After returning from the village to school, I was unexpectedly calm.

And extremely clear-headed, because I knew that to achieve my desired goal, I had only one path to follow.

The key to it all was the college entrance examination.

My pen was the sharp blade that sliced through those thorns.

My three years of hard work was to walk out of the mountains and escape that tragic fate of the past.

And now, I want to use these three years of effort on something more necessary.

Checking the college entrance exam scores—

Although I knew after finishing the exam that my results wouldn't be bad, I couldn't help but feel a bit anxious when I saw my grades were blocked.

This result gives me ample opportunities to leap out of the mountains, go to any city I want, and see many landscapes I've never seen before.

The phone suddenly rang, it was Teacher Zhang.

"Hello, is this Xiao Hong? I'm Teacher Zhang. The exam results are out; have you checked them?"

"I have, teacher, I have..." I touched my face, which was full of tears.

My three years of effort have yielded the best result.

"It's just that you never left a contact number for your home, so a few university admissions offices contacted me instead. Could you come over when you have time?"

"Yes, I can come over right now."

Upon arriving at the school, Teacher Zhang, who was waiting at the gate, brought me to the most beautiful meeting room in the school, where several teachers were seated, and also...

Li Shiqing??? Huh???

"Li Shiqing scored well this year too. This year, the school has two slots each for Tsinghua and Peking University, you and him."

Wait, since when was he this good?

I thought at most he'd get into a 985 or C9 university, but he...?!

I couldn't help but marvel at how lucky people are just different, and then followed Teacher Zhang over.

Li Shiqing was clearly playing Tai Chi with the admissions teachers, and upon seeing me, he visibly sighed in relief, his eyes brightened.

Don't be like that. I'm just doing my job for the money; your good results are your own business, but you still didn't beat me.

Disciple, be more restrained.

Looking up, I saw the admissions teacher smiling as if seeing me meant seeing two enrollment quotas.

Understood, they misunderstood.

But it doesn't matter.

After politely declining the other schools' teachers, I quite obviously chose Peking University.

Li Shiqing also followed me without hesitation.