Age of Legends

Chapter 305 Keep it up!

After washing up at home in the evening, I turned on my computer. Accompanied by the sound of a pager, the penguin icon flashed, from Shen Nuoyi.

Shen Nuoyi: "I glanced at your exam paper today."

Zhang Chen: "What do you mean?"

Shen Nuoyi: "I got 118 in Chinese. I only lost four points on the composition, which was well written, but I lost points on the basic questions and did not get full marks in the classical Chinese comprehension."

Ever since Zhang Chen's perfect score essay, people have been borrowing his Chinese exam papers to look at them, such as Peng Xin and Tian Jiayi. Zhang Chen's essays almost always get high scores, and Peng Xin and his group of friends would remain silent after reading them each time, but they couldn't help but poke Zhang Chen on the back the next time and say, "Let's see your Chinese exam paper."

Essays sometimes reflect a person's inner world. Many people are reluctant to lend their essays to others because they feel ashamed. Zhang Chen, however, doesn't care and doesn't mind whether others will try to peek into his inner world through them.

Shen Nuoyi's essays are generally never seen by anyone.

Shen Nuoyi: "You got 132 in math, and you knew almost all the big questions, but you didn't get the last question completely right. You need to work on that. You also got all the English listening and reading questions right, and you scored high on writing, but you lost points on the grammar multiple-choice questions. You have a good sense of language, but you're not careful enough..."

Zhang Chen: "You didn't take a little notebook and write down all these summaries after looking at my test paper, did you?"

Shen Nuoyi: "Yeah, what else? I'll summarize it for you after I've read it."

Zhang Chen could already picture Shen Nuoyi taking his test paper from Zheng Xue and comparing it with his own, while simultaneously taking notes in a notebook.

She really wants to improve her grades.

Shen Nuoyi: "You can get most of the physics and chemistry in the science comprehensive exam, but you make more mistakes in the experimental questions and biology multiple choice questions. You are good at reasoning questions, but you don't like to memorize knowledge points, so you are at a disadvantage in terms of memory. You should focus on improving these areas..."

Looking at her response, Zhang Chen sat in front of the computer, thinking about how she had earnestly shared her summary of him today. Suddenly, he smiled, perked up, and typed on the keyboard: "What if I really can't catch up with you in the end?"

After sending this message, Zhang Chen initially thought she had gone offline.

Alternatively, this might dampen her underlying enthusiasm, because she had been constantly identifying and addressing Zhang Chen's shortcomings. Her strong goal-oriented approach might not have allowed her to consider this outcome, but it was also possible that such an outcome would indeed occur. Therefore, Zhang Chen directly burst the bubble, because many things are beyond human control.

Zhang Chen believed that with his newfound life and experience, he could live a good life and seize opportunities. However, this did not mean that being reborn would allow him to make up for his academic shortcomings.

To rise from the bottom of Yude High School to the top 100 and reach the key university admission line is a miracle for many. Beyond that, Zhang Chen doesn't necessarily attribute it to a difference in intelligence, but rather to differences in talent, study habits, and accumulated knowledge.

So in the end, they may all face the same problem: Zhang Chen may not be able to get into Shen Nuoyi's school, and it seems that the gap is huge and cannot be bridged by Zhang Chen working hard in the next ninety days.

Even if it dampens Shen Nuoyi's enthusiasm, he must face it all head-on.

After a long while, Shen Nuoyi's avatar started to move with a short chime.

"That's okay."

"Learning is not about getting into the same university in the end, but about learning for yourself."

"Have you already discovered how fulfilling and rewarding it is to see your grades improve after putting in the effort? Your studies should never be for anything else; they should always be for yourself. Only in this way can you take control of your own destiny and be worthy of all the years you've spent burying your head in your books at your desk. Don't forget, your dream is to make computer games, so take it one step at a time. It's okay to be slow, as long as you're heading in the right direction."

"Besides, I don't care which university you go to. I'll wait for you."

Looking at the screen, Shen Nuoyi posted such a long message, which was quite rare for him.

As I watched the chat box finally settle, a gentle breeze blew in through the window, welcoming the bright moon.

Zhang Chen thought he had been too hard on the girl. Shen Nuoyi must have been under a lot of pressure, not only during the final sprint of her senior year, but he had also distracted her by making her focus on his own pace. This must have been very troubling for someone as goal-oriented as her.

