134. Checking the Scores

"Yan, Wen, could you two please hurry up?"

Ma Yunan, wearing a crossbody bag, paced back and forth in the second-floor hallway as if his feet were nailed to the floor. Every minute, he would urge the occupants of the half-open room.

By the time he had lost count of how many times he had pleaded, Chen Ruowen and Bai Jinyan finally emerged, one after the other, moving at a leisurely pace.

"Finally! Why are you two so slow?" Ma Yunan’s eyes widened in shock as he pointed at the massive suitcase Bai Jinyan was dragging and the bulging duffel bag slung over his back. "Aren't we only going away for two days? Did you pack for a month?"

"What's it to you? You were so noisy with your nagging that I didn't even get to pack half the things I wanted." Chen Ruowen rolled her eyes at him and headed down the stairs empty-handed.

"Yan, this is..." The self-appointed porter, Bai Jinyan, sighed. "This is actually considered light packing..."

The Chen family helicopter was waiting on the open ground outside the small villa. Master Cui helped Chen Ruowen board, then took the luggage from Bai Jinyan, struggling slightly as he hauled the heavy case inside.

Once airborne, Ma Yunan looked around with wide-eyed wonder, his excitement palpable. "This is my first time in a helicopter. Wen, is it any different from a regular plane?"

"Helicopters have more space."

"Helicopters are bigger?" Ma Yunan asked, confused.

Chen Ruowen replied matter-of-factly, "Helicopters are my turf. On commercial flights, you're stuck in a tiny seat. Of course, my family's private jets don't count, but unfortunately, Rainbow Village doesn't have a runway long enough for those."

There was no responding to that.

Ma Yunan looked out the window and sighed again. "But I still don't get it. Village Chief Ge said there’s an internet cafe in the town thirty kilometers away. Why do we have to go all the way to downtown Qiancheng?"

"There are no hotels in that town," Chen Ruowen said flatly before putting on an eye mask and leaning back to sleep.

No hotels in town? Are there actually villages or towns left without hotels?

Seeing that Chen Ruowen was not in the mood for conversation, Ma Yunan looked at Bai Jinyan, who had just finished helping Master Cui organize the luggage. Bai Jinyan could only shake his head helplessly.

You cannot interpret Chen Ruowen’s words using ordinary logic. When she said there were no hotels, she meant there were no hotels she would consider staying in. In her view, anything below five stars didn't qualify as a hotel, so naturally, she couldn't stay there.

The reason for their trip was, of course, the aftermath of the college entrance exams. According to the Ministry of Education’s announcement, scores would be released at 8:00 AM, and the application system would open the following day. Chen Ruowen, Wu Jie, and Mo Xiaoxin had already been admitted to Nan University early, so they didn't need to check their scores or fill out applications, but Bai Jinyan and Ma Yunan, the actual candidates, certainly did.

Chen Ruowen insisted on accompanying Bai Jinyan, so Wu Jie and Mo Xiaoxin took over their duties for the two days, and the remaining three slipped away according to Chen Ruowen's plan.

Chen Ruowen had been quite happy when planning the trip, but she became grumpy again when Bai Jinyan kept stopping her from packing certain items.

The straight-line distance from Rainbow Village to downtown Qiancheng was only about a hundred kilometers, and they arrived in half an hour. After landing in the suburbs, they switched to a car and headed straight for the city’s finest five-star hotel.

"Hurry, hurry! Everyone else has already seen their scores. We're already over an hour behind!"

"What’s the rush? Your score won't change whether you check it now or later," Chen Ruowen retorted, lacking even a shred of empathy.

Ma Yunan was speechless. "Look, Wen, it was Yan who annoyed you. Why are you lashing out at me instead of him?"

"Because you’re the one who kept nagging outside."

Ma Yunan looked at Bai Jinyan. "Yan, are you really just going to stand there and watch her attack the heavens, the earth, and the very air?"

