Liu Fang slept until noon, and the anesthesiologist who had been responsible for her anesthesia the previous night had already visited three times by late morning. During the last visit, Liu Chen even noticed that the anesthesiologist's eyes were slightly red, as if on the verge of tears.
Fortunately, after twelve o'clock, Liu Fang woke up. The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes were Chen Long and Chen Chen by her bedside, and she couldn't help but smile.
After smiling, she noticed the dark circles under their eyes and couldn't help but nag, "What time is it? What are you two doing here? Chen Chen, you just got back from abroad, go back and get some rest. Chen Long, you too, how many hours have you been awake? Go back and sleep."
After saying this, Liu Fang's gaze swept around the room, and she then looked at Chen Long with confusion. "I only had two babies, right? Did they not..."
As Liu Fang spoke, her face changed drastically. Liu Chen knew immediately that her mother had misunderstood. "Your younger siblings are in the incubator. The doctor said they need to be observed for a few days."
Hearing that the babies were alright, Liu Fang breathed a sigh of relief, her smile returning. She raised her small hands, waving them left and right. "That's good, you two hurry back and sleep..."
Before she could finish, the hospital room door opened, and Chen Laoyezi's hushed voice asked, "Chen Chen, has your mother woken up? I've already called two confinement nannies from the confinement center to look after your mother, so you two don't have to..."
As he spoke, Grandpa Chen walked to the bedside, followed by two women in their early fifties. His gaze fell on Liu Fang's open eyes. "Oh? Fang'er, you're awake? Did I wake you?"
Liu Fang shook her head. "No, Dad, I was already awake and talking to Chen Chen. Dad, what should I call these two elder sisters?"
Grandpa Chen then remembered and stepped aside slightly, extending his hand with his fingers together to introduce the two confinement nannies.
With the care of the two confinement nannies, Liu Fang became even more insistent, sending Liu Chen and Chen Long home. Before leaving, Liu Chen remembered to call Dongtian to pick them up.
-
While Liu Chen was busy taking care of her mother, the internet was abuzz with questioning towards Shuimu University.
'Is it because the campus belle and academic star is successful in her创业 that she can skip classes at will?'
'Heh, so the supposedly most formidable university in China is nothing special. I wonder how much money Liu Chen donated to make you all pretend to overlook her skipping class?'
Seeing the escalating online sentiment, Liu Chen's counselor had to post Liu Chen's previous application for grade skipping on Shuimu University's official Weibo account, along with an explanation:
First: It is true that student Liu Chen did not attend any freshman courses. However, she has not missed any courses in the second semester of her sophomore year.
Second: Her trip to Los Angeles was not an act of skipping class, but rather an approved participation in an activity by a university-affiliated technology company.
Once this official Weibo post was made, the group of netizens who had been clamoring about Shuimu University's inaction fell silent.
However, Liu Chen's Weibo followers were shocked.
'Sister is truly amazing... She can skip grades in university too?'
'Not only did she skip grades, she skipped them at Shuimu University!'
'Sister fully illustrates one point for us: learning knows no bounds! Even being the top scorer in the college entrance exam cannot stop sister's progress!'
After returning home and sleeping soundly until past nine o'clock that night, Liu Chen brushed her teeth while browsing Weibo. Seeing these comments, she fell silent. Recalling her reasons for wanting to skip grades, it was less about her own hard work and more about the system pushing her to improve.
'Pfft!'
She spat the mouthwash into the sink, wiped her mouth, changed her clothes, and headed to the hospital to see her mother. Since her counselor had clarified things for her, she decided not to respond, lest her response only fuel the topic further. After all, real life was always more important than online rumors.
Liu Chen thought so, but a group of bored netizens clearly disagreed.
Liu Chen only stayed in the hospital for two days before her mother, Liu Fang, urged her to return to classes. "Chen Chen, go back to class. Mom is fine. I've gotten through the childbirth, and now I have two confinement nannies looking after me. You go be busy, don't let netizens misunderstand you."
Seeing that her mother genuinely didn't need her around, Liu Chen turned and boarded a plane back to Beijing with Xiadan and Dongtian.
During these two days, someone on Weibo had leaked that the technology company collaborating with Shuimu University was Xinghai Technology, which was Liu Chen's boyfriend's company. Consequently, Shuimu University's official Weibo account was once again met with mockery.
