Hit by a car?
The Classroom fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Sun Qiang frowned.
He'd actually had a pretty good impression of Ye Chen.
But the kid was lying through his teeth.
Hit by a car?
If that were true, would he still be standing here? He'd be in the Hospital long ago.
Besides, Ye Chen's clothes were neat and he didn't have a scratch on him—he didn't look like he'd been hit by a car in the least.
"Ye Chen, you've got some nerve, telling the teacher a whopper."
Wu Bin stood up, glanced at Ye Chen, then said loudly to Sun Qiang,
"Teacher, I think a student needs more than good grades—character matters too. He was clearly late, yet instead of owning up he claims he was hit by a car. I don't think someone like that deserves a place in our Sprint Class."
"What do you think, Teacher?"
Sun Qiang knitted his brows.
He hadn't planned to pursue the matter; after all, Ye Chen's grades spoke for themselves.
But Wu Bin had raised it to the level of moral character, putting him in a tight spot.
Sun Qiang said, "We don't yet know if this is true or not. Student Ye Chen, go back to your seat for now."
In the end Sun Qiang chose to smooth things over.
The National Higher Education Entrance Examination was right around the corner, and Ye Chen was the school's star Top Scholar candidate.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Ye Chen said nothing more and walked toward his seat.
As he passed Wu Bin he paused and murmured, "You think you can kick me out of the Sprint Class with a cheap trick like that? Naive."
"You—" Wu Bin had failed and turned livid.
Just you wait, Ye Chen.
When he reached his seat, Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo asked with concern,
"Ye Chen, are you all right?"
"Ye Chen, you're not hurt, are you?"
Ye Chen smiled. "I'm fine, just a scrape. Nothing serious."
After class, Xia Yingluo looked at the scrape on Ye Chen's arm, her face full of heartache.
"How could you be so careless?"
"It's nothing, just a scratch."
Wu Bin snorted. "Keep pretending."
Li Sitong had had enough. She shot back, "Wu Bin, that's enough. We're classmates. Ye Chen's hurt, and instead of showing concern you're making snide remarks—disgusting."
"I—"
Getting scolded by his dream girl, Wu Bin flushed crimson.
"Si Tong, you're too trusting. He's clearly lying to get your sympathy."
Li Sitong gave a cold humph. "Sorry, but Ye Chen is nothing like you."
"I—" Wu Bin took another critical hit.
Ye Chen chuckled. "All right, Si Tong. People whose hearts are full of shadows can't stand the light. Let's not waste time on him."
"Mm." Li Sitong nodded.
"Ye Chen, you're the one with the dark heart, fabricating stories to fool the teacher and your classmates for sympathy."
Wu Bin was now at critical-hit number three and almost exploded.
Just then an elderly man walked in carrying a folder of lesson plans.
Seeing him, everyone froze. They'd already met the three retired teachers, but this one?
The old man smiled. "Students, Professor Chen hasn't been feeling well. From now on I'll be teaching your math. My name is Han Cheng; just call me Teacher Han."
"Han Cheng?" Many students froze at the name.
Teacher Han was a legend in Jiangzhou: every student in one of his classes had scored above the Second-Tier Line, and the top three had been admitted to Huaqing and Peking University.
To think the school had actually invited Teacher Han.
Hearing the name Han Cheng, the rest of the class grew excited too.
Han Cheng's gaze swept across the students and finally landed on Ye Chen.
"So you're here too, young friend. Sorry about today—my niece was the one who hit you with her car. Are you all right?"
Ye Chen smiled. "I'm fine, Teacher. Don't worry."
Instantly every eye in the room turned to Wu Bin.
A moment ago Wu Bin had insisted Ye Chen was lying; now the truth had slapped him in the face.
Feeling the scornful stares, Wu Bin hung his head, face burning.
Han Cheng then placed a stack of hand-written papers on the front desk.
"It's my first class with you, so I don't yet know your level. Let's have a short quiz to gauge your math skills."
At the word "exam," unlike an ordinary class, everyone looked excited.
They were the cream of every class; naturally they didn't fear tests.
To them an exam was simply another challenge.
And being able to compete against the Whole School's top students was thrilling.
When the papers were handed out, every student's expression changed slightly.
Han Cheng smiled. "You've all noticed this paper is different from the ones you're used to, haven't you?"
Everyone exchanged glances.
The paper was indeed unlike any they'd done before.
It contained only five questions—five heavy-hitting problems.
Ye Chen looked at the big questions and the corner of his mouth lifted.
This Teacher Han seemed interesting.
Ye Chen loved a challenge; ordinary problems were like plain water to him—no kick at all.
Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo frowned at the questions too.
They could tell the paper was tough.
Ye Chen grinned. "These five are tricky; you two concentrate when you tackle them."
"Mm."
The two girls nodded obediently.
Han Cheng said, "You have half an hour for these five questions, twenty points each. Begin."
The elite students stared at the five big problems, stunned.
The questions were hard.
While they fretted, the Classroom filled with the rustle of pens.
Ye Chen quickly scanned all five prompts; the relevant concepts and solution paths were already clear in his mind.
While others were still dazed, he had finished more than half.
Soon the room echoed with the scratching of pens.
At that moment Ye Chen set his pen down.
He checked the time—eight minutes.
Hmm, a bit slow!
If anyone else heard his complaint about speed, they'd probably cough up blood.
Finishing such hard questions in eight minutes could only be described as monstrous.
After all, most students hadn't even finished the first big question.
Yet Ye Chen had completed everything.
Done, he rested his chin in his hands and watched Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo working away.
Both girls looked beautiful in profile.
One sweet and delicate, the other stunning enough to outshine the moon.
With these two beauties beside him, Ye Chen felt like the luckiest man alive.
Han Cheng, wearing reading glasses, was reviewing his lesson plan when he noticed everyone writing—except Ye Chen, who sat contentedly watching the two pretty girls work.
Han Cheng frowned.
This was an exam, and this student's attitude was utterly improper!