Fail the Exam and Die

As one of the country's top high school teachers, I have helped countless students get into the best colleges. But I somehow find myself reborn as a poor kid from the countryside while attending a ceremony honoring my achievements. A mysterious voice echoes in my mind. "If you fail to get into college, you'll die!" How hard can that be? It's just getting into college. That's hardly a challenge for a genius like me. But soon I realize that getting into college isn't really about how smart you are. In the end, it all comes down to people and their motives. Chapter 1 As an accomplished high school teacher, I helped two students from my class get into the nation's best colleges this year, while the rest of my students earned admission to other respectable colleges. The principal even held a special ceremony in my honor and asked me to share my experience with parents and other teachers. Under the spotlight, I stood centre stage and enthusiastically shared my insights on teaching. "In this day and age, if you can't get into college, people might as well think you're an idiot." The audience erupted into laughter, followed by a round of applause. The next moment, a woman dressed in black got up and challenged me. "What if you were a kid growing up in the countryside? What if your parents had to leave you behind to work in another city?" I wondered if this woman was here to stir up trouble. I furrowed my brows slightly but patiently explained, "Ma'am, I grew up in the countryside myself. "These days, everyone has access to the internet. Educational resources are right at your fingertips. As long as you're willing to put in the effort, getting into college should be easier than it was for me back then." But the woman glared at me, still unconvinced. "So you still stand by what you just said?" I nodded. "That's right." As the woman sneered, I felt my body go limp, and the whole world seemed to spin around me. Before I lost consciousness, a cold, mechanical voice rang out in my mind. "System has detected Challenger 928116973… Host: Alex Towne Occupation: Top Teacher Task: Take over the body of Nathan Moore, a boy from the countryside, and help him get into college. If you fail to get into college, you'll die!" Chapter 2 When I opened my eyes, I realized I wasn't in the school hall or the hospital. Instead, I found myself in a tiny, run-down hut. I shot upright, and strands of dry, straw-like hair fell into my face. I held out my hand and saw how tanned and thin it was, with dirt caked under my fingernails. This wasn't my body anymore. So the voice in my head had been real after all! What on earth was going on? I let out a sigh as Nathan Moore's memories came flooding into my mind. Moore Village was the poorest village in the mountains, and Nathan's family was the poorest of them all. Nathan's mother was mentally unstable, his grandmother was bedridden, and his father had lost a hand years ago while working at an illegal construction site. Now all his father could do was simple farm chores. All year round, the Moores lived off the harvest from their 0.3-acre plot of farmland and an old sow in the yard. Most of Nathan's memories were related to chores—doing laundry, cooking, gathering food for the sow, and feeding it. But he lacked the knowledge a boy his age should have had. Nathan had only attended elementary school for three years before dropping out and returning home. Now he was old enough to be in high school, yet he was still at home, letting the years go by. I sighed again. As a teacher, I sympathized with Nathan's situation, but I was also upset that he wasn't doing anything to change his life. Didn't he know that education was his only way out of the mountains? It didn't matter anymore. Now that I had taken over Nathan's body, our fates were intertwined. If he couldn't get into college, I would be screwed too. So the first thing I needed to do was get back to school. The moment I made up my mind, I got out of bed and went into the yard to speak to the head of the household—Nathan's father, Peter Moore. Chapter 3 Peter was sitting on the front steps, smoking his pipe. I carefully dodged the chicken droppings scattered across the yard and hurried over to him. "Dad, I want to go back to school!" Peter glanced at me and blew a cloud of smoke in my face. "What did you just say?" "I want to go back to school. I want to get into college!" "And where do you think we're going to get the money for school? Get lost!" The way Peter was acting made my blood boil. His son wanted to go back to school. Wasn't that a good thing? Shouldn't he be over the moon? How could Peter dismiss his son when all he wanted was to go back to school? What kind of nonsense was that? My instincts as a teacher kicked in. I raised my voice and said sternly, "Sir, how could you say something