Meili was once one of Hu Qian's closest friends and a ringleader in initiating the class's cold shoulder treatment of Liu Chen. Now, she was one of the few remaining students in Class 3-4 who hadn't given up on their studies.
Hu Qian hadn't had a good year, and Meili's situation wasn't much better. The better Liu Chen's grades were, the worse everyone treated her, as if retaliating against Liu Chen, who had already transferred schools, would make Liu Chen forget everything she had done.
Meili tugged at the corner of her mouth. What was this? She was sure that even if Liu Chen knew they had ostracized and rejected her for a year on her behalf, Liu Chen wouldn't feel the slightest bit grateful.
With the landline on speakerphone, Meili, her parents, and grandparents gathered around, listening to the college entrance examination scores being announced.
"Chinese: 120"
"Math: 120"
"English: 124"
"Science Comprehensive: 200"
"Total score 564! Meili! Meili, you're amazing!"
Meili's mother, who had calculated the total score first, let out a cry of surprise and showered Meili with praise.
Upon hearing the score, Meili's tense expression finally relaxed. Five hundred and sixty-four, if nothing went wrong, it should be the highest score in Class 3-4.
Of course, she had never considered competing with that freak Liu Chen. Although she had suspected Liu Chen of cheating when the first joint exam results came out, she later calmed down and thought, who could cheat their way to first place in the entire province?
After hugging her family one by one, Meili took out her new Sony flip phone, flipped it open with a click, and looked at the still silent QQ group chat.
She hadn't intended to show off, but her classmates had been too heartless this past year. After some thought, Meili edited a message and sent it to the class group.
'Just finished checking my scores, 564, 66 points above the first-tier university line. I'm finally relieved. I also want to thank everyone; this past year, you've allowed me to focus on my studies, which has led to this achievement. :)'
After sending the message, there was no reply for a long time. However, Meili's smile deepened. At this moment, the lack of a reply only proved that her score was the highest in the class.
Just as she was about to put her phone away, feeling satisfied, the QQ group suddenly popped up with a new message.
Meili's heart leaped.
She looked at the message.
Mi Zhuzhu: 'Oh, I thought our study committee member Meili had made some dramatic progress by focusing on her studies this past year. Turns out, it seems she hasn't even scored as high as me, someone who didn't focus on studying?'
Seeing this message, Meili tried her best to hold back, but ultimately couldn't resist replying:
"Oh? And how many points did you score on your college entrance exam? Sometimes, being close to Liu Chen doesn't mean her score represents your future. When you enter universities of different tiers, it's still uncertain if this friendship can continue."
As soon as she sent the message, another one appeared below it:
Mi Zhuzhu:
Chinese: One hundred and thirty-eight points
Math: One hundred and twenty points
English: One hundred and thirty points
Science Comprehensive: Two hundred and eight points
Total Score: Five hundred and ninety-six points
The scores instantly filled the QQ group's chat page. However, no one was looking at Meili's previous message anymore. The students in Class 3-4 who were still online were now staring intently at the scores Mi Zhuzhu had posted.
Meili: 'Mi Zhuzhu, why are you posting this score? Is it Liu Chen's?'
Mi Zhuzhu: 'Bah! Get rid of your petty, dark thoughts. My Chen Chen would never score so low. These are my college entrance exam scores~~~ How about that~~~ I'm only thirty-two points higher than our study committee member~'
Mi Zhuzhu: 'Meili, didn't you watch TV? My Chen Chen is this year's science top scorer. She's going on television for an interview tomorrow. You'll probably see my Chen Chen's top scorer interview on C City News Channel the day after tomorrow~'
Meili looked down at the messages on her phone, her smile gone.
She hadn't even scored higher than Mi Zhuzhu? That Mi Zhuzhu who, a year ago, was only average in class rankings and couldn't even get into the top two hundred?
She was more than thirty points higher than Meili?
The thought that she might end up in the same university as Mi Zhuzhu, or even a worse one, made Meili walk straight into her bedroom and slam the door shut with a bang.
…
Mi Zhuzhu chuckled as she looked at the congratulatory messages in the Class 3-4 QQ group and showed them to Liu Chen.
"Chen Chen, look, my college entrance exam score is even higher than Meili's!"
"Hm?"
Liu Chen glanced at Mi Zhuzhu's post in the QQ group and smiled helplessly.
"You're still in this group?"
Mi Zhuzhu nodded. "I want to let them know how good, how perfect life is without their Chen Chen!"
Liu Chen shook her head. "Zhuzhu, no one's life is perfect. We can only do our best to live each day without regrets. Perfection or not, it's too grand, too complex."
Liu Chen's words were deeply imprinted in the minds of the four eighteen-year-old youths beside her. For decades to come, whenever they encountered setbacks, difficulties, and felt like giving up, they would recall and reflect on them.
Live each day with effort and a clear conscience.
