After Becoming the Abused Heroine in a Campus Story - Chapter 3: You’ve Done This Test Before?

Chapter 3: You’ve Done This Test Before?

Soon, it was time for class again. The next two periods were English, and the English teacher brought in test papers, starting a pop quiz. The students below groaned.

“Why another test? Didn’t we just have one last week?”

“Yeah, all these tests are driving us nuts.”

The English teacher frowned slightly, scanning the class with displeasure. “We’ve finished the entire high school curriculum. The next year is all about review and practice tests. I suggest you prepare yourselves—there’ll only be more pop quizzes.”

Zhou Yining nodded in agreement. These were no big deal for her; she was great at studying.

In her previous life, she got into the country’s top liberal arts university and later secured a spot for graduate school. Her path had been smooth, and doing it again didn’t scare her.

Her English was actually excellent. In her previous life, she scored full marks on the college entrance exam. During university, she spent a year abroad as an exchange student, so her spoken English was strong—not the half-baked kind typical of high schoolers.

After getting the test, she quickly scanned it, then listened to the teacher’s audio for the listening section and started answering.

Zhou Yining’s foundation was solid. Even after years away from English, once she focused, her old knowledge came back bit by bit.

She answered seriously and quickly. Multiple-choice and cloze tests were a breeze for her.

She breezed through the reading comprehension too, having no trouble thanks to her year abroad.

For the final essay, the topic asked test-takers to introduce the traditional Chinese festival, the Spring Festival, to a friend abroad.

Zhou Yining started writing immediately. Her English handwriting was neat, with little flourishes on some letters, making it pleasing to look at.

She finished the entire English test in just forty minutes, even checking it once.

The English teacher, a man in his forties, saw Zhou Yining flipping through her test and frowned. “Zhou Yining, what are you doing? Finished your test?”

“I’m done,” Zhou Yining said, looking at him openly.

The teacher frowned, clearly unhappy with students challenging him. “Bring your test up here.”

Zhou Yining stood, took her test to the podium, and as she walked up, the quiet class erupted in laughter. Many were waiting to see her make a fool of herself.

The teacher glared at her, took her test with a scowl, and graded it on the spot. The more he graded, the deeper his frown became.

This test was a midterm from another district in Nanchuan City. Seeing Zhou Yining get everything correct, he suspected she’d done it before.

He frowned and asked, “Have you done this test before?”

Zhou Yining shook her head honestly. “No.”

“Then you were searching for answers under your desk, weren’t you? You’re almost in your third year—stop with these useless tricks. You can find answers now, but can you during the college entrance exam?” The teacher glared at her, his loud voice drawing all eyes in the quiet classroom.

“I didn’t search for answers. I completed this test myself,” Zhou Yining said, standing tall and unfazed.

The more she stood her ground, the angrier the teacher got. He threw her test onto the desk. “You completed it yourself? You know your own English grades, don’t you? You’re almost in your third year. Instead of searching for answers, you’d be better off practicing a few questions.”

Zhou Yining kept looking at him. “I said I did this test myself, but you clearly don’t believe me. There’s no point in explaining further.”

“Outrageous! What kind of attitude is this?”

The teacher stood up, furious, pushing his glasses up and pointing at her. “This is how you treat your teacher? I’m doing this for your own good. You study for yourself, not to fool me.”

Zhou Yining looked at him calmly. “I know, but I really did this test.”

She understood his skepticism but didn’t agree with his approach. If he doubted her, he could give her another test. There was no need to yell in class.

“Unrepentant,” the teacher fumed, looking like he wanted to hit her.

Zhou Yining stepped back. “If you don’t believe me, give me another test. But if you touch me today, I’ll call the police immediately.”

“You—fine, Zhou Yining! You’re usually so quiet, but I didn’t know you could be so infuriating. Want another test? Fine, I’ll indulge you. If you can’t do the next one, you’ll make a self-criticism in front of the whole class.” The teacher was livid.

“Sure. But if I get everything right again, will you apologize to me in front of the class?” Zhou Yining’s lips curved into a slight smile.

“You want me to apologize? Fine, let’s see if you can get everything right. You’ll do the next test right here at the podium, with me watching.” The teacher looked like he was daring her to cheat.

Zhou Yining met his gaze directly. “Fine.”

