Chapter Thirteen: From Failing Student to Top Scholar!

"Anran, you’re here!" For quite some time, the teachers in the office couldn’t tear their eyes away, finally settling on the girl who had just walked in.

Chen Feng couldn’t help but be taken aback. Undoubtedly, she was a remarkably beautiful girl; her long hair simply draped over her shoulders, refined features forming a face of quiet elegance, almost ethereal. Sunlight spilled across her, only highlighting her fair skin all the more.

It was rare—those school uniforms, infamous for ruining a girl’s charm, did nothing to diminish her radiance.

A true goddess remains so, no matter what she wears; nothing can conceal her beauty.

Yet for Anran, the most important thing was not her appearance, but her academic record.

By gender, she was a goddess. By grades, she surpassed even the most accomplished students; she was a legend.

The top student scored a 98 on the exam; the genius scored a perfect 100. The top student believed the difference was those two points. The genius replied: "You scored 98 because that’s your ability; I scored 100 because that’s all the exam could offer."

For Anran, she was that genius. In this monthly exam, aside from the essay—where the teacher deliberately deducted two points—she lost not a single mark on any other paper. Her total was 748, a full ten points ahead of second place.

Some say beauty and wisdom cannot coexist: you’re either pretty and brainless, or smart and plain.

But this saying clearly didn’t apply to Anran.

She was the paradox—a rare blend of both intelligence and beauty.

"Teacher, I’d like to apply for leave. I won’t attend classes today or tomorrow!" Anran smiled at the teacher as she spoke; her voice was melodious, with a hint of flowing water, clear and sweet.

"Of course, no problem!" Her homeroom teacher agreed without hesitation, not even asking the reason. That was the privilege of a genius; she never seemed to study seriously, yet her scores were out of reach for everyone else.

Anran glanced at Chen Feng but didn’t say a word, simply turned and left.

"The genius is truly amazing!" Chen Feng couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. If he ever became such a genius, how many achievement points would he earn? But for now, he needed to focus on getting those achievement points.

Hmm?

As he thought about this, Chen Feng opened the Grand Extraction System and was surprised to find two more achievement points added, making seven in total.

"Wait, that’s odd! In the classroom, with all those students, they only contributed one achievement point, but here in the office, just a few teachers contributed two?" Chen Feng frowned.

"Teacher, about our wager," Chen Feng addressed Sun Minghai seriously. "Will you really keep your promise?"

"On Monday, I’ll apologize to you in front of the whole school, Chen Feng. For now, let me apologize to you here. I’m sorry—it was my mistake as a teacher to suspect you of cheating."

Sun Minghai was someone who could admit fault and let go. His apology was sincere.

Chen Feng hesitated. Should he really have Sun Minghai apologize publicly to the entire school? Was he being selfish?

After a moment’s doubt, Chen Feng decided that the attraction of achievement points outweighed any misgivings. Besides, a public apology would only highlight Sun Minghai’s integrity.

Sun Minghai, however, showed no embarrassment—he waved it off: "Alright, Chen Feng, you can go back to class now."

"This child is a miracle!" After Chen Feng left, Anran’s homeroom teacher, Li Linzhu, came over. "He’s almost on par with Anran!"

Sun Minghai shook his head. "There’s still a gap. His problem-solving speed is slower; he spends a lot of time thinking, which probably caused him to run out of time and not finish the exam."

"In addition," Sun Minghai continued after a pause, "his handwriting is poor, which cost him quite a few points in Chinese, but..."

He chuckled. "Old Li, you’d better watch out. If you’re not careful, your Anran might lose her place as top of the grade!"

Li Linzhu laughed heartily. "You should focus on how you’re going to apologize to this kid in front of the whole school on Monday! I can tell he’s holding quite a grudge!"

"Apologize?" Sun Minghai’s face showed a sly smile. "Don’t you think it’s inspirational?"

Inspirational?

Li Linzhu was momentarily stunned.

