Chapter 10 — I Set a Trap for a Copywriter

When he stood up, Trinh Y Hoan looked at me. There was a smile on her face.

“Today you are finally back to normal.”

I packed my school supplies.

“That's right.”

“It's been a long time since I've done a test so fluently.”

Her smile deepened.

“Me too.”

We won't say more. She thought she had gotten three full-point answers. And I also know. She got it very well. So complete that three mistakes are not missing one. The results were announced the next day. That night, the dormitory was unusually quiet. I lay on the bed, closed my eyes. But those three corrections kept popping up in my head. Have I missed a stroke? Has the direction been corrected? Are marginal scores clearly visible to the teacher? Is the exponent of the unit written too small? I know I checked. But the more important the exam, the easier it is for memories to become distorted while waiting. Khau Mien poked his head down from the upper bed.

“Can't sleep?”

“Yes.”

“Are you afraid you haven't fixed it right?”

I suddenly opened my eyes. She looked at me.

“Aren't those three strokes what you've been practicing these past few days?”

“Don't worry.”

“How many times have I timed you?”

“Even if you close your eyes, you can't miss it.”

I looked at the ceiling.

“What if she finds out?”

“That's her problem.”

Khau Mien withdrew her head.

“You wrote your article correctly.”

“The rest doesn't belong to you.”

The next afternoon, the results were announced. Five candidates were called to the meeting room. Han Tranh, the homeroom teacher, the homeroom teacher and two judges from outside the school were all present. On the table were five sealed exam papers. Trinh Y Hoan sat on my right. She was still very calm. The head of the block announced the fourth and last year's rankings. Not me. Third place. Nor me. Trinh Y Hoan's fingers gently placed on the table. She began to smile. According to her thoughts, at least I'm definitely in the top two, the others are just competing for the remaining position. As long as the system gets the three sentences without a problem, she can't lose. The head of the class looked down at the scoreboard.

“Second place, Tran Du Xuyen.”

“Two hundred and ninety-one points.”

Tran Du Xuyen was stunned. Then looked towards me. The meeting room was silent for two seconds. Trinh Y Hoan's smile deepened. In her eyes, the first place position definitely belonged to her. The head of the block raised his head.

“First place, Co Nam Kieu.”

“Two hundred and ninety-seven points.”

My heart beat loudly. Two hundred and ninety-seven. Only three points deducted. I have succeeded. Trinh Y Hoan suddenly stood up.

“What about you?”

The head of the block frowned.

“Trinh Y Hoan, two hundred and forty-four points.”

“Ranked nineteen.”

“No way!”

Her voice was high-pitched, completely inflected. Everyone at the table looked towards her. Trinh Y Hoan's face turned pale.

“My three sentences of essay cannot be wrong.”

“I already checked.”

After speaking, as if suddenly realizing what she had just revealed, she immediately closed her mouth. Han Tranh pulled out her exam paper.

“What three sentences are you saying?”

Trinh Y Hoan's lips moved. No reply. Han Tranh spread out the exam papers. First essay. Full process. The conclusion about the final direction is wrong. Second sentence. Full inference. Missing the boundary point. Third sentence. Correct value. Wrong order of magnitude of units. These three errors are not level errors short. But each mistake was enough to cause her to lose a lot of result points. Han Tranh looked at her.

“My process is very complete.”

“But the final conclusion is wrong.”

“Why do you think you can't be wrong?”

Trinh Y Hoan stared at those three sentences. Then turned to look at me. My eyes fell on my answer sheet. The direction arrow in the first sentence has a very small addition. The parentheses in the second sentence are slightly darker than normal handwriting. In the upper right corner the unit of the third sentence has an additional obvious exponent. She finally understood. The system does not lose its effectiveness. Don't betray her either. It faithfully copied the answer the first time I completed it. It's just that those three answers were prepared specifically for her. Trinh Y Hoan's face gradually turned gray.

“It's you.”

