The day of the College Entrance Examination.
Fifteen high schools were participating in a joint examination, with nearly ten thousand candidates.
The main roads, usually congested from the morning, were now filled with on-duty traffic police.
They were ensuring smooth traffic flow, so that candidates could reach the examination halls on time.
Along the roadside, hundreds of taxis were adorned with the four characters "爱心送考" (Loving Support for the Exam).
All candidates taking the college entrance exam that day could take a taxi to the examination venue for free.
At the ten examination centers for the college entrance exam.
Special police, regular police, and riot squads had all been deployed.
Fully armed and on high alert, they were there to ensure a quiet environment for the candidates' examinations.
During the exam, even if a passing dog barked twice, it would receive two slaps and be detained.
Such an imposing scene was only present for these two days of the college entrance exam.
At 7:30 AM, Gao Fei leisurely woke up to eat breakfast.
At 7:50 AM, after confirming he hadn't forgotten his admission ticket and other essential items, he prepared to leave.
Having experienced the college entrance exam before, he knew that the more anxious one was, the more likely mistakes were to happen.
Whether in his previous life or in this parallel world.
It was common for students to forget their admission tickets on the day of the college entrance exam.
Because of the college entrance exam, Yang Lan, who usually only had four days off a month, was allowed to take two days of paid leave.
After a month of interaction, coupled with his original memories,
Gao Fei's relationship with his mother gradually deepened.
Yang Lan had wanted to accompany her son to the exam like other parents.
But seeing that the temperature was approaching forty degrees that day, Gao Fei, with kind words, persuaded his worried mother to stay at home.
He got into a "loving support" taxi outside his residential complex and then, with a relaxed expression, headed to City Fifth High School, his designated examination center.
Along the way, the driver initially wanted to comfort Gao Fei, telling him not to be nervous about the exam.
But within a few minutes of conversation, the two had already moved from discussing the exam to the future development of Long Guo.
His social butterfly skills were on full display.
By the time they reached City Fifth High School, the driver watched Gao Fei's departing figure and couldn't help but wonder if this kid was either a slacker or an extremely confident top student.
Because, in his opinion, facing the college entrance exam, all other candidates seemed very nervous, while this kid acted as if he was on vacation.
Outside the gate of City Fifth High School.
It was already crowded with parents, students, and reporters from various television stations.
Gao Fei, who had just gotten out of the taxi and was about to enter the school, seemed a little lonely, as he didn't have parents accompanying him like others.
Upon seeing him, the reporter from the city television station sensed the student's uniqueness and quickly approached with a camera.
"Student, wait a moment!"
Hearing someone call him, Gao Fei turned around and saw the black lens of the camera already pointed at him.
It was normal to have reporters outside the examination center, so he blinked at the approaching female reporter.
"Is something the matter?"
"Student, would you mind giving us a brief interview?"
"Not at all, ask whatever you want!"
Gao Fei remained calm. There were still forty minutes before the exam.
Besides, being interviewed by reporters, and from the local television station no less, to appear on the news was a good thing!
Finally finding a student willing to be interviewed, the female reporter, Bai Bing, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
She had already tried interviewing several students earlier, but before she could even ask a question, they were shooed away by their parents, who told her not to disturb them.
"Student, the exam is about to begin, how are you feeling right now? Are you nervous?"
"Nervous? It's the college entrance exam, what's the use of being nervous now!"
Bai Bing was momentarily stunned by this response and changed the question. "Then, how do you view the college entrance exam?"
Hearing this question, Gao Fei fell silent for a moment.
Bai Bing, however, was a bit confused. It was a simple question, why was he hesitating?
The next second.
Gao Fei looked seriously into the camera, his expression becoming very solemn.
"I hope all candidates take the college entrance exam seriously.
Because the college entrance exam will not give special treatment based on your wealth or prestigious family background.
In this examination, everyone stands at the same starting line. The differences in status from ordinary days are gone, and everyone is equal!
Because in your life, only the college entrance exam is the fairest and most just examination for you."
As he finished speaking, a brief silence fell outside the school gate.
