At 9 a.m. the next morning, Tong Yang insisted on going home.
Yang Lin’s father tried to dissuade her but to no avail, so he personally drove them to the Dongyang neighborhood.
“Tong Yang, if you’re feeling unwell in any way, make sure to contact us immediately,” Yang Lin’s father urged with concern. He glanced at Tong Le, who was trailing behind her, “As for Lele’s situation, think it over carefully. We’ll help however we can.”
“Thank you. Please drive safely on your way back.”
After watching Uncle Yang leave, Tong Yang closed the door and turned to see Tong Le standing in the living room with reddened eyes, his face filled with confusion and worry.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Tong Yang said casually before heading to her bedroom to grab some clean clothes and going into the bathroom.
The request she made to Yang Lin’s parents yesterday hadn’t received an immediate answer. They wanted Tong Yang to think it over before contacting them again. They probably noticed Tong Le’s reluctance and weren’t unwilling to help but wanted to give it more thought.
Tong Yang and Tong Le didn’t bring up the matter again afterward, and they spent a peaceful night together. However, ever since she raised the issue, Tong Le had been following her everywhere, as if he couldn’t be at ease unless he was close to her.
Tong Yang wasn’t very good with words, and to be honest, she wasn’t sure how to explain this matter to Tong Le. But she also knew that the dangers ahead were unpredictable, and if Tong Le followed her, they would face even greater risks than in the old neighborhood, where danger could lurk anywhere. She couldn’t keep him tied to her side all the time, so it was better to have him stay away from it all.
What she told Yang Lin’s parents yesterday was well thought out.
But how should she tell him about the parallel world?
After finishing her shower, Tong Yang opened the door and saw Tong Le crouching outside, watching her cautiously.
“Sis.”
Tong Yang frowned, “What are you doing here?”
Tong Le lowered his head, nervously fidgeting with his fingers, “I-I was waiting for you to come out.”
Tong Yang’s frown deepened. “Alright, have you done your homework yet? Go to your room and do it. I need to go out for a bit.”
“Where are you going? I want to go too!”
Tong Le jumped to his feet, instinctively grabbing her hand, afraid she would leave him behind.
“I lost my phone, so I need to go out and get a new SIM card. I’ll be back before noon,” Tong Yang softened her tone.
“What do you want to eat? I’ll bring it back for you.”
“I want to go with you. Please, take me with you, Sis…” Tong Le pouted, his eyes welling up with tears as he pleaded.
“Not this time. Be good, I’ll be back by noon.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm.”
After quickly drying her hair, Tong Yang took her ID and headed to a nearby store to replace her phone’s SIM card. She didn’t go straight home afterward but went to the mall and bought a smartwatch.
When she got home around eleven, the sound of clattering in the kitchen caught her attention.
“Tong Le?” Tong Yang called out in surprise, setting her things down as she walked toward the kitchen. There, she saw Tong Le chopping carrots, with a pot of water boiling beside him.
“Sis, you’re back? You must be tired. I’m making lunch for you.” Tong Le smiled at her. “I’ll get better at it and won’t cause you too much trouble.”
Tong Yang stared at him, momentarily speechless, her lips parting slightly as if she wanted to say something but stopped.
“Go rest. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
Silently, Tong Yang turned and went back to her room.
During lunch, Tong Le asked expectantly, “Sis, how does it taste?”
Tong Yang nodded, “Mm, it’s good.”
After a pause, Tong Yang asked, “But can I…”
“I’ll take care of myself from now on. You can focus on your studies, Sis. I’ll handle everything else. Please, don’t leave me behind, okay?”
Tong Yang was quiet for a moment before saying, “Tong Le, I’m not abandoning you. It’s just that you’ll be safer here. When things get better, I’ll come for you right away. It won’t be long.”
“When? When will things get better? When are you planning to come get me?” Tong Le’s gaze was fixed on her, his eyes brimming with tears.
