The night before the college entrance exam results were released, I redeemed my Peking University ad

The next day.

Tens of millions of students and parents across the country waited in front of their computers to check their scores, some crying and some laughing, some happy and some sad.

At the entrance of Fucheng No. 99 Middle School, a ten-meter-long red banner with yellow characters is prominently displayed.

[Warmest congratulations to Ji Bai, an outstanding graduate of our school in 2026, for winning the top science score in Fushun City!]

The moment the banner was hung up, the whole street fell silent.

A boy who was riding a shared bicycle to school was looking down at his phone when he caught a glimpse of red at the school gate and instinctively looked up.

Then he rode his shared bike directly into the roadside green belt.

"Holy crap?!"

The boy crawled out of the green belt, not even bothering to brush the leaves off his body, his mouth agape enough to fit a fist.

"The top scorer in the city?? From our school???"

He rubbed his eyes and looked at it again.

"Am I still half asleep...?"

He pinched his thigh hard, wincing in pain, then quickly pulled out his phone, took a picture, and sent it to the class group chat.

"Guys, this is huge! There's a banner hanging at the school gate saying our school has produced the top scorer!!!"

Three question marks immediately appeared in the group chat.

"Have you had too much to drink?"

"It's photoshopped, right?"

Is today April Fool's Day?

But soon, more and more people passed by the school gate, and more and more people saw the banner.

An older man driving a Wuling Hongguang minivan to drop off his child parked his car on the side of the road, rolled down his window, glanced at the banner, and then turned to his daughter in the back seat and asked:

"Honey, did you go to the wrong school? Your school can produce top scorers?"

"Did the sun rise in the west?"

A parent riding a Yadea electric scooter next to him also stopped, took off his helmet, and looked at the banner with an expression like he was watching a science fiction movie.

"A top scorer from No. 99 Middle School? I'd be incredibly grateful if my child even finished the college entrance exam. Whose child's ancestors were emitting auspicious smoke?"

"Is there some mistake?"

"Could it be someone with the same name? Or is a student from a good school temporarily enrolled at No. 99 Middle School?"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding parents nodded in agreement, indicating that this was the most reasonable explanation.

The nearby residents were also alerted.

An old man taking a stroll walked by with his teddy bear, glanced at the banner, stopped, took out his reading glasses, put them on, and looked at it again.

"Did the top scorer emerge from the 99th Middle School?"

The old man turned his head to look at the rusty school gate of No. 99 Middle School, then at the half-fallen tiles on the wall next to it, and then at the brand-new red banner. His face had an expression that said, "I've lived for seventy years and seen everything, but I've never seen anything like this before."

"This lousy school can produce a top scorer?" The old man patted Teddy's head. "DouDou, we've witnessed history."

Teddy barked at the banner, whether in celebration or in protest, it was hard to tell.

The most lively scene was the group of students at the school gate.

A group of people gathered under the banner, craning their necks to look at it, their chatter loud enough to shake the whole street.

"Ji Bai? Which Ji Bai? The one from Class 7?"

"Yes, yes, yes! It's him! The one who made those 'ghostly' videos!"

"Him? The top scorer in the city? Isn't he usually at the bottom of the class in exams?"

"A hidden master, an absolute hidden master!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I took the exam in the same room as him, and he always handed in his paper early for every subject! You're telling me someone who handed in his paper early got the top score?"

"Then you don't understand. Real geniuses don't need to check their work. They just finish and hand it in, and spend the rest of their time looking down on the teachers who set the questions."

……

At the school gate, everyone from students and parents to passersby was stunned by the bright red banner.

The contrast between the signboard of No. 99 Middle School and the words "City Top Scorer" is more outrageous than a grassroots success story.

Everyone is asking the same question—who exactly is Ji Bai?

Everyone was saying the same thing—how the hell is this possible?

……

at the same time.

Ji Bai had just woken up.

He ate to his heart's content last night, and after returning home, he went straight to bed and slept soundly until dawn, without even having a dream.

Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating his face. He groggily turned over, intending to doze off again, when suddenly a transparent screen of light appeared before his eyes.

[Ding! Daily Selection System activated!]

If you had ten dollars, how would you spend it?

1. Proficient in high school mathematics (3 yuan)

2. Proficiency in high school physics (3 yuan)

3. Proficiency in high school chemistry (3 yuan)

4. Proficient in singing, dancing, and rapping (3 yuan)

5. Excavator driving proficiency (3 yuan)

6. Full version of the song "The You of the Past" (1 yuan)

……

Ji Bai stared at the six options on the screen, his expression gradually freezing.

He stood there stunned for a full five seconds, then let out a roar of utter grief and rage:

"You're here to nurse your dead baby! You know how to shake off your snot when you cross a river!!"

The college entrance exam is over, and you expect me to be an expert in high school math, physics, and chemistry?

Why didn't you do this sooner!

Despite the complaints, my hands still tell a different story.

"Fine, I'll choose 1, 2, 3, and 6!"

Although the college entrance examination is over, there's a saying that goes, "Master math, physics, and chemistry, and you'll be able to go anywhere in the world without fear!"

Besides, if he really goes to Peking University, that's no joke.

What kind of place is Peking University?

The place where the nation's most brilliant minds gather.

If he doesn't know anything and just goes in with a score changed by the system, he'll be exposed for what he really is in the first advanced mathematics class.

Imagine the professor lecturing on calculus while the student below doesn't even recognize the derivative symbol—that would be a truly disastrous scene.

[Ding! Selection complete. Please try again tomorrow!]

The next second, countless strange and wonderful pieces of knowledge flooded into my mind like a tidal wave.

"Odd changes, even remains the same; the sign depends on the quadrant!"

"Upward movement leads to the loss of oxidizing and reducing agents, downward movement leads to the gain of reducing and oxidizing agents!"

"Monovalent hydrogen, chlorine, potassium, sodium, and silver; divalent oxygen, calcium, barium, magnesium, and zinc; trivalent aluminum; tetravalent silicon; and pentavalent phosphorus!"

"Left-hand force, right-hand electricity; Lenz's law; those who come, are rejected; those who go, are retained!"

……

Countless formulas, theorems, and problem-solving strategies are as if engraved in my mind, and I can use them with ease and fluency.

Immediately afterwards, a familiar melody began to play in my mind.

"I once dreamed of wandering the world with a sword, to see its splendor; the heart of youth is always a little impetuous, and now you call the world your home..."

It's Xu Wei's "The You of the Past".

He remembered.

The girl who once broke your heart has vanished without a trace... Love always brings you both longing and distress, leaving you battered and bruised...

Ji Bai hummed a few words, and his eyes suddenly felt a little hot.

Three years.

He finally regained something that belonged to that world.

Ji Bai took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, got out of bed, washed up, and ate.

Breakfast was noodles I cooked myself, with an egg poached in it and some chopped green onions sprinkled on top—simple and easy.

After breakfast, he rode his secondhand bicycle, which rattled everywhere except for the bell, wobbling leisurely towards school.

……