Chapter 32 Perfect Scores in Both Subjects!

Jin Jieqiao came running, panting heavily, still clutching Gu Ci's test paper in her hand.

Her eyes shone with delight and pride as she announced, “Gu Ci from our class got a perfect score in math!”

At her words, all noise abruptly ceased!

Every astonished gaze flickered between Jin Jieqiao and Gu Ci.

Gu Zhiren’s hand, hidden within her sleeve, unconsciously clenched, her eyes clouded and uncertain.

Duan Jingyi’s disbelief was even more evident as she stared, wide-eyed.

Gu Ci? A perfect score?

“Impossible!” Her voice was so sharp it was almost shrill. “Only three students in the whole year got a perfect score in math. Gu Ci’s grades are so poor—how could she possibly be one of them?”

With that, she lunged forward, trying to snatch the paper from Jin Jieqiao.

Her eyes darted quickly over the sheet.

At the top, a bold ‘150’ stood out, and beside the sealed edge of the paper, it read: Senior Three, Class Twelve—Gu Ci.

Duan Jingyi’s grip tightened, crumpling the test paper in her hand without realizing it.

She stared fiercely at the ‘150’, as if she could bore a hole into the number just by looking at it!

Gu Zhiren quietly stepped behind Duan Jingyi, glancing at Gu Ci’s paper.

That bright red ‘150’ was like a slap to her face...

“Hey, hey, don’t ruin Sister Ci’s test paper!” Wen Zixin hurried over, pried Duan Jingyi’s fingers off, and cradled Gu Ci’s paper as if it were a treasure, her eyes sparkling. “Wow, Sister Ci got a perfect score!”

Lu Youming and the others immediately perked up, crowding around Gu Ci’s paper, clicking their tongues in admiration, and shooting taunting glances at Duan Jingyi and her group.

Lu Youming, a master of sarcasm, drawled, “Oh, didn’t someone just say she got over 140? Amazing! Our perfect-scoring Sister Ci is so scared now!”

Perhaps influenced by Wen Zixin, after what happened last time, Lu Youming and the others now unconsciously addressed Gu Ci as ‘Sister Ci’ too.

Duan Jingyi’s face turned ashen, her body stiff, and she could only mutter repeatedly, “Impossible! How could Gu Ci possibly get a perfect score?”

Gu Zhiren hid the flicker in her eyes, lifted her head, and put on an innocent expression. “So, Cousin’s math has improved so much. I’m sure Uncle and Aunt will be thrilled. It seems Teacher Jin has taught you well, Cousin—you should really thank her.”

At that, a spark flashed through Duan Jingyi’s mind as she seized on a possibility.

She pointed at Jin Jieqiao and Gu Ci, her voice razor-sharp, “Cheating! Teacher Jin, did you help Gu Ci cheat? Did you give her the test questions before the exam? Did you give her the answers, and that’s why she scored so high?”

Jin Jieqiao’s face flushed with anger. Such accusations were a direct attack on her integrity. “This test was written by the dean. I had no part in it—and I wasn’t even a proctor for the exam. Director, you’re well aware of that, aren’t you?”

The dean frowned deeply, still occupied with the shock of Gu Ci’s perfect score, but nodded in confirmation.

Duan Jingyi’s face paled further, but she forced herself to appear calm. “Fine, say Gu Ci did get 150 in math—what about Chinese? She only scored 90. Her total is still lower than mine!”

She had never expected that, in her attempt to defeat Gu Ci on all fronts, she had inadvertently given her a chance to recover.

The psychological blow, after always being the ‘math prodigy’, was unbearable for Duan Jingyi.

Yet now, she could only cling to this last hope.

When everyone heard Gu Ci’s Chinese score was only 90, the whole of Class Twelve and Jin Jieqiao nearly coughed up blood!

Chinese was always the subject with the smallest variation in scores at No. 1 High School, with an average around 110.

