For many students at Saint George Elementary School, the fifth-grade entrance exam represents a crucial opportunity that determines the course of their lives.
Success not only ensures direct admission to the middle school division, but even if they choose to drop out, an elementary education, while not as valuable as a middle school diploma, is still sufficient to secure a job capable of supporting a family—in the Kingdom of Gold Oak, there are no specific child labor protection laws, and many factories operate under similar conditions.
However, should they fail, most parents will not afford to pay another year’s tuition, and the children usually return home to take on responsibilities that have long awaited them. Years later, the gap between them and their classmates might widen into an unbridgeable chasm.
On the morning of the exam, James and Mrs. Sterling had barely slept all night, though they managed to remain silent.
With Wu Ming’s top academic performance, they originally had no concerns whatsoever. Yet, inexplicably, a sense of unease kept them awake.
“Come on, eat more!”
At breakfast, Mrs. Sterling specially added a slightly golden-brown fried egg to Wu Ming’s plate, not mentioning the exam even once.
“Good luck out there!”
As James and Wu Ming walked out the door together, the man patted Wu Ming on the head: “No matter what, I’ll make sure you get into the middle school division. Same goes for your two younger siblings—this year if possible, next year if not, and the year after that if necessary!”
James spoke with firm determination.
Wu Ming smirked: “It’s just an exam… You should be more worried about Brandon and Angelina!”
These two younger siblings had also reached school age. Though only one year younger than Wu Ming, they lacked his natural talent, not entering school until age seven, and still lingering in the lower grades.
Their academic performance was far from impressive, hovering around the middle to lower levels, which greatly troubled James.
Sighing, James said nothing further. He wore a troubled expression—after all, no matter how anxious an outsider might feel, it wouldn’t help. He could only continue funding Brandon and Angelina’s education, hoping for a miracle.
At the same time, he placed even greater hopes on Wu Ming, a sentiment that had become obvious to the entire family.
The result was that the two younger siblings had developed a mixture of respect, fear, and subtle distance toward Wu Ming—partly due to the transmigrant’s aloof demeanor.
“Alright, I’m off to school!”
Wu Ming waved at the door, behind which two small heads peeked out.
“You go ahead, Brother. Angelina and I still have something to do!”
Brandon stubbornly declared.
“Who said I have something? I don’t. Steven, wait for me!”
A flash of red appeared as Angelina, wearing her uniform skirt and a large red bow on her chest, hurried to Wu Ming’s side.
“Alright then, Angelina, I leave him to you!”
Seeing Angelina’s behavior, James seemed visibly pleased before heading directly to the bus for work.
“What scheme do you have today?”
Wu Ming fixed Angelina with a scrutinizing gaze; something about her behavior felt unusually strange.
“No… nothing at all!”
Angelina fidgeted with her fingers nervously.
“Oh, then let’s go.”
Wu Ming shrugged indifferently and walked ahead. Upon reaching the school gate, Angelina suddenly approached and took his hand.
“Hmm?”
Wu Ming found this even more peculiar, but then he noticed several younger students at the entrance—seemingly Angelina’s classmates.
“I’m off to class now, see you later, Brother!”
Angelina smiled and waved before running off to join her group of friends.
Wu Ming’s ears twitched slightly, catching snippets of conversation.
“Oh? So Steven really is your older brother?”
“That’s Steven? I heard he’s a fifth grader, always ranks first in class, and was chosen by the teachers as the class monitor. Even in this prestigious school, he’s quite an outstanding figure!”
“Never thought Angelina is his younger sister!”
“And Brandon is his younger brother too? With such an amazing older brother, your future must be so bright and happy!”
The elementary students chattered noisily like sparrows, surrounding Angelina, who appeared to enjoy the attention, giggling delightedly.
Hearing this, Wu Ming felt a bit speechless: “So that’s it. Little girls have their vanity too?”
He had always been low-key, even indifferent, and with his heavy academic workload, inter-grade communication was minimal. Now, many students still didn’t know he was related to Angelina and Brandon.
“Just…”
He glanced at Angelina’s retreating figure and smirked: “It probably won’t be long before you come to resent having an older brother like me. Because every achievement you make will be compared to mine. Even if you receive praise, it will always be diminished by remarks like ‘Well, they are his siblings,’ and you might spend your entire lives living in my shadow!”
Precisely because of this consideration, he had never made a big deal of their relationship or given his siblings special attention at school.
