Chapter 107
As Gu Fei announced the number out loud, Jiang Cheng’s mind briefly went blank from how suddenly and profoundly he’d relaxed. He sat on the edge of the bed and spaced out for almost twenty seconds before slowly regaining his mental faculties.
It was enough—higher than Jiang Cheng’s own estimate.
After all, he had done his fair share of skipping class, fighting, and general fooling around in his early high school days.
All those times he’d crammed in the days leading up to tests, he’d just been relying on some innate cleverness.
An atypical overachiever was no match for your stereotypical overachiever.
A score like this was entirely satisfactory.
And based on the scores in their province from the past few years, it was more than enough to get into the school and program of his choice.
The words he’d once said to Shen Yiqing, “I can prove myself, no matter where I am,” had finally been fulfilled. He wasn’t just talking out of his ass.
Shen Yiqing would never know this, nor was he planning to let her know. It was enough that he knew it himself. All this time, this was exactly what he’d wanted.
“Cheng-ge?” Gu Fei called out to him, pulling him back to earth.
“Mm.” Jiang Cheng lifted his gaze at him.
“Congratulations,” Gu Fei said. “Your efforts weren’t in vain.”
“You didn’t spend all this time tiring yourself out in vain, either.” Jiang Cheng reached over and gently caressed Gu Fei’s face. “Thank you.”
“Don’t force me to say you’re welcome,” Gu Fei said.
“You’ve worked hard, boyfriend.” Jiang Cheng smiled.
Gu Fei squeezed Jiang Cheng’s hand. “All in service of my boyfriend.”
“Check your score.” Jiang Cheng turned to the laptop screen. “Come on, let’s see what you got.”
“I’m probably somewhere in the three hundreds—doesn’t make a difference either way.” Gu Fei turned to the screen and started typing in his examinee number. “I was thinking before that mine is probably just your score divided by two.”
Jiang Cheng laughed. “I’ve never heard of that kind of estimation method before.”
“Innovative, isn’t it?” Gu Fei typed in his number and clicked the mouse.
As the page loaded, Jiang Cheng suddenly felt some tightness in his chest. It was difficult to breathe. He felt even more nervous than he had been waiting for his own score. With his elbows propped on his knees, he could feel his legs shaking slightly.
Gu Fei’s score wouldn’t be very high—he had used his time at school to play two whole years of that stupid Aixiaochu . Despite those final months he’d spent helping Jiang Cheng study, it hadn’t been a systematic review for him. A reasonable estimate would put his score in the three hundreds…
Still, he was anxious. The page was still loading. The laptop was a little slow, and it took a while for everything to load. Jiang Cheng waited for a fraction of a second before he gave up and pressed his forehead against Gu Fei’s shoulder; he couldn’t bear to watch.
A few seconds later, Gu Fei’s shoulder started to shake.
“What is it?” Jiang Cheng didn’t move his forehead from Gu Fei’s shoulder.
Gu Fei didn’t speak, just continued to laugh.
“Gu Fei, you ass!” Jiang Cheng yelled.
“It’s over four hundred,” Gu Fei said. “It’s just kind of a funny number.”
Over four hundred? Jiang Cheng’s eyebrow lifted in surprise. Based on last year’s numbers, that score was more than enough to make it into any of the third-tier universities. He whipped his head back to look at the total score displayed on the screen.
419? “For one night?”
“Shit,” Jiang Cheng said, remembering a stupid online pun.
“Right?” Gu Fei laughed.
“Your Chinese score is pretty good! And your Humanities comprehensive isn’t too bad either.” Jiang Cheng’s attention had immediately shifted. “If it wasn’t for your Math…and English…”
“I didn’t think I’d get above thirty in Math.” Gu Fei grinned. “This is me overperforming.”
Gu Fei’s Chinese score was 128, but his Math and English scores had dragged the total down a lot.
These weren’t subjects he could make up for with a few short months of studying with Jiang Cheng, but considering how busy Gu Fei had been with everything else in those months—only occasionally quizzing Jiang Cheng or casually flipping through his notes—this was honestly an impressive score.
Jiang Cheng stood up, walked behind Gu Fei, and bent down to hug him. He nuzzled his head into Gu Fei’s shoulder.
“You should give Lao-Xu a call.” Gu Fei reached back and gently squeezed the back of Jiang Cheng’s neck. “I bet he’s waiting. If you don’t, I think he’ll be calling back any time now.”
“Mm,” Jiang Cheng answered.
This year, the top examinee for Humanities in their province had gotten 664.
Jiang Cheng’s score of 662 didn’t allow Lao-Xu to experience what it felt like to be the homeroom teacher of the Number One Scholar, though it was probably the highest score he’d seen at Fourth High since he started teaching there.
