Chapter 003: The Mark of the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva
This is ambiguous, there is ambiguity
The poetry question, indeed, is the penultimate question of this language examination, accounting for twenty-five points, while the maximum score for the language paper's "composition" question has been reduced from sixty points in Yang Tang's previous life to forty-five points
Yang Tang found it unbelievable, yet he did not want to dwell on it too much. After all, he had already received compensation of 2,000 Huabi. As long as the burn healed, the few dozen dollars worth of Thangka was not worth investigating further
"Isn't it yours? Then I'm not sure about it." Liu Xinren replied to Yang Tang in a perfunctory manner and then sat back down in his seat
The issue is that high school English, particularly the college entrance examination English from the era of Yang Tang, emphasizes testing over practicality. Therefore, even with a full score of 150, Yang Tang may not necessarily achieve the passing line of 90.
Is it possible? Just like that, the card is gone!
Um... Is there anything else?
Hello, take a good rest
The topic of the poetry examination is "Write a poem related to love," with no restrictions on form or length, and within three hundred words.
The classroom, which had been buzzing with discussion, fell silent in an instant
Yang Tang, holding her hungry stomach, waited in the shadows for about one minute. The sound of the police siren gradually faded away, and there was complete silence on the other side. Just as she was considering retracing her steps to exit the narrow path and return to the main road, a glimmer of realization arose in her mind: "Gained 0.5 merit points"
Estimating that the school cafeteria had already closed, Tang Xun and the other two had dinner and then went to study. Yang Tang thought for a moment, took one hundred coins, and left the dormitory building. As usual, he climbed over the wall to leave the school, intending to find something to eat outside.
Go to the classroom to review
Just before leaving, Yang Tang suddenly called out to Duan Yibin: "Old Duan ... ..."
Is it really true? Is it that unfortunate? Have we really encountered a robbery and assault?
What are you doing ... ... Help, help ... ...
Yang Tang stood frozen in place as if struck by a spell, wanting to trace the origin of that fleeting insight, yet could find no source for it
"It should be the reward I earned from that shout just now, right?" Yang Tang muttered to himself, feeling somewhat certain in his heart, "But I did save a woman after all, sparing her from the misfortune of being violated. How could it only be worth 0.5 merit points?"
Yang Tang was pondering over future matters when he suddenly remembered the Thangka. He hurriedly searched and soon found the T-shirt that had been burned through in the sink on the living balcony. He reached into the pocket of the chest, but the Thangka was not there, only some unknown fine powder remained
After having breakfast, the four of us from the dormitory went to the classroom together
No, you go study by yourself first
Due to the burns on his chest that were aggravated while swallowing, Yang Tang barely finished his meal before falling into a deep sleep. He was unaware of when Tang Xun and the other two returned to the dormitory, nor did he know when they attended the early study session.
After some thought, Yang Tang ultimately extinguished this idea. He was well aware of the importance of the college entrance examination. However, being reborn back to his high school days at nearly forty years of age, it would be miraculous if he could truly remember the knowledge from the textbooks.
Fortunately, the answers to these two questions lie within himself. There is no rush to understand them. Yang Tang covered his growling stomach and retraced his steps from the alley, taking the main road back to Xin Street. He casually found a noodle shop and ordered a large bowl of beef noodles
Regarding the local ruffians in society, Yang Tang is not afraid but also does not wish to provoke them; however, he feels somewhat intimidated by delinquent students, especially those in junior high school.
Yang Tang muttered to herself, but she had completely unwrapped the gauze. Upon inspection, it was indeed true that everything had scabbed over.
Do not mention high school knowledge; even the knowledge from university has mostly been forgotten by Yang Tang, with the exception of English
Every morning, Old Tang would let out a loud shout, and Yang Tang rolled her eyes in annoyance, put down the lifted clothing, and began to brush her teeth and wash up
Just as Yang Tang pulled out the English textbook from the pile of books on the table, Old Wang came in from outside. The Chinese teacher's surname is Wang, and his name is Wang Zaidong. The classmates secretly refer to him as Old Wang.
Then he dreamed
After leaving the courtyard and walking a few steps, Yang Tang's stomach began to growl with hunger. He hesitated for a moment, then decided to take a shortcut to the new street in search of food. The reason for his hesitation was that the shortcut was dark and poorly lit, and there was a significant chance of encountering delinquent students from other schools.
The voice replied: "By changing the course of one's life, one can attain merit and sin"
After the morning self-study session, there is a consecutive Chinese class. As soon as the class begins, the Chinese class representative, Liu Xinren, starts distributing the papers from last week's Chinese quiz.
No problem
Yang Tang confirmed the scar in front of the mirror and was about to take a closer look when Tang Xun's voice from the bed interrupted him: "Hey, where did my back shirt go?"
Lying back on the bed, Yang Tang gazed blankly at the upper bunk, not knowing when he had fallen asleep again
The doctor clearly told me that this kind of injury takes several days to heal
Forget it, without a significant background, those who achieve success in their studies generally have two paths: one is to pursue an official career, and the other is to engage in business. The number of individuals truly involved in cutting-edge scientific research is exceedingly small, and the recipients of the highest scientific awards are even rarer. Since I have no intention of pursuing an official career, I might as well think about future avenues for generating wealth
Change the course of life, what does it mean?! Yang Tang was suddenly awakened, realizing that the lights outside the window had just come on. Looking at the time again, it was nearly 8 o'clock. He had slept for more than half a day, which was really enough!
