Chapter 57: Those Examination Things (01)

  Some things are strange, for example, teaching and educating people. It was originally meant to promote the all-round development of people's moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor aspects, and cultivate reserve talents for social and national progress. However, when many people recognized the importance of education, education appeared distorted development. This phenomenon is mainly reflected in the fact that most school leaders and teachers only focus on students' academic performance, and whether their grades are good or bad has become the only standard to evaluate a student's goodness: no matter how poor other aspects of performance are, as long as the grades are good, everything is fine - this is probably what is called "one good thing covers up a hundred ugly things".

  However, when it comes to measuring the pros and cons of academic performance, most teachers only use exams as a yardstick - the high or low score on a single test paper determines everything about a student: if they do well, everything is fine; if they do poorly, everything is wrong!

  It is precisely because of this that some students, in order to get the attention and favor of their teachers, think of all sorts of ways to "show off" as soon as exams come around. As a result, cheating becomes rampant for no reason at all. However, more classmates are actually afraid of exams - they fear that if they don't do well on an exam, they will be ridiculed and ignored by their teachers, and teased and ostracized by their classmates.

  This phenomenon is even more serious in Yannan S. Due to the leadership of the municipal and county education bureaus, every year they use the number of students who get into college as a performance evaluation standard: which school has the most students getting into college that year is considered a hero, while those with fewer students are considered inferior! This kind of invisible pressure makes school leaders only focus on students' grades, and also makes class teachers evaluate their work based on students' good or bad grades. It's really frustrating to talk about this kind of education!

  Helpless in vain, more sighs are drowned out by the scores...

  It's already deep autumn. The ruthless autumn wind sweeps away the fallen leaves, and in just a few days, most of the trees on campus have become bare. Although everything is desolate and withered, with piles of dead leaves everywhere, Chen Haonan still loves the bleakness of autumn. He often stands alone in the chilly autumn wind, softly reciting one of Liu Yuxi's poems:

  Ancient people find autumn sad and desolate, I say autumn days are better than spring mornings.

  A crane in the clear sky lines up with the clouds, and thus leads poetic feelings to the green dawn.

  Every time he hummed a tune, Chen Haonan's mind seemed to conjure up a different scene - faintly smiling for a moment, he would fall into deep contemplation...

  Just as the autumn wind was blowing fiercely, the mid-term exam quietly arrived.

  The exam, the tense two-day exam is over, and then comes the anxious wait. Although after the exam, most people have a few "accounts" in their hearts for the results, everyone is still eagerly looking forward to the appearance of miracles: students who did well on the exam hope to get higher scores, while those who didn't do well just hope to barely pass.

  This exam is even more important for the students who have just been assigned to another class, after all, this is the first battle in the "new home" of the new teacher: if they don't do well, how can they stand firm?

  This life-and-death struggle, Chen Haonan took very seriously, but the outcome was still uncertain, and he could only anxiously wait. As a result, he who originally disliked joining in the commotion would occasionally get involved in other people's discussions, expressing his inner feelings.

  This was the second day after the exam. After dinner, Chen Haonan had just returned from the cafeteria and saw that several of his former classmates from Class 211 were gathered in the corridor, chattering excitedly. He couldn't help but squeeze forward. "What's going on? Why are you all so excited?" Chen Haonan asked with a smile, catching them at a pause in their conversation.

  "Chen Haonan, where did you pop out from?" Little Zhao Zhiqing didn't answer Chen Haonan's question, but instead asked back.

  Chen Haonan was about to speak, but Shen Xiaohu smiled and said: "Chen Haonan, you're just in time. How did you do on the exam this time? - You're the star of our show!" As soon as Shen Xiaohu spoke, the others immediately chimed in with questions.

  "How about me? So-so, can't say if it's good or bad... " Chen Haonan smiled wryly and said, "How about you guys, how was the exam?"

  "I'm not clear either," said Shen Xiaohu, still speaking with a worried face. "But this exam is really important. If the results aren't good, won't Wang Ze be even more arrogant towards us?"

  "Don't worry, we should all be fine, let's not scare ourselves, just wait for the results to come out...” Chen Haonan said with a smile, comforting everyone. In fact, he also had no idea how it would go, after all, this was his first battle in the liberal arts class, and he couldn't say anything clearly.

