Chapter 29: My National College Entrance Examination Ranking Placed Me Among the District’s Top Thirty

In those days, checking college entrance exam scores was primarily done via landline.

Chen Fan’s family did not have a telephone. After finishing lunch, the family of three headed early to the home of Chen Fan’s second aunt, who lived in town. To ensure they learned the results as soon as possible, Chen Jianye and his wife had specifically taken a half-day off from work. However, starting from one o'clock, every time they dialed the number, they were met with a message stating the service was temporarily unavailable.

While the second aunt chatted with Chen Fan’s father, Li Jinqiu grew increasingly anxious, dialing the number every five minutes. Seeing her distress, Chen Meiyun, Chen Fan’s second aunt, couldn't help but smile and offer some comfort.

"Sister-in-law, there's no need to hover over the phone," she said. "The scores are already set; being this nervous won't change anything."

Li Jinqiu felt a bit embarrassed. "I don't know why, but my heart is racing today."

"That’s how every parent feels," Chen Meiyun said, glancing at her brother. "Look at my big brother; he’s not nervous at all. Besides, didn’t you say Xiao Fan estimated his score to be around 575? You should set your mind at ease."

It was then Chen Jianye’s turn to speak. "Usually, the boy’s grades are in the lower-middle range of his class. At his best, he could scrape by the second-tier university threshold; at his worst, he wouldn't even reach it. Estimating 575 this time—to be honest, I can’t help but feel a bit uneasy."

Li Jinqiu nodded in agreement. "Exactly. We won't be able to rest easy until we confirm the actual score."

"You two shouldn't talk about my nephew like that," Chen Meiyun said, pulling Chen Fan toward her with affection. "I’ve always thought Xiao Fan was smart, much smarter than that rascal of mine." She then turned to encourage Chen Fan. "Auntie believes in you. Your cousin isn't cut out for academics; he couldn't even make it into a bachelor's program and had to settle for vocational college. Xiao Fan, you need to work hard and get into a top-tier university to make your parents and our Chen family proud."

Chen Fan smiled. "Second Aunt, I'm hungry."

Chen Meiyun glared playfully. "You child, why didn't you say so earlier? I'll go get you some snacks."

Li Jinqiu glanced at her son, who was sitting on the sofa watching television with nonchalant ease. Still restless, she picked up the phone and dialed the inquiry hotline once more.

This agonizing waiting game lasted until six o'clock in the evening. After what felt like the hundredth attempt by Li Jinqiu, the line finally connected.

Chen Jianye, who had been eating in the living room, was the first to jump up and rush inside. His sister and her husband followed closely behind, and Chen Fan put down his chopsticks and walked into the room last.

"Please state the candidate’s name."
"Chen Fan."
"Please state the admission ticket number."

Li Jinqiu froze and began searching frantically. "Where is the admission ticket? I had it right here just a moment ago..."

Chen Jianye glared at her. "I tell you, you can't even handle a small task like this! Hurry up and find it!"

The older couple began to scramble around in a panic.

"Don't rush, sister-in-law. Try to remember where you put it when you were holding it earlier," Chen Meiyun whispered.

Li Jinqiu murmured, "I had it on the table, then I checked the number once more, and then I just..." She reached into her pocket, her face suddenly lighting up. "Found it! The number is: xxxxxxxxxxxx..."

Once she finished reading, the room fell into a deathly silence. Everyone strained their ears, listening intently to the voice on the other end of the line.

Finally, the voice spoke: "Candidate Chen Fan: Chinese, 136; Mathematics, 113; English, 137; Liberal Arts Comprehensive, 217. Total score: 603 points."

The room remained completely still. Everyone was stunned, clearly shocked by the result. Chen Jianye turned his head with a stiff neck toward Chen Meiyun and her husband. "Wh... what did he just say the score was?"

Chen Meiyun shouted excitedly, "A total of 603! Big brother, Xiao Fan scored 603!"

Chen Jianye, still in disbelief, looked at his son standing in the doorway. "Didn't... didn't he estimate 575?"

Chen Fan was also a bit surprised. He had been quite conservative when estimating his score, deliberately deducting points for subjective questions that lacked a definitive standard answer. It seemed he had performed better than he thought. Seeing the room full of people staring at him, Chen Fan scratched his head. "I suppose I was a bit too conservative with my estimation."

"This..." Chen Fan’s uncle laughed, not knowing whether to cry or laugh. "Being a bit conservative resulted in nearly thirty extra points."

Chen Jianye finally snapped back to reality. He lunged forward and snatched the phone from his wife's hand. "I’m calling again." He had to hear the score with his own ears to be sure. He entered the admission ticket number according to the prompts, and soon, the automated voice repeated Chen Fan’s exam results.

"Total score: 603."

It was 603.

"603, 603..." Chen Jianye muttered excitedly. "I didn't mishear it. I really didn't mishear it. It’s 603 points."

"To repeat, press 1..."

Chen Jianye didn't hesitate and pressed 1 immediately. He listened three times in a row, and every time, it was 603. There was no mistake.

"Haha! 603 points! My son scored 603 points! This is just fantastic!"

Chen Jianye, usually a reserved and taciturn man, lost his composure for the first time. He rubbed his hands together in excitement, his dark face flushed red. Beside him, Li Jinqiu sat down and began to wipe away tears of joy. "Heaven be praised. The Chen family finally has a university student."

Chen Jianye walked over excitedly and gave his son a firm pat on the shoulder. Chen Fan winced in pain. "Dad, are you trying to kill me?"

"Haha, your dad is happy today! Extremely happy!"

"Big brother," the second aunt added with a smile, "you have to treat us to a meal for this. With a score like this, Xiao Fan is well above the first-tier university threshold. I reckon he’ll have no trouble getting into one of those prestigious universities."

Hearing this, Chen Jianye looked at his son, then sighed with a hint of regret. "But the application forms have already been submitted."

Chen Fan laughed. "Dad, even if I could change them, I would still choose Yunhai University. Besides, Yunhai University is actually a very good school."

Chen Jianye smiled. "Fine, it’s all up to you."

"Big brother..." Chen Meiyun prompted again.

"Huh? What did you say?" Chen Jianye was clearly still overwhelmed by the excitement.

"I said, shouldn't we celebrate properly?"

"Right, right, you're absolutely right!" Chen Jianye rubbed his hands again and looked at his wife. "How about this? In a couple of days, I'll host a banquet. We'll invite all our friends and family to join in the fun."

"I’m talking about tonight," Chen Meiyun reminded him with a smile. "Since everyone is so happy, shouldn't we have a proper celebration now? Why don't we call Jianzhong and Jianlong and have them come over for a few drinks?"

"Yes, yes..." Chen Jianye slapped his forehead. "Look at me, how could I have forgotten that? I’ll call them right now!"