A day and a night passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, everyone used their own methods to prepare, which I won't list in detail. On Monday morning, after breakfast, all the students rushed to the large classroom. The desk numbers had already been assigned, one person per desk, and A/B papers were used for each student. It was just a small midterm exam, was it really worth all this fuss? Could it be that, as Xu Xiaoya said, this exam would be exceptionally strict?
Zhao Qiang couldn't understand it and wouldn't think about it, because it wasn't something he could decide. His only wish was that the laptop wouldn't be too far away from him, otherwise, if it was more than 35 meters away, the digital watch wouldn't be able to receive the signal, and he wouldn't be able to receive the answers Xiao Wei sent. Although the digital watch already had a certain computing ability, it was still impossible for it to help Zhao Qiang complete this exam on its own. Perhaps there would be hope if it were modified in the future.
There were four proctors in the large classroom, a setup Donghai University had never seen before: two at the front door and two at the back door, three men and one woman. Zhao Qiang was stopped as he entered the classroom with his backpack. "Put your backpack on the podium, or you'll be considered cheating."
Zhao Qiang tried to negotiate, saying, "Teacher, I have a laptop in here. I'm afraid it will get stolen if I leave it in the dormitory. There are so many bags on the podium, what if they get crushed? My desk is near the window, can I put it on the windowsill?" If it's placed on the podium, Zhao Qiang definitely won't be able to get a signal!
A proctor approached Zhao Qiang and rummaged through his backpack. "A notebook? Zhao Qiang, when did you get this thing? Do you have spare money to buy a notebook?" This proctor taught Zhao Qiang's class and was quite familiar with him.
Zhao Qiang, somewhat embarrassed, showed the notebook in his backpack and said, "I assembled it myself using old parts. I use it for studying."
The scratched and broken casing, the several indelible stains on the screen, and the keyboard that was about to fall off—not only did the students laugh, but the two proctors also laughed. One of the teachers waved his hand and said, "Go, go, go, put it on the windowsill. Keep a close eye on it, don't let anyone steal it."
Even if someone were to steal this laptop, no one would want it, but Zhao Qiang treated it like a treasure. So, amidst everyone's laughter, Zhao Qiang successfully placed the laptop next to him, no more than ten meters away.
Without further ado, the first round began: digital topographic surveying. There weren't many conceptual questions, but quite a few calculation questions. This suited Xiaowei's strengths perfectly; its computing power was incredibly fast. Zhao Qiang turned the digital watch screen towards himself and with a gentle shake, the entire paper was scanned into the watch. It was then transmitted back to the laptop, where Xiaowei recognized the text and calculated the answers. The watch received the results in just half a minute. Zhao Qiang suppressed a smile and began to 'copy'.
(Please cast a vote for me, have some pity on me.)
Volume 1 [021] One slip can lead to eternal regret
Although the screen of the digital watch had been widened and lengthened, the area that could be displayed was still limited. Zhao Qiang had to read the answers little by little. Fortunately, he had plenty of time. He kept his eyes on the test paper and used his peripheral vision to scan the text on the digital watch. Afraid that his classmates next to him would notice the problem, the screen of the digital watch was not backlit. This made it a little difficult to see, but it was definitely safe.
*Bang!* Someone slammed their hand on the table. Zhao Qiang looked up and saw a boy four rows away being caught by the proctor. The proctor shouted sternly, "Take off your pants!"
The boy looked embarrassed. "Teacher, this isn't appropriate. There are female students here."
The proctor said, "If you don't take your clothes off, you'll get zero for the rest of the exams!"
If it's just one subject that gets a zero, it's bearable, but if all subjects get zeros, then you're doomed. So this boy obediently took off his riding breeches. The daytime temperature is still a bit hot this season, so it's normal for some boys to wear six-point riding breeches. When this boy took off his breeches, the students around him were stunned. His entire thigh was covered in black marks, all covered in writing!
The proctor tore up the exam paper, pointed to the classroom door, and said, "Get out!"
The boy, looking dejected, pulled up his pants and walked out of the classroom. A low murmur instantly rose in the exam hall. Good heavens, this was the first time in Donghai University's history that invigilation had been so strict! Previously, there were only two invigilators in a large classroom, and these two rarely even came down to walk around. Even if someone was caught cheating, the punishment was usually just confiscation of textbooks and cheat sheets. But now, someone had been kicked out of the exam hall and given a zero score right after the exam started! Even though many had heard rumors beforehand that exam discipline would be strictly enforced, it was still hard to accept!
"Quiet!" The proctor slammed his hand on the table. "Anyone who makes a sound again will get a zero and be expelled from the exam room!"
