Every end-of-term exam at the school came in two sets: Paper A and Paper B. It was a precautionary measure to prevent exam leaks.
In her past life, Shu Lanzhou had only learned about this after the Du Yifan incident. Normally, Paper B would be used as review material for the next academic year.
Back then, Luo Jialin hadn't needed to retake the exam. In the second semester, Shu Lanzhou had asked Han Weicheng for a copy of Paper B—not for cheating, but simply to test her own level.
After all, she had been secretly studying graduate-level coursework all along, just to keep up with Luo Jialin, so he wouldn't look down on her—and so she could help him prepare materials whenever he needed.
Now, reborn, when she prepared review materials for Ke Beichen before the exam, she wasn't sure if they might suddenly switch to Paper B at the last minute. Just to be safe, she had compiled resources covering both sets.
As long as Ke Beichen had truly studied what she gave him, he wouldn't have done poorly—on either version.
"No way—you really called it! The school did have a backup exam!" Dong Anlan was thrilled after hearing Shu Lanzhou's explanation.
"I thought only major national exams had backup papers. I didn't think even a normal end-of-term test would prepare them. Shu Lanzhou, you're amazing!"
Let's see if Luo Jialin still dared to act smug now!
"By the way, how did you figure out the key topics?" Ke Beichen asked, curious.
Shu Lanzhou smiled faintly. "For that, I have to thank Professor Han. Every time he lectured, he'd always emphasize certain phrases: 'This type of question is a key point; you should pay attention.'"
"I don't know if anyone else picked up on it, but I took detailed notes every time. Over time, I noticed patterns in his exams."
"I tested it a few times and found that the study materials I selected each year would more or less cover the important questions. Eventually, as long as I paid attention, I could pretty much guess the direction of the exam."
Half of what she said was true; the other half wasn't. It was true that the review materials she picked every year were helpful for the team. But the false part? She already knew the exam content from her previous life. Naturally, she could predict it.
But no one else knew that. To them, Shu Lanzhou was simply brilliant and meticulous.
The retake results were posted that afternoon. At the same time, online forums were blowing up with debates. Shu Lanzhou and the others were summoned to the academic office.
To their surprise, not only were the directly involved parties there—even Mu Yanning and the principal had shown up.
As soon as she entered, Mu Yanning strode over. "You child! You got bullied and didn't even tell me. What—did you think I'd be like certain people and wouldn't stand up for you?"
"No!" Shu Lanzhou immediately looked tense.
"It's my fault—I've gotten used to solving things on my own. I shouldn't have; I should've told you earlier. This was my mistake."
"Even though you didn't say anything, you handled it wonderfully!" Professor Chen gave her a big thumbs-up.
"Some people get used to looking down on others, thinking only their own students deserve to succeed. Well, little girl, you just gave them a solid slap in the face."
"Yanning, your student's really something! Made it into the top fifty in a single semester! Tell me, how did you teach her?"
Mu Yanning beamed with pride. "This child's naturally diligent. I just taught normally—nothing special."
"Seems like having good students really makes all the difference!" Professor Chen turned to glance at Principal Gao. "Don't you think so, Principal Gao?"
Principal Gao's face darkened. "Our school's entry requirements are already high—everyone we admit is excellent. The only difference is what major they choose."
"But someone like Shu Lanzhou—well, she's an outlier. As principal, I still don't recommend switching majors in senior year. It's too risky; it could jeopardize her future."
"You're absolutely right, Principal!" Shu Lanzhou nodded earnestly.
"If I hadn't been forced into it, who'd want to take such a gamble? And because it's such a gamble, that's why I threw everything I had into studying."
"On the one hand, to make sure my future wouldn't be ruined. On the other, so my new advisor wouldn't be ashamed of me. What else could I do besides achieving excellent grades?"
"But even so, some people just wouldn't leave me alone. They came after me again and again—as if they wouldn't stop until they crushed me completely!"
"I really don't know what I did wrong. Is doing well in school… some kind of sin in their eyes?"
Professor Chen couldn't help laughing. "You silly girl—what 'harsh truths' are you spouting? A student doing well in school is never a sin, not in a million years."
"You just keep being excellent. If anything happens, your advisor will have your back. Don't be afraid. Keep studying. Study until you're at the very top—just to spite them!"
"…"
Not many professors would dare say something like that, right in front of the principal. Professor Chen really had guts.
Han Weicheng's face flushed red, then pale, then green. "Principal Gao, I admit it was wrong of me to make a bet with the students. But I didn't target Shu Lanzhou out of malice. I just wanted to find a compromise to keep Guo Jialiang here."
"That kid comes from a tough background. To make it to grad school at all hasn't been easy. He's only got one more year before he graduates. It'd be such a waste to expel him now. I was just… softhearted, that's all…"
"Oh, so Professor Han's soft heart only works for his own students? For students outside his circle, he's perfectly fine being ruthless?" Mu Yanning snapped coldly.
"What, just because Shu Lanzhou made it to senior year means her life's easy? Her family's well-off? She gets slandered and maligned, and she's supposed to forgive and forget? Since when was that fair?"
Han Weicheng's face twisted in humiliation, like someone had peeled his skin off and stomped on it. Internally, he cursed Guo Jialiang a thousand times over.
He deeply regretted agreeing to help Lin Muyao cover for Guo Jialiang in the first place. If he'd known it would blow up like this, he'd never have gotten involved.
Who could've predicted Shu Lanzhou would excel so much—learning a new major, in just one semester, and doing it so well it exceeded all expectations?
Han Weicheng gave Shu Lanzhou a deep look. Such a shame—if only she'd stayed on his team. With her talent, he'd eventually have noticed her, and she'd have gotten her moment.
But no—she just couldn't wait. Had to sabotage herself. Had to pick an obscure major. Did she really think she could surpass him with achievements in some backwater field?
Her advisor had spent years trying and still failed—and she, a mere girl, dared challenge him? Dream on!
"I'm not going to argue with you," Han Weicheng said loftily, putting on a magnanimous air.
"As for the online posts, I won't pursue them further. I'll leave it to the school to handle as they see fit. Right now, the most important thing is the retake results. Principal Gao, what do you think?"
Mu Yanning curled her lip. "Oh, please. You're still bringing up the online posts? The whole campus is condemning you—you want to sue the whole school?"
"Don't act like you're being so generous. Go ahead—try to press charges if you dare."
Principal Gao looked about ready to faint. "Alright, Professor Mu, calm down, please. The school will give you all a proper resolution regarding the online situation. But first—let's talk about the retake."
Principal Gao took the grade sheets from the academic director, glanced down…
(I'm a new writer, so if there are any grammatical or content-related mistakes, please feel free to point them out in the comments—I will correct them promptly. This is my first novel with what seems to be pretty good stats so far. Without realizing it, I've already written 145 chapters. I'm truly grateful to everyone who's been following along. I hope to earn your recognition, and I'd be very thankful if you could vote for me with your free Power stone and add this book to your collection. Thank you all for reading!)