Chapter 345
He’d have to be out of his mind to agree.
Alarieka rotated her ankle, unconcerned about Chen Daoyuan’s current opinion of her. Had she been the principal of a high school encountering such a situation, she too would’ve thought the other person insane. Thus, she possessed absolute patience to make Chen Daoyuan accept her proposal.
With each step she took forward, Chen Daoyuan’s brow furrowed deeper.
“Leave immediately, or I’ll call your parents.”
Summoning parents remained the most effective tactic against many students—a strategy Chen Daoyuan had employed numerous times throughout his teaching career, always yielding significant results. Yet he never expected the young girl before him to smile and say, “Principal, I came here today with my mom. She’s right outside the office. Would you like to meet her?”
Chen Daoyuan: …
“Get out!”
Chen Daoyuan waved his hand, impatience etched across his face. “If you don’t leave now, I’ll call security.”
“Hold on, why not hear me out first?”
Staring at the girl, Chen Daoyuan truly felt he’d lost his mind—he actually wanted to know what she had to say.
Alarieka’s voice remained light: “When I entered, I saw your students taking monthly exams. How about this: let me take the test too. If I score first place, you accept me as your student. If I don’t, I’ll never bother you again. This proposal costs your school nothing—just provide me with test papers and answer sheets.”
Chen Daoyuan studied her with heavy eyes. Inevitably, he felt somewhat persuaded. Still, the situation struck him as absurd. With merely two or three months left before the National College Entrance Examination, no normal senior would transfer schools now, nor would any institution expel a student at this critical juncture. Likely, this student had committed some outrageous act forcing the school’s hand—or perhaps faced unavoidable circumstances requiring withdrawal.
Moreover, if her academic performance truly guaranteed first place, any school would retain such an asset to boast about nurturing top students. Therefore, her expulsion almost certainly resulted from misconduct, indicating an unruly, difficult personality—precisely why he shouldn’t accept her.
Yet her audacious claim of easily securing first place—wasn’t that sheer arrogance? Utter contempt for others?
Chen Daoyuan’s voice deepened: “Quite the boast. Do you think first place comes from empty words?”
Alarieka raised an eyebrow: “How would we know without trying?”
Chen Daoyuan’s expression hardened. Indeed—how would they know without trying? If granting one opportunity could resolve this, he’d allow her the attempt. After all, achieving first place was no simple feat. Should she fail, he could rightfully dismiss her. But if she succeeded…
Chen Daoyuan stood. “Wait here. I’ll get your test papers.”
Alarieka smiled and nodded. “Alright.”
From the moment Chen Daoyuan retrieved the test papers until ten o’clock that evening—nearly half a day—Alarieka stayed in Chen Daoyuan’s office writing nonstop. She completed the Chinese, Math, English, and Science sections in one go, her answer sheet covered with neat, elegant handwriting. Throughout, she kept her head down, wholly absorbed in the questions, oblivious to the expressions and reactions of the person beside her. Thus, she missed Chen Daoyuan’s shifting expressions.
Chen Daoyuan could hardly believe his eyes. This monthly exam used papers from a joint high school test across several neighboring cities, notorious for their sky-high difficulty. Today marked the exam’s final day and its penultimate subject.
Teachers invigilating had watched helplessly as students agonized over the challenging questions—pulling their hair out, pinching their cheeks, utterly stumped and frowning. Having reviewed the papers, every teacher agreed each subject was exceptionally tough. Chen Daoyuan, a math teacher by training, was stunned when he saw the science math paper. Without much thought, he knew his school’s math average would be dismal.