Font Size:
The 23rd.
Monday.
It was supposed to be a regular workday, but because today was the crucial day for the college entrance exam results, Old Xu and Zhang Hong both asked their workplaces for half a day off.
“It’s almost ten o’clock. Why hasn’t your son woken up yet?” Old Xu said. “He came home late last night, too.”
Zhang Hong waved her hand. “Go wake him up quickly. The scores will be released soon. Don’t delay important matters.”
No matter how big the world was, today’s college entrance exam results were the biggest concern.
Zhang Hong was so nervous she could hardly sit still.
Old Xu hurried to his son’s room and saw him sprawled on the bed like a dead log, fast asleep. He stepped forward and called out twice.
“Son, son.”
Xu Ye was still dreaming, showing no sign of waking.
Old Xu stepped closer and slapped Xu Ye’s raised backside. “Son, get up. The scores are about to be released.”
Xu Ye rubbed his backside and said helplessly, “Stop bothering me. Let me sleep a little longer. The admission ticket is on the desk—you can check the scores yourself.”
Old Xu had no choice but to take the admission ticket and return to the living room.
“Still not up?”
“Not fully awake yet. The admission ticket is here—they told us to check the scores ourselves.”
“What’s wrong with that little rascal? Still able to sleep at a time like this? I’m nervous to death.”
Old Xu smiled, “If he can sleep, that’s a good sign. It means he’s confident. It’s those who aren’t confident who get nervous.”
“I’m not worried about the other subjects, but English—he absolutely must do well.”
“As long as he passes.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Twenty minutes later.
“Old Xu, it’s time.”
“Hurry, hurry, give me the admission ticket.”
“You have to log into the website first.”
“I can’t get in.”
“That’s because too many people are checking at once. Just keep refreshing.”
“…”
The couple was busy outside, stressed out, while Xu Ye lay in his room for another half hour, unable to fall asleep. He finally got up and walked out.
“Did you get the results?”
“No, it keeps loading in circles. We can’t get in at all. Maybe our home internet is bad?”
Xu Ye walked over and sat between them. Then he took out his phone, logged into the score-checking website, entered his admission ticket and other information, and clicked ‘search.’ A progress bar appeared on the browser, stuck halfway, then suddenly the page refreshed.
It worked!
Xu Ye wasn’t mentally prepared—he thought it would be stuck for a long time before he could get in.
But the page refreshed immediately.
Xu Ye’s eyes locked directly onto the English score column:
125 points!
It seemed the answers he remembered that day were all correct!
“Ah!”
Zhang Hong leaned in to take a look at the screen, then suddenly shouted loudly, startling Old Xu. “What are you yelling about?”
“558! 558!”
Zhang Hong was afraid she had misread it, so she leaned in again to double-check. When she realized she wasn’t mistaken, she was so excited she couldn’t even speak.
Old Xu stepped forward skeptically and frowned. “Son, how did you cheat on your English?”
“How could I cheat on the college entrance exam? If you don’t know the answers, you just have to guess blindly. Maybe I was just lucky.”
“Damn!”
Old Xu stood up straight, his back stiffening. “Our family’s ancestral grave is smoking! According to last year’s cutoff scores, this score is good enough for a first-tier university.”
“Old Xu, quickly call Mom and Dad to share the good news!”
“Got it!”
Although he had expected this, seeing both Mom and Old Xu so happy made Xu Ye feel relieved. He let out a breath and sent a message to Qin Zhiwei.
Xu Ye: “Wei Ge, have you got your scores yet?”
Qin Zhiwei: “Still checking.”
Qin Zhiwei: “Did you get yours?”
Xu Ye: “Yeah.”
Qin Zhiwei: “What’s your score?”
Xu Ye: “558.”
Qin Zhiwei: “No way, don’t mess with me!”
Xu Ye sent a screenshot of the score page directly to him.
One minute passed.
Two minutes.
Three minutes later.
Qin Zhiwei called. Xu Ye answered and put the call on speaker.
