I am a doctor from the new era of 3028. I know astronomy, geography, and everything in between, earning me the reputation of a "Living Encyclopedia." Recently, I began researching a time machine capable of traveling to the past. But who knows which wire short-circuited? With a loud BANG, the machine exploded. Just like that, the "Living Encyclopedia" was offline. Permanently. Perhaps my dedication moved the universe, because in that split second, the time machine actually worked. My soul was sucked into the vortex. After a dizzying spin, I opened my eyes. I found myself sitting at a very plain wooden desk, a test paper staring back at me. 1 Did I... travel back in time? I looked around in amazement, marveling at the primitive surroundings. Is this the legendary "examination method" of 21st-century historical figures written in our history books? The name on the test paper read: Liam. Tsk, what a plain, unpretentious name. I roughly scanned the questions on the paper. These questions? In the 31st century, kindergarteners solve harder puzzles than this. But I couldn't exactly display future-level genius right away. I had to blend in. So, I breezed through the answers but deliberately got a few wrong. After all, I had to live in this body now; it was better to be cautious and not too flashy. This should be foolproof, I thought, nodding with satisfaction. However, when I walked out of the exam hall, I found my classmates’ faces were darker than charcoal. "As expected of the State Math Olympiad. These questions were brutal." "Hey, did you hear? Even Sarah, the school genius, was crying." "Yeah, I couldn't even solve half of them. They say this year's Olympiad is the hardest in history." ? This was not what I expected. Students were gathered in groups of twos and threes discussing the trauma. When they saw me approaching, a boy rolled his eyes at me with disdain. Searching the original owner's memories, I learned his name was Brad. He was a rich kid who loved causing trouble and bullying the weak. The original "Liam" had been his punching bag for years. He looked at me and shouted mockingly, "Yo, isn't this the class anchor? Since when are you qualified to take the Olympiad?" "Exactly. He probably couldn't even read the questions. He's just dragging down our school's average." "Honestly, why bother coming to school? You can't learn anything anyway." They laughed together. I shrugged indifferently and walked into the classroom. A few days passed, and I successfully adapted to life at school. Today was the day the Math Olympiad results were released. The scores and rankings would be scrolled on the giant screen outside the school, and the top 10 would get a special spot on the Honor Board. 2 As soon as the bell rang, the students shot out like arrows. I followed leisurely behind. Brad's mocking voice sounded again. "Yo, the anchor is going to check his score?" "Brad, you don't know? It's easy for him to check. He just has to look at the very bottom of the list." The crowd erupted in laughter again. "Tell you what, I'll help you look." Brad walked arrogantly to the screen and started searching from the bottom, ready to continue his ridicule. But after searching for a long time, he couldn't find my name. "Heh, didn't expect you to guess so many right this time," he sneered, twitching his mouth in disdain. At this moment, whispers started among the students nearby. "Who is this Liam?" "Yeah, how come I've never heard of him?" More and more people were mentioning my name. Brad heard it too. He laughed sarcastically and pointed at me. "Liam? That's him right there! The dead weight of Class 5. The waste who comes in last every single time." "You really are a stain on our class. Your embarrassment has reached other classes now." But the scene Brad expected—everyone laughing at me—didn't happen. Instead, the surroundings went quiet. Confused, he followed the gazes toward the top of the list. With just one look, he froze. His face turned so dark it looked like it could drip ink. On the Honor Board, in the number one spot, gold letters flashed brilliantly. Liam. Rank: 1. Score: 98. I looked him in the eye and smiled. "Haha, sorry about that. Accidentally got first place." Brad’s face fluctuated between colors. He gritted his teeth and glared at me. "How could you get first place? You definitely cheated." Just then, a student ran up to me. "Liam, the teachers are looking for you." Brad looked like he had just caught me red-handed. "Hmph, I told you! He definitely cheated. Why else would the teachers want him?" "You're done for. Cheating in our school means immediate expulsion." I shrugged indifferently and headed to the faculty office. Almost all the school administrators were there. They held my test paper, looking at me in silence. The Principal spoke up. "Liam, tell us the truth. How did you answer this?" 3 I looked at them and said with absolute honesty, "Teachers, I didn't copy." "How is it possible you didn't copy? With your usual level, how could you get first place?" Mr. Henderson, the math teacher, spoke with a sharp, mean tone. His eyes were full of contempt. He often mocked me for my grades and even enabled Brad's bullying. I looked him calmly in the eye and retorted, "The Olympiad papers were transported under armed guard. There was no possibility of cheating at any stage." "Unless a teacher leaked the questions to boost their own reputation. I am your student, Mr. Henderson. Are you trying to dirty your own name?" Mr. Henderson didn't expect the usually submissive Liam to talk back. His face turned liver-red. "Who knows if you copied off another student?" "Mr. Henderson, in my exam hall, was there anyone worth copying from?" I stood there, calm and open, looking at all the teachers and administrators present. "If you don't believe me, check the surveillance footage." But these teachers clearly didn't believe my story. In their eyes, how could a student who usually ranked last suddenly soar to the top? So, they handled it as a disciplinary violation. I was banned from taking exams. Despite the ban, my score made me famous instantly. Because my score wasn't just first in our school. It crushed the prestigious private academy next door, St. Jude’s, making me number one in the entire city. I broke records and made history. You have to understand, the students at St. Jude’s usually wouldn't even look at us public school kids. 4 In their words, we were just the people who would end up working for them. To be surpassed by people they looked down on? The students of St. Jude’s couldn't handle the loss of face. Being young and arrogant, they started clamoring online. They claimed we just got lucky and demanded a face-off to make us "recognize our reality." At first, our school accepted the challenge confidently. But in the subsequent series of mock exams, St. Jude’s crushed us in every subject. Under the repeated blows, our students became dispirited, like defeated roosters. None of this had anything to do with me, though. Because I was banned from taking exams. This rivalry with St. Jude’s soon reached a climax. In the mid-term exams, our school suffered a total defeat. The scores were humiliating. After school, I saw a group of people gathering at the school gate. They held megaphones, loudly provoking us. The entrance was blocked tight. Their arrogant faces wore expressions of disdain. "Got one first place in a contest and thought your school was something special?" "Let us teach you how to behave. See the gap between us clearly." Repeated failures had disheartened my classmates. For a moment, no one dared to speak up. Everyone shrank back like quails. Seeing our fear, they became even more unbridled, shouting arrogantly: "Yo, doesn't your school have a genius named Liam?" "What, is he scared? Why hasn't he taken the last few exams?" "Thought he was some peerless genius, turns out he's just a coward."
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