226: award

Hearing his Aunt Lin Jingyu's words, Lin You cleared his throat twice, adopting an air of purity and self-discipline, as if stating the obvious truth.

Obviously, he was doing this to guide his little brother Zhang Yunchuan onto the right path, and definitely not because he was afraid of losing face in front of his younger relative!

Wang Huilin, Lin Zhijun, and Lin Meimei, who were all busy, turned their heads simultaneously to look over.

?

What?

Focusing solely on studies... Well, if you absolutely had to say that, it wasn't wrong, since he was the top scholar, but... not hanging out with girls???

Is this Lin You {Treasure You (Son)}?

He was practically spending all day hanging out with three girls!

"Hey, Aunt, why bring that up? Today is a happy day, come on, let's go inside and eat!"

Lin You quickly put his arm around Lin Jingyu's shoulder and pulled her to sit down at the large dining table in the hall on the first floor of the old house, far away from the "place of controversy."

After a while, his Uncle Zhang Qidong walked in holding a bottle of fine wine. Lin Zhijun and Wang Huilin walked in with incense, candles, and firecrackers, their faces beaming.

"Son, video call your Uncle and Aunt!"

Lin You immediately made the video call, and his Uncle Lin Zhiyuan on the other end was clearly waiting, connecting instantly.

On the screen, Uncle Lin Zhiyuan and Aunt Yang Xiangling were sitting with joyous expressions, in front of a table laden with rich dishes.

"Youyou, congratulations, you are truly amazing..."

A torrent of compliments rushed toward Lin You as if they cost nothing, and although Lin You had heard them many times, he didn't mind.

Although his Uncle and Aunt were in another city, over the years, whenever Lin You returned home, he would receive a large supplement of pocket money, food, and supplies.

Since his Uncle was not present this time, the task of lighting the incense and candles was taken over by Lin Zhijun. Lin You held up his phone, broadcasting the scene live to his Uncle and Aunt.

For the people of Ancheng, informing their ancestors when a descendant achieves success has always been a tradition.

In a while, there would also be an activity at the Lin Family Ancestral Hall, which Lin You would have to make time to participate in... Although he didn't understand it and wasn't very interested, since this matter brought great honor and emotional value to his parents, Uncle, and Aunt, Lin You was willing to do it.

In the courtyard outside the door, ten thousand firecrackers had been set up. His Aunt Lin Jingyu took on the task of lighting the firecrackers, and after carefully lighting them with a stick of incense, she ran back screaming and laughing.

Amidst the crackling of the firecrackers, the family raised their glasses together across the video call, celebrating this unbelievable moment.

A year ago, no one in this family had ever imagined they would produce a top scorer in the college entrance examination.

The three elder men drank wine over the video, while the rest drank juice, glass after glass, in a lively atmosphere. After eating for a while, little brother Zhang Yunchuan suddenly said, "If Grandpa and Grandma could see that my brother became the top scholar, they would definitely be very happy."

Zhang Yunchuan's words instantly dampened the mood, but no one blamed him.

Lin Jingyu started wiping away tears, and everyone else's eyes turned red, Lin You included.

Looking around, it felt as if he could still see scenes of himself playing happily around their knees when he was little. Returning to the old house in the countryside to celebrate this moment was also a way to mourn their departed relatives... That night, Lin You climbed up to the rooftop again, holding his phone to video call Du Zhaoyu.

Due to the College Entrance Examination volunteer application, Du Zhaoyu's relationship with her family had been tense recently. She usually didn't dare to use Su Wenwen as a cover to go out on dates with Lin You anymore, and even when contacting Lin You, she only dared to do so when her parents were out at work.

Although she couldn't leave home, Du Zhaoyu was someone who loved studying and had long aspired to follow an academic path in the future. Using this time to diligently study university courses wasn't difficult for her. What was truly hard was... only just establishing a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship with Lin You, only to be "forced" into a separation like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, rarely meeting.

Lin You could only comfort her, saying, "If the two loves are long-lasting, why cling to being together day and night?"

After the video connected, the phone screen was still completely black. Recently, in order to avoid stirring up conflicts, their communication was extremely cautious. Even when video calling from her bedroom, Du Zhaoyu usually answered while muffled under the covers.

They had already informed each other of their scores during the day; Du Zhaoyu scored 711, ranking second in the province. They were genuine unparalleled double prodigies.

"Treasure You, my Dad asked me today which school you plan to apply to."

Hiss... The Old Fart is actually a bit clever?

"And how did you answer?"

Du Zhaoyu pouted, "I didn't dare say that you also applied to Nandu University. I said you were planning to apply to Peking University."

Mm-hmm, it's good she didn't tell the truth. Saying Peking University is very reasonable... Teacher Sa said that Peking University is acceptable too~

If Du Zhaoyu's father really knew that Lin You also applied to Nandu University, it would likely cause trouble again. As for the future, the Old Fart would definitely find out... But by then, the deed would be done, and even if the Old Fart was suspicious, he wouldn't cause a fuss that might damage his own daughter's reputation.

Nandu University's Physics Department is stronger than its Mathematics Department, ranking among the top three in the country. It is already on par with Qingbei, and in some Physics Department rankings, it is even stronger.

Lin You knew he had the System, and was destined to become a major figure in academia in the future. With the Cultivate [Cultivate] available, he could provide Du Zhaoyu with immense support, both externally and internally, so he didn't feel much guilt.

During their student days, Qingbei, as the domestic TOP 2, could bring glory to its students. But when they eventually leave school and start their academic careers, as long as they achieve real results, who cares if they graduated from Qingbei?

The world's top scholars do not necessarily come from the world's top universities; history has long proven this point.

Lin You believed that in the future, neither he nor Du Zhaoyu would need to rely on Qingbei's reputation to bring glory to their life resumes.

The next morning, the family woke up very early, before dawn and before the roosters crowed, heading to the ancestral tombs in the nearby mountains.

Under the family's arrangement, Lin You paid respects to his ancestors. Although he didn't believe in these things, he was willing to do them.

On the drive back home, Lin You saw his Dad Lin Zhijun looking radiant, and his Mom Wang Huilin was also extremely happy... June passed, and in early July, Lin You finished filling out his volunteer application.

Over the next period, Lin You participated in some unavoidable activities... such as receiving the 100,000 yuan bonus rewarded by the school.

Before submitting his application, Lin You received advice from most of the school's leaders, except for Old Zhang, but he remained firm in his decision to apply to Nandu University, without any change.

In addition to the reward from Ancheng No. 7 Middle School, the Ancheng Municipal Government also awarded Lin You 100,000 yuan. Just like the time he went to the school, Lin You brought his parents along this time as well.

The old saying goes that wealth nourishes people, but having a successful enough son nourishes people just the same. Recently, Wang Huilin and Lin Zhijun looked much younger, radiating happiness from the inside out, their faces constantly smiling.

In their respective workplaces, both of them became the absolute center of conversation recently, with people constantly asking for advice on how to raise a top scholar son.

After receiving the two bonuses, many enterprises in Ancheng still wanted to give Lin You bonuses in exchange for help with promotion, but the Lin family decisively refused.

For the easygoing family, money earned by exploiting their son's status as the top scorer in the college entrance examination was better off refused!