She stared at me.

“You wrote it wrong on purpose.”

I calmly looked back.

“I once wrote it wrong.”

“But before submitting the paper, I corrected it.”

“Isn't it normal to check answers?”

Her chest rose and fell violently.

“You plan on me.”

“Co Nam Kieu, you intentionally harmed me.”

I almost burst out laughing.

“My exam papers from start to finish are on my desk.”

“I never touched your pen.”

“I also didn't ask you to write down any answers.”

“How do I hurt you?”

Trinh Y Hoan couldn't say anything. Of course she couldn't speak. Can't say we have a system. Can't say I copied my complete solution. It can't be said that the reason she was sure she wasn't wrong was because she believed that the answers she received belonged to me. The headmaster's face was very unsightly.

“That's enough.”

"Trinh Y Hoan, please sit down first."

“This selection process does not only look at the written test.”

“Next will be a direct inspection.”

Trinh Y Hoan suddenly raised his head. The direct test is only intended to eliminate the lucky case of getting a high score. Before, she never paid attention. Because she always believes that as long as the written test score is high enough, this test is just a formality. Now, it becomes the final stab. Han Tranh pulled out the first of the sentences she got wrong. The teacher changes the initial mass and velocity.

“Conditions have changed.”

“Please think again.”

Submit Y Hoan to receive the paper. Fingers shaking a bit. One minute. Two minutes. She can only write the most basic force formula. Then stop completely. Han Tranh reminded:

“In the original article, I changed the frame of reference.”

“We can also use that method now.”

Trinh Y Hoan stared at the paper. His face became whiter and whiter. Because she basically doesn't know why she needs to change the frame of reference. She only received a complete ready-made solution. Didn't get my judgment when I saw the thread. Also don't get why each step has to be done like that. Han Tranh waited five minutes.

“Can't do it?”

Trinh Y Hoan bit her lip.

“My condition is not good today.”

The two judges outside the school looked at each other. One of them looked towards me.

“Co Nam Kieu, please do it.”

I received a new problem. Even though conditions change, the model remains the same. I reset my frame of reference. Formulate equations. Shorten. Seven minutes later, the answer was completed. The examiner looks at the process.

“Is there any other way?”

“Yes.”

I changed to another sheet of paper.

“It can also be divided into stages to consider directly, But the steps will be a little longer.”

I wrote down the second solution. In the meeting room, there was only the sound of a pen tip falling on paper. Trinh Y Hoan sat next to him. Don't move. She has taken away my answers countless times before. But this was the first time she was forced to stand outside the answer key, watching me actually solve the problem. Ten minutes later, the test ended. The results are beyond dispute. The recommendation belongs to me. When the head of the block announced it, Trinh Y Hoan did not say another word. She looked at the exam paper on the table. It was like watching a tall tower suddenly collapse. She was not expelled. Nor can anyone prove the system exists. But from that day on, the school no longer let her participate in propaganda in the name of a "genius student". The teacher began asking her to present her thinking. After each major exam, the key training class also adds random testing. Losing the three difficult questions provided by the system, her score quickly returned to around the top ten of the entire grade. That is her true position. One week later, the class has a new Natural Sciences comprehensive test. Topics are distributed. The bell rang. I opened the first page. Stop for a second. Then like before, turn directly to the last page. Someone in the class raised their head to look at me. Trinh Y Hoan also looked over. Her eyes were complicated. Be alert. Not satisfied. There was also a bit of fear that she didn't want to admit. I don't look at her. The last sentence is the type of model I'm familiar with. I clenched my pen and began to reason. Not intentionally slow. Don't leave any conclusions hanging unfinished. Don't worry about who will get your answers. Pen tip lowered. The first essay sentence is completed. The mind is completely quiet. There are no system prompts. There is also no mechanical voice indicating successful copying. This time, I was the first to turn to the last page. And will also be the first person to rely on himself to get to the destination. COMPLETE.