Chapter 7 0006 【Ace. Can't play!】
The next morning, it was time for the comprehensive liberal arts exam.
Chen Guiliang thought he wouldn't know how to do it, but after receiving the test paper, several consecutive questions turned out to be quite simple.
But as he worked through them, he started to feel unsure again.
Even though they were multiple-choice questions, there seemed to be several correct options.
He reviewed the questions repeatedly until his head felt numb.
After roughly completing all the questions, Chen Guiliang felt pretty good. He figured getting 160 out of 300 for the comprehensive liberal arts exam shouldn't be a problem.
If one studied diligently, it would be quite easy to improve one's score in this subject.
Chen Guiliang submitted his paper early and returned to the dorm to continue writing his article.
At lunch in the cafeteria, the serving aunt seemed to have a grudge against him, not giving him a single pleasant look and deliberately shaking the ladle a few extra times.
As she shook it, half the food disappeared.
There was nothing he could do; Chen Guiliang, in his high school days, couldn't tolerate injustice and loved to argue with everyone and everything.
The school cafeteria, relying on the "no leaving school for meals" rule, became increasingly outrageous during his second year of high school. In 40-degree Celsius summer heat, leftover food was not processed at all, and was sold again after a meal, even if it had already gone bad, without any fear of students getting sick and ending up in the hospital.
Chen Guiliang rallied several students to protest, even posting big-character posters outside the principal's office, and nearly got into a fight with the gatekeeper who was preventing students from leaving.
Coupled with a student breaking a bone after climbing over the wall to eat outside, the school was finally forced to cancel the ban on leaving school for meals.
As for the serving aunt in front of him, she was also an oddball.
Breakfast time was already very tight, and students waiting for noodles formed a long line. This aunt encountered the son of an acquaintance, not only actively letting him cut to the very front of the line but also slowly scooping beef to fill his bowl to the brim.
Even when the bowl couldn't hold any more, she continued to add, finally piling the beef into a small mountain. Meanwhile, other students' beef noodles only had a pathetic two small pieces of beef per bowl.
The bowl of noodles was too hot and full to carry, and the aunt actually abandoned the students in line to go help the acquaintance's son find a tray.
At that time, Chen Guiliang was famished, having a rare breakfast, and was so disgusted by the aunt that he erupted on the spot.
Ultimately, all the students in line refused to eat, and some even smashed the cafeteria's bowls and plates all over the floor.
But that aunt suffered no consequences; she was a relative of the cafeteria contractor.
Chen Guiliang, on the other hand, received a major demerit from the school for leading the protest!
"Not enough."
At this moment, Chen Guiliang pointed at the stainless steel meal tray and refused to leave the serving window.
The serving aunt pretended not to hear him, put down her ladle, and stopped moving.
The students waiting behind him grew increasingly impatient. Some accused Chen Guiliang of blocking the way, while others urged the serving aunt to hurry up.
The aunt at the next window advised, "Just let it go."
She wasn't sure who she was advising.
The serving aunt finally added half a scoop more, and only after Chen Guiliang left satisfied did she curse under her breath, "Beggar, you'll starve to death one day!"
The aunt next to her said, "Why are you arguing with him? He's already on probation."
"Someone like him should be expelled, he doesn't act like a student at all!" The serving aunt did not believe she was at fault.
Chen Guiliang didn't know he had been cursed; he was hunched over the dining table, wolfing down his food, this young body seemingly never full.
After lunch, he continued writing his manuscript.
In the afternoon, the English exam began, and Chen Guiliang felt pretty good; at least he didn't have the same feeling of powerlessness as during the math exam.
"Chen Daxia, let's go to the internet cafe together!"
As he left the exam room, Xie Yang called out to him.
Chen Guiliang chuckled, "I ate a lot today, I can easily take a pound of shit."
Only then did Xie Yang remember the vow of "taking a pound of shit after going online once"; he stood there for a long time with a pained expression, saying dejectedly, "Never mind, never mind, we'll go after the college entrance exam. My Warcraft 3 helmet, it's going to depreciate soon."
Then, he quickly went to eat and returned to the dorm to read a novel.
People always need a catalyst to grow.
Xie Yang, in Chen Guiliang's memory, barely managed to get into a second-tier university. He didn't know what happened to him, but he suddenly matured during his freshman year.
He stopped playing games, stopped reading novels, and studied while working part-time.
Xie Yang earned all his living expenses from sophomore to senior year and even got into a 985 university for postgraduate studies. Later, he passed the civil service exam, and through his own efforts and his brother's help, he had been promoted to county magistrate by the time he was 40.
That evening, Chen Guiliang finished writing all four manuscripts.
The next day was a day off, making space for the junior students' midterm exams, while the third-year teachers were busy grading papers.
Chen Guiliang walked for twenty minutes to the post office near the school.
