The moment the three left the classroom, the discussions broke out, and the classroom became noisy in an instant.
"What's going on? Why were they called out?"
"I know nothing… no, I don't even know a fart!"
"Do you guys think those two might have scored zero?"
"Even with their eyes closed, they wouldn't score zero. Besides, that's Ye Fan and Ning Xi. You're seriously brainless, aren't you?"
...
Following Yang Ting to the principal's office, Ye Fan and Ning Xi silently exchanged a glance, neither knowing what this was all about.
"Knock, knock—"
"Come in."
Two people were seated on the sofa in the office: Zhan Chongshan and Su Qiaoyu.
Yang Ting slightly nodded to Zhan Chongshan and said, "Principal, I've brought them here. I'll head back to work."
"Mm, go ahead."
Zhan Chongshan, who was making tea, nodded and waved at Ye Fan and Ning Xi, pointing to the sofa opposite him. His face was glowing with cheer. "Come, come, sit down first. I've even brought out my prized Biluochun tea that I've kept for years. Everyone must drink at least two cups to try it."
Seeing Zhan Chongshan's demeanor, Ye Fan already had the answer in his heart.
He placed his hands on Ning Xi's shoulders and gently pushed her to sit beside Su Qiaoyu. He then took a seat next to Ning Xi.
Su Qiaoyu's eyes flashed with a trace of surprise, but she said nothing. She smiled softly at Ning Xi.
Ning Xi's face turned red. To respond, she could only force a smile and lightly nod. In her heart, she wanted to bite Ye Fan to death, but given the situation, she couldn't act rashly. She could only draw circles in her mind in frustration.
Zhan Chongshan acted as if he hadn't seen anything. He placed three cups of freshly brewed tea in front of them and smiled. "Are you curious about your joint exam results now?"
Both Ning Xi and Su Qiaoyu were girls, and out of restraint, they only nodded in response.
Ye Fan, however, had no such reservations and asked directly, "Principal, stop teasing us. Why weren't our results announced directly? Why make it so mysterious?"
"Haha!"
Zhan Chongshan poured himself a cup of tea, took a small sip, and smacked his lips in satisfaction. "Ye Fan, this is a directive from the Ministry of Education. The scores of students ranked first in the National Joint Exam cannot be publicly announced in a high-profile manner."
As soon as these words fell, the two girls' eyes lit up.
The principal's words were already very clear—had they received extra credit?
Compared to the two girls, Ye Fan was much calmer. He smiled slightly and said, "Principal, it's just the three of us here. Go ahead and announce the scores."
"Alright."
Zhan Chongshan put down his teacup, exuding an air of pride. His gaze first turned to Su Qiaoyu.
"Su Qiaoyu, your total score in this joint exam is 729, ranked 87th nationwide. According to the bonus point rules, you receive an additional point. Well done, keep up the effort!"
Su Qiaoyu smiled gently and asked softly, "Principal, if there's a tie in scores, how is the ranking determined?"
This year's college entrance exam candidates numbered nearly ten million, so tied scores were surely not uncommon.
And how tied rankings were determined was of utmost importance!
"I was just about to explain that."
Zhan Chongshan smiled kindly. "This time, there are nine people tied with you, but you are ranked first among them. Do you know why?"
"I don't."
Su Qiaoyu's face showed curiosity.
Zhan Chongshan explained slowly, "According to the Ministry of Education's notice, in the case of tied scores, more attention is given to neat handwriting and the overall quality of the answers on the entire test paper."
"For instance, both you and Ning Xi have the same score, but your points of deduction were on minor questions, while Ning Xi's were on major questions. As a result, your ranking is higher than Ning Xi's. Does that make sense now?"
"I understand!"
"In your future exams, you should continue to maintain neat handwriting and reduce small mistakes. I believe you can go even further."
"Thank you, Principal. I will work hard."
Su Qiaoyu nodded repeatedly.
Then, Zhan Chongshan turned to look at Ning Xi and Ye Fan, and a rare glimmer of excitement appeared in his eyes.
"You two really gave this old man a big surprise! Especially you, Ning Xi. Your progress has been remarkable."
"Principal, enough with the pleasantries. Just tell us the scores."
"…"
Zhan Chongshan's mouth twitched as he glanced at Ye Fan and said, "Recently, Ning Xi's improvement seems to be related to you, doesn't it?"
"Mm, I've been tutoring Xiao… Ning Xi."
Ye Fan nodded with a smile, then hinted meaningfully, "It seems the tutoring is quite effective. This shows that certain things don't necessarily affect learning. At the end of the day, it depends on the person."
"Principal, am I right?"
Zhan Chongshan: "…"
Of course, he understood the implication behind Ye Fan's words, and his eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
But…
The facts were right in front of him. These two not only didn't neglect their studies but even improved their scores!
"Ahem—"
"Let's not talk about that."
Zhan Chongshan waved his hand to stop the topic and said seriously, "Ning Xi, your total score in the joint exam is 745, ranked third nationwide."
"You lost four points on the essay and one point on the English listening test. Overall, your performance was excellent. You earn an additional four points. Don't get complacent and keep it up."
"In your free time, you should seek more advice from Ye Fan. Judging from the current results, his tutoring is quite effective."
"Okay!"
Ning Xi nodded heavily, her eyes flickering between surprise, amazement, and finally disbelief.
Her original goal had only been to rank within the top 100. She had never dreamed that she could achieve third place nationwide.
What a delightful surprise!!!
An additional four points—it was something she only dared to dream of…
Hearing Ning Xi's score, Ye Fan's lips curled slightly, and a smile filled his eyes.
He had known that this girl could do it!
On the other hand, Su Qiaoyu's expression grew complicated upon hearing Ning Xi's score.
She had really worked hard, yet the gap between her and Ning Xi hadn't narrowed. Instead, it had widened.
Was Ye Fan's tutoring really that effective?
At that moment, she was tempted!!!
"Um… Ye Fan, could you include me when you tutor Ning Xi? I—"
"No."
Before Su Qiaoyu could finish her sentence, Ye Fan directly shook his head and refused, very decisively and without hesitation.
He was willing to tutor Ning Xi because he wanted to.
Even if it meant less time for his own reading, he was happy.
But to tutor Su Qiaoyu?
No way!
Wouldn't it be better to spend that time gaining more experience points?
Su Qiaoyu's shoulders trembled, and the light in her eyes dimmed completely. Her lips moved slightly, but she said nothing.
Ning Xi tugged at Ye Fan's sleeve, her eyes blinking twice as her red lips moved. "You…"
She had just said one word when she saw Ye Fan firmly shake his head.
She lightly bit her lip and didn't say anything more.
Zhan Chongshan coughed awkwardly, rubbed his hands together, and tentatively suggested, "Ye Fan, helping classmates is a good thing if you're able."
"No."
Ye Fan shook his head without the slightest hesitation.
His gentleness was reserved for Ning Xi alone.
Everyone else? Out of the question!!!
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