Chapter 16: The youth said, "The world is so big, I want to go see it

Talent is like pregnancy; given enough time, it will eventually be noticed.

At first, no one thought Wang Donglai was serious. Some even wondered privately how long he could possibly hold out.

But as time passed, Wang Donglai showed not the slightest change. He arrived early and left late, appearing as if he were rooted to his seat. He would even carry a small cheat sheet to recite passages while eating in the cafeteria or walking down the street.

March 24th, the second weekly exam.

When the results came out this time, Wang Donglai's scores stunned everyone in Class 14. Even the substitute teachers for various subjects double-checked the results repeatedly before they could believe it.

As the class teacher, Meng Fang was overjoyed. In just two weeks, Wang Donglai's grades had seen a massive leap, skyrocketing from his original 312 points to 430.

Liberal Arts: 190; Chinese: 90; Mathematics: 90; English: 60.

Out of six subjects, he had passed five; only English remained below the passing mark.

Upon closer reflection, the substitute teachers weren't overly shocked by this improvement. They had all witnessed Wang Donglai's hard work firsthand. And to be honest, achieving such a score wasn't actually that extraordinary.

High school knowledge has very distinct characteristics, and even the difficulty of exam papers is specifically calibrated. After all, the Gaokao is a selective exam; to ensure fair selection, there are strict regulations on how question types are designed.

One could say the scores are divided into several zones. The first zone is below passing; this is due to either a weak foundation or a complete lack of understanding. Once a student can pass, it proves their foundation is no longer a major issue, moving them into the gap between passing and high scores. This stage tests a student's comprehension of knowledge points. If one understands thoroughly, no matter how the question types change, they cannot be stumped. Finally, there are the specialized questions used to differentiate top-tier students, but there aren't many of them.

Any teacher who has taught seniors for a few years knows these rules. Therefore, in the eyes of these teachers, as long as a student can master the basics of all subjects in a balanced way, they might not get a high score, but they can steadily get into a university. Even with the expansion of third-tier universities, it is still a bachelor's degree, which is fundamentally different from a junior college. Especially in a poor county like Anshui, one cannot afford to dream too big.

Life in the senior year was monotonous. Wang Donglai focused solely on his studies, tuning out the world, intent only on grinding his experience points.

One week later.

March 31st, the first city-wide joint exam began, which also coincided with Anshui County's first monthly exam.

In just seven days, Wang Donglai's grades broke through once again. This progress directly made the entire liberal arts grade aware of a person named Wang Donglai. After all, in less than a month, through three consecutive exams, he was the only one whose scores improved more and more each time.

The difficulty of this monthly exam was not low. While general scores had dropped, Wang Donglai's rapid advancement made him stand out exceptionally.

Liberal Arts: 217; Chinese: 106; Mathematics: 94; English: 90; Total Score: 507.

This score was a solid candidate for a first-tier university.

Consequently, during the Thursday evening self-study session after the results were released, Meng Fang called Wang Donglai into the hallway and asked him to prepare a speech for the flag-raising ceremony on Monday.

This honor is typically reserved for outstanding students from the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades. Because of the changes in Wang Donglai's exam results, the Dean of Students specifically sought out Meng Fang to request his speech. The intention was to use Wang Donglai's example to encourage all the seniors in the school and set an example for the younger students.

Wang Donglai initially wanted to refuse. However, seeing Meng Fang's excitement and sense of pride, and thinking of her dedication, responsibility, and care for him as his class teacher—combined with his own desire to try something new and hone his courage and eloquence—he agreed.

...

April 2nd.

At the Anshui County High School playground, nearly four thousand students from all three grades gathered, forming a massive, dark sea of people. On the slightly elevated podium, the Dean's voice rang out.

"Now, let us welcome Wang Donglai from Class 34 to come up and give a speech. Let's give him a round of applause!"

The voice from the loudspeaker echoed across the playground, followed by scattered applause.

