Top Student at Their Peak-Chapter 28 I’m Just Covered in Dust

Actually, Qiao Yu felt that he could tackle the big questions too. He had the confidence; he just couldn’t be bothered to gamble.

After all, who knows what’s going on in the examiner’s little head?

If they suddenly feel generous and give extra points out of sympathy, it would be awkward.

Qiao Yu always believed in one principle: gambling only means a chance to win, but not gambling means you definitely won’t lose.

From this point of view, Qiao Yu had a very steady mindset. For instance, any venture requiring a significant investment for substantial returns, unless he’s 100% sure, he won’t even glance at it. His so-called market research mainly involved risk-free opportunities.

For example, subtitling just required learning a few foreign languages and could be done directly at home; or gaming, which only required a little internet fee; or trying to exploit Mathematics to win the lottery, only to find Huaxia lottery offered almost no chance for Mathematics, so he decisively gave up...

But this didn’t mean Qiao Yu was stingy. In fact, he was quite generous in life, even extravagant.

This personality was largely thanks to Qiao Yu’s grandfather.

Back then, another mantra often repeated by Qiao Yu’s grandfather was: When a man runs out of money, he should think about how to make money. Those who brag all day and only think about saving money while sleeping at night don’t achieve much in life.

Qiao Yu is a man and took this to heart, thus shaping this personality.

In fact, Xia Keke’s admiration for Qiao Yu probably also stemmed from this personality inherited from his grandfather.

When she was a kid, following Qiao Yu around as a little sidekick was probably her happiest childhood memory.

The snacks she wanted, but her parents wouldn’t buy, she could always find a way through her brother; when she didn’t do well in primary school exams and didn’t dare take the papers home for parent signatures, Qiao Yu would study the handwriting all night and forge the signature with a flourish, smoothly fooling the teachers.

Of course, it wasn’t always that smooth. Her parents, although busy with work, would occasionally check the WeChat group. Sometimes they would recall seeing papers that needed signatures from teachers that they hadn’t seen.

However, in Xia Keke’s eyes, her brother Qiao Yu was the kind of man who could do anything.

So even though what Qiao Yu always emphasized sounded strange and even seemed like bragging, in Xia Keke’s eyes, it had to be true.

"So you could actually get full marks in your geography as well, oh my gosh, so that means at most you lost 11 points in the entrance exam, which rounds up to 689 points. Oh my gosh, brother, with this score, you could have picked any high school in Star City."

Xia Keke sighed with full regret.

She knew Qiao Yu was deliberately going to Class 13, but had no evidence until today she finally heard Qiao Yu admit it.

This must be thanks to Lan Jie.

If he hadn’t agreed to take the exam seriously this time, Qiao Yu wouldn’t even be talking about this today.

"The stuff learned in high school is all the same. Does it matter where you go to school?" Qiao Yu glanced at Xia Keke, not understanding what was regrettable about this.

"How can a good high school be the same as a bad one? The enrollment rates of the Four Majors and Five Smalls can’t be compared to an ordinary high school?" Xia Keke retorted.

Qiao Yu sneered, leisurely saying, "Indeed, it can’t be compared. But you have to consider that these prestigious schools gobble up the batch of students with the best entrance exam scores. High exam scores should be expected, and if they don’t, it just shows these so-called prestigious schools are already rotten.

In fact, instead of hoping the teachers at these prestigious schools are top-notch, it’s better to rely on the overall learning atmosphere created by gathering all the good students together. It’s like when you go to a mall, aren’t the jewelry pieces displayed in special cabinets on the ground floor really pretty?"

Xia Keke instinctively nodded.

"Is that because the craftsmen are unique? Of course! But also because the materials provided were originally gold. If a ton of crap were provided as raw material, could they carve out priceless gold jewelry?"

Qiao Yu bluntly commented, then remarked, "So it’s just exams, don’t get obsessed. It’s naturally great to get into a good high school, but it just means a better learning atmosphere. If you fail and don’t get into a prestigious school, the sky won’t fall down. High school contents are all the same, and the teaching syllabus is there, the college entrance exam can’t exceed the syllabus?

Also, learning is a very personal thing. Whether it’s a prestigious school or a regular one, if you want to learn, it won’t be too bad anywhere. In the internet age, things teachers can’t explain can be found online for supplementary learning. Be confident; gold like us won’t be buried anywhere."

Qiao Yu rarely said a few long sentences about study and the high school entrance exams.

If Xia Keke’s parents heard Qiao Yu say this, they would most likely have a different opinion. But Qiao Yu thought Keke actually had a good grasp of knowledge; what she needed to overcome now was just a mindset issue.

Letting go of obsessions about prestigious schools, she might take the entrance exam more easily and maybe achieve unexpectedly good results.

"Keke is indeed shining gold. As for you..." Qiao Xi disdainfully remarked.

It’s not like every mother loves to deliberately hit her son. It’s mainly because no matter what Qiao Yu faces at any time, he’s always so full of confidence. This self-assurance does seem a bit excessive, so much so that it’s a little inexplicable.

As an elder, Qiao Xi felt it was necessary to somewhat balance these two.

"I understand; it’s just that I’m hiding a bit deeper, covered in dust, so I don’t appear so dazzling," Qiao Yu nodded and admitted his mistake right away.

"Haha..." Qiao Xi sneered.

Unfortunately, it had no effect, because Xia Keke was too cooperative, looking at Qiao Yu with such admiration that it almost seemed tangible.

As expected, Qiao Yu could spin a flower out of anything; although what he said was different from the teacher’s, it sounded more reasonable.

Qiao Xi couldn’t watch this any longer and got up to grab a can of beer.

"Aunt, my mom often says drinking too much is bad for my dad’s health, you should drink less too," Xia Keke said seriously.

Qiao Xi sat back next to Xia Keke, gently stroked the little girl’s head lovingly, and promised with a smile, "Aunt knows, next time for sure."

"You promised, Aunt."

"Mm-hmm!"

Qiao Yu rolled his eyes on the side, once again reaching an agreement with his mom on one thing— this girl was a bit too naive.

...

The next two days, there’s nothing much to say.

Because Class 13 had no weekend make-up classes, the morning self-study session was entirely used for tidying up the classroom.

The books piled up on the table were all moved to a specially cleared table at the back row to ensure the mock exams, which caused everyone to groan, could proceed smoothly.

After all, the school valued the second mock exam greatly, even bringing in proctors from different subjects for it.

There were actually cameras in the classrooms; choosing unfamiliar teachers was just to simulate the solemn atmosphere of the high school entrance exams.

Of course, Qiao Yu didn’t care about any of this. It’s not that he was bragging; getting a precise aim in a game felt much harder than handling an exam, especially in a score control setting.