Chapter 346
The school’s students weren’t top performers; their high school entrance scores placed them in the lower-middle tier. The school’s reputation across the capital was unremarkable, so this mock exam’s average would undoubtedly be an eyesore.
Even he had strained his brain to finish the entire math paper. Other math teachers felt the same, calling it the hardest mock exam in recent memory.
Yet, their school had one ace: a girl recruited at great expense, the second-highest scorer in the high school entrance exam. Brilliant and sharp, she consistently scored around 680 in mock exams.
She was their secret weapon. They’d even promised her a million-yuan bonus if she ranked in the top ten in the National College Entrance Examination.
After the math exam, a teacher asked how she found it. She admitted it was challenging but manageable.
Hearing that, Chen Daoyuan felt somewhat relieved.
He suspected Alarieka didn’t truly understand their school. She must have assumed their students were mediocre, hence her rash claim about aiming for first place.
But Alarieka didn’t know about their star student. To clinch first place, she’d need a total score near 680.
Chen Daoyuan had looked forward to watching Alarieka struggle with the math paper, hoping she’d regret her bold words.
When he saw her frown at the math questions, he chuckled and shook his head.
Just as he expected.
Ambition was good, but arrogance? Not so much.
Still, she was young. As her teacher, he hoped this experience would humble her. After all, there’s always someone better, and beyond the sky…
Lost in his educational musings, Chen Daoyuan’s gaze drifted to Alarieka’s math answer sheet. Seeing her solutions and answers, his mind went blank.
What was beyond the sky again?
What is on Alarieka’s answer sheet?
Mr. Chen walked over and stood beside Alarieka, looking down to stare intently at the problem-solving steps she was writing out.
Alarieka was now tackling the second-to-last major problem on the math exam–one of the most challenging questions that had stumped countless teachers and students.
And she was solving it just like that?
Her steps were logically clear and concise. Her pen moved smoothly without hesitation, as if she’d already calculated every step in her mind.
Mr. Chen watched, expression hardening, as Alarieka wrote out an answer even more lucid than the standard solution.
He slowly watched her arrive at the exact same final answer as the key.
He even began wondering if she’d somehow seen the answers beforehand.
But that seemed impossible. The teachers themselves had only managed to replicate the standard solution.
Besides, this was a mock exam for Capital High. Papers were strictly confidential–no student could’ve accessed them early. No precedent existed.
Alarieka’s approach differed from the key. Her logic was tighter, her method more advanced, and her steps remarkably streamlined–flawless from start to finish.
Mr. Chen almost asked how she’d derived a particular step, but stopped himself when Alarieka glanced up with innocent, clear eyes.
He closed his mouth, feigning sternness. “Focus. Why stare at me? What’s on my face? The answers?”
Alarieka: ..
Fine. She lowered her head and kept writing on the answer sheet.
Then Mr. Chen watched, stunned, as Alarieka calmly and fluidly solved the final challenge–again with cleaner logic than the key, yet identical results.
He was speechless.
Her other answers were all correct.
Meaning this answer sheet could score perfectly.
Perfect.
He sank heavily into his office chair, observing Alarieka.
She sat quietly at the temporary desk he’d moved to the corner, steadily working through problems.
Mr. Chen narrowed his eyes. Math was her first subject–her own choice. Clearly her strongest.