The graduation exam of St. George Elementary School was held over two days: literature in the morning and history in the afternoon of the first day, followed by arithmetic in the morning and geography in the afternoon of the second day.
Although the workload wasn’t too heavy, many students felt drained after the two days of exams.
According to Alice, Neville had a good cry after the exam, and Wu Ming could roughly guess that Neville must not have performed very well.
Immediately after the graduation exam, everyone entered a relaxed holiday period.
Since the results would not be released for a few more days, Vidi was pressured by a few people to treat them well. After inviting Wu Ming and others to a children’s meal each and promising to collectively attend a concert, Philip and Alice finally let Vidi off the hook.
Soon after, five days later, most of the fifth-year students arrived at school, accompanied by their parents, looking anxious.
“Dear, don’t worry. Our Steven always comes first in the grade; how could he possibly fail here?”
James clearly wore a new outfit and seemed to be psyching himself up.
“Why would I be worried?”
Mrs. Sterling bluntly exposed James’s secret: “Who was it that couldn’t sleep last night and sneaked to the bathroom five times? Don’t think I don’t know—you’ve always had test anxiety since you were a kid. You did well in regular studies, but always messed up during important exams!”
“Cough… cough…”
Upon hearing Mrs. Sterling expose James’s secret, Wu Ming pretended to eavesdrop, which immediately embarrassed James, his face turning as red as a monkey’s bottom.
“Hey! Steven!”
Inside the classroom, a well-dressed couple sat at Vidi’s usual seat. Seeing Wu Ming approach, Vidi immediately called out loudly: “Steven, you’re just in time! Come meet my parents!”
“We’ve met before, Mr. and Mrs. Fillion!”
Wu Ming greeted politely.
“I remember you too. Vidi often mentions you—you’re considered the top genius in their school…”
Mrs. Fillion smiled warmly. If not for Vidi’s private complaints, Wu Ming wouldn’t have associated her with Mr. Fillion, who was strict and prone to corporal punishment.
“Ladies and gentlemen!”
The parents chatted and laughed, while students without parental accompaniment sat alone on their chairs.
After an unknown amount of time, the classroom door suddenly swung open, and the head of the grade entered carrying a thick folder: “Welcome everyone! Now it’s time to announce the results!”
“Alice, GPA 1.0, total score 245, passed!”
Alice immediately clenched her little fist in excitement and stole a glance at Wu Ming.
Having such a result announced at the beginning was encouraging for all students; even Neville lifted his head with anticipation.
“Jason, GPA 0, total score 187, failed!”
“An Luo, GPA 0, total score 155, failed!”
“Fell… failed!”
…
However, the following series of failures, announced in the headmaster’s cold voice, seemed to plunge the entire classroom into hell, with occasional sobs breaking out.
“Philip, GPA 2.0, total score 279, excellent!”
Among the four, aside from Wu Ming, Philip was the smartest and most diligent. Wu Ming wasn’t surprised at all by his result.
Hearing the good news, Philip’s parents were visibly delighted, tightly gripping their son’s arm.
“Neville…”
After Vidi barely passed, Neville’s name was finally called by the headmaster.
He lifted his head, like a condemned prisoner awaiting final judgment, yet still hoping for a miracle.
“Failed!”
Unfortunately, miracles are rare precisely because they are miracles.
Upon hearing the expected result, Neville’s shoulders trembled slightly, while Wu Ming sighed: “As expected…”
Although Neville was among the most diligent students in the class, his limited academic ability inevitably placed him among the failures.
“Steven!”
Wu Ming felt James and Mrs. Sterling’s hands suddenly tighten beside him.
The grade head’s gaze turned toward him, and even his usually stern face showed a hint of a smile: “GPA 4.0, total score… 400! Congratulations, you’re the top student in the grade!”
“Yay!”
“Fantastic!”
The Sterlings were momentarily stunned, then James excitedly clenched his fist.
“Steven Sterling?”
The grade head unusually added a few words: “I’ve seen your exam papers. They can only be described as… perfect. The teachers tried hard to find a single mistake but couldn’t find any, so they had no choice but to give you full marks. Don’t become complacent!”
“Thank you for your guidance and instruction, sir!”
Wu Ming slightly bowed.
The headmaster appeared very satisfied with his gesture.
After all, a student like him, with such talent, was rare even among the noble schools.
He was certain that if this student could maintain this development trend, he would surely become a significant figure in the future.
The support of outstanding alumni was also one of the most valuable assets of St. George School.
“Alright!”
