After Transmigrating for the Third Time, the Real Young Master Decides to Slouch - Chapter 11

Jiang Zao returned to the office with a stack of answer sheets. Meng Qiuyu leaned over and asked, “Teacher Jiang, do you need me to help you grade the math section?”

“No need.” Jiang Zao set the answer sheets down. “They’ve already been graded.”

“Hmm?” Meng Qiuyu looked at the answer sheets in confusion, and the very first one gave him a shock.

“This…” He pointed to the sheet, which was practically a blank page. “A blank paper… with a perfect score?”

Jiang Zao took a sip of water and nodded. “Mhm. I let them grade and score themselves.”

After receiving Jiang Zao’s permission, Meng Qiuyu picked up the papers and flipped through them one by one. Most were blank, yet the students had unblushingly given themselves 100 points. The only three who didn’t have perfect scores were Jiang Tong, Lu She, and Dai Chu.

Those three had completed the diagnostic test seriously and graded themselves strictly. The highest was Lu She, with 98 points.

The top student in the grade only got a 98, yet everyone else dared to blindly claim a 100? Meng Qiuyu felt the world had become surreal.

Meng Qiuyu grew thoughtful. Class 19 was a class formed during the second semester of the tenth grade, specifically to house the “problem students” that no other class wanted. He had been with this class since its inception. He considered himself to have a gentle personality, adhering to the principle of “minding one’s own business”—he simply taught his lessons and left. Occasionally, he would get worked up by their antics, but it was usually within an acceptable range.

However, since Teacher Jiang took over, the behavior of these children seemed to have become even more eccentric?

Coming back to his senses, Meng Qiuyu saw what Jiang Zao was doing and knitted his brows slightly. After a moment, he asked, “Teacher Jiang, what are you doing?”

Jiang Zao raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you tell? Recording grades.”

“Recording… grades?” Meng Qiuyu was momentarily speechless. Was there any point in recording these?

“Mhm.” Jiang Zao seemed to be in a good mood as he explained, “Once I’m done, I’ll print it out and post it on the classroom bulletin board.” Every classroom had a public display board on the outer wall where things could be posted as rewards or punishments, depending on the class’s needs.

If it went on the bulletin board, that meant acknowledging these scores.

Meng Qiuyu asked hesitantly, “Are these going to count?”

“They count,” Jiang Zao said.

Meng Qiuyu still felt it was inappropriate. “But isn’t this just self-deception?”

Jiang Zao smiled. “What does it matter? If they think they deserve 100 points, then they get 100 points. Besides, if it’s self-deception, they’re the ones deceiving themselves, not me.”

Meng Qiuyu fell silent. Teacher Jiang seemed even more eccentric than he had imagined.

Eccentric versus eccentric—who would win in the end?

A moment later, he smiled. “I won’t disturb you further; I have to go to class.”

“Alright, good luck,” Jiang Zao said, tilting his head toward him.

Meng Qiuyu returned to his desk, picked up his books, and walked out. The bell rang just as he reached the classroom. Seeing a full house, Meng Qiuyu suddenly felt a wave of emotion. When was the last time he’d seen full attendance? It felt like it had only happened once before. What had the situation been that time?

While he drifted into random memories, Jiang Tong finally fulfilled his duty as Class Monitor. He stood up and called out, “Stand!”

No one paid him any mind except for Lu She. However, after giving him a faint look, Dai Chu also stood up.

Jiang Tong was embarrassed. What now? Only three people are standing. He had finally rallied his spirits, only to mess things up again. He felt he had failed his brother’s trust; maybe he should tell his brother he didn’t want to be the monitor after all.

Meng Qiuyu snapped out of his reverie. Seeing the awkward scene, he quickly said, “No need, everyone please sit down.”

He took an extra look at the two new faces and sighed inwardly. They were such good kids; how did they end up in this class?

But…

Meng Qiuyu’s gaze softened. This was the first time he had experienced a normal start to a lesson in this class, even if it wasn’t fully completed.

The heavy feeling he usually had during lessons suddenly lightened a bit. Meng Qiuyu opened his book. “Please turn to page one, everyone. We are going to study the first lesson of the new semester.”

During the break after the second period, Jiang Zao called Jiang Tong out of the classroom. “Post this.”

“What is it?” Jiang Tong took the paper and looked at it, his eyes widening. “Bro—”

“Hmm?”

Jiang Tong corrected himself just in time: “Teacher Jiang, this… this?”

“What about it?” Jiang Zao raised an eyebrow. “It’s the ranking list from last period’s test. Can’t you tell?”

Jiang Tong was frantic. Of course he could tell; it was the content he was worried about!

Jiang Tong was silent for a long time before saying unhappily, “Clearly, Lu She should be the one in first place.”

In his eyes, Lu She had always been strict with himself, and he had been the same when grading his own paper. He could have been more lenient and given himself a perfect score, though 98 was certainly excellent. Jiang Tong had assumed Lu She would be first, even in Class 19. As long as Lu She took first, he would be happy. But these people hadn’t followed the rules at all, shamelessly giving their blank papers perfect scores and making a mockery of those who had worked hard and graded honestly.

Jiang Tong didn’t care about himself, but he felt it was unfair to Lu She.

