Volume 1 Rebirth - The Eve of High School Chapter 8 Midterm Exam

  In this compact and passionate summer of '97, Ai Ziying welcomed a major turning point in her life - the high school entrance exam.

  The exam lasts for two days, with math, language and English on the first day, and humanities and science comprehensives on the second day.

  Ziying's exam venue was the Second Middle School. As she strolled into the examination hall, she unexpectedly ran into a familiar face - her cousin Ai Jia. The two exchanged a glance, and Ziying nodded slightly as she walked to her seat. It wasn't that Ziying didn't have any nervous energy; it was just that this small scene was really nothing to get excited about, especially for someone who had been through more than one such experience before.

  Ai Jia rolled her eyes, wondering how her cousin had become so polite and courteous since their last meeting. It was obvious that she used to be mean to her and they would often quarrel, but now she's being so friendly that Ai Jia felt a bit uncomfortable with it.

  Before Ai Jia had time to clear her head, the invigilating teachers walked in, a total of three people, one in front and two at the back on either side. The first subject was math, and after the test papers were handed out, the teacher in front spoke up: "Classmates, please note that the requirements are as follows: the entire exam will last 100 minutes, you can hand in your paper after 40 minutes, but you are not allowed to speak, turn your head or pass things around. Place the scratch paper on your desk and the teacher will check it. Write your name here, be sure to write your school and student number correctly, don't think that the teacher won't notice if you try to sneak in some small movements, once you're caught cheating, you'll be expelled from the exam room immediately and get a zero on the mid-term exam! The bell will ring to signal the start of the test."

  After finishing, he sat down, and the bell rang immediately. The teacher took a magazine to flip through in front, but his eyes never left the students on the examination room. Everyone also knew that this was the teacher's usual trick to lure restless students into making small movements, and then catch them in the act!

  The quiet classroom was filled with the sound of blue pens scratching against paper, as the rules for the middle school entrance exam required all answers to be written in blue pen, and drawings to be done in 2B pencil, very strict.

  After half an hour, Ai Zi Qing had already finished answering the test paper and checked it again to make sure there were no mistakes, then she stood alone waiting with her pen.

  When the exam had gone on for 40 minutes, the teacher in front just announced that they could hand in their papers. Ai Zi Qing gathered her things, stood up and handed in her paper, then flashed out of the room.

  In this sweltering summer, looking at the beautiful and slender back of a girl in white clothes, for a moment everyone in the classroom maintained a dazed gaze. At this time, more than half of the people in the classroom had not finished answering the previous multiple-choice questions and fill-in-the-blanks, while some comrades who were doing the questions from back to front had only just finished a few big questions with great effort, secretly feeling pleased that they still had 60 minutes to do the previous multiple-choice questions and fill-in-the-blanks. But then someone actually handed in their paper at this time? Even if you've finished the test, aren't you going to review it?

  Time waits for no man! The entire classroom bowed their heads in unison, starting to sweat profusely as they continued to focus on doing the exercises, who dares to waste any more time thinking about other things?

  Even the invigilating teacher was stunned, having never seen a student finish so quickly. During the middle school entrance exams, which student wasn't dawdling until the last minute, checking and rechecking their papers to make sure everything was correct before handing them in? Even poor students rarely dared to hand in their papers this early. The teacher thought to himself, "This kid must not be very good at studying, just carelessly finishing the test and handing it in." With that thought, the teacher sighed, "These kids nowadays! None of them can appreciate the hardships of their parents! If they don't study hard, what will become of them?"

  Thinking of it, I picked up Ziying's roll of paper and took a casual glance. Hmm? Continuing to look down, the further down I looked, the wider my eyes became...

  Ziying returned home, extremely bored, and continued to practice her clairvoyance. Through these days of training, she found that especially when practicing with objects that were not easy to penetrate, such as steel or stone, it was easier to increase her energy. This discovery made Ziying very happy.

  In the afternoon, when Ziying arrived at the examination room, the teacher was chatting with two other teachers in a low voice. When they saw Ziying walk into the classroom, the three of them fell silent and glanced at her secretly while continuing their conversation. The content of their conversation was actually about Ziying. This time, Ziying handed in her paper too early, so the teacher had time to pick up her test paper and check it. Who knew that as he looked through it, he became more and more astonished? She had finished the math test in just 40 minutes and got a perfect score! Her thought process was clear and logical when answering the big questions, and there were no points to deduct. It was almost unbelievable. This year's middle school entrance examination questions weren't very difficult, relatively simple, otherwise, the admission line of Yizhong wouldn't be so high. But getting a perfect score in 40 minutes was still surprising! After that, the teacher discussed this matter with the other two teachers, and they agreed to pay close attention to this student's paper. If she continued to perform outstandingly, they would notify the school authorities, who would definitely recruit this excellent student to Erzhong with favorable conditions.

  In the afternoon, there was a language exam. Ziqing had been focusing on this exam for some time and mainly studied liberal arts, especially parts that required memorization, such as reciting texts. Except for the composition section, she roughly reviewed the pages and felt that everything should be fine, then turned to prepare for writing.

  This time, the middle school entrance exam essay is a semi-open topic essay. The topic is【Thinking——】 Ziying doesn't know what to write about either. Suddenly, she thinks of the 1997 Asian financial storm that caused so many people to go bankrupt and lose their jobs. This storm has just begun to blow, writing something about its impact on future generations, hoping someone will see it, think deeply, and gain some inspiration.

  So the title is "Thinking of the Asian Financial Storm Bringing Enlightenment to China"

  July 2, 1997, the Asian financial storm swept Thailand, and the Thai baht devalued. Soon, this storm swept Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, shattering the image of Asia's rapid economic development. The economies of some major Asian countries began to decline, and the political situation in some countries also began to become chaotic... ...The degree of openness of a country's economy is based on strong economic strength and a stable government foundation. Only with robust economic strength and a solid government can we talk about truly developing the economy... ...An economist must have a correct outlook on life and values to promote social progress and development; otherwise, he will not be a true economist and will hinder economic development... ...Only by increasing comprehensive national power can a country stand invincible.

  I roughly thought about it for a bit, and it's kind of like doing a report, but I don't know if it's off-topic or not. Anyway, as long as it's a good article, that's all that matters. These are some specific contents analyzed by later generations, hoping to bring some enlightenment to China in '97. Mainly because now the publication process is quite strict, so since there's this opportunity to speak out, why not give it a try? Zi Qing isn't a great person or anything, but if it's within one's power to do something, why not do it? After doing what one can, there's an indescribable sense of relief throughout the body. It doesn't matter whether it's useful or not; as long as it satisfies one's own heart, that's enough. I don't have any grand ambitions; I just want to live a more relaxed life.