Chapter 50 Who Wants to Rank in the Top Ten?

That girl is a bit skinny! Her hips are small, too—not great for bearing children.

Tsk, what kind of eyes do you have, old woman? This young lady has a straight posture and walks with a breeze. She looks frail on the outside but is tough on the inside, just like our medic back in the day. That kind of resilience is much rarer than being built for childbearing!

A medic? What medic? Why haven't I ever heard you mention her?

We haven't seen each other in decades, what was I supposed to tell you?

Well, well, Li Zhongfa, you haven't seen her in decades and you still remember her resilience? You'd better explain yourself tonight when we get back, or else.

Oh, come on, she saved my life back then. How could I not remember someone like that for the rest of my life? What are you letting your imagination wander about?

Having served as a leader for years, Li Zhongfa knew how to deflect and immediately changed the subject.

Regardless of what this girl is like, as long as our Xiao Ye is happy with her, that's all that matters. Haven't you noticed Xiao Ye's changes lately? His vigor and spirit are countless times better than before...

Grandma Wu Jiuying let out a hum, dropping the matter of the medic for the time being, though she still let out a soft sigh filled with worry.

I've also noticed that Xiao Ye has changed, but this girl is an outsider. What if one day she flies away just like that Lu Jingyao?

Where could she possibly fly to? Li Zhongfa glared. Our Xiao Ye is going to be a great writer soon, and once he passes the college entrance examination next year, do you believe he could reel her back even if she flew to a foreign country?

That much is true, Grandma Li nodded. Just look at Xiao Ye's appearance; you could search every village for ten miles and find no one better. Still, it would be best if he were the only one to pass the college entrance examination. Scarcity adds value... If you ask me, you shouldn't have bothered getting involved in all these things. Why help so many outsiders?

So you know that scarcity adds value? Do you also know that when brothers are of the same mind, their sharpness can cut through metal?

Li Zhongfa rolled his eyes and said with displeasure, If it weren't for the fact that my brothers and I stuck together and looked out for each other back then, I wouldn't have survived. When Xiao Ye steps out of Qingshui County in the future, who will he rely on if not friends and classmates?

Grandma Li tilted her head, gazed sideways at Li Zhongfa, and said with a dark undertone, You survived—wasn't that thanks to the female medic? It was a life-saving grace; didn't you ever think of offering your hand in marriage back then?

...

A wave of panic rippled through Li Zhongfa's heart. Why was a woman's intuition always so sharp?

***

Time flew by in the blink of an eye. Over a month had passed since Li Ye, Hu Man, and the others began going out for their independent study sessions.

The school hadn't paid excessive attention to their behavior, nor had any of the troubles Li Ye worried about materialized. Instead, with Li Ye and his group gone, the Retake Class One had returned to its former tranquility, leaving Teacher Luo and the others immensely gratified.

There was no more scuffling or quarreling in the classroom; only the sound of clear, resonant reading remained. All fifty-two students buried their heads in hard study, cherishing the hard-won learning environment of this era.

[This is what a retake class is supposed to look like!]

Teacher Luo sighed with heartfelt satisfaction. Looking back at the headache he had suffered over a month ago, he now regretted pushing Hu Man into the monitor position during the democratic election.

Over a month of chaos had disrupted the students' study rhythm. He only hoped that those top students wouldn't lose too many points on next year's college entrance examination because of it.

In this era, even losing a few points for a top student could cause a teacher heartbreaking agony.

Fortunately, the confrontation from a short while ago seemed to have ignited the learning desires of Xia Yue and the others. Seeing Xia Yue and Hu Man pouring all their energy into studying in the classroom, Teacher Luo felt the optimistic anticipation of a blessing in disguise.

Yet, Teacher Luo could never have imagined that by this time, Retake Class One had split into two completely distinct groups. They were like two trains entering diverging tracks, pulling further and further apart with every passing moment.

Most of the students, centered around Xia Yue and Jin Shengli, were like an old, battered but high-spirited steam locomotive, puffing thick billows of smoke and huffing and puffing as they struggled up a steep slope.

Meanwhile, Li Ye's eight-person small group had switched to electric rails, accelerating silently, faster and faster still.

Li Ye and the others left school at five in the afternoon and had dinner at six. While Jiang Xiaoyan was cooking, Hu Man and the others would already be copying and solving problems.

After finishing dinner at half-past six, they worked continuously until half-past ten. For four solid hours, Hu Man and the others were kept by Li Ye in a vast ocean of problems, constantly floundering and choking on water, so much that even after returning to their dormitory, their minds remained completely filled with test questions, test questions, and more test questions.

After they left, Li Ye would evaluate the evening's progress and determine the scope and difficulty of the questions for the next day.

Utilizing the biological hard drive in his mind, Li Ye systematically instilled test papers from his past life—spanning from junior high school graduation exams all the way to the college entrance examination, arranged from easy to difficult—into Hu Man and the others.

If Hu Man and the others could solve them all, those types of questions were discarded directly. If none of them could solve them, they would continue working on them the next day with a heavy emphasis on detailed explanations.

