What's wrong with me, a school principal, listening to students' suggestions?

July 10th.

Citywide High School Principals' Joint Conference.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the principals and academic directors of the seventeen high schools arrived one after another.

The conference tables were arranged in a U-shape, and a huge projection screen in front of them was not yet lit.

Two score checkers from the Information Technology Department sat next to the screen, with laptops in front of them.

Liu Jianguo sat in the center of the stage, with a freshly brewed cup of Tieguanyin tea in front of him; the tea soup was golden and clear.

He was wearing a brand new navy blue shirt today, looking very energetic, and his voice was half an octave higher than usual.

"Dear principals, today's meeting will be very brief."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and glanced around the room.

"The results will be released at 12 o'clock. We can take this opportunity to have each school give a report on its annual teaching achievements."

"As for the order, we'll follow the regional arrangement from previous years, starting with No. 1 Middle School, then No. 2, No. 3... and finally No. 13 Middle School."

When he mentioned No. 13 Middle School, the corner of his mouth unconsciously curled up slightly.

Qian Wenhua sat in the first row, put his teacup on the table, and glanced in Lin Yucai's direction.

Lin Yucai sat at the very end of the U-shaped table, with Su Qingyan beside him.

There was a folder in front of him, but he didn't open it.

He leaned back in his chair nonchalantly, his hands clasped on his stomach, his expression as calm as if he were on vacation.

"Principal Lin looks quite well today," Qian Wenhua remarked sarcastically from across half the hall. "Looks like you're having a good time with the recruitment battle?"

Lin Yucai nodded at him, smiled, and didn't reply.

Qian Wenhua's smile froze on his face.

As he expected, Lin Yucai should be feeling extremely uneasy.

He recruited over 500 students, but if their college entrance exam results are poor, those parents could tear him apart.

But Lin Yucai's expression didn't look like that of someone waiting for a verdict.

The morning's reporting process was long and tedious.

The No. 1 High School took the stage first, and Qian Wenhua read out the first-tier university admission rate, the key university admission rate, and the number of students admitted to Tsinghua and Peking Universities. The numbers were impressive as usual.

Then came No. 2 Middle School, No. 3 Middle School, No. 5 Middle School...

The academic affairs director of each school took turns going up on stage, with a slide of PowerPoint displayed on the projector.

Lin Yucai didn't touch the glass of water in front of him the entire time.

Su Qingyan would occasionally glance at him, and he would always give her a "don't rush" look.

11:45.

All sixteen schools have now completed their reports.

"The last one, No. 13 Middle School."

Liu Jianguo cleared his throat and glanced at Lin Yucai at the very end.

"Principal Lin, it's your turn."

All eyes in the room turned to him.

Some of the principals sitting in the front row picked up their cups to drink tea, while others opened their notebooks to take notes. The expressions on their faces all carried a subtle, unspoken understanding.

Everyone knows what kind of foundation the No. 13 Middle School has.

Today's presentation is scheduled for last, so that this set of data can be used to wrap things up... the kind of ending that's meant to be laughed at.

"Principal Lin?" Liu Jianguo called out again, "Time is limited, please hurry."

"Director Liu," Lin Yucai finally spoke, calmly, "My report is very simple."

"Just wait for the score inquiry channel to open at 12 o'clock, and then look at the big screen."

"There are still fifteen minutes left, no rush."

Liu Jianguo's eyebrows twitched.

This unconventional approach made him feel uncomfortable for a moment.

But he quickly relaxed again.

The undergraduate admission rate of No. 13 Middle School was 5% last year, and even if it doubles to 10% this year.

It was the shortest pillar in the entire stadium when projected onto the big screen.

"Okay." Liu Jianguo glanced at the clock on the wall, leaned back in his chair, and said, "Then we'll wait."

The sound of hushed conversation filled the room.

Some people were making phone calls, some were looking through their phones, and some were huddled together whispering.

Su Qingyan tapped her knee lightly twice with her fingers.

Lin Yucai turned his head and lowered his voice: "Nervous?"

"A little," Su Qingyan said in a low voice, "What if the estimate is wrong?"

"Then I'll treat you to hot pot as an apology."

"Can you afford to pay for it?"

"If you can't afford to lose money, sell yourself."

Su Qingyan glared at him and didn't say anything, but she pursed her lips slightly.

11:58.

11:59.

The talking in the room gradually subsided, and everyone's eyes drifted to the projection screen.

