His Gaokao score ranked in the district's top thirty

In those days, Gaokao results were mainly checked over a landline.

Chen Fan's family did not have a telephone.

After lunch, the three of them headed early to his second aunt's house in town.

To find out their son's Gaokao results as soon as possible, Chen Jianye and his wife had both taken half a day off work.

But when they started calling at one, the line kept saying the service was not yet available.

His second aunt chatted with Chen Fan and his father nearby.

Li Jinqiu, meanwhile, looked visibly anxious and made another call every five minutes.

Seeing how nervous she was, Chen Fan's second aunt, Chen Meiyun, could not help smiling as she reassured her.

"Jinqiu, you don't have to keep hovering over the phone."

"The scores are already set. Being nervous now won't change anything."

Li Jinqiu looked a little embarrassed.

"I don't know why, but my heart's been racing all day."

"All parents are like that."

Chen Meiyun glanced at her elder brother nearby.

"Look at my brother. He isn't nervous at all."

"And didn't Fan estimate his score at 575 this time? You two can relax."

This time, her elder brother, Chen Jianye, spoke up.

"Fan usually ranks in the lower middle of his class on exams."

"When he does well, he can just reach the second-tier university cutoff. When he doesn't, he can't even manage that."

"Now he's suddenly estimating 575. Honestly, I'm still not sure what to make of it."

Li Jinqiu nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. We won't really be able to relax until we confirm his score."

"You can't talk about my nephew like that."

Chen Meiyun drew Chen Fan close, her face full of affection.

"I've always thought Fan was clever, ever since he was little. Much cleverer than that rascal of mine."

She made sure to encourage Chen Fan as well.

"Your aunt believes in you."

"Your cousin isn't cut out for studying. He couldn't get into an undergraduate program and had to settle for a junior college."

"Do us proud, Fan. Get into a prestigious first-tier university and make your parents and the whole Chen family proud."

Chen Fan smiled. "Auntie, I'm hungry."

Chen Meiyun's eyes widened. "Honestly, why didn't you say so sooner? I'll get you some snacks."

Li Jinqiu glanced at her son, who was lounging on the sofa watching television.

Still uneasy, she picked up the phone and kept dialing the results hotline.

The agonizing wait lasted until six that evening.

After Li Jinqiu had dialed more times than anyone could count, the results hotline finally connected.

Chen Jianye, who had been eating in the outer living room, was the first to leap up and rush inside.

His second aunt and her husband hurried after him.

Chen Fan put down his chopsticks and was the last to enter the inner room.

"Candidate's name."

"Chen Fan."

"Admission ticket number."

Li Jinqiu froze, then hurriedly started looking around.

"Where's the admission ticket? I just put it here..."

Chen Jianye immediately glared at her.

"Look at you! You can't even handle something this simple. Hurry up and find it..."

The couple began searching everywhere in a panic.

"Don't panic, Jinqiu. Think about where you put it when you had it earlier."

His second aunt, Chen Meiyun, offered the quiet reminder.

Li Jinqiu murmured, "I had it earlier and put it on the table. Then I checked his admission ticket number again, and after that I just put it..."

Li Jinqiu reached into her pocket, and her face instantly lit up.

"Found it."

"The admission ticket number is: xxxxxxxxxx..."

Once she finished reading it out, the room grew so quiet they could have heard a pin drop.

Everyone strained their ears, listening closely to the other end of the line.

At last, the voice spoke.

"Candidate Chen Fan. Chinese: 136. Mathematics: 113. English: 137. Comprehensive humanities: 217. Total score: 603."

The entire room fell silent at the announcement.

Everyone stared, dumbstruck, clearly stunned.

Chen Jianye turned his head stiffly toward Chen Meiyun and her husband.

"H-how many points did it just say?"

Chen Meiyun cried excitedly, "A total of 603! Brother, Fan scored 603!"

Unable to quite believe it, Chen Jianye looked at his son standing in the doorway.

"D-didn't you say 575?"

Chen Fan was a little surprised himself.

He had been somewhat conservative when estimating his score, deducting a few points wherever possible on subjective questions without standard answers.

It seemed he had answered them well.

Everyone in the room was looking at him.

Chen Fan scratched his head.

"I might have been a little conservative when I estimated my score."

"Well..."

Chen Fan's uncle did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"That little bit of caution left you almost thirty points short."

Only then did Chen Jianye suddenly snap out of his daze.

He hurried over and snatched the phone from his wife's hand.

"I'll call again."

He had to hear the score on the other end himself before he could be sure.

Following the prompts, he entered the admission ticket number.

Soon, Chen Fan's Gaokao results came through the phone.

"Total score: 603."

Sure enough, it was still 603.

"603, 603..."

Chen Jianye murmured excitedly, "I didn't mishear it. I didn't mishear it."

"It really is 603."

"To hear this again, press one..."

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Jianye pressed one.

He listened three times in a row, and every time it was 603.

There could be no mistake now.

"Ha! 603! My son scored 603!"

"This is wonderful!"

For the first time, the usually composed and taciturn Chen Jianye lost his composure.

He rubbed his hands excitedly, his dark face flushed red.

His wife, Li Jinqiu, sat nearby, quietly wiping away tears.

"Heaven has blessed us. The Chen family finally has a university student."

Chen Jianye walked over excitedly and gave his son a hard slap on the shoulder.

Chen Fan grimaced in pain.

"Dad, are you trying to kill me?"

"Haha! I'm happy today. I'm just so happy!"

His second aunt smiled too. "Brother, you have to treat us this time."

"Fan's score is well above the first-tier university cutoff."

"I reckon he could get into even those prestigious universities without any trouble."

At those words, Chen Jianye suddenly looked at his son.

Then he felt a twinge of regret.

"But your university choices have already been submitted."

Chen Fan smiled.

"Dad, even if I could change my choices, I'd still pick Cloudsea University."

"And Cloudsea University really is a good school."

Chen Jianye smiled. "All right. Whatever you want."

"Brother..."

Chen Meiyun could not help prompting him again.

"Huh? What did you say?"

Chen Jianye was clearly so excited that his mind had stalled.

"I said, shouldn't we have a proper celebration?"

"Yes, yes, yes. We should have a proper celebration."

Rubbing his hands excitedly, Chen Jianye glanced at his wife.

"How about this? In a couple of days, I'll hold a banquet and invite all our friends and relatives. We'll all have a good time together."

Chen Meiyun reminded him with a smile, "You're talking about a university admission banquet. I meant tonight. It's not often everyone's this happy."

"And with such wonderful news, shouldn't we celebrate properly?"

"Why don't we let Jian Zhong and Jian Long know and have them come over for a few drinks?"

"Right, right..."

Chen Jianye slapped his forehead.

"Honestly, how did I forget about that?"

"I'll let them know right now..."