“Hmm, Qingda should be fine,” Ethan Turner said hurriedly, pointing at the materials in her hand. “Um, Ms. Reed, I have to—”

　　Alice Reed glanced down at the name on top. “Is it David Hayes's?”

　　“Yeah, he borrowed my review materials before.”

　　David Hayes.

　　Alice Reed said he transferred over from City No.1 High School in his second year to help out. It was said that back at City No.1, his competition certificates were enough to wallpaper the walls. City No.1 was a provincial key school, and among the thirteen key high schools in the province, it was the top. Of the province’s top 100 students, 80% came from City No.1.

　　Ruijun High was an ordinary school. Since David Hayes transferred over, he had never ranked below first place. So in their third year, with David Hayes’s help, Ethan Turner’s grades improved by leaps and bounds, making her a dark horse who shot straight into the city’s top ten in the third mock exam. Ironically, David Hayes himself had been doing poorly in recent exams, even dropping out of the top ten in the third mock.

　　“Just leave it in my office,” Alice Reed said. “David Hayes will most likely have to repeat the year.”

　　Ethan Turner was stunned. “Aren’t the scores not out yet?”

　　“David Hayes didn’t even attempt the last few math questions. That’s not just a mistake—he wasn’t in the right state to take the exam at all. David Hayes’s parents have already called me. They’re asking the school to give David Hayes another chance to repeat the year for free.”

　　Alice Reed didn’t tell Ethan Turner that David Hayes’s parents had been quite harsh on the phone, even mentioning Ethan Turner and using words like “seduce,” blaming Ethan Turner for distracting David Hayes with a relationship, and demanding that Ethan Turner explain the situation to the school and admit it was her fault.

　　“You and David Hayes…” Alice Reed trailed off.

　　“We’re not in a relationship, and we never will be.”

　　Ethan Turner was very grateful to David Hayes. There was a time when she’d mistaken that gratitude and being moved for liking him, but after enduring David Hayes’s repeated coldness and unreasonable outbursts, she suddenly felt that seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boys were just so tiresome. After sorting out her feelings, she gradually realized that what she felt for him was mostly gratitude. She’d planned to talk to David Hayes after the exams, but he’d been avoiding her.

　　Alice Reed suddenly gave a dry laugh. “Alright, it’s nothing, I was just asking. Think carefully about your college choices. We really think you should consider Beijing or Shanghai—you totally have the scores for it.”

　　Ethan Turner’s gaze was calm. “Qingda’s score requirement isn’t low either. I remember last year it was around 678.”

　　Alice Reed always thought that being overly calm was just another way of glossing over problems.

　　“You’re almost at 700 even without the elective module. Don’t tell me you didn’t take the elective module either?”

　　“What do you mean ‘either’? Someone didn’t take it?”

　　“Yeah,” Old Reed took the thermos from under his arm, unscrewed it, blew away the floating tea leaves, and took a helpless sip. “City No.1 had such a genius.”

　　That really was a genius—after all, City No.1 was famous for its intense competition. If David Hayes’s competition certificates could wallpaper a room, that person’s could probably wallpaper a city wall.

　　That year in S Province happened to be the last year of the education reform. The elective module was an additional subject within the province, but it was only worth sixty points and only counted as a bonus for students applying to top-tier universities. Even without the elective module, as long as your raw scores in the other subjects met the top-tier cutoff, you could still apply. And that student from City No.1, rumor had it, had an estimated score of over 700 even without the elective module.

　　Alice Reed didn’t tell her all this, just screwed the lid back on. “So, I still need to talk to you about your college choices. This parallel application system is a science in itself—”

　　“Ms. Reed, I got it.” Ethan Turner was a bit annoyed. She’d heard this same spiel at least ten times already.

　　“Don’t think I’m nagging. Sometimes a single choice determines who you’ll meet on your path ahead.”

　　“I know. I’ve wanted to be a useful person to society since I was a kid.”

　　Ethan Turner was especially good at saying the most perfunctory things in the most sincere tone. She was number one at saying one thing and meaning another—everyone who knew her knew this, but it worked especially well on Alice Reed.

　　Sure enough, Old Reed walked away, looking pleased, thermos in hand.

　　The slanting wind and fine rain slowly drifted in from the corridor. The muggy breeze brushed her face with a hint of dampness. Dark clouds hung low on the horizon, as if brewing another violent storm. Ethan Turner thought, Old Turner’s arthritis would probably flare up again. She sighed blankly. A useful person to society—how useful, in what way, she didn’t know. As long as she was useful, that was enough.

　　The sky was low and the clouds dark. A fierce wind swept across the ground, making the trees rustle loudly. In an instant, rain poured down in torrents.

　　Ethan Turner waited by the roadside for Emily Carter—the girl who’d just been acting all mysterious in the classroom, reading people’s fortunes. The two of them had been childhood friends, classmates from elementary through high school, living in the same neighborhood, hardly ever apart. If it weren’t for Ethan Turner’s sudden leap in grades this year, they’d probably still be inseparable.

　　As soon as Emily Carter saw her, her backpack swinging behind her, she ran over with a grin and hugged her. “Ah, wifey, I knew you’d have an umbrella.”

　　Ethan Turner opened the umbrella. “If you can tell that the class monitor’s boyfriend is a muscleman, this should be a piece of cake for you.”

　　“Aiya, what did Mrs. Reed want with you just now? Still about college choices?” Emily Carter squeezed under the umbrella and asked.

　　“He wants me to apply to H University.”

　　Emily Carter knew that Ethan Turner only wanted to go to the local Qingda.