Ding Aizhen was finished.

Whether her husband Zhu Chengchun would be implicated remained to be seen, but he likely wouldn’t have the courage or energy to deal with Xia Xiaolan anymore.

While Xia Xiaolan had helped push things along, the key player was Zheng Zhongfu. This honest man, pushed to his limits by Ding Aizhen, had made his last stand by unfurling that banner before the government offices, determined to succeed or die trying. If he couldn’t bring down Ding Aizhen and the factory director, Zheng Zhongfu would surely face consequences.

One could say both Xia Xiaolan and Zheng Zhongfu were lucky – their two situations coincided perfectly, creating an impact far greater than the sum of its parts!

For Xia Xiaolan, there was no need to kick someone who was already down. She had received her final exam results. Compared to her entrance exam scores three months ago, her progress was remarkable.

Chinese: 79 points

Mathematics: 102 points

English: 100 points

Politics: 53 points

Physics: 66 points

Chemistry: 80 points

Biology: 34 points

Total: 514 points.

Only three students in the entire school scored above 500 points. Xia Xiaolan ranked second in her grade. The top student scored 526, and third place got 508.

In Class Three, she had the highest scores!

From her entrance exam score of 446 to now scoring 514 – her total had improved by nearly 70 points. This terrifying rate of improvement delighted all of Class Three’s teachers.

With six months until the college entrance exam, could Xia Xiaolan reach 550 points? That wouldn’t just qualify her for a key university – she could aim for nationally renowned institutions!

The current top-ranked student naturally felt their position was precarious. Who could understand their feelings? To avoid being surpassed by Xia Xiaolan, they’d have to study with extreme dedication.

Teacher Qi, who taught Chinese, still wasn’t fully satisfied:

“There’s still room for improvement in your Chinese scores. More memorization, more reading comprehension practice – you can easily gain another 10 points!”

Ten more points in Chinese, ten in Politics – that would be 20 points right there.

Teacher Qi’s earnest expectations were for Xia Xiaolan’s benefit. Thinking about that 1984 math exam paper she had worked on, Xia Xiaolan thought she might be able to gain another 10 points in math too.

The maximum math score was 120, and she had scored 102 – already the highest single-subject score in school.

The young math teacher could hardly look at Xia Xiaolan with more fondness.

He had only tutored her a few times, but now he constantly praised “Student Xiaolan” this and that, making others jealous.

Principal Sun had also seen the final exam results. He remarked to his wife: “The Xia family’s girls are really good students. I think Xia Xiaolan’s college entrance exam results might even surpass her cousin Xia Ziyu’s. It’s remarkable for a rural family to produce two university students at once!”

With two university students leading the way, their younger siblings might take studying more seriously too.

If one or two more got into university, whether for bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, or technical schools, they would be able to establish themselves in the city. Changing from rural to urban registration would transform the whole family’s lives. Knowledge changes destiny – since ancient times, education has been one of the key ways to change one’s social status!

Principal Sun’s wife just smiled silently.

If Xia Xiaolan succeeded, it would likely have little to do with the Xia family. Hadn’t people said her parents divorced and she moved out with her mother?

The principal’s wife had gradually figured out the underlying meanings of the previous incident. The Xia family wasn’t concerned about Xia Xiaolan’s well-being at school – they were clearly trying to cause her trouble. Family feuds were their business, and she wouldn’t interfere on Xia Xiaolan’s behalf. But when she realized the Xia family had tried to use her and Old Sun as pawns, she felt disgusted.

Principal Sun quite liked Xia Ziyu. His wife wouldn’t badmouth Xia Ziyu’s parents in front of him, but she stopped eating at Zhang’s Restaurant.

“Sun Tian is coming today. Since you have a meeting at the Education Bureau, I’ll take her out to eat.”

Sun Tian was Principal Sun’s niece.

At first, they had kept it quiet, but Sun Tian couldn’t avoid visiting her uncle’s home. Principal Sun lived in the teachers’ dormitory, and after Sun Tian visited twice, the school staff figured out her relationship with the principal. Learning that the new Teacher Sun was the principal’s niece, colleagues suddenly became eager to play matchmaker, especially Teacher Zhao, who constantly tried to curry favor with her.

“What do you think of young Zhao? I’ve heard he’s pursuing you quite enthusiastically.”

Sun Tian’s round face flushed red. “Auntie, not you too?”

Teacher Zhao was indeed enthusiastic, but something about it felt off to Sun Tian.

Since Mrs. Sun wasn’t cooking at home, she took Sun Tian out to eat. When Sun Tian protested about the expense, Mrs. Sun pointed to Sister Huang’s Fast Food:

“Come on, let’s try something new here.”

What was wrong with competing with Zhang’s Restaurant? She didn’t owe them anything – couldn’t she eat elsewhere?

“Their rice bowls are delicious. I love their radish and lamb stew.”

When students ate at Sister Huang’s Fast Food, teachers naturally followed suit. Sun Tian’s salary was all her own to spend, and she could afford occasional meals out. Even eating these few-dime rice bowls daily would be within her means.

Sister Huang’s shop was bustling. Today students had received their report cards, then teachers had assigned winter vacation homework and organized classroom cleaning. By lunchtime, the small restaurant was packed, mostly with Class Three students.

“Teacher Sun?”

Xia Xiaolan was there and quickly offered her seat when she saw young Teacher Sun.

“Student Xia Xiaolan, no need, no need!”

Sun Tian was only in her early twenties, with a cute round face that made her look as young as her students. Though she didn’t teach the third-year classes, she had substituted for Teacher Qi a few times, and Class Three students all liked young Teacher Sun.

Since Sun Tian came with the principal’s wife, even if Xia Xiaolan hadn’t offered her seat, someone else would have. The fast food shop became even livelier.

Sister Huang brought out two stools, arranged seating for Sun Tian and Mrs. Sun, and then efficiently went to prepare noodles. Business was good, and she had family helping out. She just wondered how much the winter break would affect business.

Sister Huang wasn’t too worried. Never mind the first and second years – for third-year students, winter break was hardly a break at all. They would return by the third day of the Lunar New Year; they couldn’t afford to play around for a whole month.

Mrs. Sun sat down. This was her first time seeing Xia Xiaolan in person.

What a beautiful girl – if she got into a good university too, her future would truly be bright.

The Xia family must be crazy, pushing away such an excellent daughter instead of cherishing her. Mrs. Sun couldn’t understand their thinking. She observed Xia Xiaolan’s polite manner of speaking, and though beautiful, she wasn’t at all frivolous. She was straightforward and quite likable.

It was fortunate they hadn’t listened to Zhang Cui and the others about expelling her – that would have ruined Xia Xiaolan’s future.

Before the rice bowls arrived, Sun Tian chatted with the Class Three students.

It wasn’t just female students there today – several male students were present, including Chen Qing. Chen Qing had done well in the final exams too, scoring 51 in English, bringing his total to 460. Teacher Wang encouraged him to work harder, saying he had a good chance of getting into a bachelor’s program this year.

Chen Qing would be satisfied with getting into a bachelor’s program.

His grades weren’t bad, to begin with – he was retaking the year to do even better.

Who would choose a specialist program if they could get into a bachelor’s program?

Sun Tian had substituted in Class Three and cared about their exam results. She remembered several students’ scores, making them laugh when she mentioned them.

“Teacher Sun, our class’s best student is sitting right next to you – you should be praising Xiaolan!”

Sun Tian agreed: “Of course! Student Xia Xiaolan, you must study even harder, and progress together with all your classmates. I hope you all get into university next year!”