Though nothing physical had transpired, an unspoken, lingering sentiment had subtly taken root between the two.
The sun was brilliant, so Wang Zhuo happily stripped naked and took a long, satisfying nap under the warm rays, only stirring comfortably when the room cooled as the sun finally dipped below the horizon.
“You are the mad one, and I am the fool, foolishly wandering together to the edge of the world…”
A booming, thunderous new ringtone interrupted the silence. The screen automatically displayed Gan Lin’s photo—it was her call.
“Hello, Wang Zhuo, I’m back!”
“So dashing, disappearing for half a month. Did you get a tan?”
“Hehe, not at all. I applied sunscreen diligently every day; I haven’t changed a bit.”
“Then let’s meet tomorrow so I can see you.”
“Sounds good! Oh, in half an hour, the college entrance exam scores will be available. The hotline might be jammed, so try checking online too. I’m going to do laundry. See you online later.”
“Alright, see you then.”
Hanging up, Wang Zhuo sprang to his feet, stretching his arms and kicking his legs to loosen up, then quickly pulled on clothes and headed downstairs.
He packed a haul of snacks and food, and by the time he returned to the old house, the half hour had long passed. Wang Zhuo dialed the score inquiry hotline listed on his admission ticket, confirming it was indeed busy—a lot of candidates must be checking their results. So, he began eating while booting up his computer.
Logging onto the score inquiry website was agonizingly slow. He had to refresh several times before the search bar appeared. Wang Zhuo entered his name and exam number and clicked the query button, whereupon the page entered another suspended state of near-death.
“Don’t tell me the website crashed?”
As he was muttering this, a blinking mouse head icon appeared on QQ. Opening it, he saw a message from Sun Donghao: “I got 613. Not my best performance. What about you?”
Immediately following that, a lewd pig head icon also flashed—it was Fei Long: “My score is decent. I probably won’t get into the Central Academy of Fine Arts, but the art schools in Jiangzhou should be fine. Congratulate me!”
At that moment, Wang Zhuo’s page finally emerged from its long wait, much to everyone’s insistence. Chinese, Science Comprehensive, Math, Foreign Language… Total score: 666!
Pfft! Wang Zhuo nearly sprayed his mouthful of food onto the monitor. That number was auspiciously lucky, but it was also so ridiculously high that it clearly looked like he had cheated extensively!
Just then, a QQ message notification popped up. He opened it casually; it was an invitation from Gan Lin to join the class QQ group. Wang Zhuo clicked ‘Confirm.’
“Welcome, Instructor Wang, to the group!”
“Congrats, Qian Xiaomeng, 642 points! You’re safely over the key university threshold!”
“I only got 503. I’m done for; here I come, a wild chicken university.”
“Who else scored over 600? Where’s Gan Lin? What’s Gan Lin’s score?”
“Peking University is waving at Brother Ge, but my score is only 550. Turns out it was a goodbye wave.”
“I always thought I was a seed for Tsinghua, but now I realize I’m just a sprout for Beihua…”
“Seriously? Even Fei Long managed over 400? Is there any justice left?”
“Where is Instructor Wang? Why isn’t Instructor Wang saying anything? Who has Instructor Wang’s exam number? Hurry up and check his score!”
The group chat descended into chaos. Occasionally, classmates uploaded images of their results; some were happy, some distressed, and some seemed unconcerned with their own scores, focused instead on others, especially Wang Zhuo, who had made a wager with the overseas returnee.
“I found Gan Lin’s score!”
Cheng Gang announced with a prominent red font, then immediately posted the image: 656 points!
“Holy cow, that’s amazing! She can pick between Tsinghua and Peking University!”
“Is that the highest in our class? Does anyone have news from other classes? Is anyone higher?”
“Fudan and Nankai can step aside; Zhejiang University is the closest match. Gan Lin is awesome!”
“Aiya, look how similar my score is to Gan Lin’s. I told you, Gan Lin and Wang Zhuo aren’t a good match; I’m the one who belongs with her.”
A boy who had long been trying to pursue Gan Lin posted his score—565—which, indeed, bore some resemblance to Gan Lin’s.
Another boy immediately shot him down: “It is a bit similar, true, but the question is whether that score is enough to at least be the bottom feeder for first-tier universities, whereas Gan Lin is absolutely set for the top tier.”
“Hmph. Well, let’s wait and see what Wang Zhuo’s score is,” the pursuing boy retorted, clearly unconvinced.
Wang Zhuo smiled faintly as he watched the conversation, not annoyed at the boy’s attempt to poach. He felt that if his girlfriend was admired by others, it only proved the quality of the woman he had chosen; those who tried to poach were destined to merely be foils, background scenery, a tragedy.
Just then, someone suddenly posted an image, saying, “This is the top scorer in Science for our entire school. Guess who it is?”
Seeing the image, Wang Zhuo froze. The total score and individual subject scores were identical to his own. Although the name and student ID were not displayed, there couldn't be such a coincidence—it had to be him!
Cheated his way to the top Science score in the entire school? Wang Zhuo couldn't help but laugh dryly!
