Chapter 76: Boundless Horizons

When Lin Yu heard that Yang Zhilin had actually written Biyao as her name on the English exam paper, he couldn't help but smile. But at that moment, he suddenly remembered the wager! His own name had not yet been called. So, did this mean he had surpassed Yang Zhilin just like that? And could he now receive kisses from two beauties? One of them even being Yang Zhilin’s first kiss?

This thought made Lin Yu both wickedly excited and nervous. Was he really about to pull off an upset?

As Lin Yu’s mind raced with excitement and wild fantasies, the homeroom teacher, He Jing, called his name next.

"Twenty-sixth place, Lin Yu, total score: 569."

"Wow!"

No sooner had He Jing read out Lin Yu’s name than Class Seven of Grade Three burst into commotion once more!

Those with a generous mindset felt that Lin Yu’s leap of dozens of ranks into the top thirty was truly praiseworthy. Coupled with the fact that he had translated the entire Chinese map from a passage, he was indeed clever, and now that he’d started working hard, he might just be able to get into a top-tier university.

But most of the class began to gossip, convinced that Lin Yu must have cheated to get such a high score. Some even suspected the papers were graded incorrectly.

"Quiet! What’s everyone so excited about?" At the peak of the chaos, He Jing struck the desk, and the class instantly fell silent.

"Every one of Lin Yu’s exam papers has been checked by the teachers. There were no grading errors or points added wrongly. And in his exam room, which was the last one, there wasn’t a single good student. Even if he wanted to copy, there was no one to copy from! Therefore, Lin Yu’s results are genuine and valid. Please give him a round of applause."

As soon as the scores came in, He Jing had noticed Lin Yu’s dramatic improvement. She personally checked his exam papers and spoke to some of the invigilators, confirming that Lin Yu hadn’t cheated this time.

Stalin once said: Teachers are the engineers of the human soul.

To witness Lin Yu storm into the top thirty as a dark horse filled He Jing with immense joy! She felt she was one step closer to being an engineer of the soul.

This spiritual fulfillment was the very reason He Jing had always been motivated to stay on the teaching path. In truth, as a teacher, she earned just over two thousand yuan a month. Tutoring on the side, she could make over ten thousand monthly. She could easily have made tutoring her profession.

After the applause, He Jing looked at Lin Yu with gentle eyes and said, "Lin Yu, you are the student with the greatest improvement in the whole school this time. After discussing with the school leadership, we’ve decided that next Monday, on October 14th, during the flag-raising ceremony, you will represent the senior year and give a speech under the national flag!"

"...What? Me, giving a speech under the flag? Teacher, I really don’t know how to do that!" Although Lin Yu was a little excited, he didn’t think he was the type for public speaking.

The speeches under the national flag were always given by those outstanding students who had been class leaders since childhood. He didn’t think he could handle it, nor convince anyone; he’d probably be booed off the stage.

"When we were born, we knew nothing. But now we've learned to speak, to eat, and some students have even learned how to fall in love! So, just try your best. Besides, I graded your essay, 'Some Encounters,' and gave it full marks," He Jing said with a smile.

"Is that so? Actually, I just wrote that off the top of my head," Lin Yu replied, scratching his head awkwardly. When facing his teacher, he felt the same respect and awe as he did toward his parents.

"If you can write so well off the cuff, it seems you have a gift for this. Then it’s settled—prepare your speech in advance, and when the time comes, share the secret to your improved grades. It’ll be an inspiration for the others!" With that, He Jing withdrew her gaze and continued announcing the results.

In the end, Lin Yu’s deskmate, Wang Libo, ranked thirteenth in the class with a total score of 612. He felt quite satisfied with the result, but kept muttering about how others were being fake and wouldn’t reveal their real scores.

Lin Yu patted his deskmate on the shoulder with a smile, saying that’s just how society is—one must always keep a little to oneself and not reveal one’s truest self to others, or else one would suffer for it.

If it had been before, Wang Libo wouldn’t have listened to a word of this, but after Lin Yu’s dark horse leap into the top thirty, he could no longer take him lightly.

Seeing that Wang Libo was receptive, Lin Yu, with the perspective of someone who had been through it, shared even more. In his eyes, Wang Libo was just a child, still green and naïve.

Wang Libo found Lin Yu’s advice very helpful and his previous indifference turned into admiration.

While the two whispered together, He Jing finished reading all the scores.

In the end, the class representative, Nie Xiaona, took first place in Class Seven with a score of 671. Wang Keming was just two points behind, taking second place and earning the nickname "Millennium Runner-up."

After school, Lin Yu took a look at the score sheet and saw his grades: Chinese, 127; Math, 62; Integrated Humanities, 292; English, 88.

Looking at these results, Lin Yu felt only that there was too much luck involved. Of the total, about a hundred points were pure flukes that he had no confidence about. So, while pleased, he resolved to work harder in the coming days, lest he stumble in the next exam.

As he walked out of the teaching building alongside Qi Yue and Yang Zhilin, Lin Yu looked up at the sky. In that moment, he seemed to see the light breeze, the vast expanse of clouds, and the boundless horizon. It was as if he could sense a tiger lurking in his heart, delicately sniffing at a rose.

"Little Yu! Who would've thought you could actually beat Zhilin! That’s pretty impressive!" Walking along the campus path, looking at the yellow-green grass around them, Qi Yue suddenly spoke.

"What are you talking about! She just wrote the wrong name, that’s all!" Yang Zhilin, who had been looking elsewhere, immediately retorted.

He chuckled, "Just lucky, that’s all. This time, Biyao helped me out." Lin Yu withdrew his gaze from the sky to the two girls before him, wondering quietly if that wager still counted. If it did, that would be just perfect.

As he mused, Qi Yue giggled and said to Yang Zhilin, "Doesn’t matter. The official results show you got 568, one point less than Lin Yu! A bet’s a bet—when we get home, you owe him a kiss."

"Let’s not! We were just joking around..." Yang Zhilin’s cheeks flushed red as she tried to deny it.

"In the Analects, there’s a saying: 'If a man has no faith, I do not know what he can do.' Zhilin, what do you think about that?" Qi Yue teased, her eyes clear and bright.

"I think this bet doesn’t count," Yang Zhilin said with a laugh, trying to run away, but Qi Yue, already prepared, caught her in a hug.

At that moment, Lin Yu felt that Qi Xiaoyue was truly genuine and a real friend.

[Today is also known as Singles’ Day. Here, Ban Ruo wishes all friends to soon find love and leave singlehood behind.]