Since she had an interview in the afternoon, Liu Chen went to bed after knowing everyone's scores. Mi Zhuzhu slept with her, while Ren Mo and Lai Jielun went back to their respective homes. Since they lived in the same building, there were no safety concerns about it being too late.
She woke up feeling refreshed.
Listening to Mi Zhuzhu's soft snores beside her, Liu Chen quietly got out of bed, went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She even applied a face mask, as it was necessary to look good for the television interview.
While wearing the mask and about to make breakfast, she heard movement from the kitchen. Blinking, Liu Chen ambled over and saw her cousin Jiang Di cooking porridge.
"Ge, morning," Liu Chen said, her smile slightly stiff because of the face mask, making her words sound like a question.
"Oh my!" Jiang Di turned around upon hearing the voice and was startled to see Liu Chen, who looked pale. He dropped the ladle he was holding into the pot, and the boiling soup splashed onto his hand, scalding him as he yelped in pain.
"It's Chen Chen. Auntie went to check on the shop, so she asked me to make some porridge. She said you have an interview on TV today, so you should eat something good, but not too much, so you don't get sleepy."
"But I'm not going to the TV station until the afternoon?"
"Ah, Auntie said this is brunch…"
After speaking, Jiang Di felt it was a bit cruel and added, "But don't worry, I added red ginseng to this porridge, it's very nourishing."
Liu Chen shook her head, took out a carton of cold milk from the refrigerator, inserted a straw, and drank it. After filling her stomach a bit, she took out ingredients from the refrigerator and started making lunch in the kitchen.
"Ge, if Zhuzhu wakes up and is in the living room, please tell her to call Ren Mo and Lai Jielun over to eat together. After eating, we'll take a taxi to the TV station."
Jiang Di looked at his cousin's swift and decisive movements, and swallowed the advice he was about to give about being careful with the kitchen knife.
"Sure. I'll help you with the preparation."
At noon, the five of them finished lunch made by Liu Chen and headed to C City Television Station together. Upon arriving at the makeup room notified by the text message, Liu Chen was led in by an intern, while the others were taken to the studio.
The makeup room was bustling with activity. Two rows of mirrored vanities were piled high with cosmetics, but they looked somewhat messy, likely due to frequent use, with some eyeshadow palettes even completely emptied.
Liu Chen scanned the area briefly. There weren't many high-end brands, but she understood, as it was free makeup provided by the TV station.
"Please have a seat here, student."
Liu Chen sat down as instructed and saw a girl sitting diagonally opposite her with a thick layer of white powder on her face. Liu Chen watched as the makeup artist layered foundation onto the girl's original tanned skin, gradually transforming her into a "doll" with a heavy white base. Moreover, the skin tone on her face and her neck were two different shades…
Looking at the heavy eyeliner, which was even slightly curved into a triangle, the deathly Barbie pink lipstick, and the greenish eyeshadow, Liu Chen fell silent. The thought of appearing on television looking like this, and having it preserved online forever, made her take out her own makeup from her backpack and start working on her face.
When the makeup artist who had finished with the opposite girl approached, she frowned upon seeing Liu Chen's light makeup. "What are you messing around with here! There's no sense of fashion at all!"
As she spoke, the makeup artist picked up a sponge that was originally light yellow but had now turned yellowish-brown, sprayed it with makeup remover, and patted it towards Liu Chen's cheek.
Liu Chen frowned and dodged, refusing, "I think parents want to see our reading experience, not our appearance. They won't care."
Looking at the little girl in front of her with a stern expression, the makeup artist felt her hidden intentions had been completely seen through. She had deliberately made both top scorers look ugly. Why should they be good-looking as well as top scorers?
Liu Chen watched as the makeup artist, looking resentful, swept the items on the vanity into her makeup bag. Liu Chen picked up her own cosmetics and, with her eyes widened, held up a foundation bottle and eyeshadow palette. "These are mine. See the Chanel logo."
Seeing the sparkling designer cosmetics, the makeup artist recalled that her entire set wasn't as expensive as that single foundation bottle. Her lips moved a few times, but she couldn't say anything.
"If the broadcast effect isn't good, don't blame me! You brought this upon yourself!" she finally said in a subdued tone and pushed the door open, leaving the makeup room.
Just then, the female reporter who had interviewed Liu Chen before entered the makeup room. Seeing Liu Chen's makeup, she praised the makeup artist, "Xiao Rong, the makeup you did today is really beautiful!"
Upon hearing this, the makeup artist slammed the makeup room door shut with a bang!
The liberal arts top scorer sitting diagonally opposite Liu Chen reached out towards Liu Chen with a wry smile. "Pfft! Hello, my name is Sang Ling. I've seen your posts, Liu Chen. Nice to meet you. I have an impudent request: can you do my face like yours? The thought of appearing on TV like this makes me regret even getting the top score."