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

After the fax arrived, Lin Lanying looked at the clothes and read aloud: "Beijing University of Science and Technology... Graduate School... Registration Location... Sister, why is this address so long?"

Lin Ying took it and looked it over. The reporting time was 9:00 AM on July 3rd.

Internal written test: July 3rd to July 4th.

Special interview: Notification will be given after the written test results are released.

The letter included a contact person, phone number, guesthouse address, and a note: Please make sure Lin Ying arrives on time.

The next afternoon, the three boarded a flight to Beijing.

This time, Lin Ying didn't let her parents fly economy class; she bought them first class tickets instead. Lin Lanying initially thought it was too expensive, but after sitting down, she exclaimed that it truly lived up to its name as first class.

"This chair can lie down?"

He Dazhu was even more reserved than her: "I just asked the flight attendant for water, and she asked me if I wanted coffee; what would I do with coffee? I can't sleep tonight if I drink it."

Lin Ying fastened her seatbelt: "Just tell me what you want, don't be shy."

------

The heat and dryness of Beijing are completely different from those of Hong Kong.

As soon as she got off the plane, Lin Lanying exclaimed, "Why is the air so dry here?"

He Dazhu pushed the luggage: "Didn't you bring throat lozenges? Now they come in handy."

Lin Lanying immediately took a bag out of her bag and handed it to Lin Ying: "Eat."

Lin Ying was about to say no, but seeing her mother's posture of being ready to open the medicine box at any moment, she still took one.

The guesthouse arranged by the university was located near the campus; it wasn't luxurious, but it was clean.

Upon seeing Lin Ying's name, the receptionist immediately produced a registration book: "You're Comrade Lin Ying, right? The Graduate School instructed us to call this number first after you arrive."

Lin Ying took the note: "Thank you."

Hearing the words "had been told," Lin Lanying felt a little relieved: "It seems they really value you."

Lin Ying put down her luggage and immediately called the contact person.

The call connected: "Lin Ying? You've arrived at the guesthouse? Great, I'll send a student to take you to the graduate school for registration at 8:30 tomorrow morning. Have you brought all your original documents?"

"I brought everything."

"There are four written exams: Basic Mathematics, Fundamentals of Signals and Systems, Fundamentals of Electronic Circuits, and Professional English. The exams will be completed in two days. The exams are mainly to assess your abilities, not to eliminate you."

Lin Ying: "Understood." Then she hung up the phone.

Lin Lanying immediately leaned closer: "What do you mean?"

"The exams start tomorrow, four subjects over two days."

Upon hearing this, He Dazhu exclaimed, "Four gates in two days? That's way too rushed!"

"It's alright." Lin Ying tucked the exam schedule into the file. "It's easier than Cambridge."

Lin Lanying: "Just how much suffering did Cambridge put you through?"

------

The next morning at 8:30, the students sent by the Graduate School appeared at the guesthouse entrance on time.

He's a boy who wears glasses, named Zhao Qiming, a second-year graduate student.

He paused for a moment when he saw Lin Ying: "Lin Ying? I'll take you there."

Lin Ying nodded: "Thank you."

As they walked, Zhao Qiming explained, "This morning's exam is math, and this afternoon's is professional English; tomorrow morning is Signals and Systems, and this afternoon is Electronic Circuits. Your parents can rest at the guesthouse or take a walk around the campus."

Lin Lanying immediately asked, "Can we wait outside the examination room?"

Zhao Qiming hesitated for a moment: "It's not very convenient inside the examination building, but there is a rest area downstairs."

Lin Ying turned her head: "Mommy, you don't need to wait; I'll go back to the guesthouse myself after the exam."

"That won't do," Lin Lanying refused directly. "I'll just sit downstairs."

He Dazhu chimed in, "I'll sit with your mom."

Seeing their attitude, Lin Ying didn't try to persuade them any further.

The graduate school's conference room was temporarily converted into an examination room.

There was only one set of test papers, a fountain pen provided by the school, and a stack of draft paper on the table.

The proctor was a female teacher in her forties, surnamed Yan.

After verifying the documents, Teacher Yan placed the exam paper in front of Lin Ying: "Don't feel pressured, just write what you know; you have three hours, you can hand in your paper early."

Lin Ying received the test paper and flipped through it.

