Several classmates turned their heads to sneak a look, wanting to see just how blank William Bennett’s test paper really was. Curiosity is normal for everyone, even Samuel Wright was no exception.

But no one succeeded, because a truly impatient, cold-faced top student was standing right there.

Before they could see anything, Edward Harris snatched the paper away. As William Bennett was speaking, his hand suddenly felt empty. When he looked up, Edward Harris was already knocking on Samuel Wright’s desk.

“Here, here, here.” Samuel Wright caved instantly, sheepishly handing over his paper.

Finally, one subject was over.

William Bennett stretched out his arms and yawned, then picked up his water cup and stood up.

“What are you doing, student?” The proctor looked at him in confusion.

William Bennett was even more confused: “Going to the back to get some water.”

After he said this, he glanced around and suddenly realized that everyone else in the class was sitting obediently at their desks—he was the only one getting ready for a break.

The proctor placed the stack of collected papers on the left side of the podium, then picked up a manila envelope on the right and said, “The exam isn’t over yet, there’s still one more paper. Did you forget?”

……

What????

William Bennett collapsed back into his seat as the proctor opened the envelope and began handing out new test papers.

Samuel Wright leaned back, his back against William Bennett’s desk, and said, “Oh right, did you not know? We have two math papers. First is the main paper, collected after two hours. Then there’s an additional section, another half hour. Of course, in the official exam, they hand it out five minutes early.”

He finished speaking but got no response. Turning his head, he saw Classmate Bennett slumped against the back of his chair, his face already turning green.

“Let me just ask, how many points is your math worth?” William Bennett’s tone was utterly lifeless.

“For science students, 200 points. The total college entrance exam is only 480. Just think about that proportion.”

“……”

He leaned back for a few seconds, then felt someone tap the top of his head with a finger.

Edward Harris’s voice appeared again: “Get up from my desk and take your paper.”

The sensation of someone touching his head was strange. The hairs on William Bennett’s neck stood on end, and he shot upright like a corpse coming back to life. He grabbed his own paper and tossed the last one over his shoulder.

With a bizarre subject like math as the foundation, the rest of the exams were nothing. In the blink of an eye, it was already 9 p.m.

“Edward Harris, Teacher Wu wants you in the office.” As soon as the papers were handed in, a girl by the window relayed the message.

William Bennett turned to look and saw that troublemaker about to grab his bag and leave. Upon hearing this, he frowned: “Now?”

“Yeah. He came by right when the bell rang,” the girl said, pointing to a corner of the window. “He said to go after you finish the exam.”

Edward Harris seemed to be in a hurry, his expression not very happy, but he still dropped his bag and left the room.

At night, the school had shuttle buses to take day students to various parts of the city. You just had to swipe your school card. The departure times were adjusted according to the dismissal times of grades 10, 11, and 12. On exam days like today, the bus left at 9:20 p.m. After handing in their papers and packing up, students had plenty of time to walk to the parking lot.

“I’m taking the school bus. What about you?” Samuel Wright asked.

William Bennett was at the water dispenser at the back of the classroom, filling his cup: “I’m waiting for someone.”

“All right, see you tomorrow.” He spoke with a strange accent he’d picked up somewhere, slung his bag over his shoulder, and left. But after a moment, he came back and said, “Bro, go to the front office. Old Foster is looking for you—I just ran into him as I was leaving.”

“Which Old Foster?” William Bennett took a sip of water and asked.

“The homeroom teacher, who else?” Samuel Wright said. “Oh right, I don’t think you’ve met him yet. He wasn’t at school yesterday because of something, and today he was assigned to proctor another class. He probably just got free now.”

After delivering the message, Samuel Wright left. William Bennett put down his cup, sent a voice message to Uncle Xiao Chen, who was picking him up, and then headed to the office.

The 11th grade had a large office where most of the main subject teachers worked, since one teacher often taught more than one class. But Class A was an exception. Big Mouth Carter had shown him the way before: the main subject teachers for Class A didn’t teach other classes, so they had a separate five-person office.

William Bennett walked down the corridor.

Mingli Building was the territory of the 11th grade, with four floors and several classes on each floor, except the top floor. The top floor only had Class A, the Class A teachers’ office, the restroom, and two small dark rooms.

There were no signs on the doors of the small dark rooms, and they’d been locked these past few days. William Bennett hadn’t figured out what they were for.

As he neared the office, he noticed someone in the hallway. The two small dark rooms were unlit, the area in front of them dim. Two people were standing there, leaning against the corridor railing and talking.

The one with his back to him was clearly Edward Harris; the other must have been Teacher Wu.

William Bennett wasn’t in the habit of eavesdropping, but since he wasn’t far away, some of their conversation drifted into his ears.

“All right, that’s it for the exam issue. I’ll give Director Carter an answer tomorrow.” That was Teacher Wu speaking.

“Mm.” Edward Harris replied simply.

“Then your dad—”

Teacher Wu had just started when Edward Harris cut him off: “My matters have nothing to do with him.”

When he said this, his voice suddenly turned cold, carrying an indescribable sense of annoyance. Even William Bennett, who had clashed with him before, had never heard him sound so unpleasant.

Teacher Wu didn’t say anything more, just patted him on the shoulder.