Wen Ying knew her mother wouldn’t object.
But as for how many points could be reduced, Wen Ying wasn’t entirely sure.
Surely she’d need to win first place in the competition before worrying about admission score reductions?
“There are over a dozen universities co-hosting the contest. The more prestigious the school, the smaller the score reduction, usually around twenty to thirty points. Some universities are more generous, prioritizing first-place winners who meet the first-tier admission line,” Wen Ying said cautiously, drawing on memories from her past life.
Top universities would likely reduce scores by about twenty points.
Based on this year’s college entrance exam in Sichuan Province, the science admission lines for the two top universities, Huaqing and Jingda, were 662 and 665 points, respectively. The top science student in Sichuan scored 692.
In 2004, students still estimated their scores before filling out university applications. It wasn’t until the following year that the policy shifted to applying based on actual scores. This meant that, regardless of whether they were top students or not, everyone had already submitted their applications before knowing their results.
Estimated scores often differed from actual ones. Science subjects had clear scoring standards, but subjects like English and Chinese, especially reading comprehension and essays, were hard to predict accurately. Even top students couldn’t guess their essay scores precisely, so those bold enough to apply to Huaqing or Jingda needed to estimate at least 670 points to feel confident.
Fortunately, by next year, Sichuan’s application policy would change. Wen Ying’s college entrance exam was in 2007, by which time applications were based on actual scores. She wouldn’t need to estimate and could choose universities that matched her results. She couldn’t recall the exact admission lines for Huaqing and Jingda in Sichuan for 2007, but she remembered the first-tier science line was 533 points.
In 2004, Sichuan’s first-tier science line was 538 points, with Huaqing’s line 124 points higher and Jingda’s 127 points higher.
Estimating based on this gap, to get into either university in 2007, Wen Ying would need to score at least 660 points.
Even with a second chance at life, Wen Ying didn’t dare claim she could definitely hit 660.
Improving from a low score to a higher one wasn’t too difficult. A student scoring around 300 could, with a year of review, reach 400. The potential for improvement was vast, and gaining over 100 points across subjects wasn’t a big challenge if they studied diligently and secured points through memorization.
For someone scoring around 400, reaching 500 after a year of review required not just rote learning but deeper understanding. It was harder than jumping from 300 to 400, yet many still managed it.
But for someone already scoring 500, gaining another 100 points to compete for Huaqing or Jingda was far more challenging than the previous leaps.
As the saying goes: small wealth comes from effort, moderate wealth from virtue, and great wealth from fate.
Scoring 500 was like small wealth, 600 was moderate wealth, and 650 or above was great wealth.
Students who scored above 650 were diligent, but it wasn’t just about effort. The higher the score, the more intelligence gaps between students became apparent. A top student could learn in one hour what a weaker student might not grasp in ten.
Recalling her past wasn’t pleasant. Wen Ying didn’t want to admit she was a weak student, but in her previous life, even at a provincial key school, she was only a moderately wealthy student by exam time, still dozens of points shy of greatness.
Huaqing and Jingda’s score reductions of twenty or thirty points weren’t enough for Wen Ying to reach.
So, unless she could score 650, she hadn’t even considered whether the New Concept Composition Contest’s score reduction would help.
Wen Ying set her standards high, almost dismissing the contest’s first-place reduction policy.
Chen Ru, however, was different.
Hearing that scores could be reduced by at least twenty points, and that some generous universities might admit first-place winners at the first-tier line, her eyes lit up.
Chen Ru hadn’t dared dream of Wen Ying attending Huaqing or Jingda. There were other prestigious universities nationwide. If scores were reduced by thirty or forty points, Wen Ying might actually secure a spot at one.
With Chen Ru’s current financial mindset, even a twenty-point reduction made the trip to Shanghai worthwhile. It was just a two- or three-day commitment. Why not go? A few extra days of study wouldn’t yield twenty points.
The value of competing in Shanghai far outweighed their previous trip to Macau.
Chen Ru was all in, raising both hands and feet in support.
Not only did she agree to let Wen Ying go to Shanghai, but she also planned to take leave to accompany her.
“What?!” Wen Ying was surprised. “Mum, you’re skipping work?”
Chen Ru rolled her eyes. “Of course I’ll work. How else would I support you? But taking a couple of days off is fine.”
Banking was demanding, but for someone like Chen Ru with strong performance, getting leave was easy. She still thought the score reduction was the priority.
Before even reaching Shanghai, Chen Ru was already banking on Wen Ying winning first place. Wen Ying felt the pressure.
If she said now that her chances of winning were slim, Chen Ru’s glare could wound her.
She didn’t know what Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong discussed that night, but the next day, Chen Ru brought home a stack of composition books: *New Concept Composition Highlights*, *New Concept Composition Contest First-Place Essays*, *Exploring New Concept*. It was clear she wanted Wen Ying to cram the contest’s style before the semifinals.
Wen Ying seized the chance to make a request. “Actually, cramming sample essays last-minute doesn’t help with writing. It might even hurt if you’re influenced by others. It’s about long-term accumulation. Reading extracurricular books is useful.”
A lack of reading impacted more than just Chinese grades.
How could anyone improve without reading?
For a long time, though, Chen Ru had labeled anything beyond textbooks and study guides as “idle books.”
She misunderstood, thinking Wen Ying meant novels. With the Shanghai competition approaching, Chen Ru didn’t want to argue. “We’ll talk after the contest,” she said vaguely.
Wen Ying mulled it over. Did her mum mean she’d only be allowed to read “idle books” if she won first place?
Even if Chen Ru objected, it wouldn’t stop Wen Ying from reading extracurricular books. Still, the thought of openly keeping novels in her room gave her a small thrill.
Fine, if she actually won first place, her writing hobby might finally be taken seriously.
“We’ll talk after the contest. I’m not in a rush,” Wen Ying said.
Before heading to Shanghai, Wen Ying heard that Yu Wenhao had been arrested. Qin Xianming had moved to close the net, but Yu Wenhao and his son resisted fiercely. Yu Wenhao led a group to storm the Qin family home, taking Mrs. Qin hostage and facing off with the police. After failed negotiations, he shot Mrs. Qin.
Wen Ying’s hands trembled as she answered the call.
“Is Auntie badly hurt?”
