The Limitations of the Times

Third in the province on the adult examination.

Within his own city, that might have been major news.

But across the province, nobody would spare the third-place finisher more than a glance.

Only first place truly drew attention. Eyes would not linger on second place for long, either.

Since ancient times, people had been fixated on first place, and that was generally the only ranking they remembered.

As a flood of news about top scorers poured out across the provinces, Jidu Province had a different story to report.

"I need to make the province's top hundred, at least. I'm applying to Canglan Academy's psychology program, so my score has to meet the cutoff!"

"I, Zhang Xuezhou, am putting my name out there. You can check for yourself when the time comes, but you'd better keep your word. Once you find my name, I expect that ten-thousand-yuan tip, not a cent less!"

Thanks to Song Fengying's livestream, some helpful viewers had screenshots and saved videos as proof.

Earlier, the Morning Sun News in Sudong City had even used a photo of Zhang Xuezhou in bandages as a backdrop for its adult examination coverage.

Some took it as a joke, some saw it as an extreme measure, and some thought he was boasting.

But few had imagined that Zhang Xuezhou would actually make good on his bold words.

If he had ranked below the top few dozen, he would have struggled to stir up much discussion. But a place in the top three was just right-even perfectly placed.

People sympathized with Zhang Xuezhou over his injuries, and quite a few mentioned that, if not for his physical condition, Jidu Province would surely have produced a top entrance examination scorer ranked among the best in the nation.

Others mentioned that Zhang Xuezhou