Twenty days had passed since the High School Entrance Exam ended.
Zheng Huai had been living rather leisurely these days.
With the school on break, most teachers had gone home to accompany their families. He, meanwhile, had remained in the school dormitory. Every morning, he rose early to practice his fist techniques. At noon, he watched some interstellar news. In the afternoon, he graded stacks of accumulated exams. At night, he occasionally chatted by voice with old comrades or played a few rounds in the Virtual Combat Room to satisfy his itch for a fight. Life was quite enjoyable.
As for Lin Ye, he had kept the matter on his mind.
Several days had passed since he called his old friend Jiang He. He had not pressed for updates, but that did not mean he had not been paying attention. He believed that no matter the result, his old comrade Jiang He would give him an answer.
Yet as time passed, the expectations in his heart dwindled further and further.
That noon, Zheng Huai had just finished lunch and was reclining on the dormitory sofa, taking a short nap.
Outside the window, the summer sun blazed brightly. In the dormitory district's greenbelt, smart sprinkler robots buzzed as they sprayed fine mist into the air. The fresh scent of soil and vegetation filled the room, making him drowsy.
Suddenly, the Smart Terminal in his pocket began to vibrate. Zheng Huai took it out and saw that the caller was none other than Jiang He.
He tapped the projection, and Jiang He's image appeared in midair.
"Old Zheng, the expert review panel's preliminary assessment of that student you recommended, Lin Ye, is out."
As the projection appeared, Jiang He got straight to the point.
"How did it go?"
At those words, Zheng Huai's heart tightened, though his expression remained calm.
"Unfortunately, he didn't pass our expert panel's evaluation."
In the projection, Jiang He paused slightly, as though weighing his words.
Zheng Huai frowned at that, though he was not too surprised. He knew Canglan's threshold was high. It was normal enough that Lin Ye had failed to make the cut, but he still felt somewhat unconvinced. Leaning back into the sofa, he spoke calmly.
"It wasn't beyond my expectations. Canglan's standards are as high as ever. What's the reason?"
Jiang He could hear the faint dissatisfaction in Zheng Huai's words, but he understood. This time, his old comrade had not led him astray; the seedling really was promising. Yet Canglan's standards were not something he could decide, so he could only give a wry smile.
"His Blood Qi Value is too low. It doesn't meet the minimum standard. The minimum is 360 points."
"But I should have explained the Blood Qi Value issue to you. That kid Lin Ye opened his apertures late. The further along one gets, the harder it becomes to raise Blood Qi Value."
Zheng Huai frowned again, clearly displeased.
"I know, but the experts don't care about that. In their eyes, the kid's performance isn't enough for them to make an exception."
Jiang He explained.
"Even though this little fellow's fist technique is quite good, and he has even comprehended a trace of Momentum."
"Wait, what did you say?"
Zheng Huai froze, his voice rising involuntarily. "Fist Momentum?"
"You didn't know?"
Noticing his old friend's surprise, Jiang He continued, "Our expert panel watched Lin Ye's combat footage and found that the kid has grasped a trace of Fist Momentum. But as I just told you, the minimum Blood Qi Value for exceptional admission this time is 360. He doesn't meet that hard requirement. On the other hand, among the students admitted to Canglan every year, quite a few have already comprehended a trace of Momentum before enrollment. So although this kid has considerable potential, he still hasn't reached the point where we absolutely must specially recruit him."
Jiang He's words were blunt and cruel.
The meaning was perfectly clear. Although Lin Ye had great potential, in Canglan's eyes, it was still not enough to warrant an exception.
Zheng Huai listened and fell silent for a moment.
At that moment, the dormitory was so quiet that only the hum of the sprinkler machine outside the window could be heard.
"All right, I understand."
"Sorry to trouble you with this, Old Jiang."
After a moment, Zheng Huai came back to himself and thanked Jiang He. Yet there was a trace of regret in his voice. "I knew Canglan's threshold was high. I never held much hope to begin with. That kid's foundation really is thin, and he hasn't had much time. For him to achieve this much has already exceeded my expectations."
Those words were indeed sincere. He had originally only thought that his student Lin Ye was hardworking and highly talented. He had never expected the kid to hide himself so deeply—to have even comprehended a trace of Fist Momentum.
There was regret, but also a thread of pleasant surprise.
"Why be so polite between us?"
"To be honest, I hadn't expected the kid you recommended to have comprehended a trace of Fist Momentum either. In past years, he really might have had a chance. But this year has the Challenge Stage. Scores have risen, so the standards have risen with them."
"Scores have risen?"
Zheng Huai was startled.
"That's right. You don't know about it. This year, because of the Challenge Stage, the seventh Stage was actually made a little easier. Quite a few people passed it, and their performance scores were higher as well. So the cutoff scores at all the top universities will be somewhat higher than before. Canglan's cutoff this year is expected to rise by seven or eight points."
Jiang He sighed.
"By seven or eight points?"
At those words, the last flicker of hope in Zheng Huai's heart was extinguished completely.
"Mm. Don't tell anyone about this."
Jiang He nodded and comforted him. "But don't worry too much. That kid has great potential. He's a piece of gold—he'll shine."
"Of course, although he hasn't reached the level for us to make an exception and specially recruit him, our school has classified him as a promising prospect. As long as his High School Entrance Exam score reaches our school's minimum admission cutoff, he'll be admitted."
Zheng Huai could only smile bitterly. He estimated that Lin Ye's score would not even meet Canglan's cutoff from previous years, let alone this year, when Canglan's score would rise by another seven or eight points. It would be easier said than done.
"All right, I understand."
"Thank you."
"Ah, don't mention it. All right, come to Canglan City sometime and have a drink with me. My treat."
"I have something to do, so I'll hang up first."
"All right."
Zheng Huai smiled again, and then the call disconnected.
Looking at the ended call, he fell silent for a moment. Then he set the terminal on the coffee table and stood up.
He let out a long breath, walked to the window, and looked at the robot in the greenbelt outside.
Thinking back to the surging crowds of students twenty days ago, and Lin Ye's satisfied reply over the phone, it all felt as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
He had clearly promised himself then that he would find a way to help that kid. Yet he still could not do it?
For a moment, Zheng Huai could not help sighing that he had grown old.
"Kid... you'll have to walk the rest of the road yourself."
By the window, he murmured to himself.
Elsewhere, at Fenglei Martial University's main Administration Building, in the top-floor conference room.
The School Personnel Recruitment Meeting was held as scheduled.
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