Chapter 44: Mock Exam Results and a New Language Partner

Wednesday morning, the mock exam arrived precisely as scheduled. It wasn’t considered a formal assessment, nor would it lead to any class reshuffling. With significantly fewer questions than a standard test, the entire examination concluded by noon. Students were informed that their scores and rankings would be available for online inquiry by Thursday evening.

At Nanli Affiliated High School, every grade-level exam result was compiled into a ranking, published exclusively on the campus network for students to check themselves. Rather than being returned or discussed, completed exam papers were stored and then destroyed in batches, though the test questions and corresponding answer keys would gradually be released online.

This unique approach, likely due to historical reasons, drew heavily from the British high school model. This model emphasized students’ self-directed learning capabilities while also partially alleviating teachers’ workload.

On Thursday evening, after self-study concluded, Lin Duo hurried back to her dorm. She immediately opened her computer and logged into the campus network using her student account.

Soon, she located the PDF file containing the mock exam scores and rankings. After opening the document, she began to scroll down, searching for her name, her heart sinking further with each passing second.

Finally, Lin Duo found her name listed under ‘327th place’. This meant she was among the bottom hundred students out of 421 first-year high schoolers.

This revelation was both unexpected and a significant blow to her.

Shen Jing’an, too, was displeased with her own ranking. “How am I only in the 200s? I felt pretty good after the exam… Hmph, but at least it’s much higher than yours!”

Noticing Lin Duo’s utterly despondent expression, she finally managed to suppress her momentary triumph. She attempted to console her friend. “Oh, it’s just a mock exam, you know. It only covered middle school content and leaned heavily towards competition questions, so it’s really fine if you didn’t do great!”

Lin Duo slowly exhaled, like a zombie, offering no reply. After all, her academic performance had always been excellent since childhood; she had never before fallen to the bottom ranks.

Classes resumed as usual the next day. The subject teachers showed no intention of reviewing the exam papers, instead continuing with the previous textbook content.

Students were expected to check the standard answers online afterward to identify their mistakes. Nevertheless, those who scored well in the mock exam received various glances from their peers.

As a key municipal school, Nanli Affiliated High School maintained an incredibly rapid teaching pace. They boasted of covering all high school textbooks within the first year alone.

With such swift progress, Lin Duo found it difficult to keep pace, particularly in physics and mathematics. This caused her considerable distress. After one physics class, she found herself completely stumped by a problem.

Unfortunately, Shen Jing’an wasn’t particularly strong in the sciences either. After much deliberation, Lin Duo stood up and made her way to Cai Jingyao.

Cai Jingyao enthusiastically provided a detailed explanation. To help Lin Duo better understand the concept of charge coupling, he took her small hand.

Whether intentionally or not, he used it for a more concrete demonstration. Lin Duo rarely had physical contact with male peers, and her heart immediately raced.

She wanted to withdraw her hand at once, but seeing Cai Jingyao’s serious, focused gaze as he explained, she wondered if she was being overly sensitive.

Back at her seat, Lin Duo touched her face, which felt slightly warm. Shen Jing’an, observing everything, moved her chair next to Lin Duo.

She spoke with a sarcastic, mocking tone. “You still say you don’t like him? What was that just now?”

“He was just demonstrating the method better. It had no other meaning!” Lin Duo emphasized solemnly.

Shen Jing’an let out a chilling sneer. “Hmph hmph hmph, just keep pretending to be pure. I’ve figured you out: you’re just using those ‘feigning disinterest to entice’ tricks to flirt with guys!”

“What did you say!” Lin Duo was a little angry, raising her hand as if to strike her.

Unexpectedly, Shen Jing’an straightened up, emboldened. “You dare? If you hit me, I’ll tell the whole class that you still wear a camisole!”

Most first-year high school girls had already begun to develop breasts; wearing a camisole was quite rare. Lin Duo put down her hand, frustrated. “Aren’t you just an A-cup too?”

“Hmph hmph, it’s an A-plus now.” Shen Jing’an stressed the latter part of her statement. “Anyway, it’s much better than your ‘airport’!”

Lin Duo chose to ignore her, opening her book to read. Shen Jing’an, feeling bored, glanced around the classroom.

She realized her roommate next to her was her closest friend, so she continued to pester Lin Duo. “Hey, what do you think of Sun Shida? Doesn’t he look especially like a popular young idol?”

Sun Shida was the class’s study representative. He was of average height, 175cm, and typically quiet in class, yet very friendly when he smiled. His appearance was remarkably delicate, with skin even fairer than many girls.

In the mock exam, Sun Shida ranked 13th in the entire grade, truly living up to his position. Lin Duo looked towards Sun Shida’s seat.

She saw him intently reading, his focused expression paired with his refined profile, indeed giving him an ethereal, almost otherworldly quality. “Well, well, what do you think? Isn’t he handsome?”

“Although he and Cai Jingyao have different styles, I like them both very much!” Shen Jing’an continued to chatter in Lin Duo’s ear.

Their conversation was quiet, and the desks were spaced far apart, so there was no worry of their talk being overheard by others. At that moment, the English teacher entered the classroom.

Students quickly quieted down and returned to their seats. The English teacher was an expatriate from Australia, with the Chinese name Jessica.

Her teaching style was laid-back; for instance, she would assign self-designed topics for students to complete in groups. Jessica emphasized teamwork and interest more than traditional classroom English teaching methods.

Today’s lesson followed this pattern. Jessica divided the students into several groups. Each group received a blueprint of a complex machine.

Group members had to collectively guess and discuss how the machine worked. Finally, each group would elect a representative to present their findings. Of course, the entire process had to be conducted in English.

Lin Duo was grouped with three boys and four girls. Although group members were assigned by student number and not very familiar with each other, they were all classmates and generally knew each other’s names.

The discussion was lively. However, despite Lin Duo’s good English grades, her speaking ability was poor. She couldn’t interject much and could only listen to their discussion, feeling frustrated.

Jessica noticed Lin Duo’s predicament. She walked over to her. “Lin, you don’t seem to be speaking much.”

This time she used Chinese, and with a distinct Beijing accent. Lin Duo wanted to reply in English but couldn’t form the words, so she resorted to Chinese. “I rarely spoke English before, so my expression is very poor.”

Jessica nodded understandingly. “I’ve encountered this situation before. You need a language partner to improve quickly.”

“Language partner?” The term was new to Lin Duo. “It’s a partner who helps you practice a language,” Jessica briefly explained. She scanned the classroom, quickly finding her target.

She walked over to Sun Shida’s seat. “I remember you, Sun. Your spoken English is very fluent, and your pronunciation is standard American. Would you be willing to help Lin practice speaking for half an hour every day?”

Sun Shida looked a little bewildered. “How would we practice?” “Just chat with her in English for half an hour every day, preferably with you setting the topic.”

At this, Jessica’s face broke into a mischievous smile. “It’s a gentleman’s honor to help a beautiful lady, so don’t refuse!”

At this moment, many boys were staring at Sun Shida with envious eyes. Although Sun Shida seemed reluctant, it was a teacher’s request.

He found it difficult to openly refuse and reluctantly nodded. “That’s wonderful!” Jessica looked very pleased. “Remember to exchange contact information after class. If Lin’s spoken English doesn’t improve, I’ll deduct points from your regular grade!”