“I don’t want to live with anyone else, I don’t want to be apart from you. I can earn money, and I can take care of you. Didn’t you say you’d take me to college with you? I can live in the dorms too, and if you don’t want to see me on the weekends, I’ll just stay at school. I won’t cause you any trouble. I just want to stay with you!”
Tong Yang found herself at a loss for words. “I’ll visit often and call you. But you’re only in fourth grade. If you leave here, you’ll have to adapt to a new environment. You’d leave your school, your classmates, and maybe you wouldn’t be able to see Linlin again. Could you bear that? Maybe when you’re in middle school and things are more stable, I can come get you…”
She wasn’t sure how to tell him that the main reason for leaving him behind was because bringing him along would expose him to unpredictable dangers.
“I can handle it!” Tong Le cried, tears streaming down his face. “Sis, do you think I can’t bear to leave them, or do you think I can’t bear to leave you?”
“Lele…” Tong Yang frowned and called his name.
Tong Le’s expression was stubborn. Seeing that Tong Yang remained unmoved, he threw down his chopsticks and ran into his room, slamming the door shut behind him with a loud “bang.”
Tong Yang furrowed her brows. Tong Le rarely threw tantrums, the last time being when he refused to go to the hospital when he was sick.
What should she do?
She didn’t want to go through another situation like yesterday. But if Tong Le didn’t accept it and stayed here, the situation might still escalate, and she wouldn’t know what to do.
But if they left together, they wouldn’t even have a stable place to stay, other than school.
What if she lost Tong Le? How would she find him?
Tong Le stayed in his room for the rest of the day. In the evening, when Tong Yang called him to eat, he ignored her, determined to starve himself if she didn’t give in.
Tong Yang brought the food to his door and said, “Even if you’re angry, you still have to eat.”
There was no response from inside. Tong Yang knocked softly on the door and said, “I’ll count to three. Come out and take the food back to your room to eat. One, two…”
Before she could finish counting to two, the door opened, and a pair of hands took the bowl from her, and with another “bang,” the door shut again.
Tong Yang couldn’t help but smile. Still angry but obedient?
She figured he’d stay holed up for another night, which gave her some time to think about how to explain things to him tomorrow. Tong Yang went back to her room to read.
Not long after, she heard the sound of water running in the kitchen. Tong Le had probably finished eating and was washing the dishes.
Tong Yang breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing him return to his room and shut the door, she set down her book and picked up her phone, lying down on the bed.
After logging into her social media account and seeing a flood of messages, most asking about what happened yesterday and how she was doing, Tong Yang didn’t respond. She went straight to the “Melon Eating Netizen 007” chat group.
The last conversation had stopped six hours ago, with messages like:
[Is Tong Jie okay?]
[Looks like the news changed again. Tong Jie and her classmate saved four students.]
[@XuexiShiWeileGaoQian What’s going on? Are you alright? Feeling okay?]
[It’s strange that Tong Jie hasn’t been around.]
Tong Yang scrolled further, finding a message from around 7:30 p.m. yesterday.
[What’s going on? It’s only 6:30 in the morning.]
Seeing this message, Tong Yang’s breathing became heavier.
It showed the received time as 7:37 p.m., but she distinctly remembered seeing it last night. Yet, the sender claimed it was morning at their end.
When she saw that message yesterday, she had sensed something odd but didn’t have time to dwell on it due to the emergency at hand, so she didn’t question it further.
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [What time is it over there now?]
Tong Yang waited for several minutes but received no reply, so she exited the chat.
In her message list, she saw that the “1209 Secret Event Hall” group had been discussing this issue recently. Most had already figured it had something to do with the parallel world, and even Chu Shiyu had responded. Tong Yang didn’t feel the need to add anything further.
After replying to a few other inquiries briefly, half an hour had passed, and still no reply came from the Melon Eating group.
Tong Yang sighed, then thought again about how to handle Tong Le. What should she do in the future? Although she could use the time loop to change the future, what if something happened to Tong Le again? Even the time loop wouldn’t be able to save him.