So why was Gu Ci trailing Duan Jingyi by a full 27 points in the one subject where it’s hardest to create a gap?

They’d thought they had a fair chance of winning the bet after all.

But now, it seemed, Gu Ci herself had killed that chance in Chinese.

Wen Zixin whispered beside Gu Ci, “Sister Ci, what happened with your Chinese? You were about to win, but you slipped here? But it’s fine—your math score already slapped her face. Even if you lose the bet, we’ll always have your back.”

Ninety points—just enough to pass.

Gu Ci’s usually cool gaze was briefly touched by a trace of confusion and daze. She coughed once, regaining her composure.

She looked at Duan Jingyi and spoke calmly, “There’s still English.”

Duan Jingyi snorted, as if she’d heard a joke, her eyes full of disdain. “English? Do you really think you’ll beat me in English? Gu Ci, did you even study English, coming from the countryside?”

Just then, the English class representative from Class One came running with a stack of test papers, sounding smug. “Duan Jingyi, this English test was tough. You did pretty well!”

Noticing the silence among the crowd—and the arrogant looks of Class Twelve—he stopped short and belatedly asked, “What’s going on?”

Duan Jingyi ignored him, asking anxiously, “What was my English score?”

The class rep replied, “Oh, you made the top ten in the class—122.”

That was already her best performance.

Relieved, Duan Jingyi glanced at Gu Ci with pride and asked, “What’s the highest score in our class?”

This time, all three of her scores were exceptional, totaling 381. She’d probably make the top twenty in the whole school.

Meanwhile, Gu Ci’s Chinese and math added up to 240—unless she scored over 141 in English, there was no way she could surpass Duan Jingyi.

The rep replied, “It’s 139.”

Duan Jingyi sneered, full of contempt. “What do you have to say now?”

She crossed her arms, looked down at Gu Ci, and said, “If you know what’s good for you, apologize and leave No. 1 High School.”

Gu Zhiren’s gaze softened as she addressed Gu Ci gently, “Cousin, with grades like yours, you’ll do fine at another school. Even though you’ve had disagreements with my parents lately, I still hope you’ll keep your word and be a good student.”

Jin Jieqiao’s earlier delight vanished, and seeing Gu Ci being forced like this, her eyes hardened with resolve. She stepped forward to shield Gu Ci. “Director, I volunteer to resign. Please, give Gu Ci another chance! You’ve seen her talent in math—she shouldn’t be made to leave like this!”

All eyes turned to the dean, waiting to see whether Gu Ci would be allowed to stay.

The dean frowned but soon made his decision. “Gu Ci’s math is impressive, but as a student, she should keep her word. Since she agreed to the three-subject bet, she must accept the consequences of losing.”

He truly hadn’t expected Gu Ci to have such talent in math. Otherwise, the principal would never have sent a student with zeroes across her report card to the National Youth Math Olympiad.

But the math test this time, truthfully, wasn’t that difficult. Even with a perfect score, it wasn’t much, especially since she was being held back by the other two subjects.

Just the Chinese score—barely passing at 90—was enough for the dean to write her off, never mind that she’d grown up in the countryside, where English education...

He didn’t even need to look at her English score to know how bad it must be.

And besides...

The dean gave Gu Ci a long, searching look, recalling how she’d stormed into his office, kicking the door open.

Such a rebellious student—one was more than enough in Class Twelve. There was no need to add a country girl at odds with her family to his headaches.

The math class rep from Class One scoffed, “Teachers should be models of honesty, but you’d cover for your own student at a time like this? Good thing the director knows better. Otherwise, even if you didn’t resign, would someone like you deserve to teach?”

Jin Jieqiao’s face turned completely ashen, her arms falling limp.

Just then, she felt Gu Ci’s hand on her shoulder. A steady, powerful voice sounded in her ear. “Teacher, trust me. Leave everything to me.”

