As soon as he said that, Jian Sha and Cai Ji immediately appeared.

Jian Sha: [My score was no surprise, I got 662!]

Seeing that score, Jiang Ruotang’s eyes lit up. “Excellent, truly excellent! This score is over a hundred points higher than in my previous life!” Jian Sha’s desired university was Capital Chinese University, and last year their cutoff was 655 points, so Jian Sha should be set. In this life, Jian Sha finally wasn’t affected and performed up to her potential!

Zhao Changfeng was impatient and immediately asked Cai Ji in the group. Cai Ji then replied: [I got 687, just checked my score and am calling my mom!]

Jiang Ruotang raised an eyebrow seeing Cai Ji’s score. [Cai Cai, you actually got over 680? What did you get in Chinese?]

Cai Ji: [My Chinese was an exceptional performance, I actually got 118!]

Jiang Ruotang smiled. “From the looks of it, Cai Ji must have gotten near perfect scores in Math and Comprehensive Science.”

[If Teacher Wang knew you got over a hundred in Chinese, he’d probably die happy!]

After sending it, Jiang Ruotang felt a little bad about Teacher Wang.

But… whatever!

“So, the biggest variable in our group is the class monitor? It just depends on whether he got the top science score in the province?” Zhao Changfeng asked.

Now that the scores were out, Zhao Changfeng completely relaxed, his long legs unceremoniously propped on the table. Jiang Ruotang couldn’t help but wonder if this guy would shatter his fans’ illusions if he ever had them and they knew how he usually behaved.

Jiang Ruotang looked at the message Lu Guifan sent him at around 10 PM last night and told Zhao Changfeng, “Lu Guifan’s house has old wiring, and it’s a pain to fix. So last night, he just packed his clothes and daily necessities and moved to the ‘Spring After Rain’ community. He’ll probably be buying some new things and cleaning his new place today, so he must be very busy.”

Zhao Changfeng complained, “Then he should have told us! We could all go help; everything would be faster! And we could add some cheer to his new home!”

Just then, Jiang Ruotang received a message from Lu Guifan. It contained his ID and exam admission card numbers, without a single extra word.

“He wants me to check his score?” Jiang Ruotang snorted. “That’s it? Not even a nice word?”

He grumbled, but he still hurried back to his room, found the page, and carefully entered the information. He knew that even if Lu Guifan didn’t perform his best, he would definitely get into a university in the capital. The college entrance exam was likely just an unchallenging step in his life, but Jiang Ruotang was still incredibly nervous, a suffocating kind of nervousness.

Because this was the person he loved.

Checking his score was a privilege Lu Guifan gave him.

The page loaded quickly, and a transcript appeared before Jiang Ruotang: 731 points.

“Damn it, this guy isn’t human—” Jiang Ruotang gnashed his teeth.

If it were in the 720s, Jiang Ruotang would still worry about someone competing with Lu Guifan for the provincial top scholar, but 731 points… there shouldn’t be anyone else, right?

“It’s infuriating, Math and Comprehensive Science are both full marks? Is Lu Guifan’s brain even human?”

Jiang Ruotang furiously poked at the college entrance exam score on the screen: English 142, and Chinese also 139!

He took out his phone, snapped a picture of the transcript, and sent it.

[I’m going to bite your head off!]

---

At this moment, Lu Guifan was cleaning and organizing his new room. The previous owner’s renovation quality was quite good, saving them a lot of time and money. However, when Lu Guifan put the painting Jiang Ruotang had given him into a frame and hung it up, he realized he had never asked Jiang Ruotang if he liked this style. If he had asked earlier, he could have let him choose a style he liked.

While he was thinking, his phone vibrated. Lu Guifan took it out, saw the message, and an unconscious smile spread across his face.

[Your mouth is so small, my head won’t fit.]

Jiang Ruotang was focusing on the predicted cutoff scores for universities in the capital, glanced at Lu Guifan’s message, and his entire face turned bright red.

He knew that Lu Guifan was 90% innocent and understood nothing.

But Jiang Ruotang had seen all sorts of strange things in his previous life. This sentence had an ambiguous meaning, okay?

God of academics, you drive quite fast too.

At this time, the class group chat was buzzing. Teacher Song had also confirmed that Lu Guifan was the top science scholar in the province. Seeing this news, Jiang Ruotang was even happier than if he had become the top scholar himself.

He immediately replied to Lu Guifan: [Master Scholar, now that you’re riding high, with so many flowers in Chang’an, don’t let your eyes be led astray.]

Lu Guifan had been sitting at his desk. He used to think chatting with people on his phone was quite boring. But now, every message from Jiang Ruotang stirred Lu Guifan’s emotions. He anticipated and yearned for them in his heart, even finding it amusing to just imagine the other person’s tone when saying those words.

Just then, Lu Guifan pushed open the door to his parents’ master bedroom. The door was still ajar, and he heard his parents talking.

“Life is easier now, but who knows what the future holds? We can’t just add pressure to Guifan for no reason!”

“The problem is, even if the child is unwilling in his heart, he won’t say it…”

Lu Guifan sighed. It seemed his parents were hiding something from him. He knocked on the door and said calmly, “What kind of thing would add pressure to me?”

“Uh… you… you heard that?” Mother Lu became nervous.

Lu Guifan chuckled, “Mom, don’t tell me you’re pregnant with a second child?”

Mother Lu’s face immediately flushed. “You’re usually so proper, where did you learn that from!”

Lu Guifan laughed, “Who else? Of course, it’s Ruotang! Don’t you love listening to his nonsense?”

Lu Papa then spoke, “Your third uncle… he was injured on a construction site back then, wasn’t he paralyzed at home? Later, your third aunt had to take care of him alone and also their daughter… she wore herself out… and passed away last month.”

The faint smile on Lu Guifan’s lips faded, replaced by a serious expression. “If Mom and Dad are thinking of bringing third uncle and little cousin here to take care of them, I have no objections.” After all, when he was little, his third uncle and aunt were quite good to him.

“Your third uncle also… passed away half a month ago. Didn’t you go to the lab? We were afraid it would affect your mood, so we didn’t tell you. We’ve taken care of the funeral arrangements back in the village, it’s just that little Wei has nowhere to go. Your other uncles and aunts think she’s a burden… if no one takes care of this child, she’ll have to go to an orphanage.” Lu Papa looked at Lu Guifan, then lowered his head.

His parents were kind and genuinely fond of Lu Wei; they couldn’t bear to see the child without a home.

“Mom, and Dad, my college entrance exam scores are out. Capital University of Science and Technology should be a sure thing.”

Lu Guifan’s parents’ eyes lit up simultaneously. This was a great honor and achievement; Lu Guifan was probably the most promising university student in their Lu family village.

“Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I’ll continue to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees… and even often stay at labs outside and not come home. If you adopt Xiao Wei, the house will also be livelier. So I have no objections; please complete the adoption procedures as soon as possible, don’t let Xiao Wei think she’s homeless.”

Furthermore, Lu Guifan didn’t see this as a burden. On the contrary, his patent income and research remuneration were increasing, enough to ensure a good life for the whole family. Lu Father and Mother Lu both had tears in their eyes and nodded vigorously.

Lu Guifan smiled, “This is a double blessing: I got into university, and the family gained a little sister.”

Back in his room, Lu Guifan told Jiang Ruotang about it. To his surprise, Jiang Ruotang’s first reaction was: “Oh, I’m going to have a little sister-in-law! Should I prepare a greeting gift for her?”

Lu Guifan chuckled in response, “She’s only four, she should be easy to coax.”

Who knew Jiang Ruotang would suddenly blurt out, “If this were ancient times, a four-year-old could be our daughter!”

Lu Guifan immediately coughed vigorously, his neck subtly turning red.

Who knew Jiang Ruotang would then add, “But we haven’t even consummated our marriage, where would a daughter come from?”

This time, Lu Guifan felt his entire face, from cheeks to ears, burning. He covered his eyes. He knew Jiang Ruotang was talking nonsense, yet he was still swayed by him.

“Alas, after all, the top scholar is well-read, but he can’t even kiss.”