At that thought, Tong Yang suddenly froze.
If she left Tong Le in the old neighborhood and something happened to him again, no matter how many times she looped, she wouldn’t be able to reach him in ten minutes. And she wouldn’t be able to use Chu Shiyu like she had yesterday to achieve her goal. What would she do then?
Perhaps leaving him in the old neighborhood was safer than taking him with her, but it definitely wasn’t foolproof.
It was nearing ten p.m., and Tong Yang turned off her room’s light. Still, there was no reply from the group.
After pondering for a while, she realized that the only way to ensure absolute safety was to eliminate all the people from the parallel world.
“Ding-dong—”
“Ding-dong—”
At 10:09 p.m., a flurry of messages came through the group.
Lying in bed, Tong Yang turned over and picked up her phone, opening the social app.
[It’s 8:51 a.m., what’s wrong?]
[So tired, I don’t want to go to class.]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [It’s 10:09 p.m. where I am.]
[???]
[Huh???]
[Wait, it’s nighttime over there? You must still be half-asleep, right? I wish it were nighttime here too.]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [What date is it for you?]
[June 22nd.]
[Why?]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [It’s June 23rd night for me.]
[Well, we’re not in the same time zone. What’s the big deal?]
[By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask about your brother.]
Tong Yang sighed and replied: [Didn’t we have the same time zone just a few days ago? Now I’m almost two days ahead of you. It doesn’t make sense.]
[Hmm, you’re right. But if entire worlds can cross over, what’s a day or two?]
[True.]
[I’ve totally accepted this whole multiverse thing by now.]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [It means my time is flowing differently than yours.]
[And?]
[Sis, you know we’re not too bright. Just spell it out.]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [Yesterday, I met the “Tong Yang” from the parallel world. She told me that our world wasn’t the first one they discovered. Long before they found us, they had already been discovered.]
[???]
[Holy crap!]
[What?! Keep talking, what’s going on?]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [When they were discovered, it was already too late. By then, 30% of their population had been replaced, and the two worlds clashed. Their society completely collapsed, and a lot of people died. Everyone who survived had killed many people. Resources shrank drastically and were concentrated in the hands of the upper class. Now, they plan to invade our world, just like how they were invaded by another parallel world.]
[Yikes… it really is a multiverse situation.]
[Oh man! Does that mean there are a lot of replaced people around us too? Will we end up like them?]
[Don’t scare me like that!]
[So, what do we do? Things are getting more and more complicated.]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [She said our world is experiencing a time dislocation, and I’m one of them. That means the other part is you guys. Originally, we were two years apart, but now that gap has shortened.]
Tong Yang didn’t mention the existence of the time loop or anchor points. The “Tong Yang” from the parallel world speculated that she was a “time anchor” and, due to the time dislocation, could enter a loop. But whether that was true was still uncertain. The cause of the time dislocation was also unclear, and Tong Yang needed to gather more information.
So her plan hadn’t changed. Perhaps the people “Tong Yang” mentioned knew more about anchor points and the time loop.
However, more than that, Tong Yang now wanted to know: if their time was displaced through the Melon Eating group, was it just a coincidence, or was someone deliberately orchestrating it?
What would happen if the time difference disappeared completely one day?
[Ahhh, my brain is going to explode! I’m actually starting to understand!]
[You know us well—college students with barely any brainpower left!]
[What exactly is time dislocation anyway? What’s going on?!]
[If we don’t stop this, will our world end up just like the parallel one?]
[I think I get it. The Melon Eating group is the medium for the time dislocation. Maybe someone is deliberately gathering us here, hoping to use the two-year information gap to change the future where the parallel world takes over?]
Tong Yang pondered for a moment. It didn’t seem impossible.
If people from the parallel world could break through the barrier between worlds, then maybe people from the future could break through the time barrier to send information to the past. And maybe Tong Yang was that so-called “anchor point.”
