Chapter 42: I Was Only Performing at My Usual Level

Stepping out of the school computer lab, Xu Ming had only taken a few steps when he suddenly heard someone calling out. Turning his head, he saw it was his homeroom teacher.

He immediately came to a halt.

As the teacher drew closer, Xu Ming asked, "Is there anything else, Mr. Wang?"

"I just wanted to have a few more words with you," Wang Qingtao said, looking at Xu Ming with a smile at the corners of his mouth as he spoke in a deep voice.

Without any delay, he went straight to the point.

"This year, you and Chen Lu are the only ones from our school who applied to Peking University. Once the semester starts and you head to Beijing, you can look out for each other."

As early as the day they estimated their scores, Xu Ming had known that Chen Lu expected to score around six hundred and eighty. Although it was difficult to get into colleges packed with top scorers like the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, there was no doubt she would be admitted to one of its other schools or departments.

Therefore, he was not surprised by Chen Lu's choice of Peking University.

Zhou Junhao had ultimately given up the idea of retaking the year, calmly accepting the fact that he could not achieve a comeback.

He had submitted his application to Tsinghua University.

It was common knowledge in the class that Chen Lu was related to Wang Qingtao, so what the homeroom teacher was saying right now was completely natural.

Come to think of it, being able to go to university with a high school classmate was definitely a very pleasant experience.

Leaving aside whether or not they would stay in touch on campus, just having a companion for the journey during breaks and the start of the semester—someone to provide emotional support—was something many students in the class with similar grades chose to do.

Unlike Qian Hong, whose mind was consumed by online dating and who was stubbornly determined to go to Jincheng.

Therefore, even if Wang Qingtao hadn't brought it up, Xu Ming would have done so anyway. Besides, during this period, his parents and Chen Lu's mother had been growing increasingly close.

With these thoughts running through his mind, he blurted out, "Naturally."

However, he knew very well in his heart that, given Chen Lu's personality, she would never accept anyone's help for free.

Wang Qingtao did not end the conversation there. His expression suddenly darkened, and with a sigh, he began to explain in detail.

"When Chen Lu was in elementary school, her father passed away in an accident. For the past few years, she lived with her grandmother. Her mother insisted on not remarrying, relying on selling fruit in the county to pay off external debts and support Chen Lu's education."

"It wasn't until Chen Lu was admitted to No. 1 High School and her grandmother passed away that the mother and daughter rented a place to live."

"Because Chen Lu's mother and I knew each other, I helped navigate the procedures to apply for a waiver of miscellaneous school fees. It's not like the rumors going around that we are relatives."

This was the first time Xu Ming had heard his homeroom teacher mention these things, and upon hearing them, he felt a wave of profound surprise.

He had never expected Chen Lu to have such a background.

"Don't worry, Teacher," he replied solemnly once more.

Then, bidding farewell to Wang Qingtao, he walked back to his family's wonton shop to inform his parents about the college application situation.

---

It was not yet noon.

There were already people eating in the shop, but because they were regular customers, a freshly cooked bowl of wontons couldn't keep their mouths shut.

"My boy actually performed beyond expectations in the college entrance examination. After estimating his scores, he's close to six hundred."

"He usually never scores this high."

"I'm thinking of finding a Tier-1 institution within the province; I don't want him to go to a university in a city too far from home."

As Xu Ming walked up to the entrance of the shop, he happened to overhear this conversation. Recognizing Aunt Li, who ran the clothing store down the street, he didn't find it strange at all and walked straight into his family's handmade wonton shop without breaking stride.

Her son studied at Dongping No. 2 High School, and she always mentioned him a few times on ordinary days, let alone now that he had performed exceptionally well on the exam.

By now, the entire street probably knew about it.

Lifting his gaze and seeing Xu Ming's figure, Xu Jian-guo felt his face instantly fill with joy as he was the first to call out, "You're back? Sit down for a while, I'll get you something to eat right away."

Hearing this, Xu Ming didn't say much. He found a seat on his own, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Nearby, Aunt Li actively cast a glance over and asked, "Xiao Ming, you're from No. 1 High School. Your exam scores this year must not be bad, right?"

