On May 3rd, 2004, during the May Day holiday, Fan Rui departed from school and arrived in the provincial capital, Luoyi. This city hosted one of the three examination centers for Jiangnan University's independent admissions test, Luoyi No. 1 Middle School, and Fan Rui was assigned to this location.
Over 100 students from the same school set off with Fan Rui. While this number seemed daunting, most were there for the experience or simply for tourism.
The entire trip was sponsored by Jiangnan Group, covering all expenses from transportation to accommodation. They stayed in centrally managed hotels, some even youth hostels, but importantly, all meals were provided. From May 3rd to May 6th, there was no need to worry about accommodation or food, aside from personal spending outside the provided scope. Coinciding with the May Day holiday, students had ample time to explore, naturally seizing the opportunity to travel at Jiangnan Group's expense.
Typically, most third-year high school students only get a three-day holiday for May Day. However, by registering for Jiangnan Group's independent admissions test, they gained an additional four days of vacation, a truly appealing prospect.
The school, however, maintained a strict policy. Students with a realistic chance of entering a second-tier university were discouraged, as were those with no hope of entering top-tier universities. The reasoning was that their academic performance made it impossible to pass Jiangnan University's independent admissions test. It was better for them to use this time to study diligently and focus on the college entrance examination.
Only students with exceptionally strong performance in mathematics and Chinese, or those whose grades were exceptionally poor, were fortunate enough to participate in this independent admissions process.
With hundreds of students from a single school heading to the exam, and all high schools in the province converging for the test, the sheer number of participants seemed to reach a disturbing level.
Fortunately, Jiangnan Group was not foolish. This benefit of covered food, accommodation, and travel was exclusive to key high schools within the province. For non-key high schools, admission depended on exam performance. Only those who had consistently scored above 120 in both mathematics and Chinese in recent exams were eligible for such advantages.
Of course, if one was willing to cover their own expenses, participation was still possible.
Upon arriving at the examination venue and conducting a preliminary tour, Fan Rui and his peers learned that over 6,000 students from across the province had registered for the test. Projecting this scale, it was estimated that at least 150,000 candidates nationwide would participate. Considering the total number of college entrance examination candidates this year was 6 million, this meant approximately 1 in 40 candidates were taking this independent admissions test, a truly grand undertaking.
The news of this private institution holding an independent admissions test was widely covered by national media, with the level of attention comparable to another popular variety show airing nationwide at the time: Super Girl.
2004 marked the first season of Super Girl. Historically, the first season was rather lukewarm, with many people unfamiliar with the program. 90% of people only discovered the first season after watching the second, or learned about Zhang Jian, who placed third in the first season, through the song "You like sour, you like sweet, this is the real me." In any case, the first season of Super Girl was far less successful than the second or third, and apart from Zhang Jian, it remained largely unknown.
However, the first season of Super Girl in this world had changed. For some unknown reason, the charismatic contestants from the second season had all participated in the first. Additionally, the first season had introduced features like SMS voting and national selections, so while its popularity didn't match the later second season, it was still far more renowned than its historical counterpart. At the very least, the current top 50 competition had garnered over 5 million SMS votes, indicating immense fervor.
It was worth noting, however, that the most famous contestant from the original first season, Zhang Jian, had not registered for Super Girl. Her whereabouts were unknown.
"Today, fresh graduates from high schools across the country have arrived at hotels near the examination sites and are preparing for intensive study for Jiangnan University's independent admissions test. It is reported that the total score for both Chinese and Mathematics will be 200 points. Furthermore, according to Jiangnan University's president in an interview, the Chinese essay will still account for 60 points, with an increased weight for other question types."
"Additionally, the exam will introduce a penalty mechanism for typographical errors. Any misspelling in the Chinese exam will result in a deduction of 2 points. In a competition involving over a hundred thousand participants nationwide, a single deduction of 2 points could lead to falling behind by thousands of places."
"..."
"Oh god, they're that strict about typos? I'm doomed!" wailed a classmate next to Fan Rui. This was Zhao Yao, who had previously raised questions to the instructor in class and was one of only two students from Fan Rui's class to attend the exam.
Indeed, out of the entire elite class, only Fan Rui and Zhao Yao had come. The other hundred-plus students were from regular classes. Clearly, most of the students from the elite class, persuaded by their homeroom teacher, had given up on schools that weren't even second-tier and pursued first-tier universities. As for the long-term consequences of this decision, only time would tell.
Fan Rui felt a pang of indecision. He believed he could aim for a 985 university, even dream of Tsinghua or Peking University. This stemmed from his record-breaking score of 59 in English during the first mock exam at the end of April. This wasn't even the passing mark of 60, considering the exam was out of 150, and the passing score was 90. The final result was comparable to an average first-tier university score.
