Chapter 15: Demolition in Progress

Time passed quickly after that, as if it were a fleeting moment.

On June 25th, the college entrance exam results were released, instantly tugging at the hearts of countless families.

Jiang Qin's score was exactly the same as in his previous life: 653 points. A spot in a 985 university was guaranteed, no suspense there. He felt calm as could be, but he had to put on a sufficiently excited performance in front of his parents—a true test of his acting skills.

But Mr. Jiang and Ms. Yuan were genuinely thrilled.

653!

This score was 20 points higher than Jiang Qin's mock exam results!

Ms. Yuan Youqin immediately went to Baiyun Mountain to burn incense and fulfill her vows at Baiyun Temple.

Meanwhile, Comrade Jiang Zhenghong was so ecstatic he couldn't sit still or stand properly. His hands clenched into fists, trembling with excitement, until he finally dragged Jiang Qin downstairs and ran three full laps around the neighborhood.

Jiang Qin could totally understand his parents' feelings. For their generation, the college entrance exam was a springboard to success, a major turning point in life, the only chance to change one's fate, and the key to wealth and glory.

But he never could've imagined that in just a few years, this world would be overrun with PhDs and master's degrees would be as common as dogs.

Three days after the exam results were announced, the demolition matter started to take shape.

On the morning of June 28th, the street offices of Fanhuali, Rongcheng, Xingfu Community, and Hongyun Community successively called Jiang Qin. They briefly explained the demolition situation and invited him to discuss it with the specially established demolition team.

Although the official demolition notice hadn't been publicized yet, the demolition itself was pretty much a done deal.

To save time, the various streets affected by the old town renovation project had already begun preparatory work in advance.

This wasn't something widely announced.

In fact, aside from the owners of the properties slated for demolition, no one else knew about it. This saved Jiang Qin, still a high school student, a lot of hassle.

Over the next few days, Jiang Qin shuttled between the street offices, listening to them read out official documents and going over the compensation terms multiple times.

Though each street office repeated the same information, it was honestly refreshing to hear every single time.

Once the official demolition notice was issued, the process moved into the negotiation phase.

This stage was by far the most time-consuming, because greed ran rampant. Especially for residents who'd lived in these rundown old homes for years, life hadn't been kind to them, so they wanted to haggle for as much as possible.

But Jiang Qin knew when to take a good deal and call it quits.

He directly quoted the highest compensation rate he'd estimated earlier, told the street office his number, and said to call him if they agreed.

The reason he was so laid-back about it was simple: once the demolition process reached its second step, those who signed contracts early could pick their resettlement housing first. Getting a prime location was far more valuable than haggling over an extra thirty or fifty thousand yuan.

If you dragged it out too long and all the good spots were taken, what then?

Sorry, you'd have to draw lots.

The contracts would already be signed—nobody's going to cater to you divas after that.

Plus, he had another urgent reason.

He needed to pay back money.

Sure, the funds for buying the properties came from borrowing from Feng Nanshu, but that money technically belonged to her dad. So far, nothing had gone wrong, meaning her dad hadn't noticed yet. But the longer it dragged on, the higher the risk. Jiang Qin didn't know what kind of person Feng Nanshu's father was, and he wasn't willing to take that chance.

The sooner he got the compensation, the sooner he could cover the shortfall, and the whole thing could be as if it never happened.

After handling the preliminary demolition matters, Jiang Qin found himself with a free day. He lounged at home, replying to various QQ messages.

Guo Zihang said he scored 472. Feng Nanshu said she got 671.

Guo Zihang's score wasn't surprising—this guy's level was just that mediocre, squeezing out an extra point was a pipe dream. But Feng Nanshu, the goddess of academics, a generational top student, not breaking 700 was pretty shocking.

Of course, the homeroom teacher of Class 1 wasn't satisfied with that score either, convinced there must've been a mistake. On the day the results came out, the teacher went to the city to check her paper.

Turns out, there was no mistake—it really was 671. The issue was her essay. Out of a possible 60 points, Feng Nanshu scored only 12.

What was this year's essay topic again?

Jiang Qin, having been reborn, had mostly forgotten this part of his memory. So he looked it up online—and promptly burst out laughing.

It was about friendship?

She didn't even have friends—how was she supposed to write about friendship?

It's like asking a mouse to write an essay on petting a cat!

No loss, no loss—12 points was fair. She probably only got that much because her handwriting was neat.

"Stop laughing."

On the second floor of the Jizhou City Library, sitting in their familiar spot, Feng Nanshu looked utterly defeated. "I thought about it seriously, and this is actually your fault."

Jiang Qin was baffled. "We didn't even know each other during the exam. How's your low score my fault?"

"But if I'd met you earlier, I might've been able to write it."

"Since you put it that way, let's imagine—if the you of now took the exam, how would you write that essay?"

Feng Nanshu raised her head solemnly. "I met a friend in the library. He's a pitiful poor guy who loves looking at chests…"

"Stop!"

Jiang Qin cut off her impromptu essay. "Is that how you see me?"

"Isn't it…?" A trace of confusion flickered in Feng Nanshu's eyes.

"If you wrote that, you wouldn't even get those last 12 points."

Feng Nanshu lowered her head, reverting to her lifeless state. "Did I make a friend I can't even show off?"

Jiang Qin's face twitched. "Anyway, the exam's over. No point dwelling on it now."

"Makes sense…"

"For a rich girl like you, why bother with the college entrance exam? Why not just study abroad?"

Feng Nanshu looked up, her long, curled lashes trembling slightly. "A lonely girl who can't socialize would die if you sent her abroad."

"…"

Jiang Qin hadn't considered that. He'd just assumed she was your typical rich kid. But from Feng Nanshu's perspective, studying abroad did seem pretty dicey.

Foreign countries always preached freedom and democracy, but their social climate was a mess. Take "free America"—shootings every day. With a population of just 370 million, they had 390 million registered guns. That's an average of four guns for a family of three—planning for a second kid or something?

Throwing a socially awkward, naive girl like Feng Nanshu into that kind of environment would be like tossing a lamb into a pack of wolves.

"Whatever, doesn't matter. Domestic universities are pretty good too. Which one are you planning to go to?"

"Where are you going?"

She asked back expressionlessly, her thick lashes catching the sunlight and turning golden.