Chapter 6: I vow to leave my hometown; I shall not return until I have achieved fame and success

Anshui High School, as the only high school in Anshui County, is a provincial key demonstration high school.

Covering an area of 140 mu with a building area of 78,000 square meters, its facilities are considered quite good.

There are two types of six-person dormitories: one type does not have a bathroom or sink, while the other type of dormitory building is equipped with private bathrooms and sinks.

The dormitories with better conditions are specifically reserved for third-year high school students, and they are managed more strictly; entry is strictly prohibited outside of rest hours.

Compared to this, the curriculum at Anshui High School is incredibly dense.

Morning reading starts at 6:50 AM and continues until the end of evening self-study at 10:30 PM. Aside from the half-hour for morning exercises, two hours for lunch and a nap, and one hour and twenty minutes for dinner, students must spend a full twelve hours studying in the classroom.

This high-intensity learning is both a physical challenge and a test of willpower.

Sometimes, students are filled with ambition and want to study hard, but they often fail to persist for more than two or three days before collapsing under such high-intensity pressure.

They don't understand the lessons, their own hard work yields no results, and they see no progress.

Returning to the dorm at night after class, they fall asleep the moment they hit the bed. They can't wake up in the morning, they doze off in class, and with a blink of an eye, most of the period is already gone.

Under these circumstances, catching up on the curriculum and making up for one's shortcomings is simply impossible.

Therefore, after Wang Donglai put on such a show of wanting to work hard and study well, it didn't cause any ripples in Class 14.

Some people were even preparing to watch the show, waiting to see how many days Wang Donglai could last.

Time flew by, and it was 10:30 PM.

As soon as the bell for the end of evening self-study rang, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor erupted one after another.

In just a few breaths, more than a dozen people had vanished from the classroom—all students sitting in the last few rows.

They were either in a hurry to get food at the cafeteria or rushing back to the dorm to charge their phones and play for a while.

Because Anshui High School strictly monitors mobile phones, they are confiscated immediately if discovered.

Students dare not charge them in the classroom, so they have to return to the dorm early to get as much charge as possible before the lights go out and the power is cut.

"Old Wang, are you leaving?"

Huang Cheng fished his phone out from between his books, shoved it into his pocket, turned his head, and asked Wang Donglai.

"I'll go back in a bit, you go ahead!"

Wang Donglai said to Huang Cheng with bright eyes.

Huang Cheng nodded, said nothing, and walked straight out of the classroom.

Before long, the number of people in the classroom dwindled.

Time ticked away, second by second.

When Wang Donglai inadvertently stretched, he realized it was already 11:10 PM.

There were only ten minutes left before lights out and the dormitory doors were locked.

He turned his head to look at the classroom and discovered that he was actually the only one left.

"No wonder it's so quiet in here; everyone's gone!"

After sighing to himself, Wang Donglai closed his books, turned off the classroom lights on his way out, and headed toward the dormitory building.

...

Dorm 404.

At this moment, there were four people in the room, one of whom was Huang Cheng.

Seeing that Wang Donglai, who slept on the lower bunk, hadn't returned yet, Huang Cheng's eyes darted around. As if thinking of something, he suddenly spoke up: "Let me tell you guys, I don't know what kind of madness Wang Donglai is suffering from today. He actually told me he wants to study hard and asked me not to disturb him unless it's something important."

"Who does he think he is? We're in the same class and the same dorm; we all know each other. If I hadn't seen Chen Mengni walking by at the time, I wouldn't have put up with him acting so pretentious."

As soon as Huang Cheng said this, it immediately attracted the attention of the other three.

On the bed foot-to-foot with Huang Cheng, a chubby guy heard this, reached out to push up his glasses, and said, "Huang Cheng, Wang Donglai's grades were already better than ours to begin with. In our class, only Wang Donglai, Chen Yanqiang, Xie Yaolin, and Guo Xing are likely to get into college. It's not really a problem for him to say that!"

"Dang Caizhi, I didn't say he couldn't get into college. I just think he's being too pretentious. He's acting like an idiot just to show off in front of the girls."

