Student drives past 6 red lights and misses the most important exam — all for a classmate in pain

Some superheroes cannot fly, do not have precious gems to kill villains, or superpowers to save a city — all they are gifted with is immense courage and kindness to help those suffering around them. A college student from Eastern China became a real-life superhero and an overnight sensation after he saved a classmate's life, sacrificing his own future. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported his story of bravery and courage, which not only helped his classmate come back from the brink of death but also helped the Internet restore its faith in humanity.

Jiang Zhaopeng, an 18-year-old student hailing from China’s eastern Shandong province, was heading to the national vocational entrance exam on May 10, 2025. He took a shared cab with one of his classmates, but something unexpected happened soon after the ride started — his classmate had a heart attack. Coming from a medical background, Jiang had formal training in the fundamentals of first aid, which enabled him to know how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. He not only performed it on his classmate but also asked the driver, Wang Tao, to drive them to the nearest hospital, and with the traffic police’s permission, Wang skipped 6 red lights and reached in only 7 minutes.

The doctors reported that his heart stopped functioning for about 30 minutes — after emergency treatment, they were able to restore its normal operation. As his condition stabilized, Jiang informed the school about the mishap and headed to the exam center — but he could not finish the entire test due to limited time. The exam he was looking forward to taking is known as the Spring Gaokao, one of China’s most prominent vocational entrance exams that Jiang was taking to apply to a medical technology program. He told the media that he had no regrets for how things panned out: “My exam can wait, but my classmate only lives once.” Even though a bravery like this one is worth a salute, the local education authorities declared on May 13 that the current rules do not allow Jiang to retake the test — but his school teachers are looking into it.

Oriel FeldmanHall and others conducted a study that led them to understand that selfless acts, especially those that require greater sacrifices, are more deeply related to feelings of “compassionate concern.” On the other hand, self-centered people tend to focus on relieving their own distress. The study also revealed that those experiencing distress due to others’ suffering are more likely to avoid them than to offer help. This proves that Jiang’s heart holds immense compassion for others, so much so that he sacrificed a life-altering exam without worrying about its consequences.

The impact of Jiang’s altruism is echoing through the comments section of SCMP’s viral post. @mu_e315 wrote, “Yeah, saving a life is more important, and I hope he would be given another chance for his exam”, while @notsoskinnylatte exclaimed, “He has already passed the test of life! Extraordinary human being!” @the_pressure_enjoyer expressed, “Shout out to this young man with a golden soul,” and @marcivanmirafuentes supported, “A piece of paper can't save a classmate's suffering. He did the right thing.”