Chapter 2 — I Set a Trap for a Copywriter

The whole class turned around one by one. There are people who sympathize. Some people have regrets. Some people also laughed softly.

“Again.”

"Co Nam Kieu always solved difficult questions as fast as the wind, but in the end, the total score still could not surpass Trinh Y Hoan."

“A smart person, a person who knows how to take exams, are not the same.”

"In my opinion, Trinh Y Hoan is the real scholar."

"If you answer a difficult question, you won't lose points for an easy question."

I bowed my head and looked at my exam paper. Two multiple choice questions. The first sentence is correct: I was careless. The second question is a mechanical question and I changed the answer. The correct answer is B. Initially I also chose B. But at the end of the test, somehow I changed it to C. I lost six points. Trinh Y Hoan is four points higher than me. If I hadn't corrected that sentence, I'd only be one point behind her. But now, people only see the results. Trinh Y Hoan is stable. I'm impatient. She is a genius. I am someone who is forever lacking a little bit. Han Tranh turned on the projector.

“Trinh Y Hoan, please come up and explain the last sentence.”

There was applause in the classroom. Trinh Y Hoan stood up, held his exam paper and walked up to the podium. Her work was projected onto a white screen. Seeing the first line, my breath stopped. That Greek letter. Exactly the same. The order of transformation in the second step. Exactly the same. Even my habit of writing the equal sign slightly italic to save space is still intact. This is not the same idea. This is my answer. Trinh Y Hoan held the chalk and turned his back to the class.

“In this sentence, we first set the particle's velocity when entering the magnetic field to be…”

She stopped. Han Tranh reminded:

“What specifically does the variable you use here represent?”

Trinh Y Hoan stared at his exam paper. Two seconds. Three seconds. Her hand holding the chalk became tighter and tighter.

“Represents… initial velocity.”

“Not true.”

Han Tranh frowned.

“Behind, I used another letter to represent the initial velocity.”

“This variable is the key to my solution, how could I remember it wrong?”

The atmosphere in the classroom became strange. Trinh Y Hoan's face turned pale, she forced a smile.

"Maybe because I was so stressed just now."

“Let me see again.”

She bowed her head and turned over the exam paper. But my heart sank little by little. She doesn't know. She has absolutely no idea what this variable is used for. Because I only temporarily set that variable to combine the two states together. Besides me, no one knows why I wrote that way at that time. Unless she saw my entire solution. Or to be more precise. She copied my entire solution. I stared at her back, suddenly three mechanical reminders appeared in my mind during the exam. 【The first complete solution has been copied.】 【The second complete solution has been copied.】 【The third complete solution has been copied.】 So that's it. What Trinh Y Hoan can copy is not the entire answer. There are only three sentences. Furthermore, these are the three essay sentences I completed first. In the end, Han Tranh did not ask any more questions and just told Trinh Y Hoan to return to his seat. The school bell rang and her friends surrounded her to comfort her.

“Whoever goes to the board is not stressed.”

“Doing it right is fine, not remembering the variables clearly is also normal.”

“Isn't Co Nam Kieu only ninety-four?”

Trinh Y Hoan passed through The crowd looked towards me. There was no longer the panic in her eyes. Just a warning. And a cold and dark feeling because the secret was seen through by me. I don't avoid those eyes. For the past year, I have always not understood. Why is it that every time I solve a difficult question that others can't, Trinh Y Hoan must also be able to do it? Why is it that the more exams I like, the more perfect her performance is? Why can she always step on my last few mistakes, firmly sitting in the number one position? Now, I finally know. She's more unstable than me. She only took away my three most valuable questions, then used her time to make sure she didn't lose points on the basic section. I handled the hardest part for her. And she stepped on my answers to become a genius in the school's eyes. Thinking of this, I calmed down. The system can copy the first three completed essay sentences. So what if the three questions I finished first were not the three questions with the highest scores? The next afternoon, the class had a weekly test in Chemistry. Total score is one hundred, test time is sixty minutes. After the question was released, I didn't turn to the last two pages like usual. Which starts from the first calculation sentence. This question has only four points. Simple steps, clear results. But I write extremely fully. Chemical equation. Calculation process. Final conclusion. The moment the tip of the pen lowered, a familiar voice rang out. 【The first complete solution has been copied.】 I raised my eyes. Trinh Y Hoan sat near the window. Originally, she was turning the subject backwards. Just as the system alerted her, her movements suddenly stopped, then she lowered her head to look at her answer sheet. I withdrew my gaze and continued with the second sentence. Five points. Third sentence. Four points. When I finished writing the third conclusion, the mechanical voice rang out again. 【The third complete solution has been copied.】 【The number of copies in this exam has been used up.】 I looked at the three summary questions behind with a total of forty-two points, the corners of my lips slowly curled up. Trinh Y Hoan. Don't you like to take the first three sentences I complete? This time. Thirteen points, for you.

02

For the next forty minutes, I did not look at Trinh Y Hoan again. The last three summary questions are the part that really creates the difference in this test. First question, oxidation-reduction reaction in a strange situation. Second question, organic chemistry inference. Third question, industrial processes. I continued at my own pace. Never stopped. Can't hear any sound anymore. The system's three rounds have been used up. That means no matter what I solve behind me, she can't get it. Five minutes before time was up, I finished the last sentence. When I checked my answer sheet, for the first time I felt that the cold, mechanical voice sounded quite pleasant. Trinh Y Hoan can copy my answer. But she couldn't decide which sentence I would finish first. As long as I waste three copies on low-scoring questions, the greatest effect of the system will be lost. The closing bell rang. I closed the pen cap and raised my head. Trinh Y Hoan sat near the window, his face not looking very good. Her article is written quite discreetly. But in the last three summary sentences, yes Two sentences are clearly left blank. She looked up at me. My eyes stopped on the paper I had folded. At that moment, she must have understood. I know the rules of the system. Moreover, just now I took advantage of it. I smiled at her. Trinh Y Hoan's face became even whiter. The next afternoon, Chemistry scores were announced. The teacher walked into the classroom holding the scoreboard, looking a bit surprised.

“This weekly test is not easy.”

“Especially in the last three summary sentences, many of you did not allocate your time well.”

The teacher looked down at the scoreboard.

“First place, Tran Du Xuyen, ninety-one points.”

Tran Du Xuyen whistled. The whole class burst into laughter.

“Second place, Co Nam Kieu, eighty-nine points.”

I'm not surprised. The three essay sentences above are simple, but to write all the steps, it took me more time than usual. In the last industrial process sentence, there's a box I'm not entirely sure about. Eighty-nine points were within the range I had estimated myself. The teacher stopped for a moment.

“Trinh Y Hoan, eighty-two points.”

The whole class immediately fell silent. Everyone thought they heard wrong.

“Eighty-two?”

“Trinh Y Hoan?”

“Didn't she get ninety-six last time in Chemistry?”

“Did I enter the wrong score?”

The teacher's expression was also quite complicated.

“Do not enter incorrectly.”

“Trinh Y Hoan's previous basic sentences did quite well, but the two following synthesis sentences seriously lost points.”

As he spoke, the teacher handed out the cards. Trinh Y Hoan received the exam paper.