Given his previous record of poor grades, how could he possibly justify such arrogance?
Unfazed, Xu Cong gestured toward the blackboard. "Then go up there and solve them now."
This was a subtle challenge, intending to expose Zhou Yi's incompetence as an example.
Zhou Yi took his test paper and walked up to the podium.
His razor-sharp intellect allowed him to glance at the problems and instantly deduce the answers.
As Zhou Yi stood at the podium, the person next to him happened to be Su Ning.
After finishing her answers, she glanced at him impassively.
Zhou Yi paid her no mind, focusing intently on calculating the solutions.
His concentrated demeanor drew nothing but ridicule from others.
Xu Cong assumed he'd have to wait until the end of the lesson to review Zhou Yi's answers, but to his astonishment, Zhou Yi completed everything in under ten minutes.
"If you're just scribbling nonsense, I'll assign you three additional test papers."
"Teacher, I assure you, I calculated these answers meticulously."
Zhou Yi smiled calmly, exuding unshakable confidence.
Su Ning rolled her eyes. Finishing a math test in ten minutes? How dare he boast like that? Who did he think he was?
Everyone awaited Zhou Yi's inevitable humiliation.
Xu Cong glanced at his answers, then leaned in closer, perplexed.
Setting down his thermos, he began comparing Zhou Yi's answers on the blackboard.
Zhou Yi stood confidently beside Su Ning. From an aesthetic perspective, the pair made a striking image, as if plucked straight from an idol drama.
The other four students on the podium also realized something unusual: Zhou Yi's answers didn't appear to be random guesses.
They matched their own answers by approximately 90%, differing only in two multiple-choice questions and the final problem.
Frankly speaking, the test wasn't easy, and they found it hard to believe Zhou Yi had solved everything independently.
"Did he copy ours?"
"Obviously. Only two or three answers differ."
"Does he think changing a couple of answers will stop us from mocking him?"
"How is this any different from cheating? He blatantly copied someone else's work."
Apart from Su Ning, who remained silent, the other two boys and two girls looked at Zhou Yi with disdain.
Top students might tolerate underachievers, but they harbored an innate aversion to cheaters.
In their eyes, Zhou Yi was lazy, deceitful, arrogant, and undeserving of respect.
How could they possibly view him favorably?
Xu Cong clicked his tongue and chuckled suddenly. "Let me check your answers."
Picking up a piece of red chalk, he began marking correct and incorrect responses.
The first student got two multiple-choice questions and one major problem wrong.
The second student missed one multiple-choice question and one major problem.
The third student erred on one multiple-choice question and two major problems.
The fourth student faltered on one multiple-choice question and one major problem.
The fifth was Zhou Yi.
"Let's see Zhou Yi's..."
"—All correct."
As soon as Xu Cong finished speaking, the classroom erupted into chaos.
"Impossible! Even Su Ning got two wrong. How could he get everything right?"
"His math used to be at the bottom of the class!"
"Is Teacher Xu joking with us?"
"Did he somehow steal the answers?"
"Just dumb luck?"
"No way. The last problem wasn't multiple-choice. Even guessing wouldn't land the decimal points exactly right!"
Regardless of the reactions below, the students on the podium wore expressions of utter disbelief.
Su Ning turned to Zhou Yi in astonishment. "Did you somehow obtain the answers beforehand and have someone else solve them for you?"
Most people suspected that Zhou Yi had someone else do the work in advance.
But Xu Cong refrained from jumping to conclusions. Instead, he asked Zhou Yi to write out the solution process for the final problem on the board.
Zhou Yi responded to Su Ning first. "I solved them myself. If you don't understand, feel free to ask me after class."
Su Ning sneered mercilessly. "Don't think I don't see through your scheme. You believe this will make me pay more attention to you? Dream on."