Chapter 5 — I Set a Trap for a Copywriter

That last sentence was like a needle piercing my heart. Of course I know Trinh Y Hoan is not a useless person. She can keep a steady score on the basic section and can turn the answers given by the system into a high total score. This itself is also a capacity. That's why she's more difficult to deal with than someone who only knows how to copy machines. She doesn't need the system to change the whole topic. It just needs to help solve the three most difficult and time-consuming questions. The rest, she alone was able to complete. The next afternoon, the class had a short test in Math. Forty minutes, six sentences of essay. I did as Tran Du Xuyen suggested, starting from the first sentence. Finish writing the process. Leave the final result blank. Second sentence. Also leave blank. Third sentence. Fourth sentence. On the entire answer sheet, there are solutions everywhere, only the last step is missing. The system did not ring once. It seems that Tran Du Xuyen guessed correctly. Without a final conclusion, it is not considered complete. But when I finished the fifth question, I started to get confused. I no longer remember clearly the final value of the first sentence. The second sentence must add the specified domain. The third sentence is missing the last case of the section considering possibilities. The two solutions in the fourth sentence cannot be written in reverse order. Six sentences hung in my head at the same time. Like six unknotted strings, tangled together. There are only eight minutes left until the end of time. I started going back to add answers. The first sentence is missing the final value, the second sentence is missing the domain. Out of panic, I unconsciously finished the third sentence first. 【The first complete solution has been copied.】 When the mechanical voice rang out, my heart sank. I added them in the wrong order. Initially, I planned to use the three sentences with the least points to consume copies. But in my panic, the first three questions I completed were the third, fourth, and fifth questions with high scores. The system has taken one post. I speed up. Fourth sentence. 【Second complete solution has been copied.】 Fifth question. 【The third complete solution has been copied.】 【The number of copies in this test has been used up.】 I gritted my teeth and continued to add the sixth question. When the bell rang, I had just finished writing down the last number. Even though all the questions had been completed, the test was a mess as if it had just been blown away by the wind. Arrow. Additional symbols. Insert line. In some places, due to lack of space, I could only insert the results into the footer. I put down my pen, my palms sweaty. This method may stop the system. But not suitable for me. My brain is used to completing a sentence completely before moving on to the next sentence. Trying to push all the conclusions to the end just makes me remember too much incomplete information at the same time. It's not the system that messes me up. Rather, in order to avoid the system, I ruined my own pace. While collecting the cards, Trinh Y Hoan passed me. She glanced at the answer sheet full of correction marks.

“New method?”

I don't pay attention to her. Her steps stopped.

“It doesn't seem to suit you very well.”

She said it as lightly as if it was nothing. But I stepped on the truth I didn't want to admit the most. I raised my head to look at her.

"We'll have to wait until the score comes out to know whether it's compatible or not."

Trinh Y Hoan smiled.

“Then I wait.”

At the end of the afternoon, the Math teacher told us to exchange papers to grade. My post fell into the hands of Tran Du Xuyen. As for Trinh Y Hoan's article, the friend in front of me transmitted it to my desk. I picked up the red pen. The first two sentences are correct. In the third sentence, her process is written in full detail. So complete that I realized with just one look that this was my solution. I continued to look down. In the last line, the answer is negative two. I frowned. Wrong. The correct answer must be positive two. Initially on my answer sheet I also wrote negative two. Because when I changed sides, I missed a negative sign. But when I checked at the end of the hour, I found out. In particular, cross out the negative sign and change it to a positive sign. My cards are in the hands of Tran Du Xuyen. I withdrew my hand. Last line of the third sentence. Duong hai. It's clear and obvious. I bent down again to look at Trinh Y Hoan's article. Negative two. There are no edit marks. My breathing gradually stopped. Why is what she copied the wrong answer? Did the system not take the last version I submitted? I quickly remembered the sequence at that time. In the third sentence, when I wrote down negative two, the system announced that the first complete solution had been copied. Then I checked the error and changed it to positive two. If the system synchronizes the final answer, Trinh Y Hoan's position here must also be positive two. But she kept the same answer before correcting it. A thought flashed in my head. I stared at the three words "complete solution", my heart beating faster and faster. Not the final answer. The copy system thing was the first moment I formed a complete conclusion. Once copied, it will no longer update. To confirm, I continue to mark the following sentences. The fourth sentence, Trinh Y Hoan got it completely right. In the fifth sentence, because I was in a hurry to add the answer, I wrote the domain using an open space. Before submitting the assignment, I discovered that both ends could be taken, so I added an extra line to the brackets. Trinh Y Hoan's answer is open. Again, an old version. Not a coincidence. What the system took away was never the final answer I submitted. Which is just a snapshot of the first completion. My fingers trembled slightly with excitement. Before, I always thought I had to stop her from copying. Do the low-scoring question first. Delay completion. Change order. Each way sacrifices my own time and pace. But what if the copied answer might be wrong? If I write in advance a conclusion that is wrong but complete. Wait for the system to take it away. Then correct your answer to be correct. So what Trinh Y Hoan received will no longer be three difficult sentences to help her climb straight to the top. But three bombs that I personally prepared for her. I drew a strong red line next to Trinh Y Hoan's third sentence. The bright red pen stroke lowered. She suddenly turned her head. When he saw his answer, the smile on his face immediately disappeared.

“Why is this sentence wrong?”

I raised my eyes to look at her.

“The answer is positive two.”

“No way.”

She blurted out. Immediately afterwards, as if realizing what he had revealed, he immediately closed his mouth. I slowly smiled.

“Why not?”

Trinh Y Hoan stared at the red pen in my hand. His face gradually turned white. She finally understood. What I discovered wasn't just a way to keep her from getting the answer. But also a way to make her get the wrong answer. Math teacher reminds from the podium:

“After marking, remember to deduct points for incorrect answers.”

I bowed my head and wrote the score in the upper right corner of her test. Seventy-three. Then, I wrote four words on my scratch paper. Let her copy it wrong. This time it's no longer a test. It's the plan.