During the daytime classes, Hu Man and the others would concentrate on memorization, conquering the knowledge that required rote learning.

The 1980s did not have official examination syllabi, and a vast portion of college entrance exam questions relied on memorization—they were truly score-boosters earned through sheer recitation, which was the trump card retake classes used to tackle the exams.

Top students like Hu Man and Xia Yue already possessed a solid foundation in memorization, allowing them to leave the middle- and lower-tier students far behind. Meanwhile, the special tutoring Li Ye provided at night served as advanced combat techniques, helping them hone their skills to compete with the very best across the land.

Often nowadays, while the teacher was up front explaining a problem, Hu Man and the others would glance at it and think—

I know how to solve this.

I've seen this before.

This problem... is it really this simple?

After experiencing this repeatedly, Hu Man and the others simply stopped paying attention to the lectures, focusing all their energy on memorization instead.

Anyway, Li Ye would screen and solve everything for them at night. Even if they happened to miss a question, Li Ye had them covered.

As the winter break approached, Teacher Luo suddenly announced unexpected news during class.

This semester's final examination will be jointly drafted by us and the County Number One High School. The exact same test papers will be used across all graduating classes and retake classes throughout the county.

You must take this seriously, give it your absolute all, and do not disgrace the reputation of our County Number Two High School...

An uproar swept through the classroom, and a tense atmosphere rapidly permeated the entire school.

For ordinary students, a county-wide joint examination might not feel like much—just another ordinary final exam. But for the students in the retake class who had already experienced the college entrance examination, the psychological impact was entirely different.

This was a rehearsal for the real college entrance examination. Every year, the entire county could only send a handful of students off to college. Failing to secure a top-tier ranking in the county-wide joint examination proved that the hope of entering university was exceedingly slim.

Yet, contrasting with the nervousness of others, Hu Man and the others in the eight-person group were rubbing their palms together, eager to test their mettle in this examination.

What do you think? Which place can we rank in this time?

I don't know how we'll compare to County Number One High School, but compared to our own class... maybe top ten?

Mm, top ten.

Hu Man narrowed her eyes, though she wasn't being entirely honest.

Her goal this time wasn't just the top ten in the class; she wanted to lock horns with Xia Yue and Jin Shengli, the top two students in the entire grade.

Hu Man hadn't performed well during the college entrance examination last year, and when the retake classes were assigned, she ended up in Class Two, which left her feeling rebellious from the start.

After entering Class One, she had locked horns with Xia Yue. Now that an opportunity had presented itself, she was naturally determined to secretly cross swords with Xia Yue and compete for dominance.

Just as they finished speaking, Li Ye, who had been supervising Jiang Xiaoyan's cooking nearby, turned his head. Who said anything about aiming for the top ten?

Hu Man blinked, sensing something amiss, and then heard Li Ye say loudly, None of you are allowed to place in the top ten.

...

The group of them was dumbfounded. You teach us real skills and then forbid us from showing off—what exactly are you playing at, Li Ye?

Li Ye walked over with a solemn expression and wrote two large Chinese characters on the small blackboard:

From today onward, all of you must master a single skill—score management!

Before the college entrance examination, in every single test you take, you are forbidden from attracting anyone's attention. Your class ranking must only drop compared to before, never rise.

...

Han Xia had a fiery temper and immediately objected, Why? Why aren't we allowed to score higher than Xia Yue?

However, Hu Man grabbed Han Xia's arm, having already faintly grasped Li Ye's intent.

Li Ye, are you doing this for the sake of confidentiality, to avoid trouble?

Exactly, to maintain confidentiality.

Li Ye explained, If your grades suddenly undergo a dramatic transformation, the teachers won't just sit idly by. How will you maintain secrecy then?

Once our secret is leaked, if Teacher Luo comes to me asking for test papers, I can ignore him. But what about Principal Chang? Or even more troublesome people?

This was precisely why Li Ye had gone to great lengths—even being willing to suffer a disadvantage—to isolate themselves from Retake Class One.

Compared to later generations, the 1980s were much more of a society driven by personal connections and favors. If Hu Man and the others' grades suddenly skyrocketed, wouldn't people start pulling strings and calling in favors to reach Li Ye's grandfather by that very night?

Li Ye said solemnly, My capacity is limited. At most, I can only look after the few of you.

If any more people join in, I won't have the time or energy to tailor appropriate test papers according to everyone's individual circumstances, let alone give you targeted individual tutorials. Your college entrance examination scores will inevitably suffer. Are you willing to let that happen?

Hu Man, Han Xia, and the others kept their lips tightly sealed, none of them uttering a word.

Yet the exact same thought echoed in all of their minds: Anyone who dares to mess with my college entrance exam score, I'll tear them apart with my bare hands.

Li Ye smiled triumphantly. Now, is anyone still planning to place in the top ten?

However, Jiang Xiaoyan, spatula in hand, timidly raised her hand.

I... want to place in the top ten.