like that? Please mind your…" Before I could even finish, Peter cut me off—with a slap. He slapped me hard across the face, leaving my cheek burning. It had just rained that morning. I was sprawled in the yard, covered in mud and chicken droppings. My head was ringing from the slap, and I was completely dazed. "You… Why did you hit me?" Peter rose to his feet and glared at me. "I'm your father. What's wrong with me slapping you? Why bother going to school? "I put food on the table for you, don't I? If you've got that much time on your hands, go gather some food for the pig!" I lay sprawled on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. I was too terrified to move, paralyzed by the mix of Nathan's fear and my own. It wasn't until that moment that I finally understood the reality of my situation. I was no longer the accomplished high school teacher I used to be. Parents weren't hanging on my every word, looking to me for advice about their kids' futures. I was Nathan Moore, a malnourished young man who still had to do farm work every day. Going to school wasn't going to be as easy as I had imagined. Peter picked up his sandal, raising it as if he were about to hit me again. I gritted my teeth against the pain and took off as fast as I could. Chapter 4 My cheek was still burning. Even by the end of the afternoon, it was still swollen. I fed the chickens and the sow, fetched water, and cleaned the yard. Even after the sun had gone down, I still had to cook. I made potato and cabbage stew with cornbread. It wasn't that I didn't want to make something better. There just wasn't much at home, and there was only so much I could do with what I had on hand. Peter started gobbling down the food. Within minutes, he had polished off most of the food we had on the table. He let out a burp and stepped outside for a smoke. Only a little soup remained on the table. The grimy utensils and chipped bowls were enough to ruin my appetite. I sighed and got up to take some food to Nathan's mother, Daisy Baker. In Nathan's memories, Daisy had always been the one who cared about him most, but she lost her mind when he turned six. Embarrassed by her, Peter locked her away in an abandoned cowshed west of the house. Ever since then, Nathan rarely saw Daisy, except when he brought her food. After going through his memories, I had a feeling something was off about Daisy, yet I couldn't put my finger on what. The moment I opened the door to the cowshed, the stench of cow manure hit me. A woman with disheveled hair was squatting in the corner of the cowshed. That had to be Daisy. I set the food on the floor. "Mom, it's time for dinner!" Daisy dashed over and kicked the bowl over. She started scooping the food up from the ground and shoved it into her mouth. Daisy really was out of her mind. Even though Daisy was covered in dirt, I could tell she had been quite beautiful in her younger days. While I was with her, I felt a warmth I hadn't felt in a long time. Or maybe Nathan's emotions were rubbing off on me. I muttered, "Mom, I want to go to school." Daisy paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. She dug the food out of her mouth and flung it all over the floor. "Hahaha! You want to go to school? That's good! Good idea!" Daisy was right. It was a good idea. But thinking about Peter's attitude made me worry all over again. Chapter 5 It had been a few days since I took over Nathan's body. Over the past few days, I kept asking Peter to let me go to school, but he said no every time. It was already October, and the registration deadline had long since passed. I was so stressed that I even developed two cold sores on the corners of my mouth. The sun rose early in the summer. As soon as it came up, I started sweeping the yard while Peter fed the family's only old sow. Suddenly, someone walked through the gate. I recognized her—it was Judy Hall, Nathan's neighbor. She made some small talk with Peter and then glanced over at me sweeping the yard. She suddenly let out a sigh. "I guess some kids just have it better than others. Your son's stuck sweeping the yard, and Maurice's kid is already bringing home eggs for the family!" Peter looked up. "Eggs? How did he get them?" Judy was practically gleeful. "Don't you know? I heard Betsy Bell placed among the top few in her class, and the school rewarded her with two pounds of eggs. Maurice went around the whole village showing them off." Katy Brown clicked her tongue. "I heard first place gets five pounds of eggs!" I stood nearby, eavesdropping on their conversation. I knew this was my chance to go back to school. I hurried over to Peter. "Dad, let me go to school. I can help you get those eggs! All five pounds of them!" That afternoon, Peter dragged me to school. Only one high school served all the nearby villages, and it was about 1.55 