In their hometown, Li Heng and Xia Qin were tending to the vegetable garden when they heard that Li Yuan had scored 603. The wrinkles on their faces smoothed out considerably.
"Xia Qin, ask Yuan what major he's planning to apply for," his father, Li Heng, prompted.
Xia Qin retorted, "He's your son, why don't you ask him yourself? Here, take the phone."
Li Heng took the phone, his voice deep. "Yuan, now that the college entrance exam results are out, what major are you planning to apply for?"
"Dad, I haven't decided yet. I'll wait and see."
"With 603 points, you might be able to get into Huizhou Medical University. I heard from your uncle that studying medicine is a good path. It's a stable future, the pay is high, and it's something to be proud of."
"Dad, I don't want to study medicine. You don't need to worry about it. I have my own plans," Li Yuan replied. There was no way he would opt for medicine.
Although there's a joke online that goes, "Advise someone to study medicine, and you'll be struck by lightning. Advise them to study law, and you'll face death by a thousand cuts." In reality, both fields were quite good; they were just difficult and very time-consuming.
He'd already been reborn, so why would he go looking for trouble by studying medicine? He wasn't a glutton for punishment.
"Alright then, you figure it out yourself. Choose your major carefully. Your mom and I don't know much about these things, so you should ask your teachers and classmates for advice."
"Okay, I understand, Dad. I have other things to do, so I'll hang up now."
Li Heng looked at Xia Qin. "Yuan's scores are out. I'm thinking of going back to the Northeast early to earn more money. Will you continue staying here at home?"
Xia Qin frowned in silence. She also wanted to stay home a bit longer, but with Li Yuan about to enter university and Li Zixia about to enter high school, the expenses would be huge. Their combined annual income might not even be enough to cover everything. Besides, staying at home with nothing to do made her feel restless.
"Then let's go back for now. We can come back just before school starts to throw a celebration for Yuan's university acceptance."
"Yes, let's do that. We'll leave in a couple of days, after Yuan gets back from the city."
Just as Li Yuan hung up, another call came in.
Looking at the phone number, he was slightly startled, feeling a mix of confusion and surprise.
He was tempted to hang up, but after a moment's consideration of his 'fish farming' and 'first blood' plans, he decided to answer.
A pleasant, crisp, and familiar voice came through the phone.
"Li Yuan, how have you been recently?" Bai Weixi's voice sounded a bit nervous and shy.
Li Yuan was baffled. "How have I been? The same as always."
Bai Weixi asked gently, "The college entrance exam results are out. How did you do?"
Li Yuan feigned anger and sneered, "What's it to you? Why should I tell you?"
Having mustered up all her courage to call Li Yuan, Bai Weixi felt her heart ache at his harsh tone. Thinking about how they hadn't had any contact for over a week, she couldn't help but demand, "Li Yuan, what did I do wrong for you to treat me this way? You don't reply to my texts or my QQ messages."
Li Yuan said gruffly, "What are you to me? Why should I reply to your messages? That's ridiculous."
Bai Weixi, who was always so graceful and composed, completely broke down. "Li Yuan, you're treating me like this just because I rejected you? Can't love stand a simple test? You've really disappointed me."
With that, furious, Bai Weixi abruptly hung up the phone.
In her bedroom, tears streamed involuntarily down Bai Weixi's face. She gazed into the distance, unable to understand why her heart ached so much after Li Yuan's cold response.
Could it be that I like him too? No, that's not it. I just don't want to lose such a good friend. It's been three years. I've gotten used to having him around. Why did everything suddenly change? Is defining the relationship really that important? I even let him hold my hand. He's so infuriating! I never want to speak to him again.
Bai Weixi glanced at the score report on her computer screen: Chinese 128, Mathematics 126, English 142, Science Comprehensive 246, for a total of 642 points.
The results were better than she had expected, and a large part of that was thanks to Li Yuan. Her math and physics had never been very good, but Li Yuan had spent a lot of time every day tutoring her, helping her slowly improve.