If that were true, why choose her? In the original timeline, she should’ve died on May 28th.
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [Where’s the group admin?]
[The admin? He’s never spoken in the group.]
[Right! I’ve never seen him talk.]
[I bet the admin knows something.]
Tong Yang checked the group member list. The admin’s nickname was a small pink flower, and their profile picture was also a pink flower. When she clicked into their profile, the gender was listed as male, and the age was set to 120—clearly a random input. There was no last active time, which meant the admin hadn’t posted anything since Tong Yang joined the group.
Who was he? What did he know about time dislocation?
Or perhaps, which world and time was he from?
[@Flower Admin, come out!]
[@Flower Save the World Mission]
[@Flower Bro, don’t play dead. Tell us what’s going on!]
[@Flower Just say it straight!]
Naturally, no matter how much they tagged him, there was no response.
Tong Yang wasn’t surprised. If the admin wanted to be upfront with them, he would’ve spoken up by now.
[Um…so…what I’m about to say, don’t freak out.]
[???]
[(Leaning in to listen)]
[Tell us! I’ve already accepted the multiverse theory, what else is there to fear?]
[Go to the group info, scroll all the way to the bottom, and click on the group’s creation date. You’ll see two options: group creation date and group creation days.]
Tong Yang followed the steps, clicked on the group creation days, but the system showed an error and bounced her back to the creation date.
Her current timeline group chat hadn’t been created yet, so it wasn’t surprising she couldn’t see the number of days.
When she returned to the group chat, the conversation had already been flooded with question marks.
[???]
[What???]
[How many days???]
[Did I see that right???]
[Holy crap! This is terrifying!]
[What the heck is going on?!]
[This is getting scarier and scarier!]
Tong Yang asked them what they had seen.
[The group’s been active for over 3,600 days!]
[The group’s been around for at least ten years?!]
[No way! The timeline is in 2036?!]
[Mom, help! What’s happening?!]
[I can’t take it anymore, I want to leave the group! Even if I have to pay, I’m out!]
Tong Yang stared at the messages, dazed, before replying: [So, it means someone from 2036 gathered us into this group.]
[Ahhh, just tell us what you want! I’ll help you, okay?]
[What exactly do they want from us?!]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [Everyone, calm down. Even though we don’t know the reason, it doesn’t seem like they have any ill intentions. Maybe it’s just like you guessed—they’re trying to use the time gap to change the future.]
[But we don’t know what happens after 2026.]
[Tong Jie, you’re the only one who can truly change history. All we can do is give you information.]
[I feel like calling the police right now!]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [In any case, let’s stick to the original plan. If I find out anything else, I’ll let you know.]
Hearing footsteps outside her door, Tong Yang quickly ended the chat, set her phone to silent, and closed her eyes.
The footsteps stopped outside her door, and after half a minute, there was a soft “click” as the door was unlocked from the outside.
In the darkness, Tong Yang held her breath, sensing that the person’s steps were light as they approached her bed.
Tong Yang lay with her back to the intruder, listening to the sound of quiet sobbing. Then, a small hand lifted her blanket and crawled in beside her, pressing a wet cheek against her back. The little body trembled slightly as it hugged her waist.
“Sis… I’m sorry…”
“I’ll never go with anyone else again… I’ll never make you worry again…”
“Please don’t leave me with anyone else… I’ll be good… I won’t be any trouble…”
“I’m begging you…”
Tong Yang’s body stiffened for a moment before she couldn’t hold back anymore. She turned around and wiped his face. “Why are you crying?”
Tong Le sobbed uncontrollably, his body shaking. “Don’t leave me…”
Tong Yang rubbed his head, saying softly, “I told you, I’m not leaving you.”
“Wherever you are, I want to be there too! I don’t care… I just want to be with you…”
“If you won’t let me come with you, I’ll earn my own money and secretly go find you!”
“You don’t even have an ID card. How would you find me?”
