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Zhang Zhiqiang, from Xi’an in Shaanxi Province, works in the health and wellness industry. After graduating from university about two decades ago, he spent much of his career traveling for work, sometimes up to 300 days a year, while his wife took primary responsibility for their daughter’s education.

Last year, Zhang reduced his workload to help his 15-year-old daughter prepare for her senior secondary school entrance exam, according to the South China Morning Post.

During one disagreement over her studies, his daughter argued that students today faced far more academic pressure than people of his generation.

“If you’re so capable, why not take the postgraduate entrance exam yourself?” she challenged him.

Instead of dismissing the remark, Zhang decided to take up the challenge.

Preparing for the exam was far from easy. At 44, he had to relearn mathematics and English while continuing to work. His wife initially questioned whether the effort was worthwhile but later supported his decision.

Zhang enrolled in online courses and built a demanding study schedule around his job. He studied English from 6 to 9 a.m., devoted about five hours each evening to mathematics and reviewed lessons on high-speed trains during business trips.

For five months, he studied more than eight hours a day, a routine so intense that he eventually developed persistent headaches.

He sat China’s national postgraduate entrance exam in December last year, according to Theirs.

In June, Zhang received an admission letter from Northwestern Polytechnical University for its part-time MBA program. His efforts also appeared to influence his daughter.

After learning that her father had been admitted, she became more serious about her own studies. She began organizing study sessions with classmates and even asked her parents to hire a tutor, despite previously avoiding the library.

She eventually scored 95 points higher on her senior secondary school entrance exam than she had on a mock test and won a place at her preferred school.

Although his daughter never explicitly said that her father’s experience had motivated her, Zhang noticed a clear improvement in her discipline and attitude toward studying.

For him, the experience changed his view of parenting. Rather than simply telling children what they should do, he believes parents can be more effective by setting an example through their own actions.

Zhang initially entered the exam to prove a point to his daughter, but the challenge gradually became a personal goal. “Life should be lived for oneself,” he told the media.

His story drew praise online. One commenter said Zhang had “taken one exam yet transformed two lives,” while another said they had shared the story with their own parents and wished their father showed the same determination.