Chapter 119

Chapter 119: College Admission Volunteering

Mei Fang mentioned that Bai Gao (Bai Zhou High School) and Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu (Jiangcheng Normal University First Affiliated High School) are the top two high schools in Chu Bei Province, belonging to the prestigious Eight Schools Alliance in the province. This was the higher realm that Mei Fang and his peers from Bai Mei County could reach.

Bai Gao is the most famous middle school in Bai Zhou City, which belongs to the upward district of Bai Mei County. It was once known as “South Bai, North Shui” alongside Hengshui Middle School in the north. It gained fame for its production of Bai Zhou Secret Scrolls.

However, by 2010, it had already started declining, with its influence gradually overshadowed by other schools in the Eight Schools Alliance.

Of course, even a dying camel is bigger than a horse. The reputation and influence of Bai Zhou High School were incomparable to Bai Mei No. 1 High School, the key high school in Bai Mei County. Mei Fang and his peers had two chances to prepare for Bai Gao.

The first chance was the pre-enrollment exam two months before the high school entrance exam. Although Bai Gao was renowned for its math Olympiad competitions, its liberal arts faculty was also strong. The subjects for the pre-enrollment exam included Chinese, Math, English + Liberal Arts Comprehensive or Science Comprehensive. If one performed well in this exam, they could be directly admitted to Bai Gao. For Xia Yuan, avoiding physics in the liberal arts comprehensive would be very advantageous.

The second chance was during the high school entrance exam. As previously mentioned, the exam was conducted on a city-wide basis, and since Bai Mei County belonged to Bai Zhou City, Mei Fang and his peers were within the recruitment range of Bai Gao.

So, if Mei Fang performed well in the entrance exam, he could also be directly admitted to Bai Gao.

As for Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu, which was further away, most of its students were from Jiangcheng. Students from other regions in the province could apply through the special county student channel, which usually opened around March to April. They could apply through special county student declarations and perform well in the autonomous enrollment exam of Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu, thus being preferentially admitted.

For Xia Yuan, there was another way to enter Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu: she could go through the special county student route plus the art特长生route. This route required not only an art specialty test but also included four modules: instrumental music, vocal music, performance, and dance.

In addition, she needed to take cultural exams, ranked by score. It should be noted that she was considered an art特长生, not an art student.

Regardless of whether she went through the art特长生route or the direct special county student route, both would be mixed into international classes or parallel classes, without setting up special art classes.

Art特长生students in music-related fields had to specifically learn music from 4 PM to 5:30 PM every afternoon. If they could manage their cultural studies well enough, they might have the opportunity to be recommended for the special talent exams for key universities, including Qinghua Imperial University.

In Mei Fang’s view, this route was very suitable for Xia Yuan because it did not mean that she had to enter the entertainment industry or necessarily attend an art school.

At least, Xia Yuan’s cultural scores were not bad, even outstanding. She had enough room to choose her future instead of struggling in a science experimental class that did not suit her.

After Mei Fang explained and after consulting with her mother and others, Xia Yuan developed a strong interest in these two schools, especially Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu, over the past few days. The pain of physics no longer mattered to her.

The three of them discussed their future life plans. Convincing their parents to leave home was not easy; they hoped to make adequate preparations before discussing with their parents.

“Afang Afang… So we need to apply to both schools?”

“I’ve looked into the admission guidelines of Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu and Bai Gao in previous years. The autonomous enrollment exam for Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu is next March, while for Bai Gao it’s mid-April. There’s no conflict between the two, so we can try both.”

Xia Yuan covered her head and thought for a moment, revealing a troubled expression. “The special county student autonomous enrollment exam for Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu seems to only test Chinese, Math, and English. That would be really difficult! Students from our small county will definitely be suppressed…”

Xia Yuan then cheered up. “But apart from Chinese and English, I’m relatively confident in Math. It won’t be as torturous as Physics.”

“Yuan Yuan, compared to going straight as a special county student… Have you considered the art特长生route?”

Xia Yuan nodded. “I’ve looked into it. Their music特长生are specialized. The instruments I’ve learned include violin, clarinet, and flute.”

