Cutting-Edge Technology R&D Center

Chapter 23: The Top Scorer of Xijiang

“Zhao Chun, fly to Xijiang Province immediately. Go to Gan City No. 1 High School and find a student named Wang Hao. You must recruit him to Yan’da University. If anything goes wrong, I’ll hold you personally responsible.” Upon hearing the voice on the other end of the line, Zhao Chun’s heart sank. As the director of Yan’da University’s Admissions Office, he had just received this urgent order from the university president. He immediately guessed what was going on—a top-scoring valedictorian must have emerged, otherwise the president wouldn’t be personally intervening in such a matter. “President, has a prodigy emerged in Xijiang?” Zhao Chun asked curiously. “It’s far more than just a prodigy—a perfect score… perfect scores in every subject. Hurry and book a ticket. I’m granting you the authority to act first and report later. This student is no ordinary talent; I suspect Huaqing University has already received word as well.” Wang Xiang, the president of Yan’da University, spoke urgently once more. He had used his connections to investigate the student named Wang Hao. He appeared unremarkable in his daily life, yet made a sensational breakthrough on the college entrance exam. In the president’s view, such a person’s intentions were all too clear—and he’d kept it hidden for three whole years, maintaining a completely unremarkable profile throughout. That was precisely what piqued his curiosity; he sensed this student was no ordinary student. The same thing happened at Huaqing University, except that the president there merely passed the information on to the director of the admissions office. The notion that Huaqing lagged behind Yan’da University in the sciences had long been deeply ingrained in people’s minds. Even though Huaqing was now on par with Yan’da University in terms of both academic strength and research achievements, he had previously lost to Yan’da University on several occasions in the competition for science students. However, when it came to competing for students in the humanities, Yan’da University was now tasting the same bitter defeat as Huaqing University. The next day, Wang Hao woke up at six o’clock, just as he had before. Today was a special day for every college entrance exam taker, as the results were set to be released. Even Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan didn’t sleep in; instead, they got up early, ate breakfast, and waited… waiting for the results to be released at nine o’clock… A look of indescribable tension appeared on both Zhang’s parents’ faces. Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan also wore expressions of concern, whereas Wang Hao remained completely calm. He had already done a rough calculation after taking the exam; no matter how low his score might be, it couldn’t possibly fall below 740 points. As for exactly how high his score would be, that would likely depend on the mood of the graders—after all, he didn’t feel he’d made any mistakes. As the time drew nearer, Zhang Xin, Zhang Nan, and Wang Hao’s adoptive parents all grew increasingly nervous. “Xiao Hao, you can check your results now,” Zhang’s father said, glancing at the time. “Okay,” Wang Hao nodded, his expression completely calm. He casually opened the college entrance exam website, and there was no lag whatsoever. It wasn’t that the exam results website was so robust it could handle so many people checking at once, but rather that Wang Hao’s Longnao had activated internet speed protection, giving him a very fast connection. “This…” Mr. Zhang stared at the scores displayed on the computer screen in disbelief. “Bro, that’s just insane…” Zhang Xin rubbed her eyes, her gaze filled with shock, while Zhang’s mother, Zhang Nan, and the others stared blankly. Wang Hao’s name and admission ticket number had already appeared on the screen. After carefully verifying the information, Mr. Zhang finally let out a soft sigh. “Xiao Hao, you’re really something…” Mr. Zhang gazed at the score displayed on the computer with deep emotion—750 points. He knew exactly what that meant: the son he had taken in had achieved a perfect score in Xijiang Province. A perfect score meant he was the top scorer in Xijiang Province. Just then, a ringtone suddenly sounded. Wang Hao saw that it was his phone ringing—it was Fang Bing calling. “Hao Ge, how many points did you get?” Fang Bing knew Wang Hao hadn’t performed to his full potential in the past, so he’d always been curious about his results. After checking his own score—which was just barely enough to get into a second-tier university—he felt a sense of understanding. Still, he was quite satisfied, and his curiosity immediately prompted him to call Wang Hao. “750. What about you?” Hearing the calm voice on the other end of the line, a look of stunned disbelief flashed across Fang Bing’s eyes. “What did you say?” “750.” “Holy crap… Hao Ge, you’re amazing,” Fang Bing exclaimed, his face a picture of shock. “Let’s talk when we meet up later,” Wang Hao said with a soft chuckle. He could tell just how stunned Fang Bing was—he hadn’t expected a perfect score either—and a smile slowly spread across his calm face. “Okay.” Fang Bing hung up the phone, still in a daze. “How did Wang Hao do on the exam?” Fang’s father, standing nearby, asked curiously. He knew his son didn’t like studying, but he’d never pushed him. “750,” Fang Bing muttered to himself. “That’s 200 points higher than you—not bad at all... Wait, what did you say?” Fang Bing’s father said, not quite catching on at first, but a moment later he realized something was off... 750 points—if he wasn’t mistaken, that should be a perfect score. “750 points—a perfect score… He’s definitely the top scorer.” Fang Bing looked at his slow-on-the-take father, utterly speechless. By this time, the news of a perfect-score top scorer emerging in Xijiang Province had already caused a massive sensation. As always, online media was the fastest to report it; in an instant, the internet was flooded with reports, letting the entire nation know that Xijiang Province had produced a prodigy—a perfect-score top scorer unprecedented in history. “In Xijiang Province—a historic cradle of the revolution—and at Gan City No. 1 High School, a perfect-score top scorer has emerged: an 18-year-old student named Wang Hao. What extraordinary story lies behind this top scorer? Please join our reporter as we visit Gan City No. 1 High School to see how Wang Hao is regarded by his classmates.” “Here is the essay by Wang Hao, the top-scoring student from Xijiang Province. The Chinese exam topic for Xijiang Province was ‘Hometown Sentiments,’ and Wang Hao chose the title ‘My Hometown’ to describe how he sees Gancheng in his heart. To be honest, after reading the essay, I felt a strong urge to visit Gancheng myself. The Gancheng described in Wang Hao’s writing is so vivid—yet the essay isn’t merely full of praise; it also points out the city’s shortcomings. In my view, the depth of this essay is far beyond what one would expect from a high school senior. If I hadn’t known better, I might even have thought…this was an assessment of Gancheng by a dual expert in economics and literature.” At this point, due to the overwhelming coverage online, many internet users had seen the essay written by the top student in Xijiang Province. After reading it, many were immediately filled with a strong desire to visit Gancheng. To see the scenery described in the essay for themselves and experience the cultural atmosphere depicted within. “That essay is quite good…” In a conference room, at least a dozen people were seated. “It’s indeed well-written. We must also recognize our own shortcomings and strive to make Gancheng even better.” A dignified middle-aged man spoke in a deep voice. After a brief pause, he continued, “All right, let’s resume the meeting—but the agenda has changed. We’ll discuss this essay: build on its strengths to make further progress, and for its weaknesses, let’s quickly devise a solution.” This was a regular leadership meeting in Gancheng. It happened to coincide with the release of the college entrance exam results. The mayor and deputy mayors, taking advantage of a break in the meeting, checked the news on their phones and immediately discovered that Gancheng had once again produced a top-scoring student—one who had even achieved a perfect score. Moreover, once the mayor glanced at the essay, he couldn’t stop reading. Even as the top official in Gancheng, he hadn’t realized the city possessed such a wealth of cultural landscapes—or that there were so many areas in need of improvement.