# Sixty-Seven-Year-Old Grandmother Achieves College Dream Through Gaokao #
# Grandparent and Grandchild, a Generation Apart, Head to the Gaokao Hall Together #
# Ancient Scholars Took the Xiu Cai Exam at Sixty, Modern Grandmothers Strive for Gaokao; Ancient and Present Reflecting the Flourishing Era #
# Is High-Stakes Gaokao for Show or Dream Fulfillment? #
Not long after many media outlets published news and related comments that trended on hot search lists, numerous netizens began to actively discuss and debate.
"Sixty-something can take the Gaokao now?"
"I just don't understand. Why bother with all this at such an old age? If it's about fulfilling dreams, she could do that at home with practice papers. Why the actual Gaokao? It wastes national resources, and even if she gets into university, she'll be nearing the grave by graduation. What contribution can she make?"
"If I recall correctly, wasn't there a seventy-two-year-old man who took the Gaokao last year? He confidently claimed to have reviewed before the exam, but only scored over two hundred, and still had the nerve to say he worked hard.
And he wanted to try again next year...
I strongly suspect this is the same old trick."
"I think people shouldn't be so harsh. It's not wrong for an elderly person to have a dream and want to fulfill past regrets. Besides, since the age limit has been lifted, it means they are doing this legally and compliantly. It's you people who are sick for scolding them!"
"Some people are really funny. So what if an old lady in her seventies scores over two hundred? Are you saying no one scores two hundred in the Gaokao? Do you really think everyone taking the Gaokao gets four or five hundred, or six or seven hundred? What a dream!"
"I hope everyone knows how to write the word 'respect.' As long as it's not illegal or criminal, what they do is none of your business. You're worrying about things that don't concern you."
"Um, as a local, I have to say you guys are really underestimating Grandma Lin. My son is in the same high school as Grandma Lin's grandson, and he's also a senior this year, taking the Gaokao. He told me that Grandma Lin has always participated in the mock exams held by their school.
Her lowest score was over six hundred, and her highest was over seven hundred and thirty. Their school is completely treating Grandma Lin as the top science scorer in the province.
So it's definitely not for attention-grabbing.
Oh, and her grandson's grades are also very good.
He's often ranked second or third in his grade at school."
"Really?
Didn't they say online she sells pancakes?
And that she doesn't even have a junior high school diploma..."
"This is unbelievable. I don't believe this old lady can actually score over seven hundred. If this old lady can truly become the provincial top scorer, I'll eat my keyboard and monitor. I mean it. This post is proof!"
"Already screenshotted..."
"I just don't understand why people's minds are so dark nowadays. Everyone is making sarcastic remarks and casting doubt, but I only see an elderly lady who hasn't forgotten to learn, and even feels regret for not having the opportunity to study back then and wants to make up for childhood regrets. And she's not just talking about it.
She's actually taking action.
Does anyone else have this kind of drive? Does anyone else have this spirit of lifelong learning?"
...
As the online discussions grew quite heated, many reporters, or rather attention-seekers, eagerly rushed over, wanting to interview Ding Yun, or her grandson Liu Chang'an, without considering whether sudden interviews would affect their Gaokao emotions.
Fortunately, the principal and teachers at Third High School were counting on Ding Yun and her grandson to bring glory to their school, and they absolutely would not allow anyone to disturb their Gaokao. With their cooperation and help, they managed to keep the aspiring interviewers away.
However, this only lasted until the end of the Gaokao.
As the last exam concluded.
The reporters who had been held back by the Third High School leadership, on the grounds that sudden interviews might affect the students' Gaokao emotions and who would be responsible if they didn't perform well, were finally unhindered.
They rushed desperately to block Ding Yun and her grandson for interviews.
Since Ding Yun was confident in herself and her grandson, she did not hold back during the interviews. She directly stated that if the cutoff score for the provincial top scorer was similar to previous years, she was absolutely confident she would become the top science scorer this year, and her grandson, if nothing unexpected happened, would become the top arts scorer.
As soon as these interview remarks were released.
The controversy online undoubtedly intensified.
Simultaneously, more people began to believe Ding Yun was grandstanding, because in everyone's opinion, those who are truly capable are humble, while those who are incapable are exceptionally arrogant, like a half-empty bottle that rattles.
However, Ding Yun paid no mind to these opinions, as time would prove everything, and the Gaokao scores would prove everything.
After finishing her interviews with a group of reporters.
She resumed her previous daily routine.
That is, the routine of translating and earning money.
Although the internet was lively for a few days, information flows and updates are so fast nowadays that within a few days, fewer and fewer people were paying attention to the matter.
What followed was a period of quiet waiting.
Quietly waiting for the Gaokao results to be announced.
That was truly an agonizing wait, with each day feeling incredibly slow, each day seeming so long, and the day of results announcement never seeming to arrive.
However, no matter how anxious the school leaders and teachers of Third High School were, time continued to flow at its unhurried pace, leading up to the day the results were to be announced.
The outcome can only be described as unsurprising for those who believed in Ding Yun, and a shocking bolt from the blue for those who didn't, astonishing them for the entire year.
Ultimately, Ding Yun, with a score of 739, successfully became the highest-scoring science top scorer in the province's Gaokao history. Her grandson, Liu Chang'an, with a score of 714, became the highest-scoring arts top scorer in the province's Gaokao history.
Instantly, the school was overjoyed. There were firecrackers, banners, and an overwhelming desire to erect statues for Ding Yun and her grandson on the spot.
The internet was also in a state of shock.
To be honest, although many people online supported Ding Yun's persistence in pursuing her dream at her age, very few genuinely believed her Gaokao scores would be good. Most people felt she was just going through the motions and had no chance of actually getting into university.
So, the sudden announcement of the provincial science top scorer title falling upon her was hard to comprehend, and people began to discuss it actively.
The related heat not only overshadowed all other news in the province except for theirs, but it even overshadowed the heat of the top scorers, both male and female, from other provinces. Only the two provincial top scorers, the grandmother and grandson, were on the national hot search list, topping the top three by eclipsing the top scorers from all other provinces.