Start as a top student after transmigrating.

Millennium Courtyard.

Chen Zhenjiang drove into the underground parking garage of the residential complex, and the family of three, carrying large and small bags of gifts, took the elevator upstairs.

Jiang Qing opened the door and warmly greeted them, "Come in quickly, we've been waiting for you to start your meal."

Chen Dong and his group greeted everyone politely. Inside the house, their maternal grandfather, uncle, aunt, aunt's husband, cousins, and other relatives were all present, smiling and exchanging greetings.

"Everyone's here, let's eat!" Grandpa Zeng Guowei said with a smile.

Jiang Qing patted him with a hint of reproach, "The kid has just driven all the way, and you won't even let him have a sip of tea and sit down to rest. All you care about is your mouth. You didn't feed him enough."

"It's alright, Mom. The journey was smooth and it only took two hours. I'm not tired at all," Chen Zhenjiang said with a smile.

"Look."

Zeng Guowei seized the opportunity to criticize, saying, "They haven't even said they're tired, yet you're still making such a fuss. It's already past 12:08, and they should have left earlier."

Seemingly with some dissatisfaction, he didn't invite Chen Zhenjiang and the others to the table, nor did he even take the things they were carrying. Instead, he called on the others to start eating.

Zeng Ling opened her mouth as if to speak, but was stopped by Chen Zhenjiang who was standing next to her.

Jiang Qingrang quickly tried to smooth things over, saying with a smile, "Zeng Ling, Zhenjiang, grandson, just leave the things here. You two go ahead and eat, and have a couple more drinks at noon."

"Okay, Mom."

Chen Zhenjiang had no objection to Jiang Qing's suggestion.

Like Chen Dong, only his maternal grandmother was not disliked and was somewhat approachable in this family. Just by looking at Zeng Guowei's attitude just now, one could guess a thing or two about the family's atmosphere.

As Zeng Qiang, the younger brother-in-law, unscrewed the bottle cap, he said sarcastically, "Hey brother-in-law, are you still driving that beat-up old car? If you ask me, you should have replaced it a long time ago. Can that thing even go 100 miles per hour on the highway?"

"It's convenient for hauling goods," Chen Zhenjiang replied casually.

Can I get a better car?

Given their family's financial situation, it was certainly possible, but Chen Zhenjiang and Zeng Ling both felt it was unnecessary. Firstly, a van would be more convenient, and sometimes it would be more efficient and convenient for hauling and delivering goods.

Furthermore, Chen Dong had been disappointing before, and it wasn't easy for them to maintain their meager savings. They were trying their best to save money and support Chen Dong, without paying attention to these external factors.

"It doesn't matter. We'll keep the van and buy a nicer car for getting around. Look at us now, our overall income was pretty good last year. At the end of the year, we just gave our old car to our wife and said we'd get a new one."

Zeng Qiang chuckled as he poured Zeng Guowei and his second brother-in-law Pan Yuan a full glass of wine. After pouring himself a glass, he handed the bottle directly to Chen Zhenjiang and then pulled out his new car keys from his pocket with a snap.

When Chen Dong saw the car keys, he suddenly remembered a line from a stand-up comedian in the original world and said to Master Ye from Jiangxi: "Buick, bro!"

Judging from Zeng Qiang's sarcastic and boastful attitude, I thought it was some kind of luxury car, at least a BMW or Audi, but it turned out to be just a Buick.

Of course, it's not bad by today's standards. After all, the current housing prices in a small county are only around four figures. This car can buy a large house or two small apartments in the county.

"The Buick LaCrosse is not bad, it must have made a lot of money last year, right?" Pan Yuan chimed in at the right moment.

"Well, the boss you introduced me to a couple of years ago gave me some work, and last year I took on some small projects and made a little money." Zeng Qiang pretended to be modest but was actually showing off.

Chen Zhenjiang ignored it, and Zeng Ling pretended not to hear it either.

