Xu Ming acted immediately, pulling out his straw-colored draft book and starting to work on the fill-in-the-blank questions.
He immersed himself in it, quickly regaining the feel he had when solving problems that morning.
There was a confidence that came naturally to him.
He had already reviewed all the knowledge points in the textbook, and with his ability to flexibly apply various formulas and theorems, he would have a clear idea after a quick review of the problem, and then derive the accurate result.
His steps were logical, and errors were almost nonexistent.
On the podium, Wang Qingtao meticulously explained the problems and did not pay attention to Xu Ming's situation.
Time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, two evening self-study sessions had passed.
"I don't know how many times I've explained this, but when you're doing problems, always remember the twelve maxims I give you."
"Clear thinking, simple process, accurate answer."
"I hope this is the last time; otherwise, my mouth will be sore from talking."
After explaining another Geometry problem, Wang Qingtao used a humorous and relaxed tone to impart his experience to the students, which was his usual teaching style.
He hoped that students would like him as a teacher and, by extension, develop a strong interest in mathematics.
This would help improve their grades.
Amidst the knowing smiles and laughter in the class, the bell for class dismissal rang on time.
Wang Qingtao did not continue to drag on the class; he placed the chalk and test papers in his hand on the lectern and called out:
"Take a break."
Immediately, the classroom became lively; some went to the restroom, while others continued to study their incorrect problems.
It was only then that he remembered Xu Ming.
His gaze involuntarily fell on him.
In his line of sight, Xu Ming looked focused, seemingly writing something, which made him a little restless.
"Could it be that he copied the problem-solving process I just explained?"
Wang Qingtao shook his head and muttered to himself, then actively walked towards Xu Ming's seat.
Rewriting the problem-solving process, while common for many, seemed to indicate that one was listening attentively, but the most crucial thing was to truly understand the problem-solving approach.
One needed to be able to grasp it thoroughly and apply it to similar problems.
Otherwise, the next time a similar problem appeared, even if slightly modified, he would still be completely clueless.
He would just write 'Solution' and leave it at that.
He affirmed Xu Ming's attitude, but not his method.
So he wanted to explain it clearly to him, to maximize his mathematics score in the remaining hundred days.
In doing so, he would be worthy of his position.
Li Wenhui, looking refreshed, had just stood up when he noticed the homeroom teacher walking towards Xu Ming; a knowing look quickly appeared on his face, and he remained seated, not moving his feet.
He was looking forward to what was about to happen from the bottom of his heart.
"Is Xu Ming going to get scolded?"
After a brief few seconds of hesitation, he turned around and sat facing away from the podium, which allowed him to see both Xu Ming and the homeroom teacher clearly.
"Turning in a blank paper for such a simple test will lower the class's university admission rate by who knows how much."
"It would be strange if he didn't get chewed out."
Just as Li Wenhui was gloating, Wang Qingtao walked up to Xu Ming and lowered his gaze to the test paper.
The paper, which had been completely blank before, was now filled with formulas and symbols.
At first, he didn't think much of it, believing his judgment was correct—that Xu Ming had copied the answers. But when he glimpsed the problem-solving process, his pupils suddenly constricted, filled with shock.
He discovered that the steps on the paper were different from what he had just explained; it was another method of solving the problem.
"Could it be that he re-answered it?"
Feeling surprised, he didn't ask directly but sat down beside him.
He glanced over, carefully examining the proof method for the problem.
This problem was about finding the minimum value of a function. The method he taught everyone was quite clever, minimizing complex Formula Derivation steps to make it easier for others to understand.
But Xu Ming chose the opposite approach, which involved theorems from other knowledge points.
If he wasn't confident in his abilities, even a slight mistake would lead him into a dead end, needlessly wasting precious exam time.
Yet, this method was also correct and could similarly prove the result.
Just as Wang Qingtao was filled with curiosity, Xu Ming finally finished answering the last challenging problem about the implicit zero point of a derivative.
"Finally done."
He casually tossed the pen onto the paper, and his tense mind instantly relaxed.
"Whoosh~"
He slowly exhaled, just about to stand up and stretch, when the homeroom teacher's voice suddenly rang in his ear.
"Let me see your paper."
Xu Ming turned his head at the sound and, seeing that it was indeed Wang Qingtao, instinctively leaned back against the wall.
He stammered, "Te... Teacher Wang."
He had been so focused on solving problems that he hadn't noticed his deskmate had already changed.
Wang Qingtao directly picked up the paper, his gaze falling on the last few Geometry problems that had been covered by the draft paper. He found that Xu Ming had completed all of them, and he still couldn't find any mistakes.
He knew that he hadn't even covered this part during the two self-study sessions.
In other words, Xu Ming didn't turn in a blank paper because he couldn't answer; he clearly chose not to do it before.
Understanding the true situation, he took a deep breath and looked at Xu Ming, asking.
"Why didn't you write anything during the exam?"
"Uh... I have my own study plan," Xu Ming paused, then gave this answer.
Wang Qingtao fell into a brief silence, then picked up a pen and, for the second time, graded the test paper on the spot.
Aside from a few multiple-choice questions he got wrong at the beginning, he received full marks for the fill-in-the-blank and Geometry problems.
Finally, he wrote the number 130 at the top of the paper.
Faced with such an utterly unexpected result, Wang Qingtao recalled what other subject teachers had reported these past two days: Xu Ming was indeed studying mathematics at his own pace and with his own methods.
Given this, turning in a blank paper the day before yesterday made sense.
However, in his impression, those who did this were usually the promising students from key municipal high schools who participated in mathematics competitions.
Thinking that Dongping No. 1 High School didn't have such an environment, his expression showed some regret.
He quickly adjusted his thoughts, raised his hand, and patted Xu Ming's shoulder, his tone subtly mixed with emotion.
"In the future, try to use simpler methods when solving problems. Also, don't give up on other subjects; the college entrance exam won't just look at your mathematics score."
Xu Ming took back the paper, a hint of embarrassment on his face. It wasn't that he deliberately increased the difficulty of the problem-solving; it was mainly that after drawing the 'Formula Derivation' entry, he grew to love the process of derivation even more.
The deeper his understanding of formulas, the clearer he could see the logic behind mathematics.
As these thoughts were running through his mind, Wang Qingtao suddenly stood up and solemnly called out to the students in the classroom:
"I'd like to make a correction here: Xu Ming's actual score is 130 points."
Almost as soon as his words fell, a commotion erupted in the class. Li Wenhui, who was waiting to see Xu Ming get scolded, had his mouth wide open, almost touching the floor.
His face was filled with countless question marks.
What the hell?
Shouldn't the homeroom teacher be sternly criticizing him? Why is he praising him instead?
Moreover, he personally collected the test papers, and Xu Ming clearly hadn't answered anything. Where did such a high score come from?