The teacher was so angry his forehead was sweating. “Yu Yang, go get the test from my desk.”

“Yes, Teacher,” the English class representative said, hurrying to the office. Five minutes later, she returned with a new test.

The teacher took it and sneered at Zhou Yining. “This is a backup midterm test, never used. I was going to assign it as homework in a few days. Since you’re so cocky, do it now.”

“Okay, Teacher.” Zhou Yining didn’t hesitate, taking the test from him and calmly walking to the teacher’s desk.

She placed the test down, sat composedly, grabbed one of the teacher’s pens, and prepared to start.

She scanned the test, finding it harder than the last one, but still a piece of cake for her.

She smiled at the teacher. “Teacher, what about the listening section?”

“Skip the listening part,” he said dismissively, not believing she could ace this test too.

The teacher pulled up a stool and sat behind her, his eyes fixed on her, convinced he could catch her cheating.

Zhou Yining ignored the stares. In her previous life, she’d faced big scenes and wasn’t fazed by people watching her.

She started answering quickly, breezing through multiple-choice questions, picking correct answers instantly after reading. The cloze test was the same. Reading comprehension took a bit longer to read through, but posed no challenge.

She wrote faster and faster. The teacher glanced at her dismissively, thinking she was just scribbling.

Thirty minutes later, Zhou Yining had finished everything except the essay and checked it once.

She started the essay, which asked test-takers to describe scenery from a trip to a friend.

Zhou Yining wrote effortlessly, using her flourished English handwriting again. She didn’t pause once.

Forty minutes later, she finished the test.

She stood, picked up the test, and looked at the teacher. “Teacher, I’m done.”

The teacher snatched it and sat at the desk, grading with a red pen while Zhou Yining stood nearby, lips curved, watching.

He finished the multiple-choice section—all correct. The cloze test—still all correct. The rest was perfect too.

The teacher’s face turned red, sweat beading on his forehead. He took a few deep breaths, glanced at Zhou Yining, saw her smiling, and got even angrier.

He comforted himself, thinking it’d be easy to keep her from a perfect score by docking a few points on the essay.

He looked at the essay and was stunned. It was fluent, with no grammar mistakes, perfect spelling, and on-topic. Her handwriting was neat and beautiful.

His red pen hovered, unable to find a reason to deduct points. By all accounts, this essay deserved full marks, but he felt giving her a perfect score would make him lose face.

A man in his forties, full of pride and paternalism, couldn’t let a student defy him.

So, he wrote -1 on the test, claiming it was for presentation.

He coughed lightly, trying to stay calm, and looked at Zhou Yining, who was smiling at him. His face flushed with anger, and he started rambling.

“Even if you know it all, this attitude won’t do. The essay missed the topic in some places, so I deducted one point. Have you been taking extra classes lately?” He tried to save face, avoiding their bet.

“No extra classes, Teacher. Where did my essay miss the topic? Can you explain?” Zhou Yining asked directly. She disliked his high-and-mighty attitude, especially since he’d accused her of cheating without evidence. If she didn’t have real skill, she’d be labeled a cheater for the next year.

The teacher wanted to move on, but her words made him stand up in anger. “Zhou Yining, I’m giving you a way out, and you won’t take it? What, you’re forcing me to apologize?”

Zhou Yining looked at him coldly. “Teacher, you accused me of cheating first. If we don’t clear this up, I’ll carry the label of a cheater for the next year. I didn’t do it, so we need to settle this.”

“If you didn’t, you didn’t. Do you have to talk back to your teacher? Is this how your family raised you?”

Zhou Yining watched him rage helplessly, thinking he was no better than a clown.

“I’m just stating facts and don’t want to be wronged. I did this test at your desk, with you watching. Everything but the essay, which lost one point, was correct. I couldn’t have cheated, right?”

With that, Zhou Yining ignored Teacher Cao and walked back to her seat.

Teacher Cao’s face darkened, looking like he wanted to explode but had no reason. His chest heaved with suppressed anger before he snapped, “What are you all looking at? Zhou Yining finished two tests. Have you finished yours? And you, Zhou Yining, better grades aren’t an excuse to talk back to your teacher.”

The students, who’d been watching the drama, quickly buried their heads in their tests.