"Aren't you going to review?" Jiang Yuan weakly raised her hand and asked.
She didn't believe that Chi Xu would give up his own review just to supervise her under the pretext of letting her take a break.
Chi Xu continued to smile faintly. "It's okay. I've been tired lately and want to relax."
Jiang Yuan: "..."
"But don't you want to get recommended for postgraduate study? Grades are very important. Even a difference of 0.1 point might cost you the chance." Jiang Yuan struggled desperately. "I just want to win the outstanding scholarship now. It's not as important as your postgraduate recommendation."
Chi Xu: "It's okay. I can choose to take the postgraduate entrance exam."
Despite Jiang Yuan's resistance, Chi Xu took her downstairs to have soybean milk and fried dough sticks. He conquered her stomach with the steaming hot food, and then took her to explore the delicious food and beautiful scenery around their apartment.
Sure enough, all Jiang Yuan could think about was eating, drinking and having fun.
The final exam day came soon. Sophomores had their exams earlier than freshmen. By then, only freshmen were left on campus.
Chi Xu waited for Jiang Yuan in the apartment. He planned to take her to Haining City to visit her parents after she finished all her exams.
The last exam was the Ideological and Political Theory exam. They were in a new classroom. Each student sat in order according to their student ID number. Zhou Xiangmeng was sitting diagonally behind Jiang Yuan, Lin Suye was on her left, and Yu Huan was on her right.
The dormitory assignments were also based on student ID numbers, so it was natural for them to be seated together.
Two teachers were assigned to each exam room. Due to a serious shortage of invigilators, several teachers were even transferred from the administrative department.
The invigilators for Jiang Yuan's exam were not from her own college.
The two teachers distributed the test papers. When the bell rang, everyone lowered their heads and started answering the questions.
One of the invigilators walked around the room. Seeing that there were no problems, he went to the next exam room, which also had students from the same major.
Jiang Yuan held her pen and lowered her head to write. She was completely focused. The hard work of the past month had blossomed into a huge tree with abundant fruits.
She quickly finished the first page of the test paper. She folded it over and continued answering.
Zhou Xiangmeng behind her raised her right hand. The teacher rushed over in a hurry. A faint voice floated over from behind.
"Note... yes... that's right..."
Jiang Yuan frowned slightly and tried her best to block out the surrounding noises and focus on the questions.
Suddenly, a shadow fell. There was a crisp sound of knocking on the table, accompanied by a cold voice. "What's that thing you dropped beside your foot, young lady?"
Beside her foot?
The pen in her hand lost its strength and left a heavy mark on the test paper. Jiang Yuan looked up in confusion. The invigilator was standing beside her. The students around her were looking at her curiously.
"What thing?"
"Why don't you pick it up and see for yourself?" the invigilator said impatiently. "You dropped it. Are you trying to deny it?"
Jiang Yuan turned her head and saw a crumpled paper ball lying beside her foot. She bent down to pick it up. Before she could open it, the invigilator snatched it away.
When the paper was fully unfolded, there were clearly some copied knowledge points on it. The invigilator's look at Jiang Yuan became even more dissatisfied. His voice was cold. "What's this?"
"This isn't mine. I don't know when it appeared," Jiang Yuan said calmly, keeping her wits about her. "You can check the surveillance. Then you'll know."
"The surveillance in the school is usually not turned on, and it's the same during exams," a light voice drifted into her ear from behind, as if someone was muttering casually.
Jiang Yuan suddenly turned around and saw Zhou Xiangmeng propping her head up with one hand and twirling her pen absent - mindedly. There was a look of schadenfreude on her face.
She remembered that it was also Zhou Xiangmeng who told the invigilator about the note.
"Why are you looking at me? I'm just stating the fact. The school doesn't turn on the surveillance during exams. Cheating is cheating. If you admit it voluntarily, you might not get a major demerit," Zhou Xiangmeng said defiantly, giving her a glare. She had disliked Jiang Yuan for a long time. God had given her a perfect opportunity, and she wasn't going to waste it.
"You reported me to the teacher, didn't you? I didn't cheat at all. You're slandering me!" Jiang Yuan couldn't help raising her voice. She was so angry that her whole body was trembling.
"I'm just telling the truth. It's up to the teacher to decide," Zhou Xiangmeng said indifferently, shrugging her shoulders with a look of "What can you do to me?"
"Both of you shut up. You, come out with me," the invigilator's face was ashen. Seeing that the students around were not concentrating on their exams, he roared. "You all focus on your test papers and take the exam properly."
"Oh no, Jiang Yuan got caught. I heard from students in other colleges that this teacher is extremely strict. He can't tolerate any mistakes. He's nicknamed 'the ruthless old witch'," a student whispered.
"Really?"
"Yeah. He's also in charge of the graduation theses of senior students. Once, because some of the students he was in charge of didn't reply to his message in the group, he threatened that he wouldn't give them the opportunity to defend their theses if they didn't reply properly."
"Damn it. If they can't defend their theses, they'll have to postpone their graduation."
"..."
"Teacher, I can prove that Jiang Yuan didn't cheat in the exam," Lin Suye frowned and stopped the invigilator.
Yu Huan also defended Jiang Yuan. "Yes, yes. Lin Suye and I are sitting on both sides of Jiang Yuan. We can see clearly. Jiang Yuan definitely didn't cheat."
Zhou Xiangmeng behind them sneered and raised her eyebrows. "What? Were you helping Jiang Yuan cheat? How do you know so clearly? This is an exam. Instead of focusing on your own test papers, you're looking at Jiang Yuan?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Lin Suye slammed down her black pen and pointed at Zhou Xiangmeng. "I think you deliberately framed Jiang Yuan. You've never gotten along well with her. Maybe you deliberately dropped the note beside Jiang Yuan's foot and then reported her."
"Teacher, I wouldn't take such a big risk for personal grudges. If things go wrong, I'll be the one accused of cheating," Zhou Xiangmeng immediately changed her expression and said pitifully.
"How could you not?" Yu Huan retorted unceremoniously. "We know Jiang Yuan's character. But as for you..."
"Enough! Stop arguing! Do you think this is a marketplace instead of an exam room?" the invigilator roared. "I've seen many students like her. When they're caught, they just refuse to admit it. You go outside and find the patrol teacher."
"How can you wrong someone? If you're going to take Jiang Yuan to see the patrol teacher, you might as well take me too. It's just a stupid exam. I can retake it next semester. I don't even want the scholarship!"
With a "bang", Lin Suye stood up aggressively and shouted, "Jiang Yuan, don't be afraid. I'll go with you to explain."
"Are you rebelling? If you want to go, go. It's not my loss!" The invigilator's authority was challenged. He was furious. "What's wrong with all of you? Come on, you come with me."
Jiang Yuan, in the center of the storm, silently tightened her grip on the black pen. After a long time, she said, "Lin Suye, Yu Huan, you two take the exam properly. Don't retake the exam because of me."
"I'll go with you."