America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

Excellent, perfectly embodies the image of an Asian nerd who never causes trouble in some people's eyes.

He picked out a red plaid Irish-style shirt from his closet, took out his faded jeans, and finally put on Nike flat shoes. That's how he dressed for school today.

This was one of the topics Li Qun and his friends discussed in the clubroom yesterday: disguising their image, reducing their presence, and avoiding becoming the target of certain people's "attacks".

This morning, Liqun arrived at school very early, but there weren't many people around.

As the weather gets colder, most students are probably still struggling to get out of bed.

As Li Qun passed by the stadium, he heard the sound of a basketball hitting the rim.

Li Qun walked into the stadium.

He went to the clubroom simply to find a warm place where he could wait until class started; the gymnasium was also a good option.

Li Qun quietly sat down in the stands of the gymnasium and watched as Vice Principal George kept shooting the ball at the basket.

George was tall and handsome, so you can imagine he must have been a great basketball player when he was young.

A basket of basketballs was placed next to old George. He picked up a basketball from the basket and threw it at the basketball hoop. The basketball grazed the rim and landed on the ground.

He'd thrown a whole basket of basketballs, but Old George hadn't made a single one.

Old George picked up the basketballs one by one, and suddenly noticed someone sitting in the stands watching him from a distance.

"You're here early again today?" The vice principal walked over.

"It's not exactly early."

"Why don't you give it a try?" Old George threw the basketball to Li Qun, who caught it steadily.

"I'm not good at ball sports, except for table tennis," Li Qun said.

"Try throwing it into the basket. I'm actually not good at any ball sports," Old George said to Li Qun with a smile.

"I threw it away."

"Your actions..."

The basketball fell into the basket, and Old George looked at Li Qun in surprise. Li Qun made an awkward shooting motion and put the basketball in.

"Watch my hand movements, you should do it like this."

Old George was demonstrating by shooting the ball into the basket, and unexpectedly, it was the first shot he made that morning.

“You have great luck; everything goes smoothly when you’re with me,” Old George said with a smile to Li Qun.

“A friend gave me a talisman, hoping that I will be successfully admitted to my desired university,” Li Qun said.

Last night, Master Wang Kaixuan was also invited over for drinks. Master Wang casually gave Liqun a talisman that had been blessed by a great master, and Liqun hung the talisman on his keychain.

Master Wang still had as many amulets as there was on a tree, so Liqun asked Master Wang for a few more to give to his friends.

"I'll try again."

Old George was a little upset because he hadn't been able to make any shots, but now he's calmed down and made the shot again.

As the basketball swished through the hoop, old George turned to look at Li Qun. His eyes held a certainty; he believed that it was this student, Li Qun, who had brought him good fortune.

Li Qun and George picked up the basketballs that had fallen under the basketball hoop and put them back in place. George then sat down in the first row of the stands to rest.

"Lyon, do you plan to apply for a university scholarship?" old George asked.

"I don't plan to apply. I've checked the information, and my family situation doesn't quite meet the requirements," Li Qun honestly replied.

"How could it not meet the requirements? I can provide you with a supplementary explanation to ensure that you can receive the university scholarship without being affected by others."

“I can go to university without taking out a loan, which is already better than many people’s circumstances. The scholarship slots should be given to others who need them more,” Li Qun said.

“Lyon, you can pay your entire university tuition without taking out a loan. This is a small, insignificant privilege that you have gained after losing so much.”

"You are the one who needs to be taken care of."

“The application materials for the university scholarship program are the same as the university application materials, so it’s not troublesome at all,” Old George said.

"You can also look into scholarship programs specifically designed for Asian students; there are such programs for all ethnic groups."

"You only need to send an email, and you will receive a reply within seven days."

Liqun nodded.

Every little bit helps.

"It's good for young people to have self-respect, but they shouldn't be modest when it comes to money. They should take what's rightfully theirs."

"It's almost time to say goodbye. You didn't bring peanuts today, did you?" Old George stood up, remembering what happened yesterday.

"No. It's a normal lunch, so my friend won't have a chance to have an allergic reaction to the snacks I brought," Li Qun said.

"That's good."

More students appeared on campus, gathering in twos and threes.

Li Qun glanced around and noticed that quite a few couples had formed among their fellow twelfth-grade students.

With only six months left in high school, the teachers seem to have loosened up their supervision of students, but they still maintain the same strict oversight of students below the twelfth grade.

Beside the lockers in the corridor, Li Qun took out the exam amulets from his backpack and distributed them to Peter, Gwen, Harry, and Stephanie.

“Think of it as the eternal form of a fortune cookie, where the good wishes are preserved forever,” Li Qun explained to Stephanie.

"Thank you."

"It's triangular, and it really does look like a fortune cookie." Stephanie happily accepted the exam charm that Li Qun gave her.

“Can I open it and see what’s written on it?” Harry asked Li Qun.