A few simple sentences, yet they resonated with some of the parents.
As people who had been through it before, the parents had seen enough of the deceit and trickery in society.
They knew very well that for their children to surpass those from wealthy families, official families, and for the poor to rise to prominence,
This was the only chance they had in their lives to turn things around: the college entrance exam!
And only this one chance!
Because the college entrance exam is, in today's society, the fairest and most just examination, regardless of status or position.
When Bai Bing, the cameraman, and the surrounding parents snapped out of their daze from his words, Gao Fei had already sauntered into the school.
As for some of the naive and ignorant students, they wondered why their parents were so silent after hearing those words.
Some of them were students from First High School.
Looking at Gao Fei's retreating back, one of them immediately sneered, "Dad, Mom, that person is the last in our grade. What's so good about his words that you're reflecting on them!
He's at the bottom of the grade; it'll be good enough if he gets into a vocational college!"
Many such mocking words were common among the students of First High School.
But none of the parents ridiculed Gao Fei.
Because they had weathered the storm themselves and understood the true meaning behind those brief words.
...
At nine o'clock, the first subject, Chinese, officially began.
Exam Room 12.
Gao Fei sat steadily at the front desk, surrounded by candidates from various schools.
After a month of intensive practice, he no longer first looked at the paper before answering.
As the bell rang and the invigilator gave the order, he immediately picked up his pen and started answering.
His incredibly fast pace of answering questions over the two and a half hours continuously surprised the invigilators.
In the afternoon, at three o'clock, it was the College Entrance Examination Mathematics!
The invigilators had been replaced.
Upon witnessing Gao Fei's lightning-fast work, the new invigilators were also astonished.
He enumerated and verified on scratch paper with incredible speed, as if he were a question-answering machine.
One of the two invigilators was a staff member from the education bureau, and the other was a teacher from Third High School.
Teachers tended to have a clear impression of top students.
But looking at Gao Fei, who was like a machine, they hadn't seen him among the top students from the fifteen high schools in the city.
Could he be a slacker?
The thought occurred to both of them simultaneously!
At five o'clock in the afternoon, the first day of the college entrance exam concluded.
However, the ten thousand candidates did not immediately relax.
Upon returning to their dormitories or homes, everyone immediately began reviewing for the Comprehensive Arts/Science exam the next day.
While tens of thousands of candidates were intensely preparing for the next day's exam, Gao Fei leisurely finished his meal and strolled around the neighborhood.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the local Fengyun Television news program began.
When the host discussed the day's college entrance exam, the interviewed Gao Fei directly became the video segment of the evening news.
Students were still reviewing their books and had not yet tuned into the news.
However, teachers and parents, after seeing the news and hearing Gao Fei's views on the college entrance exam, nearly half of them fell into silent contemplation, deeply moved by his words.
That night, Gao Fei's interview video climbed to the top of the trending searches online.
His remarks were compiled into a statement by the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education and released.
Educational departments across the country reposted and liked it.
Even official accounts like People's Daily and the Communist Youth League Central Committee reposted and commented.
They found it hard to imagine how an eighteen-year-old high school student could utter words that seemed to carry the weariness of a long life's journey.
The trending search results did not cause much stir among the students.
By the time Gao Fei's interview went viral, students who still had an exam the next day had already gone to bed.
The following day.
Gao Fei appeared punctually outside his residential complex.
The taxi he took was driven by the same uncle who had driven him to City Fifth High School the previous day.
It wasn't until they reached City Fifth High School that the driver had a realization.
The kid he had mistaken for a slacker was none other than the high school student interviewed on the news last night.
Watching that still elegant and solitary figure walk away, the driver couldn't help but sigh, "It seems only children from poor families can speak words tempered by the hardships of the world!"
Upon arriving at the examination center, Gao Fei noticed that the surrounding parents were looking at him strangely.
Their gazes contained sympathy... understanding... and pity...
He felt a prickling sensation from being stared at so intensely.
He quickly scurried into the school, escaping the "gaze attack" zone.
Just as he entered, Bai Bing, who had worked overtime the previous night, rushed to the scene.
