Han Cheng stepped down from the podium.
He walked up to Ye Chen, tapped the desk, and said softly, 'Answer seriously.'
Ye Chen looked up at Han Cheng. 'I've finished.'
'Finished?'
Han Cheng froze.
He had personally selected every question on this paper.
Each one was tricky, even booby-trapped.
There was no way Ye Chen could have finished so quickly.
A flicker of annoyance crossed Han Cheng's face.
In his mind, Ye Chen probably didn't know how to solve anything and had simply scribbled random answers.
Han Cheng picked up Ye Chen's paper.
One glance at the answers, and his expression changed instantly.
Question one—correct.
Question two—correct.
Questions three, four, five—all correct.
What shocked Han Cheng even more was Ye Chen's approach.
Every method he chose was the simplest and most practical; many solutions Han Cheng himself had never considered.
Han Cheng stared at the paper, excitement rising in his chest.
He was witnessing the rise of a prodigy.
He set the paper down without a word.
The kid had finished early and aced it—what else could he say?
Staring at girls? He had the right to.
Han Cheng placed the paper back on the stack and left in silence.
Geniuses always get special treatment.
Half an hour passed quickly.
Han Cheng announced, 'Time's up—hand in your papers.'
Almost everyone wore reluctant expressions.
Of the five questions, only Ye Chen had finished; the rest were incomplete.
Even Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo hadn't reached the final problem.
Ye Chen smiled and consoled them, 'It's okay, just a small quiz. The teacher purposely raised the difficulty.'
Li Sitong sighed. 'I'd actually figured out the last question—give me five more minutes…'
Xia Yingluo was equally unwilling. 'Yeah, I saw how to do it too—just ran out of time.'
Both girls were full of regret.
Ye Chen chuckled; he realized how much these two cared about their scores.
They were probably desperate to keep pace with him.
Up front, Han Cheng began marking the papers.
Below, the class started buzzing.
'My god, that was brutal—I only finished three.'
'I only knew two; the rest was guesswork.'
'I wrote three, but two of them are probably wrong.'
...Li Sitong, Xia Yingluo, and Ye Chen sat in the last row.
Xia Yingluo asked, 'Ye Chen, you seemed to finish everything really early.'
Ye Chen nodded. 'Mm, eight minutes—a bit slow.'
Li Sitong: '...'
Xia Yingluo: '...'
We can't even finish, and you dare call that slow?
Talk about a Versailles moment!
The girls were sorely tempted to thump him.
Ye Chen grinned.'So the last question stumped you both?'
They nodded in unison.
Ye Chen picked up a pen and began sketching on scrap paper.
There's a hidden trap in this problem—spot it and the rest is easy.
Both girls listened with rapt attention.
Ye Chen watched them rest their chins on their hands, brows furrowed in thought, breathing in their faint, enticing fragrance; tenderness welled in his eyes.
He walked them through his entire solution.
'So? Get it now?' he asked with a smile.
Under his guidance, Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo suddenly saw the light.
'Ah, so that's how it's done!'
'Why didn't I think of that?'
Both girls looked vexed at their earlier blindness.
Ye Chen chuckled. 'Here, try this similar one I just cooked up.'
He passed the new question to them.
Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo studied it and fell into thought again.
Still they couldn't crack it.
'No worries,' Ye Chen said.'Same trick—another trap inside. Look…'
He explained it patiently once more.
Both girls stared in amazement.
His ability to draw inferences was insane.
He'd instantly designed a problem similar yet completely different—what terrifying logic.
Ye Chen waved a hand in front of their faces.
'Stop spacing out—this type is actually super simple once you see the pattern.'
They listened, eyes brightening, nodding repeatedly.
Not far away, a gaze lingered on the trio.
Su Xiaonuan watched enviously, wishing she could join them—even as the third wheel.
The thought startled her.
'My gosh, what am I thinking?'
...By now Han Cheng had finished marking.
'All right, results are out.' He clapped his hands.
Instantly the Classroom fell silent.
Everyone tensed, waiting for their fate.
Han Cheng began reading the scores.
'Li Min, 40.'
'Chen Gang, 20.'
'Tang Can, 40.'
Name after name—no one had broken sixty.
These self-styled elites hung their heads in shame.
'Su Xiaonuan, 80.'
All eyes snapped to her.
'Eighty? Insane—science goddess indeed!'
'So pretty and a Top Student—why not me?'
Su Xiaonuan ignored the chatter.
She wasn't satisfied; she'd solved the last problem but run out of time.
Normally she'd score around sixty.
The big jump was thanks to Ye Chen.
His recent tutoring had sharpened her methods and flexibility.
Without him, question four would've been impossible.
'Li Sitong, 80.'
'Xia Yingluo, 80.'
Neither girl was surprised.
After all, they were Ye Chen's protégés, sharing his thinking style.
The rest of the class, however, was stunned.
'Dang, the girls are crushing it—total role reversal.'
'Since when did science become a girls' game?'
'So embarrassing.'
'They could live on looks alone, yet heaven gave them brains—unfair!'
Su Xiaonuan sighed softly.
She longed to outshine Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo and prove to Ye Chen she was best.
But she knew how hard that would be.
Same foundation, same teacher—parity was inevitable.
Han Cheng paused, glancing at Ye Chen, amazement shining in his eyes.