Chapter 40.1

When Jiang Rou heard the news, she and Li Xin took An An to the school that afternoon.

Although No. 1 Middle School was already on summer vacation, the school gate was bustling with activity. From a distance, she could see a red banner hanging above the gate with the names of students who had been admitted to key universities.

Jiang Rou, who had good vision, saw that her name was second on the list. The student ranked first in the liberal arts class had been admitted to the top university in the country.

Jiang Rou’s scores were actually high enough to apply to even better schools. However, since the process required choosing a major before receiving the final scores, she was hesitant to apply to top-tier universities and opted for a less popular major.

Nonetheless, Jiang Rou was pleased to have been admitted, which she considered a significant achievement.

As she entered the school, Jiang Rou noticed several familiar faces, all of whom were former classmates. When they saw her, a complex expression crossed their faces.

Jiang Rou walked towards the Academic Affairs Office without changing her expression. As she passed the teaching building, she saw her homeroom teacher, Zeng, chatting and laughing with a group of teachers.

Jiang Rou greeted, “Hello, teacher.”

Seeing it was her, Teacher Zeng waved at her, “Come here.”

Then, she proudly introduced Jiang Rou to the other teachers, saying, “This is my student, Jiang Rou. It’s my fault. When she was filling out the application form, I advised her not to choose a top school. Now it’s too late. Otherwise, she could have gone to Z University or H University. I feel terrible thinking about it now.”

Jiang Rou smiled and walked over. “Teacher, don’t say that. My abilities are what they are. Even if you had advised me to choose a better school, I wouldn’t have had the courage to do so. This time, it was just luck.”

“Besides, G University has always been my dream school, so I’m already very satisfied.”

The female teacher next to Teacher Zeng smiled and said, “I noticed you chose a major in Traditional Chinese Medicine. You should study hard. We teachers often have minor health issues related to our profession, so if you learn well, you can help us.”

Another female teacher asked, “Why study traditional Chinese medicine?” Didn’t your homeroom teacher say you were good at English? English majors are in high demand, and it’s easier to find a job after graduation.”

Jiang Rou’s smile grew wider. “I have a great appreciation for Chinese medicine and want to learn more about it.”

She spoke sincerely. Previously, when Jin Dayou had come to her house for dinner, he mentioned that some classmates looked down on Chinese medicine and considered it outdated. He was very upset and scolded them for their admiration of foreign things.

Hearing this made her uncomfortable, especially since she had been exposed to the field of criminal justice. She knew that cultural invasion was a long-standing issue, and it was particularly severe in the field of Chinese medicine. Foreign countries maliciously propagated the notion that Chinese medicine was useless, undermining people’s trust and simultaneously stealing valuable prescriptions.

She had heard from classmates that traditional Chinese medicine was not inherently bad but that many valuable medicinal materials had ended up abroad. The efficacy of medicine was closely tied to its ingredients, and materials from different regions varied significantly. Country R spent large amounts of money each year buying the best Chinese medicinal materials, leaving only lesser-quality materials for her country.

During her time at school, Jiang Rou had even heard her teacher recount a case from decades ago, where an old Chinese medicine doctor’s family was murdered in order to protect a valuable Chinese medicine prescription.

The incident had been particularly brutal.

Jiang Rou believed that Chinese medicine was not inferior to Western medicine. Twenty years later, during a global epidemic, Chinese medicine played a significant role in the country’s vaccine development.

Jiang Rou felt she was a very contradictory person. During her time at the police academy and internships, she found the work exhausting and often thought about changing careers.

Yet, when filling out her college applications, she considered applying to the police academy again, realizing that despite the hardships, she now looked back on that time with fondness.

Yet she remained rational, knowing that her current condition could not compare to her past life. Previously, she had been among the top performers during training and came from a reputable family.

Now, with Li Xiao having been imprisoned multiple times—even though he had no criminal record, it could be discovered easily if checked—and the most troubling factor was her own family—a ticking time bomb.

She didn’t want to be dragged down by her family before she even graduated.

Teacher Zeng patted her on the shoulder and encouraged her, “Study hard. No matter what your major is, if you study hard, you’ll be a valuable talent.”

Jiang Rou nodded, fully agreeing with this perspective.

After exchanging a few words, Jiang Rou left with Li Xin and An An. As they arrived at the academic office and had just climbed the stairs, they saw several people coming out of the office, one of whom was Zhang Ping.

Zhang Ping held two notices in her hands. When she heard footsteps, she instinctively looked up and saw Jiang Rou. She smiled and waved. “I was just about to look for you. Here, this is your notice.”

Jiang Rou quickly walked over and took her notice letter. It displayed the name of the university and an image of the campus entrance. It looked very grand and impressive.

She couldn’t help but smile and then asked Zhang Ping, “Which school did you get into? ”

Zhang Ping shrugged. “I didn’t get into my first choice, but fortunately, I was accepted into my second choice, which is Provincial Normal University.”

