Principal's Office of Lingzhou No.1 High School!
"Mr. Wang, your student Chu Ruoxi from Class 36 has truly impressed us this year! She has brought great honor to Lingzhou No.1 High School! Just a few days ago, at an education conference I attended, our school was specifically mentioned and praised—ha ha..." Principal Ma said with a joyful tone, his eyes gleaming with pride as he looked at Mr. Wang.
Mr. Wang, hearing the Principal's praise, felt as though he were basking in honey, his heart swelling with happiness.
"It is all thanks to your leadership, Principal Ma, that Chu Ruoxi in my class achieved such outstanding results," Mr. Wang replied with gratitude.
"Good! Let's continue to strive for even greater success this year and bring more glory to our school..." Principal Ma responded, full of encouragement.
"Rest assured, Principal Ma. I am very confident this year. By the way, this is Liu Zhi, our former class study commissioner. He didn't do well in the exam today, but normally he scores around 650 points. He plans to repeat the year here at our school!" Mr. Wang pointed to Liu Zhi and handed over his previous history exam scores to Principal Ma.
Upon reviewing the scores, which had consistently hovered around 650 in the final mock exams, Principal Ma was elated.
With such results, if he repeats a year, Liu Zhi might surpass Chu Ruoxi and perhaps even produce a student who could score over 700! Principal Ma set the paper down and glanced at Liu Zhi, who stood beside Mr. Wang.
"Mm, impressive," Principal Ma acknowledged.
At that moment, Mr. Wang's face turned somber as he spoke. "Principal Ma, although Liu Zhi usually performs well, he scored only 498 points in the actual exam this year. Our school's policy is to only accept students with scores above 550 for repeating the year. What do you think?"
Their school indeed had such a policy, one that Principal Ma himself had established to raise the overall graduation rate. After all, a score of 550 points was already sufficient to meet the entrance requirements for a first-tier university. Students who choose to repeat often do so because they did not gain admission to their desired universities. Repeating would help them improve and, more often than not, they would pass with flying colors the following year.
Such a policy not only cultivated a strong study atmosphere, but also reliably raised the school's graduation rate, as students who repeated were nearly guaranteed to score at least 550, thus securing a place in a university. This, in turn, boosted the school's reputation.
However, Liu Zhi's 498 points fell short of the required threshold.
Principal Ma looked over Liu Zhi's previous scores again, then smiled warmly at him.
"Liu Zhi, what university do you aim for?"
"Huaqing University!" Liu Zhi replied firmly. He had set his sights on Huaqing University, largely because Chu Ruoxi had been accepted there. After all, who wouldn't be captivated by such a beautiful campus queen?
He had even fantasized that, after repeating for a year and successfully gaining admission to Huaqing, he would have an emotional reunion with Chu Ruoxi on campus. He would tell her that he had worked so hard to get into Huaqing just for her—and that this, the power of love, had driven him. He imagined that she would be moved to tears and would eventually become his girlfriend.
Their love story, he believed, would be remembered and cherished as a romantic legend at Lingzhou No.1 High School.
At this thought, Liu Zhi's eyes burned with even more determination.
Principal Ma, elated by Liu Zhi's resolve, clapped his hands on the table and exclaimed, "Alright, I'll make an exception and admit you this year, thanks to Mr. Wang's recommendation. Work hard under his guidance this year!"
"Thank you, Principal Ma. I will definitely do my best!" Liu Zhi said, his face glowing with excitement.
"Good. You may go now. Mr. Wang and I need to discuss something."
Liu Zhi shot a grateful look at Mr. Wang before leaving the room.
"Mr. Wang, your Chu Ruoxi truly is exceptional, but that Jiang Fan... He only scored 300 points on the exam—our school's lowest ever! This is such a disgrace to our institution. We are Lingzhou No.1 High School, a prestigious institution. Not only does his score lower our graduation rate, but it also drags down our overall average score. In the future, students like him should be persuaded to give up on the idea of taking the exam altogether!" Principal Ma said, his voice filled with indignation.
"I understand, Principal Ma. In the future, if I encounter students like Jiang Fan, I will certainly persuade them to abandon the idea of repeating the exam," Mr. Wang replied.
"Exactly, Mr. Wang. Sometimes, you're just too soft-hearted..." Principal Ma remarked, shaking his head.
As they discussed Jiang Fan, the door suddenly burst open and the security guard rushed in, wearing his uniform.
"Principal... Principal! Something terrible has happened! Our school's been occupied!"
Startled by the guard's frantic cries, Principal Ma froze.
"Xiao Li, have you been drinking? What nonsense are you spouting in broad daylight?" he said, incredulously.
"No... No! It's true! There are so many of them... They have guns..." the guard stammered, gesturing wildly.
Principal Ma walked to the window of the office on the third floor, pulling back the curtains. What he saw shocked him to the core.
At the school's entrance, hundreds of heavily armed special forces soldiers in black uniforms stormed in, brandishing rifles and rapidly surrounding the entire campus. A military helicopter slowly descended onto the school's playground.
Principal Ma stood frozen, completely dumbfounded. What was happening?
Could there be terrorists in their school?
Just as he was trying to make sense of it, he saw two figures disembark from the helicopter. One was a tall, muscular man who clearly belonged to the military, and from his demeanor, Principal Ma could tell he held a significant rank. Beside him was a middle-aged man dressed in a suit.
Principal Ma squinted, his heart racing. He could hardly believe his eyes.
It was... the Mayor of Lingzhou!
Panicking, Principal Ma rushed out of the office to meet the mayor, with Mr. Wang and the security guard trailing behind him.
In his excitement, Principal Ma missed a step on the stairs, stumbling and nearly falling, but luckily he grabbed the railing just in time.
Arriving on the ground floor, he dashed towards the playground, calling out breathlessly from a distance.
"Mayor Deng!"
"Mayor Deng, I apologize for not welcoming you sooner!" Principal Ma said, catching his breath as he reached the mayor.
Mayor Deng didn't bother with pleasantries. He immediately asked, "Is there a student here by the name of Jiang Fan?"
"Jiang Fan? Yes, there is," Principal Ma replied, confused. Why would the mayor go to such lengths over Jiang Fan?
Had Jiang Fan committed some serious crime?
It must be something serious!
Why else would there be so many armed special forces? It seemed Jiang Fan had gotten himself into some deep trouble!
Was it murder or arson?
Principal Ma hurriedly distanced himself from Jiang Fan, adding, "Mayor Deng, Jiang Fan was indeed once a student here, but he has already graduated. Strictly speaking, he no longer belongs to our school."
Mayor Deng gave him a sharp look, then asked, "Where is he now?"
"Where? He's not at the school anymore!" Principal Ma replied, still unaware of Jiang Fan and Chu Ruoxi's actions.
Before Mayor Deng could speak further, one of his aides stopped him, as they noticed a boy and a girl approaching from the edge of the playground.
"Jiang Fan, what are you doing? Come back!" Chu Ruoxi called anxiously, seeing Jiang Fan heading towards the helicopter.
"Chu Ruoxi, you've always wanted to fly in a helicopter, right? Come on, I'll take you!" Jiang Fan said, his voice light-hearted.
"Are you crazy? That's a military helicopter!" Chu Ruoxi exclaimed, running to catch up and grabbing his hand.