It's the students' fault if they are too popular.

In the classroom, Li Hanqiang was asking the students to clean up and put the desks and chairs back in place. When he saw a student with good grades, he would ask, "How did you do in the exam?" The student would then pat his head and say, "Is it okay?"

It takes two or three days to mark the test papers and publish the results.

Ruan Qian opened the book, but couldn't concentrate at all.

Reading would only remind her of how stupid the mistakes she made on the test were.

You did badly on the exam this time, didn’t you?

Is it possible for a miracle to happen?

Examinations are very strange. When you think you did well, it is often not so good. When you think you did terribly, it may not be that bad.

Maybe everyone did poorly on the exam.

Ruan Qian comforted herself in this way.

Only in this way can she survive these days.

-

-

Marking papers is a very troublesome job.

The marking of monthly exams does not require as much meticulousness as that of midterms and final exams. Generally speaking, if a big question is wrong, the teacher will deduct points depending on the situation. Some steps will not be given points because there is no time to look at them carefully. But Tong Yao couldn't bear it and always wanted to find some extra points, and deduct as few points as possible.

This caused her to grade the papers much more slowly and she had to work overtime at night.

The No. 1 Middle School adopted a flow-based marking method, where the papers were directly scanned into the computer, and the teachers divided the work to mark them. Tong Yao sometimes saw some beautiful handwriting and wondered if it was the soft papers. But the girls' handwriting was similar, and many of them were practiced from a copybook, neat, small, and delicate, and she couldn't tell the difference.

Many people got the 20th question wrong, so she had to write it down and talk about it in class.

Day and night alternated, and the efficiency-seeking No. 1 Middle School sent the transcript file to the public mailbox in two days. During the break, Tong Yao turned on the computer, made herself a cup of coffee, hesitated and slowly moved the mouse to download the file.

Name, class, grades in each subject, class ranking, grade ranking, all arranged in an orderly manner, giving her the illusion of being a military commander in ancient times.

First place in Class 674, Ji Chen, score , ranked th in the grade.

Full marks in mathematics. The second place was Yin Jiali, ranked 48th in the grade, with a score of 145 in mathematics.

She continued to flip through the pages, and the more she flipped, the heavier her heart felt.

No. 45, Ruan Qian, total score 560, ranked 360th in the grade.

The girl's score was much higher than last time, but it was also an indisputable fact that most of the subjects in this exam were relatively easy. The total score was not very meaningful. In No. 1 Middle School, the ranking was the most important number.

The little girl scored 118 points in math.

It was not high, because the average score of Class 122.4 in mathematics was , the first among parallel classes. To put it bluntly, the girl did not do well in the test, and did not perform as well as she thought she should in mathematics.

Wouldn’t the child be very sad when he knew he didn’t do well in the exam?

Tong Yao stepped back and looked at the potted plants by the window. The small leaves were growing hard towards the sun, and the branches were leaning, but they couldn't resist being moved by people.

When she sees the child again, she should comfort and encourage her, right? After all, she has made progress. Just because hard work doesn't pay off doesn't mean she can't give the little girl a little reward.

"Sister Yaoyao!"

A girl shouted "report" at the door and rushed towards Tong Yao.

"What's wrong?" Tong Yao came back to her senses and looked up to see Xu Yin.

"Have the scores come out?" Xu Yin stuck out her tongue and blinked. "Old Lu said he knows the scores, but he won't tell us. Sister Yaoyao, can you help us check them out? I can show them off when I go back and whet their appetite."

Only those students who are familiar with the teacher and have confidence dare to come to the office to check their scores.

"You..." Tong Yao laughed. Lao Lu was the physics teacher of Class 4 and Class 7. This nickname was approved by him personally. "It has been printed and will be announced this afternoon. But if you want to see it, I can help you check it."

"Thank you, Sister Yaoyao~"

The office is very busy during the break.

Li Hanqiang walked into the office, full of energy and enthusiasm. He had no reason not to be happy. Class 7 ranked first among all parallel classes in Chinese, mathematics, English and physics, and beat Class 8 in the opening test. Even he walked with joy.

"Teacher Tong, you are a good teacher in math!" He said with a smile, "Ji Chen has also done a good job. The parallel class finally has a student in the top 20 in the grade."

"Ha...you're too kind," Tong Yao laughed dryly, feeling a little embarrassed by the compliment. "Ji Chen is also thanks to you. A good teacher produces a good student."

She actually had a lot of complaints in her heart.

Li Hanqiang relied on his position as the head teacher to always assign some reading tasks and Chinese homework outside of class, and intimidated students in class not to do other homework - these were all correct, but other classes were not like this. Class 7's math was average before, and the heavy Chinese homework during the summer vacation was also responsible for this.

As she spoke, she quickly found the files for Class 4.

Class 4 has the second highest average score among science classes, and its mathematics score has risen from third at the beginning of the school year to second.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Her teaching level was proven, right?

As the mouse slid, the first place on the transcript was written as Xu Yin, 685, third in the grade.

"That's great," Tong Yao laughed, "full marks in math."

Xu Yin seemed a little surprised, too. After counting her scores in each subject, her eyes lit up and her eyebrows arched:

"Sister Yaoyao, do you have any rewards?"

Tong Yao raised her eyebrows. She knew that many teachers would give snacks to students, so it would be stingy if she didn't give them some rewards. She thought for a moment and asked:

"what do you want?"