“I can also sign up for dance and vocal music, but the competition might be even fiercer than for violin and such. Of course, my favorite is actually piano, but it seems there isn’t such a major…”

“Sigh… Although the art特长s生exam at Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu might be tough, you do have quite a lot to learn!”

“But it’s been a long time since I’ve practiced. Violin should be fine, but clarinet and flute might take some time to pick up again.”

Xia Yuan muttered, “If only there was guitar! I love playing guitar now.”

Xia Yuan’s guitar class had been put on hold due to physics, but she had a foundation in various instruments. Although Mei Fang had secretly learned many courses ahead, his learning progress wasn’t much faster than Xia Yuan’s.

Lin You Xi shared the information she gathered after talking with Teacher Li:

“Based on our school’s situation in previous years, about 20 students annually advance to Bai Gao through pre-enrollment or the high school entrance exam, but only five or six go to Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu.”

“However… These five or six students don’t seem to be the top-ranked students. Teacher Li said that the top 30 students in our grade actually have a chance.”

Mei Fang and Lin You Xi consistently ranked first and second in their class, and never fell below fifth in the grade. Looking at rankings alone, entering Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu seemed like an easy task.

As for Xia Yuan… She could easily rank in the top 20 in physics if it weren’t difficult, but her performance was still unstable. When physics was challenging, she could drop to around 60th place.

“Wow, is it really that simple? I thought Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu would be harder to get into.”

“This is actually due to other reasons…”

Mei Fang explained, “Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu is a high school in the provincial capital Jiangcheng. For students from counties, tuition fees might be the smaller part of the cost. Living expenses, rent, and accompanying reading costs add up significantly. A typical family in a small county might find it somewhat challenging. Plus, being far from home, parents might not feel comfortable.”

“Oh, accompanying reading?”

Xia Yuan immediately looked puzzled. “Doesn’t Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu have dormitories? Isn’t boarding mandatory?”

“Of course, there are dormitories. But since most students are locals, the school allows commuting. Boarding is not mandatory. However, living conditions in collective dormitories are generally not great…”

In any case, if they got into Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu, Mei Fang definitely wouldn’t want to board. It would be too inconvenient for him to engage in activities outside of studying.

“That’s true! This is good!”

Xia Yuan clapped her hands. “If all three of us get into Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu, we can rent a house together!”

Lin You Xi stared blankly at Xia Yuan, while Mei Fang mercilessly knocked her head.

“You’re thinking so far ahead when there’s nothing certain yet… What’s in your head?”

“My head is full of grand ideals!”

Xia Yuan clenched her fist and shouted loudly, “I, Xia Yuan, must definitely get into the best high school in all of Chu Bei Province and become a super popular female high school student at Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu!”

“It looks like you’re completely done thinking about Bai Gao…”

After sincere and earnest talks with their respective parents, despite many concerns, the parents of the three expressed support for Mei You Yuan’s ambitions to enter Jiangcheng Shi Yi Fu and Bai Gao. After all, whether they succeed or not was another matter. At least, their parents wouldn’t hinder their children from pursuing higher education.

After discussing with their homeroom teacher, the three withdrew from the advanced class and Xia Yuan finally ended the torment of competition physics and refocused on preparing for the high school entrance exam.

Her study plan included the music特长生part, so she picked up her instruments again, which she hadn’t practiced since middle school, to prepare for the art specialty test.

The summer of 2010 should have belonged to “Exploring Suits” and “Gray Profile Pictures,” but the three giants of Tencent Music were nowhere to be seen.

Mei Fang occasionally wondered if Hao Ge from this era really did study medicine and become a doctor to save lives.

With the third wave of wealth expansion approaching, the 2010 World Cup was coming soon, and Mei Fang was preparing to withdraw his savings for a big gamble.

Meanwhile, the C Station, where he and Lin You Xi and many other anime enthusiasts used their passion to power, finally reached its first peak—

A parody video based on Ge Ping was uploaded to the C Station.

Yesterday, I was too tired and slept early. The second chapter today will be posted later. Sorry everyone!

(End of Chapter)