"Students, today is the first day of your senior year. This also means you've officially entered the final countdown to the college entrance examination!"
"The gaokao is a crucial turning point in life. Millions compete on a single narrow bridge—score one point higher, and you surpass a thousand people. It can almost be said that one exam determines your entire future!"
"I hope that in this final year, all of you will study even harder, achieve excellent results in the gaokao, enter your dream university, and open a brand-new chapter in your lives…"
Qin Yuanqing stared blankly at the scene before him: the blackboard, desks and chairs, the electric fan, the cicadas chirping outside… the familiar yet unfamiliar youthful faces around him, and the middle-aged teacher on the podium earnestly persuading everyone to study hard.
This environment felt both strange and familiar.
He recognized the teacher on the podium immediately—wasn't that his homeroom teacher and Chinese teacher from his senior year, Chen Runfa? "Brother Fa" spoke Mandarin with a strong Minnan accent. It wasn't standard, but it was warm and approachable.
Then he looked at his deskmate beside him—the skinny monkey Lin Ping, half-asleep. Lin Ping had been his classmate for all three years of high school, practically his deskmate for the entire time, and the only high school classmate whose wedding Qin Yuanqing attended after graduation.
Had he… been reborn?
Qin Yuanqing felt dazed.
As a veteran web-novel addict, he was no stranger to transmigration and rebirth. Not only was he familiar with it—he knew it inside out. For more than a decade, web novels had been filled with rebirth stories, endlessly repeating themselves.
"Every year has rebirth stories—this year, it's my turn!"
Qin Yuanqing couldn't figure it out. He was clearly an engineer. After resigning, he had worked overtime until 3:30 a.m., taken a shower, gone to sleep—and somehow, he was reborn?
Then excitement surged through him.
Rebirth was great—absolutely wonderful!
Everything could be reset and redone!
He wouldn't need to buy an apartment outside Xiamen Island for over 30,000 yuan per square meter—so-called "fine decoration" that was nothing but a scam. He wouldn't need to worry every month about repaying a fixed mortgage of ten thousand yuan. He could buy earlier—after all, in real estate there was a saying: the earlier you get on board, the more you earn.
Having lived through it personally, Qin Yuanqing knew all too well how shocking the rise in housing prices would be—especially in 2017, when prices doubled in a single year, trapping countless latecomers as bag holders.
Yes, in this life, he would never be a bag holder again!
He no longer wanted a life where his only dream was to buy a house and become a mortgage slave. He didn't want nights where pressure crushed him so badly that he could only hide under the blanket, groaning in pain, unable to sleep.
Being reborn in this era was the best possible outcome. Everything could be restarted, and everything he knew would give him an enormous advantage.
In this era, he was still an idealistic high school student. His dream was to enter a military academy and become a general. His dream was to study archaeology and become an archaeologist…
Yes, at this time he was poor, with barely any money in his pocket—but he could proudly have dreams.
Later on, even after eight years of work and earning over ten thousand yuan a month steadily, he wouldn't dare to have dreams anymore. Dreams had become a luxury. As the popular saying went: lying flat was the only way out.
At this point in time, he hadn't read Tang Jia San Shao's The Zither Emperor, nor Tomato's Coiling Dragon. He hadn't yet fallen into the massive pit of web novels. He remembered clearly—it was this very year that he read The Zither Emperor, then Coiling Dragon, and from then on wandered through web novels for more than a decade, abandoning his studies entirely.
He walked with his eyes closed in the mornings, bumping into people as a daily occurrence.
After falling into that pit, his grades plummeted. He could only get into a second-tier university, study engineering, and become an engineer after graduation. Even in college, reading books for him perfectly matched a famous saying:
"Reading is impossible. Absolutely impossible in this lifetime."
The result was that he read novels while walking, read novels in class, read novels in the dormitory—even while crossing the road. His classmates often sighed that he survived four years of college, which was nothing short of a miracle.
Reality was cruel. In four years, he barely opened a textbook. He failed seven or eight courses, retook exams every year, and became the student with the most failed subjects in the class.
After graduating and starting work, he still read novels every day. He had to read for half an hour before work just to get into the mood. After work, he hid under the blanket reading again. Fortunately, he wasn't completely hopeless—he could still support himself—but compared to many of his high school classmates, the gap was enormous.
Yes!
At this very moment, Qin Yuanqing fully agreed with what Teacher Chen said: the gaokao truly was millions crossing a single-log bridge. One point could surpass a thousand people. One exam could determine a lifetime.
