Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

No one spoke in the marking room.

The clock on the wall is still ticking.

Someone was moving tables and chairs outside the window.

Footsteps could be heard occasionally in the corridor.

But the attention of the teachers in the room was all focused on that grade sheet.

First place: Lin Xiuhe. Total score: 387.

Second place: Lin Weidong. Total score: 381.

Only six points behind.

But the first and second are ultimately not the same thing.

The old teacher put his glasses back on, looked at it again, and made sure he hadn't misread it.

"Chinese language first, politics first, mathematics second."

The teacher next to her took the grade sheet and became increasingly surprised as she looked at it: "She's not even the highest scorer in math?"

"Lin Weidong scored three points higher in math, but his Chinese and politics scores brought him back up."

In particular, the Chinese composition received near-perfect scores from several examiners. The composition titled "Choice" has been set aside as an excellent model essay for future reference.

The old teacher opened the essay paper, and when he saw the last paragraph, his gaze lingered on it for a long time.

It was written on the paper:

"Some people have their direction predetermined from birth. But the road is long, and where you go should be decided by yourself."

The old teacher nodded gently and put the test paper back: "This child will go very far in the future."

Meanwhile, at the county's No. 1 Middle School playground.

Most of the test takers had already left, with only a few still discussing the questions.

Zhao Xiaomei sat under the shade of a tree, clutching her schoolbag, holding the popsicle she had just bought, reluctant to eat it.

"Sister Xiuhe, what score do you think I can get?"

"Go home and wait for the results."

"I just couldn't resist." Zhao Xiaomei took a small bite of her popsicle. "If I could go to a vocational college, I'd be laughing in my sleep."

Lin Xiuhe smiled. She didn't discourage her. Because in this life, Zhao Xiaomei had already gone much further than in her previous life.

Just then, someone suddenly ran down from the direction of the teaching building.

They sped off quickly, heading straight for the bulletin board. Several students followed behind them.

"The results are in! The first batch of results are out!"

Everyone on the playground looked up instantly. What grades? Mock exam results?

The next second, more and more people ran towards the notice board.

Zhao Xiaomei nearly dropped the popsicle in her hand: "So fast? Wasn't it supposed to take two more days?"

Nobody knows. All they know is that the bulletin board is already surrounded by people.

The crowd was so dense that it was impossible to squeeze in.

The young teacher from the county's No. 1 Middle School stood on a stool, holding a report card in his hand, his face flushed red.

"Don't push! Look at them one by one!"

But nobody listened. It was the first county-wide mock exam after the resumption of the college entrance examination, and everyone wanted to know the results.

Finally, the report card was posted.

At the very top, the ranking column—

First place: Lin Xiuhe, Hongqi Commune.

Second place: Lin Weidong, Hongqi Commune.

Third place: County No.1 Middle School.

Fourth place: County No. 2 Middle School.

Fifth place: County No.1 Middle School.

There was a moment of silence in front of the bulletin board, followed by a sudden uproar.

"Who? Who is Lin Xiuhe?"

"The Red Flag Commune?"

"Isn't that the woman from the supply and marketing cooperative?"

"Number one? Number one in the entire county?"

The discussion grew louder. Many people looked towards the back of the line to see where they were. But the first place position had already firmly captured everyone's attention.

On the other side, Lin Weidong finally squeezed into the crowd.

He originally aimed for first place and had even planned his reaction upon seeing the name.

But when their eyes fell on the top of the list, they stopped abruptly.

First place: Lin Xiuhe.

Second place: Lin Weidong.

The two lines of text, less than ten centimeters apart, felt like they were separated by a wall.

The surrounding chatter continued.

"That Lin Xiuhe is really amazing."

"His Chinese language skills are frighteningly high."

"I heard the essay was close to a perfect score."

"Teachers in the county are all talking about her."

Lin Weidong stood in the crowd, his face gradually turning pale.

He had always thought that his biggest rivals were the students from the county's top high school, those in the honors classes. But in the end, the one who stood in front of him was Lin Xiuhe—the one whose whole family had always asked him to give in since childhood, the one he thought had already lost his life.

