Chapter 7 — I Set a Trap for a Copywriter

My next exam went more smoothly than ever. There is no need to intentionally avoid difficult questions. No need to leave six answers until the last minute. There's also no need to waste time on low-value sentences because of wasting copies. I got my rhythm back. One sentence ends. The next sentence begins. All the clues left hanging in my head were completely closed the moment I wrote down the conclusion. This is the test method I am really familiar with. When I submitted my assignment, I only had one thought left in my mind. How many sentences will Trinh Y Hoan get wrong? The paper was graded that same evening. The next morning, during the self-study period, the Math teacher walked into the classroom holding the scoreboard.

“This weekly test was overall better than last time.”

“First place, Tran Du Xuyen, one hundred and forty-three points.”

Tran Du Xuyen raised his eyebrows.

“Second place, Co Nam Kieu, one hundred and forty-one points.”

I hold the pen. No surprise. I miscalculated a multiple choice question, and also lost two progress points. Math teacher continues reading.

“Trinh Y Hoan, one hundred and seventeen points.”

The whole class immediately exploded.

“One hundred and seventeen?”

“Did she fail the exam again?”

“Last time seventy-three, this time one hundred seventeen.”

“Have you been in a bad state lately?”

Trinh Y Hoan suddenly raised his head. The Math teacher delivered the papers to her desk. Below the bright red number, three essay questions had almost all of their points deducted. The first sentence, the boundary conditions are wrong. Second sentence, the inequality sign is wrong. Third question, the sign of the slope coefficient is wrong. I watched her turn the exam pages one by one. His face changed from white to pale blue. Finally stop at the third sentence. She didn't immediately look at me. Take some scratch paper and recalculate it yourself. A few minutes later, she picked up the pen and changed the pronunciation from one-half to one-half. My eyes softened slightly. She noticed. That proves that the trap in this sentence is not deep enough. She did not detect the boundary condition in the first sentence. She also did not detect the inequality sign in the second sentence. The error in the third sentence was the most obvious, so she relied on her ability to fix it. This is not surprising. Trinh Y Hoan is not a fool. After suffering a loss once, she will definitely check the answer given by the system. Even from now on, she will check every time. If I want to make her fail in a really important exam, I can't just prepare mistakes that can be checked out at a glance. I have to get the whole process right. Makes her unable to see where the problem lies. It wasn't until I got points that I realized I had stepped into a trap. After class, Trinh Y Hoan took the exam and walked to my desk. She spread out the cards.

“Three sentences.”

Her voice was very low.

“It was all done on purpose.”

I continue to sort through the error log.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Co Nam Kieu.”

She pressed her hand on my notebook.

“Do you think you can win by doing that?”

I raised my head.

“This time you get one hundred and seventeen.”

“I got one hundred and forty-one.”

“At least this time, the winner is me.”

Her lips pursed into a straight line.

“Just a weekly test.”

“So what are you in a hurry for?”

Trinh Y Hoan stared at me. For the first time, true hatred appeared in her eyes. Before, when she looked at me, she was always leisurely. Like someone who already knew the outcome. Because no matter what I make, she has it can take away the most valuable part. Now it's different. I'm still her source of answers. But the right or wrong answer has begun to be decided by me. She let go of my notebook.

“You'd better remember to correct it every time.”

She spoke softly.

“If you miss just once, the person you harm is yourself.”

My heart sank. What she said wasn't wrong. This could hurt her. But it's just as dangerous for me. Every intentional mistake left behind is like a land mine buried right in my own work. Just I forgot to fix it. Or not enough time. What explodes will be my score. Trinh Y Hoan turned and left. I looked at her back and didn't chase her. She already knew the flaw in the answer key. Next, she will check. Will counterattack. Will think of a way to prevent me from correcting the answer. But she didn't know I practiced more subtle mistakes. Don't know what I'm really waiting for is not the test next week. It is the selection period of a key training program. The school's only recommendation. That's the exam she absolutely cannot lose. That afternoon, the loudspeaker suddenly announced that I should go to the headmaster's office. I pushed the door and walked in. The homeroom teacher, homeroom teacher and Han Tranh were all present. On the table are neatly arranged the answer sheets of my last three exams. Each sheet has repair marks to varying degrees. The head of the block raised his head.

“Co Nam Kieu.”

“Someone reported that my recent homework behavior is very unusual.”

“Continuously skipping sentences, intentionally leaving blanks, writing the answer and then editing it again and again.”

His fingers tapped on the table.

“Can you explain?”

I stood in place. No need to guess to know.

Who is that "someone"?

05

“Lately I've been adjusting the pace of my homework.”

The head of the block frowned.

“If you adjust the pace, do you have to correct it over and over again for every exam?”

He pulled last week's Math test from the stack of papers.

“First write the wrong conclusion, then add strokes to correct it.”

“Do only half of each question, and at the end add the answers all at once.”

“In the synthesis exercise, it's clear that you know how to do the last question but spend time on the low-scoring questions ahead.”

“Co Nam Kieu, this is not a normal adjustment.”

I looked at those answer sheets. Trinh Y Hoan is very smart. She didn't say I cheated. Because she has no proof. She just showed off all my recent unusual behavior in front of the teacher. But those behaviors really exist. The homeroom teacher sat next to him, his voice softening a bit.

“The teachers don't intend to blame me.”

“Recently my rankings have fluctuated a lot, and my test-taking habits have also become chaotic.”

“We are worried that your pressure is too great.”

Pressure. Psychological imbalance. Intentionally winning or losing with others. As long as Trinh Y Hoan is still ranked number one in the entire school, all my abnormalities can be explained as being unable to bear failure. I was silent for a few seconds.

“My final answer is still correct.”

“This is not a matter of right or wrong.”

The homeroom teacher types up the test.

“It's a matter of standards.”

“The selection process for the key training program does not only look at scores.”

“Presentation, thinking and stability in the exam room are all within the scope of evaluation.”