"Alright, those who were sleeping, wake up. Class is about to start."
Xu Cong took off his glasses and straightened the stack of test papers in his hands.
"I've finished grading the exams. I'll now call out names and scores one by one. Come up and collect your papers."
"Wang Mengjie, 66."
"Luo Shengsheng, 43."
"Su Ning, 94."
"Song Hao, 67."
"Wang Yang, 90."
......
As Xu Cong called out each name, the students filed up one after another to retrieve their test papers.
Some wore gloomy expressions, others looked regretful, and a few seemed downright embarrassed—not a single face showed delight.
For the top students, anything less than a perfect score wasn’t worth celebrating.
After all, this exam determined who would qualify for the competition.
Su Ning and Wang Yang were among the best in math in their class, and they had been strong contenders for the competition—until Zhou Yi suddenly emerged, throwing everything into question.
"Zhou Yi, 100. The first perfect score today."
The moment Xu Cong announced Zhou Yi’s name and score, all eyes in the room locked onto him.
"Holy crap, another perfect score? Didn’t he ace the last exam too?"
"How the hell did he pull that off? He finished in ten minutes—that’s insane!"
"Even Wang Yang couldn’t beat him."
"Guess he really did it on his own. I was watching him the whole time—no way he cheated."
"Unbelievable... How did his math suddenly get this good? This is advanced calculus!"
"Seriously, if it were some memorization-heavy subject, I’d get it. But math? That’s just wild."
"Looks like he’s snatching that competition spot for sure."
......
All three classes were buzzing about Zhou Yi’s performance.
This time, though, he had taken the test right in front of everyone—no one could accuse him of cheating.
Zhang Wu, in particular, had watched Zhou Yi write his answers. At first, he thought Zhou Yi was just scribbling nonsense, but now the guy had aced it. What was he supposed to say?
When Zhou Yi returned to his seat with his paper, Zhang Wu stared at him like he’d seen a ghost.
"Are you really Zhou Yi? Not some secret twin or something?"
"Who else would I be?"
"But how did you change so much? You used to suck at this."
"Because... I couldn’t do too well before. Now, it doesn’t matter."
Zhou Yi played the cryptic genius, leaving Zhang Wu utterly stunned.
Zhang Wu’s eyes darted over Zhou Yi, suspicion and disbelief warring in his gaze, until he finally accepted the truth—his deskmate had somehow become a prodigy.
"The spots for the math modeling competition have been decided. For our class, Zhou Yi will represent us. If anyone has objections, come see me after class. That’s all."
Xu Cong had finally settled a matter that had been dragging on for too long.
When Liu Wei heard that Zhou Yi was the one chosen for the competition, he nearly thought Xu Cong had lost his mind.
"Professor Xu, you’re not mistaken, are you? Zhou Yi is representing our class!?"
Had Zhou Yi pulled some strings behind the scenes? Otherwise, how was this possible?
But Xu Cong wasn’t the type to bend the rules—he’d known him for years. This was downright bizarre.
"He scored perfect marks on two consecutive exams—advanced calculus, no less. There aren’t many in the arts department who can do that."
"Zhou Yi? Perfect score? What?"
"Exactly. I know it’s shocking—I was too. But once you see him in class, you’ll understand. The kid’s changed."
"Good heavens..."
Liu Wei couldn’t hide his astonishment. Thinking of Zhou Yi’s handsome face, he realized—if the kid’s grades had caught up, his future was anyone’s guess.
"Who knows? He might even top the university rankings and make it to the provincial competition."
Xu Cong’s offhand remark sent a jolt of excitement through Liu Wei.
Making it to the provincial level would be a breakthrough for Huai University!
He’d nearly given up on this competition, but now Xu Cong had lit a fire under him. His reputation and bonus were on the line!
Zhou Yi, don’t let me down, old Liu is counting on you!
During afternoon literature class, Liu Wei strode into the room with renewed energy.
His eyes flicked to Zhou Yi first before he addressed the class. "You remember the Classical Chinese we studied last semester, right? I’ll test a few of you—recite from memory."
"Seriously? We have to recite stuff from last semester?"
"What’s gotten into Liu today?"
"Who pissed him off?"
"Please don’t call on me, I don’t remember a single word."
......
Zhou Yi had no idea he’d become the object of Liu Wei’s fervent attention.
Liu Wei deliberately called on a few average students first, only to be met with the same response:
"Forgot."
Then, without warning, he called Zhou Yi’s name.
"Zhou Yi, recite for us."
Caught off guard, Zhou Yi stood up calmly.
Under Liu Wei’s expectant gaze, Zhou Yi flawlessly recited three passages from last semester’s material—without a single pause or mistake, as if he’d written them himself.
"Now recite the eighth passage."
Liu Wei, testing him further, issued another challenge.
Zhou Yi recited it just as smoothly.
"What about the twelfth?"
Again, Zhou Yi delivered.
His composure was unshaken, radiating confidence.
Thrilled, Liu Wei then asked Zhou Yi to translate and interpret the passages without referring to the textbook. Zhou Yi did so word-for-word, as though the text were right in front of him.
The class watched in stunned silence. Had this guy been possessed or something? This was terrifying!
This was material from last semester—how could he remember every single word?
And Zhou Yi hadn’t even done well in literature back then. What was going on today?
A heavy cloud of bewilderment settled over the room.
Liu Wei was now convinced—Xu Cong hadn’t exaggerated. Zhou Yi had transformed completely.
Memorizing Classical Chinese wasn’t the impressive part; reciting every translation perfectly was.
Taking a page from Xu Cong’s book, Liu Wei pulled out a stack of test papers and handed them to Wang Yang.
"Pass these out. Our class did well in the last literature exam—let’s see if you’ve improved further."
The moment Liu Wei finished speaking, groans erupted.
"Another test? We just had one in math!"
"No way Zhou Yi aces this one too, right? It’s literature—so much memorization."
"Yeah, at least he can’t get full marks on the essay."
"Wait, there’s no essay this time?"
"No time for essays. But there’s still literary theory and history—no way he remembers all that. I doubt it’s possible."
Zhou Yi started writing the moment he got his paper, his pen flying across the page. Zhang Wu shot him a look as if he were some kind of monster.
Once again, Zhou Yi was the first to hand in his test.
A short while later, Liu Wei stared at Zhou Yi’s paper in amazement.
This kid... how was every answer correct?
Had he memorized the entire university’s literature syllabus?