Just then, a second piece of paper appeared next to the bulletin board.

List of Key Candidates for Training

The list only has five people.

And at the very top of the list is still that same name.

Lin Xiuhe.

******

The teachers from the county's No. 1 Middle School had just put away the glue buckets when a group of people gathered around them.

What does "focused training" mean?

"The county is specifically monitoring these students. I heard they get access to internal materials and can even participate in intensive tutoring."

Discussions and murmurs continued one after another.

Zhao Xiaomei finally squeezed to the front. She looked at the first picture, then the second, and checked it three times before suddenly covering her mouth—she was afraid she would scream. But she couldn't help but smile.

"Number one, truly number one."

On the other side, Lin Xiuhe stood on the periphery of the crowd, not pushing forward.

In her past life, she had seen the results list. But back then, her name wasn't on it, and nobody talked about her.

Now, the wind blows from the playground, and the papers on the bulletin board sway gently. That name is still hanging at the very top.

Just then, several teachers walked out of the teaching building. The one at the front was a senior teacher from the marking team.

He walked to the bulletin board, first looking at the list, then at the students around him. Finally, his gaze settled on Lin Xiuhe, who was standing at the edge of the crowd.

"Comrade Lin Xiuhe."

The playground suddenly became lively. Many students automatically made way for each other.

The older teacher walked over and pulled a document from a folder: "Take this test paper."

"What kind of test paper?"

"Key question types compiled last year."

The eyes of several students nearby lit up—it was internal information from the county's No. 1 High School, something they rarely saw.

The experienced teacher handed over the materials: "There's less than a month until the college entrance exam, don't let your guard down. Mock exams are just mock exams; the real exam is much harder."

Lin Xiuhe took the materials and nodded: "Thank you, teacher."

The old teacher smiled and turned to leave. But after taking only two steps, he stopped.

"By the way, your essay was very well written. Keep it up."

Only after saying that did he truly leave.

A murmur rippled through the playground—the grading team had personally delivered the materials and even praised the essay individually. Who had ever seen such treatment before?

On the other side of the crowd, Lin Weidong stood there, never leaving from beginning to end.

He looked at the data, then at the name at the top of the list, his hand crumpled up with the report card.

Just then, a student from the county's No. 1 high school came over and said, "Weidong, you're really good too, you came in second place."

Second place. Those three words pierced my ears, sounding particularly harsh.

In the past, when people talked about achievements, they would always mention first place first. But today, he is not first.

On the way back, Zhao Xiaomei was smiling almost the entire time. She pedaled her bicycle very fast.

"Number one in the whole county! Special training for her! Sister Xiuhe, when the college entrance exam results come out, the whole commune will be in an uproar."

Lin Xiuhe, sitting beside him, did not respond to the topic.

She was thinking about something else. At this time in her past life, although Lin Weidong had good grades, he hadn't ranked second in the entire county. Many things had begun to change, and the greater the changes, the more unpredictable the future became.

In the evening, the two returned to the commune.

As soon as they entered the supply and marketing cooperative's courtyard, Li Hongmei ran out: "You're finally back!"

"What's wrong?"

"Someone is looking for you."

"Who?"

Li Hongmei pointed towards the office: "They're from the Women's Federation. They've been here for over half an hour, saying it's urgent."

Lin Xiuhe strode into the office.

The director of the Women's Federation was sitting inside drinking tea, with an envelope on the table. Seeing her enter, she pushed the envelope towards her: "It's from the county, just arrived."

The envelope was thin, and the seal had already been broken. The words "Report Material" were written on top.

Lin Xiuhe opened it; inside were only two pages. The first page was an anonymous tip-off. The second page was an investigation registration form.

The complaint was simple: there were doubts about the applicant's eligibility for the college entrance examination, and a re-examination was requested.

In the office, steam slowly rose from the teacup.

The director of the Women's Federation tapped on the table: "The report was submitted to the county this afternoon, the timing is very coincidental—just after the results came out."

Lin Xiuhe flipped to the end of the whistleblower letter; it was unsigned.

The handwriting was familiar.

The character "资" is still missing a stroke on the right.