Chapter 258
In the small office of the department head gathered Principal Liang Guoming, Department Head Yu Hongbin, Homeroom Teacher Sun Ming, and three grading teachers who had been brought in at the last minute.
"Begin grading!"
Liang Guoming ordered. His voice was steady, but his eyes were fixed entirely on the two exam papers.
The three teachers immediately got to work.
"Multiple choice... all correct!"
"Fill-in-the-blanks... also all correct!"
One teacher announced the results in disbelief.
Next were the subjective questions.
The teachers gathered together, reviewing them question by question and occasionally exchanging whispers.
Their expressions grew increasingly colorful, shifting from serious to surprised, and finally to absolute disbelief.
"She used three different methods to solve this question, and every single one is correct and concise!"
"The logic in this proof is flawless!"
"The perspectives in the essay questions are novel and profound, and the arguments are well-supported!"
Finally, Professor Wang, who was responsible for tallying the scores, took a deep breath.
"After review, the final score for Shen Nanchu's freshman archaeology core theory final exam is... one hundred."
Gasps echoed throughout the office.
Sun Ming excitedly clenched his fists.
Yu Hongbin's face flushed red with thrill.
Even the experienced Principal Liang Guoming revealed profound astonishment in his eyes.
A perfect score!
To get a perfect score on such a difficult exam! This was beyond mere genius!
"Hurry! Grade the junior year exam!"
Liang Guoming immediately ordered, a trace of urgency creeping into his voice.
The junior year exam was even more difficult and took longer to grade.
The teachers' expressions became even more focused and solemn.
They found that Shen Nanchu's answers were not only correct, but many of her thought processes went far beyond the textbook, displaying an extremely solid foundation and extraordinary comprehension.
Finally, only the last comprehensive, highest-difficulty finale essay question remained.
The teachers read Shen Nanchu's answer several times and whispered among themselves for a moment.
A hint of regret appeared on Professor Wang's face. Pointing to the last few lines of the exam paper, he said to Liang Guoming and Yu Hongbin,
"Principal Liang, Director Yu, the application of knowledge points and the logic of the argument in this question are actually flawless. In fact, you could say they are brilliant."
"However... look at these last few lines. The handwriting is noticeably messier than the rest, and a few words are even a bit hard to read. According to our grading standards, we usually deduct a slight presentation penalty for this kind of thing."
"What do you think..."
Liang Guoming and Yu Hongbin leaned in for a closer look. Sure enough, the earlier handwriting was as neat as printed text, but the final section was a bit rushed, with the structure of a few individual characters lacking clarity.
Liang Guoming pondered for a moment. "If we only consider the content of the answer, how many points is it worth?"
"Full marks! It is absolutely at a perfect score level!" Professor Wang said without hesitation.
Liang Guoming nodded and made his decision,
"Full marks for content, deduct one point for presentation flaws. Let's be realistic and fair to the other students. Record it as a ninety-nine."
In the end, Shen Nanchu's score for the junior archaeology core theory final exam was finalized at ninety-nine.
The moment the scores for these two exams were officially confirmed, a bizarre silence fell over the small office.
Homeroom teacher Sun Ming's mouth hung wide open, unable to close for a long time.
He knew Shen Nanchu was smart, but he never expected her to be smart to such an inhuman degree!
Department Head Yu Hongbin's hands trembled with excitement. He slapped his thigh hard,
"A genius! No! A prodigy! Our department... no, our school has found a treasure! This is something that has never happened since the school was founded!"
Although Principal Liang Guoming appeared calm on the surface, his slightly rapid breathing and shining eyes betrayed his extreme inner turmoil.
Looking at the two exemplary exam papers on the desk, he slowly spoke,
"Gather her materials immediately! A student like this absolutely cannot go unnoticed! As for skipping grades, we will handle it as a special case!"
"No, this is no longer just a matter of skipping grades... We need to re-evaluate her entire educational training plan!"
Yu Hongbin nodded, thoroughly agreeing with Principal Liang Guoming's words.
"Professor Shen is returning to the country next year. A great prospect like Shen Nanchu will definitely test into graduate school, and Professor Shen would be the absolute best choice to be her mentor."
"That's right, Old Shen is exactly in need of a final, closed-door disciple!"
...
Shen Nanchu had no idea that because of her, the department head's office was already boiling over with excitement.
She was currently driving, taking Pei Yunzhou home.
Along the way, Pei Yunzhou had been expressing his admiration for Shen Nanchu, his praises flowing endlessly like a mighty river...
In every subsequent exam, Shen Nanchu finished her papers at a superhuman speed.
Zhang Qiang, Li Zhe, and the others in the same exam room as her were already numb to it.
The difference between a genius and an ordinary person.
They finally understood it.
...
On the day the results were announced,
Jinghua University even specially posted the grades on the bulletin board.
Unsurprisingly, Shen Nanchu dominated the top of the freshman archaeology rankings, and her name even sat atop the junior year rankings.
Shen Nanchu became even more famous.
Had there ever been a freshman who took a junior-level exam and brought back first place?
No.
This was something Jinghua University had never encountered since its founding.
Many people's impressions of Shen Nanchu changed.
She was a true academic god!
However, there were still quite a few people who felt it was impossible for Shen Nanchu to be that amazing; she must have used some underhanded methods to get first place.
[Disgust Value +9]
[Disgust Value +10]
[Disgust Value +11]
...
Among these rumors, Qin Rong's instigation was indispensable.
When Qin Rong first saw her own grades, she was quite happy; after all, she had scored an 'A'!
But when she saw Shen Nanchu's grades, her heart burned with intense jealousy.
How could a mere dancer score so high?
Moreover, she was a freshman taking a junior exam.
It was absolutely cheating.
[Disgust Value +8]
[Disgust Value +12]
[Disgust Value +13]
...
The voices accusing Shen Nanchu of cheating grew louder and louder.
Soon, they reached Shen Nanchu's ears.
But who was Shen Nanchu?
Generating all this Disgust Value for her made her thrilled; she absolutely wasn't going to take the initiative to explain herself.
Pei Yunzhou, on the other hand, tried to explain on her behalf several times and almost got into fights over it. However, his single mouth was no match for the mouths of so many others.
Eventually, even the school administration was alarmed.
Principal Liang Guoming and Department Head Yu Hongbin were so stressed they chain-smoked one cigarette after another.
This matter was truly difficult to handle.
After all, people were free to say whatever they wanted.
If the school issued a formal statement, the rumors would inevitably escalate.
Precisely because of this concern, Liang Guoming and Yu Hongbin couldn't come up with a good countermeasure for a long time.
It was truly stressing them to death.
"Forget it. If there's really no other way, let her prove it herself!"
Yu Hongbin's words made Liang Guoming hesitate,
"Do you think student Shen Nanchu will be willing?"
"We'll know once we ask."
...