Chapter Thirty-Six: Bonds of Affection-Back Before the College Entrance Exam, I Became a Sensation in the Science Community(Flowing waters fill the goblet.)

Wu Tong?

Xincheng No. 1 High School?

Again, Xincheng No. 1 High School?

Where on earth is that?

It’s a remote high school, almost impossible to find on the map, located in Tianzhong, a prefecture-level city in Central Plains Province, right on the border with southern Anhui—a small county town’s school! In the entire province, renowned for its fiercely competitive college entrance exams, this school has no reputation to speak of. In the thirty years since its founding, if they were lucky enough to send even one student to Peking or Tsinghua University, the whole county would be decked out in red banners, and the school’s display board would broadcast congratulations in endless rotation.

Yet from such a place, a student like this emerged? First, she took first place in the national mathematics Olympiad just a week ago, with a dazzling perfect score. Now, in the five-province joint exam, she’s almost perfect again, scoring 746, far surpassing the competition.

This has left students and teachers from the most prestigious schools across the region with deeply mixed feelings—none of them can quite accept it! The difficulty of this joint exam was high, comparable to some of the toughest college entrance exams. Yet here was a student scoring an almost unimaginable 746? And this prodigy didn’t even attend one of their schools! The score inquiry system, with one perfect subject after another, was simply blinding to the eyes of students and teachers in other schools.

The most prominent key schools—led by Shangdu No. 1 High, No. 7 High, and the Foreign Languages School—quietly began mobilizing their networks to recruit her. If the phoenix comes to roost among the parasol trees, such a peerless talent ought to study at their schools, matching brilliance with brilliance!

When the competition results were announced, they were already plotting to recruit her. But before they could finalize a plan or even get in touch, she had achieved another feat!

This time, the second place score was 716—already exceptionally high, considering the top scorer two years ago got only 719. But then Wu Tong appeared, losing merely four points in Chinese and scoring full marks in everything else, achieving a total of 746 and opening a thirty-point gap. In the context of the college entrance exam, thirty points is a chasm, nearly impossible to close.

“We must win this student over. Her competition results are already astonishing, but what’s truly remarkable is her all-around excellence. If she isn’t directly admitted to a top university through the national Olympiad, she will surely vie for the top spot in next year’s college entrance exams!”

At the Shangdu Foreign Languages Academy, the school leaders were discussing their recruitment strategy. After all, she was from their own province, and they had the natural advantage of local residency.

Their school originally made its name by recruiting outstanding talent, and for the sake of good students, they were willing to invest far more than either No. 1 High or No. 7 High. If they could produce a national prizewinner or a top scorer in the college entrance exam, next year’s admissions would be guaranteed!

They were convinced that with their reputation and faculty, no one would refuse their invitation. But clearly, this time they were up against Wu Tong.

In the principal’s office at Xincheng No. 1 High, Principal Xiao Mingwei and the school leaders were fuming. The best talents in the county had already been poached by provincial and city schools during the entrance exams. Now, just as their own school produced a prodigy, the key schools shamelessly came knocking again! Wasn’t this just taking advantage of the small county’s lack of influence and limited educational resources?

“No way, Principal—we absolutely cannot hand over an outstanding student like Wu Tong!”

“But these are Shangdu No. 1 High, No. 7 High, and the Foreign Languages School!” The first two were veteran elite schools, and the latter had rapidly risen in prominence. Countless students and parents went to extraordinary lengths, buying houses and making donations, doing everything possible to secure admission to these provincial key schools.

“Still, we should ask Wu Tong herself. I don’t think she’s the sort of student who would leave at the first opportunity,” said Luo Zhenping, who had taught Wu Tong for several months and was naturally loyal to his own student.

Communication wasn’t as convenient as it could be, but eventually the schools intent on recruiting her managed to get the contact details for Jin Yu and Wu Jingzhong, Wu Tong’s parents, who soon found themselves bombarded with calls. Offers were made—local residency, top-notch faculty, generous scholarships—all highly tempting.

At the Wu household,

“Tongtong, what do you think?” Wu Jingzhong and his wife relayed all the invitations they’d received over the past few days. “Do you want to go study in Shangdu?”

Compared to those attractive offers, the couple cared more about their daughter’s wishes. The prospect of a Shangdu residency was alluring, but they valued the convenience and comfort of life and work in the county, with family close by. To be honest, the only thing that truly moved them was the chance for Wu Tong to access better educational resources.

“There’s no need, Mom and Dad. I’ve already mastered everything I need for high school. Transferring schools now wouldn’t make much sense. The teachers at No. 1 High have been very good to me, and I don’t want to leave you, either.” She knew she’d have to leave home for university anyway and was already reluctant; she definitely didn’t want to go now.

At her current level, the so-called strong faculty and resources of those renowned schools didn’t mean much to her. Rather than transferring, she wanted to leave her honors at her alma mater, sharing her glory with the teachers who had supported her so devotedly.

“Alright, we support you!” Jin Yu and Wu Jingzhong spoke in unison. Their child’s desire to give back to her alma mater was something they could only support—loyalty and gratitude are virtues indeed.

Wu Tong conveyed this same steadfastness to Luo Zhenping, who was so delighted that he immediately assured her, on behalf of the school, that as long as she continued to excel in her studies and achieved outstanding results in competitions and next year’s college entrance exam, the school and the education bureau would offer her their utmost support and the highest rewards. This was the plan the school’s leadership had agreed upon after careful discussion.

Rewards? Even better! She’d work even harder, inspired by the promise of recognition.

December 13th arrived as scheduled. Wu Tong set out a day early, leaving on the 11th for Shangdu to join the team. This time, Wu Jingzhong specifically took time off work, Jin Yuanteng cleared his schedule, and the two brothers drove Wu Tong to Shangdu themselves.

Wu Tong had planned to travel alone, checking the route in advance and taking a bus from the station to the meeting point. But her family unanimously refused—she’d never traveled alone before, and who could bear to let her go by herself? If they couldn’t accompany her for the competition, they would at least see her safely to the meeting point.

“Wu Tong, welcome!” At the meeting point—once again the campus of Shangdu No. 7 High, which had served as the exam venue last time—a teacher came out as soon as they called.

“My surname is Zhang. I’m one of the supervising teachers for this Olympiad. You must be Wu’s family?” Teacher Zhang shook hands with Wu Jingzhong and Jin Yuan in turn. “Welcome!”

“Thank you, Teacher Zhang. Please take good care of our child,” they said, entrusting Wu Tong to him. Wu Jingzhong gave her some final reminders: “Tongtong, be careful when you’re away from home. If anything happens, find a teacher and remember to call us!”

“I know, Dad, Uncle. You should head back now and drive safely. I’ll call you as soon as I arrive,” Wu Tong reassured them before heading into the school with the teacher. Only then did Jin Yuan reluctantly start the car and drive away.

“Tongtong’s only been away a few days, and I already feel like there’s a hole in my heart. When she goes off to university in the capital, so far away, what will we do?” Jin Yuan sighed. “We really need to work harder and earn more. Sending both kids out—shouldn’t we be thinking about getting them a place in the capital? At least flights are convenient now. If we miss them, we can just fly over for a visit, right?”

“Maybe, if the children really settle in the capital, we should move there too, to stay close to them,” he continued, discussing it with Wu Jingzhong. His words made Wu Jingzhong reflect—had he just been drifting along all these years? Maybe it was time to talk with Teacher Jin at home and see how much they’d managed to save. They should start making plans for the future.