Chapter 37 The Seed Number of the County's Key High School (Two chapters combined)
On the way, Gu Yin kept thinking about that figure from behind, feeling that it was somewhat familiar but not quite.
"Watch where you're going! What are you daydreaming about while riding your bike?!" Gu Shu, who was riding behind Gu Yin, saw that her bike was about to head into the fields, so he quickly stepped forward and reached out to grab her back seat. Seeing that Gu Yin was daydreaming, he immediately scolded her.
Gu Yin snapped out of her reverie and said apologetically, "I was just lost in thought. By the way, brother, who was that person with Li Chenggong just now?"
Seeing that she had come to her senses, Gu Shu released her car. Hearing Gu Yin's question, he thought for a moment and said, "His brother? You don't know him?"
Li Chenggong's brother? Gu Yin frowned: "Li Chengming? Doesn't seem like it!!"
Gu Shu rolled her eyes: "Hey, maybe he's been in the city for so long that you don't recognize him, but it really is him, and he hasn't changed much. How could you not recognize him?"
Li Chengming studies at a technical school in the city and comes back every year during holidays. There's no way she wouldn't recognize him. She's convinced that the person in question is definitely not Li Chengming!
Seeing that Gu Shu didn't know either, Gu Yin stopped worrying about it. If she could see him once, she would see him again eventually.
On the second day of the holiday, Gu Yin did not rest. She took the manuscript she had written earlier and went back to school to find her English teacher.
When Gu Yin found Cai Yu, she was writing her internship report for the semester in her office. When she saw Gu Yin come over, she asked in surprise, "You've finished writing the report?"
Gu Yin nodded: "Is the teacher busy right now? Then you go ahead and do your work. I can sit and wait for you."
Cai Yu put the report away and laughed, "We don't need to grade the final exams. The papers are all taken to the county, and the results will be available in three days. What am I busy with? Bring it here so I can see how well I did!"
Seeing that she wasn't faking it, Gu Yin handed her the manuscript and then sat down to wait.
Cai Yu took the manuscript paper and saw the slightly restrained handwriting. She couldn't help but laugh: "Why didn't you write in your elegant, smooth, and rounded handwriting? Are you afraid I won't be able to understand it?"
Gu Yin touched her nose shyly. She naturally liked freedom and not being restrained, but in her previous life, due to various things, she could not be free. So she could only express that emotion in her writing, such as her handwriting. Whether it was Chinese characters or English, her handwriting was rather messy and flamboyant.
Cai Yu had said several times before that she couldn't understand it, that the words were indistinguishable when put together, and that even if it was correct, she wouldn't give it a score. So this time, she deliberately wrote it in a slender, easily recognizable italic font.
Seeing her embarrassment, Cai Yu smiled and then began to read the contents.
Ten minutes later, Cai Yu looked up at Gu Yin: "Fuxing Dream? That's quite an idea, very ambitious!"
Gu Yin laughed: "I originally wanted to write about the Chinese Dream, but I knew it would clash with other people's work. So, I decided to broaden the scope. Five thousand years of history, so many interesting dynasties, so many inspiring stories—these are all our treasures. These treasures can help us learn, reflect on our experiences, and boost our national and cultural confidence. I think this central idea is great. What do you think, teacher?"
Cai Yu looked at Gu Yin quietly: "Do you know that some of the judges are biased towards foreigners?"
Gu Yin laughed: "In English speech contests, besides students who are good at English, many others just want to get a certificate to increase their chances of successfully going abroad. Some of the judges are teachers who have been abroad, and they tend to favor contestants who dream of going abroad, and even more so those who have attended training courses. I thought this was common knowledge?" This was an era of studying abroad craze, a rather crazy era. More than a decade later, amidst various major events, people finally realized that the moon abroad wasn't as round as it was at home, the air wasn't as sweet, and people were even more cold-blooded and ruthless in terms of human nature.
Cai Yu actually knew these rules better than Gu Yin. She didn't know when going abroad had become something to be proud of. In her school, especially in her department, many students started applying to go abroad before they even graduated, even having their parents spend their life savings. Then, not knowing how their parents could survive in China, they would fly away alone. Many of the previous graduates even changed their nationality. She didn't understand.
