The world is vast, and people are all different.
Some mothers are cultured and refined like Zou Weijun.
Some are emotionally intelligent like Mrs Wang or Mrs Peng.
Some are domineering and stubborn like Chen Ru.
And some, like Yue Shanni’s mother, are crude and unpolished: no successful career, no intact marriage, living a chaotic, muddled life… yet she is still a mother, and she loves her child in her own rough way.
Or rather, precisely because Yue’s mother’s life was already a complete mess, the moment she learned her daughter had crossed the second-tier line, a faint ray of light suddenly pierced that mess.
If Shanni could go to university, no matter what, it had to be better than entering society too early and struggling, right?
A female university graduate would most likely never end up wasting her days in a smoky mahjong den.
Even if betrayed in marriage, she would have the ability to support herself and her children.
That was enough!
Shanni absolutely had to go to university. She must not repeat her mother’s mistakes!
Watching her mother lower her voice and beg her own family for money, Yue Shanni suddenly burst into tears.
493 really wasn’t a high score.
A second-tier degree didn’t carry that much weight.
If only she had woken up sooner, started working harder earlier, and reached the first-tier line, would her mother have been even prouder?
Yue Shanni wiped her tears with her sleeve, ran back to her room, and called Song Shao.
Without Song Shao arranging her transfer, she would have dropped out long ago. Forget second-tier; she wouldn’t even have reached vocational college.
“…Class monitor, thank you for helping me.”
On the other end, Song Shao’s voice was as gentle as ever. “I only helped because you wanted to change. And I’m glad you finally stopped thinking I arranged the transfer just to help Wen Ying.”
Yue Shanni felt embarrassed.
“Don’t tease me. Everyone has moments when their brain doesn’t work properly! By the way, do you know how many marks she got?”
“She” naturally meant Wen Ying.
Song Shao did know; he had seen Wen Ying’s QQ message just before Yue Shanni rang.
“671. That score is safe for Huaqing or Jingda. Jealous?”
Jealous?
A little, yes!
But this time Yue Shanni wasn’t jealous that Wen Ying scored so high. She was mainly jealous that Wen Ying had such a sharp mind.
She knew her own limits. Even if she had started working hard three years earlier, 671 would still have been impossible.
Yue Shanni muttered, “You might think I’m overreaching, but everyone needs a goal, right?”
Clearly the “goal” she meant was Wen Ying.
Song Shao didn’t laugh at her for aiming too high. Instead he encouraged her. “I agree. Wen Ying herself doesn’t know, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind being your target.”
Setting a high goal is never ridiculous.
What matters is choosing the right person to chase.
Wen Ying was loved by so many readers and scored 671; she was outstanding in every way.
Even if you never reach her height, striving toward someone excellent will still make you better than average!
In the past Yue Shanni had kept her distance from straight-A students like Song Shao. Only after actually dealing with him did she understand why he commanded such respect in class. Now she genuinely admired him too.
News that Yue Shanni had crossed the second-tier line stunned the old little clique.
Ma Lingling bluntly asked if she had cheated and complained that Yue Shanni was disloyal for not sharing the cheating method with her sisters.
Liu Yan, who had also reached second-tier, was surprised but still congratulated her, while mentally drawing a new line: from now on, in the old group, only Yue Shanni was still worth staying in touch with!
Fang Hui, who only reached vocational level, simply could not accept Yue Shanni’s comeback.
“You got 493? Are you joking? The gaokao isn’t like normal exams where you can alter your score. When everyone else gets their admission letters and you don’t, your lie will be exposed…”
Yue Shanni was speechless.
She had been about to tell Fang Hui to ask Teacher Kang or check the admission ticket number herself, but the words died in her throat.
Why should she bother explaining to Fang Hui?
Screw it. Believe whatever you want!
Suddenly Yue Shanni felt like needling her. “493 isn’t even that high. If you think I couldn’t get it, fine. I heard Wen Ying got 671. I bet you think that’s fake too!”
What?
Wen Ying got 671?!
Fang Hui choked, instantly silenced.
…
Song Shao used Wen Ying to motivate Yue Shanni to study.
Yue Shanni used Wen Ying’s score to shock Fang Hui.
Wen Ying herself remained completely unaware.
Today Wen Ying was going to the provincial key school to fill in her university choices!
She woke early.
Chen Ru said she would accompany her, but had to deal with some work first, so Wen Ying waited at home. While waiting she went on QQ, called Teacher Kang, and of course double-checked preferences with Xie Qian.
It was ten o’clock before mother and daughter finally left the house.
Just as Lin Lin had said, fill in the form quickly and leave Rongcheng fast; the battle for top students at famous universities had nothing to do with her. Reality proved Wen Ying was too optimistic. Along with this year’s Sichuan cut-off lines came the provincial rankings.
This year’s provincial top scorer in science got 690.
Only three people scored between 680 and 689.
Twenty-eight scored between 670 and 679!
Wen Ying’s 671 placed her 31st in the entire province.
Huaqing and Jingda together recruited over 100 students from Sichuan every year. How could they possibly let a high scorer like Wen Ying slip away?