After announcing everyone’s results, the headmaster cleared his throat: “Please follow me to the auditorium, those who have passed, along with your parents. We will now proceed with the graduation ceremony!”
“All students who failed will not receive their diplomas. If you wish to repeat the grade, please contact Mr. James before the new semester begins!”
After saying this, the grade head immediately left the classroom without hesitation.
Only a small portion followed him out.
As Wu Ming was the last to leave, he could almost hear faint crying from inside the classroom—both from students and parents.
After spending such a great effort, receiving such a result, no one could possibly feel at ease.
The ceremony was simple, merely the principal personally awarding the diplomas, but Wu Ming immediately paid close attention.
Because in the center of the auditorium stood a massive black iron machine, with numerous gears and bearings precisely and smoothly operating inside, producing rhythmic sounds.
“It’s a differential punch machine, the most advanced technology in the kingdom. It’s said to complete unimaginable calculations in the blink of an eye…”
James said with admiration: “Probably only during the annual graduation ceremony can one be specially borrowed from the government office.”
“Mr. Steven Sterling!”
The principal of St. George School was an old man with nearly no hair and white eyebrows, who looked very amiable when smiling.
He solemnly led Wu Ming to the punch computer and said in a gentle tone: “All your information has been entered into the computer. It will soon be sent to the central database. Your diploma and academic records will be mutually recognized throughout the Kingdom of Golden Oak, the Crape Myrtle Federation, and the Pandorn Empire. Please keep it carefully!”
Click! Clack!
The machine operated rapidly, swallowing Wu Ming’s diploma and slowly spitting it back out.
Wu Ming could clearly see that on his original certificate’s photo, a layer of letter and number codes had appeared. Upon closer inspection, these codes were composed of countless tiny pinholes, carrying a large amount of information, making them extremely difficult to counterfeit.
Although he was very interested in studying the big machine, after the ceremony, Wu Ming had to step down from the platform.
Although it was merely a simple awarding of diplomas, plus a few encouraging words, by the time all the graduates were done, the principal was already somewhat out of breath.
“Little gentlemen and ladies!”
Finally, he stepped onto the center of the stage to deliver his final speech: “You have honorably completed your studies. I look forward to your future… and here, please allow me to proudly introduce St. George Middle School. It’s located in this city, with the best teachers and professors. You will receive the best education there… of course, other schools are also quite good. The choice is entirely up to you…”
“So this is basically recruitment?”
Wu Ming fiddled with his diploma for a while, then yawned lazily.
As soon as the ceremony ended, just as Wu Ming’s family was stepping out of the auditorium, they were immediately intercepted by a sharp-dressed woman: “Excuse me… are you the Sterlings of Steven?”
She smiled slightly, revealing two sweet dimples, which made James stare with wide eyes, only to be secretly pinched by Mrs. Sterling on the waist.
“I am Steven. What can I do for you?”
Wu Ming glanced at her name tag: “Anna, a teacher from Scarodio School!”
“Then I’ll get straight to the point… Our school is very eager to have a talent like you join. How about it? Interested?”
Anna adjusted her glasses: “If you come, we will provide a full scholarship. Moreover, the teaching staff and guaranteed admission slots available at Scarodio Middle School are incomparable to those at St. George Middle School…”
“It seems that, no matter the era, true elites will always receive special treatment…”
Looking at Anna, Wu Ming immediately thought of the special recruitment teachers from his past life, who would go to great lengths to attract top scorers from various provinces.
“May I ask where this school is located?”
James beside him hesitantly asked.
“It’s in Doreen City. Getting there requires a fourteen-hour steam train ride, but if Steven is willing to come, our school provides free accommodation and meals!”
Anna winked.
“Sorry… I decline!”
Wu Ming shrugged.
“Why?”
Teacher Anna was very surprised; she had never seen a student refuse so decisively before.
“Because it’s too far from home!”
Wu Ming frowned, looking like a real little kid.
Faced with this powerful reason, and seeing Mrs. Sterling nodding in agreement, Anna immediately sensed the difficulty of her mission.
“Alright, here’s my business card. If you change your mind, feel free to come find me anytime!”
At this moment, seeing other parents and students coming out, Anna’s eyes lit up, and she immediately shifted her target to Reyn: “Excuse me, are you Mr. Reyn Carl, the second-place student? That’s a remarkable achievement. I’m…”
“I decline!”
Reyn’s face turned red as he stared at Wu Ming: “Steven, this time I lost to you, but you wait! I will challenge you again in the middle school division!”
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