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

August 7, 1987.

At the entrance of Boya College, groups of Form 5 students in school uniforms walked in. Some muttered, "Don't fail!" while others forced a smile and pretended to be relaxed.

The Form Five Examinations were delayed from April to May, but the results were held back until August. This two-plus-month period of uncertainty was truly agonizing.

She ran into Tang Xueqi as soon as she entered the school gate.

As soon as Tang Xueqi saw her, she immediately ran over and grabbed Lin Ying's arm: "Ying!"

Lin Ying tilted her head to look at her: "Why are you more nervous than me?"

"How could I not be nervous!" Tang Xueqi clutched her chest. "We got all the grades today! You don't know, I dreamt last night that I didn't do well on my English test, and my mom chased me for three blocks with a feather duster, even losing a shoe in the process!"

"You have a solid foundation, so your English won't be a problem."

"You make it sound so easy," Tang Xueqi said, looking at Lin Ying's calm demeanor. "Of course, someone like you, who isn't human, wouldn't understand the suffering of us mortals."

The two walked up the stairs to the teaching building; the Form 5 science classes were on the third floor.

As soon as Lin Ying stepped into the corridor, she heard murmurs coming from the science classroom.

"I heard this year's exams are really difficult. The last two big questions on the second math paper are so difficult that even people from the prestigious boys' schools in Wan Chai say they're insane."

"Physics is difficult too! I still can't bear to recall the derivation of that electromagnetic field."

"My dad was still saying last night that it's too much pressure for girls to study science, and if I fail the exam, I should just switch to a business preparatory course."

"Shh, keep your voice down, or Teacher Li will yell at you again."

Lin Ying walked to her seat and sat down, putting down her schoolbag; the desk was clean, and she didn't take any books or pens; today she was here to reap the rewards of the past two years of hard work.

At 8:30, Li Heng walked into the classroom carrying a thick stack of kraft paper document bags.

The entire classroom fell silent instantly, and everyone unconsciously sat up straight.

Li Heng placed the file bag on the podium, unwrapped the cord, and pulled out a stack of grade sheets, but did not distribute them immediately.

"Let me start by saying that your class is the most challenging science class in the recent years since Boya School was founded."

"The year you entered Form Four, many government-run girls' schools had already stopped offering science classes. What did people outside say? They said that girls had no future studying physics and chemistry, that resources should all be given to boys' schools, and that giving you a class with only thirty people was a waste of a laboratory."

Li Heng paused for a moment: "I told you all on the first day of school, saying that girls are no worse than boys is useless! You need to make the list, you need to get good grades, you need to shut up those people outside with solid achievements!"

Many girls were moved to tears. In the past two years, Li Heng has been the one who has kept the closest eye on them and has repeatedly pulled them back from the brink of self-doubt.

Li Heng patted the report card in his hand.

"Now, the results are in."

He started sending them out according to student ID numbers.

The first girl walked up awkwardly, took the report card with both hands, glanced down at it, and tears streamed down her face.

"Teacher Li, I passed... I passed math..."

Li Heng nodded: "Why cry over something so good? Go back to your seat after this. We still need to fill out a preparatory course preference form later."

the second.

The third.

the seventh.

Upon receiving their report cards, some people let out a long sigh and slumped into their chairs, while others covered their mouths and wept silently... The Form Five Examination is just that cruel; it's not an equally distributed candy. For every person who crosses the threshold, someone else is left out.

In the end, only one report card, clipped together with a clip, remained on the podium.

Li Heng picked up "Lin Ying".

Lin Ying stood up and walked to the front of the podium.

Li Heng didn't hand her the report card immediately. He lowered his head and looked at it again, as if he was still worried.

"Lin Ying, 10 As!"

The next second, the entire classroom erupted in discussion!

"Ten As?!"

"Really ten As?! You're not kidding, are you?"

"All A's? She registered for ten subjects and got A's in all ten?!"

"I knew her score would be outrageous, but this is fucking outrageous!"

Lin Ying took the report card from Li Heng and glanced at it.

Chinese A; English A; Mathematics A; Additional Mathematics A; Physics A; Chemistry A; Biology A.........

Ten bold A's are neatly arranged on the paper.

Looking at the sixteen-year-old girl before him, Li Heng exclaimed sincerely, "This isn't just any 'good result.' This is the most outstanding Form Five (HKF) results in the science stream since the school's founding! Without a doubt!"

Applause erupted in the classroom.

