novelraw Chapter 75 Hanji International!
Chapter 75 Hanji International!
The family's Mercedes-Benz is parked at No. 1 Campus Path, Braemar Hill, North Point, Hong Kong Island.
After the driver ran over and respectfully opened the door, Li Shuo got out of the car, yawned, and looked up at the white building in front of him that was slowly becoming familiar.
The campus, built against the hillside, is also a place with a view of Victoria Harbour.
Chinese International School.
The filming location for Stephen Chow's "Fight Back to School 2" was called "Adam Smith International School" in the movie.
Later, Dicky Cheung's movie "Super School Overlord" was also filmed here.
But if you think it's really like in the movies... that foreign students can sell narcotics, provide escort services ranging from women to men to dogs, and that teachers are completely manipulated by students, then you're mistaken.
This international school, which teaches from kindergarten to high school, is actually one of the top international schools on Hong Kong Island.
Its most distinctive feature is bilingual education in Chinese and English, and dual homeroom teacher system.
In the future Hurun Global High School Rankings, it will be one of the three top 100 schools in China, ranking 74th globally.
The son of Lau Luen-hung's first wife, who was known for his flirtatious relationships with actresses in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, just graduated from here, and Li Ka-shing's granddaughter will also be studying here in the future.
As for tuition fees... in 1998, they hadn't yet risen to nearly HK$400,000 per academic year, but HK$220,000 was more than enough.
In the movie, Stephen Chow managed to scrape together 100,000 yuan to help three more people register for school, but on average, that wasn't even enough to cover the 28,000 yuan school construction fee that Li Shuo, the transfer student, had to pay.
What's even more ruthless is that it's not just expensive.
Academic performance is the most basic requirement for admission to school.
It adopts the IBDP curriculum (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme).
Each of the six subject groups is worth 7 points, plus a comprehensive score of 3 points for choosing one of the core courses, TOK or EE.
This academic rating is now recognized by top universities worldwide.
A perfect score of 45 points may seem like a small number, but it's actually incredibly rigorous!
Simply put, to get into this place, you either need to be rich or have a sharp mind.
Li Shuo belongs to the former category; those top students in this school whose families are "rich" are still a bit behind.
But he wasn't very talented; at least his grandparents kept an eye on him back then, and even though he was going through a rebellious phase, he still managed to get high grades in his academic subjects.
...It can be considered that the latter was achieved.
He returned to school a week ago to report back, and the school's attitude was very clear.
Transfer students are eligible. Although they pass the initial interview, if they want to directly enter Year 12 (Senior Year 3), they still need to take the "IBDP" placement test.
If you meet the academic requirements, you can skip a grade, and you have a high degree of freedom in your studies; you can do whatever you want.
If your grades don't meet the requirements, you either have to drop out and move to another school, or you have to come to school every day to start from grade 10 (first year of high school).
Therefore, Li Shuo chose to take the exam.
Then he canceled everything.
He took all six subject groups of the IBDP exam.
Language and literature studies.
Second language.
Individual and society.
science.
math.
art.
One door after another, like passing through levels.
Then there's the TOK essay outline to choose from: a 1600-word essay plus a face-to-face presentation.
It's incredibly strong.
Although he already had good grades, and his brain was very sharp after his rebirth, these subjects were not too difficult for him.
But after seven days of this ordeal, I'm truly exhausted.
Thankfully, it's over... The results will be out today.
As he walked down the school corridor, he saw his name on a list that was being displayed, and a group of people were watching the list.
Along the way, both local and foreign students talked about him after he appeared.
Li Shuo arrived at the door of the administrative office, pushed the door open, and went inside.
A middle-aged woman in her forties sat behind a desk, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, her appearance impeccable.
Ms. Chen, the academic director of Hanji, is known for her strictness.
She looked up at him and pointed to the chair opposite her.
"sit."
Li Shuo sat down as instructed.
Ms. Chen pulled a folder out of the drawer, glanced at it, and then looked up at him.
That look in his eyes was very complex.
Li Shuo knew what was going on, but still showed no emotion.
"Do you know what we tested this week?"
"The IBDP consists of six subject groups, plus a core curriculum preparatory test."
Do you know how difficult these exams are?
Li Shuo thought about it.
"It's pretty difficult... isn't it?"
Ms. Chen raised an eyebrow.
She turned the folder around and pushed it in front of him.
"See for yourself."
Li Shuo lowered his head.
The transcript is clear at a glance:
Language and Literature Studies (Chinese A): 7 points
Second language (English, Japanese, Peninsular): 7 points
Individual and Society (Economy): 6 points
Science (Physics): 6 points
Mathematics (Analysis and Methods): 7 points
Art (Visual Arts): 7 points
Six subjects, total score 40 points.
