The elders were gone, and the vast Gao Family home felt as though it were missing something, leaving everyone slightly unaccustomed.
Furthermore, Gao Jiaxing was busy, Xia Xiao was busy, and even the children and grandchildren were busy with their studies. Previously, when Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong were around, their children would often return for visits. Now, everyone was too caught up in their own affairs; meetings were few and far between, and sometimes they wouldn’t see each other even when they came home.
During the Spring Festival of 2010, the Gao Family did not celebrate much, and time passed extraordinarily quickly. Before anyone realized, Shitou and Beibei had each grown a year older.
Shitou had planned to take the college entrance examination at ten, but at nine, he resolutely decided to take it, becoming the youngest candidate that June.
Beibei, still in elementary school, cried out in dismay as her brother was preparing for university; she felt too far behind and declared she could no longer afford to slack off, expressing her wish to skip a grade.
The college entrance examination typically fell on June 7th and 8th. On that day, Feiyang and Li Min set aside their affairs to accompany Shitou. Although Gao Jiaxing and Xia Xiao didn’t come, they waited at home, sipping tea.
During the two days of exams, Feiyang and Li Min worried that Shitou might be overwhelmed. However, Shitou fared quite well and was surrounded by reporters as soon as he stepped out of the exam venue.
Seeing the swarm of reporters crowding around Shitou, Li Min turned pale, fearing that the reporters might knock him over and injure him.
Feiyang instructed the bodyguard, "Bring Shitou back here."
As the bodyguard was about to move in, Shitou deftly slipped through the crowd, beaming a bright smile and casting a challenging look at the reporters.
Once in the car, Shitou drove off, but his mischievous and radiant smile was captured by the cameras, and newspapers gave him the most generous coverage. Of course, there were smaller, more sarcastic pieces and some that predicted his downfall, but they were quickly forgotten.
Although not a star, Shitou, by virtue of his genius status, had amassed a significant fanbase.
Li Min, embracing her son, felt an overwhelming sense of love and pride for her children.
The car slowly returned to the Gao Family home. As Shitou got out, he found dinner waiting. Seeing that nobody asked him about his exams, Shitou said, "Why aren’t you asking how well I did?"
Everyone laughed at that, "We trust you, of course you’ll pass. Even if you don’t, you’re still young. Re-taking it for another ten or eighteen years won’t be a problem."
"Grandma, are you trying to comfort me?" Shitou walked over, hugging Xia Xiao’s neck and giggling, "Don’t worry, I definitely did fine."
In July, the results of the college entrance exam were released. Shitou ranked first nationally with a perfect score.
"You’ve overdone it again," Xia Xiao sighed.
Shitou responded, "I just tried my hardest to answer the questions well. I was confident about everything else, but for the essay, how could I know how many marks the examiner would give my Chinese composition?"
Alright, a nine-year-old with a perfect score in the college entrance exam was indeed defying the odds.
Of course, the results were met with skepticism, and eventually, Shitou’s exam paper was made public.
Shitou had also posted his answers online immediately after the exam, shocking everyone.
Thus, having his answers scrutinized affirmed his genius further. After all, not everyone could walk out of an exam hall and recall every single answer they wrote, exact down to every word in their essay—true genius indeed.
Xiao Shan Yue and Jiang Meimei found this disheartening. Xiao Shan Yue had smoothly moved up to the Advanced Class but still found herself far behind Shitou.
Jiang Meimei remained stuck in the Intermediate Class, frustrated and tearful, growing more anxious and irritable, showing no signs of progress.
The teacher, seeing the need for intervention, spoke with Dr. Jiang and Mrs. Jiang, presenting four words to Jiang Meimei—avoid arrogance and rashness. Previously, Jiang Meimei had been too proud, assuming that merely entering the Genius Youth Class would guarantee her success.
Moreover, Jiang Meimei loved to play, primp, and show off, influencing the classroom atmosphere since her arrival. Several male and female students clung to her, resulting in stagnant academic performances.
The teacher’s initial anticipation for Jiang Meimei turned into somewhat of a headache, so they hoped Dr. Jiang and Mrs. Jiang could seriously warn their daughter.
The Genius Youth Class had only one section with about ten students, where one could either be demoted or promoted based on performance.
After discussing with her parents, Jiang Meimei expressed her desire to leave, "I don’t want to study here anymore, and besides, Gao Peize is already going to university. I don’t want to stay here, and this Genius Youth Class isn’t any good."
Jiang Meimei had previously enjoyed a favorable position in school due to her intelligence and high grades, liked by all the principals and teachers.
However, after joining the Genius Youth Class, a dry environment focused solely on studies left her with no advantage, leading to repeatedly crushed hopes, and she felt dispirited.
Moreover, Xiao Shan Yue’s superiority made her feel powerless, fearing that she would always be overshadowed in the Genius Youth Class, so she decided to leave.
Seeing that Gao Peize was heading to university, even if it was at Technology University, whose main buildings lay far from the Genius Youth Class facilities, meeting him would be difficult. Jiang Meimei found even less meaning in staying in the class.
Dr. Jiang and Mrs. Jiang were silent, reflecting on how some children sent to the Genius Youth Class did not show improvement and decided maybe it wasn’t for their daughter.
Having confirmed Jiang Meimei’s wishes, they agreed to her transferring to a private school in the Capital, a joint international venture, where she finally found her confidence.
When it was Shitou’s turn, the principal of Technology University personally visited the Gao Family home, hoping Shitou would stay and study at Technology University.
Shitou was inclined to agree and did so, making the principal quite pleased, feeling honored by Shitou’s choice. As a result, when Shitou entered the university, he received excellent treatment.
Considering the numerous universities in the Capital, and fearing that Shitou might opt for the prestigious First University or Second University, the worried principal personally made his case.
Content with his successful persuasion, the principal left feeling very satisfied.
Shitou, meanwhile, analyzed the materials from Technology University, identifying the best disciplines and majors in science, such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math, Geophysics, Life Sciences, Mechanics, Nuclear Science and Technology, and Communication and Information Systems.
He immediately concocted a lengthy plan for his future endeavors.
As for Xia Xiao, once Shitou started university, she transferred most of her responsibilities at the research lab to him, focusing instead on compiling medical books for Zheng Xianghong.