On one side of the podium, Wang Donglai's expression was calm, but a hint of emotion flickered deep in his eyes. In his past life, as an ordinary student, he had never received awards or stood on a stage for moments of glory. He had been on a podium many times, but it was either to introduce himself or to stand there as punishment for being mischievous.

Who hasn't dreamed of fame or glory? But because he couldn't achieve it, he could only press those desires deep within, not even daring to show them for fear of being mocked.

*It's different now. In this life, I will no longer be obscure. What I could not do in my past life, I shall achieve in this one!*

Making a silent vow in his heart, Wang Donglai slowly walked up to the podium and took the microphone. As soon as he spoke, the expressions of the teachers below changed.

"Last night, the Dean told me to give a speech under the national flag. I originally didn't want to come."

A stir went through the crowd. The students, after the initial commotion, became excited, sensing that something interesting was about to happen.

Sure enough.

"Everyone, please be quiet. Actually, the teachers had already given me a speech topic, but when I was about to step up just now, I tore it up. I feel that grand, hollow words are meaningless; I only want to tell you my true thoughts."

Hearing this, the teachers who were initially worried breathed a silent sigh of relief. Meng Fang let out a long breath, a hint of slight indignation still lingering on her face.

"I don't think everyone knows how many provinces, cities, counties, and villages our country has. I do. There are 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and 2 special administrative regions, totaling 34 provincial-level administrative divisions. There are 293 prefecture-level cities, 7 prefectures, 30 autonomous prefectures, and 3 leagues, totaling 333 prefecture-level divisions. There are 977 districts, 1301 counties, 394 county-level cities, 117 autonomous counties, 49 banners, 3 autonomous banners, 1 special district, and 1 forest district, totaling 2843 county-level divisions. There are 8,984 subdistricts, 21,389 towns, 7,116 townships, 966 ethnic townships, 153 sumus, 1 ethnic sumu, and 2 county-administered districts, totaling 38,602 township-level divisions."

"Hearing this, some might say it's not important, that it won't be on the exam, and that it has nothing to do with us."

"But does it really have nothing to do with us? The magnificent landscapes of our motherland, the 9.6 million square kilometers of territory—the northern grasslands and snow mountains, the southern tropical coasts, the western Tibetan Plateau, the eastern urban economic belts—don't you all want to see these sights?"

"To be honest, I want to see them! I want to climb Mount Everest to see just how high the world's highest peak is; I want to dive into the depths of the ocean to see what magnificent and mysterious wonders are hidden there; I want to gallop on horseback across the grasslands; I want to ride a spacecraft and travel into space."

"While we are memorizing vocabulary, orcas in Alaska are leaping out of the water; while we are solving math problems, seagulls on the other side of the Pacific are spreading their wings over cities; while we are in evening self-study, the Arctic night sky is scattering colorful lights; while we are wasting time, the rime in the Hengduan Mountains is drifting through the valleys; while we are spacing out in class, eagles on the Tibetan Plateau are soaring through the clouds, looking down upon the world; while we are playing and fooling around, ripples are spreading across Lake Phewa in Nepal."

"This world is beautiful, but it is also cruel. There are roads we cannot reach in our cloth shoes, people we will never meet while staying in this small county, and air we cannot smell even if we spray perfume."

"But do not be in a hurry. As we work steadily for our future, those landscapes we feel we will never see, and those people we think we will never meet, are walking toward us, step by step."

"The world is so big—don't you all want to go and see it!?"

After finishing, Wang Donglai walked straight down and handed the microphone to the Dean standing nearby.

The playground fell silent for a moment, followed by thunderous applause that seemed to pierce the clouds. Even the teachers had eyes shining with light, unable to help but clap.

At this moment, the more than four thousand people present felt they would never forget this scene. Under the national flag, a youth used slightly provocative language to sketch a grand and magnificent world, enticing everyone's heart like a demon, yet he radiated a golden brilliance.