"I performed normally," Xu Ming replied casually, tossing out a single sentence.

Realizing there was nothing more to follow, Aunt Li quickly deemed it uninteresting. After finishing her food, she paid at lightning speed and hurried off to the next shop.

Almost the very next second after Aunt Li left the shop, Xu Jian-guo and Wu Xiu-lan hurried out from the kitchen, standing before their son to suppress their inner excitement as they asked about his college applications.

"How is it, son? Have the applications been submitted?"

Xu Ming looked up, taking in his parents' expressions, and couldn't help curving the corners of his mouth into a smile as he retorted, "Why didn't you ask just now?"

"Well, Aunt Li was here, and she doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut," Xu Jian-guo said, wiping his hands on his apron with a somewhat embarrassed look.

Wu Xiu-lan urged anxiously, "Hurry up and tell us, stop keeping us in suspense."

Xu Ming knew that his parents couldn't fully trust estimated scores and wouldn't be like Aunt Li—going around telling everyone their child's exam scores—until the actual results came out.

After all, there were plenty of examples from previous years where estimated scores had significant margins of error.

That often forced many students to scramble and reapply for Tier-3 or vocational colleges.

With these thoughts lingering in his mind, he intentionally straightened his posture and gave his parents some peace of mind.

"They're all submitted. The School of Mathematical Sciences at Peking University. You guys can just wait to receive the admission letter."

"As expected of my son, our Lao Xu family has finally produced a top student!" Ignoring the flour on his hands, Xu Jian-guo gave Xu Ming a hug.

The smile never left his face.

---

Wu Xiu-lan's face lit up with delight as she said, "Forget about our Lao Xu family; not a single person in the entire Xu Village has ever been admitted to Peking University."

Yet right as her voice trailed off, a familiar shout suddenly echoed from the entrance of the shop.

"Sister-in-law!"

"What Peking University?"

The few of them instantly turned their heads to look, and into their field of vision came a tall woman in her thirties whose facial features bore a faint resemblance to Xu Jian-guo's. Walking beside her was a young boy under ten years old.

"Yu-rong, what made you think of coming over?" Seeing who it was, Xu Jian-guo quickly stepped forward to greet her.

Xu Ming stood up and took the initiative to call out, "Little Aunt."

When he was studying in junior high school in the town while his parents were both working in the city, he used to go to his second uncle's and little aunt's homes for meals every weekend.

He had a deep sense of affection for them.

Xu Yu-rong casually pulled over a chair, sat down, and replied, "Isn't it because I heard A-ming finished his college entrance exams? I heard from someone that estimating scores and filling out applications is extremely important, so I took the bus over to see what the situation is like right now."

"We submitted them this morning, choosing the Department of Mathematics at Peking University," Wu Xiu-lan chimed in with a beaming smile.

"Peking University?" Xu Yu-rong froze on the spot.

Hearing those words a second time, she still remained slightly dazed for a moment, completely failing to imagine when her oldest nephew's grades had gotten so high.

After all, she had known all about his scores during his first and second years of high school.

Xu Ming certainly wouldn't intentionally hide anything from his own family, and the next second, he took over the conversation to explain in detail.

"After I started reviewing in my third year of high school, my grades in every subject improved quite a bit. Once I estimated my scores, they were high enough for Peking University."

Hearing her oldest nephew confirm it with his own mouth, Xu Yu-rong accepted the reality and appeared even more excited than before. Suddenly springing to her feet, she put forward a proposal.

"Sister-in-law."

"Since A-ming got into Peking University, shouldn't we throw a big celebration in the village?"

"Have you called my second brother yet?"

"Of course we're going to celebrate! Last year the village chief's son bought a car and still threw a banquet; how can we not let the neighbors share in the joy when my son gets into Peking University?" Xu Jian-guo made the decisive call with full confidence.

---

Time quickly advanced to late June, and the day when the college entrance examination scores—which countless parents and examinees had been dreaming and worrying about—finally arrived as promised.

After finishing dinner that evening, everyone stayed close to their phones and computers, waiting for the midnight release to check their exam scores.