Lao-Xu was so thrilled that he couldn’t even speak properly. Every time he thought about it, he would give Jiang Cheng another call to marvel at the result. It was almost as if he could end his teaching career now and retire with no regrets.
***
For the next few days, Jiang Cheng’s phone was ringing off the hook.
Calls from his classmates, teachers, the principal, the school directors, the school board, and student enrollment offices blew up his phone. Even when he went out to get breakfast, he’d be recognized by the breakfast stall keeper.
“You’re that student…Jiang Cheng, right? The one who got the highest university entrance exam score in the city? The Jiang Cheng who’s in the top five or top ten of the province or something?”
“Uh-huh,” Jiang Cheng replied. “I’d like a tray of meat buns—”
“Ha ha ha ha ha, see that?!” The owner puffed out his chest gleefully with his arms akimbo. “The Number One Scholar in the city got there by eating breakfast at my stall every day! My breakfast nourishes the brain!”
“And tofu pudding…” Jiang Cheng continued helplessly.
“That’s right! Tofu pudding, also good for the ol’ bean!” The owner tapped his head meaningfully, still puffing his chest up.
“And dough—” But Jiang Cheng was cut off before he could finish.
“Dough fritters and fried pancakes are also—” The owner’s chest remained ever so puffed.
“Double portions to go!” Jiang Cheng interrupted, raising his voice.
“No problem, kiddo!” The owner immediately began packing up his food. “Today’s breakfast is on the house, Top Scholar!”
Once he returned to his apartment, Jiang Cheng took out his phone and turned it off.
“What if someone calls you for something important?” Gu Fei asked.
“There’s not much left to do. The only ones who keep calling me are the staff from the enrollment offices.
The entry score requirements are about to be released, and the applications will start soon—they’re all gunning for recruitment,” Jiang Cheng said.
“I already decided where I’m going ages ago, so there’s no use playing tug-of-war with them at this point. ”
“Have you told Lao-Xu?” Gu Fei asked.
“…I guess I’ll tell him now.” Jiang Cheng thought about it and turned his phone back on. He glanced at Gu Fei. “I’m planning to go into the law program at U of R.”
Gu Fei blinked. “Ah.”
Jiang Cheng stared at the bootup screen on his phone. It was the first time he’d spoken to Gu Fei about the school he planned to go to. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable sense of dread as soon as he said it aloud.
“You decided on this a long time ago?” Gu Fei asked.
“Mm.” Jiang Cheng nodded. “I thought about it in middle school. It’s something I’m interested in, and I like the idea of having a solid real-world skill under my belt.”
“Good.” Gu Fei pulled him into his arms. “A badass program is better than a badass school, right?”
Jiang Cheng smiled as he turned and gave Gu Fei a kiss.
***
Lao-Xu had a hard time wrapping his head around Jiang Cheng’s decision—he had to confirm it multiple times. “You can get into PKU with a score like this. Are you sure you don’t want to go?”
“I’m sure,” Jiang Cheng said.
“But PKU’s Humanities college is the best in the country,” Lao-Xu said. “You don’t want to consider it at all?”
“U of R has the best law program,” said Jiang Cheng. “Really, Xu-zong. I’m not going to consider PKU. If my score meets the entry threshold, I’ll be applying to U of R directly.”
“All right, all right. The best program is an important point too.” Lao-Xu thought about it some more. “You know what you’re doing. I support you! Either way, wherever you go, you’ll always be my most accomplished student!”
“Xu-zong,” Jiang Cheng said with a small smile, “I’m going to turn my phone off for a little while. If the other schools call to ask, can you please tell them for me?”
“Sure, sure, all right,” Lao-Xu answered. After a period of thought, he added, “Ah, Jiang Cheng, you’re pretty close with Gu Fei, right?”
“Mm.” Jiang Cheng glanced at Gu Fei beside him. “What is it?”
“I checked his score,” Lao-Xu said. “He can get into a third-tier with no problem. It’s just that…
third-tier schools have much higher tuition fees.
I’m worried about his family’s situation…
If he’s having trouble, both Mr. Lu and I will be able to help him out.
If I bring it up to him, he’ll refuse it outright, so I’m wondering if you can talk to him and see what he’s thinking. ”
After the call with Lao-Xu was over, Jiang Cheng turned his phone off and set it on the table before breathing out a sigh of relief. “All quiet now.”
“What does Lao-Xu want you to talk to me about?” Gu Fei asked.
“He said third-tier schools have high tuition fees, so if it’s too much for you…” Jiang Cheng looked at him. “He and Lao-Lu are willing to help out.”
“He thinks I’ll refuse, so he asked you to come talk to me first?” Gu Fei smiled.