laughter.
“Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
Xi Shaoyuan, standing below the podium, gave Zhou Xiu an unexpected look. She seemed different somehow.
Mr. Huang, furious, threw Zhou Xiu’s backpack heavily at her face.
“Zhou Xiu, shut up!!!!!!”
He had never seen anyone so shameless!
Zhou Xiu dodged slightly and picked up her backpack from the ground.
Mr. Huang clutched his chest, turning to the other students in a rage, “Everyone else, check your bags. I want to see who dares to cheat today. Anyone caught cheating will get a disciplinary record!”
After a round of chaos, Mr. Huang eventually caught several students with cheat sheets, three of whom were from Class 24.
One of the girls caught cheating glared at Zhou Xiu with hatred.
Mr. Huang sneered, “I wasn’t wrong. Class 24 is full of trash; every one of you cheats.”
Zhou Xiu coldly replied, “I can’t accept the teacher’s accusation. I haven’t seen the test paper, and I don’t accept a zero for the math exam.”
She paused and continued, “If you think I cheated, give me another test paper to take. If I fail, I’ll drop out without complaint. But if I do well, will you apologize?”
The room fell silent.
Zhou Xiu repeated firmly, “Teacher, do you dare?”
Mr. Huang felt that heart attack feeling coming back.
Why do students caught cheating these days dare to be so confident?
At that moment, the head of the math department, who was patrolling, noticed the unusual atmosphere in Class 25 and came in to ask what was going on.
Seeing the tense situation between Zhou Xiu and Mr. Huang, he smiled amiably and said:
“What’s going on here? Zhou Xiu, right? Come here, I have plenty of test papers. Here’s a backup B paper, you can use it for the exam.”
He then turned to the other students caught cheating, “Do you want to take the test? I’ll give you a fair chance as well.”
The students’ expressions were peculiar.
This was Old Wang, known for his tough questions!
The students with cheat sheets hesitated, not daring to take the test papers.
Old Wang, looking at the students with cheat sheets, said gently, “If you’ve decided to take the test, be brave like Zhou Xiu.”
“If you fail, you have to drop out.”
Zhou Xiu readily took the test paper and returned to her seat as the preparatory bell rang.
The slackers shook their heads regretfully, grabbing their backpacks and slipping out of the exam room.
In a fit of rage, Mr. Huang called Zhou Xiu to the podium, “Zhou Xiu, come up here and write. I’ll watch you!”
Zhou Xiu efficiently gathered her water-based pen, pencil, and eraser and walked to the podium to take the test.
As she finished each question, a heavy “hmph” sound followed.
Mr. Huang’s eyes were fixed on her, making her feel the pressure like needles on her back.
Although Zhou Xiu wasn’t used to the noise and found it a bit distracting, she soon immersed herself in the test after a while.
……
After the math exam ended.
Du Feiyang approached Zhou Xiu with concern, “Xiuxiu, are you okay?”
“How confident are you about the math test you just took?”
If she failed the math exam, she would have to drop out. Du Feiyang thought to himself, Zhou Xiu is really bold to say something like that.
Zhou Xiu packed her bag in silence.
Tan Ming saw Zhou Xiu and asked with a hint of irritation, “Zhou Xiu, why did you bring up Lu Lingshan earlier? She doesn’t even know you; how could she possibly frame you?”
Zhou Xiu wiped the sweat from her palms and shrugged, “I was just giving an example.”
“Even as an example, why mention her? Did she offend you?”
Du Feiyang punched Tan Ming, “Can’t you tell Xiuxiu was just being sarcastic? Why are you being so confrontational?”
Tan Ming fell silent, giving Zhou Xiu a cold look.
Zhou Xiu and her group returned to their class, and the incident that happened in the Class 25 exam room had already spread throughout Class 24.
Hua Xu exclaimed, clapping her hands, “I heard all about it, Xiuxiu, you’re amazing! You stood up to Old Huang again.”
“Daring to write the test on the podium, you’re the first one at Yude Middle School to do that. Awesome, awesome.”
She asked, “What exactly happened? How did people start saying you were cheating?”
Zhou Xiu returned to her seat and said to Hua Xu, “I wasn’t cheating, it’s all resolved now.”
With that, Zhou Xiu took out her science test paper and started working on it.
The girl from Class 24 who had been caught with cheat sheets suddenly spoke up, sarcastically, “What are you pretending to be a good student now?”
“Zhou Xiu, you’re stupid and dragged others down with you.”
Hua Xu, though not fully aware of the situation, looked at Zhou Xiu quietly working on her test paper, noticing her slightly pale face.
Hua Xu knew Zhou Xiu had put a lot of effort into preparing for the exam.
There was no way she would cheat.
Hua Xu, protective of her friend, retorted, “Yuan Ruoyi, I haven’t even mentioned how you dragged Xiuxiu down, causing the teacher to call her garbage. No wonder some people’s grades improved so much… because they were cheating.”
The girl kicked her desk, “Hua Xu, who are you calling out? It was Zhou Xiu who had the test paper and dragged us down…”
Hua Xu shot back, “I’m talking about you. If you weren’t cheating, why didn’t you dare to take the backup test?”
“You’re stupid and don’t even realize it. If you can’t do the work, don’t cheat. My Xiuxiu’s glorious moment was ruined because of you.”
The students of Class 24, seeing the sudden argument between the two girls, were taken aback.
Looking left and right, they felt torn, not knowing whom to support.
Although they enjoyed the drama earlier, the students of Class 24 subtly understood: if Zhou Xiu truly failed, she might have to drop out. Mr. Huang was not someone to be trifled with. They were unsure whether to pity her or think she was too bold.
In this peculiar atmosphere, Zhou Xiu focused on finishing the multiple-choice questions for her science test.
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