  "Don't worry?" Suddenly, the petite girl Zhang Tingting rolled her eyes and looked at Chen Haonan coldly, smiling icily. "How can we not worry? But you're doing just fine, good grades, and a great relationship with Wang Ze..."

  Chen Haonan didn't know what Zhang Tingting was referring to, and he wanted to get angry, but after thinking about it carefully, he thought that arguing with this little girl wouldn't make any sense. So, he endured it and only said in a very ordinary tone: "I'm clear about my own grades, no matter what others say, it doesn't make much sense——but I really don't understand, when did I get along well with Wang Ze?"

  "Who would believe that?" Zhang Tingting curled her lip and continued, "Last time Wang Ze kept all of us in the hall, why did he single you out to talk? And how could he even ask you to tell us to disperse?"

  As soon as Zhang Tingting finished speaking, others also started discussing and speculating. Shen Xiaohu, who usually got along well with Chen Haonan, hastily asked: "Chen Haonan, do you really have a close relationship with Wang Ze? And I see that your relationship with that little rascal Xiao Qiuming is not bad either..."

  "Alas!" Chen Haonan shook his head and sighed, he didn't expect Shen Xiaohu to ask such a ridiculous question like everyone else. However, Zhang Tingting urged again in a nasal tone: "What are you shaking your head for, what are you sighing about? Just tell everyone what's going on with them!"

  "I declare first, I and Wang Ze apart from the teacher-student relationship have no other relationship!" Chen Haonan was somewhat indignant, his expression very serious as he said, "Last time Wang Ze called me out alone, you think he was showing concern for my well-being?! If at that time any of you were present, it would be strange if you weren't angry!"

  "What did he say?" Shen Xiaohu asked anxiously.

  "Wang Ze first said to me: How did I hear Mr. Li say that you have the old habit of talking behind people's backs?" Chen Haonan sighed again and continued, "You guys think this is infuriating or not? When did I ever love gossiping in class 211? Moreover, I believe Old Li wouldn't say something like that about me!"

  "How did you get back then?" Shen Xiaohu asked closely again.

  "What else can I say, of course I said 'no'!... After a pause, Chen Haonan calmed down and continued: "But Wang Ze didn't believe me - later on, I slowly explained some of my views to him, especially when I mentioned the harm of having discriminatory attitudes towards our new classmates. He seemed to be moved by my words, but just as I was about to continue speaking, he glanced at his watch and said that the dormitory was about to close, and ordered me to disperse you all... It's so simple, what relationship do I have with him?" Chen Haonan patted his hands, shrugged, and had a helpless expression.

  "You just love to make a big deal out of nothing!" Under Shen Xiaohu's prompting, the others also started questioning Zhang Tingting. However, this young girl still didn't back down, pouting and asking Chen Haonan in an interrogative tone: "So what's your relationship with Xiao Qiuming? I saw you having dinner with that little rascal at Fuyunju earlier!"

  "What's with the 'little rascal'? I think you're just a little fox spirit! A girl from a good family speaking ill of others behind their backs, what kind of behavior is that? Aren't you afraid of getting a sore tongue and mouth ulcers?!..."

  Chen Haonan didn't expect that a usually quiet and gentle girl would speak so sharply and viciously today. He was furious and his temper flared up, causing him to scold her. Although he felt it wasn't quite right, he couldn't contain his indignation.

  Unexpectedly, the girl let out a "waa" and ran crying into the classroom, with Hu Wenjing and Li Xin, another girl from class 211, hastily following after her.

  "Your words are too heavy, after all she is a girl..." Shen Xiaohu hastily questioned Chen Haonan.

  "How can I not be angry? A girl actually did that - sigh! Don't mention it, mentioning it makes me even angrier!" Chen Haonan said furiously. Fortunately, he didn't have a beard, or else he would definitely qualify as "beard-blowing and eye-staring"!

  "What's going on between you and Xiao Qiuming anyway? How did your relationship become so good as soon as he arrived?" Zhao Zhiqing continued to ask.

  "There's nothing, I'm just friends with Xiao Qiuyue, just like you guys... At what stage of life do we not make friends?" Chen Haonan still had a lump in his throat. He didn't want to tell them about how he met Xiao Qiuyue, and he felt it was unnecessary to say anything. As he spoke, he let out another sigh and slowly walked into the classroom - but Chen Haonan wasn't going to apologize; he thought there was no need for an apology in the first place.