This was merely the outcome of the first mock exam, yet it had dealt Fan Rui a significant blow. His teachers also seemed to have reservations about him, with both his homeroom teacher and English teacher calling him into their offices for discussions. Their tone was gentle, without any scolding, but they persistently emphasized the importance of English to his future. They told him that if he didn't drastically improve his English in the remaining months, his life prospects would be ruined.
Despite what the teachers said, Fan Rui felt a sense of helplessness. He wasn't ignorant of English's importance; he had been diligently studying it throughout high school, which had caused him to fall behind in other subjects. Yet, his progress in English remained stagnant, for reasons no one could quite explain.
"If you can't improve your English, you might as well go to Jiangnan University!" his homeroom teacher finally remarked. While this was clearly a form of provocation, it fueled Fan Rui's already rebellious spirit. He directly signed up for Jiangnan University's exam in front of the teacher, much to the latter's chagrin.
However, Fan Rui had become resolute. He stated that if the teacher didn't help him register, he would do it himself. Faced with this, the homeroom teacher reluctantly registered him. They also made an agreement: if he didn't pass, he would return and focus on improving his English, rather than jeopardizing his future.
And so, Fan Rui came to the exam with Zhao Yao, the only classmate from his class, and they were assigned to the same room by the supervising teacher. However, unlike Fan Rui, Zhao Yao was determined to get into Jiangnan University.
"Old Fan, you've hit the jackpot coming out here with me this time, you know?" Zhao Yao said proudly from his bed. "From our homeroom teacher down, everyone in our class is an idiot. They're all clinging to the idea of Tsinghua or Peking University, 985s, as if not getting into even a first-tier university is a monumental sin!"
"I tell you, they're not stupid, they're just brainwashed by studying. They can't see the simplest truths!"
"What are we studying so hard for? Isn't it to get into a good university?"
"And what's the purpose of getting into a good university? Naturally, it's to earn a good living and have a good life after graduation!"
"But what's the reality for university graduates now? My dad runs a recruitment agency, so he's very clear. Nowadays, Chinese university graduates don't command much value. A significant portion of them are unemployed after graduation, unable to find work!"
"Of course, if you can get into a first-tier university, finding a job isn't a problem, but their choices are limited, aren't they?"
"Firstly, the best option is to become a civil servant, but I don't like that. That kind of work is too complicated; it requires not just intelligence but also emotional intelligence. My emotional intelligence has always been in the negatives. If I went in, I'd be unhappy and unable to climb the ladder. I'd be stuck in a grassroots position my whole life, and I wouldn't earn much, maybe just average income!"
"Then there's joining state-owned enterprises. They're stable now, but the salaries are quite low. Even after working for over ten years, the pay remains the same, incomparable to foreign companies. Moreover, unless it's a state-owned enterprise with 'Guo' in its name, there's a possibility of restructuring at any time, forcing you to start over."
"Finally, there are ordinary companies and foreign enterprises. I won't even mention ordinary companies; they're not places we should aim for. Foreign enterprises sound good, with high salaries. This used to be the best path for me, but compared to Jiangnan Group's salaries, they're worthless!"
"Currently, the highest-paying foreign companies are those like Gaohua Group, which is affiliated with the US investment bank Goldman Sachs. They only recruit about a dozen of the most outstanding finance students nationwide each year. Even then, the internship salary is 7,000 yuan, and after regularization, it's just over 10,000 yuan. This is already the peak for foreign enterprises; there's nothing higher!"
"But with Jiangnan, you get 10,000 yuan a month from the start, and 30,000 yuan after regularization upon graduation. This completely crushes all other companies in the country. Moreover, from what I know, 90% of university students' first priority for employment is Jiangnan Group."
"Even students who get into Tsinghua or Peking University go to great lengths, spend all their savings, and make themselves look ridiculous... well, whatever it takes, they want to get into Jiangnan."
"Now, they have an opportunity to soar directly into Jiangnan right after high school, and they don't even want it? Are these people really that foolish from studying? A shortcut to life is presented to them, and they don't take it. What idiots!" Zhao Yao said unceremoniously.
"But what if Jiangnan goes bankrupt?" Fan Rui voiced his concern. "The homeroom teacher said Jiangnan's situation is unstable and it could go bankrupt at any moment!"
"No, Jiangnan won't fail!" Zhao Yao replied with great certainty.
"Why?" Fan Rui asked curiously.
"I can't quite explain it, but my dad told me that he's handled recruitment for tens of thousands of companies, yet he's never seen a company establish a university to recruit outstanding talent in advance!"
"If a company like that can fail, then there's no hope for China!" Zhao Yao declared.