Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

"Everyone, step back. The county-wide final rankings are now being announced."

The square fell silent once again as soon as the director of the Education Bureau's Admissions Office finished speaking.

The previous list of the top ten was removed, and everyone stared at the new list in the director's hand.

A breeze blows, and the edges of the paper sway gently.

But this time, no one spoke.

Because everyone noticed a problem—Lin Xiuhe wasn't on that list.

He ranked first in the county in the mock exam, but was nowhere to be found in the top ten of the actual college entrance exam. This alone is enough to make people think.

Some people in the crowd started exchanging glances, while others huddled together and whispered among themselves.

"Did you fail the exam?"

"It's hard to say."

"Mock exams and the actual college entrance exam are fundamentally different."

"But surely it shouldn't have lost this much?"

"Who knows?"

These sounds were very soft, yet like the wind, they quickly spread throughout the entire square.

At the supply and marketing cooperative, Zhao Xiaomei was still looking towards the bulletin board.

There were too many people in front of her, blocking her view completely, so she couldn't see anything, but could hear more and more discussions around her.

"Could something really have happened?"

"There were none in the top ten just now."

"Did he underperform?"

"It's normal for girls to experience a lot of pressure."

Zhao Xiaomei grew increasingly annoyed: "What's wrong with not seeing the top ten? The overall rankings haven't been released yet!"

A middle-aged woman nearby said, "Young lady, don't be impatient. I'm just telling the truth. Getting first place in the mock exam doesn't guarantee you'll get first place in the actual college entrance exam."

Zhao Xiaomei wanted to say something, but Li Hongmei pulled her back: "Don't argue with them, just wait for the results."

But Li Hongmei herself began to have doubts.

Because something really wasn't right—if Lin Xiuhe really did well on the exam, why wasn't she on the top ten list just now? She subconsciously looked at Lin Xiuhe.

Lin Xiuhe stood at the edge of the crowd, holding the score checking process form in her hand. She didn't push forward or ask around, as if she was waiting.

But what exactly they're waiting for, nobody knows.

On the other side, Wang Xiulan has come back to life.

She was a little flustered when the list was taken down, but now, hearing the discussions around her, she felt confident again.

"I told you so. Mock exams and the college entrance exam are completely different things."

Someone nearby asked, "Xiulan, do you really think Xiuhe did poorly on the exam?"

"I didn't say that."

He said this, but the smile on his face grew wider and wider. "But when it comes to studying, in the end, it all comes down to real ability. Weidong has always been reliable since he was a child, and he never messes up in exams."

The people nearby exchanged glances, and everyone could tell that the words were directed at Lin Xiuhe.

Wang Xiulan became more and more fluent as she spoke, and even began to analyze for others: "For girls, good memory is important in the early stages of schooling, but the difference becomes apparent when the questions become more difficult later on."

The neighbors didn't respond.

Because they've seen too many setbacks in the past few months. But today, it seems a little different.

The number of people outside the Education Bureau is increasing.

Those who arrived later were unaware of what had happened, but upon inquiring, they immediately received the same news: "Lin Weidong is second in the entire county, while Lin Xiuhe didn't even make the top ten."

As the message spread, the second half of the sentence changed.

Some people said, "Lin Xiuhe has fallen out of the top 20," "She may not have even passed the cutoff score for key universities," and some even said, "She performed exceptionally well in the mock exam."

Rumors snowball, growing bigger and bigger. They become increasingly exaggerated and outlandish.

In less than half an hour, even the old man selling popsicles outside the Education Bureau knew: "Is that the girl who got first place in the mock exam? I heard she didn't do well in the college entrance exam."

A person buying popsicles nearby immediately chimed in, "Who knows if it's true or not? I didn't see it on the list anyway."

Meanwhile, at the Red Flag Commune.

The message had already been sent back ahead of time.

Under a large tree at the village entrance, several old men were chatting around a stone table. One of them, riding a bicycle back from the county town, started shouting before his bike had even come to a complete stop, "Second best in Weidong County!"

The area under the tree suddenly became lively.

"Second? Really?"

"They just came out from the Education Bureau."

"Where is Xiuhe?"

"I didn't see it."

"Didn't you see it?"

"Not on the list."

This one sentence immediately perked everyone up. The news began to spread from house to house.

Soon, even the red betting paper at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative was surrounded by people.

"I told you, mock exams aren't accurate. Weidong is still amazing, second place! Our commune hasn't had a result like this in years."

Someone threw another handful of melon seeds at Lin Weidong, and someone else drew a circle after the second-place finisher with chalk, as if the result was already in.

At the entrance of the Education Bureau.

As Wang Xiulan listened to these discussions, her posture straightened more and more. She even took the initiative to walk over to the group of people from the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Xiuhe, don't feel pressured. It's okay if you don't do well on the test."

Zhao Xiaomei immediately snapped: "The results haven't even come out yet! How do you know they're bad?"

Wang Xiulan spread her hands: "I didn't say that. Everyone's saying that. I was just comforting her."

Many people around were looking in their direction, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Li Hongmei's expression was also unpleasant, but she couldn't refute it because the overall rankings hadn't been released yet.

Just then, a sound came from the direction of the Education Bureau's bulletin board.

Staff began maintaining order: "Everyone back up! Back up! The final rankings will be announced soon!"

The crowd immediately pushed forward, and everyone who had just been discussing it rushed toward the notice board.

Wang Xiulan didn't have time to speak and hurried forward—she wanted to see for herself who was behind the second-ranked person in the county.

Zhao Xiaomei squeezed forward and almost stepped on her shoes.

Li Hongmei grabbed her arm: "Slow down! Don't fall!"

Ahead, the director of the admissions office was already standing in front of the bulletin board, holding the final list in his hand.

The square gradually quieted down, and the eyes of thousands of people were all focused on those few pieces of paper.

A breeze blew, and the list made a slight rustling sound.

The director glanced down at the list and then announced, "Now announcing the county-wide rankings for the 1977 college entrance examination."