Chapter 29: There Are Always People Who Triumph in This World

"Second Sister, this is a question bank I wrote. The questions are all based on the knowledge points you haven't fully mastered from each of your exams. Study this set carefully and make sure you grasp these points thoroughly. Every single point in the Gaokao matters; the more knowledge you master firmly, the more certain your score will be. Don't look at any other practice problems for the next few days. Just review your error notebook and this set of questions. Keep a good mindset, and you'll be fine for the Gaokao."

Outside the door of Class 3.

Wang Donglai handed the question bank he had spent the entire day writing to the girl in front of him.

The girl was tall, nearly 1.7 meters, with delicate features and black-rimmed glasses that gave her a gentle and virtuous appearance.

This girl was none other than Wang Qingchen, Wang Donglai's second cousin.

His eldest cousin, Wang Huiling, was two years older and had already been admitted to a medical university in Tangdu, where she was currently a sophomore.

In fact, Wang Qingchen was also one year older than Wang Donglai, but because she had started primary school a year late, she was in the same grade as him.

Taking the handwritten question bank from Wang Donglai, Wang Qingchen smiled and said, "Donglai, don't worry, I will definitely master this set."

"There are only six of us in this generation of the Wang family. Eldest Brother didn't go to high school, my brother didn't go to university, and you're the only boy left. Go straight to Tsinghua or Peking University and bring honor to our Wang family in the village."

"The Gaokao is coming up, so don't get distracted. Just keep things normal for these next two days. Cover yourself well at night, make sure to rest, and don't overwork yourself."

"Our Wang family has finally produced a good student. It's not just me—my uncle, my dad, and my little uncle are all looking forward to your good news."

"Go for it!!!"

The six members of Wang Donglai's generation were all on good terms, especially Wang Donglai with his two eldest cousins; since they were close in age, their relationship was even more intimate.

"Don't worry, Second Sister, everything is under my control!"

"I am determined to take the title of the Liberal Arts Top Scorer of Qin Province this year!"

Wang Donglai lifted his chin, looking spirited and radiating extreme confidence.

Finally, before leaving, he gave Wang Qingchen one last instruction: "Remember to do this question bank properly. Don't be lazy. I spent a whole day writing this specifically for you, so don't show it to anyone else."

"Alright, alright, I get it. Don't worry, I promise to be good and study this set until I know it inside out!"

Wang Qingchen waved her hand to reassure him and carried the question bank into the classroom.

"Wang Qingchen, is that your cousin? To jump from 300 to 700 points in three months—that learning ability is truly incredible!"

"Does your cousin have a girlfriend? What kind of girls does he like?"

"Wang Qingchen, tell us about your cousin! I feel like his story is more exaggerated than a novel; that score increase is just too crazy."

"What did your cousin want with you? I saw him give you a notebook—is it his study secret manual?"

When Wang Qingchen returned to the classroom, her close friends immediately began questioning her.

Wang Donglai's feats were simply too shocking; every time they saw him, these students from the science-focused honors class found it hard to believe.

Furthermore, the fact that Wang Qingchen's own grades had improved due to Wang Donglai's tutoring made them even more envious.

Naturally understanding their thoughts, Wang Qingchen raised the question bank in her hand and said proudly, "My brother spent an entire day distilling these specific knowledge points and writing these questions just for me, based on the points I missed and my errors in previous exams."

Her tone was filled with pride, and her expression was radiant.

In a corner.

Someone watched the triumphant Wang Qingchen, curled their lip, and whispered, "Hmph, who knows if her brother actually has any real skill? An increase of 300 points in three months? I don't believe it! Even if he's the top in Liberal Arts, so what? It's not like he can compete with the science honors class. What a joke!"

The voice wasn't loud, so it didn't reach Wang Qingchen, but it was audible to those nearby.

"Exactly, what is she so proud of? Just because she has a cousin who's good at studying. What's the big deal?"

"If people didn't know better, they'd think she was the top student. Every time she mentions her cousin, she gets that look of pride. It's nauseating."

"A wolf in sheep's clothing—once they succeed, they become arrogant. That's exactly what she is!"

In the corner, the group spoke in low, disdainful tones.

...

June 2nd, the third and final mock exam.

After this exam, there were only three days left until the Gaokao.

The school had relaxed its management; students who wanted to go home to revise could do so, or they could choose to stay at school and wait quietly for the exam.

This exam was a city-wide joint examination using unified papers.

Even Anshui High School, which had long been prepared for Wang Donglai's performance, was stunned by these results.

Chinese: 145, Mathematics: 150, English: 145, Politics: 95, History: 97, History: 96, Total Score: 728.

They specifically selected Wang Donglai's papers and graded them subject by subject as soon as they were finished.

When the scores for all subjects were released, it sent shockwaves through the entire county.

