Chapter 10.1| Queer Eye

On Monday morning, the exam papers for each subject were distributed by the class representatives one after another. 

Yin performed the best in English, scoring 142 out of 150, which was four points higher than the English class representative Lin Xipei. Unsurprisingly, her relatively weaker subject was math, in which he scored 102 out of 150. 

Xipei glanced at Yin's English paper, muttering, "I wonder who scored 146, such a crazy score. I only got 138." She went to the office to collect exam papers and specifically inquired about the highest score in English. 

Mr. Wang sequentially gestured three numbers - 1, 4, 6.

"Has no one scored this score before?" Yin asked. 

Xipei lamented, "Our class's English is a bit behind compared to others. While top students in other classes can score 145 in English, the highest score in our class in the past two years has been 140." After a pause, she added, "Except for that 145 scored by Bro Yi in the replacement test." 

This revelation surprised Yin as English had always been her strength, with her lowest score being 138. 

"So, who finally achieved the highest score this time?" 

"Xu Zhiyi." 

Unexpected yet somewhat expected. 

Yin glanced sideways at Xu Zhiyi, their eyes met briefly, and then they turned away. When Yin looked back, she overheard Hai, who was peering at Zhiyi's test paper, exclaim, "Bro Yi, are you even human?"

The first two classes in the morning were Chinese and math. 

Nie Hai, who didn't have time to memorize the ancient poems, only scored 2 points out of 8 in the end, leading the Chinese teacher, Yang Fan, to recite his ancient poems and fill in the blanks in front of the class. 

 —— Do not worry if you have no friends on the road ahead, when you leave the Yang Pass, you will have no old friends.

—— Since ancient times, too much love has led to lingering regrets, this endless regret has no end.

—— Deep in the night, sudden dreams of youthful matters, only idle dreams of people, not dreams of you.

These seamlessly filled-in poems surprisingly had a bit of a brainwashing effect. 

"Fan Ma, please don't publicly punish me, I know I was wrong," Hai pleaded with his hands raised. 

Although Miss Fan was only in her early thirties, she had a playful side and a gentle demeanour, always able to address the students' issues and bottlenecks in life and studies. Many students had benefited from her "meme-style education" to resolve and encourage them, helping Mr. Wang solve many problems. Therefore, everyone fondly called Yang Fan "Fan Ma" and would playfully seek her help or comfort for any reason. 

"If I were not a Chinese teacher, you would have led me astray," Yang Fan joked as she rolled up the test paper and patted Hai on the shoulder. 

"Your creative thinking is impressive, but remember, we must adhere to the core socialist values in our ancient poetry. Nie Hai, let's put in more effort to keep up with the progress of society, okay?" 

"I will definitely not disappoint the organization's expectations!" Hai's response was firm, almost standing up to salute.

In the subsequent math class, Yan Chuan, the math teacher, entered the classroom with an air of confidence, his expression almost screaming, "Well done, kids!" 

However, instead of heading towards the podium, he grabbed a chair and sat at the back of the classroom, casually remarking, "The upcoming monthly exam paper is 'extremely spicy'." The difficulty level of the math papers for the college entrance exam in A City always remained significantly high, making the monthly math tests at all high schools quite challenging. As a native of Sichuan and Chongqing living in a coastal city, Yan Chuan liked to evaluate the difficulty of exam papers using spiciness levels. "Extremely spicy" meant the paper was quite challenging but had not surpassed the most difficult ones ever seen. 

"Isn't this bordering on being insanely spicy?" A wave of wails erupted below, indicating that the coastal people couldn't handle it. 

"You youngsters, still so young and can't handle the spice even after all these years?" Chuan crossed his legs, turned his back, and said, "Xu Zhiyi, could you explain this month's exam paper to everyone?" 

"Sure." Without prior notice, Zhiyi seemed unfazed as he picked up his paper and walked to the podium. 

The school only announced rankings, and over time, the habit of inquiring about others' scores faded at the school. But this did not stop everyone from being surprised by Zhiyi's return to the top after a month, courtesy of the math paper. 

"Bro Yi, give us a hint?" Unable to contain their curiosity, someone asked. 

He had just reached the podium, and his gaze subtly landed on Yin's position, his lips curling slightly, "146." 

The crowd gasped and sighed; even though the paper was extremely spicy, Zhiyi's score was equally impressive. 

Just as they were calculating how many points Meng Yin should not have lost, she suddenly looked up, and the heartbreaking words, "Xu Zhiyi, are you still human?" echoed in her mind. 

"!!!" Wasn't he supposed to have left two questions unanswered as her? This guy really isn't human. 

Zhiyi had taught Yin many questions before, but this was the first time Yin had seen Xu Zhiyi on the podium teaching. It was no different from when he taught her, simplifying unnecessary problem-solving steps, elaborating on the key points and topics, the only difference being that he standing on the podium appeared even more composed and poised, giving Yin a glimpse of the broader Xu Zhiyi in the future. 

Unable to finish the entire paper in one class, two major questions were left untouched. Chuan left a commendatory remark, maintaining his composed demeanour, and exited the classroom. 

"Bro Yi is NB (means amazing)." It was unclear who started the commotion, but the lineup that had formed on the forum a few days ago was now unfolding in the classroom.