*************

When Chen Feng returned to the classroom, it caused no great stir, though several students looked at him with newfound curiosity.

To cheat and still score 706—that’s a skill in itself.

Time flew, and Monday soon arrived.

After the school’s flag-raising ceremony and the national anthem, Sun Minghai strode confidently onto the podium. Facing all the students and teachers, he cleared his throat and began, "Dear students, I am Sun Minghai, homeroom teacher of Class Six, Grade Eleven. Today, I must apologize to one of my students. Chen Feng, please come up!"

Among the students, Chen Feng felt his heart tremble slightly as he slowly made his way to the podium.

In an instant, every eye in the school focused on him.

"What’s going on? Why is he up there?" Lin Hang in the crowd stared in disbelief at Chen Feng, unable to understand how he qualified for the stage, let alone to receive an apology from a teacher.

Sun Minghai continued, microphone in hand: "Chen Feng achieved a high score of 706 in the recent monthly exam, ranking twenty-fourth in the grade. Due to my lack of understanding, I mistakenly believed his score was the result of cheating. However, after his re-examination yesterday, I determined his score was entirely genuine. Here, I offer my sincere apology to Chen Feng."

"No way!"

A wave of astonishment swept through the school. Fang Yue, among the crowd, clenched her fists, a surge of excitement rising within her.

On the other side, Lin Hang was utterly incredulous. He couldn’t believe Chen Feng could score so well; if he were ranked twenty-fourth from the bottom, maybe, but to be the actual twenty-fourth, with a higher score than him?

"Is it him?" Anran was another surprised observer.

She had seen Chen Feng in the office two days prior, assuming he was just a struggling student called in by the teachers. Now, it was clear that wasn’t the case at all.

Still, Anran wasn’t particularly astonished; her expression remained calm and composed.

For a genius, everyone else was simply insignificant.

Sun Minghai looked at Chen Feng and spoke earnestly, "I’m sorry, Chen Feng."

As he spoke, Sun Minghai bowed deeply to Chen Feng.

"Teacher! Teacher!" Chen Feng hurried to support him, suddenly feeling he might have gone too far. This act made him feel uncomfortable deep inside.

"Chen Feng, this is only right," Sun Minghai replied calmly.

"Uh..." For a moment, Chen Feng didn’t know what to say. Sun Minghai pressed on, "Everyone, do you know? Just a month ago, Chen Feng was among the lowest in his class, but through over a month of hard work..."

"Oh, come on..." Chen Feng rolled his eyes. He suddenly felt like he was being used—Sun Minghai was turning him into a poster child for inspiration.

Actually, this benefited Sun Minghai greatly. Apologizing to a student in public—embarrassing? Perhaps, but handled well, it could be a point of pride. After all, how many teachers could boast that a student in their class climbed from the bottom to third in one month, now ranking twenty-fourth in the grade? At this rate, top of the grade wouldn’t be out of reach.

And Chen Feng had done it in just a month, and Sun Minghai had seen his true ability. Setting aside poor handwriting, his answer accuracy was flawless—he might even rival Anran.

Besides praising Chen Feng, Sun Minghai didn’t hesitate to praise himself, depicting himself as responsible and never giving up on students, urging everyone to learn from Chen Feng, proving that anyone, even the weakest, could become a top student with just a month’s effort.

"Never give up on studying. Never give up on yourself. Chen Feng, I hope you continue to work hard and achieve even better results. I have high hopes for you!" Sun Minghai finished.

"Please rest assured, Teacher. I will study hard and never disappoint you!" Chen Feng replied with utmost seriousness.

"Go back, then," Sun Minghai smiled.

Chen Feng returned to his place among his classmates, unable to resist opening the Grand Extraction System again. He saw his achievement points increase dramatically, from seven to twenty-seven.

Just like that, he gained twenty achievement points.

"Fantastic! Now I can extract the super-soldier serum produced from Captain America’s body!" Chen Feng was elated. "But I wonder—will this serum finally help me overcome my obesity?"