Chapter 473: Chapter 473: Is it Worth Photoshopping?
"Mentor, the graduate school entrance exam preliminary results are out. You’re ranked first again, and the institute will arrange the interview in the next couple of days. Remember to make time for it." Tang Yuanmao’s voice came from the receiver. He thought Sang Ning herself had answered the phone, so he didn’t bother adjusting his wording.
Sang Ning took back her phone, turned off the speaker mode, and calmly replied, "Got it. Let me know when the specific time is decided."
The Zijin Research Institute is somewhat unique; its interview cutoff scores are determined independently. Once the preliminary results are released, the list of candidates for the interview is quickly announced.
After hanging up, everyone at the dining table exchanged bewildered glances. Li Haidong and Wei Lan looked at each other in silence, their eyes filled with shock.
Did they mishear, or did someone use an AI voice changer? Why did that voice sound so much like Tang Yuanmao?
Lu Yujing didn’t hold back at all, clutching her stomach laughing as she doubled over, "Oh my God, Ningbao, did you hear what he just called you? He called you ’Mentor’! A research institute director actually called you ’Mentor.’ Are you playing some kind of role-play game with him?"
"Probably because I gave him a little life advice during his time of confusion and doubt. He must see me as his life coach now." After finishing her explanation, Sang Ning picked up her bowl and took a sip of soy milk leisurely.
Sometimes, when you exaggerate too much, people will assume you’re joking. That’s how Qin Feng viewed Sang Ning’s words; he even thought this whole scenario was a prank staged by the production team with her. So, playing along, he jokingly said, "Oh, Mentor, could you let us behold your graduate school exam scores?"
"Speak properly!" Sang Ning said seriously. It’s not about showing off; it’s more about providing motivation, though not for Qin Feng specifically but rather to give her fans an update.
Previously, Sang Ning had unexpectedly dropped into a fan group full of students. To encourage them to study hard, she made a promise—she would study with them and, once her graduate school exam results were out, she would post them on Weibo to inspire everyone.
Sang Ning opened the score-checking website, deliberately avoiding the camera, and entered her admission ticket number and personal details.
Seeing Sang Ning checking her scores, Lu Yujing, Qin Feng, Song Shiye, and Jiang Xiaoti all gathered around her. Li Haidong and Wei Lan, being older, felt awkward trying to squeeze in with the younger crowd. They opted to sit quietly, figuring there would be an announcement soon anyway.
With so many people checking scores at the same time, the website froze after Sang Ning entered her information. The screen turned completely blank. Eager to see Sang Ning embarrassed, Lu Yujing grew impatient and said, "Why isn’t it loading? Did you go to the wrong website?"
Qin Feng looked over at the production crew and smiled before joking, "Hey, what’s up with your production team? If this is a prank, could you at least put some effort into it?"
The producer and director caught Qin Feng’s gaze and shook their heads in confusion. What prank? Today’s theme is supposed to be about eating and drinking!
"Sangsang姐, maybe it’s the network acting up. Just refresh it a few times, it should work," Song Shiye said, his palms sweaty from the tension, even though the scores weren’t his to check.
Sang Ning refreshed the page a dozen or so times, with the group staring at the screen intently, their eyes never wavering. Eventually, they grew tired of staring. Lu Yujing complained, "Ningbao, are you messing with us? Why is it taking so long to load? Did you even log into the right score-checking website?"
Just as she finished grumbling, the blank screen suddenly displayed text.
"Ugh, only 498?" Jiang Xiaoti was the first to spot the total score, her tone tinged with disappointment—a classic "That’s it?" attitude.
Unfamiliar with graduate school exams and thinking they were scored like college entrance exams, Jiang Xiaoti assumed the test was out of 750 points. Judging by that standard, a score of 498 seemed mediocre at best.
Song Shiye, still a high school senior, hadn’t entered the university world yet. Sharing the same assumption, he quickly consoled Sang Ning, worried she might feel disheartened. "Sangsang姐, don’t be upset! 498 is already an excellent score. If I could get that, I’d be burning incense and praying—I’d definitely meet the admission cutoff for cultural subjects with no problem!"
Lu Yujing skipped the college entrance exam entirely, having applied directly to foreign universities during her senior year. Spending her years studying abroad, she wasn’t familiar with China’s higher education system either. Since both Jiang Xiaoti and Song Shiye had said so, Sang Ning’s score appeared far from impressive.
"Ningbao, with a score like this, how could you live up to your ’Mentor’ title?" Lu Yujing quipped solemnly, though a subtle trace of ridicule lurked behind her words.
Sang Ning calmly took a screenshot of the results page and used an editing app to blur out her private information while replying, "It’s fine, the score doesn’t need to be high—just sufficient is enough. But I do regret not getting a perfect score."
Lu Yujing burst out laughing, her tone blunt: "Ningbao, how many bottles of wine did you drink to get this delusional? Someone who only scored 498 actually dared to dream about perfection?"
Li Haidong and Wei Lan, both holders of master’s degrees, had been graduate school admissions through recommendations back in the day. Being older, their memories of academic life were quite distant. Hearing what the younger ones were saying, they simply assumed Sang Ning had bombed the exam.
Exchanging another glance, they tacitly decided that the earlier call from "Tang Yuanmao" was undoubtedly a self-directed drama on Sang Ning’s part.
Sang Ning couldn’t be bothered to explain or worry about their peculiar looks. Instead, she posted the pixelated screenshot on Weibo with a caption: "Here’s the promised update for all my babies!"
Fans immediately understood the hidden meaning behind her caption. As soon as they received a notification of her post and checked it, they were utterly floored.
[AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! Ningning子, what kind of immortal-level brain do you have? You actually scored 498! Are you even human? How are we supposed to live?!]
[When God created you, He not only opened a door but a skylight too! Brains and beauty, beauty and brains—you’ve got it all!]
Of course, a few haters camping out on her feed immediately questioned her: [Did you Photoshop this? If you really did, could you at least try harder? What do you take us for, idiots?]
Song Shiye noticed Sang Ning had posted on Weibo, and eager to show his support for Sangsang姐, he quickly logged into his own account and gave her a like. Upon spotting the haters’ comments, he couldn’t hold back. He replied directly under one of them: "I’m filming a show with Sangsang姐 on-site right now. She just checked her score right in front of me. How could it possibly be Photoshop? Plus, Sangsang姐 only scored 498—it’s not even that high. Would anyone bother Photoshopping something like that?"