Even though she was far ahead, she still had Zhang Chen, a teammate who dragged her down, forcing her to be distracted. But she remained calm and patient, instead carefully analyzing his problems each time, trying her best to find the gaps in his knowledge, and identifying every question and every point he could improve on.

If this girl were a teacher, she'd be the most responsible student in the world right now. Her calm and composed demeanor, her unwavering focus on moving forward, and her remarkable emotional management skills and relentless dedication to her goal are truly admirable.

……

After talking with Zhang Chen, Shen Nuo's room was only illuminated by the light from the computer. She got up, gently pressed the doorbell, and then pushed it open. The lights in the living room had been turned off sometime earlier, and the hallway was quiet except for the ticking of the wall clock. However, a light was still shining through the crack in the door to her father's study. She carefully moved to the outside and listened intently.

It was Shen Mingbo's voice coming through.

"Liu Yan's actions are getting increasingly aggressive."

It was the father Shen Mingbo's deep voice, filled with suppressed emotion.

Immediately following was Ning Wenjing's mother's slightly anxious voice: "Why was Taixun's quota suddenly changed? Wasn't it all agreed upon before? How could it be transferred to your distant cousin at the last minute?"

“It was Liu Yan who did it on purpose.” Shen Mingbo paused for a moment, his voice weary. “The list includes not only my cousin who does the same business as me, but also her relatives. But we’re the best in our field, and now I have to go through with them, give them some concessions, and put a label on their products before I can ship them out…”

Ning Wenjing sat up straight abruptly, unable to suppress the anger in her voice: "Isn't this just taking the quota and waiting for you to hand over the money!"

Ning Wenjing couldn't help but raise her voice: "Why did she do this? Weren't we on pretty good terms before?"

Shen Mingbo said, "She's all-powerful at Taixun now, controlling every aspect. I heard she's gotten rid of a lot of senior employees in the company. Whoever she doesn't like leaves, and it's obvious she doesn't like us anymore."

Ning Wenjing said, "Then why did she give it to your distant cousin? Your cousin is someone you know through your relationship with Liu Yan. Why didn't she just give it all to her people?"

“She’s waiting for me to beg her,” Shen Mingbo said.

Ning Wenjing sighed, "Pei Yan is a good kid, how did he end up with such a mother?"

“These are two different things. Anyone who has control of a company as big as Taixun and can make decisions about the upstream and downstream will naturally act according to their own ideas. Besides, we can’t negotiate with her on an equal footing.”

A long silence followed between the two.

Shen Mingbo lowered his voice, "Don't let Nuoyi know about this. She's about to take the college entrance exam, we can't let it affect her."

Ning Wenjing's voice came through again: "How much will we lose?"

Shen Mingbo let out a long breath, his voice somewhat grave: "The market was already tough, and profits were already thin. Now that our quotas have been taken, we have to pay a bridging fee. Almost every order from now on will result in a loss. By the end of the year... it depends on the market. If the market improves, we might be able to barely hold on. But if this continues, the losses will probably be between five and ten million."

Ning Wenjing took a deep breath, "So much... even mortgaging your factory wouldn't be enough..."

He paused, his gaze falling on the pile of documents on his desk, his voice lowering even further: "But we can't stop production yet. If we keep operating, we might still be able to turn things around. Once the machines stop, who will pay the employees' salaries? So many people have families to support, and the lost market share can vanish in an instant... That's when there will be no chance of a comeback!"

"But I would never sell my daughter! I've always said I didn't want to live under someone else's roof, and that was part of that consideration. Now you understand, right? No matter how difficult it is, we have to get through it. As long as Nuoyi can get into Tsinghua or Peking University, I, as her father, will have no worries. A little more hardship and fatigue doesn't matter!"

The atmosphere in the room fell into dead silence once again after Shen Mingbo's final boastful words.

Outside the door, Shen Nuoyi, shrouded in shadow, had a stubborn line of light and shadow on her high, straight nose in the moonlight. She retreated into the room with light footsteps.

She saw the countdown on the still-lit computer screen: "89 days until the college entrance exam." She also saw Zhang Chen's avatar on QQ, with whom she had just said goodnight and logged off. Staring at Zhang Chen's Sonic the Hedgehog avatar, she pursed her lips and sighed softly in the night, as if it were a mutual encouragement.

"Come on."

When you are still in a very humble position, all you can do is trek towards the faint light, which may be the only way out.

(End of this chapter)