Having experienced it firsthand, he understood the importance of studying better than anyone. Gaokao results directly determined what university you could attend. A 985 university was completely different from a 211 university; a 211 was different from an ordinary first-tier university; a first-tier university was better than a second-tier one; a second-tier was better than a third-tier.
Schools were strictly hierarchical.
Almost impossible to cross.
Which school you attended determined your starting point after graduation. Many companies explicitly required 985 graduates for entry-level positions. Some people thought this was unfair—but when you were eating, drinking, and having fun, others were studying hard and accumulating knowledge. Wasn't that the very definition of fairness?
"Since I've been reborn, I must work hard and get into a 985 university!" Qin Yuanqing clenched his fists, roaring in his heart. To hell with novels. To hell with online games. Being a top student was his true love.
When he later scrolled through short videos and saw those gaokao top scorers and academic prodigies, he could only look up at them. But deep down, he also had a dream of becoming a top scorer.
In academics, there is no first—only excellence. In competition, there is no second.
Why couldn't he become a top student?!
"Congratulations, Host. You have activated the Black Technology Academic Overlord System. This system was developed by the Wu Qian Cosmic Nation, designed to cultivate top students. By studying, you can earn learning coins and points to become an academic powerhouse."
A cold, metallic mechanical voice echoed in Qin Yuanqing's mind.
Immediately, a screen appeared in his consciousness:
Host: Qin Yuanqing
Age: 18
IQ: 115
EQ: 100
Subjects:
Chinese: Level 1 (0/100)
Mathematics: Level 1 (0/100)
English: Level 1 (0/100)
Physics: Level 1 (0/100)
Chemistry: Level 1 (0/100)
Biology: Level 1 (0/100)
Physical Fitness: Level 1 (0/100)
Looking at his attributes, Qin Yuanqing was speechless. He really was "stable across the board." Back in high school, his biggest weakness was having no outstanding subject, and his biggest strength was being evenly balanced—never biased toward any subject.
"System, what's with this beginner version? Are there intermediate and advanced versions too?" Qin Yuanqing wondered.
This cheat felt strange—really strange. And what on earth was the Wu Qian Cosmic Nation?
"Host level is currently low. Only the beginner version is unlocked. Once conditions are met, the intermediate version can be activated," the system replied.
At the same time, Qin Yuanqing gained access to more system information.
Besides the attribute panel, there was a system shop. In the shop, he could exchange learning coins for abilities and technologies—IQ, EQ boosts, and various advanced skills.
Naturally, everything required learning coins.
There was also a task panel.
"Congratulations, Host. Beginner tasks unlocked."
"Task 1: Rank within the top 50 of the grade in the midterm exam. Reward: 10 learning coins."
"Task 2: Rank within the top 10 of the grade in the final exam. Reward: 20 learning coins."
"Task 3: Rank first in the entire city in the gaokao. Reward: 500 learning coins."
Looking at the tasks, Qin Yuanqing rubbed his nose.
Last semester, his best performance was ranking 49th in the grade—but it wasn't stable. Normally, his midterm ranking was between 150 and 250. His finals were better, around 75 to 120.
Ranking 49th had already been an overperformance. Even if given another chance, he wasn't confident he could repeat it.
As for the gaokao… he remembered that the science-stream provincial top scorer that year in Fujian scored 702 points. The top scorer in Shuixian City scored 683.
Completing these tasks would be extremely difficult.
"Next, we'd like to commend Qin Yuanqing," the homeroom teacher announced. "Last semester's final exam—632 points. First in the class, 49th in the grade."
The class looked at Qin Yuanqing in surprise. Since the formation of experimental classes in the second year, the top 50 spots had been monopolized. Qin Yuanqing breaking into the top 50 was unexpected.
Qin Yuanqing calmly met everyone's gaze.
In the past, he would have been shy, pretending not to notice and burying his head on the desk. But now, after eight years in society, his skin was practically as thick as a city wall.
He stood up openly, smiling confidently, without a hint of embarrassment.
The classmates were stunned—it felt like they were seeing a completely different Qin Yuanqing.
Even Teacher Chen was surprised. The old Qin Yuanqing was quiet, introverted, aloof, always sitting in the back row—by the window or near the door—often sleeping in class. His grades were good, usually top five in the class.
He would patiently explain problems to male classmates, but if a female classmate asked, he'd snap, saying, "How can you be so stupid?" His impatience made many girls afraid of him. Over the past year, 70–80% of the girls in the class hadn't spoken a single word to Qin Yuanqing.
But now—
Something about him had clearly changed.