The Final Chapter of High School

When Midtown High School's gates opened once again, Lin Hai, Gwen, Peter, and Harry stepped into the final year of their high school lives.

Even the air seemed different from previous years, filled with a complicated blend of anticipation, pressure, and faint melancholy.

College exams and applications hung over everyone's heads like a measuring stick, assessing the efforts of the past four years while determining the direction of the next four.

Their goal had never changed or wavered: the California Institute of Technology. To achieve that shared goal, the four of them became like precision machines wound tight during their senior year, launching their final sprint in academics, extracurricular activities, and personal growth.

Lin Hai's grades had always remained near the top of his class. His powerful logical thinking and deep understanding of knowledge allowed him to handle every subject with ease.

But he knew full well that grades alone were not enough to make him stand out in an application. His strongest card was the plant development project he had collaborated on with the Osborn Group.

Although the Osborn Group had already released related products and earned considerable profits for both sides, Lin Hai still devoted even more energy to the project that year. After all, a more impressive résumé meant a more secure chance of admission.

He wrote a detailed research report and an outlook on future applications. As a co-author, he and the Osborn Group's researchers published a related paper in a fairly influential academic journal.

This tangible research experience and achievement, combining biotechnology and materials science, filled his résumé with formidable competitive strength.

Gwen remained the unshakable benchmark. Her name had long occupied the top spot in the grade, and she scored nearly perfect marks in every class, yet she did not relax in the slightest.