“Xu Ye, damn it, you scored 558? Are you even human? You’re a beast! I swear, if you were in front of me, I’d stab you. How the hell did you get 125 in English? Did you see the answers or cheat? I can’t live anymore…”
Qin Zhiwei was classic “afraid my brother struggles, but also afraid my brother drives a Land Rover.”
Xu Ye, hearing him rant nonstop, didn’t bother responding.
Soon after, Aunt Wang’s voice came from the other end: “Zhiwei, Zhiwei, I found it! You scored 507.”
Xu Ye was a little surprised to hear that score.
He remembered that in the previous life, after checking their college entrance exam results, Qin Zhiwei only said he was a little better than Xu Ye. Xu Ye had always thought he was only about ten points ahead. He hadn’t expected that he also scored over five hundred.
“Son, 507 definitely passed the second-tier university cutoff, right?”
“Mom, that damn Xu Ye scored 558. He can get into a first-tier university.”
“He’s him, you’re you. As long as you can get into a second-tier university, your mother is already satisfied.”
Only then did Xu Ye speak up: “Wei Ge, I’ll come find you this afternoon to practice driving.”
Qin Zhiwei replied, “I don’t want to see you right now.”
Xu Ye said, “Then just get lost.”
After hanging up, Qin Zhiwei was about to call back when their homeroom teacher called to ask about the scores.
Qin Zhiwei had always been a steady student with a good chance of getting into university, so the teacher was eager to know if he made it. If more students got into university this year, the teacher might get a bigger bonus.
“Hello, Teacher.”
“Qin Zhiwei, have you checked your scores yet?”
“Yes, I have.”
Qin Zhiwei’s tone was a bit down, making the teacher think he hadn’t done well. The teacher was about to offer some comfort and mention the option of repeating the year.
“I scored 507.”
The homeroom teacher’s tone suddenly grew excited. He laughed, “Scoring over five hundred means you can get into a public second-tier university. Not bad. So far, you’re the second-best in our class after Li Nan.”
Qin Zhiwei said, frustrated, “Teacher, do you know how much Xu Ye scored?”
The teacher replied, “He scored lower than you in all three mock exams. I estimate he’s between 450 and 480. It’s uncertain if he’ll reach the second-tier cutoff.”
Qin Zhiwei said, “We just talked on the phone. He scored 558.”
“What?!!!”
The teacher’s face twisted in shock.
“It’s true. He even sent me a screenshot.”
“How much did he get in English?”
“Over 120. He said he guessed blindly on the questions he didn’t know, and surprisingly, all those guesses were right.”
“Oh my goodness, his family’s ancestral grave must be smoking!” The teacher was incredibly excited. “I’m calling right now to confirm!”
The college entrance exam is very different from regular school tests.
If a student suddenly scored very well on a regular school exam, teachers would definitely suspect cheating or a grading error. But the college entrance exam was different—if someone cheated and still scored well, that was considered their own skill.
The college entrance exam only cared about the final result; nobody cared how you got there.
In the high school group chat:
Li Nan: “Just got a call from the homeroom teacher. I scored 509, the highest in the class. The second-tier university cutoff this year is 471. Anyone else pass the university cutoff?”
Duan Qingjun: “I got 486.”
Gu Mengyao: “492.”
Li Nan: “Is that all? Qin Zhiwei, how much did you get?”
Qin Zhiwei: “507.”
Li Nan: “Looks like I’m the highest scorer in the class. We’re having a celebration party this summer. You’re all invited if you’re free.”
Xie Hong: “Told you so.”
Jiang Lei: “Damn, I only got a little over 300, and just 65 in English.”
Qin Zhiwei: “Both of you shut up.”
Xie Hong: “???”
Jiang Lei: “???”
Qin Zhiwei: “Xu Ye’s total score is 558, which is above the first-tier score line!”
Qin Zhiwei knew that few people would believe him, so he blurred out the key information in the screenshot sent by Xu Ye and sent it directly to the group.
After Xu Ye hung up the phone with his head teacher, he saw that Qin Zhiwei had exposed his college entrance examination scores, and he was so angry that he wanted to curse.
“Damn you, did I ask you to act cool for me?”