Everyone's gaze turned uniformly towards Su Zelin.
"It's just so-so!"
Su Zelin shrugged.
He also felt relaxed.
Not that he did exceptionally well, but he didn't really take this college entrance exam too seriously.
"It seems everyone got off to a good start, that's a promising beginning!"
Xiaoyanzi summed it up, and after speaking, she looked at Su Zelin with expectation on her face.
"Dad, please guess the application questions for the math this afternoon!"
...
Three days later, the college entrance exam was over.
In the classroom of Class 2, Grade 12, at School No. 2, there were those who were happy and those who were worried.
Those who performed well were naturally overjoyed, while those who didn't looked distressed.
No matter what, the twelve years of diligent study had finally come to an end.
Although there was still university to attend, according to seniors who came home during holidays, life in the Ivory Tower is quite relaxed, sometimes only needing to attend half-day classes, and teachers don't really mind if you take leave or skip classes; you can even go out to play in internet cafes all night, and maybe even fall in love or something.
In short, it seems wonderful, described like paradise on earth, making one yearn for it.
With the burden on the shoulders lifted, one felt completely at ease.
In Su Zelin's small circle of four, every member was in a good mood.
With the good start in the Chinese subject, everyone performed impressively in the following subjects, ending with great satisfaction.
Tang Yan and the other two chatted excitedly, while Su Zelin did not join in, simply watching Qin Shiqing quietly.
His mood was very complicated.
This time in the college entrance exam, Qin Shiqing had no reason to fail again; her performance might have been even better than usual.
This also meant that top universities like Tsinghua and Peking were already beckoning to her from afar.
The time for parting had arrived!
Upon entering university, she and I would no longer be in the same city; the emotional entanglements from the past life wouldn't happen in this lifetime.
While feeling comforted, Su Zelin couldn't help but feel a bit bitter.
"Su Zelin, why aren't you talking? Didn't you also do pretty well?"
Xiaoyanzi quickly noticed his unusual behavior.
"No, I was just considering which universities to apply to."
Su Zelin found a random excuse to brush it off.
"Why think so much? Decide after your score estimation, and besides, however it is, you can probably make it to a second-tier university, going higher would be hard!"
Xiaoyanzi accurately assessed Su Zelin's capability.
More than enough for a second-tier, not quite for a first-tier.
"Right, Zelin, you don't need to worry too much, you predicted the essay topic correctly, and your English is excellent, you should surely make it to a second-tier university!"
Lu Haoran also consoled him, thinking his friend was worried about failing.
After the college entrance exam, there's one important thing to do during the leaving period, which is the score estimation, and it must be done promptly, otherwise, one might forget the answering process.
Many students would write their answers on drafts and take them out, but not everyone has ample time for all subjects, so some could only estimate scores based on memory.
After finishing the score estimation, Tang Yan and Lu Haoran were very satisfied, with ideal scores.
Su Zelin was also within an acceptable range; the math, physics, and chemistry subjects had fallen behind a bit after rebirth, but after targeted cramming for a month, he recovered some.
The Chinese seemed even higher than the previous exam, as for English, it should've been full marks or close to it, depending on whether the writing section graders would deduct points, at least Su Zelin was quite confident.
This way, the overall score rose, probably about the same as before rebirth, applying to the same second-tier university should not be a problem.
What surprised everyone was Qin Shiqing.
"Shiqing, your estimated score is too low, didn't you say you did okay?"
Tang Yan looked at Qin Shiqing's total estimated score and frowned.
This estimation couldn't be said to be bad, but it didn't reach the ideal level either.
"Yeah, Qin Shiqing, were you too conservative with the subjective questions?"
Although there were standard answers to refer to, estimating scores can never be 100% accurate because of subjective questions; candidates might feel confident, but grading teachers might not think so.
Some overly optimistic candidates might have overestimated their scores by dozens of points, leading to not being admitted or being enrolled in an undesirable major.
Usually, teachers advise a slightly conservative approach to score estimation, but not overly so.
"Being conservative is better, wasn't there once a senior who could've gotten into a good 985 university, but because of overly optimistic estimation applied to Tsinghua and Peking, had to come back and repeat a year?"
Qin Shiqing gently explained, "Moreover, my performance was actually just okay, not particularly good."
"Qin Shiqing, are you stupid? I even guessed the essay topic for you, how could you not have done well!"
Su Zelin instantly lost his cool.
It wasn't just the essay topic, even the exercises he normally asked Qin Shiqing for advice on were the types likely to appear in the college entrance exam.
Logically, Qin Shiqing should have definitely gotten into Tsinghua or Peking, but she ended up estimating such a poor score.
Though not as bad as her previous life, it was still not ideal.
The score could very likely still secure a place at Tsinghua or Peking, but it couldn't be considered a sure thing, at least not for good majors.
He had gone to great lengths, made countless calculations, yet didn't want any last-minute hiccups to occur.
"Su Zelin, why are you so worked up? It's as if you think Shiqing doesn't want to do well."
Tang Yan glared at Su Zelin, standing up for her deskmate: "Besides, before the exam, Shiqing got her period and might not have fully recovered from her cold, her state would have been somewhat affected."
"After all, it's just an estimate; perhaps Qin Shiqing was too conservative, but Zelin, your concern is understandable!"
Lu Haoran played the mediator.
Su Zelin stayed silent, realizing his emotions had indeed gone overboard.
"Shiqing, do you think you should apply to Tsinghua or Peking?"
Tang Yan cautiously asked.
"With this estimation, there's still a good chance, and you might have underestimated yourself."
All eyes were on Qin Shiqing.
"I need to think it over, and consult with the teachers and my parents, and decide a bit later."
Qin Shiqing said calmly.
"Shiqing is right, applying for colleges requires caution; the teachers might have more experience, and parents' advice is important too."
Lu Haoran agreed.
He had to take his estimation and application form back to discuss it thoroughly with his own parents.
"Hmm, looks like that's the only way!"
Tang Yan nodded slightly.
Qin Shiqing glanced at Su Zelin: "My chance at Tsinghua or Peking isn't certain; someone seems to have quite an opinion about it."
"Of course, you're letting down the essay topic I painstakingly divined as Su Banxian! Besides, I was thinking about showing off to my friends, saying the neighbor I grew up next to got into Tsinghua or Peking, it's quite a reputation boost for myself too!"
Su Zelin replied righteously.
"Lol, reputation, as if you were the one who got in!"
Tang Yan pursed her lips in disbelief.
"Zelin is just concerned for Shiqing, naturally hoping she gets into the best university!"
The honest friend mediated once more.
"No, no, you got it wrong; the most important thing is, there's a bonus for getting into Tsinghua or Peking, and it's not small, splitting it in half with me for foreseeing the essay topic isn't too much, right?"
Su Zelin put on a greedy face.
"Helping each other as friends is only natural, and you only happened to guess it right, yet you have the nerve to ask for half of Shiqing's bonus, Su Zelin, how could you say that!"
Xiaoyanzi laughed in exasperation.
This rascal's shamelessness truly remained as thick as ever!
...