Chapter 18: 16

One by one, the other students also came to the same realization. They unconsciously shuddered, thinking of the consequences they would suffer if their parents found out they skipped the revision classes when the exams were right around the corner.   

What did it matter if they actually knew what time the audition would be? Not everyone would be selected anyway—it would be just a huge waste of their time then.

After taking these into account, everyone quickly calmed down and stopped talking about it.

The morning study bell rang, and the crowd dispersed, returning back to their seats in twos and threes.

Lu BaoBao wrinkled her nose unhappily and tugged at Jiang Se’s arm: “If they won’t go, let’s go by ourselves.” She did not want to give up just like this.

Jiang Se was also mulling it over. Zhou Hui had already made it clear that she would have to come up with a way to cover her tuition costs on her own if she wanted to go to college. Du ChangQun was not going to offer any monetary help.

If there was one thing that Jiang Se agreed with Zhou Hui on, it was that finding a job that would pay someone as young as her a decent wage was not going to be easy. She had less than two months to find work and save money.

If worst comes to worst, I’ll just take up several low-paying jobs at the same time, Jiang Se reasoned to herself.

Jiang Se looked meaningfully at Lu BaoBao and reminded her, “The exams are in four days. Didn’t your parents give you the ultimatum? They’re going to punish you even more if they find out.”

Lu BaoBao rolled her eyes. Any traces of her listless self from just a few minutes ago were now completely gone. She waved her hand carelessly in the air and said, “They were just saying that. Besides, my parents are perfectly aware of my situation. They don’t expect me to get into the top 100 or anything, and you and I both know our own aptitudes. They’ll be happy enough if I get a passing grade.”

Lu BaoBao’s grades were average at best. She had taken the liberal arts route 1 since her grades in Chinese subjects and literature were better. Her English and math were rather lacking, but at this stage, there was nothing she could do except leave it up to fate. Maybe if she worked hard and crammed for politics, geography, and history, there was a possibility of making up for the overall score, but she did not think she would be able to do it. 

“Our school isn’t that far from the IAFT, and the subway is just outside the gates. It’s like five or six stops away, right? We can go there after school! Asking around for information shouldn’t take too long. Please?” Lu BaoBao begged, pushing out her lower lip. “Let’s go, okay?”

""

Lu BaoBao stared intently into Jiang Se’s eyes, willing her to agree.

Jiang Se only gave her a sidelong glance before nodding calmly in agreement. With a big grin on her face, Lu BaoBao stood up, pumped her fist in the air, and exclaimed loudly, <Yes!> 2

Coincidentally, the homeroom teacher, with a pile of things in her hands, walked in the door at that moment. Her face abruptly changed when she saw this scene. “Lu BaoBao!” she yelled.

The rest of the class had heard the teacher’s footsteps a couple of seconds earlier, and they were able to react quickly enough. They hastily bent over their desks, their pens noisily scribbling away—the picture of good, responsible students diligently reviewing.

Suffice to say, Lu BaoBao was beyond shocked to hear her name being called out. She had been too busy worrying over whether she would be able to go to the audition later to notice the changes in the room. She immediately bowed her head and sat down, hunching her shoulders and making herself as small as possible.

The teacher trudged up the platform, her footsteps heavy. Once she reached the table, she flung down the things in her hands and, with her hands on her hips, she looked disapprovingly around the classroom before stopping her gaze on Lu BaoBao.

“There are less than five days until the exams, and you are still so complacent! Hmm! Your English is quite good, huh? Then, tell me, what happened to your test results? Out of 150 points, you only scored 86! In all three components, vocabulary, listening, and multiple choice scores, you got more than half of the answers wrong!”

The more the teacher spoke, the angrier she got, and with every word, Lu BaoBao lowered her head even further. She did not think her grades were that bad, but she did not dare refute her.

Teacher Lin was their class’, Class 3, homeroom teacher, but at the same time she also taught high school English to the whole grade. She took education very seriously and insisted that students give their studies their all every day. Especially recently, she was even more strict than usual; she strongly believed that the exam results would pave the way for their future, so they had better make the most of it today rather than have to struggle when they went out into society.

Greatly incensed, Teacher Lin took out a folder of test sheets from the pile on the table and briskly flipped through, then pulled out Lu BaoBao’s.

“See this, Lu BaoBao? This, here, is your test paper from last week; a total of fifty points, and you were only able to answer less than half! English is very important; it’s a compulsory subject. If you don’t significantly improve your scores right away, then I don’t know what you’re going to do in the exams! Your scores in other subjects are not that good either,” the teacher said.

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The room was as silent as a graveyard; everyone seemed to be holding their breath, afraid they would incur the teacher’s wrath. Many of the students snuck glances at each other or shifted uneasily in their seats, feeling a little sorry for Lu BaoBao.

Lu BaoBao had been caught by the teacher before, and she had also been scolded more than once, so this was not a new experience for her. Still, it was incredibly embarrassing, not to mention scary.

Teacher Lin closed her eyes, rubbed her temples, and took a deep breath, trying to reign in her anger. “I want you to stay in class after school ends. You will write down the answers you missed ten times, then you will commit them to memory. Until you are able to recite them properly, you are not allowed to leave.”

