After the score rankings appeared, Ma Ran truly became the quintessential example of hiding one's brilliance at Qingquan First High School, and a popular topic of conversation among the students.
His reputation also spread rapidly, with Qingquan First High School as its starting point.
The next morning, ten o'clock.
Ma Ran was at home pondering Youwen when someone suddenly knocked on his door.
There were many visitors, both men and women. All of them were dressed formally, with serious expressions.
Among them were familiar faces: Teacher Zhu, his homeroom teacher, and Principal Zhao. There were also more than a dozen unfamiliar faces.
"Hello, I'm the person in charge of admissions for Tsinghua University this year. Here are my credentials."
Then came Peking University, Wuhan University, Jiaotong University...
"Such honored guests!"
Ma Ran's father began handing out cigarettes one by one, while his mother went to make tea.
Ma Ran sat expressionlessly on the sofa like a puppet, holding a small notebook and scribbling constantly. No one knew what he was calculating.
"Let's get straight to the point."
After a round of pleasantries, an old man with silver hair and reading glasses explained the purpose of their visit in a powerful voice: "We're here to formally invite you, Ma Ran, to join 'Caolu Academy' and become one of our members!"
The words "Caolu Academy" sounded somewhat unfamiliar to Ma Ran's parents.
At first, they had assumed it was some kind of extracurricular club. But after hearing that it was an organization with twenty-four-hour military-style management, they became somewhat unwilling.
In their eyes, their son was already remarkably capable. If this kind of closed-off management wore away his innate brilliance, wouldn't that be a terrible loss?
"We understand how you feel. However, please hear the conditions we can offer before making a decision!"
The silver-haired old man was full of vigor, his voice loud and persuasive.
He offered several conditions that Ma Ran's parents could not refuse—
No need to take the Gaokao or any special admissions exam. He could choose any prestigious university in the country.
No need to complete the required credits. They guaranteed he would receive his diploma.
After graduation, he would have a guaranteed job backed by the government.
And so on.
The long list of benefits and guarantees was so generous it made their scalps tingle. There were even impartial witnesses and formal contracts.
The official websites and hotlines of the major universities all confirmed that the old man's promises were valid.
A series of self-verification measures strengthened the persuasiveness of their offer.
"Ma Ran, someone will come pick you up tomorrow morning at nine."
The old man pushed up the frame of his glasses and gave Ma Ran a meaningful look. "See you then."
The group left in an orderly fashion.
Ma Ran's parents had maintained a degree of restraint while seeing them out, but the moment the visitors were gone and the door was closed, they immediately revealed their true feelings.
"I get it now! That 'Caolu Academy' must be a genius training camp in disguise! They're trying to cultivate a batch of the country's top scientists!"
"Something like Mensa? It doesn't feel quite right. It must be something even more advanced—a mysterious organization ordinary people can't come into contact with, one that controls finance, politics, the military, and ideology while secretly regulating the course of society!"
"Hahaha! My son Ma Ran has the destiny of a great emperor—cough, I can't say things like that recklessly! Slap my mouth, slap my mouth! Ptooey, ptooey!"
"Sonny! Study hard after you get there, and don't get into fights... We won't cause trouble, but we won't be afraid of trouble either! If anyone bullies you, report them to your teacher. Also, make sure you eat properly. Look how thin you've gotten! Oh, right, send your mother a message every week to let me know you're safe, understand?"
The corner of Ma Ran's eye twitched slightly. "Don't worry."
At least he had once been the captain of the Shusi Squad. If some blind, unlucky nobody provoked him, he could simply make that person disappear from the world.
Why would he get into a fight?
How undignified!
The next day, a high-speed train sped quietly along the tracks.
Dong Huaiming had a bit of hyperactivity.
He wandered unsteadily from one carriage to another. He could never sit for long before feeling as if ants were crawling all over his body, forcing him to stand up and run around or jump a little.
"I heard that the people riding this train are all super top students from various campuses, along with several God of Scholars-level figures."
Dong Huaiming looked left and right, surveying the train. He smacked his lips. "They don't seem any different from ordinary people. This is so boring..."
As he wandered aimlessly through the train, Dong Huaiming's attention suddenly focused on a somewhat handsome young man.
The boy's looks were only slightly above average, but the added points from his demeanor made it hard for Dong Huaiming to look away.
After sizing him up for a while, Dong Huaiming noticed something unusual.
The boy was excessively clean.
From the tips of his hair to the gaps beneath his fingernails, there wasn't a trace of grime or dust.
His clothes weren't designer brands, but they were extremely well-matched and well-kept, without a single visible wrinkle. He gave off a pleasing, spotless impression.
"My body is glazed crystal, my heart is a clear mirror, my will is like Bodhi..."
Muttering a few chuunibyou lines that no one else could understand, Dong Huaiming silently labeled the boy in his mind: germaphobe, concerned with his personal image.
He sat down in the empty seat beside the boy and struck up a conversation like an old acquaintance. "Hey, handsome. You're so cool. You seem especially aloof. Want to add me on WeChat?"
Complimenting someone was a quick way to shorten the distance between strangers.
Besides, Dong Huaiming genuinely thought the boy was cool. He wasn't being insincere.
Before the boy could answer, the girl sitting across from them suddenly spoke. "You call this cool? I'm impressed."
Dong Huaiming's gaze fell on the girl's face. He paused, then turned his eyes back to the boy's face, unable to stop himself from shuddering.
The girl who had spoken was extraordinarily beautiful. Compared to her, Dong Huaiming felt that his school's so-called campus belle was nothing more than vulgar makeup, completely unworthy of mention.
Yet a girl like that had been overshadowed by the germaphobic boy, causing him to completely overlook her!
"My name is Su Qiangwei, and he's Ma Ran."
The beautiful girl, invincible in her youth yet speaking with a slightly sarcastic edge, curled her lips and introduced them. "If you don't want to be crushed, I don't recommend talking to this guy."
"As a normal human being, I also don't think you and he would have anything in common."
"Cool, aloof... Heh."
Although Su Qiangwei found Ma Ran extremely irritating, she had to admit that his looks and demeanor both gave him plenty of extra points.
If his appearance had been poor and his manner lecherous, he wouldn't have seemed aloof. He would have seemed insecure, repressed, and antisocial.
Dong Huaiming scratched his head and continued searching for a topic with an awkward grin, as if the embarrassment had not affected him at all.
Under his unrelenting efforts, Ma Ran finally spoke.
"What do you think of Caolu Academy?"
Su Qiangwei leaned against the window and snorted. "The conditions they offered hold no appeal for me. If it weren't for the sake of defeating you, I wouldn't have casually joined this secretive, mysterious organization that hides its head and shows no face."
Ma Ran gave her a deep look and said calmly, "That's a lie."
Su Qiangwei's face flushed. "How is it a lie? I... I wasn't lying! That's really what I think!"
"But..."
"My parents said this is an important opportunity for the family business to take off. I guess that even if I didn't want to join, they'd force me to anyway..."
Dong Huaiming, sitting beside Ma Ran, clearly lacked the emotional intelligence to take into account the embarrassment of a girl his age.
He stared intently at Ma Ran and answered with absolute certainty. "Caolu Academy is a gathering place for transcendent beings!"
"It's the true face hidden beneath civilized society!"
"It's our ticket into the realm of transcendence!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire atmosphere changed.
Su Qiangwei was no longer embarrassed. She gave Dong Huaiming a sidelong look and said, "Chuunibyou?"
Hah hah hah, that wraps up today's update. I'm so happy!
I'm going back to organize the detailed outline for the first volume~
My brothers and sisters!
See you tomorrow!
Before you continue