Seeing his brother’s pouting face, Jiang Zao simply said, “Lu She only has 98 points. Everyone else has a perfect score.”

“But you know perfectly well—”

Before he could finish, he was tapped lightly on the forehead. It wasn’t hard, but Jiang Tong covered his head and looked at him with dissatisfaction.

Jiang Zao laughed and said, “It’s just a piece of paper. It is whatever you believe it to be.”

Jiang Tong lowered his head, fidgeting with the paper in his hand. After a long while, he asked in a confirming tone, “Do I really have to post it?”

“Mhm.”

“Fine.” Jiang Tong made up his mind. “I’ll post it.”

Jiang Zao directed: “Post it a bit higher, don’t put it too low—can you reach? Do you need a chair?”

Jiang Tong turned back and snapped, ” I’m not that short!”

Jiang Zao shrugged. His little brother had grown up; he was even losing his temper with his big brother now.

He shook his head and walked away with a sigh.

Jiang Tong was a bit of a perfectionist. He kept shifting the paper, feeling it was crooked. While he was adjusting the position, Song Jintong returned from outside and gathered around. “Monitor, what are you doing?”

“Posting the ranking list.” Jiang Tong was a bit uncomfortable. This girl was standing too close, and the scent of her perfume was invading his nose. He quickly finished posting it and then decisively jumped away, retreating into the classroom as if escaping.

Song Jintong gave a half-smile as she watched his retreating back, then looked up at the content of the paper. Once she saw it clearly, a playful smile appeared on her face.

Zhou Yuan stuck his head out the window and asked with a grin, “Sister Tong, what’s that junk?”

“A ranking list.” Song Jintong beckoned him. “Come take a look. My rank is higher than yours.”

“No way. My final exam score was higher than yours last semester.” Zhou Yuan didn’t believe it. He ran out to take a look and immediately widened his eyes.

After a brief daze, Zhou Yuan cursed, “Holy crap, is he crazy? Why would he post this!”

Song Jintong laughed. “It’s fine to post it. Let everyone see that I’m ranked higher than you.”

Zhou Yuan glanced at her and said disdainfully, “Do you have any common sense? Identical scores share the same rank. The order is based on the first letter of your name. You’re only ahead of me because of your initials.”

“I don’t care, I don’t care! Anyway, my rank is higher, so I win!” Song Jintong reached out and made a V-sign in front of him, her jewelry jingling as she waved her hand.

Their conversation drew the attention of others. Once they realized what was going on, they all gathered around.

“Who would’ve thought that dorky-looking guy would pull such a trick?”

“Oh my god, I never dreamed I’d see my rank this high up. This is a first in my life! I want to thank my surname!”

“I have to take a picture of this and send it to my dad. With such good grades, it would be unreasonable if he doesn’t increase my allowance next month.”

“Yo, yo, yo, look at these three who didn’t get perfect scores. They’re dragging the class down! Did they even study? We need to seriously criticize this attitude toward learning!”

“So the legendary top-ranked student is only so-so. He only got a 98 on such an easy paper. Unlike me—easy perfect score. I’m the GOAT!”

“Hey, what if we post this on the school’s main bulletin board? Let everyone know that our Class 19 is the strongest class!”

“Good idea! Let’s go, let’s go!”

Their reckless words reached Jiang Tong’s ears. He gritted his teeth, gripping his pen so hard it was nearly about to snap. Suddenly, a hand took the pen away.

Jiang Tong looked up.

Lu She’s expression showed neither happiness nor unhappiness. He maintained his usual cold and aloof demeanor as he said, “Focus.”

Jiang Tong was dissatisfied. “But they said you…”

Lu She used the pen to circle a mistake Jiang Tong had made and said flatly, “There’s no need to care. What I have established will not change because of a piece of paper.”

“Mm…” Jiang Tong scratched his head. “What you said sounds a lot like my brother.”

Lu She looked at him.

Recalling what Jiang Zao had said, Jiang Tong smiled. “Not exactly alike, but the feeling is very similar.”

“Mhm,” Lu She replied simply.

Jiang Tong asked him, “Do you know what my brother is thinking?”

“Hmm?”

Jiang Tong slumped on the desk in defeat. “I can’t figure my brother out anymore. Since his birthday, he seems like a completely different person. Before, I couldn’t imagine him acting so freely and doing so many things I can’t understand. Did something happen to him? I’m not as smart as my brother. He’s a genius, and so are you, Lu She. You geniuses should share the same brain waves, so can you understand what my brother is thinking?”

Lu She remained silent for a moment before asking in return, “Is this not good?”

Jiang Tong froze, then smiled and shook his head. “It’s very good. My brother… he used to crave recognition from others, but now he doesn’t seem to care about that anymore. How should I put it? He’s living for himself? Anyway, I think he’s much happier than before.”

“In that case, you might as well trust him more,” Lu She said calmly. “You are his family.”

Jiang Tong nodded vigorously. “You’re right. My brother is so smart; he must have his reasons for doing these things. I have to trust him, support him, and be his backup!”

Saying this, he clenched his fists. “First, I have to get my grades up—Lu She, please continue to teach me!”

“Mhm.” There was a trace of a smile in Lu She’s eyes as he ruffled Jiang Tong’s hair.