With that, Gu Ci turned a cold gaze on the math rep from Class One. “Honesty and integrity, is it?”

She turned to Lu Youming. “Where are our English test papers? Go to the office and get them.”

But at that moment, a commanding voice rang out from down the hall. “No need—we’re here!”

At the sound, the director and the others tensed, turning instinctively toward the source.

There, Principal Ji, dressed in a traditional Chinese jacket, strode toward them, followed half a step behind by the homeroom teacher of Class Twelve.

He’d just returned from the capital with books for Gu Ci, and upon entering the school, had seen the English teacher for Class Twelve dashing down the hall as if possessed.

He’d stopped him and learned what had happened in his absence—so he’d hurried over.

He turned to Class Twelve’s English teacher. “Mr. James, you speak.”

Mr. James was a foreign hire, always able to connect with students and believed in happy education.

He adjusted his glasses excitedly and, with a flourish, spread out the test paper in his hands. “Here’s the thing—Gu Ci from our class got a perfect score in English. The only perfect score in this round of tests! Oh my God! I’m really excited and want to share this—”

He slipped into a stream of rapid English.

His excitement was not just for the perfect score; he was particularly fond of the essay Gu Ci wrote at the end. The slang and idioms she used didn’t seem like someone raised in a remote county, but more like someone who’d lived in the West.

But at this moment, no one cared what Mr. James was saying. The words “Gu Ci’s perfect score” had left everyone except Gu Ci and the principal stunned.

The highest score in Class One was 139—normally the highest in the whole school. Yet this time, Gu Ci had surpassed it.

Not only a perfect score, but a full eleven points higher than the second place!

Duan Jingyi’s 122 seemed utterly feeble in comparison...

That meant Gu Ci’s total was 390, while Duan Jingyi’s was 381.

Gu Ci had won their bet by a landslide, and if she’d gotten even an average score in Chinese...

First place in the entire test would have been hers!

But, unfortunately, her performance was a bit lopsided.

Duan Jingyi felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. The phrase “Gu Ci also got a perfect score in English” echoed endlessly in her mind, like a curse.

Her gaze was glued to Gu Ci’s English test, and thinking of their bet, she seemed on the verge of fainting.

No matter how shocked, amazed, or disbelieving the others were, Gu Ci remained calm.

“Did you think Gu Ci’s place was just the school’s quota?” Principal Ji’s stern gaze swept across the crowd, his voice cold. “You all know how many places our school gets. If you had doubts, you had every chance to call me directly. Instead, you let things turn into this mess? This is a school—a place to educate! What do you think you’re doing?”

The director opened his mouth, wanting to say he’d tried calling the principal but hadn’t gotten through.

But then he remembered—he’d had countless chances to call again, but hadn’t.

Because he’d feared that if the principal had made such a decision, he’d be partial to Gu Ci, so he’d tried to handle it himself...

Principal Ji watched as the director bowed his head, and snorted. “That quota was my personal recommendation from the Math Association, intended for Gu Ci! Since she’s a student here, it was counted under our school!”

So, if Gu Ci won any honors, they’d reflect on No. 1 High School and the director as the team leader.

At this, Duan Jingyi’s face turned green, then white, and she froze.

So, the spot had always belonged to Gu Ci—there was never any question of her taking someone else’s place?

It was she who’d been making a fuss and even tried to take Gu Ci’s place for herself?

The director opened his mouth, hesitating.

Sensing there was more to the story, the principal fixed a sharp gaze on him. “What happened?”

The director closed his eyes, his words dry. “I... assumed the place was Duan Jingyi’s and submitted the list to the Math Association yesterday. The last name was hers...”

So, now the list couldn’t be changed.

At this, the principal nearly exploded with rage.

He’d gone to great lengths to bring this genius to the school to win them honor, and the director had done nothing but sabotage him.

Duan Jingyi, pale and staring at the floor, felt her heart pounding wildly.

So, in the end, the spot still belonged to her?