Upon hearing Lao Wang call his name, Yang Tang hesitated for a moment, but still went up to the podium. When he took a look at his own paper, he nearly lost his breath.
Fortunately, the reputation of "Shizhong Dafei" is quite well-known among the delinquent students in the nearby area. With this support, Yang Tang dared to take a shortcut to Xinjie after some hesitation
Gurgle
Wang stood beside the podium with a smile that did not reach his eyes, scanning the audience. Suddenly, he called out: "Yang Tang, come up and read the poetry question from your exam paper, so that everyone can appreciate your remarkable work together!"
Therefore, Yang Tang is considering whether to first strengthen and improve the two relatively reliable subjects, English and Mathematics, to around 110 points (with a total score of 150 for each of the five subjects: Chinese, Mathematics, History, and two foreign languages), and then study the other three subjects, striving to achieve a total score of around 200 in those three subjects. This way, the total score for the college entrance examination would reach 450 (with 30 points for physical fitness), which would also serve as an explanation to his parents
The results were obtained from all sides, yet Yang Tang was the only one who did not have the paper: "Liu Ke, where is my paper?"
Damn!
This pattern is ... ... Ksitigarbha!
No way? This is not scientific
Middle school students, especially those under the age of fourteen, form groups of a dozen or so to demand money. If their demands are not met, they resort to violence, often without regard for the severity of their actions. This is a very frustrating situation.
After the meal was brought back, Duan Yibin chatted with Yang Tang for a while before planning to go to the classroom, while Tang Xun and Chen Song went to the classroom right after finishing their meal in the cafeteria, without returning at all
By the way, what about that thangka?
Yang Tang wrote: I will love you for ten thousand years, that's an exaggeration! I will love you for a thousand years, that's absurd! I will love you for a hundred years, that's too long! I will love you for a century, as long as I am in good health, that is my strong suit
Due to her previous work experience, Yang Tang's spoken English is quite good. Although it may not be in a native accent, she can communicate without any issues with both British and American people.
However, when Yang Tang woke up and got out of bed, he found that the chest pain that had been intermittently bothering him yesterday was completely gone, not in the sense of an injury healing, but as if nothing had happened at all
After having eaten and settled the bill, Yang Tang returned to the school dormitory, continued to lie in bed to rest, while also worrying about the college entrance examination
The direction of the woman's cry for help was initially calm, then it turned into chaos.
"How can one obtain merit and sin?" Yang Tang subconsciously posed this question in his dream
What are you standing there for? Recite it!" Old Wang urged.
In the vast, white dreamscape, a voice keeps murmuring: "Merit, sin, one can attain great transformation... Merit, sin, one can attain great transformation..."
Only after Duan Yibin completely left did Yang Tang let out a heavy sigh. He had intended to tell Duan Yibin to apply to the prestigious Wudu University when filling out the college entrance examination application in two months. However, upon reconsideration, he realized that his own porridge had not yet cooled, and given that they were now using the Huabi currency instead of RMB, many things might be different, so he refrained from bringing up the topic.
Well, just prepare a portion of the meal you made for me, and I will pay you back later
In this way of pondering, Yang Tang unknowingly fell into a deep sleep again. When he woke up in the morning, he was unexpectedly surprised to find that the scab from the burn on his chest had fallen off at some point, leaving only a strange and peculiar pattern imprinted there.
Yang Tang was utterly speechless. In his dictionary of experiences, it was acceptable to help others avert disaster, but there was one principle: one must not invite disaster upon oneself. Just as he was hesitating whether to lend a helping hand, he suddenly heard the sound of police sirens coming from outside the alley. In an instant, he had a flash of inspiration and shouted, "The cops are coming!"
Pressing through the gauze with her hand, she still felt no pain, which left Yang Tang astonished: "Could it be completely healed?" Carefully lifting a corner of the gauze, she discovered that it had already formed a complete scab inside.
Yang Tang understood immediately that even if he had not shouted just now, the woman would not have encountered any trouble, which is why he only received a meager 0.5 merit points. The current question is, where does the clarity in his heart come from, and what use is the merit he has gained
As a "middle-aged man" with experience, since the college entrance examination cannot be avoided, giving up before even taking the exam is not Yang Tang's style. However, he is well aware of his poor foundation. After all, ancient history has been completely overturned, and he does not recognize a single historical figure. The subjects of liberal arts, such as history and Chinese, are significantly different from those in his previous life. Additionally, the second foreign language course is French, which he is relatively unfamiliar with. How can he possibly take the exam?
Laughter erupted from the audience
If the original Yang Tang were to see this situation, he would definitely be furious and confront Liu Xinren, who looks down on others. However, the 'uncle' Yang Tang is not in the mood for that: no exam paper means no exam paper, I can't be bothered to listen, it's just the right time to review English and Mathematics
This question just escaped his lips in a murmur, and a glimmer of understanding arose in his heart: "The arrival of the police car will prevent the incident from occurring"
Cough cough! Yang Tang, in a moment of inspiration, recalled several well-known love poems from a past life that were absent from this world's memory. He selected half of one and, with his eyes wide open, spoke nonsense in front of the exam paper: "Last night's stars, last night's wind, by the west of the music building and the east of the hall. With no colorful phoenix wings to fly together, my heart has a connection with yours."
As soon as Yang Tang entered the alley and had not walked far, he faintly heard a woman's voice calling for help