Chapter 48: Yang Xingwu's Ambition

Yang Xingwu decided that he would no longer hide his true capabilities once he had a premonition of being targeted, and he was determined to make a sensational splash during the upcoming college entrance examination.

If only one subject received a perfect score, it wouldn't carry much persuasive power; after all, people would likely attribute it simply to good luck.

However, what if every single science subject achieved a perfect score?

And what if all the extra-credit problems were also answered with absolute perfection?

By then, his science exam papers would look extraordinary, with mathematics scoring 120 plus 10 points, and physics and chemistry scoring 100 plus 10 points each.

Ordinary sparrows might dare to compete with swans, but when they beheld the great roc, they would naturally lower their heads and humble themselves.

At that time, everyone would only feel that his success was entirely well-deserved, and his past results would automatically be reinterpreted by his classmates and teachers as a dormant dragon lurking in the abyss, waiting for the right moment to strike, or perhaps embodying the verse:

Once the golden scale breaks free from the pond, it soars through the nine heavens upon divine scrolls!

Faced with what was hailed as the most difficult mathematics examination in history, such scores would perfectly interpret his true strength.

In this way, his title as the national top scorer in the science stream would be completely secured. Municipal top scorer? Provincial top scorer?

Before the title of national science champion, those honors held no attraction whatsoever!

At this thought, Yang Xingwu felt his heart grow burning hot, and his excitement mounted steadily.

Since he had finally encountered a situation tailored directly to his professional expertise, not putting on a brilliant display would be an insult to the opportunity bestowed by the heavens!

When that time came, what fear of identity theft could there even be? He would likely be overwhelmed by his own renown and kept busy giving speeches everywhere!

As for whether he could actually achieve these scores, he naturally harbored no worries at all.

After more than a month of study, Yang Xingwu discovered that the college entrance examinations of this era were relatively straightforward. If the average students he used to teach in his past life were brought here, getting into a key university would pose no problem at all! With a bit of serious effort, they could even enter an elite institution.

He had the privilege of studying the mathematics exam paper known as the hardest in history, and viewed from forty years later, it amounted to nothing more than middle or elementary school Olympiad math problems. For someone who was a mathematics teacher, tackling them was naturally as effortless as turning his hand.

As for the rest of the science questions, their difficulty hovered around the first-year high school level, with some problems lingering even at the junior high level.

Following more than a month of intensive problem-solving, coupled with the strength he had deliberately showcased during this month's mock exams, aside from Chinese and politics where securing a perfect score was difficult, he had a strong chance of sprinting for perfection in the remaining five subjects.

Especially since the exams were still administered as separate subject papers at this time, rather than the comprehensive science test introduced after future reforms, he did not need to worry about time management at all.

Although his English was admittedly mediocre, who could blame the exam for featuring even simpler English?

An English test of this caliber was probably less difficult than a junior high school graduation exam!

By memorizing all the vocabulary, scoring eighty points would not be much of an issue, and as long as the English composition was free of grammatical errors, a near-perfect score was practically guaranteed.

Unlike the agonizing ordeal he had experienced when taking English tests back then—grappling with advanced vocabulary and intricate sentences, where everything was done merely to show off skills just to earn a high score—

After all, examinees of the present day found it difficult enough just to write a single grammatically complete English sentence.

This was not alarmist talk; it was simply the reality.

According to his classmates in the review class, back when the college entrance examinations were just reinstated, many people did not even know what a function was!

After all, having spent years out of school, the pioneering generation of college students who managed to pass were mostly individuals who had spent over a decade idling away their youth, or else genuine youthful prodigies!

The difficulty of the current college entrance exam was much higher than in the preceding years. When the exams were first restored, many people had not yet undergone systematic study, and the test questions were simple.

The admission score thresholds were also astonishingly low; scoring just over three hundred points could land someone in an undergraduate program.

That was likely the lowest score threshold they had ever witnessed.

