The fourth monthly exam was over, and as the time for the results to be announced approached, the atmosphere in the Year 3, Class 10 classroom grew quite tense.

Some students were restlessly spinning their pens, which kept clattering onto their desks. Others craned their necks toward the classroom door, eagerly awaiting the appearance of Sun Guotao.

When Sun Guotao received the results, he was stunned. He figured it was a good thing he had a strong heart. Otherwise, seeing his students’ scores improve by such a huge margin every single time would probably make his heart pound with joy and excitement.

The vice principal beside him sighed in admiration. "Old Sun, you’ve really got the magic touch, teaching these kids so well."

Sun Guotao replied, "It’s not really because of me. These kids are the main reason—they were excellent to begin with. A few of them should have been in the Experimental Class."

’Li Mei held them all back!’

Sun Guotao took off his glasses and wiped them with a cloth. "If I had gotten to them sooner," he said with a sigh, "their scores would definitely be even better."

Although Class 10’s overall ranking for both total and average scores was still third, they were only one point shy of second-place Experimental Class 2!

Most students in Class 2 ranked between 50th and 100th place. However, when students from other classes broke into that bracket, some of Class 2’s students would get pushed beyond 100th place.

And to top it all off, one student from Class 10 had actually broken into the top ten of the overall ranking!

That single-handedly yanked up their class average!

Sun Guotao took a sip of tea to calm his racing heart. Only then did he pick up the grade report and head toward the Year 3, Class 10 classroom.

During evening self-study, other classes would be bustling with noise if a teacher wasn’t there to supervise. That’s just how kids are sometimes—full of energy. If they’re suppressed for too long, they’ll seize any chance to let it out.

However, when Sun Guotao reached the Class 10 classroom, he found it was quiet. While there was the occasional murmur of conversation, a closer listen revealed that the students were discussing a complex problem.

The scratching sound of pen tips gliding across test papers filled the air. In that moment, Sun Guotao felt it was the most beautiful music in the world.

Qin Jiao, who sat in the front row, was the first to spot him when he appeared, clutching his signature large tea mug. This was the last monthly exam before finals. Their midterm had been canceled earlier in the year due to a policy change, so in a way, these results served as a summary of their work over the last six months.

She hadn’t completed her senior year in her previous life, so she was eager to see the fruits of her labor from the past six months.

Seeing Mr. Sun come in, the students of Class 10 all tacitly stopped writing. They looked up at him with expectant faces; even Chen Feng was tense with nerves.

"Mr. Sun, you’re so late today," the lively Jiang Xiaoyue said, growing a little anxious when he didn’t speak right away.

’Ugh, I feel like I did pretty well this time. What if I made it into the top two hundred on the overall ranking!’

This time, Sun Guotao wasn’t smiling. He bowed deeply to the entire class with a grave expression, stunning the students into silence.

Qin Jiao was taken aback. "Mr. Sun, what are you doing?"

"I am so sorry, everyone. If only I could have become your homeroom teacher sooner."

’Just how much had Li Mei held these kids back!’

After all, on this exam, even the lowest-scoring student in the class had ranked in the three-hundreds, while the top student had broken into the top ten.

The students’ rankings were almost all between 50th and 150th place—which was exactly why their class average was about to catch up to Class 2’s!