Xu Yin looked at her, and without any warning, her face suddenly turned red.

She turned sideways and said coyly:

"I...I'll think about it."

"Think about it quickly," Tong Yao curled her lips, "No more waiting after the deadline."

"Eh? Give me more time!"

-

-

"The results are out," the news spread like wildfire.

No. 1 Middle School is very efficient in grading papers, but the teachers are no longer serious once they know the results. Printing a transcript can take an entire afternoon, and in the end there is a high probability that they will find a laborer to do it.

"I'm going to check my grades," Ji Chen couldn't sit still and said in front of the class, "I'm dying of suffocation."

"Damn, I don't dare to go to the labor camp." A boy cried, "I must have failed the exam."

"Why are you looking for a labor camp? Look for Teacher Tong!"

"I did poorly on the math test, I'm embarrassed to go..."

"Are you all going to check the results?" Jiang Yiming slammed the table and stood up, "I'm going too."

Xu Hao applauded: "Brave man, please help me look after mine."

Ruan Qian was lying on the table, with her estimated scores scribbled on the draft paper.

I don’t need to look at her to know that she did very poorly on the test. Even if she improved, it was only from “very poor” to “relatively poor”.

She was sad because she felt she could have done much better.

"Jiang Yiming..." she called softly.

When the girl he secretly loves calls him, the boy becomes as energetic as if he has been injected with chicken blood, and the only thing left is for him to transform into a Saiyan.

"Help me check the results," Ruan Qian paused, "If... it's very bad, don't tell me."

After listening to this, Jiang Yiming nodded with a sense of mission.

Before class, Jiang Yiming came back.

"I'm upset," the young man hammered the table, "Xu Hao, you're upset too. Ruan Qian, you...uh..."

After a while, the boy managed to utter a few words:

"Progress."

Ruan Qian understood and smiled, which made Jiang Yiming a little scared.

"To be honest, you didn't do so badly on the test..."

"Jiang Yiming, can you lend me your phone?" Ruan Qian said softly, "I want to make a call."

Chapter 37: Motivation

"Hello," the girl leaned against the wall in the corner of the corridor. Outside, there was the noise of freshmen. She held the phone and said in a trembling voice, "Mom."

"Who is it?" The other end obviously reacted for a moment, "Xiao Qian?"

"It's me," Ruan Qian bit her lower lip, "This is a call from a classmate."

"What's wrong, baby? Is there something wrong? You called mom suddenly, is it because you don't have enough money?"

When Ruan Qian heard this voice, she suddenly wanted to cry.

She was not strong at all. She was alone outside and often wondered why she came to No. 1 Middle School. Wouldn't it be better to be an above-average student in Xiangnan? Would she have a bright future if she studied here? But she seemed to have experienced all kinds of failures.

"Mom... I didn't do well in the exam," she sniffed, not wanting to be heard crying, and wiped away her tears with her sleeve, "I want to go home..."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment.

"Xiao Qian, it doesn't matter if you didn't do well in the exam... We will work harder next time. Mom believes in you. You were so outstanding before.

“Your brother didn’t do well in the exam either. Grades aren’t the most important thing, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself.

"No one blames you. Don't cry. One exam is nothing... Do you want mom to come and see you? Take you to your favorite buffet?"

Ruan Qian choked up, thinking about the round-trip fare, food and lodging expenses, and the delay in work, she calmed down, wiped her tears, and whispered:

"…No need, Mom, you are busy with work."

"Zizi, is it very stressful over there? If... you really want to come back here to attend high school..."

Ruan Qian shook her head and said softly: "Mom, no, this side... is actually pretty good. I had insomnia before the exam and was very nervous about it, but... I really tried my best."

"Well, mom believes in you."

The call lasted for eight minutes. Ruan Qian hung up the phone when she thought the class bell was about to ring.

Failing an exam is not in itself unacceptable.

What Ruan Qian couldn't accept was her mother's sadness and Teacher Tong's disappointment. The hard work at home and Teacher Tong's patient tutoring made her feel overwhelmed during the exams.

It's my own fault.

She looked towards the stairs, and then, in a daze, she stared at Tong Yao who had been standing at the stairs without her knowing when, and subconsciously hid her phone behind her.

"Ruanruan?" Tong Yao was holding a USB flash drive in her hand. She was going to print something. She looked at Ruan Qian. She just heard the second half of the conversation and felt even more distressed for the little girl. "You're hiding here crying?"

Ruan Qian turned away, her eyes still red, and spoke stutteringly:

"No...no."

The class bell rang at the right time.

"Teacher Tong, I..."

"What's the next class?" Tong Yao asked suddenly.

"Music... music class."

Ruan Qian said in a low voice.

"Want to go for a walk with the teacher? Just to relax?" Tong Yao took out her cell phone and smiled, "I'll ask for leave from Teacher Lu for you."

-

-

The autumn wind was howling in the huge playground. The leaves turned green and then yellow, but the artificial grass on the playground was as lush as ever.

Music class also has no human rights as always. "Are you avoiding me these days?"

The nursery rhyme has a somewhat teasing tone.

"No, no..." The little girl was afraid that she would misunderstand, so she lowered her head and explained timidly, "I just feel... ashamed to see Teacher Tong..."

"Why are you embarrassed?" Tong Yao stopped, "Do you think I will be angry or disappointed if I do poorly on the test?"

The little girl said nothing, staring at the floor, but her meaning was obvious.