“At the restaurant entrance, Xie Qian suggested, “President Ran, Uncle Zhijun, why don’t you two head off first? I’ll wait for Guoqing.”
President Ran did have something he wanted to discuss privately with Zhang Zhijun, so he didn’t stand on ceremony. “You young people have your own business. We won’t keep you. Keqing, have you swapped contact details with Xie Qian yet?”
Ran Keqing waved her phone with a smile. “President Little Xie, do me the honour?”
Xie Qian was eager to see Zhang Zhijun leave, so he saved her number without hesitation.
Before departing, Zhang Zhijun made sure to invite Xie Qian to visit his home sometime, and Xie Qian agreed readily.
Once the three had gone, Xie Qian waited patiently.
Three minutes, five minutes… fifteen minutes later, Peng Guoqing finally emerged clutching his jacket, winking furiously. “Why did you—”
“We’ll talk when we get back.”
Xie Qian cut him off instantly.
The two hailed a taxi. This time Xie Qian didn’t go to his eldest uncle Xie Yuping’s house; he went straight to his grandmother’s.
When they got out, Xie Qian took the jacket from Peng Guoqing. Still completely confused, Peng Guoqing heard Xie Qian say first, “It’s too late tonight. I’ll explain when the time is right. For now, keep this to yourself and don’t tell anyone else.”
“…Fine.”
Peng Guoqing’s spirits sank.
Xie Qian refusing to tell him anything meant either he thought Peng Guoqing was stupid or he didn’t trust him. Peng Guoqing felt quite dejected.
Xie Qian had one foot already out of the car when he suddenly turned back. “Thank you for today. You helped me enormously.”
Peng Guoqing’s gloom vanished in an instant, replaced by boundless energy.
“We’ve been friends since we were in diapers. No need to thank me for something this small!”
Heh heh.
Xie Qian did value him after all.
If he couldn’t say it now, there must be some unspeakable reason.
As his lifelong buddy, Peng Guoqing had to be understanding!
Feeling thoroughly convinced by his own pep talk, he hummed all the way home.
Xie Qian carried Peng Guoqing’s jacket into Grandma Xie’s house.
For DNA sampling, a wine glass wasn’t ideal; success rates were higher with a water glass. Throughout dinner Xie Qian had watched Zhang Zhijun closely and noticed the man only drank alcohol, never water. He had picked up food a few times but set the chopsticks down again while talking, without even wetting them with saliva.
He didn’t drink water, didn’t really eat, and never smoked once. That left only the wine glass.
Tonight Zhang Zhijun had come of his own accord—the setting where he would be least suspicious. Missing this chance meant waiting who-knows-how-long for another.
Half an hour later, Xie Qian left his grandmother’s house still hugging the same jacket. It looked unchanged.
After stowing the item safely, he finally headed to Xie Yuping’s home.
He needed to speak with Xie Yuping about that private meeting with Wen Ying.
…
…
Xie Qian had only visited the literature academy once since that day. After that he kept in touch with Wen Ying by phone every day.
Wen Ying didn’t mind at all. Her training was going splendidly; she absorbed new knowledge like a sponge and felt wonderfully fulfilled.
This happy state lasted until the 23 June, when she had to return to Rongcheng to fill in her university choices. While waiting at the airport, she suddenly remembered something and couldn’t resist calling Xie Qian.
“It’s weird. Zhang Nan said she was coming to find me but never showed up. Did something happen?”
“If she didn’t come, just ignore her. Go back to Rongcheng and fill your forms in peace.”
Scores would be released after midnight tonight. Wen Ying asked a question she had wondered about for ages. “After the exam, you really never estimated your own marks?”
Xie Qian answered cheerfully, “Of course I did, but I wasn’t sure whether you wanted to know.”
“Then forget it. Tell me tonight after we check. Let me keep a little surprise!”
Xie Qian laughed over the phone.
What difference did a few hours make? The little hamster’s ostrich syndrome was acting up again.
Wen Ying’s parents both came to the airport to fetch her.
Wen Dongrong looked extremely pleased with himself. “Once you finish filling in your choices tomorrow, your mum and I have a present for you!”
Wen Ying was surprised. “What present?”