As for Chen Dong, he ate and drank well.

"Brother Qiu is a good guy. Visit him more often during holidays. You need to learn to give back to him so that you can have a long-term relationship." Pan Yuan nodded, with a hint of preaching in his voice.

"Your brother-in-law is right. Relationships need to be maintained. Don't get carried away just because you've made some money. Learn from your brother-in-law," Zeng Guowei said.

"Dad, it's my second sister's husband."

Zeng Qiang deliberately emphasized the words "second brother-in-law," calling him "brother-in-law" repeatedly, lest others think that his eldest brother-in-law was helping him make big money.

"Haha, you're right, it's my second brother-in-law." Zeng Guowei laughed heartily.

It's clear that the father and son are very pragmatic. Pan Yuan himself is doing well and has even made some money by connecting Zeng Qiang with others, so they treat Pan Yuan with courtesy and are even somewhat obsequious.

It's different for Chen Zhenjiang.

A supermarket owner can't earn much and can't help them. They lack resources in all aspects, especially in educating their children. Not only can they not leech off them, but they also have to be wary of leeching off them in the future.

"Come on, brother-in-law, let me toast you." Zeng Qiang raised his glass to Pan Yuan and gestured for his wife to join him.

Pan Yuan chuckled, picked up his wine glass, took a small sip, and ignored Zeng Qiang and his wife as they finished their drinks.

He put down his wine glass and sighed suddenly, "What I care about now is not making money, because you can never earn enough money. What I'm worried about is these kids. Not one of them is easy to deal with."

"Back then, we didn't get much education because our families weren't well-off. If we had the resources now, we could easily get into any university, let alone Tsinghua or Peking University."

"Looking at these kids' grades, it's clear they've never experienced the hardships of life."

"I think Pan Long and Pan Wen are doing quite well academically. One is in the second year of high school and the other is in the first year. They can both score around 600 points, ranking around 100th in their grade. Even if they don't get into Tsinghua or Peking University, getting into a top-tier university shouldn't be a problem," Zeng Qiang said, praising them.

"It's still early. It's not even senior year yet. There are still many variables. Besides, with the current ranking, you can forget about getting into a top university unless you're in the top fifty of the grade." Pan Yuan shook his head, looking like he was worried sick about his child's studies, but actually he was quite pleased with himself.

"That's enough, brother-in-law. I think my son only scored around 400 points in a regular high school here, which is several hundredths in his grade. I doubt he'll even get into university." Zeng Qiang pulled out his son.

His son, Zeng Liang, is in the same grade as Pan Wen and is currently in the first year of high school. However, his grades are not ideal, and he probably has little hope of getting into university.

"Although Zeng Liang's grades are a bit low, he's sensible. He doesn't smoke or cause trouble. At least he looks like a student," Pan Yuan said.

"Pan Long and Pan Wen are both quite sensible," Zeng Qiang said with a smile.

"You have no idea how rebellious they are. Pan Long is a little better, at least he's a boy and won't suffer. I'm worried about Pan Wen being rebellious and having a relationship too early."

Pan Yuan sighed, "These days, blond-haired kids are so scary; they can easily be led astray."

"That's true."

Zeng Qiang nodded in agreement, then looked at Pan Wen, "Wenwen, don't blame your uncle for saying this, but students must focus on their studies. Dating is something for later, at least until university. Only those who have passed the high school selection process are truly outstanding, understand?"

"Did you hear what your uncle said?" Pan Yuan patted Pan Wen when she didn't react.

"Oh," Pan Wen replied perfunctorily.

"Oh what? I have zero tolerance for puppy love. Outstanding people will skip the high school selection process and wait for you in college. Even if you're dating in college, you should still have high standards."

"If you dare to hire those good-for-nothing punks, I'll break their legs."

Pan Yuan said sternly.

