Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Chapter 80: Ever-increasing Expectations

An asterisk (*) is normally a special symbol.

Logically, there should be an explanation attached.

The teachers immediately calmed down, but after searching every corner of the paper, they still couldn't find an explanation.

"Hmm—it is a bit strange, Keyun. Do you think we could ask about it?"

Huang Keyun asked doubtfully, "Team Leader Chen, shouldn't you be the one asking?"

Team Leader Chen scratched his head. "Ah, right, right, oh dear, I'm so confused right now. But it definitely won't affect Li Zhaolin's first place. Maybe the organizing committee just marked him?"

"This has happened before in math competitions," said Mr. Chen, the math teacher who had been silently observing.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Chen asked.

"Normally, it represents a high ranking in exam results. For example, a couple of years ago, in the Qingmiao Cup math competition, one student ranked in the top ten in Linjiang and first in New Taipei City, so he was marked by the Linjiang organizing committee."

"Now that this one is the best in Linjiang, it must be—" Chen Zu's eyes widened halfway through his sentence.

"Oh, oh, oh," Teacher Hao nodded repeatedly, "I understand, it's in the top ten nationwide!"

Math teacher Mr. Chen said somewhat helplessly, "That's not necessarily true. I'm just saying that I know of math competitions where this has happened before. We'll have to ask the Education Bureau to see if we can communicate directly with the organizing committee leaders."

Huang Keyun once again cast a shocked look at Li Zhao.

Why aren't you excited?

"First in Linjiang, ranking among the top in the country—is that strange?" Li Zhao asked.

Huang Keyun was helpless.

"You can't say that," Mr. Chen, the math teacher, found a point of contention. "Kid, Linjiang has a developed economy, but its education isn't particularly outstanding. I don't know about other things, but just take the national junior high school math competition as an example. Our first-class score is only in the lower middle range nationally."

"Teacher Chen is right." Team Leader Chen nodded. "The same goes for English. Just in Beijing alone, one-fifth of the top students in the country are top-tier. Not to mention places like Jiangnan and Shanghai, where the level of top students is four or five stories high."

"Don't boost others' morale and diminish your own. I think Li Zhao's level is six or seven stories high," Teacher Hao suddenly chimed in.

"Of course, of course, this is just to tell Li Zhao the significance of his national ranking." Team Leader Chen laughed. "Li Zhao, being first in Linjiang is remarkable, but if he can be in the top ten nationwide, that would be even more remarkable. Wait a minute, let the teachers ask him first."

After saying that, he began to gather his emotions, solemnly walked to his workstation, and dialed a number using a landline.

The teachers' expectations have been continuously raised.

Li Zhao saying he felt nothing at all would be a lie, but he wasn't particularly excited either.

He's not a real elementary school student after all. The national competition sounds impressive, but the limitation of being a "elementary school student" is there. Winning first place in the country only proves that you are an elementary school student with a very advanced level of English. Your future level will not increase proportionally.

Honestly, among those who have won first prize in the national English competition over the years, there are probably very few who will reach the level of Li Zhao, who is not an English major.

Learning requires in-depth study and application. Li Zhao's work forces him to use complex vocabulary to communicate with international teams and also requires him to read a large number of professional books with complex sentence structures. This level of knowledge is so advanced that it would be a game-changer even for junior high or high school students.

Just look at how Huang Keyun, a graduate of a 985 university with a master's degree, was completely outmatched.

Given the difficulty of the exam, Li Zhao could even deduce from the questions what the examiners wanted to test, making the first prize a sure thing.

If he had to say what he was curious about, there was only one thing.

Can we be number one in the country?

He really wasn't sure about that.

Logically speaking, he certainly has the ability to get first place in the country, but given the randomness of "carelessness" in the exam itself, and the subjective influence of the essay scoring, Li Zhao cannot guarantee that he can get a perfect score.