“No, if you open it, the good fortune inside the amulet will dissipate, and it might even take some of your own good fortune away,” Li Qun said.

"Okay, I'll keep it safe."

"Where would be the best place to put it?" Peter looked down at the exam amulet in his hand.

"I'm attached to my keychain."

Li Qun showed off his keychain, which had two amulets hanging on it.

"Double the luck," Gwen joked.

“Liqun, Peter, where did you buy your glasses? I want to get a pair too,” Harry said.

"You want to pretend to be someone else too?" Peter asked.

“Peter is wearing glasses now, all four of you are wearing glasses, it seems yesterday’s discussion went very well,” Harry said.

Gwen wears glasses regularly; Peter and Lillian used to wear glasses, but their vision has recovered and they no longer need them; Stephanie only wears glasses during class; Harry has only worn sunglasses and has never worn prescription glasses.

“You can try wearing my glasses for a day. You’ve never worn glasses before, Harry, and they might distract you during your exams,” Peter said, taking off his own glasses and handing them to Harry.

"How do I look with these glasses on? Like a smart guy?" Harry asked with a goofy grin.

Chapter 251 You passed!

December 1st is a Saturday. The SAT test locations are a few private and public high schools in New York City that are always the same. These high schools that set up the SAT test have one thing in common: they can completely close off the test rooms, and no one can get close to the test room to affect the test.

The admission tickets were mailed to the address they filled in when they registered. Li Qun and the others were relieved to receive the mail and their admission tickets.

The exam entry time is from 7:30 to 8:00 AM. After 8:00 AM, latecomers will not be allowed to enter the exam room, regardless of their reason for being late.

The items that candidates are allowed to bring into the examination room are strictly managed. They are only allowed to bring their admission ticket, identification documents, pencils, erasers, and calculators. Calculators are only allowed to be used when answering math questions. Experienced candidates put their items together in transparent document bags for easy inspection.

Backpacks, cell phones, and books are allowed inside, but they must be placed in the designated area of ​​the examination room and cannot be accessed by the examinee during the exam.

Cell phones must be switched off before the exam. If a cell phone is switched on automatically during the exam, the owner of the cell phone will be treated as cheating, their score will be zero, and they will be marked with a special flag.

When Li Qun learned about these "strict" rules of the SAT exam, he had a strong sense of déjà vu. He was extremely familiar with these exam rules and had mentally rehearsed them many times.

Li Qun strictly adhered to the exam rules, notifying everyone in his phone book the day before the exam that he would be unable to use his phone from 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturday, and asking them not to "harass" his phone during this time.

Li Qun turned off his phone and placed it on his desk in the bedroom. He also replaced his digital watch with a mechanical watch, the most traditional kind of mechanical watch that makes a gear-like sound when it runs. During the exam, candidates are allowed to bring mechanical watches to check the time in the examination room.

Allowing test takers to check the time themselves is, in Liqun's opinion, one of the few humane rules in the examination room regulations.

Li Qun had checked the time several times the night before, as he was somewhat worried that the "old-fashioned" mechanical watch wouldn't keep accurate time.

At seven o'clock, Li Qun, Peter, and a few others gathered outside the examination hall.

Li Qun reached out to show off the vintage mechanical watch he was wearing. The watch he was wearing came from Dr. Bruce Banner, and he trusted it very much. It was a gift from his ex-girlfriend.

The mechanical watch Peter was wearing belonged to Uncle Ben, who said he would give Peter a mechanical watch for his eighteenth birthday as well. This seems to be a family tradition in the Parker family.

Harry's mechanical watch is a luxury item, the most expensive among them. Harry also has even more expensive watches at home that he hasn't taken out. The mechanical watch he's wearing today is the cheapest of his watches.

Gwen's watch is a sophisticated women's watch. Peter and Li Qun don't need to guess to know that it's Gwen's mother's watch, and Gwen's father, George, must also have a men's watch of the same style on his wrist.

"Start adjusting the time..."

Several people read out the time from their watches to see whose watch had the largest time error.

“No problem.” Li Qun checked everyone’s time; he was very sensitive about time.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Li Qun asked with concern.

"Ate."

Peter and Gwen's answers satisfied Li Qun.

“I haven’t had much of an appetite these past few days,” Harry said.

"I have some candy here, Harry, you can have it." Li Qun took out a few milk candies from his pocket and stuffed them into Harry's hand.

"Liqun, I wouldn't be surprised if you pulled a few steamed buns out of your pocket." Harry smiled as he unwrapped the candy and put it in his mouth.

"We're running out of time, otherwise we could go buy some food," Li Qun said.

“I saw a food truck selling food around here,” Harry said.

"It's very likely a trap."

"Eating food of unknown origin before the exam caused severe diarrhea during the exam, despicably ruining someone's SAT exam."

“Would anyone do that?” Harry turned to look at the food trucks two blocks away.

"Be careful of the Indians," Li Qun said.

“The Indians…they probably didn’t do it on purpose,” Peter said.