“I’ll walk there! Crawl there! No matter where you go, I’ll find you!”
Having been each other’s only family for so long, the two of them had never been apart.
The longest separation was probably when Tong Le stayed at his school for five days.
Tong Yang had thought before that Tong Le was smart enough to support himself by finding ways to earn money during his free time. Even if she really did die on May 18th, he’d be strong enough to survive.
But now, it seemed that might not be the case.
He cried and fussed just because she was planning to leave him in the old neighborhood temporarily. If she really did die, who knew what would become of him?
Tong Yang sighed, gently patting his back. “Don’t you have any questions for me?”
Tong Le stopped sobbing, lifting his tear-filled eyes. “Sis, what do you mean?”
“You saw someone who looked exactly like me, didn’t you?”
Tong Le wiped his tears, “C-can you tell me?”
“Mm, I can tell you a little.”
“A lot has happened lately. For example, what happened to Yang Lin last night. If I take you with me, we’ll probably encounter similar situations in the future. You’re still young and can’t protect yourself, and I won’t be able to shield you from everything. I don’t want you to go through such terrifying experiences.”
“I can protect myself! I’m not scared,” Tong Le insisted.
“You say you’re not scared now, but when it really happens, it’s a different story.”
Tong Yang continued, “I’m not abandoning you. I just need some time to figure out the source of all this and put an end to it. That way, you won’t have to face anything like this again. It’s likely they’ll target me specifically, which is why I think it’s safer for us to be apart.”
“Plus, Yang Lin’s parents are good people. I saved Yang Lin, so they’ll take good care of you. I’ll stay in touch with you, and when I have time, I’ll come back to visit you. I’ll even ask the police to keep an eye on you.”
Tong Le nervously gripped her shirt, “Sis, are you going to be in a lot of danger?”
“Yes, that’s why I can’t…”
“No! That means I have to stay by your side even more! Even though I’m still young, I can protect you!”
Tong Yang: “…”
“How could you protect me? You can’t even beat the kids your age.”
“T-that’s because they outnumbered me! Even if I can’t win, I can hold off the bad guys long enough for you to escape.”
“Then you’d die.”
Tong Le sat up, determined, “Sis, I’m not afraid to die. I’m not scared of danger.”
“You might not be afraid, but I don’t want to drag you into this.”
Although that might be unavoidable.
And she didn’t want Tong Le to see her killing people.
She hoped Tong Le could be her opposite—sunny, happy, and carefree.
Those things were far too gruesome for him.
Tong Le mumbled gloomily, “I’m really not scared.”
Tong Yang chuckled, “Still, leaving you behind isn’t foolproof. I’ll think about it some more. You should think about it too. Now, go back to bed. I’ll take you to school tomorrow.”
Tong Le rubbed his eyes, “I don’t want to be apart from you, Sis.”
“I know. Go to sleep. I’m not leaving just yet.”
Tong Le wanted to sleep with her, but Tong Yang refused. Grumbling and rubbing his eyes, he finally went back to his own room.
The next day, Monday, Tong Yang took Tong Le to school as usual.
The matter with the homeroom teacher of [Class 6 Grade 4] hadn’t seemed to affect the school much. Tong Yang asked around before leaving, and it turned out the class had been assigned a new, more experienced homeroom teacher.
To ensure student safety and prevent similar incidents, the school implemented a rule that no parents were allowed on school grounds during class hours. Parents had to pick their children up at the school gate after class.
As Tong Yang was leaving, she ran into Yang Lin and his mother.
After two days of rest, Yang Lin looked much better.
“Auntie,” Tong Yang greeted her.
Yang Lin’s mother smiled brightly when she saw her. “Did you come to drop Lele off at school?”
“Yes.”
Yang Lin glanced at her and called out, “Sis.”
“Linlin, you can go inside now.”
“Mom, Sis, I’m going in.” Yang Lin waved to them and headed into the school.
