Chapter 32: They Made a Pact to Go to Jingda Together

The two principals vied for him; Xu Qingzhou glanced at Old Xu.

He saw Old Xu smiling as he invited the two principals to have tea first, then said:

“It’s an honor that both of you came for my son Qingzhou. Both Shuimu University and Jingda are among the top universities in the country; to be honest, my wife and I were torn.”

“But Qingzhou has always wanted to go to Jingda. A child’s dream—we parents must support it.”

Old Xu really knew how to speak smoothly—what dream of Jingda? Two months ago, he’d have been thrilled just to get into Zhejiang University or Sichuan University.

Sun Zhaofu laughed heartily. “Hahaha, good! Xu Qingzhou, Jingda welcomes you! Don’t worry—since you’ve chosen Jingda, we won’t let you down.”

“Xu Qingzhou, aren’t you reconsidering at all?” Wang Qingyuan asked, still reluctant.

Xu Qingzhou apologized sincerely. “Thank you, Principal Wang. I’ve wanted to take the exam for Jingda for a long time.”

“Old Sun, congratulations on recruiting such a fine student.”

Read! {

“Little Huang, you’re in charge of Song Yao, right?”

“Perfect opportunity!” Wang Qingyuan’s eyes lit up. “The one handling Song Yao’s recruitment is… Little Zhang.”

The Xu family’s living room remained lively; everyone was seasoned, and no one let the atmosphere grow cold.

“Then Xu Qingzhou can go alone—don’t worry, we’ll take good care of him.”

“Yes, Teacher has seen your three years of hard work, and we’re proud of this result.”

“Yes, Principal Sun, Xu Qingzhou has already made plans with someone to take the exam together for Jingda,” Liu Ying said with a light smile, deeply moved—two of them going to Jingda together? That’s a story worth telling.

This made Old Xu and his wife wonder if their ancestral graves had suddenly started smoking.

Xu Qingzhou shook his head. He still needed to get his driver’s license; he’d lived in Beijing so long, there was nothing new left. He said: “Principal Sun, rest assured—since I’ve chosen Jingda, I won’t change my mind.”

A teacher handed over a tablet displaying the student’s personal file: “Principal Wang, we just got word—Xu Qingzhou has a girlfriend named Song Yao, ranked 48th in the province.”

He immediately dialed the number: “Little Zhang, spare no effort to recruit Song Yao into our school. Offer her the same terms as the provincial top scorer.”

About half an hour later, the recruitment team left behind a booklet with Jingda’s major codes and other details before departing.

During a pause for tea, Xu Qingzhou asked curiously: “Principal Sun, may I ask what my score was?”

With matters settled, Wang Qingyuan could only reluctantly lead his team away. “Fine, since you’ve decided, we won’t disturb you further.”

Sun Zhaofu stood up smiling. “Uh, you all keep drinking tea—I’ll make a quick call.”

Xu Shouyun and Wang Xiaping stared at the score, marveling repeatedly.

Xu Shouyun: “Principal Sun, Teacher Liu, thank you for taking care of Qingzhou these past three years.”

At this point, Sun Zhaofu no longer danced around—he pulled a recruitment form from his briefcase.

…

“It’s all thanks to the child’s own effort,” Sun Zhaofu noticed something important. “Oh? Teacher Liu, what do you mean?”

“There’s another student in our class named Song Yao—she’ll almost certainly be in the provincial top 50. They’ve both promised each other to take the exam for Jingda.”

“This…” Xu Shouyun sighed helplessly. “We’ll be on an inspection trip soon—we can’t leave.”

She was in her office holding a teaching meeting when the principal burst in, ordering her to accompany the recruitment team to Xu Qingzhou’s home.

Wang Qingyuan’s group got into the car.

“Principal Wang, take care on your way,” the Xu family and Sun Zhaofu rose to see them off.

Xu Qingzhou smiled modestly.

“Exactly! You wouldn’t believe it—Shuimu’s teachers went crazy, offering the same terms as the top scorer! This girl was dead-set on coming to Jingda, but now her parents are wavering.”

Old Xu and Wang Xiaping were even more stunned than before—had their son and Old Song’s daughter already made plans together?! “Teacher Liu, this actually…” Xu Qingzhou’s head ached. The rumors at school had already spread far and wide, and now it was hard to explain. Sun Zhaofu subtly glanced at the recruitment teacher beside him; the man fiddled with the tablet, then nodded.

At the stairwell, Sun Zhaofu also called the recruitment teacher.

“Huh?”

“Xu Qingzhou broke the historical record for the highest raw score in Sichuan—he’s this year’s provincial top scorer,” Sun Zhaofu said cheerfully beside him.

Sun Zhaofu turned to Xu Shouyun and invited: “Mr. Xu, if you have time, you and Mrs. Xu can travel to Beijing with Qingzhou, tour the campus ahead of time—all expenses covered by Jingda.”

!.

“Xu Qingzhou coming to Jingda is truly a stroke of luck for us.”

Name: Xu Qingzhou. Chinese: 140. Math: 150. English: 150. Science Comprehensive: 300. Total: 740. Sun Zhaofu expected Xu Qingzhou to show surprise, but he simply nodded calmly—as if he’d already known.

Sun Zhaofu silently cursed himself—he’d been cautious enough to act fast. “We’ll raise our offer too. Remember—no matter what method you use, you must recruit Song Yao into our school.”

“What do you mean ‘huh’? Do as I say!”

Everyone was respectable; no one would throw a fit over this. In fact, the atmosphere was even more harmonious than when they’d first arrived.

“Xu Qingzhou, see you at the start of term.”

After seeing off Wang Qingyuan’s group, everyone returned to the living room.

Xu Qingzhou accompanied his parents in seeing Sun Zhaofu and the others off.

Just before leaving, Principal Sun finally mentioned the matter Xu Qingzhou cared about most: “Xu Qingzhou, your scholarship is 100,000 yuan. You can provide your bank account number to Teacher Liu—it’ll be deposited on the 7th of next month.”

“Got it! Thank you, Principal Sun, thank you, Teacher Liu.”

“I should be thanking you—for bringing honor to our school.”

(End of Chapter)