miles from Moore Village. My feet were aching by the time we arrived at the school gate. I was completely taken aback when I saw the school. Could this even be considered a school? The school consisted of a few dilapidated classrooms, with a large dirt field out front. There was no laboratory, gymnasium, or running track. The only thing that looked new was the national flag fluttering in the breeze. The principal, Vanessa Lark, was a middle-aged woman with short hair. Her clothes were patched in several places. She gazed at me, then at Peter. "It's already past the registration deadline. Technically, I'm not supposed to take you in." Technically, she wasn't supposed to take me in. That meant she could still do so. I had to go back to school. I thought for a moment before saying, "Ma'am, why don't you give me a test? If I pass, could you take me in? What do you think?" Vanessa let out a chuckle, disbelief filling her eyes. After all, Nathan didn't exactly look like a kid who did well at school. Vanessa pulled out a test paper from the drawer, handed it to me, and said, "Here's the college entrance exam for this year. It's pretty tough." I glanced over the paper and realized they were all basic questions. I could answer them with my eyes closed and still get a perfect score. I took the pencil from Vanessa and started scribbling my answers on the paper. Her expression grew increasingly solemn as she watched me write. "Stop. That's enough." Chapter 6 Vanessa looked at Peter and exclaimed excitedly, "Your kid is a genius!" Hearing that, I let out a sigh of relief. I put down my pencil, my palms slick with sweat. Peter gave me a skeptical look. "He's a genius?" "A true genius!" Vanessa picked up my test paper. "He could easily score at least 70 on this paper!" And that was me holding back. Vanessa was thrilled and declared she wanted to take me on as a student, but Peter suddenly wasn't having it. The wheels started turning in his head. "You said my kid's a genius, and you wish to take him on as your student. Well, that's going to cost you. You should at least give me five pounds of eggs!" Vanessa had expected something much more outrageous when he said that. When she realized he was only asking for five pounds of eggs, she immediately gave him 20 dollars and asked him to buy them at the market himself. Even after taking the money, Peter didn't seem exactly happy. I couldn't help but think there was something off about the way he looked at me. In the end, Peter still left. Even though students from several nearby villages were attending this school, there weren't many of them overall. Each grade only had two classes—an advanced class and a regular class. Of course, I went for the advanced class. There were about 30 to 40 people in the class. Vanessa introduced me to everyone and said I was a genius. The entire class instantly burst into laughter. A short, chubby young man with tanned skin stuck his chin up and said, "My mother said that scrawny runt's got a few tricks. How could he possibly be a genius?" The others chimed in. "That's right." "Even so, is he really as good as Xavier Carter?" A short guy with glasses glanced at me and let out a disdainful snort. Technically, I was already an adult and couldn't be bothered with this kind of childish behavior. I chose a random seat and settled down. Still, I couldn't help but feel bothered. So what if I was scrawny? Why should anyone look down on me for that? If they were students in my class, I would definitely have them stand at the back of the classroom as punishment. Vanessa was not only the principal, but also one of the teachers. She walked to the front of the class and began her lesson. After listening for a while, I couldn't help shaking my head. As a fellow teacher myself, I felt her teaching was awful. Next to me was a thin young woman with tanned skin. Seeing my reaction, she thought I didn't understand the syllabus and quietly offered to teach me after class. I recognized her. She was Betsy Bell, the young woman who won some eggs for her family a few days ago. I thanked her and turned my attention back to the lesson. Even though Vanessa's teaching was pretty bad, I could still sit through it. Once I was in college, I was completely focused on my major, so I had forgotten the things I had learned in other subjects. I had to get my knowledge back up to speed. I knew I could do it. Once I made it into college, I could go home. Chapter 7 I walked the mountain roads to and from school every day. Once I got home, I still had chores to do. It wasn't until late at night that I could finally lie on my bed and rest. I was completely worn out. And that was the everyday life of every kid in Moore Village. My students only had to focus on their studies every day. It was the same for me when I was a student. It was a stark contrast