He bought four envelopes, put the manuscripts and the submission page inside, and sent them by registered mail to the "Sprouting" editorial department. Actually, one envelope would have been enough, but he deliberately sent several envelopes to increase the chances of his initial submission being approved.
Then he went to the bank to check his bank account, which still had 52.68 yuan remaining.
At that time, whether it was an interbank transaction or not, withdrawing money from a different location required a handling fee, and the proportion charged was quite high.
But there were ways to circumvent it, such as both the depositing and withdrawing parties sharing one account.
That is, Chen Guiliang's parents would deposit money with their bank card in another city. Chen Guiliang would then use a secondary card or passbook to withdraw money at the relevant bank in the account's opening location, and no handling fee would be charged.
Conversely, if Chen Guiliang deposited money into the account, his parents would have to pay a handling fee to withdraw it in another city.
Chen Guiliang pressed the ATM's withdrawal button and took out 50 yuan.
This much money wasn't enough to spend, Chen Guiliang pondered how to earn some more.
At this time, China was full of business opportunities, but none of them concerned a left-behind child. To make money, one either needed startup capital or relied on connections.
Chen Guiliang had nothing!
Writing articles and submitting them?
He could try, but it was too slow to earn money unless it became a bestseller after publication.
Chen Guiliang's mind was full of wild thoughts, and he muddled through his day off, still having to attend evening self-study.
He followed his roommates to the classroom, which was noisy and lively. But there were also many students who ignored the commotion, silently sitting at their desks, reading books and practicing problems.
Chen Guiliang was in the liberal arts experimental class.
Though it was called an experimental class, some students got in through connections.
Chen Guiliang walked to the back row from memory, where there were only three seats, the thrones of the “Three Phantoms.”
Besides Chen Guiliang, the other two “Three Phantoms” were all connected individuals.
Originally, there were “Four Heavenly Kings,” but one transferred out in senior year, returning to their so-called household registration location. Hehe, a college entrance exam immigrant.
“You're here?”
His deskmate, Guan Zhiqiang, shifted his butt, his eyes still glued to a novel.
Chen Guiliang smiled and said, “You're early.”
Guan Zhiqiang's grades were at the bottom of the entire grade. His appearance was also hard to describe; at first glance, he looked quite idiotic.
This guy was always reading novels in class, giggling to himself as he read, sometimes even drooling.
Chen Guiliang always thought Guan Zhiqiang would, at most, be able to attend a vocational college.
He had no idea that Guan Zhiqiang would suddenly become an art student, secretly getting into a certain art academy. After graduation, he even stayed on as a school counselor and later became an administrative leader at the art academy.
Having connections at home truly made a difference; from high school to university and then graduation, he could always coast by as a connected individual.
With Guan Zhiqiang's painting skills, he could draw a turtle and it would look like a crab. God knows how he passed the art exam.
The last remaining member of the class's Three Phantoms was that scoundrel, Li Jun.
Li Jun walked into the classroom with his hands in his pockets, a gleaming MP3 hanging on his chest, and strode proudly to his seat.
“Guan Zhiqiang!” Li Jun shouted loudly.
Guan Zhiqiang wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and slowly turned his head to look.
Li Jun showed off triumphantly, “I called you to play mahjong, but you didn't come, and I won over three hundred today.”
“Ho ho.” Guan Zhiqiang replied with a silly grin.
He only looked silly, he wasn't actually silly, so he would never play mahjong with Li Jun. He had played a few times before, and Li Jun always ganged up to win his money.
Chen Guiliang couldn't be bothered with these two good-for-nothings; he was currently flipping through his math textbook.
Some content he could understand, but some required reviewing first and second-year high school knowledge.
After an unknown period, the classroom quickly fell silent.
Their homeroom teacher, Liu Shuying, arrived, followed by a tall girl.
Chen Guiliang was familiarizing himself with the textbook when Guan Zhiqiang jabbed his arm, excitedly whispering like a Pervert, “Look, look, there's a beauty!”
Everyone's attention in the class was focused on the girl.
Especially the male students.
Guan Zhiqiang whispered, “She's definitely the campus belle!”
Chen Guiliang glanced at her and said indifferently, “A-cup.”
“What?” Guan Zhiqiang didn't understand.
Chen Guiliang added, “Can't play.”
The “A-cup” meme didn't exist yet, and with Guan Zhiqiang's touching intelligence, it would probably be difficult for him to grasp its meaning on his own.
The quiet classroom once again filled with murmurs, as everyone quietly discussed the beauty.
“Clap, clap!”
Their homeroom teacher, Liu Shuying, clapped twice: “Quiet! The midterm exam results are out. Some students have made great progress, while others don't know what they're doing…”
Li Jun, who had been extremely excited, instantly shut his mouth and stopped talking when he heard that the exam results were out.
