Chapter 2: Does a Diploma Matter?

Chapter 2: Is a Diploma Important?

“Thank you,” Li Jingkun said.

“For what? You’re overthinking it. It’s just a poster,” Zhang Linlin replied.

Hearing Li Jingkun suddenly speak so seriously caught Zhang Linlin off guard, and she felt a bit awkward, unable to resist a teasing remark.

She was the type of girl with a carefree, easygoing personality, sometimes laughing loudly enough for the whole class to hear.

Yet, no matter how carefree she seemed, she was still a girl at heart; deep down, she wished boys would take the initiative to do something for her.

But in this life, Li Jingkun made the same choice as before, allowing that hazy, youthful affection to remain untouched—preserving both its beauty and its regrets.

He knew there would be no outcome for them: they were simply too young, and she would soon leave the school.

At the same time, Li Jingkun had his own goals to pursue. The first priority was to get into a top-tier high school. He hoped to score well on the entrance exam to attend a better school and carve out a better future.

He knew that in a few years, society would be filled with voices claiming that studying was useless. At first, he believed it too—many university graduates struggled to find success. But later, he realized it wasn’t studying that was useless, but the diploma itself.

If anyone thought a diploma alone guaranteed a good job and big money nowadays, that was just wishful thinking. A diploma is merely a stepping stone; what truly matters is your ability.

But is a diploma important? Absolutely—it’s crucial. Without that key to open doors, even the most capable might find many industries inaccessible.

Is the diploma the most important thing? Not necessarily. Even if you enter an industry, without skills, you will be eliminated sooner or later.

Moreover, in today’s society, whether in business or the arts, those who reach the pinnacle of their fields often hold high academic qualifications. In other words, most of the power and wealth in society remain in the hands of the elite.

For example, future billionaires like Wang Jianlin, Ma Huateng, Zhang Chaoyang, and Lei Jun all graduated from prestigious universities. Even Jack Ma, the one with the lowest formal education among them, was still an excellent student.

So, Li Jingkun’s first goal was to become a top student.

...

To improve academic performance, the best way is naturally to have someone teach you personally; next is to ask teachers and classmates frequently; the last resort is self-study.

Li Jingkun couldn’t afford a private tutor. He felt asking teachers too deliberately, though he would seek help from classmates if problems arose. For now, self-study was the simplest and most practical approach.

In truth, everyone should learn and master the skill of self-study; it is essential for anyone aspiring to improve.

Most students lack awareness of self-study, but top students know many things can be learned independently, even ahead of schedule.

Simply having this mindset already makes a person stronger than most.

Currently, the main subjects were Chinese, Math, and English, along with History, Politics, Geography, Biology, and Physics. Next year, in ninth grade, Chemistry would be added.

He was confident only in Chinese and History; the rest were weaker, especially Geography and Politics.

Fortunately, he now realized that for many subjects, rote memorization could secure good grades.

So, he first decided to review all the textbooks, starting with Chinese.

Chinese was the easiest to absorb; he finished it in two days, answering all the questions at the end of the lessons—except for those requiring lengthy essays.

Next was Math, which took longer. Besides memorizing formulas, he had to understand their meanings and solve one or two problems to grasp each formula.

Moreover, mastering one formula often led to learning a related one in the next section, and then applying both to solve several problems.

This explained why missing one or two Math classes made it difficult to follow subsequent lessons.

Luckily, he could self-study and still had time to catch up.

It took him ten days to finish Math, gaining some knowledge but still far from mastery. There was no rush; he moved on to the next book.

English was challenging for his former self, but by the time he was nearly thirty in his previous life, he could converse daily with foreigners and watch American TV shows without subtitles, so he was confident in his English now.

However, understanding spoken and written English was one thing; being able to spell all the words correctly still required practice.

“Li Jingkun’s been so serious lately. Almost every break, he’s seen reading or doing exercises,” said Lisa to Zhang Linlin and Xiaomin, as they chatted nearby. Zhang Linlin sat on her desk in a tomboyish manner.

“Yeah, he used to play basketball after school, but now even in P.E. class, he just does assignments,” Zhang Linlin said.

Everyone had noticed Li Jingkun’s change but only found it surprising, not worth commenting on.

After all, he was already one of the top students in their class; a diligent streak wasn’t unexpected.

“You don’t know, he’s finished all our textbooks and even did all the questions at the back,” Zhang Linlin added.

“No way? That’s amazing!” Lisa and Xiaomin were stunned.

Being the three weakest students, they were easily impressed by someone slightly better.

“Really, I’ll go get a few books so you can see for yourselves,” Zhang Linlin said, jumping down and fetching Li Jingkun’s Math and English textbooks.

These books had been flipped through countless times; they looked far less new than anyone else’s.

Lisa and Xiaomin eagerly flipped through them and discovered many topics they hadn’t yet covered but Li Jingkun had already mastered.

Both books were filled with notes and scribbles, especially the English one, where entire pages contained short essays they couldn’t understand a word of.

“This is incredible,” they said, genuinely amazed.

“He’s really impressive. He always turns in homework first now, and it’s always an A+,” Zhang Linlin added. She was the group leader for their study group, so everyone handed their assignments to her.

Lisa said, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Let me copy from you next time.”

Xiaomin chimed in, “Yeah, me too.”

Zhang Linlin replied, “Sure, but only after I copy it myself.”

A student’s academic standing could also be judged by how popular their homework was. Though some top students didn’t like others copying their work.

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New author online, seeking support through bookmarks and recommendations. Currently posting twice daily, with extra updates when recommended.

(End of chapter)