Liu Chen sat in her office chair, listening to her counselor, who was seated at a desk diagonally opposite her, explain his predicament. "So... the school hopes you can provide some explanation to prevent its reputation from being affected."
The counselor spoke while cautiously observing Liu Chen's reaction. Liu Chen nodded expressionlessly, making it impossible to tell if she was happy or unhappy. Liu Chen looked at her counselor and said earnestly, "Okay, teacher, I understand. How about this, I have a way to help the school clarify this matter."
"What way?" the counselor instinctively leaned forward, wanting to hear Liu Chen's proposed solution.
Liu Chen sat upright in her chair and spoke clearly, word by word, "Let me participate in the grade skipping exam."
"Huh??" The counselor's forward-leaning upper body retreated, and he shook his head, waving his hands. "Our school has never had a grade skipping exam. Besides, you've only been here for a short time. What if you don't pass? Wouldn't that just give those who are making a fuss more reason to mock you?"
Liu Chen, however, was very serious. "There's no need to create a special grade skipping exam for me. Just use the final exam at the end of this semester. If I pass, it will prove my ability and also prove the teaching strength of Shuimu University, won't it?"
Liu Chen's words genuinely moved the counselor, but he hesitated and glanced at Liu Chen. "If the school doesn't agree, then there's nothing we can do."
Liu Chen nodded confidently, "Don't worry, teacher, the school will definitely agree."
-
The conversation between the two was not deliberately kept private, nor was their voice lowered. As a result, by the time Liu Chen returned to her dormitory, 'insiders' had already leaked information on Weibo.
'A classmate of mine at Shuimu told me that the academic queen proposed to directly take the sophomore final exams to prove the school's leniency towards her with her grades.'
'Holy crap?? No, it's only late March. Even if you asked legitimate sophomores to take it, they might not pass, right??'
'So Liu Chen is amazing... I'm truly impressed by this sister, she's so bold!'
'Heh, who knows if the so-called final exam wasn't pre-arranged with the school giving Liu Chen the answers beforehand? Anyone can pass if they memorize the answers and then take the test, right?'
Liu Chen paid no attention to the discussions on Weibo. Since she had dared to propose the final exam, she naturally had a way to prove its significance.
It was dark by the time the counselor finally called. "The school has agreed to your proposal. Come to the office tomorrow. The exam will be live-streamed on a certain fish streaming platform. Is that okay?"
Liu Chen raised an eyebrow at the exam time, slightly surprised, but her response was immediate. "Of course, it's okay. Please trouble yourself to send me the specific time and location. Thank you."
After Liu Chen hung up, before she could call Ren Yu, Professor He Long's call came through. "Liu Chen, you shouldn't have impulsively proposed an exam. There are some old-timers at the school who think you are too impetuous. The exam paper tomorrow will be secretly made more difficult."
Professor He Long was well aware of his colleagues' temperaments. After seeing Shuimu University's response on Weibo, he felt uneasy. When he inquired about the names of the teachers who were called to create the exam paper that night, he couldn't help but call Liu Chen.
"Teacher, you should have confidence in me. Don't worry, I won't disgrace you."
Hearing Liu Chen's words, He Long could only helplessly offer a few more reminders before hanging up.
As soon as He Long's call ended, her mother's call came. "Hello? Chen Chen, I saw on Weibo that you have an exam tomorrow? Chen Chen, just relax, it's just an exam. Mom believes you can do it. If you don't pass, it's definitely because the school made a ridiculous exam!"
Listening to her mother's completely biased words, Liu Chen smiled and shook her head, responded a couple of times, and then hung up. Liu Chen then received calls from Mi Zhuzhu, Lai Jielun, Ren Mo, and Sang Ling. After comforting everyone, it was already past ten-thirty at night.
Thinking that Ren Yu should be preparing for bed at this hour, Liu Chen held her phone, feeling hesitant. Just as Liu Chen hesitated, a video call invitation popped up from QQ on her laptop. Seeing Ren Yu's avatar flashing on the screen, Liu Chen couldn't help but smile.