After someone was made the first to stick their neck out and was punished, the exam room became much quieter. Most of the students who were planning to cheat didn't even dare to touch their cheat sheets, because four proctors were constantly patrolling the classroom. Many students were biting their pens and cursing. "Is this even allowed to live?" they thought. "It's just a midterm exam. Even the college entrance exam wasn't this strict back then."
"Professor Gu, please. This is the examination room for the Engineering Surveying Technology major." A group of people entered the classroom, presumably to supervise the exam, or so the students thought. But besides the department leaders, there was also an old man with white hair. Judging from the respectful attitude of the people around him, he was probably not of high status. Was the exam so strict because of his presence? Most people began to curse the old man in their hearts.
Professor Gu glanced around the quiet exam room, where only the rustling of pens could be heard. Everyone was still afraid of the person who had just been dragged out of the exam room with his pants pulled down. Who would dare to provoke him again? Professor Gu nodded and said, "Hmm, not bad, the exam discipline is quite good."
Department Head Huang Daoming said, "The Department of Geology and Mineral Resources has always strictly enforced examination discipline. The students are quite self-disciplined, and only in this way can they achieve true results and live up to their parents' expectations."
Professor Gu said approvingly, "This is how scholarship should be conducted. Otherwise, allowing students to cheat will severely dampen their enthusiasm for learning and ultimately harm them. Don't worry about me, I'll just take a look."
Old Gu Tou started wandering around the large classroom, and the department leaders who came with him could only follow around to inspect the exam. In this way, who would dare to cheat? This was a hardship for the students in the classroom. Most of them stared blankly at the exam paper, not knowing how to fill in the answers. Even those who were writing and drawing were just doing random calculations on the draft paper, and the results they came up with were too embarrassing to write on the exam paper.
Professor Gu noticed the problem after walking halfway around. Didn't all those blank papers tell the story? Even if a few students filled in some answers, Professor Gu could still arrive at the wrong conclusions through mental calculation. He shook his head as he walked, while the department head following behind him looked embarrassed. After all these years, how could the department not know the true level of these students? It seemed that this time, they were definitely going to lose face.
Finally, Professor Gu stopped beside someone, looked at them for a long time without moving, and nodded and smiled. Department head Huang Daoming finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "Xiaoya, you did a great job. You finally brought honor to our department."
Xu Xiaoya was actually quite nervous at this moment. She had never been this nervous, not even during the college entrance examination. The old man behind her was no ordinary person; even the president of Donghai University had to respectfully call him Old Gu.
Gu Yu, 52, is a professor at Huaxia University of Technology and an honorary professor at Donghai University. He enjoys a State Council allowance and has expertise in physics. He is an educator who has been warmly received by the highest national leaders. Many of his physics papers have won international awards, and he is renowned in the domestic physics community, considered a leading figure in the field.
"Not bad, a good prospect." Gu Yu muttered to himself. Huang Daoming, who was following behind him, was overjoyed. Finally, there was a student that Professor Gu could take notice of. Not only was he, the department head, proud, but the entire Donghai University was also honored.
Huang Daoming stepped forward and explained in a low voice, "This is Xu Xiaoya, the class monitor of the Engineering Surveying Technology major. She is a very hardworking girl and has great potential!"
Gu Yu chuckled: "Xu Xiaoya? She's Xu Changjiang's niece, isn't she?"
Huang Daoming gave a thumbs up and said, "Professor Gu, you are truly amazing. You guessed right every time."
Gu Yu smiled but didn't reply, and continued walking forward. Huang Daoming patted Xu Xiaoya on the shoulder and said, "Do your best on the exam. Professor Gu has a good opinion of you, and you have a chance to be chosen by him as his student."
Xu Xiaoya finally breathed a long sigh of relief. Xu Changjiang was the Party Secretary of Donghai University and also Xu Xiaoya's uncle. It was because of this relationship that Xu Xiaoya was well-connected among the teachers at the university, and that she knew Professor Gu would be coming to Donghai University to select students during the midterm exams. The university had no choice but to take these exams very seriously. Xu Xiaoya was an ambitious and good student, and naturally she wanted to be chosen by Professor Gu. However, who Professor Gu chose was not up to Donghai University; Xu Xiaoya could only rely on her own abilities.
Gu Yu didn't plan to look at anyone else. The only one in the entire classroom who caught his eye was Xu Xiaoya. In addition, she was Xu Changjiang's niece. Gu Yu almost decided to take her as his disciple and transfer her to the university of science and technology to do research with him.
