Liu Chen blinked and exchanged a glance with Ren Yu, who was sitting beside him.
Although they hadn't done anything, they both felt like they would be misunderstood if Mi Zhuzhu saw them.
With that thought, Liu Chen quickly grabbed the bag of pickled chicken feet and rice wine in his hand and left.
Seeing Liu Chen leave so decisively without a trace of hesitation, Ren Yu sighed from her seat.
Two people walking together were too conspicuous. Ren Yu simply sat in the pavilion, waiting for the other two to walk into her trap.
Thus, when Lai Jielun, who already had a hidden agenda, entered the pavilion with Mi Zhuzhu, who couldn't sleep, he was so scared he almost lost his soul upon seeing Ren Yu sitting there with a serious expression.
Mi Zhuzhu, upon seeing Ren Yu's face, was pleasantly surprised. She greeted her with a smile and was about to sit down to rest when she saw Ren Yu rise from her seat and pick up the bag of snacks.
"Let's go, I'll take you two high school students home."
Mi Zhuzhu, who had intended to sit in the community for a while, immediately stood up at these words.
"Okay!"
Lai Jielun: "..."
...
Liu Chen, who had sneaked back home, washed up again. Whether it was because it was his usual bedtime or because he had drunk alcohol, he fell asleep with his eyes closed just a few minutes after getting into bed.
"Ring ring!"
The alarm, which he had heard countless times, still tenaciously completed its duty today.
Liu Chen got up, changed into a plain, unprinted short-sleeved shirt and plain black shorts, washed up in the bathroom, and tied his usually loose black hair high up.
He struck a "go for it" pose in the mirror:
"Liu Chen, go for it!"
After doing all this, he walked out of the bedroom and paused, smelling the aroma of millet porridge wafting through the air.
Liu Fang walked out of the kitchen with a grilled sausage and two fried eggs on a plate, muttering, "What are you standing there blankly for? Come and have some porridge. I fried a sausage for you and boiled two eggs. Eat up and you'll ace your exams today!"
Liu Chen, with his packed schoolbag on his back, sat down and couldn't help but explain, "The subjects tested today are all out of 150 points."
Liu Fang quickly picked out one of the fried eggs and cut it into a "5" shape with a fruit knife.
"Alright, alright, here, eat the sausage first, then this egg."
As Liu Chen ate, he asked curiously, "Isn't today Sunday?"
Hearing this, Liu Fang didn't know what to say: "What, it's such an important day as your college entrance exam, and I, your mother, have to go earn money? With Sister Li here, I'm at ease."
After breakfast, Liu Chen put on his schoolbag and followed his mother to change into sandals at the door. As soon as they opened the door, they saw the door to their aunt's house opposite was wide open, and their maternal grandmother and aunt were also changing their shoes.
"Grandma, you guys?"
Grandma Yang Shu, squinting with a smile, looked at Liu Chen and said, "We're sending our precious child to the exam. Don't be scared, just take the exam with confidence. With Grandma here, your mom won't dare to say anything to you!"
As they were speaking, the security door of Ren Yuanying's house also opened, revealing her godmother, who was also wearing a red qipao, and behind her, Ren Mo, who was holding a piece of bread and bending down to put on athletic shoes, and Ren Yu, who was standing neatly at the back.
"Oh! We're all here at the same time!"
Seven people in the same elevator were a bit crowded, so Liu Chen decisively pressed the buttons for two elevators.
As the floor numbers gradually increased, the elevator stopped at the nineteenth floor before continuing to ascend.
Liu Chen guessed it was Mi Zhuzhu and her father. When the elevator door opened, they indeed saw a spirited Mi Zhuzhu inside:
"Chen Chen! Wow! All the aunties and grandma are wearing red qipaos today!"
The three families took two elevators down to the basement, got into three cars, and drove out of "Phoenix City" towards their respective exam venues.
When they were about 500 meters away from the exam venue, cars could no longer enter. Fences were set up outside, allowing only candidates and their accompanying parents to enter on foot.
"I'll get off here. Mom, you guys go back. It's so hot, don't get heatstroke," Liu Chen said as he opened the door to get out, reminding them. He then took a transparent pencil case containing his admission ticket, ID card, and exam pens.
He had only taken a few steps when he heard the sound of car doors closing behind him. He turned around and saw his mother, aunt, and grandmother all getting out and walking towards him.
"I booked a hotel room nearby. Don't worry, we'll escort you in, and then I'll take your grandma and them to rest in the room. You can also take a nap after lunch."
Ultimately unable to refuse Liu Fang, Liu Chen tacitly allowed the three women to follow him.
The further he walked, the more women in red qipaos Liu Chen noticed. After bidding farewell to his mother, aunt, and grandmother one by one, Liu Chen turned and headed towards the exam hall.