Lin Ying carefully put away her report card. She wasn't surprised by the score; with her brain and foundation, it would be a miracle if she didn't get ten As. The prejudice that "girls can't do science well" that she had been questioned by others had finally been refuted today with her outstanding score.

Just as everyone's emotions had not yet calmed down, Li Heng pulled out a red-headed notice with an official seal from the bottom of the file bag.

"Don't be too happy yet, there's one more thing."

The classroom fell silent again.

Li Heng looked at Lin Ying and said, "The Education Department has already notified the school. Lin Ying, based on your HKCEE results this year, your academic performance over the past two years, and your achievements in certain 'extracurricular social creation' activities, you have been recommended to participate in this year's 'Hong Kong Top Ten Outstanding Youths' selection."

Faced with such explosive news, everyone stopped caring about Teacher Li and started discussing it.

"One of Hong Kong's Top Ten Outstanding Youths?!"

"That outstanding student whose name will be on the front page of every newspaper in Hong Kong?!"

"Is Ah Ying going to be on TV from now on?!"

"Nonsense! A ten-A! If she doesn't go on TV, who will?"

Lin Ying was somewhat surprised; the ten A's were within expectations, but she hadn't really paid attention to the social honor of Hong Kong's Top Ten Outstanding Youths; it seemed that the teachers and the school had been pushing her hard behind the scenes.

"This is just a preliminary notification," Li Heng instructed. "There will be a formal review process later, and the school will fully cooperate with you in preparing the materials. Stay calm and don't let this title interfere with your regular classes."

"I understand, Teacher Li."

After that, the class started distributing preparatory course preference forms.

Next comes the fateful stream: those with poor grades prepare to enter society, while those with good grades strive to attend top schools for Form Six science.

Li Heng took a pen, walked to Lin Ying's desk, and looked down at her expression of interest.

First choice: Boya College, Form Six Science.

Li Heng nodded: "That's good, you should stay at Boya and study in Form Six."

"Okay." Lin Ying signed her name.

Li Heng pulled over an empty chair and sat down next to Lin Ying at her table.

"Lin Ying, with your current grades, it's a sure thing that you'll stay at Boya University to study Form 6; but today I want to ask you, after Form 7, which university are you planning to apply to? HKU or CUHK? If it's overseas, I can write you a recommendation letter as soon as possible."

Lin Ying put down her pen. "Teacher Li, I might not be going to Form 7."

Not going to Form 7?

He got ten As and ten Outstanding Young Person awards, why isn't he going to Form 7?!

Li Heng was completely baffled: "What do you mean? You want to enter the workforce and make money as soon as possible? Are you short of money? Or are you reluctant to leave the world of fame and fortune on the film set?!"

"Teacher Li, you've misunderstood," Lin Ying explained, pushing the expression of interest form aside.

"I have a tutor. He is a retired professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge; he previously used his academic reputation to secure a special bridging place for me within Cambridge."

"I will contact him after I get my results. If everything goes well, I will finish Form Six at Liberal Arts College, pass the qualifying exam, and then fly directly to Cambridge for an interview and a mathematics subject exam; if I pass, I will go directly into the Cambridge Mathematics Department."

"No need to stay in Hong Kong to finish Form Seven."

After looking at Lin Ying for a long time, Li Heng asked uncertainly again, "Cambridge Mathematics Department?"

"Yes."

"Your tutor... is a Cambridge professor?"

"Yes."

"Skip Form 7, special connecting route?"

"Yes."

Li Heng gasped, "Lin Ying, do you know what this means?"

"I know," Lin Ying replied. "It means I need to complete all the preliminary applications for Cambridge between October and December this year."

"That's not all! October to December is just the stepping stone! You'll need to prepare a personal statement, letters of recommendation, and resume all in English! You'll also face Cambridge's rigorous internal preliminary review! After you enter Form Six, every subject in your H-Levels must be flawless, without any slip-ups!"

"After you finish your Form Six exams, you'll have to fly to Cambridge, England alone to participate in their brutal face-to-face interviews and mathematics subject exams! You'll be competing with the world's top geniuses for that position!"

Lin Ying nodded: "Yes, once the results are reported, the professor will take me through the process; Professor Smith explained all of this to me before returning to England."

"Lin Ying, you will be under tremendous pressure. If you succeed in this path, you will be the first student in the history of Boya School to go directly to Cambridge University after graduating from Form Six."

"It might even be the first in Hong Kong."

What Li Heng didn't say was that she wanted to break through the barriers across the ocean and open the door to the Cambridge Mathematics Department as a Hong Konger, as an Asian, and as a girl who hadn't even finished Form 7!