Gu Yu walked out unhurriedly. Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught sight of a test paper. The old professor's heart skipped a beat, and he took two steps back. Huang Daoming, who was following closely behind, almost had his foot stepped on. If he hadn't retreated in time, he would have bumped into Professor Gu. Even so, the two department leaders following behind Huang Daoming still bumped into each other unexpectedly.
As Gu Yu walked through the classroom, he saw that most of the students had only completed a third of the test papers, and even Xu Xiaoya had completed less than half. But this student had already reached the last few questions. Was he just scribbling nonsense? Professor Gu carefully examined the answers that had already been completed, and he was shocked to find that there wasn't a single mistake!
This wasn't the most surprising thing for Gu Yu. What he found even more unbelievable was that the scratch paper on the student's desk was completely blank. In other words, the student had completed more than two-thirds of the exam questions without ever making a single calculation! Even Professor Gu had spent many years immersing himself in mental arithmetic to reach the level required for university-level exam questions, but the student in front of him was at most in his early twenties.
Gu Yu became increasingly alarmed as he looked at the answers, unaware that the student right under his nose was also sweating profusely, his hands and feet trembling so much he didn't know where to put them. Gu Yu asked in a low voice, "Student, are you sure these answers weren't just randomly filled in?"
Following behind Gu Yu, Department Head Huang Daoming whispered a reminder: "Professor Gu, this is Zhao Qiang. His family is in dire financial straits, and he has been working part-time to earn his living expenses for the past three years."
Zhao Qiang stood up awkwardly. Of course, he didn't dare to look at the digital watch now, but even if he did, it wouldn't matter, because Xiao Wei had already canceled the displayed text. Now the digital watch was just an ordinary digital watch, only with a larger screen. "Hello, teacher, I have already calculated these answers in my mind. They shouldn't be random."
At this point, Zhao Qiang still dared to say he guessed? Nobody would believe that. He was filled with regret. His cheating experience was far too limited; he hadn't even considered leaving some questions blank, or at least deliberately filling in some wrong answers. But instead, he'd gotten addicted to copying, going through the entire list from beginning to end! Damn it! He'd been caught! Even worse, he'd acted too quickly, lacked foresight, and made a serious mistake.
Professor Gu smiled and nodded, saying, "Good, good. Answer the questions well. Director Huang, may I personally grade his paper?"
Huang Daoming was puzzled, but dared not refuse, saying, "Okay, of course it's nothing." Turning back to Zhao Qiang, Huang Daoming said, "Zhao Qiang, answer the questions carefully, don't make a single mistake!"
Zhao Qiang wanted to slap himself twice, but he had no choice but to agree since things had come to this point. "Yes, Director, I will do my best."
Professor Gu patted Zhao Qiang on the shoulder, gesturing for him to sit down, and then said meaningfully, "Young man, don't try to play games with this old man. You'd better show your true abilities on the next test, or I won't let you off the hook."
Oh no! Zhao Qiang was hoping to leave some questions blank and make some mistakes on the next test to try and pass, but his father's words had blocked his way out. If the scores on the previous and next tests differed too much, his father would definitely not let him off the hook! One wrong step can lead to eternal regret, Zhao Qiang now truly understood the meaning of that saying.
(Please vote for this post...)
Volume 1 [022] He cheated!
Since he had already made a mistake, Zhao Qiang decided to give up. After Gu Yu left the examination room, he quickly filled in the remaining questions, handed in the first paper, picked up his notebook bag, and left the classroom.
Zhao Qiang figured it out. It was just a midterm exam, and besides, he was already a senior. What was there to be afraid of? He'd be leaving for his internship in half a semester. Even if his score was higher than before, so what? Would anyone try to take advantage of him? Unless they caught him cheating, which was impossible!
Zhao Le considered it from another angle. He chuckled to himself; a higher score would be even better. He happened to have a little money on hand, so he decided to take advantage of the National Day holiday after the exams to go home and share the good news with his parents. For the past few years, Zhao Le had always strived to pass his exams, and he would be happy if he got first place in his class. Apart from going home for the Spring Festival, he hadn't seen his parents for more than half a year, and Zhao Le missed them. Going home with a good mood and some money was a brilliant idea.
In the following exams, Zhao Qiang chopped through the dust. With Xiao Wei's quick calculations and book-checking help, he finished almost every exam in half an hour, handed in his paper, and left. This made the other students incredibly envious, especially Xu Xiaoya. Professor Gu Yu was clearly interested in Zhao Qiang and even specially requested his paper to review, which was much better treatment than what she received. Xu Xiaoya suddenly felt like she had fallen from heaven to earth, and the sense of loss in her heart was indescribable.