 Lu BaoBao looked up in dismay at the teacher and howled her grievances in her head, No! I just got Jiang Se to agree to go with me!

She wanted to try her luck and see if she could get some information about the movie ‘From Make Believe to Reality.’ What if she could actually dig out the audition time or hear some interesting news? Why was she so unlucky?

Classes normally end at 5:00 p.m. in the afternoon, followed by self-study classes beginning at 8:00 p.m. and ending at 9:00 p.m.

However, because the seniors’ schedules were a lot more demanding due to the college exams, their teachers would often end class 30 minutes later. So, of course, it would be impossible for Lu BaoBao to leave the school premises. Now that Teacher Lin was on her case and she had additional homework, without a doubt, the teacher would definitely check on her from time to time, so she could not just leave stealthily.

Lu BaoBao turned to Jiang Se with a sad face. The teacher’s attention was still on her, so she dared not speak, but she quietly tried to convey her misery with her eyes.

A minute later, Teacher Lin finally soothed her throbbing headache and waved all of the mock test papers at the class. “For this test, there were some of you who did not do so well and would have to step up in their reviewing; however, there were also some who have exceeded expectations,” she said, her eyes sweeping over the whole class before stopping on Jiang Se’s face. 

“Jiang Se performed exceptionally well this time, and everyone should learn from her. If a person works hard in everything that they do, they will be rewarded,” the teacher said. “Not only has Jiang Se improved in both literature and math, but she has also made great progress in English.”

The original Jiang Se’s grades had always been below average, and she never paid her studies any mind. Once she took over the body, Jiang Se began to slowly acclimate to the surroundings and adjust her behavior and habits. She was careful not to show any drastic changes; instead, she slowly altered how others perceived her and gradually displayed the appropriate amount of ‘improvement’ for every small milestone, making sure to commit mistakes every now and then. Over time, both the teachers and students alike got used to her transformation, and she often made such achievements that they had become the norm in the past month.

As a result, her homeroom teacher, who had carefully watched her development these past few weeks, was very generous with her compliments. Her recent scores in the mock tests were especially gratifying, and Teacher Lin’s anger at Lu BaoBao was quickly relieved.

 

When classes ended, Lu BaoBao had to stay and complete her homework, so she could only watch enviously as Jiang Se packed her things. She was sorely tempted to sneak away, but she did not dare—the consequences were too dreadful to bear.

“I’ll just go and take a quick look—familiarize myself with the road and all that. Don’t worry so much. Ma JingJing’s information hasn’t even been verified yet, and they might not do the screen tests today at all,” Jiang Se told her, trying to comfort her. “There’s still time until the exams; you should review everything that you can, and we can talk about everything else afterwards, okay?”

Jiang Se was different from Lu BaoBao. She did well in her college entrance exams years ago, and because of her exceptional performance, she was accepted into the country’s top university. 

With her past experience and knowledge, she was already halfway ready.

Several weeks ago, she had worried she did not have enough time to catch up, but since taking the mock tests, her fears were, thankfully, unfounded. Even if several years had passed, there were very few disparities. She had nothing to worry about in Chinese, math, and English because everything she had previously learned could still be applied. If there were changes, they would probably be very minor. For geography, history, and politics subjects, she had spent a great deal of time reviewing them two weeks prior. She took careful notes and focused on the key points of each one. She mainly spent her free time reviewing these three. 

Although she might not perform as well as she did when she was Feng Nan, she was confident that she would be able to get into the best universities. That was why her concerns had never been over her test scores; instead, she worried about where she would get the money to pay the tuition.

The best universities would undoubtedly provide financial aid or offer scholarship grants to students who would perform well, but Jiang Se’s time in this body was simply too short. Her grades from middle school until the first half of her third year of high school were not the best, and most universities would still take those into consideration. Her chances of being chosen were thus very slim.

Jiang Se had heard a thing or two about the Imperial Academy of Film and Television. 

Each year, the school would enroll a large number of attractive young men and women. Sometimes, there were even familiar faces—child actors and actresses who gained their fame when they were younger.

The academy had a reputation for being extremely strict with its students. For instance, first-year students were forbidden from taking on any acting roles, no matter how big or small, outside of the academy. Only third-year students were allowed to formally accept offers, be they from television crews, stage dramas, or variety shows. Nevertheless, there were still plenty of recognizable faces that were frequently seen wandering campus grounds. 

Once enrollment season came around, the academy would often be surrounded by the media. Entertainment magazines, paparazzi, and even a few TV anchors would report on the scene, covering everything from the newly enrolled students to the freshly minted third-year and fourth-year rookie actors. If a student was lucky enough or eye-catching enough, their faces would be featured on the news, and they would have some level of fame even before they had started their careers.

 

Footnotes

Second year high school students in China are asked to choose a ‘route’ before they start their sophomore year: liberal arts or science. Each route ‘focuses’ on certain subjects. Liberal arts students have a lower math workload and almost no chemistry or physics classes (depending on the school); instead they have more literature and Chinese classes and put emphasis on history, geography, and political classes (see: https://www.chinaeducationaltours.com/guide/article-curriculum-of-senior-high-school-in-china.htm)  I will be using these < > when the characters are speaking in languages other than Chinese. Here, Lu BaoBao said it in English. 

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