Chapter 256
Finally, the day of the final exams arrived.
On this early July morning, the sunlight already carried a scorching heat. The air was thick with tension and anxiety.
Shen Nanchu didn't receive any special treatment or a separate exam room from the school just because she had to take two different subject exams.
She walked calmly into her own class's room as usual, found the seat with her name tag, and sat down, blending in with her classmates who were either muttering under their breath or turning pale with extreme nervousness.
With a dozen minutes left before the exam officially started, there was hardly any idle chatter in the classroom; only the rustling of pages turning and the sound of rapid breathing could be heard.
Many students were still desperately cramming, wishing they could squeeze every last drop of knowledge out of the final few minutes, their eyes glued to their textbooks.
In stark contrast to them was Shen Nanchu.
She sat there with total composure, as if what was approaching wasn't a grueling exam that would determine the success of the semester, but just an ordinary classroom exercise.
Her homeroom teacher, Sun Ming, was quite worried about Shen Nanchu having to take two highly difficult exams for both freshman and junior years back-to-back. He specifically volunteered to proctor the exam so he could keep an eye on her himself.
As soon as he walked into the classroom, his eyes subconsciously searched for Shen Nanchu's figure.
Seeing her sitting there like a meditating monk, looking completely relaxed and unbothered, Sun Ming felt a bit uneasy, even feeling a flash of anxious frustration at her lack of urgency.
This girl!
She was about to fight a continuous battle, taking two hellishly difficult exam papers!
She could at least show some nervousness! Even just pretending to cram at the last minute like the people next to her would do!
Look at the other students.
Pei Yunzhou was frowning and flipping through his notes rapidly, that kid Zhang Qiang was so anxious he looked ready to pull his hair out, and Li Zhe was holding his book, muttering and reciting silently...
Sun Ming really wanted to walk over and knock on Shen Nanchu's desk to remind her to take it seriously.
Unfortunately, Shen Nanchu maintained her breezy, unconcerned demeanor.
"Quiet down, students! Get ready for the exam!"
Sun Ming took a deep breath, walked to the podium, knocked on the desk, and announced in a loud voice,
"Now, bring everything unrelated to the exam—textbooks, notes, review materials—up to the podium! Hurry!"
As soon as Sun Ming finished speaking, a chorus of rustling movements and sighs filled the classroom.
The students reluctantly closed their books and walked up to the podium to drop off their materials, looking back longingly with every step.
Some of the more diligent ones even read as they walked, seizing the last few seconds to catch a glimpse, wishing they had X-ray vision to bring the knowledge into the exam room with them.
Meanwhile, Shen Nanchu's desk drawer was already completely empty; she hadn't brought any review materials at all.
Sun Ming frowned as he patrolled the classroom, confirming that all materials had been handed in before he began distributing the test papers.
When the ink-scented test papers reached the hands of each student, the classroom instantly fell into dead silence, followed closely by a chorus of sharp intakes of breath and faint wails.
These questions were way too hard!
They were much trickier and more complex than the practice problems and mock exams they usually did!
Just the options for the multiple-choice questions were dizzying, not to mention the essay questions with their lengthy prompts that required a comprehensive application of knowledge.
Holding his pen, Pei Yunzhou knitted his brows into a knot and fell into deep thought right at the very first question.
Zhang Qiang was scratching his head and ears, fine sweat breaking out on his forehead from anxiety. His eyes scanned back and forth across the paper, but he couldn't seem to find a place to start writing, unable to stop himself from muttering in a low voice,
"I'm doomed, I'm doomed. What kind of questions are these? This is too twisted..."
Li Zhe, who usually had pretty good grades, was relatively calm. He took a deep breath and didn't rush to start writing, but instead quickly scanned the entire test paper.
Gradually, his expression also turned grave. He thought for a long time before he began calculating on his scratch paper, hesitating to put his pen to the answer sheet.
Shen Nanchu, on the other hand, had a calm and placid gaze, as if she were looking not at difficult problems, but at something as simple as one plus one equals two.
She picked up her fountain pen and, without the slightest hesitation or pause, began to write furiously.
The tip of her pen glided across the paper, making a steady and brisk rustling sound, forming a world of difference from the anxiety of the other students who were unable to start writing.
Sun Ming's attention remained fixed on Shen Nanchu; he barely patrolled anywhere else.
Heaven knows, when he had just received the sealed final exam papers for freshmen and juniors sent from the teaching and research office, he had broken out in a cold sweat for Shen Nanchu!
He had taken a quick peek. For this final exam, the teaching and research team had clearly been ruthless; the difficulty of the questions far exceeded previous years.
The freshman paper was already very difficult, but the junior paper was hellish. The knowledge points covered were deep and broad, and the question types were flexible and varied. Even he, as a teacher, felt his scalp tingle just looking at it.
Now, seeing that Shen Nanchu only briefly scanned the paper before starting to answer fluently, Sun Ming's heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled down a bit.
At least she wasn't like some students, completely intimidated by the difficult questions and unable to even move her pen.
Time ticked away in the tense air.
The classroom was left with only the sound of pens scratching against paper and occasional heavy sighs.
Just over half an hour had passed. While most students were still struggling with the first few multiple-choice questions, Shen Nanchu suddenly raised her hand.
Sun Ming's heart skipped a beat, thinking Shen Nanchu had encountered an unsolvable problem and wanted to ask a question. He hurried down from the podium, bent over, and asked with concern in a hushed voice,
"Student Shen, what's wrong? Is there a problem? Is there an issue with a question?"
Shen Nanchu looked up, her eyes clear and calm, and said in an indifferent tone, "Mr. Sun, I'm done writing. I want to hand in my paper."
What?!
Sun Ming simply couldn't believe his ears!
Finished in just half an hour?
How is that possible!
This is an overly difficult final exam paper!
He instinctively glanced at his watch to confirm he hadn't misread the time, then looked at Shen Nanchu's paper, which was already densely covered in neat handwriting. He was so shocked that he was speechless for a moment.
Not only did Sun Ming find it hard to believe, but the students in the classroom, upon hearing her words, were all dumbfounded. They raised their heads in unison, their gazes focused on her as if they had just heard some fantastical tale!
Zhang Qiang, who was frowning over a function problem, was so startled to hear that Shen Nanchu was handing in her paper that his pen dropped onto the desk with a clatter. His mouth was wide open, big enough to fit an egg.
He rubbed his eyes vigorously. "She's finished? It's only been half an hour! My God! I haven't even finished the multiple-choice questions yet!"
Li Zhe also had a look of disbelief on his face. He pushed up his glasses, looked at Shen Nanchu's calm and collected demeanor, then looked at his own paper, which was less than a third done, and shook his head with a bitter smile.
"The gap between people... really is bigger than the gap between humans and dogs... This is too exaggerated..."
Even Pei Yunzhou, who was always steady and had some understanding of Shen Nanchu's abilities, was completely stunned at this moment.
He originally thought he had reviewed adequately enough. Although the questions were difficult, he figured he could handle them with some effort.
But his sister-in-law's speed... was completely beyond his comprehension.
As expected of his sister-in-law, she was simply amazing!