Yang Lin’s mother offered Tong Yang a ride home to the Dongyang neighborhood, and Tong Yang didn’t refuse.
Once in the car, Yang Lin’s mother asked, “Tong Yang, have you thought over what we discussed the other day?”
Tong Yang remained silent for a moment before shaking her head. “Not yet.”
Yang Lin’s mother sighed, “You’ve had it rough, going off to school with no time to take care of your brother. We all like Lele a lot. If he doesn’t mind, we’d be more than happy to help. However, given what’s happened, we’re likely to transfer Linlin to another school next semester, in the capital. His grandmother is a professor at Peking University, so there’s a chance he could attend the affiliated elementary school there.”
After a brief pause, Yang Lin’s mother continued, “Shiyu estimated her score, and it’s likely over 700. Her grandmother wants her to apply to Peking University, but she said she wants to go to college with you.”
Tong Yang looked at her, puzzled, unsure why she was telling her this.
Experimental Elementary School wasn’t far from Dongyang neighborhood, and they arrived at the entrance in no time.
Yang Lin’s mother parked the car by the roadside and turned to her with a gentle expression. “Shiyu told me your grades are even better than hers. You’re definitely going to get into Peking University, so we discussed it and wondered if you wouldn’t mind applying to Peking with Shiyu. You could bring Lele to the capital with you. Lele is very bright, and although it might be tough to get him into Peking’s affiliated elementary school, there are plenty of other good schools in the area. With his grades, I’m sure we can help him get in.”
Tong Yang was stunned. She couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing.
“Are you saying…?”
Yang Lin’s mother smiled, “I’ve been thinking of ways to repay you. You and Lele have done so much for Linlin. I even asked Linlin what he thought. Our idea is that you and Shiyu can apply to Peking University together, and Linlin and Lele can attend school in the capital next semester. My husband and I are planning to move back to Beijing and stay with his grandmother. While you’re at school, Lele can stay with us. We’ll take care of him. As for living expenses, don’t worry. We’ll cover everything. It’s the least we can do to repay you and Lele.”
“Auntie, you don’t have to do so much.” Tong Yang lowered her eyes, feeling conflicted.
To be honest, she was tempted by Yang Lin’s mother’s proposal. She had been worried about moving to an unfamiliar place, where she wouldn’t be able to look after Tong Le. They didn’t even have a stable place to stay, let alone the dangers that might arise in the future. She couldn’t risk Tong Le’s safety.
But Tong Le didn’t want to be separated from her, and she wasn’t eager to be apart from him either.
Yang Lin’s mother’s suggestion perfectly solved her current dilemma. She could take Tong Le with her without worrying about his well-being or putting him in danger.
Yang Lin’s mother studied Tong Yang for a few seconds, then gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and said affectionately, “Tong Yang, it’s time you took a break.”
“Don’t feel guilty. Linlin is more important to me than anything. You saved him, and I just want to offer some help in return.”
Tong Yang lowered her gaze, a smile slowly forming on her face after a moment. “Auntie, thank you. I… really need your help right now. But I insist on sending Lele’s living expenses every month. Please don’t refuse.”
Seeing Tong Yang’s firm stance, Yang Lin’s mother knew the girl was stubborn. She wouldn’t have raised her brother all this time if she weren’t. Smiling wryly, she relented, “Alright.”
“Tong Yang, make sure you explain everything to Lele. He’s been ignoring Linlin ever since that day.”
Tong Yang chuckled, “Auntie, I’m sorry. Lele’s been quite attached to me since he was little.”
“It’s fine. If Linlin had a sister like you, he’d probably cling to her all the time too.”
“Anyway, thank you.”
“We should be thanking you.”
After bidding farewell to Yang Lin’s mother, Tong Yang returned home.
If she could take Tong Le with her without worrying about his safety, Yang Lin’s mother’s offer was a lifesaver. Tong Le would definitely be happy to hear about it.