Whether it was the education officials or other local leaders, everyone knew that Anshui High School was about to achieve something massive this year.

The Liberal Arts Top Scorer of the entire province!

No one questioned it; a score of 728 would make someone the top Liberal Arts scorer at any time.

Liberal Arts was different from Science; there were subjective questions where points could be deducted.

Take Wang Donglai's Chinese paper, for example: his essay was actually written so well that some teachers felt it deserved a perfect score, but to be strict, they symbolically deducted two points.

Combined with other sections like poetry appreciation, the entire paper only lost five points.

English was a similar case; the deductions were all in the English essay.

After the results came out, the school leaders of Anshui High School sighed with regret, saying that if Wang Donglai had been a science student, he might have set a record by achieving a perfect score in all science subjects.

No one doubted he could have done it; the evidence was right there in front of everyone.

Chen Mengni and Guo Xing also managed to raise their scores above the previous years' "First Tier" line in this final exam.

In the past, Meng Fang would have been filled with pleasant surprises and excitement.

But with a destined provincial top scorer like Wang Donglai ahead of them, their achievements seemed somewhat overshadowed.

However, the students of Class 14 were red with envy.

They knew better than anyone what Chen Mengni and Guo Xing's grades used to be.

The result was that simply by being near Wang Donglai, they had been "carried" past the First Tier cutoff.

It made many people feel a mix of envy and jealousy.

It also made the students of Class 14 even more certain that Wang Donglai definitely possessed a secret manual for studying.

Otherwise, his own improvement could be explained away as a sudden intellectual awakening combined with hard work.

But the improvement in Chen Mengni and Guo Xing's grades couldn't be explained that way; clearly, Wang Donglai must have a secret study method.

Knowing this, they had thought about asking him for it.

But they also understood that they were merely ordinary classmates. If such a secret manual truly existed, it would be incredibly precious, and he wouldn't give it away easily.

A wise person knows their place; knowing it was impossible, they naturally wouldn't seek humiliation.

...

Dormitory 404.

In his previous life, when the school allowed students living nearby to go home, only Wang Donglai and Huang Cheng remained in the dorm.

The reason Huang Cheng refused to go home was his obsession with reading web novels; he would stay up until the middle of the night, and he couldn't enjoy himself fully at home. At school, the teachers didn't care as much, so he stayed.

Wang Donglai remembered it clearly: on the day of the Gaokao, he woke up at 3:00 AM to use the bathroom and found Huang Cheng still staying up late reading novels. He had been shocked by his sheer audacity.

Now, although the school had lifted the curfew and they could go home whenever they wanted, no one in Dorm 404 chose to leave; they stayed in the dorm.

When Wang Donglai returned to the room, several people greeted him with extreme enthusiasm.

"Donglai, you're a legend! Which top university are you heading to? I want to be able to brag to others that I have a roommate who got into Tsinghua or Peking. Think of the prestige!"

Dang Caizhi walked up with a wide grin and handed Wang Donglai a bottle of Coke.

"Exactly! I thought our class would at most have a few students in third-tier colleges, but I didn't expect you to shock the whole school with one move. I bet Wu Jiata's face is beaming right now. With a provincial top scorer like you, he might even move up a notch in his career. Even the education leaders in Anshui County will benefit from your glory this year. Just thinking about it is awesome!"

Song Yi put down his barbell and spoke with deep emotion.

Wang Donglai didn't doubt Song Yi's words.

In a poverty-stricken county like Anshui, even though the population was only around a hundred thousand, there was a massive difference between being a child of a dual-income family and a child from a rural family.

In his previous life, after working for two years, the grind of the job led Wang Donglai to consider the civil service exams. Only then did he realize how enviable it was to have a father with real power in a mid-level position and a mother in a leadership role in the tobacco industry within a small county.

After Huang Cheng, Liu Jun, and Song Yi entered vocational colleges, they all, without exception, returned to the county town. They did nothing but study for exams at home, receiving a monthly living allowance of two thousand yuan from their families.

Even though it was a vocational college, jobs in small county towns weren't picky about such things; there were always positions with very relaxed requirements.

Even if the location was remote, as long as you passed the exam, you could be seconded to the county town with a single word, avoiding the need to serve out your time in remote townships. Once the service period was up, you could transfer units directly.

In Wang Donglai's memory, not many students from Class 14 went to vocational colleges, and even fewer managed to secure permanent government positions after graduation—only those whose families lived in the county town.

After high school, others would head south to work, drift for two years, and then marry and have children through arranged blind dates.

During Wang Donglai's university years, several of his female high school classmates had already married. In just two short years, they had lost their youthful innocence, their faces showing the traces of hardship and their eyes growing dim.

The male classmates were even worse, weathered by life and filled with disappointment.