Grades, Rivalries, and Art of Composition

After the results were posted this morning, more than half of Class Two gathered around the bulletin board.

When they saw that Zhi Ying had secured first place, they burst into enthusiastic cheers, even more excited than if they had secured first place in the exam themselves.

The students in Class One were speechless. Zhi Ying's grades were so beautifully perfect, especially given the increased general difficulty level this time. Math, physics, and chemistry were always max scores; however, Jiang Wei's total scores were close behind hers

Han Jiaojiao stood by and analyzed, "This time, the language arts were too difficult. It seems that the composition scores were not very high."

Li Ge also nodded in agreement; the meaning was clear.

There was no difference between Zhi Ying's language arts results this time and last time. The previous questions didn't stump her, and she got the scores she deserved for the composition. The total score wasn't improved or lowered.

"Fortunately, this exam was extremely difficult, otherwise it's hard to say who will come first." Zhao Qian had a relieved expression.

Although Jiang Wei's other subjects were not as perfect as Zhi Ying's answers, his scores were also unattainable for others. It could be seen from the third place student's scores, who was very far behind.

The expressions of the four of them were relatively calm. The results were not much different from the last time, except for Zhao Qian, who had advanced a dozen places.

Because Zhi Ying had won first place again, the whole of Class Two was in a state of excitement during the afternoon class. The atmosphere in the opposite class was dull. Others said that Jiang Wei knew that he was not as good as Zhi Ying in the exam, so he simply asked for leave today.

When Zhi Ying found out about this, it was already 10 o'clock in the evening. It was Li Ge who had called to ask her a question, and he smoothly announced the results after she finished solving his doubt.

"He might be sick." Zhi Ying answered, uncertainly.

"I don't know very well either. After all, the people in Class One are really disloyal. How can they say that about their classmates." Li Ge was a little upset for Jiang Wei.

After chatting for a few words, the two hung up the phone. Zhi Ying stared at the phone for a while, and finally decided to send a text message to the supposedly sick classmate Jiang Wei: [You are sick?]

Jiang Wei was looking at the documents sent by his father when his phone next to the computer suddenly vibrated. He subconsciously picked up the phone and looked at the text message.

Jiang Wei couldn't help but give a straightforward answer to the direct question: [No.]

Zhi Ying was taken aback by his answer, thinking that Jiang Wei really hadn't come to class because he was not in the first place.

[Going to class on time every day is what a good student ought to do. The steps the teacher teaches are the steps for answering questions on the exam. If you skip class, you will not be able to hear them, and you will not be able to get first place on the exam.]

Zhi Ying sent it word by word, earnestly reasoning with Jiang Wei, who had skipped class.

Jiang Wei in the study turned off the computer and sent a text message to Zhi Ying with his phone: [If I take first place in the exam, then you will be in second place.]

'Classmate Jiang Wei is really kind-hearted.' Zhi Ying looked at the text message and thought that he had already thought about her feelings before he got first place in the exam.

[It's okay, as long as I don't fail the composition exam, the first rank will not be yours.] Zhi Ying replied honestly.

"..." Jiang Wei's eyes stopped on the message, and he immediately replied to Zhi Ying,

[Whether you fail the composition exam or not, the first place in the next exam is mine.]

The two naively argued on the phone for half an hour. It was a question about who was first, and it finally ended with Zhi Ying's bedroom lights being turned off.

After putting down the phone, Jiang Wei couldn't help but be stunned. Why did the topic turn into what it was now? After thinking about it, it was probably because Zhi Ying was too arrogant.

When he went to school the next day, Jiang Wei did not deliberately avoid Zhi Ying's class this time. The two met outside the classroom door, and as expected, Zhi Ying first comforted Jiang Wei, telling him not to be discouraged, and then confidently affirmed her next first place.

After the naïve argument last night, Jiang Wei could no longer care about his original indifference. He refuted Zhi Ying's self-confidence, emphasizing that he would be first on the final exam.

The confrontation between the two outside the classroom entrance was watched by both the Class One and Class Two, and everyone agreed that this was another signal of gunpowder smoke.

The ongoing rivalry between Zhi Ying and Jiang Wei had become a topic of widespread interest among students. Their interactions were often the subject of speculation and debate, with many classmates eagerly anticipating each new development in their competitive dynamic.

In the end, the two parted ways and walked into their respective classrooms.

It had to be said that Zhi Ying's answers could serve as the standard for scoring, except for the language arts composition. When the exam papers were solved and taught by the teachers, all the subject teachers unanimously copied Zhi Ying's exam papers and let the classmates study them after class.

During the last exam's paper solving, when the paper was passed to Jiang Wei, he just glanced at it casually, but this time he took it seriously. The gray photocopied exam paper still couldn't hide Zhi Ying's crooked handwriting, but the neat steps for answering questions made people feel comfortable.

This year, there were many strong students who came from No. 1 Middle School. The teachers had discussed that they would be implementing stricter standards when grading papers, in order to prevent the students from losing those points in the exams and to develop good habits.

When he saw Zhi Ying's exam paper, Jiang Wei really felt that it was perfect. The way she answered the questions was logical, especially since some of the reasoning questions were explained step-by-step, from cause to effect.

The teachers' decision to use Zhi Ying's papers as a benchmark was met with mixed reactions. While some students were inspired by her meticulous approach, others felt the pressure to match her high standards was overwhelming. The atmosphere in the classroom was charged with a new sense of urgency and competition

The language arts teacher of Class One also made a copy of Zhi Ying's language arts exam paper for circulation but said a few words: "You can learn more from Zhi Ying's papers in the next class, but don't look at the composition, or you might be led astray by it."

By the time Jiang Wei saw this copy of the language arts composition, the class had already burst into laughter.

"From this picture, we can deeply see that the world of lines is not so simple. Geometry is beautiful, and it constitutes a beautiful landscape of mathematics..."

The first paragraph left Jiang Wei stunned. If he remembered correctly, this time the composition was to look at the picture and write a descriptive essay about it. There were indeed several geometries depicted, or to say, multiple aspects of geometry.

And Zhi Ying talked about the beauty and the unfathomable world of mathematics throughout the entire composition.

From the first paragraph, she began to deviate from the intended meaning of the question. Jiang Wei was not surprised when he saw the big 28 points on the exam paper.

It was just a pity that Zhi Ying's article, though sincere, concise, and inspiring in its praise of mathematics, missed the mark of the assignment. If he was a math lover, he might have been moved to tears.