It wasn't just Zhao Yuan's class teacher who entered the classroom. He was followed by every member of the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine teaching and research group, as well as Liu Mingzhang and Xiao Xianlin—two of West Hua Medical University's most treasured figures.
These professors should have been waiting in their offices for Zhao Yuan's exam paper to be brought to them, but they simply didn't have the patience.
The special exam paper prepared just for Zhao Yuan listed the very problems that each of them had encountered in their study of the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine. They eagerly awaited his answers, yet they were also apprehensive, wondering if he could truly provide solutions that would amaze them.
The students, completely unaware of the professors' true intentions, assumed they were all there to proctor the exam and were utterly dumbfounded. Those who had been planning to cheat turned pale with fright, complaining internally. 'Damn it, with this many proctors, it's 360-degree surveillance with no blind spots. How am I supposed to cheat now? Looks like I'll have to rely on my own skills! I just hope the questions aren't too hard. Give us a break...'
The terrified students failed to notice that from the moment the professors entered the room, their gazes were locked on Zhao Yuan. They didn't spare the others a single glance.
Zhao Yuan's own teacher stood at the podium with the exams, intending to say a few introductory words. But before he could open his mouth, Xiao Xianlin barked, "Stop wasting time! Hand out the papers already!"
The teacher immediately wilted, swallowing the words he was about to say. He obediently took out the sealed packet of exams and began to distribute them.
Liu Mingzhang practically leaped to the podium and snatched the first paper off the stack.
This was the special exam prepared exclusively for Zhao Yuan, on a completely different level from the others.
Holding the exam, Liu Mingzhang strode over to Zhao Yuan's desk. After setting it down, he urged him repeatedly, "Zhao Yuan, come on, this is your paper. Get started, get started."
He didn't leave after that, simply planting himself next to Zhao Yuan, his eyes glued to the paper.
With Liu Mingzhang leading the charge, the other professors swarmed over, forming a tight, impenetrable circle around Zhao Yuan. Some who were pushed to the outer edge and couldn't see the exam were so anxious they were practically tearing their hair out. Finally, one of them had an idea. They rushed to the empty classroom next door, brought back chairs, and asked Liu Mingzhang, Xiao Xianlin, and the others in the front to sit down. This at last created a few gaps, allowing them to barely glimpse Zhao Yuan's exam paper.
After handing out the last of the regular exams, Zhao Yuan's own teacher scurried over to join the ranks of the "spectators," craning his neck and standing on his tiptoes, eagerly waiting for Zhao Yuan to begin.
The sight left every student in the room, including Zhao Yuan himself, completely dumbfounded.
Only then did the students realize that all these professors hadn't come for the exam to be strict proctors, but to watch Zhao Yuan take his test...
'It's just an exam, isn't it? Was all this exaggeration really necessary?'
Zhao Yuan stared at the professors encircling him, completely exasperated.
He suddenly felt like a panda in a zoo, being gawked at by a crowd of 'weird uncles' and 'weird aunts' with strange looks in their eyes.
"Um... I'm going to start the exam now," Zhao Yuan said, holding up his pen.
"Go on, go on, get started!" the professors urged in unison.
Zhao Yuan gave a wry smile. "Do you all have to crowd around me like this?"
The professors chimed in one after another:
"It's fine, you just do your thing. Pretend we don't exist."
"We promise we won't make a sound or disturb you."
"We're just watching, nothing else."
With all the professors saying as much, how could Zhao Yuan possibly refuse? He could only accept the reality of the situation and turn his attention to the exam.
One look at the paper, and Zhao Yuan froze. 'Huh, this exam is a bit strange. There are no multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, or true/false questions... It's all essays...'
He didn't think much of it, assuming everyone had received the same type of exam. He had no idea this paper was his and his alone.
After reading the first question, Zhao Yuan's brow furrowed in surprise. 'Well now, this question is interesting. It gets right to the core essence of the Unity of Heaven and Man! But this is clearly beyond the scope of the curriculum, isn't it? What are the professors thinking? Are they trying to fail most of the class?'
Driven by curiosity, Zhao Yuan scanned the rest of the questions. Without exception, they were all profound, difficult, major problems. Many of them touched upon the key principles and very essence of the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
'Whoa, the professors are really going all out this time! It looks like Liu Zhu and the guys are in deep trouble on this exam.' Zhao Yuan still had no idea his test was one of a kind; he assumed everyone was facing the same questions.
He held a moment of silence for Liu Zhu, Wang Rongfeng, and Wu Yan in his heart. 'In this situation, even if I wanted to help my brothers cheat, it's impossible. I'm surrounded by a wall of professors three layers deep; it would be a miracle if I could get an answer out!'
Shaking his head, Zhao Yuan reined in his wandering thoughts and began to focus on the exam.
Although these questions represented thorny problems the professors had wrestled with for decades, making them extremely difficult, they were no issue at all for Zhao Yuan, who had inherited the true essence of the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine from Wu Peng.
For every question, he only needed a moment of thought before his pen began to fly across the page, writing out the answer.
The surrounding professors held their breath, their eyes wide as they stared at Zhao Yuan's paper. Whenever he finished a paragraph, they would mull over his words for a long moment before looks of sudden enlightenment or profound understanding washed over their excited faces.
If not for their fear of disturbing him, the professors would have already burst into applause and excited discussion.
Elsewhere in the classroom, the other students were also working on their exams.
As they worked, they kept sneaking glances at the professors around Zhao Yuan. Once they confirmed that the teachers' eyes were glued to Zhao Yuan's desk and hadn't moved, they started to get restless.
One of the bolder students quietly pulled a cheat sheet from his desk drawer and began to quickly copy the answers. At first, he kept glancing nervously at the professors, but after a while, he saw they weren't reacting at all. His courage swelled, and he stopped trying to hide what he was doing, copying openly.
With one person taking the lead, more and more students began pulling out their own cheat sheets and textbooks to cheat. Eventually, even the students sitting right next to Zhao Yuan were using their textbooks. Yet the professors, as if completely mesmerized, remained oblivious to everything happening around them, their entire focus fixed on Zhao Yuan's exam.
The exam was both difficult and lengthy; it took Zhao Yuan over an hour to finish.
Even so, there were still ten or twenty minutes left before the exam period was over.
Zhao Yuan was about to check his paper for typos, but before he could even start, a hand shot out and snatched it away.
He turned his head and saw that the culprit was Xiao Xianlin.
Liu Mingzhang was not pleased. "Old Xiao, why did you snatch the paper?" he protested. "Quick, give it to me!" As he spoke, he made a grab for it.
Xiao Xianlin shot him a glare and said irritably, "What are you grabbing for? We're going to photocopy this right now, one for everyone!"
"Good idea!"
"Let's go right now! Hurry, hurry!"
"Quickly, I need to study Zhao Yuan's answers in detail."
The professors all nodded in agreement and swarmed around Xiao Xianlin as they exited the classroom.
Xiao Xianlin held the exam paper as if it were an imperial edict, his face beaming with pride.
In the blink of an eye, not a single one of the professors remained...
Zhao Yuan sat frozen in his seat, a look of utter bewilderment on his face.
'What in the world... is going on?!'
P.S. I'm still here, working hard on the first day of the Lunar New Year... Seeing as Old Wu is being so diligent, don't you think I deserve some monthly passes and rewards for encouragement, dears?
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter
