Bai High (Baizhou High School) and Jiangcheng NOHS (Jiangcheng No.1 High School) mentioned by Mei Fang were the top two high schools in the Hubei Province, belonging to the prestigious Eight Schools Alliance of the province. This was the higher realm of education that Mei Fang and his friends in Baimei County could reach.
Bai High was the most famous high school in the upper administrative division of Baimei County, Baizhou City. It was once known as the “Southern Bai and Northern Shui” alongside the Hengshui High School in the north and was renowned for its Baizhou Secret Scroll[1].
However, by 2010, it had already started to decline, and its influence was gradually overshadowed by other schools in the Eight Schools Alliance.
Of course, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. The reputation and influence of Bai High were incomparable to Baimei No.1 High School, a key high school in the county. Mei Fang and his friends had two chances to take the entrance exam for Bai High.
The first opportunity was a pre-admission exam two months before the high school entrance exam. Although Bai High was known for its math competition, its faculty in liberal arts was not weak. The pre-admission exam included Chinese, math, English, and either liberal arts or science. If they performed well in the pre-admission exam, they could directly enter Bai High and avoid physics, which was very advantageous for Xia Yuan.
The second opportunity was during the high school entrance exam. The high school entrance exam was conducted at the city level, and as mentioned earlier, Baimei County was under the jurisdiction of Baizhou City, making Mei Fang and his friends part of Bai High’s student source. Therefore, as long as they performed well enough in the high school entrance exam, they could be directly admitted to Bai High
As for Jiangcheng NOHS, which was further away from them, its students were mainly from Jiangcheng, and students from other parts of the province could apply from March to April. Through special county students application, they could participate in the independent recruitment exam of Jiangcheng NOHS and be admitted based on their performance.
Additionally, for Xia Yuan, there was another way to enter Jiangcheng NOHS: by applying as a special county student with an artistic talent. This route required an art specialty test, including four modules: instrumental music, vocal music, performance, and dance.
In addition, she also needed to take a cultural test, and the ranking was based on scores. It’s important to note that this was for students with artistic talents, not necessarily art students.
Whether as a student with artistic talents or a student through independent recruitment exam, both would be integrated into international or regular classes.
Students with musical talents had to attend music classes from 4:00 to 5:30 in the afternoon. If they could balance their cultural subjects without falling behind, they would have the opportunity to be recommended to participate in the entrance exam for art students at key universities, meaning they also had the chance to enter Tsinghua or Peking University.
Mei Fang believed that this path was very suitable for Xia Yuan because it didn’t necessarily mean she had to enter the entertainment industry or attend an art school. At least Xia Yuan was outstanding in her cultural subjects and had enough leeway to choose her own future, rather than being forced to endure a science experimental class that didn’t suit her at all.
After listening to Mei Fang’s explanation and discussing it with his mother and others, Xia Yuan showed a strong interest in both schools, especially Jiangcheng No.1 High School. The pain of physics had become insignificant to her.
The three of them discussed their future plans. Convincing their parents to leave their hometown was not an easy task, so the trio wanted to be well-prepared before discussing it with them.
“Ah Fang, Ah Fang, so should we apply to both schools?” Xia Yuan asked.
“I have looked into the enrollment brochures of Jiangcheng NOHS and Bai High from previous years. The independent recruitment exam for Jiangcheng NOHS is in March next year, while Bai High’s is in mid-April. They do not overlap, so we can try both,” Mei Fang replied.
Xia Yuan thought for a moment, looking distressed. “It seems that the independent recruitment exam for Jiangcheng NOHS only covers Chinese, math, and English. Therefore, it must be very difficult! Students from our small county will definitely be at a disadvantage.”
“Of course, they do have dormitories. However, since most students are locals, the school allows commuting, so living on campus is not mandatory. But if you choose to live in a collective dormitory, the environment is generally not ideal...”
In any case, if Mei Fang were to be admitted to Jiangcheng NOHS, he definitely wouldn’t want to live on campus, as it would inconvenience him to pursue activities beyond studying.
“True, true! That’s great!”
Xia Yuan clapped her hands and said, “If all three of us are admitted to Jiangcheng NOHS, let’s rent a house together!”
Lin Youxi looked at Xia Yuan in a daze, while Mei Fang mercilessly knocked on Xia Yuan’s head.
“The plan has just begun, and you’re already thinking about that... What’s going on in your head?”
“In my head, I have very grand ideals, of course!”
Xia Yuan clenched her fists and shouted, “I, Xia Yuan, will definitely get into the most prestigious high school in the entire Hubei Province and become a super popular high school girl at Jiangcheng No.1 High School!”
“It seems like you’ve completely forgotten about Bai High...”
After sincere and earnest discussions with their respective parents, despite many concerns, the parents of the three families expressed their support for the Mei You Yuan trio’s desire to enter Jiangcheng NOHS and Bai High. After all, whether they could pass the exam was another matter, but at least their parents wouldn’t be the ones obstructing their children’s path to higher education.
After consulting with their homeroom teacher, the three of them simultaneously withdrew from the Advanced Class, and Xia Yuan could finally put an end to the torment of competitive physics and focus on preparing for the difficulty of the high school entrance exam.
Xia Yuan’s study plan included the music specialty section. She resumed practicing the instruments she hadn’t touched in a long time since starting middle school, in preparation for the art specialty exam.
The summer of 2010 was supposed to belong to Exploration[2] and Grey Head Portrait[3], but the shadows of the three giants of QQ Music were still nowhere to be found.
Mei Fang occasionally wondered if Brother Song, in this timeline, would really study medicine and become a doctor who saves lives.
With the third opportunity for his wealth expansion approaching, namely the 2010 World Cup, Mei Fang was also preparing to withdraw a large sum of money from his savings and make a big bet.
At the same time on their love-powered community, C Site, Mei Fang, Lin Youxi, and along with many anime enthusiasts, finally experienced the site’s first viral moment——
A parody video about Ge Ping[4] was uploaded on C Site.