The grade checker had already opened the education system's backend page, with their finger hovering over the Enter key.

It's exactly twelve o'clock.

"The passage is open." The examiner's voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet auditorium.

Liu Jianguo sat up straight: "Transfer to No. 13 Middle School first."

He originally wanted to present the results of No. 13 Middle School last for comparison, but seeing Lin Yucai's indifferent attitude, he didn't want to wait any longer.

Show it to everyone so they can see it clearly.

Then he submitted the report, "Eliminating Typical Cases of Irregular School Operations," which made the final decision.

The grade checker tapped a few keys on the keyboard and entered the school code for No. 13 Middle School.

Data loading.

The progress bar ran for three seconds.

On the big screen, the summary table of the 2018 college entrance examination results of No. 13 Middle School popped up.

The score checker stared at the screen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard.

He rubbed his eyes.

I watched it again.

He froze there, his mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time.

"What's wrong?" Liu Jianguo sensed something was amiss and asked, "Read it aloud."

The grade checker's Adam's apple bobbed up and down twice.

He turned to look at Liu Jianguo, then turned back to look at the screen, his expression as if he had seen a ghost.

"No. 13 Middle School, 2018 College Entrance Examination." His voice was a little unsteady. "One hundred and seventy-three students took the exam."

"The number of students admitted to undergraduate programs is 159."

The undergraduate pass rate is 91.9%.

The room was deathly silent.

"One hundred and four people have logged in."

"The first-year admission rate is 60.1%."

The sound in the meeting room was as if someone had pressed pause and then restarted it, with all the sounds exploding at the same moment.

"How many?!"

"Ninety-one percent? He said ninety-one percent?"

"Wait, what's the first-tier university admission rate?"

A principal in the front row bumped his teacup against the edge of the table, spilling tea everywhere, but he didn't bother to wipe it up.

Qian Wenhua's expression changed four times in three seconds.

"There's something wrong with this data!"

He suddenly stood up, the chair slid back half a meter, and scraped against the floor with a screech.

"There must be something wrong with the system!" he shouted, his voice booming. "Thirteenth Middle School's percentage was only 5% last year, and it's jumped to 91% in just one year? How is that possible!"

Liu Jianguo sat on the dais, his hand holding a teacup suspended in mid-air.

"Re-verify."

His face went from rosy to ashen in just two seconds.

"Check it again."

The score checker quickly exited the page, re-entered the code, and retrieved the data again.

Three seconds later, the same number appeared on the screen exactly the same.

Undergraduate enrollment rate: 91.9%.

First-tier university admission rate: 60.1%.

Highest score: 587.

It's all in black and white, in the system backend, and everyone present can see it.

The meeting room was like a pot of boiling water, filled with uncontrollable discussions.

"This first-tier university admission rate is even higher than our school's?" A principal from the south of the city stared wide-eyed.

"Sixty points... No. 3 Middle School only has fifty-eight this year."

"No. 13 Middle School? That No. 13 Middle School? The No. 13 Middle School that's ranked last in the whole city?"

Lin Yucai stood up from the end of the U-shaped table.

He picked up the folder in front of him that he hadn't opened at all, and slowly walked to the projection screen.

All eyes were on him.

He turned around, facing a room full of colleagues and superiors, and slammed open the folder.

There was only one piece of paper inside.

There was only one line of text on the paper, which he had handwritten last night.

"At No. 13 Middle School, the undergraduate admission rate is 91.9%, and the first-tier university admission rate is 60.1%."

"Thank you, principals. That concludes my report."

He closed the folder and glanced in Liu Jianguo's direction.

Liu Jianguo's teacup was still held in mid-air, but the tea had already gone cold.

His other hand was resting on the eight-page report entitled "Eliminating Typical Cases of Irregular School Operations".

That report, at this moment, is like a piece of scorching iron; everyone can see it, but it can no longer be handed over.

……

At the same time.

The campus of No. 13 Middle School was unusually quiet.

The senior high school students have been glued to their phones since last night, tossing and turning in their dorm beds.

As soon as midnight struck, the entire dormitory building seemed to be electrocuted.

The phone screen lit up, the score checking website was refreshed frantically, some were stuck on the loading page and couldn't move, and some directly reported a 502 error.

"Can't get in! The internet's down!"

"Me too, I've been spinning around in circles for ages!"

"Try the backup channel; the link was posted in the school group chat!"