Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

By the second half of 1986, the pace of the fifth-year science class at Boya College had been pushed to its limit by their homeroom teacher, Li Heng. The thirty girls in the class were turning into pandas every day, drowning in a sea of ​​physics models, chemical equations, and solid geometry problems.

But Lin Ying's condition was different from everyone else's.

She noticed changes in her body and consciousness; previously, when doing such advanced mathematical derivations, her brain needed to imagine a multi-dimensional model before writing down the variables; but after more than two years of intense training, she found that her learning ability and logical reasoning speed had become stronger.

With her healthy, youthful body as a vessel, combined with the intellectual foundation from her previous life, her current thought processes have become more agile and clear than ever before.

"That's great." Lin Ying leaned back in her chair. As long as she had this healthy body, even without relying on scripts that revealed her foresight to make money, she could still carve out a path to success with her brain.

Spring 1987 arrived quietly amidst the anxiety of all Form 5 students in Hong Kong.

On April 17th, the HKCEE (Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination) officially commenced.

Lin Ying had thought she would face the same high-pressure, non-stop exams as she had experienced in her previous life in mainland China, where she would be exhausted and her skin would be peeled off.

But when she received the schedule for this year's exams, she was speechless.

This final exam, which determines the fate of countless students in Hong Kong and has an elimination rate as high as two-thirds, spans more than twenty days!

The science written exams were stretched out for a full ten days! We finished math today, and there's no exam tomorrow; after physics the day after, we have a weekend off, so students can comfortably go home and sleep for two days, then leisurely take the chemistry exam next Monday.

Lin Ying looked at the schedule in her hand, unsure how to react; she learned a bit, and was amazed by the next step.

Where in mainland China can you find exams this outrageous? That's a nightmare June! Those exams require cramming Chinese, Math, English, and Science into just two and a half or three days; the high school graduation exams here stretch on longer than a trip abroad…

During these twenty-odd days, Lin Ying performed steadily, passing each subject: mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, English, and more.

After enduring the long written exam, the final day brought the oral exam in Chinese.

The oral exam also went very smoothly.

The moment I stepped out of the examination hall, the afternoon sun shone on the streets of Hong Kong Island.

Teacher Li Heng was standing at the school gate when he saw Lin Ying come out and asked, "Lin Ying, how did you feel after the exam?"

"Teacher Li, the school can put up a bigger sign for the science classes next year."

Li Heng immediately burst into laughter: "Good! I knew you could keep your composure!"

With the Chinese oral exam over, Boya College officially announced the start of the holiday.

Lin Ying thought she would know her results after the exam, but when she asked, she realized she had been naive.

"Go back to school on August 7th to pick up your report cards? And then the rankings will be announced?!"

It's only the end of May!

In other words, the education bureau is going to leave these students at home for an extended two-and-a-half-month vacation. During these two and a half months, they won't know their scores or check their results, and they can only wait aimlessly every day with unknown fear or anticipation.

"They're really crazy." Lin Ying shook her head. "By the time the scores come out, these students' brains will probably be all malfunctioning."

"Big sister, you can play all you want after the exams!" Lin Qian exclaimed enviously. "If it were me, I'd be squeezing the controller of my NES until it sparks!"

Lin Lanying also advised, "Yes, Ying, you should rest well for the past two months; staying cooped up in the house doing math problems every day has made you lose weight. How about going to the department store tomorrow to buy a couple of nice clothes?"

Lin Ying swallowed the food in her mouth: "Mommy, you know my size, just buy whatever you think is best."

The next morning, Lin Ying picked up the landline in the living room and skillfully dialed the number for the Mid-Levels apartment in Central.

For the past six months, in order to prepare for the college entrance examination, she has not been able to attend Professor Smith's classes in person for a long time. She usually communicates with him through letters or phone calls about advanced mathematical derivations.

The phone rang three times before being answered.

"Hello?" A young male voice came from the other end of the phone.

Lin Ying quickly replied in English, "Hello, I am Lin Ying, Professor Smith's student. Is the professor in?"

"Lin?" The male voice on the other end chuckled softly. "Father went downstairs to buy his favorite char siu pastry; I'm his youngest son, Matthew."

Matthew? Lin Ying quickly searched her memory for information. Professor Smith had occasionally mentioned in his letters that he had a young son, and he was very proud of him.

"Hello Mr. Matthew, when will the professor be back?"

"About ten minutes," Matthew said casually. "Since you're the genius girl who makes my father even correct my homework on vacation, you can come over now; he has no plans today."

"Okay, I'll be there in an hour."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ying changed her shoes and went out; today, Lin Lanying went to the New Territories to check the accounts for "Qin Guan". Fortunately, Lin Ying is now sixteen years old and can already walk independently in Hong Kong.

I took a taxi all the way to the Mid-Levels apartment.

When the doorbell rang, Professor Smith opened the door; the old man was carrying a plate of char siu pastries.

"Lynn! Have you finished those Hong Kong standard exams that wasted your brainpower?" Smith stepped aside to let her in.

"All the exams are over, Professor." Lin Ying walked in.

"That's great! Is the £10,000 ready? As soon as your results come out in August, I'll immediately initiate the special approval process at Cambridge, and you can fly directly to England after you pass Form 6!" Smith excitedly announced his plan.

"I can transfer the money anytime," Lin Ying replied calmly.

Just then, the study door was pushed open; a tall, young Englishman walked out. The man was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and he was holding a stack of papers covered with formulas.

"Father, is this the Eastern mathematical genius you were talking about?" Matthew walked over and looked Lin Ying up and down.

Professor Smith immediately introduced, "Lynn, this is my youngest son, Matthew. He just graduated from Cambridge with a master's degree." The old man was very proud, "And, moreover, he studied physics, a subject I completely don't understand."

Matthew stepped forward and politely extended his hand: "Hello, Lin; my father has told me that you have an amazing talent for advanced mathematics. However, as a future alumnus of Cambridge, I must remind you that mathematics is only the foundation of everything. What truly changes the way the world works is physics."

This statement carries a hint of academic arrogance.