Chapter 48: The Grass Shakes in the Wind

When school let out at noon, Shi Zhaodi was called to the teacher's office by the mathematics teacher.

The math teacher handed her the mock exam paper from that morning. Shi Zhaodi saw a rather startling number written on it—59.

This meant she had failed this mock examination.

It was a score she had never received since entering middle school.

"Take a look through your exam paper first and see where you went wrong," the math teacher said gently to Shi Zhaodi.

Shi Zhaodi then reviewed the test paper from beginning to end.

She discovered that there were many problems she actually knew how to solve, yet had gotten wrong.

"Teacher Lin, I've finished looking. I'm sorry, I did terribly on this test." Shi Zhaodi raised her head after finishing the review and apologized to the math teacher.

"In truth, given your ability, you shouldn't have scored this low, even with this level of difficulty. Besides, I noticed your state of mind was clearly not right during this exam. Was it because you were sick yesterday and still feel unwell?" the math teacher asked mildly.

"No, I feel fine today. It's just that I was too careless and misread several questions," Shi Zhaodi replied honestly.

"Careless? Why? You're usually quite meticulous."

"When I reached the second problem, I couldn't work it out for a long time and wasted some minutes. That made me nervous, and after that, nothing went right."

"Is that so? That means your mental fortitude needs some strengthening! In the high school entrance examination, difficult questions aren't necessarily placed at the very end. If you encounter a hard one right at the start, you can skip it and come back to it later. Don't keep fixating on the same problem," the math teacher instructed.

"Understood, I'll pay attention next time," Shi Zhaodi nodded and replied.

"Zhaodi, I've heard that you've been tutoring Zou Kai lately. Do you find it overwhelming?" The math teacher paused for a moment, then looked at Shi Zhaodi and asked with a slightly cautious expression.

"Not at all. He's actually very clever. As long as he's willing to listen carefully, he always catches on instantly!" Shi Zhaodi shook her head and answered.

"Helping one another among classmates is how it should be, especially since you're the class monitor—you ought to help your peers even more. But while helping others, make sure you don't let it affect yourself. Zou Kai has improved a great deal in this mock exam, but you have regressed. This isn't what teachers want to see," the math teacher said earnestly.

"I'll be mindful of it next time!" Shi Zhaodi replied.

"Zhaodi, if you feel this is interfering with your studies and find it difficult to tell the head teacher, it's fine if I speak to them on your behalf."

"No, it's not like that. My poor performance this time is entirely my own fault and has nothing to do with the tutoring," Shi Zhaodi hurriedly shook her head to respond.

"That's good then. If you run into any difficulties, feel free to come straight to me," the math teacher said in conclusion, looking at her.

"Okay, thank you, teacher!"

Shi Zhaodi left the teachers' office. Although she was still somewhat puzzled as to why the math teacher connected her poor exam score to the tutoring sessions with Zou Kai, she didn't dwell on it.