to my life now. I couldn't help but feel that my earlier thinking had been a little naive. In an environment like this, it would definitely be hard to get into college. After enrolling, I took my first monthly exam. I ended up taking first place, beating Xavier Carter, who had always been the top student. The classmates who had made fun of me were livid. Xavier looked especially glum, his face dark with anger. I deliberately walked past them several times with the bag of eggs in hand. I even heard someone gulp. It was my second time in high school. If I couldn't even beat them, that would be ridiculous. When Peter saw me come home with a big bag of eggs, his expression softened. He even suggested that I bring Daisy some eggs for dinner. "Nathan, you should tell your mom you came in first. That should cheer her up!" I happily brought dinner over to the cowshed and opened the door. The golden eggs topped with bright red peppers looked absolutely mouthwatering. In the corner, Daisy looked even thinner than before. She looked worse than the last time I had seen her. As usual, I set the food on the ground, and Daisy quickly crawled over to me. This time, she didn't kick the bowls over. I couldn't help but tear up as I watched her pick up the food with her dirty hands and stuff it into her mouth over and over again. "Mom," I said slowly. "I went back to school and came in first. I won those eggs for you." For a moment, Daisy looked as if she knew what was going on. But the next moment, she was back to her usual erratic self, laughing. "Came in first? That's good! Now I get to eat eggs!" Daisy had food smeared all over her head and face. My heart ached as I wiped it away for her. I didn't even notice someone watching us from the door. With a loud bang, the battered wooden door to the cowshed was kicked open. Chapter 8 Furious, Peter grabbed Daisy by the hair and slammed her head against the wall. Blood started streaming down her face, staining the wall red. What was going on? Why was Peter acting like that? I trembled as I tried to pull him off her, but he kicked me in the stomach. It hurt so bad that I thought I was going to pass out. "I've been wondering how that brat could solve those questions when he's barely even been to school. Were you the one teaching him all along? Tell me. Have you been acting crazy all these years?" But Daisy didn't seem to feel the pain or understand what Peter was saying. She just kept giggling to herself. Teach me? But Daisy was just a village woman. What could she possibly have taught me? And how could Daisy even be acting crazy? That was impossible. My mind was in a mess, and the pain in my stomach made it impossible to think clearly. All I could think about was that I had to save Daisy. If I didn't do that, Peter might end up killing her. I crawled over and grabbed Peter's pant leg. "Dad! Dad! Please stop hitting her! Mom didn't teach me anything. It was Betsy! "Sometimes, I'd run into Betsy in the mornings when I was gathering food for the pig. She knew I wanted to go to school, so she lent me her textbooks. I learned everything on my own." Hearing that, he gradually stopped. Peter looked at me, then at Daisy. What I had said seemed to make perfect sense. After all, it didn't seem like she was pretending to be crazy. He kicked her back onto the worn-out bedding. Even though her filthy fingers were covered in blood, she still put them in her mouth and giggled. Peter then dragged me over to Betsy's home and demanded to know if what I had said was true. Betsy knew right away that I must have had a reason for saying that, so she nodded. "It's true. I could tell Nathan seemed eager to learn, so I lent him my textbooks." Peter finally believed me and took me home. Late that night, I lay in bed, listening to Peter's snores. Still, I couldn't fall asleep. I had no idea what had gotten into Peter today. Compared to Daisy, he seemed like the crazier one. I replayed everything in my mind over and over again. Something felt off, but I couldn't put my finger on what. Chapter 9 Ever since Betsy lied for me, we grew closer. I really admired how down-to-earth and hardworking she was. She always kept her head up, her eyes fixed on the blackboard. I had heard she fought hard with her family just to go to school. We went to school together and walked home together afterward. Along the way, we would confide in each other. Betsy told me she dreamed of going to college and becoming a teacher. The teaching at the high school was really awful. I knew that even if she gave it her all, her chances of passing the college entrance exam were really slim, let alone getting into college. So I decided to tutor Betsy every day after class. That way, she would have a better chance of getting into college. Betsy's eyes lit up. "Nathan, you're really brilliant. Are you some kind