The first subject, Fundamentals of Mathematics, covered advanced analysis, linear algebra, foundations of probability, and numerical methods. She picked up her pen and immediately began the exam, demonstrating clear steps and omitting key derivations. Less than two hours later, she put down her pen.

Teacher Yan glanced at her watch: "Don't you want to check it again?"

"It has been checked."

When Teacher Yan collected the papers, she glanced at her again: "Two o'clock this afternoon, still here."

In the downstairs rest area, Lin Lanying immediately stood up as soon as she saw her come out: "So fast? Were the questions too difficult, and you couldn't finish them?"

"It's done."

Lin Lanying was still worried: "Don't leak the questions just to be fast."

Lin Ying put her exam admission ticket back into her bag: "Mommy, I'm not Lin Qian."

The afternoon's professional English was simpler: translation of scientific and technological documents, professional vocabulary, short passage comprehension, and writing an English paper abstract.

After Lin Ying finished writing, Teacher Yan flipped through the paper and asked, "Did you learn English in England?"

"Um."

Teacher Yan nodded: "No wonder."

At the end of the first day, Zhao Qiming took her to the cafeteria for lunch.

He was initially a little reserved, but halfway through the meal, he asked curiously, "Lin Ying, you graduated from Cambridge, why didn't you continue your studies there? Many people would find it strange that you came back to take the postgraduate entrance exam here."

After finishing her meal, Lin Ying remarked, "Anyone who's been to England or studied at Cambridge knows; what exactly is the postgraduate process here?"

Zhao Qiming: "Our graduate program here is three years long, full-time. The first year is for taking classes and earning credits, including mathematics, control theory, signal systems, computer science, and professional fundamentals. The second year is for working in the lab with the supervisor and participating in projects. The third year is for writing a thesis and defending it."

The second day went smoothly for both subjects as well.

Lin Ying did very well on the Signals and Systems exam.

She wasn't familiar with a few questions on basic electronic circuits, but she didn't make things up. She derived the conclusions she could and explained the assumptions and reasoning behind the conclusions she couldn't.

When we handed in the last exam paper, Teacher Yan collected it and said, "The written exam is over; the results will be released in three days, and we will inform you of the interview time then."

Lin Ying was a little surprised: "Three days?"

Teacher Yan smiled and said, "It's not appropriate to drag this out any longer in your case."

After leaving the graduate school, Lin Lanying felt a huge sense of relief when she saw that her daughter had finished all her exams.

"Come on, let's go eat! Your old man and I have been waiting in the guesthouse for the past two days and we're practically going moldy."

He Dazhu took out a small piece of paper: "I asked the front desk, and they said that in Beijing, we should go to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and the Summer Palace."

Looking at the crooked handwriting on the note, Lin Ying suddenly felt that the trip had been worthwhile; "Then let's go to all of them."

For the next three days, the family of three really enjoyed themselves in Beijing; during those three days, Lin Ying didn't touch a book, and she accompanied her parents to eat roast duck, hot pot, and douzhi (fermented mung bean juice).

The moment Lin Ying tasted the soy milk, she gagged immediately.

He Dazhu forced himself to take a sip, then put down the bowl: "This stuff... has a lot of character."

Lin Ying nodded: "It has even more character than the Cambridge cafeteria."

Lin Lanying immediately pushed the bowl away: "Then I won't drink it."

-

On the afternoon of the third day, the guesthouse receptionist called: "Comrade Lin Ying, the Graduate School has notified you that the written test results are out. Please attend the special interview at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

After Lin Ying finished her call, Lin Lanying immediately came over: "How did it go?"

"They didn't mention my score over the phone, they just told me I'd have an interview tomorrow."

He Dazhu asked nervously, "Will we be eliminated?"

"If I'm eliminated, they probably won't call me for an interview."

The next morning, Zhao Qiming came to pick her up again, and he was clearly more excited than before: "Lin Ying, you got a very high score on the written test."

How tall?

Zhao Qiming glanced around to make sure no one was in the corridor, then whispered, "The teachers from all four schools got into a fight while grading papers."

Lin Ying asked curiously, "Why are you arguing?"

"The Automation Department wants you, the Electrical Engineering Department wants you, and the Computer Science Department sent someone after they heard about it."

Lin Ying: "..."