Chapter 58
Chapter 58

Ling Qingming happened to be next to Shen Cui. After “he” raised his hand, there was no need to bother the stewards to collect the test paper. Ling Qingming directly took away the test paper.

Before looking at the test paper, Ling Qingming glanced around at the others.

The other students in the room were still busy calculating. Even Ling Qingming’s several proud disciples, the fastest of them only got to the second-to-last question.

He lowered his head to look at the paper—Shen Cui’s brushstrokes were originally bad, and she deliberately set up a semi-deformed hand. Although she paid attention when copying the answers and didn’t make any ink blots, the handwriting was truly hard to understand.

It’s said that a person’s handwriting reflects their character, and the teenager in front of him had been pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed all the time, showing no intention of concentrating, so it was clear that the answers to these nine questions were all written randomly!

Ling Qingming frowned unhappily, and another judge who was nearby also came over when he saw Ling Qingming’s expression and glanced at Shen Cui’s test paper.

He was the old headmaster of Hongle Academy. Hongle Academy had been a well-known old academy since the previous dynasty. Although Qingzhu Academy had been in the limelight in recent years, in terms of foundation and heritage, it was far from being compared to Hongle Academy.

So when he saw the old headmaster, although Ling Qingming felt that Lao Buyu and the people of Cuiwei Academy were making a fuss, embarrassing him along with them, he still respectfully handed over the test paper.

The old headmaster didn’t care about the handwriting, he just looked at the content.

After looking at it, he smiled and said, “No wonder you stood your ground. This child is indeed talented!”

Surprised by his words, Ling Qingming also put aside his prejudice and looked at the content. The results on the test paper were all correct!

His gaze couldn’t help but fall on Shen Cui’s desk again. The draft paper she was given at the beginning was still intact.

Even Ling Qingming himself couldn’t do it without paper and pen, calculating these results out of thin air with his brain.

He didn’t suspect that Cuiwei Academy had leaked the questions. These questions were the original questions, and the specific numbers were determined by the judges when they were competing in the dance. They each determined a part and then immediately copied it onto the test paper.

After the copying was completed, the fourth round of the competition immediately began, and the test papers were distributed.

There was no time to leak the questions to anyone, and Cuiwei Academy, as a temporary team, didn’t have that ability!

But being able to calculate the results without the need for pen and ink, and being willing to be used by the unknown Cuiwei Academy, was truly somewhat incredible!

Because both headmasters were present, Lao Buyu didn’t come over to lead Shen Cui offstage. “He” stood aside, allowing them to look at him openly.

Joking aside, comparing calculation speed, even if she had crammed for three months, there was no advantage for her compared to ancient people and modern people.
The old headmaster also glanced at the blank draft paper, stroked his gray beard, and smiled, “The younger generation is formidable!”

Afterward, to avoid disturbing the other students, the old headmaster didn’t say much. He just affectionately patted Shen Cui’s back and said, “Go rest.”

Shen Cui was finally able to leave. Under Ling Qingming’s suspicious gaze, she bowed to the two of them and quickly left the stage.

By this time, after four rounds of competition, it was already afternoon.

While the fourth round was taking place, Qingzhu Academy had already sent meals to the participating academies—after all, they had collected ten taels of silver as registration fees, so lunch had to be provided.

Of course, because Qingzhu Academy was short-staffed, the prepared meals were not plentiful, only enough for the headmasters and teachers of each academy. If the participating academies brought many students, they had to take care of the meals themselves.

However, Lao Buyu and the two children were not eating. They were eagerly waiting for “him.”

Although they had just met, perhaps because they hit it off, or perhaps because they were moved by “his” perseverance despite his disability, they didn’t treat “him” as a stranger.

“Why was my senior brother staring at you just now?” Lao Buyu fanned “him” while Wei Xi handed “him” tea.

Mu Er Pang pushed the tray of food in front of him and invited him to eat first.

Shen Cui gestured, first patting her chest, giving a thumbs-up to indicate that she had done well in the exam. Then, she pointed in Ling Qingming’s direction, shrugged, and tilted her head, indicating that she didn’t understand why he was staring at her.

Everyone didn’t ask further and let “him” rest and eat.

Previously, Shen Cui had been a parent accompanying her child, only having to worry about that. Now that she had become a student herself, she enjoyed the care of everyone with peace of mind.

“He” took a steamed bun and gestured to everyone, indicating that they should eat together.

In fact, everyone was starving, but they had been waiting for him, so they hadn’t moved. Now that he had started eating, they all began to eat as well.

After finishing most of the meal, the students in the room also handed in their papers one after another.

Shen Cui got all nine questions correct and was the first to hand in her paper for the whole room. As expected, when Ling Qingming announced the results of the mini-competition, Cuiwei Academy appeared in the first place!

“Good lad, worthy of being someone our headmaster values!” Lao Buyu had been holding back all morning and couldn’t hold it in anymore. He patted Shen Cui’s back and laughed heartily.

Wei Xi also smiled at him, “Zhang Xiong’s mathematical attainments are excellent. I hope you won’t hesitate to teach us in the future.”