Once you consider competitors on a "national" scale, it's hard to guarantee what kind of extraordinary individuals will emerge.

For example, children from top-tier, highly educated families who are directly competing in this field; children from families where English is truly their first language; and for those who, regardless of future consequences, are currently prodigies like Zhong Yong—

Well, there's also the need for this nationally number one prodigy.

The main story revolves around a character who accidentally wanders into the Heavenly Palace.

"Hey Lin Ke, hello there, it's me, Lao Chen—" Team Leader Chen dialed the number, put it on speakerphone, and smiled, his face crinkling with wrinkles. "Hey, I wanted to ask you something. Did you receive the list of winners for the National Primary School English Competition?"

What followed was a series of small talk, compliments, and expressions of humility.

To Li Zhao, it sounded like a series of repeated phrases: "Yes, yes," "No, no," "No, no," and "You are the ones who are repeating the same things."

After arguing for a long time, the person still didn't know what the asterisk meant, but their attitude was good, and they said, "I'll ask my supervisor right away."

After hanging up the phone, Chen glanced at Li Zhao, who was yawning, and finally realized that school was already over.

"Well, Li Zhao," Chen Zu stood up and walked towards Li Zhao, grabbing his shoulders with both hands, "why don't you go home first? The teachers can wait here. If there's any result, Teacher Huang can call your family to let them know."

"Okay." Li Zhao nodded.

"And then, we don't know what this asterisk means yet. The top ten in the country is just a term used in other competitions. Don't tell us yet, let's find out."

"Yes, no problem."

Li Zhao then left the office and headed towards the classroom, watched by Huang Keyun.

At five o'clock, the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the walls of the No. 6 Primary School building. Most of the students had left, and the place was exceptionally peaceful.

Li Zhao used his finger as a frame, pointing it at a corner of the teaching building, pretending to take a picture.

It perfectly frames the classroom of Class 1, Grade 6.

If only I had a camera right now.

Suddenly, Chen Nian appeared at the classroom door. As soon as he came out, he looked towards the office, met Li Zhao's gaze, and immediately retreated back into the classroom.

I guessed this kid would wait for him.

When they returned to the classroom, only Chen Nian, who was rummaging through things on the podium, and He Shuyao, who was sitting upright reading a book, remained inside.

Hmm? He Shuyao?

"Why haven't you two gone back yet?"

Chen Nian froze instantly, blinking frantically as he turned around. "I didn't say anything. She wanted to stay herself."

He Shuyao, who was calmly reading a book, suddenly shuddered.

He took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed it.

She simply raised her hand and gave Chen Nian the middle finger.

Li Zhao burst out laughing. "Alright, alright, it's fine to say it. Just don't spread it."

"No, it wasn't me who said it, it was her—"

"Old news," He Shuyao said with a smile, "telling only one person doesn't count as spreading the word."

These two elementary school students are really good at acting.

"First prize in the national competition, first place in Linjiang," Li Zhao said. "I just went to the office to talk to the teachers about this."

The surprise unfolded in slow motion, with the two displaying almost identical expressions. However, He Shuyao quickly regained her composure, while Chen Nian was completely unrestrained, jumping up and down a few times on the spot.

"No way, no way, no way! Number one in Linjiang? Holy crap!"

"Okay, no need to shout so loudly—"

"What are you afraid of? Everyone's gone, and nobody's hearing this now—"

"Li Zhao!" Huang Keyun's voice rang out, startling Chen Nian so much that he cried out in terror and hid behind the podium.

Huang Keyun quickly walked into the classroom and paused for a moment when she saw He Shuyao.

"It's alright, teacher, they both know."

"both?"

Chen Nian poked his head out.

"Do you know what an asterisk means?" Huang Keyun went straight to the point, completely ignoring the two of them.

At this moment, Huang Keyun looks like a typical fangirl.

Teacher, judging from your expression, the top ten answers nationwide are probably just the minimum acceptable answers.

"A perfect score!"