Chapter 9 — I Set a Trap for a Copywriter

Inside were exercise books and sketchbooks from my tenth grade year. She flipped a few pages, pulled out a notebook with a curled cover, and placed it in front of me.

“You lent it to me before.”

I opened it. On the first page is a Physics exam for excellent students. Three solutions. Twice the model was built incorrectly. The whole page is full of lines and arrows. The following pages are almost the same. Wrong writing. Negative. Redo. Finally, use a red pen to circle the correct result. At that time, I was never afraid to put pen to paper. Don't be afraid to write wrongly. Because mistakes are just processes. It's not a weakness for others to grasp. Khau Mien pointed to a page inside.

“You might make her copy wrong.”

“But you can't make yourself the wrongdoer because you don't want her to copy it.”

I watched the formula line being edited again and again. Didn't say anything for a long time. She turned around to wash her hands. When the sound of water sounded, I took out the daytime practice test again. Trinh Y Hoan has blocked the path to widespread eradication. But she cannot ban testing. I also don't need to write two answers. There's no need to write the whole process wrong. The first complete solution only needs one wrong detail to be the wrong answer. As for the last lesson on paper, just one additional stroke is needed to make it correct again. I turned to the last three sentences of my essay. First sentence, wrong direction. I write the negative sign first. Then add a vertical stroke. The negative sign becomes part of the positive sign. The second sentence, missed the boundary point. I write the opening first. Then add a stroke, turning it into a closed space. Third sentence, wrong unit level. I write the square first. Then add a stroke. The square turns into a cube. The entire process ahead does not need to be touched. Three sentences. Three strokes of the pen. I took out my stopwatch and pressed start. First look. Second look. Third stroke. Fourteen seconds. The number on the screen stopped. I watched the three answers turn from wrong to full points, slowly tightening my grip on the pen. Trinh Y Hoan believes that banning erasure will block my path. But she forgot. A truly dangerous mistake never needs to fill an entire page. Just hide it in the last stroke of the pen. The next day, Han Tranh announced that the school had reviewed my results for the past half year and my live problem solving sessions, and finally decided to give me another chance to participate in the selection.

06

On the official selection day, it was not yet dawn but the dormitory was already full of people. The school only has one recommendation. The four people on the preliminary list plus me, who had additional eligibility to take the exam, a total of five people were placed in a separate exam room. Trinh Y Hoan sat in the second row. Tran Du Xuyen sat at the back of the room. I still sit in the middle of the first row. The camera on the head lights up with a red dot. The head of the block personally supervised the exam. Before presenting the topic, he emphasized again:

“Keep your work clean.”

“Every solution process must be complete.”

“After the exam ends, high-ranking students must also participate in a live test.”

Check directly. I held the pen, but my heart became calmer. Trinh Y Hoan can copy the answer. But it is impossible to copy the reason that answer was created. Previously, she could rely on her scores to avoid all questions. Not today. The bell rang. The exam is opened. I quickly scanned the entire topic. Six essay sentence. The first three sentences combine basic knowledge with synthesis. The following three sentences are all strange models. Especially the last sentence. An electrically charged sphere moves in a changing electric field, the conditions are complex, solving in the usual way requires at least four groups of equations. I only looked for half a minute and knew what to do. This sentence can change the frame of reference. The process will be shortened by half. This is also the question with the highest score in the whole question. I don't hesitate. Flip directly to the last page. The sound of papers flipping is especially clear in the quiet exam room. Behind him, Trinh Y Hoan raised his head. I could feel her eyes falling on my back. She is waiting. Wait for me like before, solve the three most difficult questions for her. I put down my pen. The first question, mechanical synthesis. The problem requires determining the final direction of motion of the object. The force analysis, critical conditions, and forward velocity change are all correct. The final conclusion should be to the right. I write to the left. The tip of the pen leaves the answer sheet. 【The first complete solution has been copied.】 When the sound stops, I don't edit. It's not time yet. I turned directly to the second sentence. Combine functions and sequences. The case review part is very cumbersome. But the real trap lies at the edge. The final range must include an equal sign. I intentionally write in an open space. 【The second complete solution has been copied.】 Trinh Y Hoan started writing. The sound of a pen tip gliding on paper is both fast and dense. She received two entries. Only the last post remains. The third question is Chemical industrial process. The calculation part is not difficult. Difficulty in converting units between gas volume and number of moles. I followed the steps exactly, calculating the exact value. In the last unit, I intentionally missed an order of magnitude. 【The third complete solution has been copied.】 【The number of copies in this test has been used up.】 Three times. They were all locked up. I looked up at the clock on the wall. Ninety-six minutes left until the end of time. Enough. I go back to the first sentence. Add a stroke next to the direction arrow. The wrong direction turns into the right direction. Second sentence. Add a stroke to the opening bracket. Boundary points are included. Third sentence. Add an exponent in the upper right corner of the unit. Fourteen seconds. Just like when practicing. The three wrong answers all stayed with Trinh Y Hoan. On my article there are only three very small edits left, just like when checking normally. The supervisor passed by. Just bowed his head and looked once and didn't stop. I continued to do my homework. For the next eighty minutes, I didn't think about the system anymore. Don't think about Trinh Y Hoan. Didn't even think about the recommendation rate. I only have exam questions in my mind. One condition follows another. This pattern leads to the next pattern. A familiar feeling that I haven't seen for a long time returns. I don't need to slow down on purpose. No need to leave the conclusion until the last minute. There's also no need to destroy your familiar pace to prevent someone from finding a solution. I can do it quickly. Can be the first person to complete the difficult question at the end of the test. Can fully utilize one's own abilities. With fifteen minutes left, I had completed the entire test. I started checking from the first page. Multiple choice. Fill in the answer. Essay process. Finally, check the other three corrections again. Correct direction. Point correct boundary. Correct unit. Nothing is missed. I closed the pen cap. Behind him, Trinh Y Hoan is still writing. Her fundamentals are no less. After getting three difficult questions, she has enough time to complete the rest. On the surface, this exam is no different from the previous one. She was even more leisurely than usual. The end of time bell rang. The block leader collects the answer sheets.