With the addition of the 3 points for the A grade in the TOK essay outline, the total score is 43 points.
Ms. Chen stared at him, trying to keep her tone calm.
"I've worked at a Chinese English school for ten years and seen many bright kids. But to get a total of 40 points across six subjects, plus 3 points in the core subjects, resulting in 43 points, and three of those subjects being HL high-difficulty subjects—do you know what that means?"
"Does that mean I can skip a grade? And I can also arrange my own time freely?"
"Cough cough..." Ms. Chen choked on her words after Li Shuo's reply.
She took off her glasses, wiped them, and put them back on, her tone conveying a sense of disappointment and frustration.
"Are you really going to waste this time that's meant for studying? You've already got 43 points. If you work a little harder, 44 points is no problem at all. Do you know what that means?"
She pointed to the report card.
"This means your current score is already in the top 10% globally. If you can work harder and get a score of 44, you'll reach the top 2%. At Hanji International, since 1983, we've only had a handful of students achieve this every year!"
She looked at Li Shuo.
"With your grades, if you work harder before the official exam, and the school helps you with your thesis, getting a perfect score of 45 isn't impossible! That's in the top 0.5%!"
Li Shuo sat there in silence for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"Actually, this result is enough for me. I'm not pursuing prestigious universities abroad... I haven't even considered 211 universities or higher in China. I just want to get into a decent art school in China."
Ms. Chen was stunned after hearing this.
She opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word for a long time.
Finally, she shook her head and closed the folder.
"It seems I need to speak with your father. What a pity, you..."
"Ms. Chen, it's no use talking to my father; he'll definitely support my decision. Let's not waste this time. The reason I'm willing to take the exam, and even try my best to do well, is because of what my grandfather said."
Ms. Chen looked puzzled when Li Shuo interrupted her.
Li Shuo softened his tone: "My grandfather was also a veteran artist. He always told me that anyone involved in the arts, regardless of their field, is a cultural worker, so the first thing they need is... culture."
He shrugged: "So I proved that I can do well in the exams to get into 12th grade (senior year of high school), and then I just need to do well in the national unified exams."
Ms. Chen stared at him for several seconds.
Then she sighed and took off her glasses and placed them on the table.
"Fine, I won't try to persuade you anymore. But do you really think that just because you can skip a grade after this exam, you're all set?"
Li Shuo was taken aback, then saw a smile playing on the other person's lips.
"You need to get the IBDP diploma, right? What about CAS? Creativity, activities, and service—no less than 150 hours of practical experience, which, although not graded, must be completed to obtain the diploma. And it can't be just perfunctory practice."
Li Shuo was speechless.
Ms. Chen pondered to herself.
If you spend more time with your classmates and become more involved in the school, you might just figure it out.
"There's a program at school that would be perfect for you."
Li Shuo had a bad feeling.
"As a senior in the third year of high school, and having grown up in mainland China, you are part of the school's traditional 'Mainland Exchange Program Week,' which is part of the curriculum for grades seven to nine. Starting in June, it lasts for two weeks, during which you take your juniors to mainland China for exchange and learning, and to experience things firsthand. This can be considered as completing the 150 hours of CAS practice directly."
Li Shuo thought about it.
That's great! After completing the practice, I can go back and take a look.
He stood up and bowed slightly to her.
"no problem."
"By the way, now that you've entered Hanji, you should have the sense of honor of being a student of this school. You got a perfect score in music, and you even mentioned during the interview that you wrote a song that was accepted by a popular star."
Li Shuo nodded: "That's true."
"That's perfect." Ms. Chen pulled another piece of paper from the drawer and slowly pushed it in front of him.
"The Hong Kong Island school community holds an annual 'Hong Kong Inter-School Music Festival,' the 50th edition of which was just held in March, but our Chinese Music Foundation has performed poorly in recent years."
She looked somewhat unconvinced.
"But there is also an 'Inter-School Original Music Exchange Competition' at the end of May. It's not a very formal competition, but several international schools and local prestigious schools on Hong Kong Island will send people to participate."
Director Chen, fearing that Li Shuo might find it troublesome and refuse, immediately added.
"I was just thinking about it, and there are quite a few upperclassmen who have signed up for the 'Mainland Exchange Program,' since it directly counts as 150 hours... This opportunity..."
Li Shuo glanced down at the paper, then looked up with a deep, melancholic look in his eyes.
"Teacher... are you rewarding me... oh no, I'm fine with this... I guarantee I'll bring honor to Hanji International!"
Seeing how enthusiastic Li Shuo was, Director Chen was completely stumped!