Upon learning that the student she had interviewed yesterday had already entered the school, she regretted not setting her alarm for six o'clock and waking up earlier.
At 8:50 AM, the invigilators entered the examination hall.
Sitting in the exam room, Gao Fei noticed that the invigilators' gazes towards him were quite peculiar.
They resembled the way the parents outside the school had looked at him earlier.
What was going on?
Even though Old Huang had sidelined me, why do they all look at me like they know me?
He was still unaware that his interview from yesterday had become a sensation.
It had even become a famous quote for this year's college entrance exam.
*Clang!*
The bell rang, and the exam began!
Gao Fei's speed in answering questions once again astonished the invigilators.
Although they had heard from colleagues yesterday about this student's lightning-fast pace,
Witnessing it firsthand still greatly surprised them; he was like a brush-up machine.
At eleven-thirty, the Comprehensive Arts/Science exam concluded.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the last subject, Foreign Language, officially commenced.
At five o'clock, accompanied by the ringing of the bell.
The college entrance exam officially ended.
Outside the gate of Fifth High School.
Gao Fei walked out of the school with an elegant gait, hands behind his back, and was the first to emerge, appearing very relaxed.
As soon as he stepped out of the school gate, he was immediately intercepted by the waiting reporter, Bai Bing.
"Haha, finally caught you!"
"Miss, the way you say that makes it sound like I'm a criminal being arrested."
"Sister has been waiting for you for a long time!"
Bai Bing's tone was somewhat wistful, as she had waited for two hours in the scorching heat of thirty-eight degrees Celsius just to catch Gao Fei for an interview.
She cleared her throat and quickly got into work mode. "Student, what do you want to do after the college entrance exam?"
"That... I haven't really thought about what to do yet!"
"There are many things you could do, like going on vacation, playing games, etc..."
Gao Fei pondered for a moment and then said, "I just want to go home. My mom has to work tonight, and I want to go home and make her a late-night snack to take to the factory.
If I have time, I want to go to a construction site and earn some extra money!"
Hearing this answer, not only Bai Bing but even the surrounding parents were taken aback.
After the college entrance exam, shouldn't students be going on trips or playing games with air conditioning...?
Noticing Bai Bing's confused gaze, Gao Fei grinned and said, "My parents divorced when I was little.
From now on, the tuition fees, living expenses, and everything for my university education will fall on my mother alone.
I'll go work on construction sites to earn money so that she can work less overtime and take care of her health!"
After speaking, he glanced at the time on his phone and smiled apologetically. "Miss, I still have to go to school tonight, so I'll be off, bye-bye!"
With that, Gao Fei quickly ran off.
Bai Bing, on the other hand, looked at his solitary receding figure with a touch of sympathy.
She then glanced at the silent parents around her. Under the same sky, their families and lives were vastly different.
At this moment, she suddenly began to understand Gao Fei's words from his interview on the first day of the college entrance exam.
"The college entrance exam is a level playing field, and the fairest starting line for people of different backgrounds."
People thought Gao Fei didn't want to see the scene of a happy family of three.
But in reality, he did have to go to school that night to discuss answers with his classmates.
At seven o'clock in the evening, at First High School, the Advanced Class for Grade 12!
All the students ranked in the top fifty of the entire grade gathered in the classroom.
As Gao Fei appeared, it immediately caused confusion among some.
Only a few female classmates who knew the truth eagerly surrounded him.
"Why is Gao Fei here? Does he want to compare answers with us?"
"Damn, no way! He's ranked last in the whole grade and wants to compare answers? It's all zeros, what's there to compare!"
"I need to learn his level of shamelessness; how can he not be afraid of public humiliation!"
Amidst the students' discussions, the Grade Director, Huang Zhicheng, the Advanced Class teacher, Ms. Xu, and the heads of each subject's research group entered the classroom in order.
Just as Lu Renjia, the top-ranked student in the grade, was waiting for the teacher to call his name to write down his answer, Director Huang turned his gaze.
"Gao Fei, come up and write down your answer!"