Seeing Gu Yin's determined look, Cai Yu's fighting spirit was also ignited: "Then you have to go all out! Come on, let's start training!"
Gu Yin watched a lot of speech competition videos in the library last night. When she woke up this morning, her gestures kept changing. Gu Hua shook her head repeatedly, saying, "You're so obsessed. If you don't win an award, the judges must be blind!"
Li Mengxin sighed helplessly, "Stop gesturing and come eat breakfast! We need to go to school to get our grades later! Hurry up!"
Gu Yin took the bowl and ate quickly. After getting the results, they had to go to the city in the afternoon. They needed to find a hotel to stay in for the night before the competition at the cultural center the next morning. Time was a bit tight.
When I entered the classroom, many students were already there, and they were all gathered together discussing who would win the award.
Gu Yin returned to her seat, and Song Pengfei and Qin Xueming knocked on her chair.
Gu Yin turned around and gestured to them with her eyes, indicating what was going on.
Song Pengfei said with a smile, "Aren't you going to a competition tomorrow? I asked my dad to get two tickets, and he'll take me and my deskmate to cheer you on tomorrow!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaomin immediately chimed in, "Me too! I got a ticket too!"
"How did you get there? Our dad took us. Did you take the bus? Do you want to come with us?" Song Pengfei asked Zhao Xiaomin.
Zhao Xiaomin's eyes lit up: "If it's not too much trouble, then thank you in advance!"
Song Pengfei nodded: "No trouble at all, we'll meet at the station at seven o'clock!" The competition starts at nine in the morning, and it takes them an hour to drive from the town to the city. They're worried about traffic jams, so it's better to get there early.
Looking at their excited expressions, Gu Yin said helplessly, "Shouldn't you be comforting me and telling me not to be nervous? Why are you so excited?"
Zhao Xiaomin waved her hand dismissively and said, "We were very nervous at first, but seeing how calm you are, we figured you must be very mature. So why should we comfort you? You'll definitely take first place! Good luck!"
Qin Xueming patted her on the shoulder: "If you win the award, treat us to a big meal in town when you get back! You have to work hard for my roast chicken too, don't let me down!"
Song Pengfei nodded in agreement: "I have high hopes for you!"
Just as Gu Yin was about to say something, the homeroom teacher walked in. When the students saw her, they immediately sat back down in their seats and quietly looked at the materials in her hands.
Wang Shumei, with a serious face, waited until the class quieted down before raising her head and calmly saying, "In this exam, our class's average score was one point lower than Class 2's. Some students improved, while others dropped more than ten places. I don't know what you think, but I feel quite ashamed. Several students from the regular classes scored higher than some of you! Aren't you embarrassed? Did you think that getting into the experimental class meant everything would be fine? That you could stop working and play all day? You're the fastest to eat, but the slowest to get into class! Is this the standard for an experimental class? I won't say any more harsh words, but if you don't work hard, you won't see me at the end of next semester!"
The students in the class were all silent, afraid that making the slightest noise would make them the target of the homeroom teacher's attack.
Wang Shumei looked at Gu Yin and smiled: "Of course, there's good news as well as bad news. Our classmate Gu Yin's grades are as stable as ever, and she has once again taken the top spot! Out of a possible score of 860, our classmate Gu Yin scored 844 points, leaving the second place by exactly 20 points. Of course, the top three are still our class, namely Zhao Xiaomin with 824 points and Song Pengfei with 820 points. Applause!"
The class erupted in a commotion, followed by thunderous applause.
Gu Yin smiled and then looked back at the teacher.
Wang Shumei said with a smile, "Gu Yin's physics and chemistry are dragging her down a lot. She's seriously unbalanced in her subjects. The two teachers in the office are almost internally injured from anger. They're asking if you have some kind of problem with them!"
Gu Yin shook her head: "The main reason for the deductions was probably some experimental questions." After all, the school doesn't have much experimental equipment. The only set they had was given to the ninth graders, who will take the high school entrance exam next year. The seventh graders haven't had a single experimental class yet.
