He was a disabled military officer who doted on his research work in the Northwest.

Principal Zhou didn't respond to him, but turned to Sun Xiulan: "Teacher Sun, what do you think?"

Sun Xiulan calmly said, "It depends on the grades."

Ma Decai smiled and said, "Of course we need to look at the grades, but that child Shen Yao—"

"Shen Yao's scores: 78 in Chinese and 65 in Math." Principal Zhou interrupted him, turning over the test paper on the left.

Ma Decai glanced at it and nodded: "Not bad, not bad. The basics are good, we can improve gradually. Put him in our class—"

"Shen Tang's grades." Principal Zhou turned over the paper on the right.

Chinese Language: 96. Math: 103.

Ma Decai's smile froze on his face.

He stared at the two numbers for a full five seconds, then subconsciously leaned forward, thinking he was seeing things.

No. It's all clearly written in black and white, marked with red pen.

Did you solve the bonus question?

Ma Decai opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say. Half an hour ago he was chatting and laughing with Zhao Jianhui at the school gate, casually echoing, "What level can someone from the countryside be at?"—Now this "country bumpkin" has scored 103 on his math test.

The air was still for a few seconds.

Ma Decai reacted quickly. His face soon regained its smile, even becoming more enthusiastic: "Oh my! This Shen Tang has a good foundation! Principal, put such a good student in our class—"

"Teacher Ma," Sun Xiulan said, her voice not loud, but carrying a weight that compelled people to stop and listen.

She looked at Ma Decai and said calmly, "You've already chosen one."

Ma Decai's smile froze for a moment.

Sun Xiulan was telling the truth—he had just confidently declared he wanted Shen Yao, but now, seeing Shen Tang's grades, he wanted both of them. His behavior was simply too ugly.

Principal Zhou nodded: "We'll ask Shen Tang for her opinion regarding class assignments."

……

Five minutes later.

Shen Tang was summoned to the principal's office.

Principal Zhou briefly explained the class assignments—Class 1 is taught by Teacher Ma Decai, and Class 2 is taught by Teacher Sun Xiulan; students can choose either class.

Shen Tang glanced at Ma Decai standing on the left.

She had seen this man earlier at the entrance of the academic affairs office—when Shen Yao came in to register, he greeted her with a beaming smile, more enthusiastic than a father. And while Shen Yao was putting on her innocent act at the school gate, he stood at the entrance of the academic affairs office drinking tea and watching the show, not only failing to stop Zhao Jianhui's sarcastic remarks but also laughing along a couple of times.

She glanced again at Sun Xiulan on her right.

This woman didn't say a single unnecessary word from beginning to end. She didn't rush to poach people just because of her good grades, nor did she gossip about people from the countryside. She was impartial and had the honest and upright qualities of an intellectual.

The decision wasn't difficult, especially since she didn't want to be in the same class as that scheming Shen Yao; just looking at her made her nauseous. "I'll go to Class Two."

Ma Decai's expression was very unpleasant.

It wasn't that she was unhappy because she was missing a student—it was because she was too embarrassed to be rejected to her face. Moreover, Sun Xiulan and Principal Zhou were also present. This was tantamount to Shen Tang stating in front of everyone: I'd rather go to the strict Class Two than your Class One.

He's really lost face.

"Alright then." Principal Zhou made the decision. "Shen Tang, Class Two. She will officially begin school next Monday."

Shen Tang thanked him politely and turned to leave.

As she passed by Ma Decai, she felt his gaze on her back.

It was cold and resentful, but Shen Tang didn't care.

She was a teacher who made a living by currying favor with the factory director; in her previous life, she had seen people in academia who were ten times more cunning than her.

As she walked out of the principal's office, she happened to run into Shen Yao, who was waiting in the corridor.

Shen Yao clearly already knew the results.

The pitiful look on her face vanished, replaced by a suppressed, almost overflowing resentment.

Mathematics 103.

She was abducted by human traffickers and lived in the countryside for fifteen years. So how did she get this score?

Shen Yao stared intently at Shen Tang, her lips trembling slightly as if she wanted to say something.

Shen Tang walked past her.

A stunned voice came from behind: "She...she's raising pigs in the countryside...how come her grades are so good?"

Shen Tang turned around and chuckled, "Right, when I was raising pigs, even the pigs couldn't understand this question."

"Shen Tang!" Zhao Jianhui roared from behind, but she ignored him, didn't turn her head, and walked out of the teaching building.

A northwest wind blew in my face, rustling the leaves of the poplar trees. Sunlight filtered through the hazy clouds, shining on the red brick teaching building.

Next Monday, she will be a student here.

When Shen Tang walked out of the school gate, Xiao Li was waiting for her on his bicycle. He waved to her from afar and said, "Sister-in-law! Finished the exam?"

"The exam's over." Shen Tang climbed onto the back seat. "Let's go home."

How did the exam go?

"good."

Xiao Li didn't ask any more questions and pedaled his bike towards the compound. Shen Tang sat on the back seat, watching the poplar trees on both sides of the road recede into the distance, and mentally planning her next steps—going to school, farming, helping out in the canteen, and giving Mu Qinghan a massage; she had to make the most of her time.

When she returned to the compound, she discovered that the news had spread even faster than she had.

Whether it was because Xiao Li had sent a message beforehand, or because news spread as fast as a military radio, Shen Tang was blocked by a group of little girls as soon as she turned into the alley leading to Mu Qinghan's courtyard.

"Sister Shen Tang! Sister Shen Tang!"

Tiger, panting heavily, came running up ahead, clutching something in his hand. His little face was a dark reddish-brown from the sun. "Sister, did you pass the exam? My mom said you went to take the high school entrance exam!"

Shen Tang was both amused and exasperated by this situation: "The results haven't been officially announced yet—"

"She definitely passed!" Niu Niu peeked out from behind Hu Zi and said in her childish voice, "Sister Shen Tang is the best!"

Ever since she rescued this girl, she's been sticking to Shen Tang like a little tail, always wanting a hug whenever they meet.

"Here you go!" Tiger stuffed the things he had been clutching all the way into Shen Tang's hand.

Shen Tang looked down and saw it was a pencil. It was a Zhonghua brand pencil with a green barrel, sharpened to a fine point, but there were obvious marks on the barrel from repeated rubbing by small hands, and the wood was worn shiny.

This is Tiger's most treasured pencil.

She had heard Wang Xiulian say before that Tiger's father was a soldier in the Third Regiment and his family was not well-off. He had saved up his allowance for a month to buy this pencil, and he was reluctant to use it for homework, saving it specifically for drawing.

"Tiger, we can't accept this older sister—"

"These are for your school!" Tiger put his hands behind his back, looking serious like a little adult. "My mom said I need good pencils for school!"

"I have one too!" Niu Niu stood on tiptoe, holding up a pink eraser. The edges were rounded, but it was spotless. "Here you go, sister! You can erase it if you make a mistake!"

Shen Tang squatted down, took the pencil in one hand and the eraser in the other, and looking at the bright, sparkling eyes in front of her, her nose suddenly felt a little sore.

In her past life, she was a rising star in academia, having won countless awards and certificates, but none of those awards could compare to the feeling she had now—two children were giving her their most precious possessions because they genuinely thought she was amazing and truly wanted her to succeed.