Chapter 318 Climbing Mountains

“So, this plaque, is it to be displayed in the classroom?” Tao Ran asked.

“Does that even need asking?”

“Exactly. If it’s not displayed in the classroom, how will it motivate us?”

However, Old Liu shook his head, giving the opposite answer.

“It’s going to be displayed in the first-floor lobby. The grade level has set up a wall to hold your dreams.”

When he said the word ‘dreams,’ Old Liu even spread his hands to gesture a shape. His smile was kind, if a little greasy.

“Damn, our dreams are going to be scrutinized by everyone,” Jiang Nian said.

The class immediately burst into laughter, then quickly grew anxious.

“How should we write it?”

“If I write too high, I’ll be laughed at, right? If I write too low… then I might as well not write it.”

“No way, wouldn’t that just be a whole wall of publicly ridiculed jokes?”

“Damn, why is your mouth like it’s poisoned!”

The urgency of the college entrance exam gradually took on a real form as the class spoke back and forth.

However, Olympiad Class 3 was, after all, the top class below the zero class. They were unrivaled in science among their peers, essentially second only to one person and above everyone else in Zhennan Middle School.

These guys, after a brief moment of anxiety, started to flatter each other.

“Class monitor, you should fill in Tsinghua University.”

“Does Tsinghua have beast-eared girls?”

Zhang Ningzhi held a piece of paper, uniformly printed by the grade level, about the size of a sticky note. Her eyes were a little lost as she asked,

“Do I need to write the school and a sentence?”

“Mm.” Jiang Nian replied, then stopped moving, planning to see what she would fill in. Seeing that she also stopped moving, he couldn’t help but urge, “Write it.”

Zhang Ningzhi turned away, blocking his view.

“Oh, you’re so annoying!”

“No, even if you finish writing it, you can’t encrypt it.” Jiang Nian looked puzzled, “When you hand it in, won’t it still be displayed on the plaque?”

“Everyone will see it in the end anyway, what’s there to hide?”

“Doesn’t matter, I’m not letting you see it.” Zhang Ningzhi pushed him away, directly pushing him towards Li Hua.

And surprisingly, she had some strength; she wasn’t one of those girls who couldn’t even twist open a bottle cap.

“Hey, hey, hey, what are you two doing?” Li Hua complained, circling his hand as he filled in his goal, “Can you two consider your classmates when you’re messing around?”

“Are you jealous?” Jiang Nian asked.

“Jealous of your ass!” Li Hua was a little agitated, his eyes red as if his Sharingan had activated, “You damn, red stone, red stone!”

This was a classic case of throwing a stone and the hit dog barking.

Jiang Nian chuckled, and took the opportunity to ask,

“Hua, what target university are you filling in?”

Li Hua didn’t bother to hide it, “Harbin Institute of Technology.”

Starting with one of the’Seven Sons of National Defense’ wasn’t a problem. Jiang Nian just suspected this guy probably didn’t even know the names of the other six.

“Why not go to Jianyou Institute of Technology?” Jiang Nian asked.

Li Hua looked bewildered, “What school is that?”

“Damn, you rascal!” Jiang Nian laughed, pointing at him, “You dog, you’ll do anything to show off, won’t you?”

Li Hua, exposed, didn’t feel embarrassed and simply admitted it.

“I haven’t researched universities. I occasionally saw a few impressive ones while scrolling on Douyin. I originally thought it was still far off, who knew I had to fill it in now.”

“By the way, what are you filling in?”

Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment, his brows furrowed.

“I don’t know either, I’ll just fill in a random one.”

Saying that, he turned to look at Zhang Ningzhi.

“Let me see.”

“No, I won’t let you see it.” Zhang Ningzhi held it very tightly. Her goal was clear, but now it wasn’t so clear, and she might not apply. If everyone went their separate ways after the college entrance exam, wouldn’t it be… But this wasn’t filling out a university application; what university she could get into would only be known after the first mock exam results next year. She could ask then. She filled in Jianye University, and her one sentence was: “Hope.”

Jiang Nian had originally wanted to copy her, but he failed to peek. He could only fill it in himself, casually choosing a school in the south.

For his one sentence, he wrote: “On the high peak of Liupan Mountain, red flags unfurl in the west wind.”

The main point was humility; he didn’t write the second half of the poem.

Because it was a named dream, if people found out he was only a student who scored less than 600… wouldn’t that be very embarrassing, like spitting on himself.

Everyone’s slips of paper were handed in, and the class monitor pulled out a bottle of glue from under the podium and started working.

Sticking them one by one.

Thus, Tao Ran was also subjected to the mental pollution of Class 3.

As the first round of exams was approaching its end, everyone’s target universities were relatively conservative. They generally only aimed a bit higher than their usual scores, nothing too outrageous.

Even the class president humbly wrote ‘Huazhong University of Science and Technology.’

On one hand, good grades allowed them to show off if they scored high. On the other hand, the real-name system meant that everyone wasn’t very serious about filling in their target universities.

As for the one-sentence remarks, there were many humorous ones.

Lin Dong: “Is the momentary fireworks pure love?”

Sun Zhicheng: “Companionship is the most profound confession.”

Dong Wensong: “Minna-san.”

Tao Ran silently endured the mental pollution, thinking, “Are these people crazy? Even I, with my wild nature, didn’t write anything about beast-eared girls.”

The real-name system seemed only effective for those who cared about their reputation, not for the abstract ones.

After school at noon, the classroom began to change seats.

Jiang Nian’s sixth group had to move from the back row to the front row, directly facing the podium.

“Class monitor.”

Li Qingrong was tidying her desk. Hearing him, she looked up and gave Jiang Nian a deep glance. In an instant, she lowered her gaze and hummed in response.

Jiang Nian first settled Zhang Ningzhi’s desk, then turned back to move his own.

After a flurry of activity, only a few people were left in the classroom.

He remembered he had promised to go hiking with Chen Yunyun last night, so he glanced around briefly and left the classroom.

Down to the third floor.

Class 4 was already nearly empty. Xu Qianqian had most likely left with Song Xiyun.

They usually spent weekend afternoons together, either shopping or doing homework somewhere.

However, one thing was certain: they would absolutely not go hiking.

Because… Qingmu Ridge was just a small hill, only one or two hundred meters high. For locals, they had either been there countless times or were too lazy to go even once.

However, to be safe, Jiang Nian still sent Xu Qianqian a message.

“Where are you?”

Xu Qianqian: “Eating out with Xiyun, why?”

“Nothing, have you paid yet?” Jiang Nian typed, “If not, send me the boss’s QR code, I’ll treat you two.”

Soon, a green WeChat QR code appeared.

Xu Qianqian: “46, thank you.”

Jiang Nian didn’t hesitate and paid it instantly.

Doing a good deed every day, it definitely wasn’t because he felt guilty.

He carried his bag downstairs. He estimated that no one at home had started cooking yet. So he simply greeted his mom and decided to have lunch on the roadside.

Immediately after, Jiang Nian entered an internet cafe and began watching online lessons and doing practice problems, waiting for Chen Yunyun to contact him.

He also started a game of League of Legends.

His phone buzzed, and a message from Chen Yunyun popped up.

“Departing at 1:40. Where should I find you?”

Jiang Nian glanced at it and replied with one hand.

“Summer Internet Cafe at the school’s front gate. I’m the one watching online lessons.”

Chen Yunyun: