webnovelfull Chapter 63 Taking Pride
Chapter 63 Taking Pride
"Who? Lu Yuan got first place in English?"
"Could there be someone with the same name at school? I've never heard of such a person before?"
"I already said it's Lu Yuan from Class 5. There's only one Lu Yuan in our grade; how could there be a second one?"
"Everyone's talking about Lu Yuan, but who exactly is Lu Yuan?"
In an instant, the entire playground erupted in chaos. Those who knew Lu Yuan and those who didn't were all discussing him wildly, the cacophony of voices drowning out the sound of the wind on the playground.
In previous major exams, those top students were always the ones who made it onto the honor roll of the grade.
After several visits, even if people couldn't remember the full names, they became familiar with each other and had already formed their own opinions.
But Lu Yuan's name was a completely new face on the list of achievements.
Who could connect this unexpected dark horse with that mediocre, unremarkable student from Class 5?
"No way, Yuan-ge, you didn't secretly cheat behind my back, did you?"
Gao Zhe's eyes widened, and he grabbed Lu Yuan's arm in shock. In his opinion, apart from cheating, there was no other reason to explain why Lu Yuan got first place in English.
Not only Gao Zhe, but all the surrounding classmates stared at Lu Yuan with disbelief in their eyes.
Anyone who knows Lu Yuan knows that his English grades have consistently ranked at the bottom of the class. Let alone aiming for first place in a single subject, even barely passing is an impossible task. This remarkable turnaround is simply beyond everyone's comprehension.
Lu Yuan felt helpless and didn't know how to explain it to everyone.
Since his rebirth, he has devoted himself to doing countless practice problems, without any distractions.
For him, who was already able to communicate with foreign clients without any problems, getting first place in his high school English exam was just a normal thing.
In fact, he had struggled with the idea of deliberately lowering his score and making a few mistakes to improve slowly, so as not to suddenly become famous and attract unwarranted suspicion and criticism from others.
But then I thought, I clearly have the ability to get high scores, so why should I deliberately hide my abilities?
Just do your best in the exam and be able to face yourself with a clear conscience. What impact can any more doubts and speculations have on you?
With that in mind, Lu Yuan no longer hesitated.
Under the gaze of hundreds of curious, questioning, or surprised eyes, he walked steadily through the gaps in the crowded queue toward the platform.
"Didn't he just give a self-criticism on stage? Why is he back on stage now?"
"Is he a transfer student? I've never seen him on the previous report cards."
"Are you blind? This is Lu Yuan from Class 5, the most affectionate student in the whole school."
"Huh? It's Lu Yuan? How is that possible? Isn't his academic performance notoriously bad?"
The chaotic discussions could no longer be suppressed and surged towards Lu Yuan, with words full of doubts about his grades. Many even believed that he had cheated on the exam to get such a score.
However, these doubts ultimately proved unfounded, as the comprehensive and seamless surveillance in the examination room is the best proof.
After seeing the results, the school leaders must have immediately retrieved the surveillance footage from the day of the exam. Apart from sleeping on his desk during the last hour of the exam, Lu Yuan did not exhibit any suspicious cheating behavior throughout the entire process.
As soon as Lu Yuan stepped onto the platform, his uncle, Zhang Dabiao, the head of the teaching department, immediately strode to his side, lowered his voice, and demanded sternly with a furrowed brow: "Tell me the truth, did you cheat or not?"
"The surveillance cameras captured everything clearly. Do you think I had any chance to cheat?" Lu Yuan looked up to meet his gaze, his expression calm and unwavering.
Zhang Dabiao was speechless for a moment, but his doubts didn't lessen at all. His face was still full of disbelief: "Then how do you explain this result? Don't tell me about some sudden enlightenment. I'm your uncle, do you think I don't know your capabilities?"
Lu Yuan curled his lips into a sly smile: "Hehe, to be honest, I just suddenly had an epiphany."
"you!"
Zhang Dabiao was speechless, his brows furrowed, unable to understand how his nephew, who had always been at the bottom of his class, could suddenly become the top student in English.
But this was a crucial part of the conference, and he couldn't press further. He could only calmly tell Lu Yuan to stand in the designated spot, then turn around and continue announcing the list of the top scorers in the science subjects.
Lu Yuan stood beside Xu Lingjing, deliberately keeping a slight distance between them.
Xu Lingjing didn't turn to look at him, but she couldn't help but lower her voice and ask softly, "How did you do that?"
Lu Yuan smiled faintly, his tone relaxed yet slightly teasing: "After studying hard for a while, I suddenly realized I'm a genius."
"hehe."
Xu Lingjing chuckled softly at his words, a slight smile curving her lips.
Regardless of how Lu Yuan obtained his grades, or whether they were true or false, it at least shows that he has finally started to care about studying and grades.
If someone truly doesn't care about their grades, they probably wouldn't even bother to cheat.
