He opened his email and, as expected, Fang Jueyu had already received an invitation from his alma mater, Haihua No. 2 High School.
"Dear alumnus of the class of 2016, we sincerely invite you to attend the 70th anniversary celebration of Haihua No. 2 High School. We look forward to your arrival on July 21st. If you have any questions, please contact the principal's office. Phone number: 8545740."
"There's still 17 days, plenty of time to prepare!" Fang Jueyu was determined to achieve the 2% completion rate of his privilege task. He had to become the most dazzling person at the anniversary celebration.
He picked up the phone and immediately dialed the principal's office...
"What am I going to do?" Zhu Ming, the current principal of Haihua No. 2 High School, sat dejectedly in his office, staring at the school's latest college entrance exam results. Zhu Ming, a man in his fifties, had been facing mounting pressure. Despite being one of the top high schools in Haihua City, Haihua No. 2 had always been overshadowed by No. 1 High School for decades, holding the runner-up position. Now, even that status seemed in jeopardy.
This year, Haihua No. 3 High School had performed exceptionally well in the college entrance exams, trailing behind No. 2 by only 1% in first-tier admission rates—a very narrow margin. As a long-standing elite high school, No. 2 had always maintained a commanding lead over other schools, but now Zhu Ming felt a deep sense of unease.
Each year, the city's education budget was limited. Naturally, No. 1 High School received the lion's share, leaving all other schools to divide the remainder, which was less than half of No. 1's allocation. With such disparity, No. 1 only grew stronger.
Resources, faculty, and facilities all required funding. Apart from the meager government allocation, schools had to figure out how to bridge their funding gaps themselves. However, since schools are not profit-making institutions, how could they generate significant funds on their own?
After some investigation, Zhu Ming learned that No. 3 had recently produced a remarkable alumnus who had built a large company abroad over the past decade and had gone public in the U.S. just last year. During No. 3's anniversary celebration last year, this alumnus donated 10 million yuan to help the school develop, which explained their current momentum.
Over the years, Haihua No. 2 had produced some successful alumni as well, and many had made donations. But who could match such a large amount? It was already difficult enough just to plug the school's usual financial gaps.
"If this continues, No. 2 will soon be surpassed by No. 3!" As principal, Zhu Ming felt unprecedented pressure. The thought of this year's poor results seemed to age him in an instant.
This year marked the school's 70th anniversary. According to tradition, every decade they would hold a grand celebration. The event was partly a homecoming for alumni and partly an opportunity to encourage successful alumni to donate and help with the school's development.
For weeks now, the school had been contacting alumni, but Zhu Ming had been disappointed. Every time the topic of donations came up, more than half of the business-owner alumni started making excuses. Zhu Ming's heart had grown cold.
"Ring, ring!" The phone in the principal's office rang. Zhu Ming had already taken dozens of calls that morning, most of them asking about the date and schedule for the celebration. This call would probably be no different.
"Is this the Haihua No. 2 High School principal's office?" A young voice came through the line. "I'd like to inquire about the anniversary celebration."
"Yes, I'm the current principal, Zhu Ming. May I know which class you're from?"
"Ha ha ha, Zhu Ming has made it to principal?" Fang Jueyu chuckled to himself. Back in high school, he had feared Vice Principal Zhu the most. Zhu Ming would often appear unexpectedly during night study sessions, and more than once, Fang had been caught by him.
"Principal Zhu, I'm a graduate from the class of 2016!" Fang replied.
A look of disappointment crossed Zhu Ming's face. A student from the class of 2016 would now be in their third year of university, not yet graduated, and certainly not in a position to offer much help to the school.
But as a principal, Zhu Ming naturally couldn't let such thoughts show. After all, these students still cared about their alma mater, and who knew? Maybe in the future, one of them would succeed. Every returning student was welcome.
"Principal Zhu, do you remember me? My name is Fang Jueyu!"
"Fang Jueyu?" Zhu Ming had taught for decades, and countless students' names had passed through his mind. He couldn't immediately recall this one.
"Have you forgotten? In second year, you caught me eating during night study, and dragged me to see our class teacher, only to find her eating stinky tofu in the office. You ended up scolding both of us! And as you left, you even took a piece of tofu for yourself!"
Cough cough! "Oh, now I remember—it's you!" Zhu Ming's face reddened. He recalled a mischievous yet academically excellent boy. "You got into Jiangnan University, right? Your cohort was one of the best I ever taught!"
It wasn't just flattery; Fang Jueyu's class had the highest first-tier admission rate in the school's history, nearly rivaling No. 1 High School. If every year's students were like that, Zhu Ming wouldn't be so troubled now.
"Are you planning to attend the anniversary celebration?" Zhu Ming set aside his earlier worries. Talking to such students brought a sense of joy and nostalgia.
"Yes, we're on summer break now, so I thought I'd come back to visit the school and the teachers," Fang casually asked. "By the way, Principal, how did our school do in this year's college entrance exams?"
"Ah, it's hard to say!" Zhu Ming sighed heavily. "The gap between us and No. 1 High School is growing, and No. 3 is catching up fast. They might surpass us next year."
"How did that happen? I remember the gap between us and No. 3 was always large."
"Well, No. 3 has had significant funding increases in recent years. Their facilities, resources, and teaching staff have all improved significantly, while our school... sigh."
Fang quickly understood—Haihua No. 2's recent development had stalled due to a lack of funding. This played perfectly into his hands.
"Principal, I actually have something I wanted to discuss with you. Does the school accept donations from former students?" Fang asked.
"Ha ha ha, of course! We welcome alumni who want to contribute to the school's development." Zhu Ming wasn't expecting much. After all, Fang Jueyu was still just a third-year university student—how much could he possibly donate? He also remembered that Fang's family wasn't particularly wealthy.
"Jueyu, the amount doesn't matter. Just do what you can. Let me note down the amount."
"Does the school only accept cash donations?" Fang asked.
"Ha ha ha, we accept any kind of donation. Do you remember the statue at the school gate? That was donated by one of our distinguished alumni."
"In that case, great! I'll donate ten buildings to start!"