I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 64 Special Guest
Unlike talent shows, which typically run for six months or more, the pre-show promotion for "Top Scholar's Talk" lasted only a week. The offline advertising was done by "Da'an Media," registered by Zhang Da'an, through promotions on major commercial streets in various cities of Jiangkou Province, as well as some gift promotions in large supermarkets in county-level cities.

The ground promotion only cost a little less than three million in a week, much of which was voluntarily distributed by students' parents and promoted through their social circles.

At 1 p.m. on July 1st, the summer special program "Top Scholar's Talk" on Jiangkou TV's Education Channel officially premiered. Its real-time ratings surpassed all other TV programs in the province during the same time slot. Zhang Da'an's personal image was completely at odds with that of a naive young man. He was dressed in a well-fitting suit and had a buzz cut, but his hair was very sharp.

There were many psychological implications involved. He dressed like a "suit-wearing thug," but his demeanor was more like that of a soldier. The reason was that the media and the audience needed to dig into Zhang Da'an's family background, and in the end, it was discovered that he did indeed have a military family background.

Zhang Da'an has dark skin, and years of exposure to wind and sun have made him lack the youthful innocence that his peers should have. The marks of his consistent hard work cannot deceive people's eyes.

However, just as Zhang Da'an promised Zhang Dangyang, he intended to promote Zhang Dangyang, a guy whose roots were in Shazhou City and who had no powerful backers.

Therefore, in order to create a visual contrast, Zhang Da'an, who is tall and has dark skin, gives people a more tough and domineering feeling, while Zhang Dangyang, whose skin is already slightly fair, had his skin adjusted by the makeup artist to make him look more refined.

Wearing a beige suit, he appeared much more subdued compared to Zhang Da'an's all-black attire.

At the same time, unlike the image of a top scorer in the college entrance examination who wears glasses, Zhang Da'an is not nearsighted, and his demeanor is far removed from that of Zhang Dangyang, who wears silver-rimmed glasses and exudes the air of a successful white-collar worker.

This has created a very peculiar phenomenon: when people turn on the TV and see two people chatting on screen, almost all viewers who are unaware of the situation assume that Zhang Dangyang is the top scorer in this year's college entrance examination in Jiangkou Province.

Despite its small impact, the next day, several county-level morning newspapers published headlines such as "A Different Kind of 'Top Scholar'" and "The New Top Scholar Is a Bit Strange."

"Good afternoon, viewers. Welcome to our summer special program 'Top Scorer's Talk.' I am your host, Dangyang. This is our special guest for today's program, Zhang An, the top scorer in the liberal arts college entrance examination in Jiangkou Province in 1946... and the top scorer in the science college entrance examination in 1946... and the top scorer in the junior high school entrance examination in Wudu City in 1946."

After giving his opening remarks, Zhang Dangyang turned to Zhang Da'an, who was sitting with his legs spread wide, and said with a smile, "Hello Zhang An, welcome to our program as a special guest. The main reason I invited you here is because I'm particularly curious about how you did it. You were the top science student last year and the top arts student this year. I believe that not only me, but also the audience here and the viewers at home are very curious."

"Let me mention first that we have an audience here, consisting of educators and parents from different places. They've all come to hear the thoughts and experiences of the two graduating classes' top scorers in the college entrance examination. Okay, director, let's get a shot of them here so the audience members can greet the viewers at home..."

The tricks to build rapport are simple and effective. Zhang Dangyang himself doesn't have the skill to do this, but after intensive training, he has mastered the basics.

Oral skills are something that comes with practice; the more you practice, the better you'll become.

"Could you share your learning experience with everyone? Do you have any special methods that allow you to excel in both science and humanities subjects?"

"I have a theory."

When Zhang Da'an spoke, he deliberately imitated the demeanor of a high-ranking military officer in movies and TV dramas, giving people a very serious feeling. However, no one felt nervous; instead, they listened attentively.

"There really is a theory? Then I'll have to listen carefully and take notes."

As he spoke, Zhang Dangyang took the inscription book in his hand, looking like he was listening attentively.

"My theory is: as long as you get full marks in every subject, your total score will not be low."

"..." "..."

"..."

There was a moment of stunned silence, followed by bursts of laughter, while the parents watching on television were even more bewildered, with many grumbling and cursing.

What kind of bullshit theory is this!
If you get full marks in every subject, even a dog would know that your total score is not low. Need I say more?
That's just a pointless statement!
"I believe many people will laugh when they hear this, including many parents and teachers here, who think it's just stating a correct but meaningless statement. However, the correct but meaningless statement is correct."

Scientists need to understand science; lamps need to provide illumination; airplanes need to fly...

Some of these are insightful sayings, but if they're true, they're true.

"Then, this theory extends to the achievement rate of full marks in each subject. We can design an achievement rate target, and once it is reached, there is no need to demand more. A person's energy is limited, and a subject is a target. When the achievement rates of multiple targets are stable, the best way to improve the overall achievement rate is not to lengthen the strong planks, but to lengthen the weak planks. This is the 'barrel theory'. After all, the strong planks cannot be infinitely long, but the weak planks can become zero."

"That sounds kind of interesting."

Zhang Dangyang stepped in to provide the perfect comedic relief, while Zhang Da'an calmly stated, "I have personally put my theory into practice, and the two top scorers in the college entrance examination are perfect proof. If necessary, I plan to verify it in more detail next year."

"Um?!"

Zhang Dangyang's feigned surprise and the audience's confusion quickly escalated as he asked his question, creating a lively atmosphere.

"So you're saying you'll take the college entrance exam again next year?"

"As for practice, I want to bring more people to put my ideas into practice. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, I still won't fill out college applications this year. I'll choose to retake the exam and try for a perfect score. Two students from other provinces got perfect scores on the college entrance exam this year, and I want to challenge that as well."

There was a stir in the room, with many people surprised by Zhang Da'an's decision. However, as the host continued to ask questions, everything became more reasonable.

In particular, Zhang Da'an's statement, "I want to bring more people together to put my ideas into practice," was not something he said casually.

"Here I also want to tell you a secret, or rather, Zhang An's identity. In addition to being a two-time top scorer in the college entrance examination and a one-time top scorer in the middle school entrance examination, he also founded a company. So I still have to call you 'General Manager Zhang,' right? General Manager Zhang? Would it be convenient to talk about your company? Especially since its business scope seems to be closely related to us, the majority of test takers."

"of course can."

"Then I would like to solemnly introduce to the audience here and to our viewers at home: This person is not only the top scorer in Jiangkou Province this year, but also the chairman and head coach of Zhang An Education Co., Ltd. in Shazhou City, Jiangkou Province. The company's Xindongweigang Middle School has set a new record for high scores in Jiangkou Province this year, with 704 students scoring above 600 points, while the total number of students scoring above 600 points in the province is 1,689!"

Accompanied by a powerful live accompaniment, host Zhang Dangyang continued, "At the same time, the only person this year to score over 600 points in the liberal arts is the newly crowned champion, Zhang An."

Exclamations and applause erupted instantly from the audience.

(End of this chapter)