Chapter 53: What Level Are You, Daring to Call My Score Low?

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: What Level Are You, Daring to Call My Score Low?

After taking a shower, Chen Jingle scrolled through some short videos for a while. Around eight o’clock, he made a voice call to his parents on WeChat.

There was no acting cute, nor any dramatic displays of deep familial affection. He merely gave a routine report of his recent situation. Learning that everyone was safe and sound, they felt reassured. At their age, they no longer expected immense wealth; their family’s good health was their greatest treasure.

Chen Jingle didn’t have any grand aspirations in life. Regarding his plan to visit relatives and gift mooncakes the next day, his parents simply told him to handle it as he saw fit, as long as he showed the proper courtesy.

"Since they put it that way, I’ll just do it my way," Chen Jingle thought, already forming a general plan in his mind. He would follow his parents’ usual routine while adding a few personal touches, just making sure he didn’t embarrass them.

With that settled, it was time to read. Today’s book was *The Principles of Ideological and Political Education*. He had already read selected portions of the classic works of Marx and Engels. Now, it was time to look back at the textbooks used in universities. After all, one had to keep up with the times. He needed to read both the classics of predecessors and see whether contemporaries could bring forth new ideas.

However, this type of book was truly dry in a sense. It wasn’t completely devoid of substance, but there was too much vague fluff, far from being capable of explaining profound theories in simple terms. Chen Jingle couldn’t help but want to complain, wondering if the editors were simply not up to par.

If he were eighteen, he probably wouldn’t understand much of it. Even at thirty, relying solely on his own knowledge without a professional teacher’s guidance, there were still parts that confused him. For a textbook, this was quite subpar.

"What’s the point of writing something students can’t even understand?" he grumbled inwardly. "Or maybe it’s just not suitable for undergrads and should be reserved for master’s or even doctoral students."

Yet, this situation seemed quite common nowadays. Chen Jingle didn’t know what else to say. He wasn’t the Minister of Education; he couldn’t solve this problem. Of course, considering the lagging nature of education, even if students didn’t understand it now, they would just cram it into their heads first. Someday, they might suddenly have an epiphany.

Regardless, he still had to read, and read extensively. Only by reading could he avoid being easily fooled.

"Oh, right," Chen Jingle thought, slapping his forehead. He finally realized what he had forgotten—he hadn’t spoken to Zhong Qing all day. "Well, it’s no big deal. I’ll just ask her later when I encounter something I don’t understand," he mused.

Chen Jingle felt a little guilty. It definitely wasn’t true that he only thought of her when he had a question to ask.

Since the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday was only three days long, Zhong Qing didn’t plan on going home. For one, she couldn’t buy a high-speed rail ticket. For another, even if she managed to get a bus ticket, just the thought of being stuck on the highway for over a dozen hours without a place to use the restroom made her scalp tingle with dread.

"It’s not like I absolutely have to go home," she thought. With technology so advanced these days, she could just start a video call and have a face-to-face meal with her family. She would just find another time to visit.

In contrast, her roommates all lived relatively close by—the farthest being from Duanzhou. Therefore, they had all left, leaving Zhong Qing alone in the dorm. She had just returned from the library, grabbing a portion of cart noodles with two extra beef meatballs on the way.

She was the type to prioritize study efficiency. If she felt tired, she would stop and rest; if she didn’t want to study anymore, she would head back to the dorm. She never forced herself to stay until the library closed. After a full day, she felt she had absorbed quite a few new concepts.

There was only one month left before the postgraduate entrance exam registration, and three months until the preliminary exam. Although it was highly likely she was just along for the ride, she still wanted to try and was seizing the time for her final stage of review. When she studied seriously, her focus was incredibly high, making her forget about everything else.

When she finished studying and returned to her dorm, she didn’t see any new messages on WeChat, leaving her somewhat disappointed.

"If I don’t message you, can’t you take the initiative to message me?" Zhong Qing thought with a soft sigh.

Just then, Chen Jingle’s profile picture popped up with a new message. Pleasantly surprised, Zhong Qing tapped it open.

He asked, "It seems the postgraduate exam registration is starting soon, right?"

Zhong Qing paused. "Well, I suppose this counts as him caring," she thought, and then she replied, "Yeah, early next month."

"How do you feel about your studies?"

On the other end of the screen, Chen Jingle had originally intended to discuss some problems he encountered during his studies. However, feeling it would be impolite to ask outright, he opted to casually ask about her exam prep first.

"Not great," Zhong Qing answered, rubbing her forehead to soothe her fatigue.

Chen Jingle asked curiously, "Which university are you planning to apply for?"