Yet now, it seemed things were backfiring.
“Well… I can only hope their hearts are strong enough.”
Wu Ming helplessly scratched his head and walked into the classroom.
“Hey, Steven!”
Vidi immediately swarmed over like an eager puppy, winking and making suggestive gestures: “Everything’s set. It’s all up to you now!”
Due to the upcoming exam, the classroom atmosphere was unusually tense. Many students were nervously reviewing last-minute notes and organizing their stationery.
“What’s wrong with Neville?”
Noticing Neville, someone he got along with fairly well, slumped over his desk looking gloomy, Wu Ming nudged Philip beside him.
“What else…”
Alice fidgeted with her skirt hem, leaned in slightly, and lowered her voice: “I heard… Neville’s parents already told him—they won’t fund another year if he fails.”
Wu Ming looked at Neville with slight sympathy.
His academic performance was mediocre at best, making it unlikely he’d pass the exam. Even if he did, his family’s financial situation might force him to drop out immediately to work and help support the household.
This wasn’t cruelty—it was simply a matter of survival.
The hardships of life had been thrust upon these children who should still be carefree and playing. This was the tone of the era, one from which no one could escape.
“So… Neville might drop out?”
Wu Ming stroked his chin thoughtfully, his eyes suddenly lighting up.
He had many plans he couldn’t execute directly. Now, this honest and straightforward Neville might be the perfect initial agent.
Though it felt awkward to build his own success on someone else’s misfortune, Wu Ming wasn’t the one responsible for Neville’s situation. Moreover, he intended to offer Neville much more in return—perhaps even change his entire life trajectory. That made things easier to justify.
“Steven!!!”
The classroom door swung open, and a tall boy with flowing blue curls entered.
“It’s Ryan from the next class!”
Vidi immediately positioned himself behind Wu Ming, with Philip and Alice doing the same, subtly forming two opposing factions.
“Today is the entrance exam!”
Ryan took a deep breath: “This time… this time I will definitely surpass you! I won’t lose again…”
“Oh.”
Wu Ming nodded indifferently, calmly sitting down to organize his stationery.
Ryan felt like he had punched a cotton pillow—his anger fizzled out instantly. He huffed and turned away, leaving the classroom.
“Steven, I actually think… Ryan is kind of pitiful…”
Vidi sighed, watching Ryan’s retreating figure, while Philip and Alice nodded in agreement.
Ryan had once been the class monitor of their grade, the top student in every teacher’s eyes, always taking first place.
Ever since Wu Ming arrived, he had been pushed to second place.
Not only that, in every competition Ryan entered, as long as Wu Ming participated, there was only one possible outcome—crushing defeat.
Eventually, even Wu Ming felt a little bad about constantly outperforming him.
Yet Ryan seemed to be the type who grew more determined with each loss. Though he always came second to Wu Ming, he kept challenging him, undeterred by repeated failures.
“Sorry… looks like I’ll have to disappoint you again.”
Wu Ming shook his head.
Though he personally didn’t care much about rankings, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling did.
Moreover, the better he performed now, the richer social circles he could access as he grew older, aiding his exploration of the world. Thus, this exam would once again leave Ryan disheartened.
Fortunately, with Ryan’s thick skin, he should be able to handle it.
“Alright, the entrance exam starts today!”
Soon, several stern proctors entered the classroom: “Those whose names are called, follow me to Exam Room One! Franklin, Andrew, Steven, Vidi… Remember, bring only pens. Anything else is strictly prohibited—caught cheating, and you’re out!”
Arriving at the exam hall, Wu Ming glanced at the seating chart and noticed Vidi sitting directly behind him. He subtly gave a thumbs-up.
Though the kid wasn’t great academically, he had a knack for scheming and maneuvering—perhaps better suited for business than school.
“First subject: Literature!”
After the bell rang, the proctor distributed the exam paper filled with questions. Wu Ming skimmed through it and quickly assessed: “Even includes poetic forms from the Philemon Dynasty. These questions are pretty tough!”
Of course, no matter how difficult, it was still just an elementary school graduation level exam. For Wu Ming, who had read extensively and possessed an exceptional memory, it was nothing. He immediately began writing furiously, the only sound in the room being the scratching of his pen.
Behind him, after struggling for nearly half the exam, Vidi finally caught Wu Ming’s secret signal and his eyes lit up with renewed hope…
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