“Damn, 666! What an auspicious number!”
“Ten points higher than Gan Lin. This guy is a real master.”
“It definitely isn't someone from our class. Is it Wang Dayong from Class Seven?”
“It could be Xi Mengyang or Hou Zhen from Class One.”
“Hou Zhen bombed the exam; he didn’t even break 600. I just heard.”
“Haha, I knew you wouldn’t guess,” the classmate who had built up the suspense finally revealed the answer: “It’s Instructor Wang’s!”
“No way, that’s impossible!”
“Stop messing around, just tell us who it is!”
“If Wang Zhuo could score 666, I could get into MIT!”
“If this really is Instructor Wang’s score, I’ve already seen the tears of the overseas returnee…”
That classmate posted a string of numbers and said, “I knew you wouldn’t believe me. Here’s his exam number; check it yourselves!”
The group chat immediately fell silent. A moment later, someone reported, “Can’t look it up. It says the candidate name or exam number is incorrect.”
“Did you type it wrong?”
“No, I didn’t. Instructor Wang, 220502…”
“I’ll instruct you! Change the name to Wang Zhuo and check again!”
The classmate who had been lectured quickly sent a sweating emoji and proceeded to re-query.
Soon, a student found the result and posted it first. The group exploded instantly, turning into utter pandemonium.
“You are the mad one, and I am the fool, foolishly wandering together to the edge of the world…”
Wang Zhuo was grinning as he watched the commotion when his phone rang—it was Gan Lin calling.
“Wang Zhuo, you really know how to cheat! Ten points higher than me!” Gan Lin’s voice held a mix of pleasant surprise and a slight tone of being both amused and annoyed.
“An accident, an accident. Hehe, I just performed beyond my usual level.” Wang Zhuo chuckled smugly.
“Scoring that high, shouldn’t you have been more low-key?”
“I should have, but I mainly didn’t want to give the overseas returnee any chance to make a comeback.”
“Was it really high-tech crime? Will there be many high-scoring candidates in your exam room?”
“Don’t worry. The only impact you’ll feel is having me one spot ahead of you in the rankings. Sorry about that.”
“Who cares if you’re one spot ahead? As long as we aren’t in the same tier,” Gan Lin laughed, adding, “Since you did so well, you have to treat me to dinner.”
“No problem! Full service, guaranteed satisfaction!” Wang Zhuo grinned wickedly.
“Tch, you have ulterior motives,” Gan Lin gently chided. ‘Full service’ was a phrase often thrown around by the more vulgar boys. Although she didn’t know the exact meaning, she understood it wasn't something proper.
“It’s settled then. See you tomorrow?” Wang Zhuo pressed while the opportunity was hot.
Gan Lin gave a wry smile, “Tomorrow won’t work. Tomorrow is the celebration banquet Grandma prepared for me; Dad is currently calling my uncles and aunts.”
“The day after tomorrow?”
“The day after tomorrow is already booked by Mom…”
Wang Zhuo gritted his teeth, “Then the day after the day after tomorrow! A date set in stone, rain or shine!”
Hanging up, Gan Lin felt a mix of tears and laughter. The day after the day after tomorrow was the registration day; they didn't need a date to see each other!
…
On the outskirts, along a secluded street, stood a modest, two-story detached house, not particularly striking in appearance, with no high-rises nearby.
As the night deepened, the hearty laughter of Old Man Qin echoed from a room on the second floor.
“Hahahaha, that’s what they call like father, like daughter! My old Qin’s son has made something of himself, and my granddaughter is even more accomplished!”
The room held only Old Man Qin. He was seated in a rosewood chair, speaking on the phone.
“What’s wrong? If you’re not satisfied, Old Li, why don’t you raise a granddaughter who can ace the top spot and show me? Hahaha!”
“Oh, stop it, Li. Everyone knows your grandson spends all his time racing cars and fighting, constantly causing you trouble. Forget about arranged marriages—something I, Old Qin, never do—but even if I did, I wouldn’t pick your troublemaking grandson!”
“Besides, although Xiao Yue is two years younger than your grandson, she’s about to start university. Your grandson repeated a grade; he’s only starting the second year of high school in the fall, right? By the time that brat graduates, I might already be holding a great-grandchild!”
“I won’t chat with you any longer; Xiao Yue is calling me. I’m hanging up!”
Hanging up, Old Man Qin chuckled happily and went downstairs to the living room, settling onto the sofa. He smiled at his granddaughter, who was fiddling with the computer, “What’s so urgent that you have to rush me during a phone call?”
Qin Xiaoyue was only fifteen years old. She had completed six years of middle and high school curriculum in just three years and had just become the city’s top scorer in the Science stream of the college entrance exam—a truly astonishing talent. She appeared to be no older than a middle school student, slender and delicate, with large, bright, piercing eyes.
“Grandpa, guess who got the second-highest score in the city for Science?” Qin Xiaoyue covered the computer screen with her hand, asking mysteriously.
“Where would I guess from?” Old Man Qin laughed heartily. “The only candidate I know is you, but you’re already the top scorer!”