Chapter 507: Placement Test 2
Teacher Yin tugged his arm. "Wipe that smug look off your face. Aren’t you afraid Class 1 will come back and try to poach her?"
Li Fugui’s smile vanished. "The student is just curious about the sciences. Her other subjects might not be as good."
The history teacher laughed. "A student with such good Chinese and English scores can’t be bad at the liberal arts. Teacher Li, from the sound of it, this student wants to study the sciences?"
"That’s for sure," Li Fugui said with a chuckle. "She’s been very clear that she wants to study physics and biology in the future."
"Sigh, what a shame."
"Old Chen, I don’t like the sound of that. The student wants to study science, so how is that a shame?" Li Fugui jumped up, nearly reaching the history teacher’s height, but his fighting spirit was immense.
Tan You was now the apple of his eye. Anyone who tried to persuade Tan You to study liberal arts was his enemy!
"Alright, I can’t even say anything, can I?" Mr. Chen shook his head. "Still, Fugui acted fast."
Li Fugui said, "I wish I could say I acted, but I just gave a heads-up and hadn’t done anything yet. Who knew that when the classes were being assigned, they’d put Tan You in mine? It must be fate."
He admitted he had some ideas, but he hadn’t had the chance to act on them. So, speaking of which, Li Fugui didn’t feel the least bit guilty.
Even if this blew up in front of the principal, Li Fugui wouldn’t be the slightest bit afraid. When the time came, he’d just stubbornly insist he had no idea what Tan You scored on her entrance exam. His main strategy was to play dumb.
Before the Tuesday evening self-study session was over, all the placement test scores were out. Tan You’s score was as brilliant and eye-catching as a flag planted on the peak of Mount Everest.
Across nine subjects, Tan You lost a total of less than ten points, putting her a full two hundred-plus points ahead of the student in second place. Seeing this score, all the teachers were stunned.
Although they had mentally prepared themselves, seeing the actual score left everyone with a single thought: ’Is this a score a normal person can even get?’
The homeroom teacher of Class 1 reacted the fastest. "With scores this good, how can she stay in Class 3? Our Class 1 is the intensive class..."
Li Fugui grew anxious. "Old Wang, you can’t be so greedy, snatching up every good student you see for your class. Tan You is a student of Class 3, and I do not approve!"
Teacher Wang wasn’t about to let collegial courtesy stop him now. "How am I being greedy? I’m the teacher of the intensive class, and I’ve come down from teaching the senior class. My teaching experience is absolutely extensive!"
Li Fugui retorted, "Count every one of us here—who hasn’t come down from teaching the senior class? Who isn’t experienced? What makes you so special? Besides, Tan You herself wants to study physics and biology. You teach a physics and chemistry class, so why are you trying to stir up trouble?"
Teacher Lin watched her husband battling Teacher Wang like a proud rooster with a red comb and colorful plumage. She thought for a moment, and seeing that the evening self-study was about to end, she quietly slipped out of the office.
Tan You was a hot commodity right now. ’I’d better go get Tan You and walk back with her,’ she thought, ’just in case someone tries to intercept her on the way.’ If Tan You really ended up in another class, her husband would probably die of anger.
Just as Teacher Lin arrived at the classroom door, Tan You happened to look up. She had already learned about the argument in the office from her Beauty System. Lowering her gaze with a small smile, Tan You quickly packed her backpack. "I’m heading back with Teacher Lin. You three can go together."
"Teacher Lin, were you looking for me?"
Teacher Lin smiled. "Mhm, school’s about to be dismissed. I came to walk back with you. Your Teacher Li is still busy with something in the office, so we won’t wait for him."
Tan You understood. "Alright, let’s go then."
Tan You still had faith in Li Fugui’s fighting spirit. Besides, she was just a student. Her primary duty was to study, so she didn’t need to worry about other matters.
Seeing how calm Tan You was, Teacher Lin couldn’t help but feel amused. "Aren’t you worried about the placement test at all?"
Tan You smiled. "I’m able to estimate my score. After the test, I did a rough calculation. I should be able to get full marks on the science subjects. As for the liberal arts courses, I shouldn’t have lost more than five points."
"You were pretty much spot on," Teacher Lin sighed. "Across nine subjects, you lost a total of nine points. Your Teacher Li is in the office arguing with the other teachers right now. Class 1 wants you to transfer over."
"No way, I’m not going," Tan You refused immediately. "I’m definitely not going. I plan to study physics and biology, so what would I do in Class 1? Besides, if I went to Class 1, I wouldn’t have two amazing teachers like you and Teacher Li."
After years of experience, flattery came to Tan You as easily as breathing. It was a far cry from the past, when getting her to say something nice was harder than pulling teeth.
Teacher Lin chuckled at Tan You’s words. "Alright, as long as you stand firm, your Teacher Li will have the confidence to fight for you. I’ve noticed you go to bed late and wake up early to cook. Won’t you be short on time?"
Tan You replied, "Not at all. I actually get enough sleep. Plus, I’ve gotten used to it over the past few days. It feels pretty good, so please don’t worry. I can take care of myself."
Since Tan You wouldn’t budge and Li Fugui’s stance was firm, Teacher Wang of Class 1 could only return in defeat. But he wasn’t ready to give up. With scores like Tan You’s, could she really have scored so low on the high school entrance exam?
Once suspicion took root, he couldn’t sit still. Since they were all in the same school, Teacher Wang went to the records office first thing Wednesday morning to check the scores. When he saw Tan You’s score of 582, he was so enraged he nearly spat blood.
’She should have been my student! How on earth did she end up in Class 3?’
Li Fugui didn’t even get to start his morning reading session before he was dragged into the principal’s office by Teacher Wang.
"Principal Hu, you have to be the judge here! Have you ever seen a teacher like Teacher Li, who just hogs another teacher’s student and won’t let go?"
Principal Hu was a bit dizzy from it all. After hearing Teacher Wang’s story, he couldn’t help but sigh. ’Teacher Wang... is really unlucky.’ Just because of a single oversight by the PE teacher, Teacher Wang lost such an amazing student?
Li Fugui already knew Tan You’s stance, so he wasn’t panicked in the slightest. "Principal, I wouldn’t call this ’hogging.’ This is fate between me and Tan You! Otherwise, why would Old Ding have recorded her score incorrectly?"
"I didn’t pull a single string during the whole process."
Teacher Wang was exasperated. "But you gave the Academic Director a heads-up that you wanted Tan You as a student."
The Academic Director wasn’t about to take the blame. "Fugui did mention it to me, but I didn’t interfere in the slightest. The classes were originally assigned based on scores. Everyone with 580 or above went to Class 1, and the remaining students were distributed among the three classes according to their rankings."
"But it’s a fact that her score was recorded incorrectly!" Teacher Wang latched onto this point, refusing to let go. This was his only leverage; nothing else he said would matter.
Principal Hu looked at Tan You’s recent placement test scores and obviously knew what Teacher Wang was fighting for. An outstanding student—what teacher wouldn’t want one? This was about future performance evaluations, bonuses, and even their reputation.