Don't underestimate the poor and elderly; I was thrilled to refuse the class beauty's adva

Zhang Yifan leaned back in his chair and briefly explained the rules for hiding grades to his parents.

It's not a system error or a network lag; the scores of the top dozens of students in the province are being blocked.

This is to prevent top universities from swarming in and poaching students before the score checking system has even caught up.

Last year's provincial top scorer only found out he was number one in the province by checking a string of asterisks and later receiving a text message notification.

After listening, Liu Guilan, who had been clutching a rag she had picked up at some point, dropped it to the ground.

She bent down to pick it up, squeezed it a couple more times, looked up at Zhang Yifan, and said in a slightly strained voice, "Yifan, then... then you really are... among the top few dozen in the province?"

Zhang Rongshan stopped pacing, gripped the back of the chair, and bent even lower.

She glanced at the row of asterisks on the screen again, then turned to look at Zhang Yifan, her lips moving, her voice trembling:

"Son, is this true? You really ranked among the top few in the province?"

"It's true! It's always been blocked like this, even the top few dozen."

Zhang Rongshan stood there, his lips twitching, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.

In the end, he simply nodded heavily, repeating the same word over and over: "Okay, okay, okay."

Liu Guilan pulled Zhang Yifan up from the chair and hugged him tightly, so tightly that his ribs ached.

Her shoulders were trembling slightly, and she buried her face in her son's shoulder, muttering, "May our ancestors bless us."

Then she released him, turned around, clasped her hands together in front of the altar that had not yet been removed from the balcony, and muttered some incantations.

It took them a while to recover from the shock of this joy.

Zhang Yifan sat back down in his chair, his expression becoming more serious than before:

"Dad, Mom, if you receive a call from any university in the next few days, don't rush to accept their offer."

No matter what conditions they offer—scholarships, combined bachelor's and master's programs, or any major you choose—don't make a decision on the spot.

I'll talk to them then.

"Making demands? Isn't it a bad idea to make demands of the school?" Zhang Rongshan hesitated for a moment. "They're a prestigious university; it's already a miracle they even considered us. Do you think they'll listen if we try to make demands?"

Liu Guilan raised her hand and patted him on the shoulder with considerable force, making a crisp "smack" sound.

"You don't know anything! Your son ranked in the top few dozen in the province, that means schools are fighting over him!"

What do you think those top universities are for? They're busiest around this time of year when scores are released, scrambling to recruit students!

Our son is in high demand now. The more you refuse, the more anxious they become, and the higher their demands will be!

You didn't even get into a junior college back then, so just listen to your son!

Zhang Rongshan rubbed his shoulder and muttered, "I was just asking casually," but he couldn't suppress the silly grin on his face.

He glanced at the row of asterisks on the screen again, and suddenly a very practical question came to mind:

"Then... how am I supposed to tell people how many points my son got on the test?"

I can't exactly tell my relatives and friends that I ranked in the top few dozen in the province, and when they ask me for my exact score, I can't just say I don't know.

Who would believe that? People would just think I'm bragging.

Your uncle called twice yesterday, saying he'd let him know first when the results come out.

Zhang Yifan's lips twitched.

That's a really good question.

He didn't know exactly how many points he scored.

The screen was full of asterisks, and the text message hadn't arrived yet. He himself was wondering how many points he had scored.

All he could say was, "We'll find out when the time comes. The text message should arrive soon, and the provincial admissions office will notify us."

"What's your hurry?!"

Liu Guilan patted Zhang Rongshan again, this time on his other shoulder.

"Our son's grades are already among the top in the province, what does it matter if he gets a specific score? Tsinghua and Peking University will be vying for him anyway! How come I've never noticed you're so fond of showing off?"

Zhang Rongshan chuckled and didn't deny it:

"My son is doing so well, am I not allowed to show off a little?"

I haven't accomplished anything great in my life, but my son has!

I'm happy, but I can't even say it?

"Tomorrow I'll set up a stall at the entrance of the farmers' market and specifically tell people that my son ranked among the top few dozen in the province."

"You dare! Aren't you ashamed?!"

Liu Guilan glared at him, but couldn't help but laugh herself.

The two of them huddled back in front of the computer screen, refreshing the page again and again until it stopped showing any new content, grinning from ear to ear at the row of asterisks.

Neither of them noticed when Zhang Yifan got up from the chair and went back to the bedroom.

Zhang Yifan closed the bedroom door, sat on the edge of the bed, took out his phone and sent Shen Zhiyi a WeChat message: "How are your grades? I'm being blocked here, all asterisks."

He waited for a long time, but the phone screen still didn't light up.

He put his phone on the table, then picked it up again to check, confirming that the internet connection was still working, that WeChat hadn't dropped, and that the message had indeed been sent.

The chat window still only contained the message he had sent; there was no reply.

Shen Zhiyi never does that.

She usually replies to his messages almost instantly.

I've been waiting for quite a while now, but the dialog box is still silent.

He placed his phone on the bedside table, leaned against the blanket, stared at the ceiling, and went through every possible possibility in his mind.

Maybe she's also found the asterisk and is explaining it to her parents? Maybe her phone is dead? Maybe the system is too laggy and she hasn't been able to refresh it yet?

He picked up his phone and put it down again, repeating this several times.

He suddenly realized something...

He wasn't worried about his own grades, but he was worried about hers.

Meanwhile, in the senior high school teachers' office at No. 1 High School.

Fu Kai was sitting at his desk with an unfinished annual teaching summary spread out in front of him, but his pen had been lying on the paper for a long time without being touched.

Today, the college entrance examination results were released. He has been teaching for more than 20 years, and every year on this day, he feels as if he is taking the exam himself, nervous, expectant, and restless.

He picked up his thermos and took a sip of tea. The tea had gone cold, but he didn't bother to refill it with hot water. His eyes were glued to his phone on the table.

The phone rang.

He picked it up and saw that the caller ID showed the new principal's number.

This principal has been in office for less than a month, and when he calls, he usually just assigns tasks, and his tone is always calm and composed.

Fu Kai quickly answered the phone, but before he could even say "Hello, Principal," an almost barely suppressed excited voice came from the other end.

Fu Kai's voice was so loud that he had to hold the phone a few centimeters away from his ear.

"Teacher Fu! Congratulations! You've produced the top student in the entire province! Zhang Yifan from your class! The provincial admissions office just sent over the list, and Zhang Yifan got 723 points, the highest score in the province!"

Fu Kai held the phone, opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

He sat in the chair, his mind blank, and it took him a while to come back to his senses.

His lips moved slightly, his voice trembling: "Principal, who did you say? Zhang Yifan? The top student in the province?"

When he said that, he couldn't tell if he was confirming something or talking to himself.

Zhang Yifan, who started chasing after Lin Wanqing in the second semester of his junior year, whose grades dropped from first to third in the grade, and who was called to Lin Wanqing's office countless times to be told that "early love ruins everything".

First in the province.

He put his phone on the table, leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, and his face was already wet with sweat.

He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "You little rascal, I knew you could do it!"