Wang Shumei understood, but said regretfully, "Our school is still too poor. It's okay, let's learn the theory thoroughly first, and it will be much easier to enter the laboratory when we are in our senior year of high school."
After saying that, he handed out the report cards.
Gu Yin received her report card: English: 120; Math: 120; Chinese: 119; Politics: 100; History: 100; Physics: 95; Chemistry: 90; Natural Science: 100, for a total score of 844, ranking first in the grade.
"001, what is my county ranking?" Gu Yin became a little nervous after asking the question.
001 flew out, took out his small computer, tapped a few times, and then told Gu Yin, "You're ranked 98th! Oh dear, you almost didn't complete the task! Let me see, there are 6,000 first-year junior high students in the whole county, and you're in the top 100, which is already amazing! Let me take another look... wow, among the top 100, you're the only one who isn't a student from the county's No. 1 or No. 2 middle schools. The other 99 are from those schools, and many of them have the same score. I don't know how they're ranked with the same score. Tsk tsk tsk, indeed, good resources produce better students. You need to keep working hard and strive to surpass those ahead!"
Gu Yin breathed a sigh of relief; the task was complete. But at the same time, she felt a surge of urgency. A difference of 16 points meant a gap of 97 people! Gu Yin knew how those with the same score were ranked: whoever had a certificate came first, with certificates ranked from national level down. Gu Yin also knew that in her year's middle school entrance exam, scores weren't based on total score, but rather on A+, A, B+, B, C+, C, D+, D, E. Chinese, Math, and English were the most important; getting a B+ in Chinese, Math, and English was more important than getting an A in the others. She didn't know the specific scoring method; she only learned about this system after checking her results and had nowhere to ask.
All I knew was that having three A's and no Cs or less meant you could get into the county's top high school. At the time, her middle school entrance exam scores were three B's and three C's. Natural science wasn't part of the exam, and she scored 37 out of 40 in physical education. She was admitted to the Experimental Middle School. Of the three high schools in the county, the county's top high school was the Experimental Middle School, which was the next best. As long as you didn't get an F, you could get into the Minchu Middle School.
Let's not think about that too much right now. Let's finish this competition first, and then focus on studying the subjects that will affect our scores.
The assembly announcement had already sounded outside, and the students in the class gradually got up.
Gu Yin also stood up, and then instructed 001: "Don't calculate the points this time, wait until the competition is over."
After looking at his scores, Song Pengfei stood next to Gu Yin and sighed, "I'm a full 24 points behind you! How did you manage to get full marks in history and politics? Did you not get any of the essay questions wrong? And Chinese too, did you lose one point because you got another full mark?! I lost ten points on the essay, not to mention the reading comprehension! How did you even study?"
Before Gu Yin could speak, Zhao Xiaomin exclaimed, "When school started, while my classmates were still excited about their newfound education, Gu Yin was already studying every spare moment. When we were in the dorms, I would wake up in the middle of the night and see her studying by the dim light of the streetlamp. Even when we were queuing for meals, she would be memorizing vocabulary. When the teacher was teaching the first unit, she was already on the third unit. She would only listen when the teacher mentioned a question she didn't know; otherwise, she would just keep reading! How could someone like that not get high scores?"
Gu Yin felt a little embarrassed. At that time, the system library had not yet been released, and she didn't have extra time to write the manuscript. Fortunately, her bed was next to the window, where the streetlights shone in, so she seized the time to write the manuscript. It was only that one time. She didn't expect her deskmate to see it, but she didn't explain. After all, it's more fun when everyone is rolling up their sleeves. What's the fun if only she is rolling up her sleeves?
Song Pengfei was extremely impressed: "I'll bring a flashlight next semester! I want to work overtime to watch it too!"
Zhao Xiaomin patted him on the shoulder: "I've already bought it, so you can just be the third son."
Gu Yin laughed, annoyed: "You're so unambitious. Isn't it good to be number one? Why do you always want to be number two or three?"
Qin Xueming also improved by more than ten places this time. He didn't have high expectations, as long as he didn't leave the experimental class. Hearing Gu Yin's words, he said helplessly, "Do you think those two can fly over such a mountain as you?"
Gu Yin raised her eyebrows: "Maybe? Look, I haven't been reading at all late at night."
