Age of Legends

Chapter 274 Gap
Han Zhouxuan wasn't the only one silently following Zheng Xue on QQ; Pei Yan had also seen Zheng Xue's posts. In reality, Zheng Xue and Pei Yan had no connection and didn't know each other. Yet, they inexplicably became friends. Zheng Xue tried adding him after hearing some information about Pei Yan circulating among girls, and to her surprise, he accepted. However, they never spoke to each other.

Pei Yan already knew that this was Zheng Xue's account number; there was nothing he didn't know. He simply remained calm and, through Zheng Xue, he could also learn some information about Shen Nuoyi.

Knowing they climbed Fangshan together, and most likely with Zhang Chen as well, it's easy to see that Zheng Xue, with her boastful nature, would have made it clear if she had only gone with Shen Nuoyi, but she downplayed it, implying it wasn't a solo trip for the two girls. And their climbing Fangshan at this time of year was very likely a holiday invitation.

Fangshan. He still remembered how he, Han Zhouxuan, and Shen Nuoyi had confidently declared that they would go hiking to watch the sunrise. He said he had hiked it before and saw a sky full of brilliant stars in the early morning. When he said that, his gaze passed over Han Zhouxuan and looked at Shen Nuoyi.

Han Zhouxuan looked very impressed, while Shen Nuoyi's eyes were full of longing.

And now, those words still echo in my ears, those experiences seem like they happened just yesterday.

How come the things that were repeatedly mentioned in those books have changed and people are no longer the same as what happened to me?

These are all tests. Everyone has moments of immaturity during their growth. Shen Nuoyi simply took a wrong turn. She will eventually realize that, considering reality, their shared aspirations, and the potential for a brighter future, only she can accompany her to the end. Everyone else is just a passerby.

……

Seven days passed quickly, and it was time to return to school for class meetings and to collect grades. This time, Rongcheng used the national exam paper for the final exam. The questions were less difficult than the college entrance examination but more difficult than the high school graduation exam, so this exam was an important reference.

When I arrived at the school, people were already talking about it. Some schools that weren't strict with grading could grade the papers in just three days, such as some provincial key schools whose rankings were lower than Yude's.

"A friend of mine goes to No. 12 Middle School. He's always been first in his class in every exam. This time he got 645 points, which puts him in the top ten in his grade. I wonder how our school did this time," someone said, turning to the back of the class, discussing the national exam for the final exam.

The total score is 750 points. Chinese, Mathematics, and English are each worth 150 points. Then, students are divided into science and humanities students based on a combined science and humanities score. The total score for the combined science and humanities score is 300 points, and each subject score is worth 100 points.

No. 12 Middle School is considered a second-tier key high school, ranking just one level below Yude High School. Hearing this information, most people had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Some people said that Zhou Ming didn't know if he could finish teaching the entire second semester because he had started thinking about doing business and now seemed to have no interest in teaching. Some well-informed people even knew that the principal had specifically called Zhou Ming in for a reprimand.

Zhang Chen listened, somewhat dazed. He remembered that Zhou Ming hadn't become a teacher after that. The reason was that less than two years after their graduating class, Zhou Ming was reported to the Education Bureau, suspended from his duties for investigation, and then left Yude High School. It was said he went into business, but no one knew exactly what. Anyway, the class didn't have a very good impression of him, and Zhou Ming wasn't as inconspicuous as his name suggested.

Now, Zhang Chen was surprised to find that Zhou Ming's Dao Heart was unstable. Connecting the dots, could this be his own butterfly effect?
The class meeting began, and Zhou Ming arrived late. Holding the class's overall score sheet, he was indeed a little distracted. Being a teacher was too hard. Even though he worked at Yude High School and received some donations from students' parents, he was lazy and didn't want to earn extra money by teaching. Seeing a relative of his who had become successful in business in Guangzhou, spending lavishly every time he came back, made him feel meaningless. Of course, that wasn't all. What he couldn't help but watch was that Zhang Chen's family, especially his eccentric mother, whom he disliked the most in the class, had their fortunes skyrocket. They had founded Huixu Real Estate with a radio host, appeared on television, and frequently appeared in newspapers and real estate magazines. In those days, real estate DM magazines were booming. Developers paid the magazines to deliver various property advertisements to consumers during the housing boom, and Zhang Chen's mother was a hot topic, generating a lot of traffic.

Leaving aside Huang Huifen, especially considering the recent news he received, Zhang Chen's father, Zhang Zhonghua, had transformed himself into the CEO of Chenguang Display Technology Co., Ltd., a company spearheaded by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) that recently outmaneuvered South Korean giants Philips and LG, securing patents valued at over 100 million yuan and raising hundreds of millions in financing to establish a Sino-Korean joint venture. This had practically become a torchbearer for Rongcheng's manufacturing industry. All of this had happened in just one year, right around him. How could Zhou Ming not be bewildered? He felt that if even someone like Zhang Chen's mother, Huang Huifen, could start a company and make a fortune, then his own venture into business might already be no less successful than his cousin in Guangzhou, who was worth tens of millions!

Now, Zhou Ming no longer looked at the top students in the grade on the roster in his hand. Instead, he looked at Zhang Chen and felt that even Li Runjia was not as dazzling as him.

Zhou Ming, who was absent-mindedly attending class, returned to the present reality, opened the report card, and began to read the report.

"Our class did quite well in the exams this semester, ranking third in the grade overall. Two of our students were in the top five in the grade. Special praise to Li Runjia, who ranked first in the grade with a total score of 690."

Everyone shouted!

Li Runjia truly lives up to his name; he's already established himself as the best in the world.

"Second place, Shen Nuoyi, with a total score of 672."

A collective gasp erupted from the crowd. Countless people gazed at their goddess with awe. Shen Nuoyi, like a celestial being descended to earth, had achieved fourth place at Yude High School.

The third place winner is Tian Jiayi with 650 points. He's 20 points behind Shen Nuoyi, but he's already one of the top students in the next tier of key high schools.

Then the results were released one after another, and Zhang Chen's score was displayed: 608. He still scored above 600, but his performance was not outstanding and he had reached a plateau.

Wang Shuowei received a pleasant surprise on May 520th; at least Lao Wang's expectations were met, and Wang Shuowei will probably have tens of thousands of yuan in pocket money again.

Looking at his score, Zhang Chen was honestly quite satisfied with his own score of around 600 in the past. However, Shen Nuoyi's score of 672 was far superior, and the gap between them was clearly evident.

So, ultimately, the real distance between Zhang Chen and Shen Nuoyi isn't about family background, or even their future prospects. It's about the present: Shen Nuoyi's grades are dramatically ahead, and she shows no signs of being affected by romance or external factors. Zhang Chen, on the other hand, is truly just average. That's how learning is; even if Shen Nuoyi shares everything she knows, what works for her might not work for you. It depends on how you learn. Either you have a sudden burst of inspiration and find your own method, or you bury yourself in hard work and rely on sheer perseverance to break through as a dark horse. Of course, all of this is just the initial stage, like a somewhat talented apprentice who can advance to a master through diligence and effort. But to become a top master, it absolutely requires both exceptional talent and hard work—both are indispensable.

While ordinary people with some talent are common in this world, people with top-notch talent are rare.

This is why there are only a handful of top experts; reaching the top of the pyramid is not an easy feat.

(End of this chapter)