67: College Entrance Examination

Song Ke looked at Lu Qingyu. He didn't congratulate him like Lou Qingran and the others; just maintaining a smile on his face was already taking everything he had.

In the next two rounds, the surprising performance came from Lou Qingran. She was the third to perform and ended up with 2.03 million votes, surpassing her previous record. Zhang Xiaoxiao got 1.9 million votes; although she was at the bottom, she was very satisfied with herself, knowing that this was her weak point.

After this episode ended, Lu Qingyu was in first place again in terms of points. The director from the production team hurried over to meet them before Lu Qingyu and the others left.

Director Zhu's face beamed with joy when he saw Lu Qingyu. This was the star contributor to their show. Not only did the program break records today, but its ranking among variety shows in the same time slot had also soared to first place.

This was something Director Zhu had only dared to dream of before. One had to realize that during the 8:00 PM prime time slot, every channel aired its most popular variety shows. One of them was already in its fourth season, with top-tier production and celebrity guests, having held the number one spot for four consecutive years. He hadn't expected they would be the ones to break that streak today.

And as for that song, "one meat and one veggie," it went without saying—it was beautiful. Now, the entire internet was discussing it.

Director Zhu personally brought a drink over to Lu Qingyu: "Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Chen and Qingyu."

Chen Ting was in front, with Lu Qingyu following behind. In situations like this, having Chen Ting handle the pleasantries was enough; he didn't really need to step forward.

Chen Ting: "You're too kind, Director Zhu."

Director Zhu couldn't help but praise Lu Qingyu: "Qingyu's performance today was outstanding. That song even moved me to tears."

Lu Qingyu: "I'm glad you liked it, Director Zhu."

After chatting for a bit, Lu Qingyu couldn't help but let out a couple of yawns.

Director Zhu was very observant: "Recording went so late today, everyone must be exhausted. I won't take up any more of your time. Go back and get some rest."

By the time Chen Ting dropped Lu Qingyu home, it was already well past midnight. Lu Qingyu went straight to sleep as soon as he got inside.

The next day, he was fully recharged and full of energy.

Now, more and more people recognized Lu Qingyu when he went out, and there were more fans waiting for him. Su Jixing personally drove him to and from the company.

Lu Qingyu was truly famous now, to the point where many idol stars were envious. Any random piece of news about Lu Qingyu online would get tens of thousands of shares and views.

Su Jixing found many high-quality endorsements for Lu Qingyu, so naturally, his schedule became tight. Aside from his classes at the company, he was basically busy filming commercials.

Today, he was going to film a commercial for a luxury watch. While in the car, Lu Qingyu took out a set of National College Entrance Exam mock papers to get back into the swing of things. Su Jixing was stunned to see him doing exam papers.

"What are you doing?"

Lu Qingyu didn't look up: "Isn't it obvious? I'm doing exam papers."

Su Jixing: "I know you're doing papers, but why are you doing these?"

Lu Qingyu casually uttered the words: "The National College Entrance Exam."

Su Jixing's eyes widened, and his voice went up an octave:

"Why are you taking the National College Entrance Exam? Didn't the company approve your three-month stint at Cornell University next spring?"

Lu Qingyu had already applied to the company for this, and Chen Ting had approved it. Education was a serious matter. Lu Qingyu had submitted a plan for three months of study in the spring. Su Jixing would accompany him then, and Lu Qingyu could even expand his business presence there after his classes.

Lu Qingyu had submitted a plan, so Su Jixing assumed he had everything ready and would just go when the time came.

Lu Qingyu: "That's true, but how can I go if I don't take the National College Entrance Exam?"

Su Jixing: "Don't you know? As long as you have a high school diploma and meet the other requirements, you can go."

This time, Lu Qingyu slowly looked up: "I know, but I don't have a high school diploma."

Su Jixing jolted: "You... how do you not have one?"

Lu Qingyu: "I dropped out. Which high school would give me a diploma?"

For Su Jixing, it was like a bolt from the blue. Damn it, he felt like disaster was brewing.

He never in a million years expected that Lu Qingyu would have a problem with the easiest requirement for studying abroad.

In an instant, Su Jixing's brain felt like its CPU was about to fry. Looking across the entertainment industry, the academic scores of these stars weren't very high, averaging around 260 points. There were occasionally a few "top students" with scores over 500, but they were truly rare.

If Lu Qingyu had dropped out, his academic scores certainly wouldn't be very high. With him cramming at the last minute like this, Su Jixing was genuinely afraid—afraid that Lu Qingyu wouldn't even manage to score 200 points.

With his popularity being so high, many people would definitely be watching his academic performance. Su Jixing was afraid that if Lu Qingyu's score was too low or if he failed to get into a domestic university, he would be mocked.

Su Jixing thought it over and said, "How about this: tell me which subjects you're weak in, and I'll hire tutors for you. I'll also have the company's teachers give you arts classes. The admission scores for media colleges usually aren't that high; if you work hard, you should be able to get in."

Lu Qingyu: "But I didn't apply to a media college."

Lu Qingyu had asked Wang Ning to help with the application; he had applied to the top institution in the Dragon Kingdom, Huaqing University.

Su Jixing started sweating: "Then what did you apply for?"

Lu Qingyu: "Huaqing."

Su Jixing gasped. He didn't even dare to imagine what the reporters would write when they found out:

"Have you lost your mind?"

Over the past few days, Lu Qingyu had reviewed the content for all the subjects of the National College Entrance Exam here. It wasn't much different from his previous life, so he felt he would be fine, especially since he thought he still had plenty of time:

"Calm down. The National College Entrance Exam doesn't start until next June. I have plenty of time to study."

Su Jixing: "What nonsense are you talking about? There's clearly only one month left until the exam."

Now it was Lu Qingyu's turn to be stunned: "What nonsense are you talking about? Isn't the exam on June 7th?"

Su Jixing: "Who told you that? Everyone in the country knows it's on September 7th."

Lu Qingyu's hand holding the pen froze: "The National College Entrance Exam in the Dragon Kingdom isn't on June 7th?"

Su Jixing: "Isn't that the Senior High School Entrance Exam? What does that have to do with the National College Entrance Exam?"

In the car, the two stared at each other. After a while, Lu Qingyu realized he seemed to have made a mistake.

He had forgotten this was the Dragon Kingdom. Because everything was so similar to his previous life, he had naturally assumed the exam was in June. But it wasn't. This meant Lu Qingyu only had one month left until the exam.

Su Jixing asked a question that even he found ridiculous: "What am I supposed to do now?"