Lin Lin’s refusal meant nothing to the admissions teachers; perhaps Lin Lin hadn’t conveyed their sincerity clearly. They had to meet Wen Ying in person!
So the moment Wen Ying arrived at school, she was ambushed.
Huaqing told her she could choose any major she wanted.
Jingda emphasised their outstanding humanities programmes.
“So many famous writers have attended lectures by Jingda professors. If you choose Jingda, you can take those priceless classes whenever you like.”
You had to admit, the Jingda teacher knew exactly where to aim. After just a few days of literature classes, Wen Ying had already gained a lot. Systematic professional instruction would definitely help her own writing.
The Huaqing teacher immediately countered, “Writers aren’t trained; they create freely. Come to Huaqing. We’ll give you complete creative freedom!”
Thank goodness Old Wen hadn’t come today.
If he had, whether it was Huaqing or Jingda, he would definitely have tried to force Wen Ying to pick one.
While the two admissions teachers tag-teamed her, Chen Ru kept glancing at the office door.
Finally, a familiar figure appeared.
Wen Ying was surprised. “Why are you here?”
The man standing in the doorway was Professor Shen, Wu Chunqin’s husband.
Professor Shen strode in, first smiling and nodding at Wen Ying and Chen Ru, then announcing to the Huaqing and Jingda teachers, “No need to fight. This student was already decided on by our university long ago.”
Professor Shen wasn’t directly in charge of admissions.
But to prevent Wen Ying from being poached, he was willing to fly in personally!
Already decided long ago?
The two teachers didn’t buy it for a second.
If she had been secured early, she would have gone through special admission or independent recruitment. As far as they knew, Wen Ying sat the normal gaokao and scored 671 raw.
Professor Shen smiled. “You didn’t know? Back in Year 10, classmate Wen Ying won first prize in the New Concept Essay Competition. She was already eligible for our score-reduction policy. After she won, we reached an agreement. Wen Ying, however, has pride; she wanted to rely on her own ability in the gaokao. Our university fully respects that decision.”
An agreement?
Wen Ying blinked.
If she weren’t the person involved, even she would have believed Professor Shen, let alone the two teachers who knew nothing of the inside story.
Everyone had to keep things civil; they couldn’t start a brawl over recruitment. Both teachers urged Wen Ying to think carefully and not rush her decision.
“The volunteer deadline is 30 June. There’s no hurry.”
True, the official deadline was 30 June.
But Wen Ying only had today off from the literature college!
There was really nothing to hesitate about.
Shanghai had plenty of great universities. Wen Ying had indeed considered Shanghai Jiao Tong University at first, but then remembered it was jokingly called “Dongchuan Road Men’s Vocational College”; almost all its strong subjects were engineering, which didn’t suit her at all.
The school that suited her best was still Aurora University, where Professor Shen taught.
Xie Qian didn’t mind either way.
Wherever Wen Ying applied, he would follow. He had already decided to stay classmates with her.
Professor Shen had guessed other universities would try to snatch her once her score came out, so he booked the earliest flight to Rongcheng that morning. No wonder Chen Ru had dawdled until ten o’clock; she was stalling for Professor Shen!
Wen Ying wasn’t angry. On the contrary, she found Professor Shen’s sincerity touching. Right in front of him, she filled in her form and handed it to Teacher Lin Lin.
Teacher Lin confirmed again, “You’re sure you won’t change it?”
Wen Ying nodded vigorously. “Unless I personally come to you to change it, consider it final.”
She was still being cautious.
Chen Ru’s willingness to stall meant she had truly accepted and respected Wen Ying’s choice.
Old Wen’s refusal to come today was precisely because he didn’t want to watch her turn down Huaqing and Jingda… What if he snapped and tried to alter her choices behind her back?
This wasn’t Wen Ying letting her imagination run wild; she had seen plenty of similar news stories in her previous life.
Teacher Lin took the form. “Don’t worry. While it’s with me, nobody can touch it.”
Handing over the form, Wen Ying felt a mixture of relief and a touch of melancholy.
For three whole years of high school, she had agonised over this.
In this life, would she still study law?
At that moment, the question finally settled.
Since she had been given a second chance at life, everything could start anew!
She wouldn’t study law or become a lawyer, yet she would still acknowledge Zheng Zhihe as her senior martial brother. The teachers from her previous life would remain her teachers. None of that would change in her heart.
Professor Shen wasn’t surprised that Wen Ying ultimately chose Aurora University.
What surprised him was her choice of major.
She had actually chosen finance?
“You’re interested in finance?”
He was puzzled.
Finance was indeed one of Aurora’s flagship programmes, but it had nothing to do with being a bestselling author!
Wen Ying looked utterly relaxed. “I’m interested in lots of fields. Life is long; if I get the chance, I want to try everything.”
That answer was peak writer!
“Classmate Wen Ying, on behalf of Aurora University, I welcome you.”
Professor Shen shook her hand solemnly. “I am truly delighted today, delighted that I was able to recruit such an outstanding student for Aurora University!”
