We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"Ding!"

"Hello Li Mubai! Your competition prize money before tax was 6000 yuan. The prize money is subject to a 20% personal income tax withholding of 1200 yuan as incidental income, so the actual amount you will receive is 4800 yuan. Please check and reply."

Four thousand eight.

If it were the old him, he would probably be happy to buy himself two books first, and then plan when he could leave Xiyue Province to see the outside world.

But how does it compare to Xie Shu's family background? How does it compare to a family like hers that readily uses cars as a coming-of-age gift for their daughters on their eighteenth birthday?

This 4,800 might not even amount to a fraction of what they earn.

He stared at the screen for a few seconds, replied with "Received," and then put his phone down.

"Xiaobai, how did you do on the provincial mock exam?" Li's mother turned around from the passenger seat and asked him.

"The score may have dropped, but the ranking should be about the same."

"So, what kind of school do you think you can get into?"

"I should be able to get into a 985 university."

"That's good." Li's mother paused for a moment, "Xiaobai, you must study hard. We didn't take care of your brother before, and now that I think about it, I feel quite guilty towards him. You're the only successful one in our family."

Li's mother spoke earnestly.

"Yes, I know." Li Mubai nodded.

"You've always been sensible, so I won't say much more. You're about to take the college entrance exam, so just focus on your studies," said Li's mother, handing over a few bills from the passenger seat.

Li Mubai took it, and felt something was slightly off about the feel of it. He counted it.

"You gave me a hundred too much."

"This hundred is for you. We can't take care of you at school. Buy whatever you want to eat, don't deprive yourself."

"I don't really want to eat anything." Li Mubai took out the extra hundred yuan to return to his family.

"Then keep it with you, and keep the extra for you."

"Forget it, I don't need that much. You guys keep it. Didn't you say business hasn't been good lately?" Li Mubai smiled.

"It's alright, take it if you want it." Mother Li waved her hand, her tone leaving no room for refusal.

"Fine, fine." He had no choice but to put the money back in his pocket.

"We've arrived." Mr. Li pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"I'm going back to school." Li Mubai opened the car door, got out with his bag, and said, "Goodbye."

Mr. Li nodded, and Mrs. Li gave them another word of advice: study hard. Only then did they leave.

Li Mubai stood there watching the car disappear around the corner before turning around and walking into the school gate.

Study, study...

The day I returned to school was the same. I was the first one to arrive at the classroom in the morning, and the first thing I did after putting down my schoolbag was to reach out and turn the countdown page on the side of the blackboard one by one.

54 days until the college entrance exam... 52 days... 50 days... 4...

The results of the provincial mock exam are out!

As soon as Li Mubai looked up, the bulletin board was crowded with students.

Helpless, he lowered his head again to study and do practice problems, and could only check his grades after people dispersed a bit.

After a while, Zhao Feng squeezed out of the crowd and casually patted him on the shoulder as he passed his seat:

"Awesome, awesome!"

Li Mubai looked up at him, but before he could ask anything, Zhao Feng had already sat back down in his seat.

Did he do very well on the exam?

After the others had dispersed a bit, Li Mubai put on his glasses and walked over.

He quickly found his name on the densely packed report card.

Chinese 122, Mathematics 126, English 128, Politics 90, History 94, Geography 89, Total 649.

He actually got promoted instead of demoted?!

Li Mubai's heart tightened slightly, wondering if the exam was not as Xie Shu had said, but rather that the requirements had been relaxed.

He continued looking back.

Ranked 1st in class, 76th in province.

He took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and looked again.

Ranked 1st in class, 76th in province.

I'm not seeing things, this is really the ranking...

Li Mubai stood in front of the bulletin board. The chattering of the girls around him about their grades seemed to come from another world. He took off his glasses, wiped the lenses, and put them back on. It was still the same number.

His eyes kept scanning the line of tiny handwriting, memorizing each number before he returned to his seat somewhat absentmindedly, took out a notebook, and copied his grades and rankings onto it.

Li Mubai put down his pen and stared blankly at the line of numbers.

He felt a light tap on his back, turned around, and Lin Xinle smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.

Congratulations on getting first place!

Li Mubai opened his mouth, but the words got stuck in his throat. Various surprises and unexpected feelings mingled together, and finally, he gave a faint nod.

Zhang Hao, standing next to him, lowered his head, gritting his teeth as he looked at his mediocre grades.

"Oh right, I should tell Xie Shu about this result." Just as Li Mubai was about to get up, Zhong Jianjun walked in. The latter had a stern face, which startled everyone and made them sit back down in their seats.

"Have you all seen your grades?" Zhong Jianjun stood on the podium with his hands behind his back.

No one said a word.

"Those who have reached 600, stand up." He glanced around.

Li Mubai glanced around and stood up with the others.

"Look up and count, out of the thirty people in the class, only four scored over six hundred!" Zhong Jianjun raised his hand, gesturing for Li Mubai and the others to sit down.

"There are less than fifty days left until the college entrance examination. For most students, this period is already largely set in stone!"

"Formed?" Li Mubai keenly grasped this word.

He lowered his head and stared blankly. On the stage, Zhong Jianjun was still talking about the severity of the college entrance examination, but then he changed the subject and began to analyze the provincial mock exam.

Ring ring—

"I'll leave it at that. In the last forty-six days, whether you fight hard or settle for the status quo is up to you."

After finishing his sentence, Zhong Jianjun left the classroom with his books.

A few seconds later, some students stood up and walked out.

"Hey, you did well on the exam," Zhao Feng patted him on the shoulder as he passed by. "If you ever become rich and powerful, don't forget me."

Li Mubai smiled but didn't reply.

As soon as Zhao Feng left, he slowly stood up and walked towards the cafeteria.

Xie Shu stood under the tree waiting for him, without a book in her hand. She just stood there quietly, and from a distance, she looked like a tree too.

He quickened his pace and walked over.

"Xie Shu, how did your exam go?"

"It's alright." Her tone was casual, not particularly concerned about her grades. "And you?"

"A total score of 649, first in the class, and 76th in the province." He finished speaking in one breath, with a faint smile on his lips, as if he had rehearsed this conversation in his mind.

"That's amazing." Xie Shu was genuinely happy for him.

The wind blew through the treetops, scattering the hair around her ears. Li Mubai looked into her eyes and suddenly felt that all the nights he had stayed up these past few weeks and all the fatigue had lessened.

God knows how hard he studied to save money for the mock exam. Apart from meals and Xie Shu's walks, he spent all his time studying.

Fortunately, everything turned out well.

"Li Mubai, there's another ranking you don't know," Xie Shu said.

"There's more?" Li Mubai paused for a moment, recalling the grade sheet, but couldn't remember what he had missed.

"Your school ranking is second."

Xie Shu raised her head and stared at him quietly without blinking. Her eyebrows were also curved, and Li Mubai's image was reflected in her bright pupils. Now, there was no one else between them.

Second in the school rankings?!