County First High School was also worried.

This kind of situation was rare. Teacher Wang and Teacher Qi had interacted with Xia Xiao Lan and didn’t want to give up on this promising student, but the school felt she was being too stubborn. Even with tuition waived, she wouldn’t accept? There were students poorer than Xia Xiao Lan at County First who received the same treatment – they persisted in their studies while eating cold steamed buns and drinking free soup every meal. Why couldn’t Xia Xiao Lan endure such hardship?

Xia Xiao Lan thought to herself, she had already tasted such bitterness in her previous life – why should she have to experience it again? It wasn’t that she couldn’t endure hardship; she just saw no reason to force herself through unnecessary suffering. If County First wouldn’t agree, she’d enroll in Second High School, which had worse college entrance exam results this year with only two students getting into undergraduate programs.

Xia Xiao Lan didn’t care either way.

Her earlier concerns stemmed from uncertainty about how much knowledge she retained. After reviewing the textbooks, Xia Xiao Lan had a clear grasp of her abilities. People said college entrance exams in the 1980s were difficult – in the first few years after the exams were reinstated, students didn’t know how to study, and teachers didn’t know what to teach. Teachers were still exploring and adapting to exam questions, accumulating experience bit by bit.

In her previous life, Xia Xiao Lan took the college entrance exam in ’95, eighteen years after the 1977 reinstatement and before university enrollment expansion. Neither teachers nor students in ’83 could match the exam experience of those in her time. Her previous degree had significant value – she had simply chosen the wrong major. She had the brains for studying.

Between attending lectures and self-study, Xia Xiao Lan preferred the latter.

She just needed to pick up the knowledge she had learned before. Her science subjects had always been good; her weak points in Chinese and Politics just required memorization. While she might not aim for top universities, Xia Xiao Lan was confident she could get into a key university.

With this confidence, her attitude was very firm.

The school had no choice but to let her take another test. This time, it wasn’t an overlooked new teacher proctoring, and they didn’t give her all the test papers at once. Instead, they tested one subject at a time, with subject teachers grading immediately after each exam.

Chinese was first, and she maintained her previous performance.

While she was taking the Math exam, Teacher Qi finished grading her Chinese paper.

“66 points,” Teacher Qi was quite upset.

Xia Xiao Lan’s performance was remarkably consistent – just one point lower than last time! But Teacher Qi’s eyes hurt seeing those simple recitation questions – valuable scoring opportunities – thrown away. No, Xia Xiao Lan must come to County First. This talented student couldn’t be dragged down by Chinese scores. Teacher Qi was determined to help her build a solid foundation!

Teacher Qi made a silent vow.

By the time Xia Xiao Lan finished her English test, her Math paper had been graded.

92 points in Math, already outperforming many students, three points higher than the first time.

“She shouldn’t have lost points here… How can she solve difficult problems but make mistakes on simple ones?”

The Math teacher nearly buried his face in the paper.

This student still had room for improvement! With ten months left, she might even score above 100 in Math. At County First, such Math scores were rare among top performers.

English was graded quickly.

100 points.

The English teacher’s face flushed with excitement. When college entrance exams first resumed, English wasn’t included in the score. Even last year, English only counted for 30% of its face value in the total score. But the Ministry of Education had announced new regulations nationwide – in the ’84 exam, English would count for full points. Whether Arts or Science track, it was mandatory, causing nationwide student outcry… Students in big cities were slightly better off, but in small towns, students barely knew the 26 letters that formed thousands of unfamiliar English words!

In Chinese, Math, and English, Xia Xiao Lan scored 258 points.

There were still 350 points worth of tests remaining in Politics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Surely she could score at least 100 points across these four subjects? No matter how you calculated it, she would surpass last year’s college and vocational school admission line of 350 points.

After taking three subjects in the morning, the proctor told her to take a break, so she went to treat Chen Qing to lunch.

She stood at the classroom door waiting for Chen Qing to finish class, causing quite a stir.

She was truly too beautiful.

Never had they seen such a beautiful girl before.

When the bell rang, a vacuum formed around Xia Xiao Lan. Students secretly glanced at her but dared not approach – speaking to someone as beautiful as Xia Xiao Lan at school felt somehow wrong.

“Brother Chen Qing!”

Chen Qing shuffled slowly through the crowd.

Xia Xiao Lan had made him the center of attention.

Chen Qing was well-liked, and some female classmates had feelings for him. Male students looked at him enviously, while female students’ gazes toward Xia Xiao Lan carried hostility.

Chen Qing couldn’t help but quicken his pace.

He already knew Xia Xiao Lan had passed the school’s placement test, and was happy thinking about being classmates with her.

“Xiao Lan, how did you do on today’s test?”

“About the same as last time. Brother Chen Qing, let me treat you to lunch!”

As they headed to the cafeteria together, they left behind whispered discussions:

“Who is that?”

“Chen Qing’s girlfriend?”

“That guy, no way…”

“Chen Qing is preparing for college, how could he have a girlfriend? Don’t spread rumors!”

The girls protested, noting that Xia Xiao Lan called him “brother” – maybe she was just his family’s younger sister!

The boys thought, with such a beautiful girlfriend, who needs college? Chen Qing’s family was from the countryside, so getting engaged at this age wouldn’t be strange. Xia Xiao Lan’s appearance was like a stone thrown into still water, creating rippling waves.

These students didn’t yet know that Xia Xiao Lan wasn’t just a passing phenomenon – she was destined to shine brilliantly at Anqing County First High School, traumatizing fellow exam-takers in her year!

The County First cafeteria required food coupons.

You could buy them with money or exchange grain for coupons monthly, but during busy lunch hours, they wouldn’t have time for exchanges. Even with money, you couldn’t buy food. Though Xia Xiao Lan meant to treat Chen Qing, he ended up treating her to a second meal instead.

Chen Qing’s family was well-off, and he didn’t mind spending some food coupons.

He was happy for Xia Xiao Lan.

“Do well on your afternoon exams.”

Xia Xiao Lan nodded. Chen Qing was a good person – though he often blushed, she could feel his goodwill.

The Chen family had helped her a lot. Her mother’s successful divorce and their household registration transfer were all resolved thanks to Chen Qing’s grandfather. Xia Xiao Lan remembered this kindness.

“Brother Chen Qing, you’ll get in next year.”

Chen Qing’s score last year wasn’t low, over 400 points, but he hadn’t filled out his college preferences properly and wasn’t admitted. Still, repeating a year wasn’t necessarily bad – if Chen Qing had been admitted last year, he would have only gotten into a vocational college. This year, with more effort, he could aim for a bachelor’s degree program.

Bachelor’s and vocational degrees were certainly different.

It wasn’t just about the few yuan difference in starting salary after graduation.

As time went on, the gap between bachelor’s and vocational degrees would only grow larger.

Speaking of next year’s exam, Chen Qing felt uneasy: “My English isn’t good. I don’t know how I’ll do next year.”

“Worried about that? No problem, my English is decent. Just let me know if you need any help!”

“Xiao Lan…”

Chen Qing looked touched.

Xia Xiao Lan thought, big brother, if you keep blushing like this, how are we going to be classmates?