Chapter 13

The next day, James looked particularly cheerful as he walked into the classroom. His gaze lingered on Jonathan for a few extra seconds. "The test results are in! Everyone performed well, especially since we have a student who scored a perfect score!" The students started talking excitedly among themselves as soon as he finished speaking. "Frederick, you're amazing! You actually got a perfect score!" "Wow! Perfect score! I wish I could score like that one day!" "Haha, Stella, Frederick is pretty impressive, don't you think?" They were teasing Frederick, assuming the perfect score belonged to him. After all, his academic performance was well-known, and it seemed impossible that anyone other than him could have achieved a perfect score. Frederick was beaming with pride. He had guessed one of the five-point multiple-choice questions, which he wasn't completely confident about. It seemed like his luck had paid off! Listening to the chatter around her, Stella looked at him with admiration. She was attracted to smart men, and he certainly met her criteria. Hearing the students' discussions, James glanced at Jonathan with a complicated expression. "Alright, settle down. I will now announce the results of this test. Michelle, 0 points, last place in the class." Jonathan couldn't help but turn his head. Michelle walked up to the teacher, her face full of grievance as she took her blank math test paper. Last place? Owen was stunned. Shouldn't Jonathan be in last place? He often failed his math exams… The students were more lenient toward Michelle, especially because she was so sweet and pretty. "It's okay, Michelle! You're new to our class, so it's normal that you couldn't keep up with the pace of the lessons." "Yeah, don't put too much pressure on yourself. If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask me! I'll help you out for sure!" "Michelle must have been sick. Jonathan brought her cold medicine yesterday." The male students suddenly realized that she must have been sick. Owen couldn't help but guess that Jonathan was in second to last place. After their earlier brawl, he still remembered how fiercely he hated Jonathan. He sneered before James could speak. "Jonathan really has guts. How dare he say he would get first place! If he really gets first place, I'll eat shit!" The class burst into laughter. "Gracefield High School is a century-old prestigious school," a male student said. "Trash like Jonathan is an embarrassment!" Someone chimed in, "He's just looking for attention with that bet. Does he even have a clue?" "Mr. Scott, hurry up and announce Jonathan's score! Otherwise, he won't believe it until he sees the results!" one of them urged. Owen was pleased, imagining the embarrassed look on Jonathan's face. James, struggling to hold back his discomfort, felt disgusted by how openly the students mocked their peers. This was no different from bullying! He despised such behavior—students should get along, not try to belittle each other. With a dark expression, he looked at Owen and asked, "Owen, how many points do you think you got?" Owen confidently answered, "Definitely over 120 points!" He had never scored less than 120 in math! James's voice turned stern. He tapped the desk with his finger before pulling out a test paper and coldly announcing, "Owen, 87 points. You didn't pass. You scored the second last place in the class. You should reflect on that." Owen was dumbfounded. What? Only 87 points? The shock was so great it felt like lightning struck him. The score was absurdly low! He was stunned, walking up to James in a daze. As he flipped through the test paper, he saw that he had made careless mistakes on a few easy questions. Just moments ago, he had been mocking Jonathan, but it turned out he was the one who made a fool of himself. His face turned red with embarrassment. He wanted to find a hole to hide in! Jonathan's light, nonchalant voice suddenly cut through the tension. Though not loud, it was clear enough for everyone in the class to hear. "Owen, don't forget to go eat shit." "Jonathan, what are you so smug about? Do you really think you'll get first place?" Owen snapped, unable to hold back his frustration but still holding himself back in class. James shook his head and continued announcing the scores. Two minutes later, he cleared his throat and called, "Stella, 142 points; third place in the class." Stella froze. Third? She only got third place? She wasn't happy with her rank this time. James had continued calling out names from lowest to highest score. After a few more names, Stella still hadn't heard Jonathan's name, and her pupils widened. The students who had been ready to mock Jonathan instantly fell silent. The class was so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Jonathan had bet that he would get first place; if he didn't, he would definitely lose, no matter how much he had improved. Therefore, the students were prepared for a spectacle. However, as James announced the results, most of the class had already been called, and only Jonathan and Frederick remained. Frederick's face went pale, and his hands, resting under the desk, were drenched in cold sweat. This couldn't be true. He would always be number one, and no one could challenge his position. This time, he was bound to be the undisputed first place in the math test! James's gaze turned to Frederick and calmly announced, "Frederick, 145 points, second place. You only missed one multiple-choice question. Good job. Keep it up." The class exploded in shock! "What? He only ranked second?" "Mr. Scott said someone got a perfect score. The only person left is Jonathan. Did he really get a perfect score? What kind of joke is this?" The students couldn't believe it. Jonathan, who had always been at the bottom of the class, could never have gotten a perfect score! Frederick froze in place, then abruptly stood up, questioning in disbelief, "Mr. Scott, did you read the scores wrong?" James replied calmly, "There's no mistake. You scored 145." Then, he glanced toward Jonathan. "Jonathan, among all the students, your improvement in math is the most remarkable. You scored a perfect 150!" The students erupted in disbelief. "I don't believe it—perfect score? Are you kidding me?" "Jonathan doesn't have what it takes to get a perfect score!" "Ridiculous! He doesn't have the skill to ace the test, but cheating? Now that's his forte!" Was this the same Jonathan who was always at the bottom of the class rankings—with a spot way past 1,000 in the entire school—who had suddenly scored first? It was absolutely absurd! "Jonathan, you must have gotten the answer key and copied everything!" someone exclaimed. Another student added, "You're desperate to win, so you resort to any means necessary! How shameless!" "Frederick, you scored 145, so how could he possibly beat your score? He has to be cheating!" a third student said.