Mu Er Pang was the most straightforward, and his two chubby hands began to vigorously gesture with his thumbs up!

Shen Cui laughed along with everyone else, then looked at the last round of the mini-competition about to start. It was time for her to change back to her original identity, so she got up to say goodbye, gesturing that she wanted to go back and rest.

Solving math problems has always been a brain-consuming task from ancient times to the present. Lao Buyu naturally wouldn’t let him go without supervision, but he didn’t feel at ease, so he wanted to personally send him back.

Shen Cui naturally couldn’t let him send her off, so she gestured randomly, confusing Lao Buyu, then bowed and left.

This time, when she went out again, she used an even faster speed to return to the dead end alley, then immediately ended her disguise and hurried back.

As soon as she walked to the edge of the crowd in the open space, she saw Mu Er Pang coming out as well.

“Where did you go Mom? The gentleman asked me to find you and inquire about how to handle the last round of the competition.”

Shen Cui wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded. “My stomach was feeling a bit uncomfortable, so it delayed me.”

When she was sick before, she insisted that there was nothing wrong with her. But now, saying this, Mu Er Pang’s expression immediately became serious. He carefully observed her complexion, saw that she was breathing rapidly and sweating profusely, and said, “Then wait a moment, I’ll go tell the gentleman that we will abstain from the last round and then accompany you to see a doctor.”

Thinking of the bitter taste of the soup she had just drunk, Shen Cui immediately said, “No need, I’m fine now. Let’s go. I’m the headmaster and cannot be absent.”

After saying that, Shen Cui took his hand, pushed through the crowd, and entered the venue again.

After going back and forth for a while and using her brain rapidly, Shen Cui was so tired that she sat heavily in the armchair. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down, and then pretended to say, “When I went out just now, I met Zhang Sheng. When I came back, I didn’t see him. How did he do in the mini-competition?”

Lao Buyu immediately praised, “The headmaster’s words earlier were right. This child is extraordinarily gifted in mathematics. I was wondering why my senior brother stared at him so intently after he handed in his paper. I went to inquire and found out that he didn’t even use draft paper. He did it all in his head!”

Because there were no outsiders present, Laobuyu sighed and said, “With such talent and such a broad-mindedness, it’s a pity… the heavens are unfair!”

Shen Cui gulped down a mouthful of hot tea, then suddenly heard Lao Buyu ask, “You didn’t mention any inconvenience in his speech before. How did you communicate with him and persuade him to participate in the academy’s competition?”

Mu Er Pang and Wei Xi were also curious about this. Hearing this, they turned their heads and looked at her, waiting quietly for her answer.

“Uh…,” Shen Cui put down her teacup. She really hadn’t expected that her money-saving trick would not only deceive them into tears but also leave such a follow-up job.

“I… I saved him and then helped him to rest. He happened to see the questions I brought and wrote them down on the spot for me to see. Then, with a combination of gestures and guesses, we agreed on it.”

After improvising on the spot, Shen Cui felt a bit embarrassed. She added, “Between people, words are secondary. The main thing is the fate, right?”

After she said this, Lao Buyu and the two children couldn’t help but nod.

Before, the four of them were all unrelated, and Laobuyu and Wei Xi clearly had no teacher-student relationship. But now, they were as close as a family. If it’s not fate, what is it?

As they were talking, the fifth round of the mini-competition began.

This round was about “ritual,” and the order was also decided by drawing lots. Since Cuiwei had already passed the first three rounds of the mini-competition, Shen Cui also chose to abstain from this round.

Soon, the drawing was over, and the students from each academy took turns to the stage.

In ancient times, the five rituals included the auspicious ritual for praying for good fortune, the ominous ritual for dealing with injuries, disasters, and other calamities, the guest ritual for formal occasions, the auspicious ritual for banquets and celebrations, and the military ritual for military ceremonies.

Although it seemed like just a few movements were being judged, achieving both standard and graceful execution, while also embodying the demeanor of a scholar and even showing one’s character, naturally required a certain level of skill.

Shen Cui had probably watched a group of people perform and understood the judging criteria. Surprisingly, the same movements could be done in a way that was particularly pleasing to the eye.

After about an hour, after the last round of the mini-competition ended, the Qingzhu Academy counted the results of the preliminary exam and announced the list of candidates for the final exam.

Academies like Hongle Academy, Wenjun Academy, and Qingzhu Academy, which consistently ranked at the top, naturally didn’t need to be mentioned. Cuiwei Academy also made it into the final exam by a narrow margin!

Almost at the same time, Shen Cui received a system prompt—

【The academy competition mission is complete.】

【Reward: Simulated Room.】

Regardless of tomorrow’s final exam results, she had at least gained a simulated exam room. Shen Cui, who had been busy all day, smiled and beckoned to the others to leave.

With this call, she realized that Mu Er Pang had left the stands at some point.

Just as she was about to look for him, Mu Er Pang came over with a tray. “Don’t rush to leave, you haven’t had lunch yet! I saved a portion just for you and just asked the attendants to heat it up. Eat while it’s hot, and we’ll leave after we finish!”