Huang Cheng seemed to realize he had gone too far and tried to backtrack on what he had said earlier.

"Listen to me, we're in the same class and the same dorm; that's fate. We don't have much time left together, so can't everyone just get along?"

A person on a lower bunk, wearing a tank top and holding dumbbells in both hands while exercising, spoke up.

This person was Song Yi, the monitor of Class 14.

Hearing Song Yi's words, Huang Cheng stopped talking, lay on his side on the bed, and started playing with his phone.

Dang Caizhi did the same, turning over, pulling up his quilt, and starting to read a novel.

A few breaths later, Wang Donglai pushed the door open and walked in.

He didn't say a word and went straight to the sink to wash up.

*Click!*

Just as Wang Donglai finished washing, the entire building plunged into darkness.

The lights were out, and the power was cut.

He went to the bathroom in the dark, then returned to his bed and lay down.

To be honest, the moment he lay down, Wang Donglai felt a heavy wave of sleepiness wash over him.

He had spent the whole day reading, which had left him dizzy and lightheaded. Now that he was resting, his brain felt completely muddled.

If it weren't for the system prompting him that his reading was truly yielding results, Wang Donglai probably wouldn't have been able to persist for so long.

Now, lying in bed, Wang Donglai resisted the sleepiness and began to review his total gains for the day.

【Host: Wang Donglai】

【Attributes: Physique 8, Wisdom 7】

【Level: Level 1 (14/2000)】

【Reading Category: High School Compulsory】

【Skills: None】

【Abilities: None】

Looking at the information appearing on the light screen, Wang Donglai's gaze sharpened because he noticed something wrong.

Previously, there were no numbers behind his level.

"System, why are there 14 points? Does it mean I can upgrade to Level 2 once I reach 2000?" Wang Donglai asked silently in his heart.

"Ding! The host studied diligently for fourteen hours today, so you have gained fourteen personal level experience points."

"If the host enters a state of deep learning, you will gain more experience per hour. Listening to lectures from famous teachers or high-quality courses will also grant additional experience points."

"To unlock more reading categories, please continue to work hard at reading, enjoy the process, and change your destiny."

As the system's electronic voice stopped, Wang Donglai's heart burned even hotter.

One hour equals one experience point; fourteen points a day means it would take about 143 days to level up.

In other words, after the college entrance exam, he would still need to study hard for another month and a half to level up.

After leveling up, he would be able to unlock new reading categories and gain experience points, attributes, and skills from them.

Thinking of this, Chinese classics like the *Daozang*, *Tao Te Ching*, *Huangting Jing*, *Taixuan Jing*, and *Wuzhen Pian* surfaced in Wang Donglai's mind.

If what the system said was true, and reading books could grant skills and attribute points, then reading these books meant that Wang Donglai could cultivate immortality.

Cultivating immortality!

Even as someone reborn, Wang Donglai became excited the moment he thought of it.

The previously heavy sleepiness had vanished without a trace.

After the excitement, Wang Donglai gradually regained his reason and calmed down.

Even if immortality cultivation were possible, the conditions would surely be incredibly harsh, perhaps even impossible to reach.

For Wang Donglai at this moment, it was undoubtedly like the moon reflected in the water or a flower in a mirror—visible but unreachable.

Just as Wang Donglai was lost in his thoughts, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, time passed until it was past midnight.

The system's electronic prompt sounded again.

"Ding! The host has completed the first reading task. Reward: one bottle of Refreshing Brain-Boosting Pills!"

As the voice faded, Wang Donglai felt something suddenly appear under his pillow.

He reached out and touched it; a glass bottle was lying there quietly.

Holding the Refreshing Brain-Boosting Pills, Wang Donglai's eyes were incredibly bright. Listening to the thunderous snoring in the dormitory, his resolve grew even firmer.

*A child leaves his hometown with ambition, vowing not to return until he has made a name for himself.*

*Why must one bury their bones in their hometown? The green hills are everywhere in life.*

Silently reciting the great man's poem, Wang Donglai forced himself to fall asleep.

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(End of chapter)