Zhong Qing replied, "Naturally, the best choice is Huashi, but the competition there is way too intense. I’m afraid I can’t outcompete the others, so I’m settling for the next best option and planning to apply to Huagong."

Even though Huashi was only a Project 211 university, the number of applicants for normal universities had skyrocketed in recent years, making the competition horrifyingly fierce. In contrast, although Huagong was a prestigious Project 985 university, its strength lay in STEM fields. Its humanities programs were relatively average, so fewer people applied. Especially the Ma Institute.

"Oh?" Chen Jingle’s expression instantly became subtle. "Have you done last year’s past papers?"

"I have."

"Did you estimate your score? Roughly how much?"

"Around 340. It’s a bit far off," Zhong Qing replied with a bitter smile.

Well, indeed. That was still fifteen points short of the interview cutoff line.

Chen Jingle probed further, "Which subject’s score specifically fell short?"

"Probably English. I only got a little over 60."

"That is indeed a bit low."

Zhong Qing was rendered speechless. She was baffled as to what level he was at to dare call her sixty points in postgraduate English low. Had he even taken the exam before?

A second later, Chen Jingle asked again, "What about Politics, 624, and 825? What did you score on those?"

Zhong Qing was stunned. "How do you know that the Marxist Principles exam at Huagong uses subjects 624 and 825?"

"I’ve done last year’s past papers."

"Huh?!"

"Stop acting surprised and just tell me your scores."

Hesitantly, Zhong Qing said, "Politics was around 70. 624 was about 110, and 825 was roughly 100?"

Coupled with her score of just over 60 in English, it really did add up to about 340.

Chen Jingle found it strange. "You’re studying Ideological and Political Education. How did you only get a 70 in Politics?"

"A 70 is already very good, okay!" Zhong Qing refused to concede. "What did you score, then?"

"Definitely at least an 80."

"You’re bragging!"

"I got all the multiple-choice questions right, and I basically hit all the key points on the analytical questions."

Zhong Qing was highly skeptical. Anyone who could score an 80 in Politics was an absolute boss. If he could get an 80 in Politics, his 624 and 825 definitely wouldn’t be bad either. As long as his English passed the national cutoff line, he could easily get accepted.

Chen Jingle wasn’t angry. "I don’t need to prove it. But take the first question—from the relationship between practice and understanding to the dialectical unity of contradictions. And the second question—from the systematic, holistic, and synergistic nature of the ecological environment to forging a development path completely different from the Western world. Just based on these two questions, how many points do you think I’d get?"

Zhong Qing grew a little uncertain. "If you really answered like that, you should get at least 15 points."

"So, is an 80 really that hard?" The corners of Chen Jingle’s mouth curled up slightly.

"You actually did the paper?" Zhong Qing simply couldn’t associate an older young man who had graduated years ago with an aspiring postgraduate student.

"Is that so strange?"

"Then why don’t you take the exam? With your ability, getting accepted should be a breeze, right?"

Zhong Qing couldn’t understand. She had never heard him mention wanting to take the postgraduate exam before, so he definitely wasn’t planning to register this year.

Chen Jingle said, "Maybe one day I’ll go to grad school, but not right now. Besides, my goal is no longer Huagong."

Zhong Qing was left speechless again. Fine, she couldn’t find any fault with that answer. She curiously asked another question, "What can you score in English?"

"English is even easier than Politics. I feel like I could hit an 85." Speaking of this, Chen Jingle felt quite proud of himself.

"?? Teach me!"

"Oh? You don’t think I’m bragging anymore?"

Seeing this, Zhong Qing’s face grew slightly hot. "Not unless you’re afraid of being exposed one day."

Okay, she admitted that her change in attitude was indeed a bit fast. However, anyone would react this way when encountering someone so much better than them in a field they were relatively good at.

Only postgraduate aspirants knew what a Politics score of 80 and an English score of 85 meant. That was God-tier! Getting an 80 in one subject was hard enough; scoring double 80s meant basically aiming for a top-tier Project 985 university. Whether it was the C9 League, the East China Five, or even the Top 2 universities, it wasn’t impossible.

For a moment, a wave of admiration, and even worship, couldn’t help but well up in her heart.

Chen Jingle chuckled and replied, "Sure. In the future, I’ll ask you about the concepts I don’t understand, and you can ask me what you don’t know. We can learn from each other and make progress together."

"No problem!" Zhong Qing’s spirits lifted. She suddenly felt that her English was saved!

Chen Jingle sent a message: "Then I’ll ask the first question. How should one understand the laws governing the process of ideological and political education?"

"Uh, wait a sec, let me check my book!" Zhong Qing instantly scrambled in a panic.

Chen Jingle was left speechless.

"I swear, girl," he thought, "if I hadn’t shown up, you probably really would just be along for the ride."