Chapter 34: Shall I Explain the Problem?

"149? How the hell is that even possible!!!"

It wasn't just Yang Jingtian who found it inconceivable; at that moment, the entire classroom erupted in murmurs of shock and disbelief.

It was simply too incredible to fathom.

One point away from a perfect score? Was this really the same Chu Nan as before?

Because everyone present was so stunned, even the fact that Jiang Yuwei had achieved a perfect score was momentarily overlooked. Only Chu Nan and Jiang Yuwei exchanged a knowing smile as they passed each other.

For her part, Jiang Yuwei felt somewhat dazed. Could it be that he truly had the ability to get into a top-tier university?

"Everyone performed quite well on this English exam, especially our student Chu Nan, whose score has improved by over forty points. You should all learn from him."

Zhang Hao found this score of Chu Nan’s absolutely impossible to accept. Upon hearing the English teacher's praise, he spoke up almost instinctively, "Teacher Lin, did you make a mistake? Chu Nan usually scores around a hundred or so in English; how could he possibly score 149 this time?"

"Exactly, Teacher Lin. I could accept it if he scored 120 or 130, but how could he jump from a hundred to 149—nearly perfect—so directly? Did you grade the paper wrong?" Tian Jiaojiao, sitting nearby, couldn't help but chime in.

Since Chu Nan’s grades were usually on par with hers, she simply couldn't accept such a massive disparity. She had intended to attend the same university as him; based on their previous scores, that would have been a second-tier institution. Seeing Chu Nan suddenly show such prowess was something she couldn't stomach at all.

Although Yang Jingtian wasn't exactly thrilled that his buddy had scored so high, he didn't appreciate these two constantly targeting his friend. He stood up abruptly and shouted, "What is the matter with you two? If you want to accuse Chu Nan of cheating, just say it outright!"

Chu Nan shook his head with a wry smile, wondering if his friend was actually helping him or if he was just making things worse.

"Well, Yang Jingtian, those are your words, not mine. If his own desk-mate suspects he cheated, what are the rest of us supposed to think?"

At Zhang Hao's remark, the classroom broke into an uproar. When they thought about it, it did seem suspicious: how could someone who usually scored around a hundred suddenly score nearly a perfect mark? Even with progress, such a leap seemed impossible.

Scoring in the 140s might not be difficult for some, but getting a near-perfect score is a different matter. Even top students like Yang Liuqing and Zhang Hao couldn't manage a perfect score, let alone a perennial underachiever like Chu Nan.

Yang Jingtian’s face turned beet red. "You—you’re full of crap! I didn't say he cheated! I was saying that if you suspect him, you need to provide evidence!"

Zhang Hao laughed wildly. "I already told you, I’m not the one suspecting him—you are."

Lin Qi laughed. "Alright, stop arguing. Chu Nan, they say you cheated. What do you think?"

Chu Nan smiled. "Teacher, do you believe me?"

"As your teacher, I naturally believe you."

"Then, Teacher Lin, how do you suggest I prove my innocence?"

"Looking at your paper, you practically got a perfect score, save for one mistake in the listening section. Why don't you take over the next two periods and teach the class? Walk them through this mock exam. How about that?"

In truth, Lin Qi didn't fully believe Chu Nan could score that high, but he was a man who believed in facts. If one wanted to prove their innocence, it was simple: prove it with strength. Lin Qi was willing to give him this chance. If Chu Nan refused, it didn't matter—the college entrance exam was only days away, and a score gained through cheating meant nothing. The entrance exam was strictly proctored; getting caught cheating there would ruin his life. Thus, to Lin Qi, whether Chu Nan cheated or not wasn't the point, but as a teacher, he had to go through the motions.

"Sure, I'll take charge of the lecture." To Chu Nan, this English paper held no difficulty; the listening section was a breeze if he just paid a little attention. If he could get a perfect score, surely he could explain the material?

The others watched him in utter shock. Could he really have achieved that score through his own ability?

"Fine, let's begin. I'll be the student for once today," Lin Qi said with a smile.

Chu Nan took the test paper and stepped onto the podium. "I don't want to go through every question. Some are too simple and would be a waste of time. Everyone, just point out the questions you got wrong, and I'll explain them."

"Question 63, the fill-in-the-blank. Why can't we just put 'help'?" someone asked, raising their hand.

"Let's look at this. The sentence is: 'I will do what I can [help] you solve the problem.' Why can't you put 'help' directly? Because if you add another 'help,' you have an extra predicate. This sentence already has its subject, predicate, and object complete. 'I' is the subject, 'will do' is the predicate, and 'what I can' is the object. Therefore, we can only use a non-finite verb. We need 'to help.' 'To help' here serves to explain the preceding 'what I can.' Get it?"

"Isn't there a fixed collocation?"

Chu Nan smiled. "Not every sentence relies on fixed collocations, and this question has nothing to do with one."

"Alright, I see. Thank you, I was just careless!"

"I have a question too, the second-to-last fill-in-the-blank question," a girl said with a frown. "I feel like whatever I put for 'be' doesn't work. It can't be 'is' or 'are,' and the past tense doesn't fit either. So what goes there?"

"Let's look at the sentence: 'We felt lucky [be] alive after the earthquake.' Translated, it means we felt lucky to have survived the earthquake. What did you write?"

"I wrote 'were'."

"You thought of it as a simple past tense, but that's too simplistic. Actually, the subject, predicate, and object of this sentence are already complete. If you add 'were,' you have an extra predicate, which is obviously wrong."

"Oh, right! 'We felt lucky' is already a complete sentence." The girl’s eyes lit up.

"Exactly. So before we write anything, we must first consider if the sentence structure is complete, and then consider if there's a fixed collocation. This sentence has one: 'feel lucky to do something,' meaning to feel lucky to perform an action. So, what belongs here is the infinitive 'to be'."

"Then why isn't it 'to is' or 'to are'?"

"Because 'be' is the base form of 'is' or 'are,' and 'to do something' uses the base form, doesn't it? Besides, when we learn English, we rarely hear of 'to is' or 'to are,' right?"

"So that's how it is. I understand."

"Next!"

Watching Chu Nan speak with such ease and logical clarity, He Qianqian’s expression became complicated. Was this guy actually this good at English? Had he been faking his poor performance all along? And if so, had he been faking his feelings for her, too?

In an instant, He Qianqian suddenly felt that what Tian Jiaojiao had said earlier might not have been entirely baseless.