After answering the call, Liu Chen saw Ren Yu wearing a loose bathrobe, revealing the contours of his defined chest muscles. He had likely just showered, and his short hair was still wet. As he ran his fair fingers through his hair, water droplets flew from the tips, and a few even cascaded down his fair neck and throat, disappearing into the depths of his bathrobe.
Seeing this, Liu Chen had to keep a straight face, forcing herself to appear unfazed and not be mesmerized by the scene.
"Exam tomorrow, confident?"
Perhaps too focused on keeping her face composed, it took Liu Chen a full three seconds to process Ren Yu's question in her mind. "Don't worry. Initially, my goal was to skip to junior year, but that would mean missing experimental courses, so I chose sophomore year."
Ren Yu saw the girl's feigned composure and actually flushed face on the computer screen. He smiled without exposing her, saying instead, "Chen Chen, when I started my创业, my counselor said I was arrogant. I think he should hear you speak. Compared to you, I think I'm quite humble."
"I'm not bragging, I'm serious. I'm very confident," Liu Chen said, her cheeks as red as ripe apples, but her eyes shone with a confidence that was captivating. Seeing Liu Chen like this, Ren Yu suddenly dropped his smile and looked at the girl on the screen seriously. "I believe in you, you can definitely do it."
Being praised so earnestly by Ren Yu, Liu Chen became a little flustered. She opened her mouth, and finally managed a hesitant, "I know, it's good that you know!"
To ensure Liu Chen had enough sleep to prepare for tomorrow's grade skipping exam, they didn't talk for long before bidding each other goodnight.
Turning her chair towards the window, the Beijing night in late March wasn't particularly pleasant. Liu Chen didn't open the window, but looked out at the sky through the glass. The night was filled with starlight.
-
'Holy crap, Shuimu University announced they've opened a live stream on a certain fish platform and will allow everyone to witness the academic queen's grade skipping exam live. They also said that any freshman who wishes to skip grades can take the exam with her today.'
'?? 666, someone throw me the live stream link, I want to watch!'
'Me too, me too! Let me see what Shuimu University's sophomore final exam looks like. Let this student from a third-tier university broaden their horizons.'
'Me too, me too!'
It was only half-past nine on a Thursday morning, yet the live stream on the certain fish platform opened by Shuimu University had an astonishing audience of one hundred thousand. The technical staff of the certain fish live streaming platform noticed a newly opened live stream with a rapidly and unusually increasing viewership and quickly switched to check. Upon seeing it, they were stunned.
The darling of Weibo is live-streaming a grade skipping exam on our platform? We can't miss out on this buzz! They quickly submitted the matter to their superiors, who then forwarded it up the chain. Finally, Shuimu University's new live stream appeared on the homepage recommendation of the certain fish software.
Shuimu University's recommendation text was also simple and direct: 'Campus Belle Academic Queen Shuimu University Grade Skipping Exam'.
Compared to Weibo, which has a large young user base, the certain fish live streaming software has many middle-aged and older users, whose characteristics are: strong purchasing power and ample free time. At this moment, users opening the certain fish live streaming software saw this title, which was completely different from the style of other live streams. Driven by curiosity, most users would click on it.
Liu Chen wrote with a neutral pen from morning until afternoon, even eating a simple bread for lunch. To save time in the evening, she skipped dinner altogether and completed the exam in one go. Meanwhile, in a corner of the live stream, professors were grading papers. The audience in the live stream had a peculiar attitude towards Liu Chen.
'Divine scholar above, your humble follower bows to you.'
'Learning two years' worth of material in one year, this is the difference between a top scorer and me?'
'Looking at Shuimu University's sophomore final exam, I am plunged into deep doubt. How did I graduate with my bachelor's degree?'
'Those who questioned the divine scholar on Weibo, quickly open your damn eyes and see what a divine scholar is!'
Liu Chen was unaware of the chat messages in the live stream, but she had a rough estimate of the viewership. She expected one to two million people. Therefore, after finishing each section of the exam, Liu Chen would pick up a Meimei sausage or Meimei brand pork jerky from the table in front of her. While eating, she would smile at the camera and say, "Please forgive me, I tend to get cravings when I'm concentrating."
As a result...
The Meimei brand Taobao store experienced sales volumes greater than during the New Year holidays. Even supermarkets selling Meimei brand products offline had their inventories cleared out, forcing them to arrange for overnight deliveries from the Meimei factory.