of genius?" I chuckled sheepishly. I didn't dare tell her that I was actually a teacher. But I never imagined that Betsy, who dreamed of going to college, would never get to fulfill her dream. We used to meet at the village entrance every day. But that day, she didn't show up at all. Perhaps she had been held up at home. Confused, I walked into the classroom, only to find her seat empty. Maybe she was sick. Over the next few days, there was no sign of Betsy at all. Finally, I couldn't sit around any longer. After school, I made a beeline for Maurice's house at the far end of the village. Maurice Bell was a scrawny old man who liked smoking tobacco, just like Peter. I hurried over to him, gasping for breath. "Where's Betsy? Why hasn't she been going to school?" He refused to look at me. "She's getting married. She won't be going to school anymore." I thought I heard someone crying inside the house. I felt my mind go blank. Before I knew it, I shouted, "She's getting married? But she hasn't even finished school!" He shot me a glance and chuckled. "Are you stupid or what? She's getting married soon. Why bother going to school?" I tried to protest. "But Betsy's a great student. She can definitely get into college!" "What's the point of going to college?" He snorted. "No matter how good her grades are, she'll eventually marry someone. I already found her a good husband. That's what's really best for her." Maurice continued, "You're not the only one trying to talk me out of it. Vanessa already came by several times. I'm telling you—I'm not going to change my mind!" A chill ran through me. I wanted to run into the courtyard and see Betsy, but Maurice held me back and shoved me to the ground. The gravel dug into my palms, making them sting. Maurice yelled, "Get lost!" By then, several villagers had already gathered around to see what was going on, including Peter. When he saw what had happened, he hurried over, pulled me up, and repeatedly apologized to Maurice. The villagers kept whispering and pointing at me. I knew I would be in for another beating when I got home. The truth was, I was already numb to the beatings. What really scared me was the idea of the children in the mountains ending up like Betsy. They would get married and remain stuck in the mountains, feeding pigs and chickens and doing farm work for the rest of their lives. They would never get to go to college. Chapter 10 In the end, Betsy got married. I was part of her wedding procession too. She had changed into a new outfit, with her hair neatly combed. She looked beautiful. Betsy was crying, while her parents were grinning from ear to ear. "My daughter's marrying into the wealthiest family in Vance Village!" "They gave us a whole 5,000 dollars! They said Betsy's really smart, so her kids will be too. They offered us all that money themselves!" The villagers kept congratulating Betsy's parents, who were absolutely over the moon. The drums kept beating as I followed Betsy to the village entrance. Once she left, she would no longer be one of us. She would be from Vance Village instead. Betsy suddenly looked back. Even though I was crying, I saw her smile at me. She mouthed something to me before walking away without looking back. I crouched on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Betsy had said, "Nathan, keep working hard until your dreams come true." It wasn't until this very moment that I finally understood how foolish and ridiculous I had been back then. Indeed, hard work could change most people's lives, but not these children. Their parents made the final call, whether it was about going to school, getting a job, or working in the fields. The children never had a say. They were held back by their parents, trapped in the mountains. I wiped my tears away and slowly made my way home. After that day, I went to school like normal, but Betsy was no longer by my side. A few months after Betsy got married, she came back to visit her parents. She wore a pair of new gold earrings and even had a smartphone. Vance Village was wealthier and more developed than Moore Village. Her in-laws seemed to treat her well too. The moment we saw each other, tears began streaming down her face. Betsy told me she missed being at school. She said she had faith in me, and that I had to get into college—for both of us. And if I ever needed help, she would always be there for me. I nodded hard, my eyes red from crying. Now I wasn't just trying to get into college so I could go home. I was doing it for Nathan and Betsy too. I now carried all three of our hopes with me. I brought home pound after pound of eggs, and Peter was always over the moon. Even though he never asked me to drop out of school, I knew that day would eventually come. So I started plotting my escape. I had to get out of here. I had to escape this mountain!