Gu Zhengqing, Zhou Cheng’s aunt’s husband, was usually a person with a very weak presence at family gatherings.

To put it simply, when Zhou’s youngest aunt married Gu Zhengqing, he was just an ordinary teacher. The Zhou family wasn’t as prominent then as they are now, and as the youngest daughter, she had more freedom in choosing her marriage partner. After more than a decade, Gu Zhengqing left his teaching position to work at the Education Development Planning Division of the Ministry of Education. His position was neither high nor low. His invisibility in the Zhou family wasn’t because they looked down on him… but rather because the Zhou family didn’t have any promising scholars. Besides nurturing his children, Gu Zhengqing didn’t pay much attention to young masters and misses like Zhou Yi and Zhou Cheng.

As for Zhou Cheng, one could say he valued martial arts over academics, making him quite different from Gu Zhengqing.

And Zhou Yi? What was she worth? With such privileged family conditions yet refusing to study – in the eyes of someone like Gu Zhengqing, who had dedicated half his life to education, she was beyond salvation!

When Zhou Yi questioned Gu Zhengqing’s professional expertise, he abandoned his usual low-key demeanor, seemingly able to breathe fire from his nostrils:

“How could I be mistaken! I remember the Yunan Provincial Education Department even sent a videotape to our ministry, reporting this year’s college entrance exam results. It includes an interview with the top scorer. I’ll have someone bring it to the house right away!”

In developing educational development plans, one must certainly summarize and analyze existing educational achievements. When Yunan Province submitted this year’s materials, Gu Zhengqing had been too busy with daily work and had only heard about the nation’s top three exam scores, not having time to watch that tape yet.

Otherwise, he would have recognized Xia Xiaolan immediately.

Zhou Yi wasn’t questioning Xia Xiaolan, but rather Gu Zhengqing’s expertise – an ignorant student questioning a scholar, which Gu Zhengqing simply couldn’t tolerate!

Zhou’s aunt was stunned by her husband’s reaction.

This man who had always been so steady in his educational work had suddenly erupted with such anger.

The Zhou family collectively watched this drama unfold, with Old Master Zhou being the first to regain his composure: “Zhengqing, have someone bring the videotape over to watch. For now, let’s eat first. We shouldn’t neglect Xiaolan on her first visit. After dinner, we can all watch the tape together.”

For most people in the country, the college entrance exam was crucial – it could change destinies, allowing one to leap from a humble beginning to great success.

The Zhou family had already achieved success, so only someone like Uncle Gu Zhengqing would particularly value the college entrance exam. But why did Old Master Zhou want to watch the tape? It wasn’t that he distrusted his son-in-law’s words; rather, he wanted to take this opportunity to validate Xia Xiaolan’s status. The Zhou family’s younger generation didn’t need “college entrance exams” to prove themselves, but Xia Xiaolan’s ability to stand out among more than a million exam participants proved her intelligence and perseverance were exceptional!

No matter how humble her family background, this achievement alone was enough to level the playing field.

Zhou Yi awakened as if from a dream, biting her lip, unwilling to accept this reality. Gu Zhengqing wouldn’t lie in front of the whole family – he was too principled for that. Even Zhou Cheng couldn’t persuade him to participate in any deception. Though the tape hadn’t arrived yet, Zhou Yi already knew that Xia Xiaolan had likely scored 616 points, though she still clung to a one-in-ten-thousand hope that her uncle might have remembered incorrectly.

She was too naive. Even if Gu Zhengqing had misremembered, now that he was having the tape sent over, Xia Xiaolan should have been nervous if it weren’t true.

Grandmother Zhou burst out with intense joy:

“Child, you are truly outstanding!”

What was the old lady thinking? She felt that Xia Xiaolan had brought honor to her! She knew her precious grandson’s judgment couldn’t be wrong – whoever Zhou Cheng chose must be the best!

Grandmother Zhou wouldn’t let go of Xia Xiaolan’s hand. At this point, no one was investigating the disconnect between Xia Xiaolan’s attire and family background – they were all stunned by the news of her being the provincial top scorer. Those who cared about Zhou Cheng were relieved, while those hoping to see drama had their faces thoroughly slapped!

One should do what’s appropriate for their age – students should compete in academics and grades while working adults should compete in positions and achievements.

In her role as a “student,” Xia Xiaolan had overwhelmed more than a million exam takers nationwide. To still be overly critical of her would be like selecting an imperial consort for the crown prince rather than meeting Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend!

Having one outstanding quality was enough; everything else was just details.

The “academic star” halo was too dazzling for Zhou Yi to say anything more. Even if she exposed how much money Xia Xiaolan had spent on Zhou Cheng, who would care now?

Sister-in-law Zeng had been busy all afternoon, preparing a table full of dishes.

Everyone sat at one long table, with abundant food, though all the diners were in a daze.

Their expectations for Xia Xiaolan had been too low, with rumors suggesting Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend was just a pretty face from outside the city, with no virtues beyond her looks!

The Xia Xiaolan who appeared before Zhou Cheng continuously exceeded everyone’s expectations:

First, she wasn’t at all unsophisticated or petty, but rather graceful and well-mannered. When compared with Zhou Yi, there was no apparent difference in their family backgrounds at first glance. Though Zhou Yi was older than Xia Xiaolan, her actions were more impulsive and immature – she didn’t have Xia Xiaolan’s composure!

Second, as Zhou Cheng’s aunt had said, educational standards in small places weren’t high, so getting into any Beijing university would have been fine.

Of course, the aunt’s words were somewhat of a trap.

At this moment, hearing about Xia Xiaolan’s exam score from Gu Zhengqing’s mouth was more credible and impactful than hearing it from Xia Xiaolan or Zhou Cheng. For someone working in the Ministry of Education to remember an out-of-province student’s name – one can imagine how outstanding this student must be!

Indeed, Xia Xiaolan was coming to study in Beijing – how could Qinghua University not admit the province’s top scorer?

As Gu Zhengqing said, there must have been an error in the admission process!

Guan Hui’e had the most complicated feelings.

A mother-in-law naturally views her daughter-in-law with some criticism. Plus, after Zhou Yi had said certain things to her, Guan Hui’e misunderstood Xia Xiaolan, even saying that Zhou Cheng could only date her but not marry her – which was quite rude… Later, it evolved to believe that even for dating, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t worthy of Zhou Cheng.

Now looking at the situation, the marriage question remained uncertain.

But regarding dating, Zhou Cheng had found a girlfriend he could proudly take anywhere.

A young woman with exceptional beauty alone can obtain many things.

When such exceptional beauty is matched with equally outstanding intelligence, she could be unstoppable in this world!

Birth and family background truly weren’t important. If the Zhou family didn’t approve of Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng’s relationship, she could easily find a new boyfriend with comparable conditions at Qinghua University. This was exactly why Guan Hui’e’s feelings were so complicated – she had thought her family was the one in the position to be picky, only to realize upon meeting that the situation was completely different. Xia Xiaolan could also be the one making the choice!

This meal was truly chaotic. Grandmother Zhou kept adding food to Xia Xiaolan’s bowl, and no one dared to cause trouble anymore – everyone just ate quietly.

Even worse, after dinner, the videotape arrived, and academic underachievers like Zhou Yi were forced to watch Yunan Provincial Television’s interview with the provincial top scorer. Besides reporting on Yunan Province’s college entrance exam situation this year, the latter half of the tape was full of praise for Xia Xiaolan personally…