Chapter 218: Youthful ⑤
After all the teachers and students in the school had taken their positions according to their respective classes, the Principal stood on the lectern and delivered some official remarks. Following that, the Dean of Students walked onto the lectern on the sports field to congratulate students who had performed well in the exams and encourage those who hadn’t. He then announced, “Next, I will read out the list of the top ten students in each grade. The first place in the grade will have their tuition and miscellaneous fees waived, and will receive a scholarship of five thousand yuan.”
After Ai Si Yuan learned that he was not the first place in the entire grade, and that the first place in the entire grade was not in his class, he kept wondering which student from Class 2 had achieved first place in the entire grade. Since Class 1 and Class 2 were fast classes, if the first place in the entire grade wasn’t in his class, he couldn’t think of anyone else besides Class 2.
Like many others, the students of Class 10 believed that their success in surpassing Class 5 during the monthly exam was due to their focused study that month. Therefore, they felt that if the exam covered the knowledge of the entire semester, Class 10’s grades would not be impressive.
However, upon seeing Nie Qiu from Class 10 stand on the lectern as the third-grade’s first place, alongside the first-place winners from the first and second grades, Ai Si Yuan realized he had been mistaken. Class 10’s victory over Class 5 was definitely not a fluke; it was a result of their hard work.
The first-place winner would receive a certificate and a scholarship. Although the second and third-place winners would not receive scholarships, they would still get certificates. When the Dean of Students called out the names of Ai Si Yuan and Zhang Qidi, they exchanged a look and walked onto the lectern on the sports field.
Joining them on the lectern were the second and third-place winners from the first and second grades. Ai Si Yuan looked at Nie Qiu, who stood in front of him. It was the first time he stood on the podium in second place. To be honest, he was a local, and his grades were good. Regardless of whether his tuition fees were waived, he didn’t care about the five thousand yuan. What he cared about was his ranking.
He never expected to lose to someone who only started putting in effort in the third grade! However, he had no choice but to believe it; the person was indeed standing in front of him, it wasn’t a dream.
Zhang Qidi was also surprised. To be honest, compared to Ai Si Yuan, Zhang Qidi was more familiar with Nie Qiu. This was because Nie Aifang and Zhang Qitian sold vegetables at the market, and Nie Qiu and Zhang Qidi often visited them after school, making them more acquainted. When he walked onto the lectern to meet Nie Qiu, he even quietly greeted her.
The Principal held the certificates, and amidst the background music from the broadcast room, he presented the certificates, which were held by a student acting as an usher, to each recipient. He then handed the money, enclosed in envelopes, to the first-place winners of the three grades.
While distributing the certificates, the Principal inevitably offered some words of encouragement.
After the certificates were handed out, the Dean of Students said with a smile, “I want to specially commend the students of Class 10 this time. Last semester, Class 10 was the last place in the entire grade. This time, the students of Class 10 have achieved a total score that ranks third in the entire grade. For this, the school has decided to award Class 10 the Diligent Study and Progress Award certificate.”
The Principal smiled, took a certificate from the usher’s tray, and stood on it. Teacher Yang took a deep breath, tugged at the hem of his clothes, and walked onto the lectern. Teaching Class 10, to be honest, he had been teased by teachers from other classes more than once about their learning progress, what he taught, or the homework he assigned. Honestly, he felt uncomfortable, but what could he do about feeling uncomfortable? The students wouldn’t change.
But now, his students had improved. After a semester of hard work and continued effort, if their total scores in the next semester could consistently remain in the top three of the entire grade, then more than half of his students would be able to get into a good high school. This was something he had never even dared to imagine since he took over Class 10 in the first grade.
Standing on the lectern, he accepted the certificate handed to him by the Principal. He stood straight, chest out, abdomen in, and looked at the more than one thousand to nearly two thousand teachers and students on the sports field. He… was standing on the lectern as the homeroom teacher of Class 10. He was proud; he was honored.
After the certificates and prize money were distributed, those who received them, after taking photos, walked off the lectern.
Nie Qiu held the prize money in her hand, and it still felt very unreal to her. Because the results were announced and then they immediately came for the flag-raising ceremony, Li Kai still didn’t know his ranking. Seeing Nie Qiu receive the scholarship, although he was anxious, he was also happy for Nie Qiu.
Since the holiday was approaching, the Principal spoke at length, but it was mostly official remarks about safety and winter holiday homework. By the time the Principal finished speaking, it was almost eleven o’clock. The students returned to their classrooms, and Teacher Yang had a few male students move a desk to the lectern. He then stood on the desk and affixed the progress award certificate their class had received onto the blackboard.
After Teacher Yang left, since Zhang Haiyang had previously stated that the entire class would stay behind, all the students helped the class monitor’s arranged classmates with cleaning and a thorough cleaning.
Author’s note: I have an exam today, sorry, I will make up for it tomorrow.