As for attending Peking University with Chu Shiyu, Tong Yang had no objections. After all, the admissions officer had already contacted her last week.
Tong Yang pulled up her call history and hesitated for a moment, debating whether to make the call now. In the end, she decided to wait since the exam results would be out at midnight. She’d deal with it then.
Before midnight, Tong Yang did some research on the capital city, trying to familiarize herself with it since it was a big city, and she hadn’t even spent much time outside the old neighborhood.
She looked up information on transportation, living costs, and even some highly ranked elementary schools, but the admission requirements and tuition fees were high. Just the tuition alone was around forty to fifty thousand yuan a year. Tong Yang’s savings would last only a year at best. Scholarships would help, but she still needed to earn more money.
However, given her past experiences, she didn’t think making money would be too hard.
Tong Yang planned to stay up until midnight to check her results but completely forgot that her neighborhood was scheduled for a power outage every night. By 11:30, there wasn’t even a sliver of signal left.
Cursing under her breath, she threw on a jacket and left the neighborhood, taking advantage of the darkness.
The night was quiet in the neighborhood, with the rows of buildings creaking under the wind.
Tong Yang wasn’t bothered by the eerie atmosphere created by the darkness and wind. She walked alone until she reached a streetlamp nearby, where her phone finally got a signal. It was just past midnight.
The social media group was buzzing with activity. No one was sleeping because they were all waiting to check their results.
[Ahhhh]
[The official website is so slow!!!]
[I’m so nervous! Although it was a crazy ride, I think I did pretty well.]
[Has anyone checked yet? My page is stuck!]
[Ahhh, I’m dying of anxiety!]
The non-stop stream of messages was making Tong Yang feel nervous. Even though she knew her score would be good, she couldn’t help but feel the tension.
She logged into the Northview Province Education Examination Institute’s website, and the progress bar took forever to load. Finally, the page appeared. She clicked on the admission query, entered her exam number, name, and verification code, and then hit submit.
The progress bar moved forward at a snail’s pace, while the group chat continued to flood with messages as students began to find out their scores.
Tong Yang clenched her fists, watching the bar inch forward. The page remained blank as the blue bar crept along like a tortoise.
Tong Yang muttered under her breath, “This internet sucks.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the progress bar, which had been moving at a snail’s pace, suddenly shot forward like a rocket. The blank page instantly loaded.
Tong Yang’s eyes lit up as she scanned the page from top to bottom:
Name: Tong Yang
Chinese: **
Math: **
English: **
Science: **
Note: Your ranking is currently being calculated. Please check again on the 29th.
Tong Yang stared at the screen for a few seconds, then exited the browser and went back to the social app.
[Oh my god! My score is exactly what I expected!]
[I can’t believe I scored higher than usual!]
[I bombed the exam…]
[As expected, some are celebrating, and some are heartbroken.]
[I want to know what Miss Chu and Tong Jie scored on the exam!]
[@ChuShiyu @XuexiShiWeileGaoQian]
[@ChuShiyu @XuexiShiWeileGaoQian]
[@ChuShiyu @XuexiShiWeileGaoQian]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [Transfer me fifty and I’ll send a screenshot.]
[Chu Shiyu transferred 500 to XuexiShiWeileGaoQian]
Chu Shiyu: [Send it.]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [Alright, thanks for the tip, Miss Chu.]
Tong Yang quickly took a screenshot, censoring the other details and leaving only the subject scores and the note at the bottom.
[What the hell???]
[I don’t get it—what’s with the stars?]
[Holy crap! Tong Jie, did your scores not get recorded?]
[How could that be? Everyone else’s scores got recorded.]
[OMG! Tong Jie, you’re my idol! You’re a “blocked student”!!!]
[Huh? What’s a blocked student?]
[It’s when the top fifty scores in the province get blocked for a few days to avoid media hype.]
[What? What? Tong Jie, you’re in the top fifty in the province???]