She had called him not only to mend their relationship but also to share her joyful news. Who knew this would be the response she received…
Li Yuan, if only you had kept treating me the way you used to… it would have been so nice to still have you as my dear older brother. Why did you change into a completely different person after I turned you down? It's not like I rejected you outright! If you had just tried a little harder, I might have chosen you.
Li Yuan hung up the phone, feeling irritable. He had intended to say something nice, to engage in some reverse fish farming. But whenever Bai Weixi was involved, he couldn't stop himself from getting angry, completely lacking the self-control of the 'middle-aged' man he was inside.
After what I said, she should be completely done with me and give up on this 'fish,' right? That's for the best. A clean break means a new life. Once I'm in university, will I be short on pretty girlfriends? There will be tons of them chasing after me!
Li Yuan pondered which major to choose and which university to attend. His score was in an awkward range—in the upper-middle tier, not high enough for a 985 university but just enough to touch the threshold of a 211 university.
However, since the application system at this time wasn't the 'parallel application' model, there was a high risk of being passed over. Choosing a school and major required careful consideration, and luck played a significant part. In his past life, he had attended Modu University of Technology, an ordinary first-tier university.
Suddenly, he recalled an interesting fact. He remembered that in the years around 2008, the college entrance admissions often saw major upsets. In some provinces, students who had barely passed the cut-off for first-tier universities could 'luck into' prestigious schools like Peking University, SJTU, and USTC.
If I remember correctly, there's a 985 university in Modu this year with a very low score requirement in Hui Province. There was a lucky guy in the class next door, Class 23, who got into a 985 university that normally required a score of 630 or 640 with just over 580 points… I can definitely snatch that spot. Reborn in 2008: Snagging a 985 with a Tier-2 Score.
Li Yuan's mind started racing. He only remembered this piece of information because of Bai Weixi. The university she had applied to was the very one where that lucky student had slipped in. And Bai Weixi herself had scored over 640, a full 60 points higher than that fortunate student.
Heh heh, since I've been reborn, I'm the one who's going to seize that opportunity.
The next afternoon, Li Yuan, dressed in brand-name sportswear and his newly bought basketball shoes, rode his bike to school.
Before he even walked through the door, he could hear his classmates chattering loudly inside.
Li Zhenqiang said, "Wang Shuai, Dazhi, you guys are something else, even wearing the same basketball shoes."
Wang Shuai chuckled. "How about it? Cool, right? They're Kobe's signature shoes."
"Nike's Kobe signature shoes? Are they real? A pair must cost over a thousand. Let me see… whoa, they really are the Kobe IVs!"
Xu Zhi, who was in a good mood after scoring over 560 and nearly reaching the first-tier cut-off, grinned. "Little Li, do you know who bought these for us?"
Curious, Li Zhenqiang asked, "What, someone gifted them to you? Who's so generous? That's several thousand yuan right there."
The other boys in the class crowded over, also curious. A pair of basketball shoes costing over a thousand was equivalent to two months of their living expenses. With Xu Zhi, Zhang Zhongding, Wang Shuai, Yang Zhen, and Ge Chaoyou each getting a pair, the total came to five or six thousand.
"Come on, who gave them to you?"
"I just looked it up online. These shoes are 998 yuan on the official site. They're so freaking expensive, I couldn't even dream of affording them."
"Well, I'm different. I at least dare to dream about it."
Wang Shuai struck a pose, blew on his non-mainstream long hair, and was just about to speak. "It was Li…"
Li Yuan quickly coughed and clapped a hand on Wang Shuai's shoulder. "Ahem. Wang Shuai, watch what you say."
Wang Shuai turned to see Li Yuan and broke into a grin. "Heh heh, right, keep it low-key. I get it, Yuan."
Spotting that Li Yuan was also wearing the same basketball shoes, Li Zhenqiang asked in surprise, "Li Yuan, you've got the Kobe IVs too? Were they a gift as well?"
Li Yuan raised an eyebrow and replied vaguely, "Yeah, sort of. I helped an old lady cross the street, and she thought I was so kind-hearted that she insisted on giving me a few pairs of shoes."
Wang Yuchen suddenly spoke up, "Heh. What a player. A man's words are nothing but lies."