Chapter 2: This Is Just Where My Skill Stands!

The other candidates in the class glanced at Lin Yi for a moment, then withdrew their curiosity and focused their attention on the Chinese exam paper. After all, the exam was the most important thing for them. Moreover, this was the college entrance examination! Every point in this exam could topple thousands of troops!

Two proctors stood, one at the front and one at the back of the classroom, observing the candidates. While scanning the room, their eyes lingered more often on Lin Yi, filled with admiration, regret, and sympathy... Facing the college entrance exam in such a state—though his courage was commendable, the exam would surely be affected. To say it wouldn't affect him was simply nonsense. His hand holding the pen trembled, sweat pouring down.

The two proctors exchanged glances and nodded in unison. If anything happened to this candidate, they would have to report immediately to the patrol teacher.

Lin Yi stared at the Chinese exam paper on the desk, dazed, his right hand trembling slightly. Fate was playing tricks on him. Unexpectedly, he was taking the college entrance exam once again. In 2012, he would leave no regrets.

He took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on the paper, a sharp pain stabbing his head. It was as if he could no longer recall the knowledge. This was very bad! If things went wrong, his 2012 score might even be lower than the one he got after repeating the exam in 2013! Was he about to sing his own dirge?

Lin Yi helplessly held his forehead. What was he to do? Could it be... repeating the year again? No, please not.

His forehead furrowed deeply, catching the attention of the proctors, who felt a tight knot in their hearts. Was this student going to have some kind of problem?

After exchanging glances, the two proctors reached a silent agreement.

“Are you alright? Do you need help?” the female proctor approached Lin Yi and spoke softly.

“Maybe... you should see a doctor first,” she added after hesitating.

Honestly, the candidate was already here, facing a crucial exam. She was asking him to give up. She felt a pang of guilt. But more important than the exam was his health. If something happened mid-exam, the proctors wouldn’t escape responsibility. Their duties extended beyond monitoring; they had to respond promptly to emergencies. Failure to do so would be catastrophic.

“No, I’m fine,” Lin Yi waved off. Saying he was fine was a lie. His thigh still throbbed. If he wanted to see a doctor, he could have done so before arriving at the exam hall. Now that he was here, he was determined to endure until the end. Quitting halfway would be a betrayal both to himself and to the efforts he had just made.

“Alright, if anything happens, be sure to raise your hand immediately,” the female proctor said reluctantly before returning to her post, her eyes still fixed on him.

After she left, Lin Yi rubbed his forehead with five fingers. This was tricky. After so many years, the knowledge had all been handed back to the teachers.

“Let’s try again—see if I can rely on memory,” he thought, looking once more at the familiar yet strange Chinese exam paper.

In his previous life’s 2012 college entrance exam, after the car accident, he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. He didn’t take the Chinese exam, and without that boost, his total score was 323 points. Due to the accident and his shattered mindset, he couldn’t perform normally in math, humanities, or English.

After the exam, watching others fill out their college applications and attend university, he was utterly disappointed and chose to repeat the year.

Speaking of the accident, it was a misfortune tinged with a slight stroke of luck. His bicycle was struck violently; he flew onto the car, then tumbled to the ground. The accident ruined him—that was misfortune; but it didn’t kill him—that was the small blessing amid misfortune.

As Lin Yi focused intently, the knowledge slowly resurfaced in his mind with the passage of time. He could even recall the feelings and circumstances under which he had taken this exam paper.

In their final year, teachers would often bring out recent years’ exam papers for review. Especially after the exam, teachers would give this year’s paper to students about to enter their senior year. When he repeated the year and faced this paper for the first time, his emotions were complex.

So... memories still existed. But he didn’t want to recall them, didn’t want to remember.

“Sigh,” Lin Yi sighed, then a faint smile tugged at his lips. Let the past be the past!

This life, he vowed to be a different self!

His pen slowly descended, the scratch of it filling the classroom in waves.

Wu Qing saw Lin Yi engrossed in answering and, after a moment’s observation to confirm he had no major issues, shifted his gaze elsewhere. This classroom held more than just Lin Yi—there were dozens of candidates. Though the chance of cheating was slim, who could say for sure that someone wouldn’t attempt something under so many watchful eyes?

Time passed steadily.

Lin Yi looked at the final big question—the essay.

The essay prompt was the story of a shipowner and a ship repairman. The shipowner asked the repairman to paint a small boat. While painting, the repairman discovered a small hole at the bottom and patched it up on a whim. Unexpectedly, this small act saved the shipowner’s child’s life.

Candidates were to derive a theme from the material and create their own title.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Lin Yi saw there were only forty-five minutes left. His eyes flickered briefly before he picked up his pen and wrote: “The Backbone of a Nation!”

“Fifteen minutes remaining; please manage your time accordingly,” a proctor announced.

Lin Yi rubbed his neck. Writing an 800-word essay in 30 minutes was a bit slow for him. If it weren’t for the intermittent pain in his thigh, he could have gone faster!

Still, he was glad to have finished the paper. With some time left, he reviewed his answers, confirming they aligned with what he remembered. He packed away his tools and slowly raised his hand.

“What’s the matter?” Wu Qing approached and asked.

“Submitting,” Lin Yi replied calmly.

Wu Qing took the answer sheet, checked it over to ensure completion, then collected the test paper, answer sheet, and rough paper onto the podium. He came beside Lin Yi and said, “Let me help you out.”

“Okay.”

Though the wound had coagulated, it still needed cleaning.

Lin Yi’s action left a pen-biting, frowning overweight student dumbfounded.

No way, he was late by over ten minutes and yet finished early?

How was that even humanly possible?

Damn it! Why wasn’t he the one with such intelligence?

If only he had half of Lin Yi’s smarts, he wouldn’t be wracking his brain over the essay, sacrificing thousands of brain cells.

“Ah, what a hard life,” the overweight student sighed, his eyes inadvertently catching the clock on the wall.

“What the heck! There are still five minutes left? Wasn’t it supposed to be ten?”

Realizing this, he frantically scribbled, determined to finish. Whether the essay had logic or a clear thesis was the grader’s problem; he wasn’t going to worry about it.

After all, this was his level.