After remedial studies lasting several years, the students in the review class found that the questions were growing increasingly difficult. Over these years, rather than calling it tutoring, it was more akin to relearning all the knowledge from elementary school through high school!

Yang Xingwu felt no surprise upon learning this news. After all, how many years had passed since the restoration of the college entrance examination?

The exam reform was only two years old, and the previous few years had merely been a stage for laying a solid foundation.

The reforms had only truly begun in the last two years. Even the historically difficult college entrance exam he was about to face was only considered difficult relative to the people of this era.

When viewed against the backdrop of the limitations of the times, everything seemed so simple!

With this thought, Yang Xingwu's ambitions and inner desires spread wildly like untamed weeds, impossible to rein in.

The moment the bell finally rang, signaling the end of class, he darted out of the classroom like a shot. A few classmates saw him and, assuming he was desperate for the restroom, paid it no mind.

Sprinting all the way to the playground, Yang Xingwu broke into a full, lung-busting run until he was utterly exhausted, at which point he finally stopped and slowed to a walk.

Recalling the thoughts he had harbored inside the classroom, his ambitions suddenly took deep root!

That night, lying beneath his mosquito net, Yang Xingwu suffered a rare bout of insomnia, tossing and turning on the wooden bed plank like a pancake in a skillet.

Hearing the rustling, Liu Jiefang asked with immediate concern, "Xingwu, are you alright? Is your stomach upset? Do you need to go to the latrine? Do you want to use my miner's lamp?"

"I'm fine, just a bit of insomnia! Can't fall asleep!"

Hearing Yang Xingwu's reply, the other two roommates also chimed in.

"Hey! Me too, I can't quite fall asleep!"

"Yeah! With the college entrance exam coming up so soon, everyone is ridiculously nervous. I can't sleep this early either. Should we get up and read for a bit longer? I keep feeling like there are still some things I haven't mastered properly!"

With that, Li Aiguo made a move to sit up and light a candle.

"Better not! It's so late, probably past eleven o'clock already. Didn't Teacher Xu tell us to properly adjust our sleep schedules?

Insomnia now is fine; there's still time to adjust. If you suffer from insomnia on the day of the college entrance exam, it could cost you your life!"

Liu Jiefang, sleeping opposite Li Aiguo's bed, advised his roommate.

Hearing this, Li Aiguo dropped the idea and gave up on forcing it. This was something Teacher Xu had emphasized repeatedly.

With only a dozen days left until the exams, everything had to be aligned with the rhythm of the actual college entrance test.

This was done to let the students adapt to the exam tempo in advance. During these past half-month or so, any lingering problems could still be remedied!

This was also the greatest possible assistance the school and teachers could offer their students!

Lying on his wooden bed board, Yang Xingwu watched the moonlight stream in through the window.

The dormitory windows were wide open without curtains; in an already sweltering dorm, drawing curtains would only make the heat even more unbearable.

Unable to sleep, Yang Xingwu gazed out the window at the moonlight and the starry sky for a while, filled with deep emotion!

Suddenly, someone spoke again.

"Do you think we'll pass the exams?"

Yang Xingwu perked up his ears and listened—it was Zhang Jianye's voice!

After a short pause, seeing that no one answered, Zhang Jianye continued:

"We will, we definitely will, we're all going to pass! Think about the grueling hardship of harvesting wheat; I never want to face the earth with my back to the sky again, struggling just to scrape together a living day in and day out!

Only by passing the college entrance exam can we break free from the peasant life!"

Yang Xingwu listened to Zhang Jianye's somewhat hoarse voice, laden with an almost obsessive conviction!

"Yes, we will definitely pass. When that time comes, we won't have to farm the land anymore, and we'll never have to hold sickles while gazing at the blue sky and worrying over golden wheat fields!

We'll also be able to learn how others feel justified in praising the greatness and hardship of farmers!"

As those words fell, ambition took root and sprouted in his heart, instantly soaring into a towering tree.