Zeng Qiang immediately chimed in, "Haha, Wenwen, don't worry. If any punk with yellow hair dares to mess with you, just tell your uncle, and he'll bring two truckloads of people to take care of you."

The two continued their usual sarcastic and veiled banter, their words carrying a veiled and irritating tone that was utterly repulsive.

Anyone could tell this was Chen Dong, a man with a veiled, unsettling air. He was practically saying he was unlike some others, not only with poor grades but also with a history of smoking and causing trouble, showing no semblance of a student.

He'll be filtered out in high school, and I doubt any girl will want to date him in the future.

In the past, Chen Zhenjiang would have been unhappy but had to endure it. Firstly, it was her mother's home, and secondly, the brat was just like that, and he didn't know how to praise him even if he wanted to.

But this time Chen Zhenjiang remained calm and even felt like laughing.

"Xiao Pan was right about something. There are still variables before the senior year of high school. It's possible that you did well in your first two years of high school but suddenly fell behind in your senior year. It's also possible that you did poorly in your first two years but suddenly became excellent in your senior year. So don't worry, little brother." Chen Zhenjiang took a sip of wine and smiled leisurely.

Zeng Qiang and Pan Yuan were having a lively conversation when Chen Zhenjiang suddenly interrupted, catching them off guard.

Zeng Guowei and the others were also surprised.

Chen Zhenjiang rarely participates in this kind of topic in the past, so what's wrong with him today?

Still calling out "Little Pan, Little Pan," and straightening his back?

Want to compare and find a slightly frustrating feeling?

"Brother-in-law, judging from your tone, your son Chen Dong must have had excellent grades in his senior year of high school, right?" Zeng Qiang glanced at Pan Yuan and asked with a smile.

"It's alright, I guess." Chen Zhenjiang smiled faintly.

"No, don't force yourself. What was your score on the final exam?" Zeng Qiang wasn't going to let it go and wanted to find out his score.

Chen Zhenjiang was just waiting for him to ask.

She leisurely picked up a peanut, "Not many, only about 700 points, right, Xiaoling? I'm not mistaken, am I?"

700 point?

Did something go wrong?

Not only were Zeng Qiang and Pan Yuan stunned, but Zeng Guowei and the others were also full of disbelief. Pan Long and the others glanced at Chen Dong, their suspicious looks saying it all.

"You're mistaken," Zeng Ling shook her head.

Call ~

For some reason, Zeng Qiang and the others suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm telling you, brother-in-law, you don't even know your child's grades, yet you just spout out a score. Isn't that..." Zeng Qiang was about to make fun of him.

Then Zeng Ling spoke up: "It's 701. You missed one point. Don't underestimate one point. The college entrance exam is fiercely competitive. One point can make or break a group. Maybe that one point is the difference between Tsinghua and Peking University."

"Hehe, I'm used to rounding down." Chen Zhenjiang said in a fluke.

He sat ramrod straight, his back perfectly upright.

He was no longer going to pretend and laid his cards on the table. All these years of sarcastic comparisons had kept him silent, but today he would show them what a true academic genius was.

This feeling of triumph after hardship is so much better than being at home. I have to put on a good show and let out all the pent-up frustration of the past few years.

Zeng Ling's words left Zeng Qiang speechless for a moment. The whole family looked at each other in bewilderment, their gazes shifting back and forth between Chen Dong and his family of three.

It's not 700, it's 701. You've missed one point?

"You got 701 in your senior year of high school? Did you do that yourself, cousin?" Pan Long was the first to come to his senses, his tone laced with sneer.

His relationship with Chen Dong was naturally not as good as Chen Yuan's, so he didn't touch his forehead to look at the paper cup; that sneer alone meant everything.

"What kind of exam can get you over 700?"

"Who knows? Probably one of those with a total score of over a thousand."

Pan Wen and Zeng Liang's words and actions clearly inherited their father's sarcastic and unsettling tone, making them annoying even at such a young age.