Chapter 46: Chapter 44 I Can Do It Too (Seeking Recommendations!)_1 November 15th. Monday. After a day of hasty grading by the teachers of the whole school. Results of the third Monthly Exam were released. Of course. It’s not something that could be done in just one day, but rather the grading started during the two days of the exams. The teachers were marking until seven or eight each day, otherwise, they would go crazy with all the work. Early in the morning. Tang Qing arrived at the school with a bit of excitement. Even a soul nearing middle age would inevitably feel a bit nervous when facing the results of an exam. Just like the assessments or promotions that happen after working. Facing this kind of evaluation and review of one’s own achievements, no one would be indifferent. Even if he knew he would fail, he would still hold to the mentality of awaiting judgment. Those who don’t care are just putting on an act. After turning in the assignments. Soon. The time for the morning self-study session would arrive. This type of morning self-study only lasts thirty minutes, it’s not a normal class session, nor is it the same as a boarder’s morning self-study. It usually revolves around Chinese, Mathematics, and English. However, there are exceptions sometimes. Monday’s morning self-study is naturally occupied by the class teacher, Shen Mei. This is the school’s rule, mainly for the new week to facilitate the teacher in assigning tasks or handling other business. However, Shen Mei hasn’t arrived yet, so the students are whispering and discussing their grades in groups. The ones with inside information are spreading rumours like wildfire. The rumours were flying around, causing everyone to be confused. The results announced during this self-study session were the total scores and rankings. By convention, the math test results would also be given out. As for other subject results, they were in the hands of corresponding teachers. They would be given out during class time. Ding ding ding. The bell for the start of class suddenly rang. The students instantly stopped talking. They sat upright, their eyes focused on the classroom door. The door was open, and after a few seconds, class teacher Shen Mei entered the platform with a bundle of teaching materials and a barrel-shaped pile of maths papers. Once she placed the materials on the podium. She briefly looked at the reactions of the students. Seeing the eager eyes of the students staring at her, waiting for her to announce the scores, Shen Mei chuckled. A student with a thirst for knowledge is a good student. If they stop caring about anything, then she would be really worried. Shen Mei is a serious teacher. But today her mood was fantastic. From the minute she entered the classroom and walked onto the platform, a faint smile remained on her face. As she looked around at her students’ faces, her gaze suddenly landed on Tang Qing. Tang Qing swallowed, his heart pounding. He noticed the usually dismissive class teacher had an excited and surprised look in her eyes. "Students, the results of this Monthly Exam are out, and many of you have done really well. Some of you have made substantial progress, it surprised and delighted me." "This time our average score even surpassed Class 9, securing the first place in the whole school. I am very proud, but we mustn’t get complacent. Those who are not doing well should continue to work hard, and those who are doing well should maintain their performance." She paused for a while. Shen Mei glanced around the classroom and then announced, "Five students in our class have achieved exceptional results, securing ranks with the top ten scores of the entire school. Let’s have a warm applause for these students and hope that they continue to work hard and make our class proud." A sparse round of applause began. But it died down in just a few seconds. As for five people making it into the top ten, everyone, excluding the class teacher Shen Mei, didn’t show much excitement. It’s not their business, they’re more concerned about their own results. After the applause. All the students looked at Shen Mei, waiting for her to speak next. They’re tired of the previous platitudes. Announcing the results below is the main point. "Next, I’ll announce the total scores and school rankings of this Monthly Exam for our class." Shen Mei drew out a grade sheet from her teaching materials and began reading out the results from top to bottom. "First: Liu Shusheng, total scored 697, ranked second in the whole school!" "Second: Wang Yan, total scored 690, ranked third in the whole school!" "Third: Xiong Jun, total scored 673, ranked seventh in the whole school!" "Fourth: Sun Hui, total scored 665, ranked ninth in the whole school!" The first few ranks were not surprising. These top students were always in the top twenty of the grade, there was no suspense about it. Then Shen Mei paused again, deliberately looking at Tang Qing, who was calmly watching her announce, "Fifth... Tang Qing, total score 661, ranked tenth in the whole school!." Just now, the students thought that someone in the class who usually ranked between tenth to twentieth got into the top ten, which would be within expectations. But Tang Qing? He made it into the top ten so quietly? There was silence in the classroom for a second. Then it exploded. "What? Tang Qing, how could it be him?" "How is that possible?" "He was beyond the 100th rank in the first Monthly Exam." "She must have read it wrong." ... After the announcement. A wave of discussion swept through the class. The students were shocked, speaking in tones filled with skepticism. They could understand moving up by ten or twenty spots before each exam, but making a leap of a hundred places seemed impossible. After all, it wasn’t just them who were studying