After Becoming the Abused Heroine in a Campus Story - Chapter 9: Monthly Exam

Chapter 9: Monthly Exam

“Fought with your family?” Jiang Xianzhi was curious about why Zhou Yining argued with her family. Her own family was harmonious, with only her and her sister, spoiled by everyone. She couldn’t imagine fighting with them.

Zhou Yining nodded. “Yeah, just annoying stuff. Let’s not talk about it—you’ll just get annoyed too. Come on, it’s almost time for morning reading.”

“Okay.” Though curious, Jiang Xianzhi didn’t press. She and Zhou Yining weren’t close—just connected through the diary issue.

They walked into the school, unaware of Shi Yuanyuan and Si Yaqing not far behind.

Shi Yuanyuan tapped Si Yaqing’s arm. “Look, isn’t that Jiang Xianzhi? Who’s that girl with her?”

“Don’t know. Looks kinda like Zhou Yining.” Si Yaqing squinted, finally recognizing her.

“Why are they so close lately? That’s not good. Jiang Xianzhi’s got us two as followers—that’s enough. I don’t want anyone else.” Shi Yuanyuan pushed up her glasses, her expression cold toward Zhou Yining.

“I agree. But don’t worry—her rich-girl attitude is hard to handle. If not for our families, we wouldn’t be friends with her kind.”

“True.” Shi Yuanyuan smiled and nodded.

At the third floor, Zhou Yining and Jiang Xianzhi parted. Zhou Yining headed to the fourth floor.

When she entered the classroom, some students were already there. Xu Yueming saw her, rolled his eyes, and kept talking to the person behind him.

“Heard there’s a monthly exam soon? A surprise check before finals,” Xu Yueming said, acting mysterious.

“Really? No rumors at all.”

“It’s true. Teacher Chen had people count test papers earlier. Morning reading’s canceled—we’re starting with Chinese.” Xu Yueming smirked.

The class groaned. Every monthly exam, midterms, and finals came with a grade-wide ranking. Good scores were great, but bad ones sucked. Big drops might even mean calling parents.

Zhou Yining wasn’t fazed. In her past life, her grades were great, and she thrived in big exams—the bigger, the steadier her mindset.

Sure enough, ten minutes later, Chen Yitong walked in with a thick stack of Chinese test papers.

Seeing the students looking like wilted eggplants, she laughed. “What’s with you all? Not even in third year yet and you’re done? Cheer up—this exam’s part of the big ranking. Pull your desks apart, no sitting too close.”

The students sighed and moved their desks. Once set, Chen Yitong handed out the papers.

Zhou Yining scanned her test—a standard college entrance exam format. The essay was a typical argumentative piece, using a Hemingway quote, asking students to write about the “tough guy spirit.”

After skimming, she started on the first page, filled out the answer sheet, and answered quickly.

Chinese required some effort for reading comprehension, so her pace wasn’t too fast. By the time she finished the essay, twenty minutes remained before submission.

She checked her answers, confirmed they were fine, and zoned out. When the bell rang, Chen Yitong had the back-row students collect the papers.

Since it was a monthly exam, she’d rush to grade them for tomorrow’s results and rankings.

Next was math. Zhou Yining’s class kept testing.

Math was much easier for her, especially the standard questions—she knew them all. The last big question took some time, as its final parts were often beyond the curriculum, meant to challenge.

But Zhou Yining’s foundation was solid. She finished everything, with half an hour to spare.

Up early, she was sleepy and napped on her desk.

Teacher Zhang scanned the class, saw Zhou Yining sleeping, and walked over to wake her. Not knowing a question was one thing, but sleeping was too much.

Approaching, she glanced at Zhou Yining’s test, open to the big questions. Scanning it, she saw they were all correct, even the last one.

Teacher Zhang looked at Zhou Yining, surprised. Yesterday, Zhou Yining aced questions at the podium. Today, her test was perfect too. Had she gotten tutoring?

She tapped Zhou Yining, not scolding, and smiled. “Finished?”

Zhou Yining rubbed her sleepy eyes. “Yeah.”

“I’ll take your paper. Sure you don’t want to check again?”

“No need, Teacher. I checked twice.” Zhou Yining trusted her accuracy and believed first instincts were best—rechecking might lead to changing correct answers to wrong ones.

Teacher Zhang smiled. “Alright, I’ll take it.”

“Okay.” Zhou Yining, still groggy, saw the teacher didn’t mention her sleeping and napped again.

Xu Yueming smirked nearby. He didn’t believe Zhou Yining’s grades suddenly improved—she either guessed right or had seen the test before.

The top students in the front were restless too. The last two parts of the final question were tough—they had no clue. But seeing Teacher Zhang with Zhou Yining’s paper, it was clear she answered everything. Had she really gotten smarter?

Teacher Zhang sat at the podium with twenty minutes left and graded on the spot.

Starting with multiple-choice, she grew more shocked. Zhou Yining’s answers were all correct. The big questions were all checkmarks, even the last one.

When Teacher Zhang wrote 150 on Zhou Yining’s paper, she was stunned. This test, compiled by teachers, was tough, especially the big questions. Scoring above 140 was rare for top students—she hadn’t expected a perfect score in her class.

Her eyes gleamed as she looked at Zhou Yining, who was napping again.

Unable to resist, she said, “Check your work carefully. I just graded a perfect paper. Don’t think if you can’t do it, others can’t either.”

The class buzzed with whispers, especially around Zhou Yining, who’d seen Teacher Zhang take her paper.

Seeing the commotion, Teacher Zhang added, “Enough. Focus on your tests, no more whispering.”

Twenty minutes later, she stood. “Last person in each row, stand up and collect the papers. Hurry.”

Amid student groans, the papers were collected.

As Teacher Zhang left, the class wilted like bitter melons, many comparing answers.

“Man, why so many C’s in the multiple-choice? I didn’t dare pick them,” Xu Yueming sighed.

“No way, I thought most were A’s. The questions were hard, and the big ones too,” math class rep Jiang Hao replied.

“Yeah, I thought A’s too. The fill-ins were tough. But did Zhou Yining really get a perfect score?”

Curious, they glanced at Zhou Yining. Xu Yueming spoke first. “Zhou Yining, did you do this test before and know the answers?”

She glanced at him coolly. “You think if you can’t do it, no one can? So conceited. By the way, don’t forget our bet—whoever ranks lower at finals owes the other 500 yuan.”

Xu Yueming’s face flushed, stammering. “Don’t get cocky. You just got lucky this time. Finals are city-wide, confidential tests. You won’t be this lucky.”

“You’ll be disappointed, because exams aren’t about luck—they’re about skill.” Zhou Yining ignored him, grabbed her cup, and went to get water.

Ten minutes later, the third morning exam began—English. Teacher Cao walked in with the papers, his face stern, glaring at Zhou Yining.

“Quiet down. This test was compiled by our English team, each teacher contributing questions, so it’s definitely not out there. Those who think they can cheat, take note—just because you did well once or twice doesn’t mean you will this time.” He glanced deliberately at Zhou Yining.