Bai Jinyan reached out to ruffle Chen Ruowen’s hair and, to Ma Yunan's disbelief, nodded. "Wenwen is right. Whether early or late, the scores remain the same."

Ma Yunan gave him a silent thumbs-down. "You really have no integrity."

Chen Ruowen’s mood suddenly lifted. She hooked her arm through Bai Jinyan’s and led the way toward the hotel's VIP lounge, beaming. "Come on, let’s go check your scores!"

Ma Yunan was left trailing behind, taking a full ten seconds to process this. "Wait for me!" he shouted, rushing after them and turning his thumbs-down back into a thumbs-up. "Yan, 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao'—brilliant strategy!"

...

In front of the computers in the lounge, Bai Jinyan and Ma Yunan logged into the score-checking portal. Chen Ruowen sat next to Bai Jinyan, gripping his arm tightly.

Bai Jinyan entered his account and password, clicked login, and patted the back of Chen Ruowen's hand. "Don't be nervous."

"...I'm not nervous. You’re the one who should stop being nervous."

Bai Jinyan smiled, choosing not to call her bluff. The page refreshed quickly.

Chinese: 134, Math: 146, English: 138, Science: 270.
Total: 688.

Bai Jinyan let out a long breath of relief. Chen Ruowen, still clutching his arm, asked nervously, "Is it safe?"

Bai Jinyan paused for a second, looking stunned.

Chen Ruowen grew even more anxious. "Is that score not safe?"

Realizing his reaction, Bai Jinyan nodded awkwardly. "Don't worry, it's safe... the score is enough."

"Good." Chen Ruowen let out a sigh of relief and gave him a playful pinch. "Why did you make that face? Trying to scare me on purpose?"

Bai Jinyan rubbed his nose and didn't explain.

With his score settled, Chen Ruowen finally had the leisure to look at Ma Yunan. That guy was staring intently at his computer screen, his finger hovering over the Enter key.

They looked at Ma Yunan’s screen; it was still on the login page. He was one click away from the results, but his index finger trembled for a long time, unable to press down.

"Ma Yunan, weren't you just shouting about wanting to check your scores quickly?" Chen Ruowen asked, puzzled.

"I... I’m a little afraid to look..." Ma Yunan’s courage seemed to have shrunk to the size of a pea. "Now that I think about it, I think I went off-topic on my essay. I might have gotten a zero. I didn't answer the last two parts of the final math problem, and I misspelled two words in the English cloze test..."

"...And?" Chen Ruowen prompted.

"Wen, you don't know this, but I've dreamed of getting into Nan University since forever, but I only really started working for it in my second year. I'm terrified my score won't be enough."

"And if it’s not enough? Are you planning to go to another school?"

Ma Yunan’s eyes wandered for a moment before hardening with resolve. "If I don't get in, I'll repeat the year! I'll study even harder in my fourth year, grinding through practice problems until three in the morning! I have to get into Nan University! If my family doesn't let me repeat, I'll jump off a building!"

Chen Ruowen looked at Bai Jinyan and whispered, "What’s the usual cutoff for Nan University?"

Bai Jinyan thought for a moment. "The cutoff for the top four universities is always stable. For local candidates, it's usually 100 points above the first-tier line. This year, the science cutoff is expected to be around 650."

"That high?" Chen Ruowen exclaimed, then turned back to Ma Yunan. "Well, I think you scored at least 660. Stop waiting; check it. Waiting won't change the result."

Seeing Ma Yunan still looking cowardly, Chen Ruowen took matters into her own hands, grabbed his mouse, and clicked the login button.

"No, wait, Wen, let me prepare myself mentally... ah..."

Ma Yunan’s eyes went wide. The page refreshed, and all three pairs of eyes skipped the subject scores, focusing directly on the last line.

Total: 661.

Exactly one point higher than 660.

Ma Yunan turned his head like a wooden doll. "Wen, are you absolutely sure you’ve never practiced the art of prophecy?"