"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Xiaomin is right beside me."

"Call Teacher Chen back? Okay, I understand."

Xia Minmin looked at her best friend with a puzzled expression, her eyes crinkling with amusement. Teacher Chen was looking for her? There didn't seem to be anything else going on lately.

Tang Meng hung up the phone and held Xia Minmin's hand. "Xiaomin, could it be the news that you got first place in the city's college entrance examination?"

"How did you know?" Xia Minmin asked, looking bewildered.

Tang Meng quickly took her phone off her neck and handed it to her best friend, saying, "Call Teacher Chen back right away; he definitely needs to talk about this."

Xia Minmin took the phone in a daze. She was about to dial Teacher Chen's number, but after several attempts, she couldn't remember it at all.

"Mengmeng, what's Teacher Chen's phone number? I forgot?"

Seeing this, Tang Meng took the phone and dialed Teacher Chen's number, feeling incredibly grateful to herself for saving all the numbers she should have saved at noon.

Xia Minmin took the phone and put it to her ear.

beep……

"Hello." A familiar voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Hello, Teacher Chen! I'm Xia Minmin. How can I help you?"

"Squad leader! Congratulations! Top scorer!"

Teacher Chen's loud voice came over, and Xia Minmin looked dazed, wondering if there might be a mistake.

"Teacher, are you sure?"

"There's no mistake, I've checked it repeatedly, you and Xi Ang are tied for first place. Hahaha, after the last exam, I made a bet with you guys that your whole class would have to treat me to dinner."

"Really?" Xia Minmin was still a little incredulous. The top scholar title was already in their hands?

"You're still a child, how can you lack confidence in yourself? You need to put more effort into filling out your college applications. Peking University and Tsinghua University will probably contact you in the next couple of days. I'm hanging up now if there's nothing else."

After Teacher Chen hung up the phone, Xia Minmin lowered her arm that was holding the phone, and Tang Meng looked anxiously at her best friend.

"What's wrong? Say something, I'm so worried!"

Xia Minmin grasped Tang Meng's hand, "Mengmeng, pinch me quickly."

Tang Meng felt strange, but she followed her best friend's advice and pinched her hard. Looking at her red arm, she couldn't help but wonder if she had used too much force.

As the pain shot through her, Xia Minmin finally realized that everything that had just happened was not a dream; she had indeed gotten first place. She hugged Tang Meng and cried, trying to release all the torment she had endured over the years. These years of studying had been so difficult.

Xia Minmin said, choking back tears, "Mengmeng, I got first place!"

Tang Meng was initially surprised, but then cheered and exclaimed, "Xiao Min, you're the top scholar! Congratulations!"

At the hot pot restaurant, all the customers around Xia Minmin and her companion were staring at them, and the two of them could feel the scrutinizing gazes.

Tang Meng proudly said, "My best friend is this year's top scorer in the college entrance examination."

The surrounding customers applauded in unison, while those further away kept glancing over, seemingly wanting to know what had happened, which drew applause and cheers from everyone.

Through word of mouth, everyone in the restaurant knew that Xia Minmin was this year's top scorer in the college entrance examination.

Xia Minmin, blushing, pulled her best friend, who was still planning to continue chatting, to the front desk to pay the bill. The hot pot restaurant owner was quite adept at joining in the fun.

"Congratulations on your excellent results, top scorer! Lunch is on me today."

"Thank you, boss."

After saying goodbye to the restaurant owner, Xia Minmin rushed home, eager to share the good news with her parents.

"Hey Mom and Dad. This year, Xi'ang and I tied for first place. Are you happy?"

"Happy! Your mother and I will be back right away. In the meantime, don't sign any contracts or letters of intent. We'll discuss everything when we get here."

Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei packed a few simple bags, said a few words to Xiao Wu, and returned to Dudu Garden Community. It was already completely dark when they arrived, but this did not affect their good mood at all! The top scholar? This is such a good thing, like their ancestors' graves emitting auspicious smoke.

The house was pitch black when she opened the door. Xia Minmin sat blankly on the sofa until the living room lights came on, at which point she finally came to her senses.

She ran over with a smile, skipping and jumping to hug her parents, "Mom and Dad, I got first place! First place!"

She kept pointing to one with her fingers.

At the same time, the news that Xia Minmin had achieved first place in the college entrance examination spread rapidly, and the school was covered with celebratory banners. The surrounding fences and the school's walkways were also adorned with bright red banners.

The vendor who made the banner was also a resident of Dudu Garden Community. He made an extra banner and gave it to the property management.

"Manager, Xia Minmin from our neighborhood achieved the top score in the college entrance examination. Her school makes banners at my shop, so I specially made an extra banner for our neighborhood."

The property manager took the banner. "This is fantastic news! The property prices in our community are going to go up!"

"Thank you! I'll have someone put it up right away."

The property manager hired several security guards to hang the banner high on the gate of the community.

The Xia family of three heard a commotion downstairs, along with the sound of firecrackers. They went to the window to check and saw a large crowd gathered downstairs. A third of the residents in the community were downstairs.

The unsuspecting family of three thought something had happened, so they changed their shoes and went downstairs to find out what was going on.

The moment I opened the unit door, a sharp-eyed neighbor spotted me.

"Xia Minmin is here!"

"Xiaomin, congratulations! You've become the top scholar!"

"Congratulations! You're the first top scorer in our neighborhood!"

"Xiaohan, come here quickly and touch your Xiaomin's right hand so we can share in the joy."

After she finished speaking, several parents pushed their children to her side and touched her right hand.

The Xia family of three was still in a daze; how did everyone know that they had gotten first place in the exam?

"Jianguo, you two are so lucky! Your child graduated from high school at such a young age and did so well in the exams."

"Yes, you two should have another child while you're still young."

"What do you know? This is called eugenics."

"How did you all know that Xiaomin got first place?" Xia Jianguo asked.

Through the neighbors' chatter, the Xia family of three finally figured out what had happened. They were surprised that the news had spread so quickly, and that the property management had even set off firecrackers.

Xia Jianguo's cell phone rang; it was Wang Aimin calling. He stepped out of the encirclement to answer the call.

"Hey, Brother Wang."

“Jianguo, I heard from the guests at the dinner that Xiaomin has become the top scholar in the imperial examination.” Wang Aimin’s voice was very excited.

"Yes! Xiaomin's homeroom teacher called this evening. She was going to tell you the good news later, but she didn't expect you already knew."

"This is a big deal for Xiaomin, we must hold a banquet to celebrate, it's rare to see a top scorer in the college entrance examination at the age of twelve and a half."

"Brother Wang, let my wife and I discuss it before deciding whether or not to have a banquet."

"Then I'll hang up."