Chapter 43: The Season of Harvest

As time passed, midnight arrived quickly.

No one cared about the press conference on the television; instead, families with high school seniors were nervously typing in admission ticket numbers to check their scores.

At Chen Mengni's house.

Due to nervousness, Chen Mengni entered her admission ticket number incorrectly twice in a row. Finally, her mother couldn't stand watching anymore and personally began typing it in by looking at the ticket.

As the interface spun, the entire family's hearts spun along with it, thumping with tension.

"The results are out!"

With a sudden cry, several pairs of eyes widened as they stared at the information on the computer screen.

"Chinese 120, Math 115, English 109, Liberal Arts 240, Total Score 584."

"Passed! We passed the first-tier line!"

"Good, good, good!"

For some reason, seeing her own results, Chen Mengni wasn't as excited as she had imagined she would be.

In that instant, she thought of her time at school—how she woke up at six every morning and didn't go to sleep until eleven-thirty at night, sitting at her desk studying all day long.

She thought of Wang Donglai's way of explaining problems—profound yet simple, concise yet capable of giving her sudden enlightenment.

She thought of working through the question banks Wang Donglai had prepared for her, and that feeling of ease she had during the actual Gaokao.

"Why isn't it just me alone!"

A sudden thought surfaced in Chen Mengni's mind. She immediately took out her phone and dialed a familiar number.

While waiting for the call to connect, Chen Mengni stood up and returned to her room.

Wang Qiong and Chen Lianggui exchanged a glance, both noticing something unusual about their daughter.

"Is our daughter in a relationship?"

"It's possible, but not certain. I heard Mengni's grades improved so quickly because there's a particularly brilliant student in her class who has been tutoring her. Otherwise, our Mengni probably wouldn't have scored this high."

Wang Qiong and Chen Lianggui had long noticed their daughter's change in behavior.

They had originally thought she could only attend a vocational college or would have to repeat a year, but they hadn't expected that with only a few dozen days left before the Gaokao, their daughter would seem to undergo a personality shift.

She began to study hard, and her grades improved bit by bit.

Even now, seeing the Gaokao results, the two of them still felt as if they were in a dream.

If a boy could pull a "slacker" like their daughter up to such high scores, how exceptional must he be?

"I wonder how much that kid surnamed Wang scored this time," Chen Lianggui muttered, his tone carrying a hint of hostility.

"Didn't our daughter say? The boy's name is Wang Donglai, not just 'that kid surnamed Wang.' His estimated score was over seven hundred—he's this year's Liberal Arts top scorer."

Wang Qiong had a fairly good impression of Wang Donglai, after all, she had witnessed her daughter's academic transformation with her own eyes.

A mother knows her daughter best; Wang Qiong knew her daughter likely had feelings for this boy, otherwise, she wouldn't have had that expression just now.

As for Wang Donglai, although Wang Qiong had never met him, she already held him in high regard.

...

At Guo Xing's house.

Guo Xing's family was also anxiously waiting for the results.

However, Guo Xing's expression was relatively calm. She was confident in her own results, and even more confident in Wang Donglai.

Thus, while her parents waited anxiously, she sat steadily there, holding her phone and chatting with her best friends in a group chat.

"The results are out!"

"Chinese 121, Math 115, English 113, Liberal Arts 249, Total Score 598."

As Guo Dengkui read out Guo Xing's scores, a joyful atmosphere immediately filled the Guo household.

Coincidentally, the moment Guo Xing learned her results, she also thought of Wang Donglai. She grabbed her phone, went back to her room, and dialed his number.

...

At Huang Cheng's house.

Huang Cheng was not holding his phone to read novels at this moment, because his father and mother looked uneasy, yet carried a trace of anticipation.

Seeing his parents like this, a thought flashed through Huang Cheng's mind: *If I can get into a third-tier university, my parents will definitely be very happy.*

But in the next second, Huang Cheng discarded that fantasy.

His phone buzzed; the Gaokao results text message had arrived.

Huang Cheng held his breath. He wanted to leave the room, but he also looked at his phone with a final shred of hope.

In that instant, many things flashed through Huang Cheng's mind, yet it felt as if he were thinking of nothing at all.

"Chinese 90, Math 23, English 45, Liberal Arts 156, Total Score 314."