Zhao Xiaomin's eyes lit up: "That makes sense! I'm definitely going to surpass you next semester!"
Gu Yin smiled and nodded: "Go for it! I believe in you!"
Song Pengfei always felt that it wasn't that simple, but thinking that "second place" sounded better than "third place," he decided to give it his all!
When the principal went on stage, he had a big smile on his face and gestured for the audience to be quiet.
"The final exams are over, and the results are out. I'm sure you all know your scores. It's that time of year again for the awards ceremony. Before we begin, I want to share some great news with you all, something really exciting for our school! Our first-year junior high student, Gu Yin, achieved a remarkable 98th place in the county-level final exams! For several years now, our school hasn't had a student who ranks so high in the county. I was worried that if this continued, our school would have to close down!"
The students below laughed good-naturedly.
Do you know what the 98 county-level representatives represent?
"Our school has outshone the neighboring No. 1 Middle School!" a student shouted from behind.
The principal raised a finger: "Keep your voice down, keep a low profile! It's true, but we have to work quietly and crush them!"
Hearing the principal say that, Gu Yin couldn't help but laugh. The two schools had always been in a state of comparison, and No. 2 Middle School had always been inferior to No. 1 Middle School. This time, No. 2 Middle School could be considered to have finally gotten its due.
"Okay, let's get serious. What does 98th place mean? It means that if Gu maintains this score until the high school entrance exam, she'll definitely get into the county's top high school, and might even have a chance to get into a city school! If she's even more motivated and gets into the top 10 in the county, she can get into the city's top high school! What happens when she gets into the city's top high school? Our top class is the best in the whole province! Even the worst student gets a second-tier university entrance exam score! Her future is bright, students! Doesn't that sound exciting? Aren't you thrilled?!"
The whole school erupted in cheers: "Excited! Thrilled!"
Wang Shumei was also very excited. Before coming here, she really didn't know that Gu Yin could rank among the top 100 in the county! The students in the county are really amazing. They have tutoring classes and famous teachers all the time. Their remote school in the mountains doesn't even have experimental equipment. How can they compare? Gu Yin is really a pleasant surprise!
"What should we do after this excitement? We should learn from Gu Yin! I hope that more students will appear on the list in the final exam next semester!" The principal was so excited that his face flushed.
"Because Gu has brought honor to our school, I've decided to personally give her some encouragement—100 yuan. I hope Gu will continue her efforts and receive 200 yuan from me next year!" The principal was genuinely happy. He had never checked the rankings of their school's students in the county before. Today, when he was about to come out for the assembly, he received sarcastic remarks from the principal of No. 1 Middle School. Only then did he realize that Gu Yin had achieved such excellent results. Just thinking about the jealous tone of the principal from No. 1 Middle School made him so happy that he could eat several more bowls of rice!
As Gu Shu received the certificate and cash from the principal on the podium, he excitedly shook the classmate next to him, exclaiming, "Holy crap, holy crap, that's my sister! My sister! Did you guys see that? She's a top student in the county's key high school! My sister, Gu Yin, my sister! She's super amazing!"
The classmate next to him felt like throwing up from being shaken so much that he quickly hugged him, saying, "I know, that's your sister! Calm down! If you shake me any more, I'll throw up!"
Li Dalong and Li Xiaoming, students in the regular ninth grade class, were also excitedly bragging to their classmates: "See that? First in the grade! 98th in the county! A future college student! My sister!"
The person next to him rolled his eyes: "Damn, we don't even have the same last name, and you're saying she's your sister? You can't just make up a relationship like that, bro!"
Li Dalong rolled his eyes: "You wouldn't understand even if I told you."
Gu Hua looked at Gu Yin on the stage, so excited that she covered her mouth, afraid that she would scream if she let go. It was too thrilling! It was amazing! The Gu family's ancestral graves were emitting auspicious smoke! When she got home, she must tell A Yin to study hard and make sure she maintains her studies until graduation!
After receiving the award, Gu Yin quietly left from the back of the line. Li Mengxin was already waiting at the door. They still needed to catch the bus later, so she didn't exchange pleasantries with the others to avoid wasting time.
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