and improving. Everyone was competing, like a 100-meter sprint. A second late. And catching up would be difficult. Yet Tang Qing had caught up, which left them astonished. Of course, aside from their shock, two people were delighted. One was Wang Yan, very pleased with the excellent results of the person she liked. The other was Li Kai, who truly considered Tang Qing his best friend. The bet they had placed seemed inconsequential in light of their friend’s high marks. Their mutual respect didn’t need to be measured in wins or losses—it was all in good fun. ... "Quiet." The class instantly fell silent. They all turned to Shen Mei for an explanation. But after their discussion, they began to accept the facts. After all, it hadn’t been long since Tang Qing solved that difficult problem. Another surprise wouldn’t be as shocking. Shen Mei slowly began to speak. "Let us applaud, warmly and sincerely, Tang Qing’s excellent performance in this Monthly Exam. He has improved considerably, leaping ahead by over a hundred places." "What does this mean? It means you all have not reached your limits. You still have much room for improvement in your rankings and scores, and that’s something to be happy about." "Continue to work hard. Perhaps the next one to astonish us will be one of you. There is no best, only better. Tang Qing is the best example. I believe you will bring me even more surprises, and I look forward to it." As expected from the class advisor. After a verbose praising and educating speech. The students were immediately filled with a sense that they could do it too. Okay, it was more like fighting spirit. Concluded. While looking at the thoughtful students, Shen Mei admired her own ability to make speeches. This was a fundamental skill for any class advisor. If they couldn’t motivate their students, they wouldn’t be much of an advisor. However, since her lecture was so long, the students had forgotten about applauding in the beginning. Their mind filled with an eager impulse, even Shen Mei forgot about it. But how could Tang Qing, the student in question, and the little top student Wang Yan beside him be swayed by her sugar-coated remarks? The awkwardness took over Wang Yan, and she couldn’t help laughing with her mouth covered. As for Li Kai. He was also immersed in the delusion that he could do it too. Shen Mei had a gentle smile on her face. This Monthly Exam, their class had claimed five of the top ten spots in the school. Two more than last time. With this achievement, as long as it was maintained, she could imagine her annual bonus would be substantial, not to mention if they kept it up until the National College Entrance Examination. Shen Mei didn’t expect that in this exam, Tang Qing would make it into the top ten in the school. During the first Monthly Exam. He was ranked outside the top 150 spots. Out of more than 830 senior high school students, he was not outstanding. It could only be said that he was above average as being outside the top hundred didn’t make much of a difference to her. Being outside the hundred was a watershed, implying two completely different levels of achievement. Although Shen Mei didn’t know why Tang Qing could rise so quickly from outside the top 150 to the top 10, one thing was undeniable, their class had gained another top student. Her judgment at the time was correct after all. Next. Scores were read out from Shen Mei’s mouth one by one. When she got to Li Kai’s, she paused to heap praises on him. Li Kai had also done well in this exam, making great strides in his progress. He ranked fifteenth in class and eighty-eighth in the year level. His progress was considerable. However, it was overshadowed by Tang Qing’s progress. But he was also excellent publicity material. The more the changes, the happier the teachers were. If the class’s scores remained stagnant, causing no motivation for them, now that would be troublesome. After the scores were read out, it was time to distribute the mathematics papers. She called out the names, and students came up to collect their papers one by one, from highest to the lowest. Tang Qing got a total of 132 marks, which was about what he had estimated himself., When Tang Qing went to receive his paper. All the students watched him, with all kinds of looks. Admiring, scornful, resentful, appreciative, and even... infatuated. Being watched by so many people made Tang Qing feel awkward. Head down, heart focused, he left the podium. There were several students in their class, and after a while, there was a total of fifty-six people. Just before the end of the early self-study period, Shen Mei had distributed all the students’ papers. A ten-minute break. The first period was also Shen Mei’s class, so she didn’t go back to the office, but stayed at the podium reviewing papers. After all, they wouldn’t have class after an exam, only one project - review the papers. Those who did well in the exam naturally beamed with delight, planning to study hard and maintain their grades. The ones who did poorly were restless. They dreaded facing their families and the heaps of homework that the teacher would inevitably assign. Their teacher had a ’good’ habit. If a difficult question was wrong, that was fine. But if a simple question was wrong, sorry, but they would have to copy the knowledge point or question ten or twenty times over. The top ten in the whole school were exceptions. The teachers’ attitude towards these students was, "Do what you should do. If your grades fall, then sorry, but you’ll also have to copy." The teachers believed that this differential treatment would motivate the top students to study harder to maintain their rank. After all, it’s one thing to watch others copy. But if they had to join in. They certainly wouldn’t be able to handle it psychologically.