Xia Anqi's gaze remained fixed on Lu Yuan, never wavering.
She had only heard of Lu Yuan briefly, and they rarely interacted, so she had almost no impression of him.
She knew all the students who ranked in the top ten of the grade, but had no impression of Lu Yuan, which was enough to show that he was not in the top ten at all before.
What bothered her even more was that Lu Yuan had taken the top spot in English, her strongest subject and one she had never failed to win.
Zhang Xueling from Class 2 ranked first in the science comprehensive test, which was no surprise. His total score also ranked second in the grade, only one point behind Xia Anqi, making him Xia Anqi's long-time rival.
Zhang Dabiao was still puzzled, but he still followed the procedure and asked the top student in the subject to come on stage and share his learning experience.
Xia Anqi spoke first. She had been on stage many times before, and now she stood on the stage calmly and eloquently, speaking clearly and logically. After she finished speaking, the whole audience burst into thunderous applause.
Next up is Xu Lingjing, who has repeatedly achieved first place in Chinese language and can easily share her learning experiences.
Originally, it was supposed to be Lu Yuan's turn to speak third, but Zhang Dabiao had some reservations and gestured for him to wait, letting Zhang Xueling speak first.
Zhang Xueling is a frequent guest on the awards stage. He wears black-rimmed glasses, has a refined demeanor, and his eyes reveal a shrewdness.
He was clearly a bright and meticulous student; his speech was well-organized and drew nods of approval from the audience.
After Zhang Xueling finished speaking, it was finally Lu Yuan's turn.
As soon as Lu Yuan took the microphone, the boys in the back row of Class 5 immediately erupted in cheers.
Led by Gao Zhe, several boys who were close to Lu Yuan started shouting, "Brother Yuan, Brother Yuan, say a few more words!"
"Yes! Yuan-ge, you are the pride of our Class 5!"
"Brother Yuan, don't forget to praise the brothers!"
They didn't care at all about the strange looks from others; they genuinely regarded Lu Yuan as the pride of the class.
After all, these students, who were at the bottom of the class, had never had the chance to go on stage to receive an award. Now that Lu Yuan had won them this honor, they felt excited and proud from the bottom of their hearts.
It wasn't until a teacher stepped forward and spoke up to stop them that the boys obediently shut their mouths and stood properly.
Lu Yuan chuckled at their teasing, his thoughts drifting unconsciously to Ye Yixian.
Was she in the audience today?
Will she be happy for herself when she sees herself on stage receiving an award?
He subconsciously scanned the crowd, but still couldn't spot that distinctive tuft of blond hair, and a sense of disappointment and worry inevitably washed over him.
After briefly calming himself down, Lu Yuan held the microphone and said, "I feel that getting first place in English this time is an unexpected but very happy thing. First of all, I would like to thank my English teacher. Thanks to her careful guidance, I was able to achieve such results."
As soon as these words were spoken, all eyes immediately turned to the English teacher of Class 5 at the front of the line.
The English teacher herself was also taken aback, never expecting Lu Yuan to mention her. She didn't even remember paying special attention to Lu Yuan's studies.
But now, all she can do is stand tall and proudly accept the gazes and praise of the crowd.
"Then I hope everyone can focus more on reviewing, summarize the experience of this exam, identify and fill in the gaps in their knowledge, and make targeted improvements to strive for ideal results in the college entrance examination."
Lu Yuan's speech was brief and simple, without too many fancy words. After he finished speaking, however, the applause he had expected did not come from the audience.
The room was filled with hushed whispers; everyone still couldn't accept that a student who had consistently ranked last in English had suddenly made a comeback and taken first place in the subject.
Lu Yuan didn't care about this cold reception.
He knew in his heart that there were still two mock exams and the final college entrance examination to come. He had enough strength to prove that he had not gotten lucky this time, and that his subsequent results would only get better and better.
When that time comes, all doubts will be dispelled.
"Haha, not bad, not bad, well said." Zhang Dabiao quickly stepped forward, awkwardly smiling as he took the microphone, trying to smooth things over, "These students are all role models for our grade. Everyone should be proud of them and learn from them."
"The director just said we should learn from this, but now you're taking pride in it?"
Someone in the audience muttered a complaint, which instantly ignited the entire venue, with laughter erupting one after another, causing Zhang Dabiao's face to turn pale and then red.
He secretly vowed to interrogate Lu Yuan thoroughly to find out what secrets he was hiding.
After the commendation meeting, Lu Yuan returned to his class and walked to the very back of the line.
Many students along the way congratulated him and asked him for advice on how to improve his studies, showing great enthusiasm.
However, a few people in the crowd looked unhappy and were clearly displeased.
Li Xian, who had always disliked Lu Yuan, was so angry that his face turned ashen, his chest heaving violently, and he almost suffered a stroke.