Chapter 6: Fame Soars

"News Express" presents a special report on the college entrance examination, bringing you live coverage of the first day. The 2018 college entrance exams have officially begun with the ringing of the bell. This year, fifteen thousand candidates are taking the exam in our city, but one student handed in his paper and left the exam hall at precisely eleven o’clock. Let’s hear what this candidate has to say.

The host's articulate and familiar voice provided the narration, but Chu Lan's eyes were fixed on Zhang Chu on the screen. The more she looked at her son, the more handsome he seemed to her.

On television, Zhang Chu’s casual remark, “It was too easy,” was highlighted, his air of confidence so pronounced that Chu Lan could hardly believe it.

“A conservative estimate: 135 points…”

As one of Jiangcheng TV’s most popular news programs, "News Express" had a massive audience. Many families kept their televisions tuned to this channel by default. The city-wide college entrance examination was no trivial event—countless people followed it closely, especially those with candidates at home.

At noon, thousands of households turned on their TVs and saw this composed student speaking confidently into the camera, puzzling over whether he was a true academic prodigy or merely bluffing.

Meanwhile, in the cafeteria of Jiangcheng Experimental High School, a group of students nearly spat out their rice in surprise. A chubby boy pointed at the TV hanging from a pillar. “Damn, isn’t that Zhang Chu?”

“It really is him! Has he lost his mind? Handing in the paper that early and claiming he’ll get 135 points—that’s hilarious!” Another tall, thin student, Feng Tianrui, burst out laughing. He hadn’t expected his classmate to make it onto the news, and in such a way, no less.

Many of the candidates lived at the school; their homes were too far, so the school organized for them to take the exams elsewhere. At this hour, nearly everyone in the cafeteria knew each other.

“Feng Tianrui, is he really from your class? I’ve never heard of him before. Who knew you had a hidden genius among you?”

Almost everyone in the cafeteria had their heads tilted up towards the television, eager to understand what this was all about.

“He usually keeps to himself, doesn’t hang out with us, never joins us for all-night parties or drinks. His grades are only good enough for a second-tier university at best. This is obviously an act of resignation—he’s probably planning to repeat the year.”

Not many people in the cafeteria knew Zhang Chu personally, but as the whispers spread, his name quickly became familiar.

“If anyone sees Zhang Chu later, make sure to pay your respects for me!”

“This guy’s got guts. If I handed in my paper early, I’d get lynched.”

“He’s really talking big—I want to see how he gets out of this when the results are out.”

“I barely finished my essay in the last few minutes, almost didn’t have time to fill in the answer sheet. How could Zhang Chu have finished so early?”

“I’m floored.”

…

At the dining table, Chu Lan rubbed her temples. “It’s good to be confident, but isn’t this a bit too high-profile? What if you don’t get such a high score?”

“I’ve never seen him get more than a hundred points before. Unless he’s had a run-in with a ghost this time,” Zhang Bowen muttered, now more worried than ever. Their relatives had probably seen the news too—if Zhang Chu didn’t do well, the embarrassment would be immeasurable.

Zhang Chu flashed a bright smile. “Dad, Mom, just relax. I’ll only score higher, not lower. Usually, I’m just hiding my abilities. I don’t want to stand out.”

“You little braggart. Hurry up and eat—there’s still the math exam later!” Zhang Bowen and Chu Lan, fortunately, were broad-minded enough to brush it off as a little inappropriate. They didn’t want to criticize their son at such a crucial moment and risk affecting his performance.

Zhang Chu’s smile wouldn’t fade; his reputation points within the system were soaring. It seemed all his efforts today had paid off.

During the "News Express" broadcast, his reputation points had shot up in increments of dozens. After the minute-long segment ended, the growth slowed, with just a trickle of points being added. He wasn’t sure why.

“A bountiful harvest! Two thousand one hundred eighty-seven reputation points—that’ll last me a while!”

The "News Express" audience was certainly larger than that, but only a fraction would remember his name. Still, it was more than enough.

Zhang Chu swallowed, pleased. He’d been planning this since the very start of the Chinese exam—he knew the first student to leave the hall would draw the most attention. He hadn’t been sure if there would be reporters, but even without them, he’d have caught the eye of parents and staff.

The result was ideal: only by standing out could he earn more reputation points. Keeping a low profile would have left him unknown.

Still, there was a long way to go before his Savior System could upgrade from novice to basic level—about eight thousand points short, no small number! Who knew when he’d be on TV again? He had to make the most of this “bug” in the college entrance exam and rack up as many experience points as possible.

For an ordinary student, the easiest way to attract attention was to become the top scorer in the entrance exam. For the sake of reputation points, Zhang Chu resolved to seize that opportunity for himself.

In his previous life, he’d only managed to enter a mediocre college. Now, he was aiming for the top spot—what a dramatic change.

…

At two-thirty in the afternoon, the classroom at Jiangcheng No. 2 High School was like a steamer. The old electric fans on the ceiling creaked as they spun, offering little relief from the heat.

Zhang Chu had just stepped in with his transparent pencil case when all the other candidates turned their eyes to him, as if he were some kind of warrior.

Some looked probing, some curious, some regretful, some envious—there was every kind of emotion.

Even before the Chinese exam had started, this guy had already made an impression. Then, halfway through the test, he’d sat staring into space, only to hand in his paper half an hour early and leave.

Sitting behind Zhang Chu, Lu Yu snorted. He’d heard in the morning that someone had handed in their paper thirty minutes early and boasted about getting at least 135 points. He knew immediately that the bold candidate had to be Zhang Chu, who sat right in front of him. Math was Lu Yu’s strongest subject. "The Chinese exam doesn’t make much of a difference, but for math, let’s see how much you can score!"

Zhang Chu didn’t hear Lu Yu’s inner thoughts, and even if he had, he wouldn’t have cared.

“There’s only one in-class help left to use, so I must upgrade soon. Otherwise, I won’t be able to use the system’s functions for the science comprehensive and English exams tomorrow.”

He’d already used up the out-of-class help and the lottery from the system’s novice package. Now, with only in-class help remaining, he had to choose his target carefully.

“If only both were out-of-class help—just a quick search online and any problem would be solved.”

Zhang Chu shook his head regretfully. This math exam was crucial—a key step toward becoming the top scorer and the only opportunity to upgrade his Savior System. There was no room for error.