In the final exam, Zhao Qiang performed exceptionally well, finishing copying the answers in just twenty minutes. Although the rules prohibited leaving the exam room within half an hour of the start of the exam, Zhao Qiang was now someone Professor Gu was paying attention to, so he handed in his paper and left without any hesitation. Liu Dazhuang and the other two were filled with resentment, their papers still completely blank. Even Xu Xiaoya was cursing him in her heart, because she had only done a dozen or so questions. "Pervert!" was Xu Xiaoya's inner thought when she cursed Zhao Qiang.
After leaving school, Zhao Qiang went to the bank to withdraw nine thousand yuan. He needed some money to go home, and he also wanted to give the money to his parents, as his family's financial situation had always been difficult. Helping his parents solve some of their problems had always been Zhao Qiang's wish.
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Qiang called Wang Yidong. Hearing that Zhao Qiang was going home for the holidays, Wang Yidong readily approved the leave, but there would be no salary during this period of not working. Zhao Qiang had made a small profit from Hu Xiaojiang a few days ago, so he wouldn't care about that little bit of money now.
Zhao Qiang bought a bunch of Donghai City specialties and excitedly boarded the train. Now that he had good grades and a sum of money, he was overjoyed. But Xu Xiaoya was miserable. She hid in her uncle's office and cried all afternoon until her eyes were swollen.
Xu Changjiang looked helpless. "Xiaoya, stop crying. Uncle still has a lot of things to take care of."
Xu Xiaoya, who was used to acting coquettishly in front of her uncle, stomped her feet and said, "I don't care, Uncle, you must persuade Professor Gu to accept me as a student, otherwise I will lose face this time."
Xu Changjiang said, "Xiaoya, although Gu Yu is an honorary professor at Donghai University, he is not under my jurisdiction. Even if he were, do you think your uncle would dare to interfere with his student admissions? Besides, he didn't say he wouldn't accept you as a student. The exams just ended, why are you in such a hurry?"
Xu Xiaoya said, "That freak Zhao Qiang in our class must have caught Professor Gu's eye. I know what his grades were like before. I don't care, you have to help me this time, no matter what method you use!"
Xu Changjiang picked up the phone and called Huang Daoming. "Hello, Director Huang, this is Xu Changjiang... Oh, the results are out? Come to my office right away."
Not long after, Huang Daoming knocked on Xu Changjiang's office door, carrying a file bag. Xu Xiaoya's eyes were still swollen, but she didn't care. She snatched the file bag from Huang Daoming's hand and asked, "Director Huang, is this Zhao Qiang's exam paper?"
Huang Daoming glanced awkwardly at Xu Changjiang, who shook his head helplessly. This niece had always been competitive and hadn't encountered any setbacks in her three years of university. He never expected that Zhao Qiang would suddenly appear and catch her off guard just before graduation.
"How could this be? This is impossible! A perfect score on every single one, not a single question wrong, this...this...it's simply unrealistic!" Xu Xiaoya shook the exam papers violently, the bright red 100s on them stinging her eyes. Her heart shattered instantly. Zhao Qiang definitely did better than her.
Huang Daoming said cautiously, "Xiaoya, your uncle knows it's unrealistic. We all know Zhao Qiang's abilities perfectly well. It's common knowledge throughout the school that he skips classes to work, and his academic goal has always been just to pass. But this time, the exam room discipline was strict, so there was no way he could have cheated. Therefore, this result..."
Xu Xiaoya said, "You must not have noticed that he cheated. I don't believe he could rise to prominence in just a few months. Besides, he's been skipping classes even more lately. There must be something fishy going on here. I will definitely find out!"
Xu Changjiang really couldn't control his niece, so he could only ask Huang Daoming, "What did Professor Gu say?"
Huang Daoming glanced at Xu Xiaoya but didn't dare to say anything. Xu Xiaoya asked, "Is Professor Gu planning to take Zhao Qiang as a graduate student?"
Huang Daoming nodded, and Xu Xiaoya threw down the test paper: "I'm going to confront Zhao Qiang! I have to find out how he cheated! He got a spot by cheating, doesn't he feel ashamed!"
With a bang, the door to the Party Secretary's office slammed shut. Huang Daoming asked Xu Changjiang, "Secretary Xu, what should we do?"
Xu Changjiang said, "What else can we do? Let her fuss. She'll calm down eventually. Do you really expect me to beg Professor Gu? Besides, even if I swallow my pride, he might not be willing to give me face."
Huang Daoming also sighed deeply, "Sigh..." Gu Yu doesn't give face to anyone, and more importantly, even if you try to pressure him by using his superior, it won't work. Instead, it will only provoke his stubbornness.
