The gaze finally settled somewhere — on a certain serene face. “Congratulations, student Yan Qing.”

The moment those words landed, the classroom erupted in disbelieving cries.

“How is that possible? How could someone who always drags down the class score a perfect score?”

“The eldest miss must have cheated to get that perfect score.”

“Teacher.” A student stood up indignantly. “Yan Qing must have copied. How could she possibly get a perfect score?”

“That’s right, she copied — a stolen perfect score.” Like a stone thrown into still water, once the first voice rose in challenge, the others immediately joined in. The room buzzed with whispered exchanges, and some even glared at Yan Qing with outright hostility.

Jing Lan hadn’t expected Yan Qing to score perfectly either. Based on her usual grades, passing would have been cause enough to thank the heavens. To be honest, her first reaction was the same as everyone else’s — she found it hard to believe.

“Yan Qing…” Jing Lan’s face was full of worry, afraid she would be attacked and insulted by these people.

Yan Qing gave her a reassuring look, then unhurriedly set down the book in her hands and raised her head toward Teacher Zhang on the podium.

Among those who didn’t believe it, Teacher Zhang was one of them. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand how a student with the worst grades could suddenly score a perfect hundred.

“Teacher Zhang, please allow me to ask everyone a question.” Yan Qing spoke calmly, her voice not loud, but carrying an understated pressure.

Considering her status as the beloved daughter of a school board member, Teacher Zhang had no choice but to agree. “Go ahead.”

Yan Qing turned her wheelchair lightly to face the crowd of gleeful, mocking faces before her. “I recall that the exam included a question that went like this: Patient surnamed Yu, female, 50 years old, body temperature fluctuating between 39 and 40 degrees Celsius, persistent for two weeks, daily variation not exceeding one degree. Pulse 106 beats per minute, respiration 28 breaths per minute. The patient is conscious, with flushed cheeks, cracked lips, low spirits, and poor appetite. The question asks: What type of fever pattern does this patient exhibit? What is the degree of the fever? What nursing measures should be taken?”

Teacher Zhang instinctively glanced at the exam paper, and was astonished to find that Yan Qing had recited the question word for word without a single error.

“Would anyone like to answer this question?” Yan Qing made an inviting gesture.

The result: after everyone looked at one another, not a single person answered.

Yan Qing turned to the first girl who had stood up to accuse her of cheating. “Why don’t you give it a try?”

The girl’s expression tightened. She mumbled a few syllables but couldn’t produce an answer, her face flushing deep red.

Yan Qing smiled faintly. “Since not one person here can provide an answer to this question, I ask — who exactly did I copy from?”

A single sentence, and the entire room fell speechless.

“Ahem.” Teacher Zhang finally spoke. “This question was a bonus question added on the spot by Deputy Dean Du, and among the entire first-year cohort, only Yan Qing provided a complete and correct answer.”

Teacher Zhang didn’t have the nerve to admit that when she first saw the question, she herself had been unable to formulate a detailed and accurate answer — she’d only understood it fully after consulting Deputy Dean Du.

Even Deputy Dean Du himself had praised Yan Qing’s answer, remarking that in his decades of practicing medicine, he had never encountered such a sharp and exceptionally gifted student.

“Alright, everyone open your exam papers.” Teacher Zhang looked at Yan Qing, her expression now completely different from before. “Yan Qing, please walk the class through this question shortly.”

Yan Qing smiled gently. “Of course.”

From the day of the perfect score incident onward, no classmate dared to look down on Yan Qing again. Instead, some began actively and warmly drawing closer to her, and her situation at school gradually improved. Even Yan Qin and Shi Yutong no longer dared to cause her trouble too openly.

The longer Yan Qing spent at school, the more gossip she heard from Jing Lan.

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