As these words were read aloud, the atmosphere became incredibly silent.

Huang Cheng's last shred of fantasy was shattered. His mind went blank, and he fell into a state of stupor.

"Sigh, a vocational college it is, then!"

Huang Cheng's father let out a long sigh, stood up somewhat dejectedly, and left the living room.

After waiting a while, Huang Cheng also let out a soft sigh and muttered, "A vocational college is fine too. Once I'm back, I can still take the civil service exams. The studies are easy, and I can play for another three years."

Having said that, he pulled out his phone, skillfully opened a novel hidden in a file, and began to read.

...

At Song Yi's house.

Song Shaojun had returned home an hour early. He was chatting with Song Yi while they waited for the Gaokao results to be announced.

"Have you been in contact with Wang Donglai? What has he been doing at home lately? Or has he gone out to work?"

"No. I've contacted him several times and asked him to come to the county to hang out, but he refused every time. He said he was reading books at home and didn't have time to go out. No matter how I invited him, he wouldn't come, so I haven't contacted him much lately."

Song Yi's tone carried a hint of frustration. He had truly taken his father's advice to heart and wanted to build a good relationship with Wang Donglai.

But every time he contacted him, Wang Donglai was always reading. There was nothing to talk about; they had no common ground.

After two or three attempts, Song Yi gradually lost the desire to chat with him.

Now, hearing his father ask, he explained the situation.

"Reading books at home? Did you ask what kind of books?"

Upon hearing this, Song Shaojun's first reaction was to ask what Wang Donglai was reading.

Frowning in thought, Song Yi finally spoke, "It seemed to be something called *Clean Code* and something called *The Pragmatic Programmer: From Junior to Expert*. Strange books, seemed to be related to computers."

"Does he want to study Computer Science?"

Song Shaojun muttered to himself, his brow furrowed.

At that moment, Song Shaojun's phone vibrated; Song Yi's Gaokao results text had arrived.

"345. He can only go to a vocational college."

"If you repeat a year, are you confident you can get into a third-tier university?"

"If you're confident, go for a third-tier school. At least it's an undergraduate degree, which makes promotions easier after you start working. Otherwise, with a vocational degree, it'll be hard to get promoted, and you'll end up having to self-study for a degree anyway."

Song Shaojun looked at Song Yi seriously and asked.

Song Yi also became solemn. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Dad, even if I repeat a year, I'm not confident I can get into a third-tier university."

Song Shaojun was mentally prepared for this answer, so he did not express disappointment or sigh.

He quickly changed the subject, saying, "Quick, ask if Wang Donglai's results are out yet. Also, ask those two girls who studied with him how their scores were."

"Forget it. I'll ask the people at the county admissions office first. If someone really has exceptionally high scores, they should know by now."

With that, Song Shaojun found a number in his contact list and dialed it.

"Hello, Old Qi? How are our county's Gaokao results this year?"

As soon as Song Shaojun asked, an excited voice came from the other end.

"Township Mayor Song! Our county produced a national Liberal Arts top scorer this year with a score of 737! The news is spreading everywhere. I remember your son Song Yi is also a candidate this year; you'll probably recognize this top scorer."

His breath hitched slightly. Song Shaojun actually felt a surge of nervousness as he asked, "Is this top scorer named Wang Donglai?"

"Yes, his name is Wang Donglai! The Education Bureau is in a meeting right now, trying to figure out how to reward him."

After a few pleasantries, Song Shaojun hung up and immediately said to Song Yi, "Quick, call Wang Donglai and congratulate him. You must make an effort to stay in close contact over the next few days to build a relationship. I'll give you five thousand yuan to use; if it's not enough, come to me."

Song Yi had also heard the news over the phone, and his mind was reeling.

He never imagined that Wang Donglai would actually become the national Liberal Arts top scorer!

It was like a dream; even in novels, stories weren't this bizarre.

One hundred days before the Gaokao, he was just an ordinary, unremarkable rural student, yet one hundred days later, he had staged a complete reversal, scoring 737 and claiming the national top spot.

Thinking of his own 345 points, even doubled, it wouldn't reach Wang Donglai's score.

However, Song Yi quickly stopped overthinking and pulled out his phone, preparing to contact Wang Donglai.

*Please support... University is coming soon, my career is about to take off...*

(End of Chapter)