Chapter 31: Two Plans for Dividing the Classes

For the next month, Ming Han could only take his basketball and shoot hoops, but he played with extreme caution, barely daring to jump with any force at all.

Meanwhile, the tense final exams were approaching—a crucial test, for next year they would be entering the ninth grade. Both teachers and parents regarded the coming year as a turning point in life, though in truth, it was but a fleeting scene on the long road of existence.

Da Xu was very upset. “Ming Han, I heard people say that next year they might reorganize the classes. And there are two possible plans!”

“Two plans?” A crowd quickly gathered, curious for more.

“The first plan, they say, is that the academic office will take the top fifty students from the past two years and form a single class—the best in the whole county—with the head of the academic office as their homeroom teacher, aiming for the provincial First High School.”

A chorus of sighs rose from the group, expressing their dissatisfaction. Class Thirteen, though the best among the four top classes, had only fourteen students in the top fifty. That meant the other forty or so would be reassigned elsewhere.

Chen Li looked crestfallen at this; her grades hovered around the hundredth place. Clearly, she would not be able to stay in this class.

Huang Ying hugged Chen Li tightly. “Lili, I don’t want you to leave!”

Huang Ying was among the top five in the class and the top female student. Her scores always kept her securely within the top twenty of the grade. According to the homeroom teacher, as long as she stayed the course, the provincial First High School was absolutely within reach.

Ming Han felt uneasy as well. After all, these classmates had spent two years together and gotten along quite well. The school seemed utterly heartless.

Of course, not everyone disliked this kind of reorganization. One academic star, ranked second, said, “This is wonderful! Finally, in class, I won’t have to listen to the teacher explain such easy material anymore.”

Even within the elite class, there were gaps in ability, so teachers often had to adjust the pace for those lagging behind. The academic elite always felt this was a waste of their time. The benefit of such a plan was that teachers could lead the top students to tackle the hardest problems directly. Of course, these advantages were only for the academic stars.

Da Xu saw the heated discussion, with many angrily cursing the school, and added, “Actually, there’s a second plan.”

“Tell us…”

“It’s said that the other plan is to keep things as they are, but move any student who isn’t in the top two hundred of the grade from each class into the ordinary classes.”

This plan was more humane than the previous one, though Class Thirteen still had four or five students ranked outside the two hundred.

For example, our very own Da Xu! He had spent the past two years playing plenty of video games, and his grades had slipped accordingly. Back in elementary school, his scores were even a bit better than Ming Han’s. It took Da Xu two full years of relentless effort to drag his ranking down past two hundred.

Hearing everyone say the second plan was better, Da Xu threw his head back and wailed, “My brothers and sisters! Don’t forget me! I am also your comrade on this journey of youth—how can you bear to leave me to fend for myself in a strange environment?”

Because Da Xu spent so much time at internet cafes, he wasn’t particularly close with many in the class. His outburst left the group silent, unsure how to respond.

Ming Han said, “Just do your best on this final exam! I heard it counts for thirty percent of the total grade. As long as you make it into the top one hundred fifty, you’ll be fine.”