Chapter 376 - 389: The Top Scorer’s Hometown
An Ning poked two holes in the unique leaf mask, right where her eyes would be.
She concealed her appearance and went first to Guan Xiaolang’s room. To the sound of Xiao Lang’s cheerful, high-pitched yelps, she opened the cage and scooped him into her arms.
"I’m sorry. I wasn’t careful enough."
An Ning apologized softly. Xiao Lang shifted, plopping his little butt onto her arm. He then lifted a forepaw and pointed commandingly, aiming squarely at the dog traders sleeping on the floor.
"Got it."
An Ning trussed the two men up, opened an empty dog cage, and shoved them inside. To prevent them from getting out, she secured it with three padlocks and an iron chain.
After taking care of things there, An Ning turned and went to the strange room next door.
The man who had driven the car was by the room’s entrance, already fast asleep. An Ning kicked him twice but got no reaction.
"Wow, this ability of yours is getting more and more impressive."
An Ning’s generous praise prompted Xiao Lang to shift into a more comfortable position.
Using the same method, An Ning tied up the driver and stuffed him into a cage.
After dealing with the three men outside, An Ning finally opened the strange room. The moment she stepped inside, a bone-chilling cold washed over her.
It turned out the four corners of the room were piled high with blocks of ice.
’The bastard. He even knew how to make himself comfortable.’
An Ning used the hemp rope in her hand to tie up the man on the floor, who was clad entirely in black. Xiao Lang walked over to the abused dog and gently nudged its muzzle with his head.
When the abused dog saw its tormentor tied up, the last glimmer of light it had been holding onto in its eyes began to fade, eventually giving way to peace. It struggled to lift its head and bumped against Xiao Lang’s. On the dog’s face, An Ning could see a smile—a smile of relief.
It was gone.
The dog had already been incredibly weak; it was truly holding on by a thread. It was as if it knew that the longer it held out, the safer its companions would be for a little while longer.
An Ning violently lifted her foot and kicked the man in black. With a sickening CRACK, the sound of several ribs breaking filled the air.
"Xiao Lang, let’s go."
An Ning called Xiao Lang over and locked the man in black in a cage as well.
After doing all this, An Ning freed all the dogs. They gathered in front of the cages holding the men, wanting revenge.
But not a single one of the dogs was uninjured. When An Ning carried out the one that had been abused, all the other dogs began to whimper.
Several dogs drew near, nudging the body again and again, but no matter what they did, there was no response.
The whimpering of the dogs hung in the air, refusing to dissipate.
Watching the group of grieving dogs, An Ning had no idea what to do.
’How am I supposed to take care of them?’
Before An Ning could figure it out, a dog that seemed to be the leader bowed to Xiao Lang, then stood up and led the pack into the tall grass, forgoing their revenge.
An Ning looked at Xiao Lang. The little wolf was lying lazily, meeting her gaze.
"If only you could talk."
An Ning didn’t stop the pack of dogs. After burying the one that had died, she sabotaged the wheels of the sedan. As for the rest, she could only leave it up to fate.
Killing them wasn’t her place. She would let this secluded, wild environment decide. After all, it was survival of the fittest.
An Ning prepared to leave. After a few steps, she suddenly remembered something and sent her spiritual power probing toward the man in black.
After a quick probe, An Ning left with Xiao Lang.
About ten minutes after she left, the man in black’s eyes opened. He calmly gazed at the cage before him, his hoarse voice gone, replaced by one as clear and bright as a sunny day.
"How interesting."
..........
An Ning didn’t know what happened after she left. And even if she did, what of it?
’Interesting’ or ’not interesting’—such things were always decided by the strong.
She returned with an unharmed Xiao Lang to the auto factory, handing him over to Lin Cuihua. The woman and the wolf then went back to watching TV together.
For the next few days, An Ning would get up at four in the morning to work. At noon, she would go back to have lunch with Lin Cuihua, and in the afternoons, she would accompany her on walks around the area.
After the mother and daughter returned from their stroll, An Ning would get busy again.
Five days passed in a flash. As the day for the college entrance exam results drew closer, Lin Cuihua started calling home every day to ask for news.
Meanwhile, a perfect exam paper was causing a stir in the admissions meetings of several major universities.
Beijing University, Admissions Office.
The university president was summoned from his sleep by a late-night call from the director of admissions. When he arrived at the conference room and saw the practically perfect score, the first thing he did was rub his eyes.
"Is this real?"
"Absolutely. We’ve confirmed it three times."
The president stared at the math section. "The math score is real?"
"It is. We’ve all seen the exam paper. It’s flawless."
Hearing the admissions office’s answer, the president slammed his hand on the table with a SMACK and roared.
"If it’s all real, then what are you all still doing here?! Buy tickets! Go!"
"A student like this, you think you can recruit them with a phone call? Other schools are probably already packing their bags and heading over there tonight!"
The director of admissions quickly explained, "It’s alright, President. This student listed our university as their first choice."
The president looked at the director of admissions with an expression of pure exasperation.
"Are you an idiot? With a score like that, do you think their first choice even matters? Is it hard to change their university application?"
The president’s two sharp questions were a wake-up call for the admissions director, who suddenly became frantic.
In the end, the president personally led the charge, taking the admissions director and a particularly eloquent professor with him from the university to go snatch up the student.
Only after the three of them were in the car did the president have a moment to ask, "Have the other top candidates been handled? We have to lock down this number one student, but we can’t neglect the others."
"Right, right, President. That’s the second thing I wanted to talk to you about."
The admissions director unfolded a crumpled piece of paper in his palm and pointed to the second-ranked student. "The second-place student is only six points behind the first, and the address is the same."
"What?"
The president snatched the paper and looked at it closely. The name and score were different, but the address was identical.
"President, would you mind looking at number three?"
"What about number three?"
The president’s gaze shifted down the list. He turned his head stiffly to look at the admissions director, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.
"Are you sure? You didn’t make a mistake?"
The admissions director nodded affirmatively. "I thought I’d made a mistake myself, so I personally confirmed it several times. It’s really true."
The president looked down at the third-place score. It was five points behind second place and eleven points behind first, but the address was still the same.
"President..."
"Spit it out!"
"That address appears again further down. They’re not in the top ten, but their rankings are still very high—all of them are candidates we would be eager to accept."
"There’s more?"
The president’s voice suddenly shot up to a high pitch. He ran a finger down the list, finding three more identical addresses at the fifteenth, twentieth, and twenty-seventh positions.
"Sanhe Town, Shili Gou... Could this be the hometown of the Star of Literary Fortune?"