In room 404 of the boys' dormitory, Liu Dazhuang was almost in tears. "Brothers, we're doomed this time. We didn't dare use any of the cheat sheets we prepared. I estimate we'll fail at least two courses. Tell me, is it really necessary to make such a big deal out of a midterm exam? Are we even going to graduate?"
Wang Xiaonian said, "That damned Zhao Qiang, he actually pretended to be weak to deceive us. How come we didn't see through him?"
Hu Le said, "I find it even stranger. Don't you know Zhao Qiang's grades? There's no way he could finish the test in such a short time. Even if he did, he probably just filled in the blanks randomly. So why are you all so worried? I doubt his score will even be as high as ours."
Not everyone knew that Gu Yu was using the midterm exams as an excuse to select graduate students at Donghai University, otherwise Liu Dazhuang and the others wouldn't be complaining so much. Knock, knock, knock. Someone knocked on the door. Liu Dazhuang got up and flung open the dormitory door: "Who is it... Class monitor? What are you doing in our dorm? The grades haven't even come out yet, and you're already making us call you 'sister' three times?"
Xu Xiaoya's eyes were red and swollen, making her look quite frightening: "If the three of you are willing to tell the truth, I will spare you this time!"
After the exams, Liu Dazhuang and his two friends knew their results were a mess. Even if they didn't fail all subjects, each of them would fail at least one or two. In other words, Xu Xiaoya was definitely going to call them "sister." Now that there was room for negotiation, the three of them were naturally happy: "Really? We promise to tell the truth. Class monitor, just ask whatever you want to know."
Xu Xiaoya said, "Okay, tell me how Zhao Qiang cheated?"
Liu Dazhuang was stunned for a moment: "Cheating? In the short time he spent answering the questions, there were proctors patrolling around him every few minutes. How could he cheat? The class monitor probably thought he was answering the questions too fast. I think he probably just filled in the answers randomly to make up the numbers and then handed in the paper."
Xu Xiaoya said angrily, "You filled it in randomly? Show me how you can fill it in randomly and get a perfect score!"
Hu Le screamed, "What? A perfect score? How is that possible!"
Wang Xiaonian said, "That's right, the three of us are not doing anything productive, we spend all our time in internet cafes, but Zhao Qiang is no better. He skips class every day to work part-time, while we at least go to class every now and then to listen to the lectures, and at least we copy the class notes. But he doesn't even have class notes. If he can get full marks, I, Wang Xiaonian, will walk backwards from now on!"
Xu Xiaoya said, "Then you can walk backwards from now on. Zhao Qiang's papers have already been graded, and he got full marks in all subjects. I saw it with my own eyes from Director Huang."
Liu Dazhuang and the other two were stunned for a long time. Finally, Liu Dazhuang mustered up his courage and asked cautiously, "Class monitor, did you also get full marks?"
Xu Xiaoya said indignantly, "How is this possible? How could anyone get a perfect score? This test was very difficult. Even putting aside the difficulty, is it possible to not make a single mistake after several tests?"
Hu Le asked more cautiously, "So, class monitor, your score isn't as high as Zhao Qiang's?"
Xu Xiaoya nodded, both angry and helpless. Wang Xiaonian said, "Class monitor, does that mean you have to call Zhao Qiang 'brother'?"
Xu Xiaoya's face flushed red. She had long forgotten about this matter. She would never have believed that Zhao Qiang could get perfect scores in every subject back then, but now it was too late to regret it! No matter how fiery Xu Xiaoya was, calling a complete stranger "brother" was quite suggestive. If busybodies made up stories about it, it would definitely become a scandal. Besides, Xu Xiaoya couldn't bring herself to say it.
Xu Xiaoya, quick-witted, glared and said, "Zhao Qiang's score is definitely problematic, so the previous bet doesn't count. You'd better tell me honestly how Zhao Qiang cheated!"
After thinking it over, Liu Dazhuang and the other two realized that Zhao Qiang's grades weren't necessarily better than theirs, so it would be very unusual for him to get a perfect score. But cheating? They had never seen Zhao Qiang prepare for that.
Seeing that the three of them couldn't give a clear answer, Xu Xiaoya said, "Where is Zhao Qiang? I want to find him myself and get to the bottom of this. If he dares not to tell me, I'll kick him to death."
Liu Dazhuang said, "That guy handed in his paper and left. I think I heard him say the night before that he was going back to his hometown. Class monitor, you should wait until he returns to school before asking him."
Xu Xiaoya stamped her foot and said, "No way! The grades will be announced after we go back to school. What's the point of finding out he cheated then? People will just say I'm jealous of him. Give me his hometown address, and I'll go after him right away!"