Jiang Rou remembered that Zhang Ping had mentioned her first choice was Beijing Normal University. So she comforted her. “It’s okay; you can always take the postgraduate entrance examination in the future.”

“Postgraduate entrance examination? ”Zhang Ping asked.

In their small county, information was scarce, and students knew little about the world beyond. They often thought that attending university was the ultimate goal, believing that everything would be perfect once they achieved that.

A handsome young man standing beside Zhang Ping interrupted, “Graduate school is for advanced study. After that, you can even pursue a doctorate. Completing graduate studies can lead to teaching positions at universities.”

Zhang Ping found this impressive but felt it was distant and unattainable. She hesitated and asked, “Is it difficult to pass the exam? ”

She had never considered becoming a university teacher. Her parents were ordinary farmers, and their greatest hope was for her to secure an office job in the county after graduating from university, believing that this would be the best possible outcome.

Jiang Rou explained, “You can only apply for graduate school in your senior year. You still have four years, so just start preparing early.”

Zhang Ping nodded, feeling a mix of emotions.

The young man beside Zhang Ping suddenly asked Jiang Rou, “Why did you suddenly choose to study in G Province? Didn’t you previously say you wanted to go to a university in S City? ”

Jiang Rou looked up and glanced at the boy. This was Wen Yang, the boy Zhang Ping had mentioned. He appeared thin and neat, with a gentle demeanor, but was about a head shorter than Li Xiao.

Li Xiao was very tall, around 1.86 or 1.87 meters, while Jiang Rou, who was not short herself, only reached his chin when they stood together.

Wen Yang was likely about 178 cm tall. His gaze shifted from Jiang Rou’s face to An An. An An was nestled in Li Xin’s arms.

Seeing the round, white face of the child, he vaguely recognized some resemblance to Li Xiao.

He remembered Li Xiao because of his striking appearance, and the child looked quite similar to him.

Wen Yang felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

Before Jiang Rou could respond, another girl hurriedly jumped in, “Her partner must be in G Province, right? It’s best for a family to stay together.”

Jiang Rou looked at the girl who spoke. The girl had a slight smile on her face, which faded into a more innocent expression when Jiang Rou glanced at her. She asked, “Did I guess wrong? ”

Jiang Rou frowned, finding the girl’s tone odd.

At that moment, Li Xin stepped forward and suddenly said, “I remember you. Last time, during registration, you were mocking my sister, saying her grades were never very good and questioning how she could get into a good university.”

She then glanced at the notification letter in the girl’s hand and remarked, “Oh, so it’s a second-tier college in our city. It seems like your results weren’t as impressive as my sister’s.”

The girl’s face turned red, and she quickly hid her notification letter behind her, saying angrily, “What are you talking about? ”

Li Xin rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking nonsense. You’re all speaking so loudly; we’re not deaf.”

Her gaze swept over the people around her.

Several of them looked slightly embarrassed, as none of them had done as well as Jiang Rou in the exams.

Jiang Rou, unfazed, said directly to Li Xin, “Let’s go. There’s no need to get worked up. People who lack ability often feel the need to make a lot of noise.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

Li Xin hugged An An, gave a sneer at the group, and followed Jiang Rou.

It was a relieving moment for her.

The group of girls stood there with dark expressions, unable to refute Jiang Rou’s words.

Wen Yang stared at Jiang Rou’s retreating figure in a daze.

In his memory, Jiang Rou had always been timid and weak. Even if others bullied her, she would silently endure it without ever daring to retaliate.

He had never seen her respond so boldly and sarcastically.

Zhang Ping was also taken aback, but she quickly seemed to remember something and hurried after Jiang Rou.

Once she caught up, she asked Jiang Rou if she knew how to apply for graduate school.
Jiang Rou explained, “Graduate school entrance exams are different from the college entrance exams. The questions are set by the professors from the school you’re applying to. There are both written and oral parts. For the written part, you should try to contact students from that program and get their class notes. Even if you can’t, it’s fine. There are specified subjects, and most of the questions are based on those materials. Just study those books thoroughly. For the interview, you’ll need to consult seniors who have taken the exam before and ask for their advice.

She provided a lot of information, and Zhang Ping listened attentively. When they finally left the school, Jiang Rou added, “If you want to try, just work hard for it. There are people from ordinary second-tier universities who’ve managed to get into graduate programs at Peking University. You can definitely do it too.”

Zhang Ping was excited and nodded. “I originally planned to work in S City during the summer vacation, but now I’ll find something to do in the county and study more in my spare time.”

Jiang Rou waved to her. “I’m leaving now. Let’s keep in touch.”

Zhang Ping stopped, looked at Jiang Rou, and waved back. “Okay, let’s keep in touch.”

—o—o—o—