Listening to Jiang Ruotang deliberately teasing him, Lu Guifan unconsciously pursed his upper lip. Jiang Ruotang’s nonsense, by night, would definitely become Lu Guifan’s wild thoughts. He really wanted to teach this bad guy a lesson.

Who says I can’t?

If you’ve got the guts, don’t chicken out.

---

The next day, the admission cutoff scores for major universities were released. The entire Jiang family was immersed in immense joy. Jiang Huaiyuan was constantly on the phone, the last time he showed off Jiang Ruotang with such a beaming smile was when his painting won first place in the “New Wave” group at Fu Chunshi’s art exhibition.

“Uncle Qin, Ruotang got in! He exceeded the Capital Academy of Fine Arts’ cutoff by over ten points! It should be a sure thing! You wouldn’t believe it, since yesterday, three professors from the Capital Academy of Fine Arts have been asking about his score, fighting to take him on! Hahaha, yes, yes, my old man has finally made it!”

On the other end, Old Master Qin was also beaming, congratulating Jiang Huaiyuan for a long time. He was playing chess with Qin Zhanchao, and during this time, Qin Zhanchao refilled his grandfather’s tea.

“It seems Ruotang is truly set on an art career,” Old Master Qin stroked his chin, looking at Qin Zhanchao. “You, too, should maintain a good relationship with Ruotang. Mu Xianqing and his mother love Ruotang’s paintings immensely; that’s Ruotang’s connections right there. Look, you want to go the popular route, and Huaiyuan didn’t trip you up at the shareholders’ meeting. And Ruotang has the Mu family as his backing, while Yunshu also left Huanyu to focus on being Huaiyuan’s producer. Their whole family is completely abandoning internal strife. You can’t let people think you’re still targeting the Jiang family.”

“I understand. My subordinates were ignorant before and undermined his male lead, causing Uncle Jiang’s Drunken Immortal Stage project a lot of trouble. I’ll try my best to make amends,” Qin Zhanchao nodded.

“That’s right. I heard Huaiyuan favors an actor named Ling Song to replace the male lead, and he’ll officially join the crew in a couple of days. And this Ling Song has always been targeted by CEO Han of Cefeng Pictures. Go and do some networking; don’t let it affect Huaiyuan’s project,” Old Man Qin said very seriously.

“I understand, Grandpa.” Qin Zhanchao’s anxious heart also settled with the confirmation of Jiang Ruotang’s university choice.

---

It’s unclear if Gao Cheng did it on purpose, but the day after Jiang Ruotang told him his college entrance exam results, the Sweet Fruit app was launched! This was a full five months faster than previously anticipated, catching Unicorn Video and Cloud Maple Video completely off guard.

The app’s opening screen read: “Wishing all our boss-level college entrance exam takers triumphant success and a splendid future!”

Gao Cheng even deliberately sent Jiang Ruotang a message asking, “Boss, surprised? Unexpected?”

Because he was busy with his college entrance exam sprint, Jiang Ruotang had completely left Sweet Fruit to its own devices. In his previous life, Unicorn Video’s app was launched in October, with Cloud Maple Video following closely behind. Sweet Fruit rushed its development to congratulate its boss on his college entrance exam, and its confidentiality was watertight, instantly seizing the summer market.

One could imagine how anxious Unicorn Video and Cloud Maple Video must be right now, undoubtedly working overtime to push their apps.

The Gen Z quickly downloaded and logged in, starting a carnival in their own space. To attract new users, Gao Cheng chose to release the carefully prepared animated short film “Hope” on the same day. It tells the story of the protagonist’s difficult survival in a post-apocalyptic world, with a constantly growing team, and each character having their own unique traits in this animated series.

Although the first episode was only thirty minutes long, the post-apocalyptic wasteland was a topic of great interest to young people. The opening was a blockbuster—vast deserts, decaying cities, and monsters hunting humans for food—completely immersive. 

The protagonist, an engineer, created a small base in this environment and lived very comfortably until he encountered another sharpshooter who mistook him for a monster and almost shot him in the head. The story unfolded from there.