“Secret for now.”
Typical Dad.
Before they even reached home, Lin Lin called.
“Wen Ying, you’re back? I need to tell you something—think it over carefully. Your estimated score was 660, which is definitely above the cutoff for Huaqing and Jingda this year. The admissions teachers from both universities want to meet you.”
Ordinary students look up at the top universities in awe; little do they know the top universities fight tooth and nail over top candidates.
The kind of treatment Teacher Lin described—Wen Ying wouldn’t have dared dream of it in her previous life. Even in this life, among everyone she knew, only Qin Jiao had enjoyed it.
Back then, after the gaokao, Huaqing and Jingda had battled over Qin Jiao. Their admissions teachers took turns talking to her, and in the end she chose Jingda’s Guanghua School of Management.
Wen Ying had assumed the scramble for top students only began after scores were released. She hadn’t expected it to start this early.
Lin Lin laughed over the phone. “Waiting until scores come out to fight for talent would be dereliction of duty. The earliest battles are for guaranteed admission, then independent recruitment. You missed both of those, but because your estimated score is higher than your usual results, the admissions teachers from both schools would rather kill a thousand innocents than let one fish slip the net! Which school do you want to meet first? I’ll arrange it.”
She deliberately emphasised “fish slip the net” to tease Wen Ying.
Ever since Wen Ying answered the call, Wen Dongrong had parked at the roadside.
Husband and wife both pricked up their ears.
Hearing that Huaqing and Jingda were fighting to meet their daughter, Wen Dongrong itched to snatch the phone and accept on her behalf.
Chen Ru reached over and pinched his thigh hard. Wen Dongrong grimaced in pain: Choose what? Kids make choices; adults take everything! Arrange for both admissions teachers to meet at the same time and let the universities “bid”. Whichever offers the best terms, she goes there!
Wen Ying’s resolve remained rock-solid. After a quiet sigh of admiration, she chose neither. “Teacher Lin, my decision hasn’t changed. Even if I scored ten points higher, I would still apply to universities in Shanghai.”
660 was very high?
Compared to her previous life’s gaokao score, yes, extremely high.
But compared to Xie Qian’s score, it was nothing special.
Although Xie Qian had never mentioned it, Wen Ying was certain that after returning to Beijing he too had faced temptation from Huaqing and Jingda.
He was the real top-tier candidate. Whatever major he chose, he would become a leader in that field. Neither university would let such a genius slip away easily.
Since Xie Qian had never brought it up, it meant he hadn’t changed his mind—he was still going to Shanghai.
If Xie Qian could refuse, why couldn’t she?
Lin Lin wasn’t particularly surprised. “You really are stubborn. It’s your freedom to choose whichever university you want; I won’t try to persuade you anymore. If you want to avoid harassment, come to school early tomorrow, fill in your choices, and leave. Then no one can find you to lobby!”
“Thanks, Teacher Lin. Got it!”
Wen Ying’s heart of the Dao was unshakable. She looked up to see Wen Dongrong slumped in the driver’s seat looking drained, one hand clutching his chest as if in great pain.
“Dad, are you okay?!”
Wen Dongrong couldn’t even speak. His wife knew him best. Though Chen Ru was disappointed too, she kept calmer. “His heart hurts. It hurts more than if he himself had missed Huaqing or Jingda.”
Wen Ying: (⊙o⊙)
Wen Dongrong was in such cardiac distress he couldn’t drive. Chen Ru banished him to the passenger seat and drove home herself.
Wen Ying’s three years of “resistance” since rebirth had not been in vain.
Chen Ru actually wanted Wen Ying to choose Huaqing or Jingda too, but seeing her daughter so resolute, she swallowed the words.
That night at midnight, the 2007 Sichuan Province gaokao score lookup system officially opened.
They dialled the hotline countless times.
They entered the admission ticket number countless times.
Both Wen Ying’s and Chen Ru’s phones kept saying “system busy, please try again later”. Wen Dongrong had turned into a salted fish the moment they got home.
Chen Ru couldn’t stand it. “Are you still breathing? If you are, help look up the score!”
The salted fish listlessly typed in the number—and actually got through.
“…Total score: 671.”