[Why is everyone so surprised? Tong Jie scored full marks in science—she might even be the top scorer!]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [@ChuShiyu What about you?]
Two minutes later, Chu Shiyu posted a screenshot identical to Tong Yang’s.
[Huh?]
[What??]
[Huh???]
[Wait a minute, didn’t we all take the same exam?]
[You two…holy crap! Your school’s gone crazy this year, huh? Two students in the top fifty???]
[No way! Last year, my mom wanted me to transfer to your school, but I thought your uniforms were ugly, so I didn’t. Now I regret it so much!]
[Hold on, not all the students at their school did that well.]
Sun Ye: […Are you implying something?]
[Pfft, haha! No, no!]
[It’s not like your grades have ever been good.]
Chu Shiyu: [My total score has never gone over 700, but Tong Yang’s mock exam paper predicted five of the math questions, and it got the Chinese reading comprehension and the physics questions right too.]
[Whoa!]
[I should’ve bought her paper!]
[Huh? Tong Jie, you’re that good??]
[Yikes… that’s scary.]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [It’s not enough to just predict the questions. You still have to understand them.]
Sun Ye: […Are you implying something about me now?]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [[Shrugs.jpg]]
Before Tong Yang could chat for much longer, her homeroom teacher called.
“Tong Yang, did you get your results?”
“No, it’s all a bunch of stars.”
“You’re in the top fifty!!! You did it, Tong Yang! This is the first time our school’s ever had a blocked student!”
Tong Yang paused for a moment before saying, “Chu Shiyu is too.”
Teacher Yang gasped, “Really??? She made it into the top fifty too??”
“Mm, you can call her and ask.”
After hanging up, Tong Yang didn’t stay out much longer and went back home.
She already knew she’d make it into the top fifty but wasn’t sure of her exact rank.
She slept in the next day, waking up to find the 1209 group buzzing like crazy.
[The old district’s Third Middle School hit the jackpot this time.]
[It’s blown up! This is huge!]
[A few days ago, the news didn’t get much attention, but now it’s trending on Weibo at number one.]
[Wow, the Provincial Education Department even gave them a shout-out. This is major.]
[Haha! The old district is so poor, but now they’re getting all this attention. The local government must be dying to give them a hug.]
XuexiShiWeileGaoQian: [?]
Tong Yang was confused, unsure what they were talking about.
[Tong Jie, check Weibo!]
[You and Miss Chu went viral!]
Tong Yang skeptically opened Weibo, seeing the trending topic #BraveHighScorersOnTheCollegeEntranceExam.
When she clicked in, she found that it was a repost from the old district’s police department two days ago. The content was about two students from Third Middle School, surnamed Tong and Chu, who had bravely rescued four elementary school students.
She had seen this Weibo post before, but it hadn’t gained much traction at the time. Now, it had over a million likes and seventy thousand shares.
As she scrolled down, someone had posted an article from the local district’s newspaper. It mentioned that two students from Third Middle School had scored so well that their results were blocked. Then, somehow, someone found their class graduation photo and circled their faces. Reporters even called the school to confirm it, and just like that, they unexpectedly became famous.
“Such kind hearts, such beautiful faces, such deadly scores, such niche vocabulary.”
“Big Sis, you’re amazing! Come to our school, please!”
“Waaaah, junior sister, I’m calling you first! I’ll do anything to get you to join our school!”
“At first, I thought it was just an ordinary news story, but now I see it’s beyond me.”
“I need their contact info now!”
“Oh no! At twenty-two, I’ve finally found two people I want to protect. If only I had studied harder, maybe I could’ve been in the same school as them.”
“Principal, bring them to our school, and I’ll do anything you ask!”
“Guys, who else agrees? They’re both seriously good-looking.”
“Forget it. They’re either going to Peking University or Tsinghua.”
…
Tong Yang pondered for a moment, wondering if now was the perfect time to start a live stream. Would people want her to promote products?
While she was still thinking about it, a call came in from the capital.