"The morning meeting mainly focused on three things," Principal Chen's voice spread through every corner of the school field via the speakers on both sides of the rostrum, "Firstly, the launch of our school's 'Unlimited' Q&A system is officially live today..."

Formerly known as Chen Nian, Principal Chen, now in his sixties, obtained a doctoral degree in education thirty years ago and returned to China, giving up a prestigious professorship to take over from the previous principal. While upholding the educational philosophy of FHS since its establishment, he continued to deepen the adaptability and comprehensiveness of education. Over the years, despite the various winds of educational reforms blowing, FHS has remained steadfast, consistently adhering to the educational philosophy and practices of "tailored education, systematic management, and holistic development."

In the past two years, in line with the trend of the times, led by Principal Chen, three programmers were introduced into the school's teaching and research team to develop an online education platform. Over a hundred videos of classroom lectures by internal teachers have been uploaded online, covering various subjects for different grades, allowing students to consolidate classroom knowledge outside of class. The "Unlimited" Q&A system is a new feature emphasized this year, which can be used not only on the online education platform but also on the school's official WeChat mini-program.

Day or night, weekends or holidays, if students have any questions about their studies, they can ask questions online and select teachers to respond. All teachers in the school are linked to the system and must respond within a limited time, allowing other students to share relevant thoughts. Therefore, the "Unlimited" Q&A system is not merely a simple question-and-answer system but a platform for sharing problem-solving methods, approaches, and answers throughout the school.

"Eh, Bro Yi," Hai nudged Zhiyi's elbow and sighed, "I suddenly feel that our classmate Meng Yin's strength is stronger than I thought."

Hai was strong in all subjects except Chinese, but he didn't have a clear idea of the level of the top 300 students in the city. Firstly, there were eight key high schools and eighteen regular high schools in City A. Moreover, during the end-of-term citywide exams, there were separate papers for key high schools and regular high schools, occasionally combined into one, resulting in two sets of city rankings - one including key schools and the other with scores from regular high schools. Secondly, although he seemed silly and mischievous, he had always excelled academically, from a key primary school to a key high school, and had only heard of the average quality of education in regular high schools.

When Yin transferred to their school, he was curious about this new female classmate due to Zhiyi's reaction and attitude towards her. Learning that she transferred from Third High School surprised him. Her British accent in English speeches also impressed him. Over the past month of interaction, Yin's study habits and determination made him feel inferior. Seeing her grades and learning about her English scores, he was once again impressed.

There were many girls at Third High School who excelled in both academics and social activities, but Meng Yin was different from them all. She always managed to surprise you, not in a dazzling way, but with subtle surprises that brightened your day.

Hai began to understand why his Bro Yi was so fixated on Meng Yin.

"She has always been stronger than you," Zhiyi stated matter-of-factly.

Hai retorted.

At least I perform better academically than her, elder brother, you are not being fair!

Zhiyi raised an eyebrow and looked ahead to where Yin and Xipei were whispering to each other.

"She has always been more outstanding than she gives herself credit for," Zhiyi thought to himself.

"The Double Session of the Representative Conference (Shuangdaihui) for this semester has been scheduled for October 27, which coincides with the first day of the school sports day," Mr. Chen began discussing the second matter. 

Yin lightly tapped Xipei in front of her, "Lin Xipei, what is the Double Session of the Representative Conference (Shuangdaihui)?" 

The term sounded somewhat familiar to her, having heard it at Third High School, seemingly related to the student union committee elections, but this appeared different from the previous one. 

"This is a unique project of our school," Xipei explained, "usually held once per semester, simply put, it involves proposing and addressing concerns." 

"Proposing and addressing concerns?" 

"Yes. Our school values students' opinions. Any questions or suggestions regarding academic and campus life, noticing flaws or inconsistencies in school facilities, or any other feedback you wish to provide to the school, can be communicated to the class monitor and homeroom teacher. The student union collects various proposals at the end of each month from different grade levels, organizes them, submits them to the relevant authorities, the school management office categorizes the proposals, and the school leaders address all related proposals during the DSOTRC." 

Being a role model, the phrase "setting an example for others" ran through Yin's mind. 

"Have you participated in it before?" 

Xipei said, "Yes. I attended last semester with Xu Zhiyi." Suddenly remembering something, Xipei grabbed Yin's wrist, gently shaking it to mask her still excited mood, "Xu Zhiyi proposed something fantastic last semester, and it was accepted in the end!" 

"What proposal was it?" 

"'Queer Eye.'" 

"'Queer Eye?'" Yin furrowed her brows and asked, "Related to minority groups?" 

Unable to contain her surprise, Xipei turned her head, her wide eyes reflecting astonishment, "Wow, you guessed it!" 

Yin honestly replied, "It's a reality show that I really like." 

"Queer Eye" has been airing since 2003, totalling 8 seasons, evolving from the initial concept of the "Fab 5" transforming straight men to break stereotypes about the LGBTQ community, to later focusing on showcasing the personal charm of the queer community, mutual assistance, and understanding to promote self-acceptance and eliminate societal rejection towards the LGBT community. 

"I apologize for my ignorance. I only got to know about this show through Zhiyi's proposal," Xipei turned her head back, the shaking hand now playing with Yin's fingers, using this action to conceal her inner activity as a Mannia of her CP.

Mom, my 'Zhiyin CP' will always be based on the truth! 

"Why did Xu Zhiyi propose this?" Yin asked.