He had only taken a few steps when he heard the unified cheers from his three women behind him:
"Liu Chen! Liu Chen! I believe in you!"
Liu Chen's serious expression cracked into a smile at their cheers. He turned back, waved goodbye with a smile to his mother and her group, and entered the exam hall.
...
"Driver, stop!"
"Screech!"
The taxi braked abruptly, causing Hu Qian to lurch forward and then lean back against the seat.
After paying the fare, Hu Qian, looking pale, opened the car door and got out. She had only taken a few steps when she suddenly vomited into the nearby green belt with a "wow."
This bout of vomiting brought up all the instant noodles she had eaten last night.
She was still one intersection away from the exam venue's cordon. Hu Qian had wanted to hold on, but she was afraid of vomiting in the car, which would cause the driver to not let her leave and delay her exam, so she got out early.
After vomiting, Hu Qian wiped her mouth, rinsed it with the bottled water she carried, and then walked towards the exam venue.
At eight-thirty in the morning in June, the temperature was already starting to rise. Hu Qian walked for a street before reaching the cordon of the exam venue.
Looking at the candidates being sent off by their families all around, Hu Qian pursed her lips and quickened her pace towards the cordon.
She had only taken a few steps when Hu Qian suddenly stopped.
She saw a familiar person – Liu Chen.
Liu Chen was dressed very simply today, carrying a transparent pencil case, walking about ten meters in front of her.
Hu Qian's lips curved into a slight smile.
However, less than two seconds after her lips curved up, Hu Qian saw three women in red qipaos getting out of a car ahead. She recognized them; they seemed to be Liu Chen's aunt and grandmother.
Hu Qian trailed far behind them and watched as the three of them cheered for Liu Chen at the entrance of the exam hall.
It was silly, truly silly.
But she was envious, truly envious.
Hu Qian could even tell that the candidates around her who, like her, had come to the exam alone, were also envious.
Hu Qian suddenly thought of Zhang Lili, and how last summer Zhang Lili had said that when she took her college entrance exam, she would wear a beautiful qipao to see her off.
"Mom will dress up beautifully then, and she definitely won't embarrass my Qian Qian!"
"For the college entrance exam, Mom will book you a room in a five-star hotel nearby. You just focus on taking the exam, and after the exam, you can have a good sleep in the hotel at noon." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
As she was walking, Hu Qian realized she had been stopped. She opened her eyes, which were blurred with tears.
"Student, your water has been opened and cannot be brought in."
Hearing this, Hu Qian could only unscrew the bottled water she had just opened and drunk a couple of sips from. She took two large gulps and, finding she couldn't drink any more, placed the water on the inspection table and entered the exam hall.
Once inside the exam hall, where all candidates were alone, Hu Qian finally calmed down, wiped the tears from her face, and walked into her exam room.
...
The first subject was Chinese. Liu Chen barely had to think, relying on his memory to quickly complete the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions, then translating the classical Chinese passage into vernacular and writing it down.
Finally, he turned the page, and Liu Chen's gaze fell upon the essay topic:
"Emerging from a Cocoon, Becoming a Butterfly"
Throughout the past year, she had had countless opportunities to have someone write a high-scoring essay for her.
But Liu Chen had not chosen to do so, because, in her opinion,
"Emerging from a Cocoon, Becoming a Butterfly" precisely summarized the past year.
Looking at the exam paper and the topic, Liu Chen pondered for ten minutes before beginning to write.
After the first session, Liu Chen walked out of the exam hall and saw the "red qipao trio" waiting at the front. She waved, and under their escort, the four of them walked out onto the street.
At noon, after eating the food from the insulated container brought by her mother, Liu Chen sat for half an hour, digested, and then took a one-and-a-half-hour nap.
After waking up, she reviewed some past math papers and, under the escort of the three women, entered the exam hall again.
The two days of the college entrance exam passed in a flash. After finishing the last English exam and walking out of the hall, Liu Chen felt a sense of relief, as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
Perhaps it was due to the relief, but Liu Chen walked out of the exam venue with a smile on his face, a stark contrast to the grim expressions of some candidates not far behind him. He was spotted by a local news channel reporter staking out outside the venue and was asked a few questions.
"Do you think this year's college entrance exam papers were difficult?"
"Not too bad."
"Are you confident about your college entrance exam score this year?"
"To be conservative, top three."
The cameraman next to the reporter's hand trembled upon hearing this, while the reporter's eyes lit up.
"Could this student tell the viewers your name?"
Liu Chen smiled and nodded, "My name is Liu Chen."
"Okay, we wish student Liu Chen success in achieving a top-three ranking in this province's college entrance exam. If you do achieve a top-three ranking, could Liu Chen accept an interview with us?"
Liu Chen was feeling very relaxed right now. Furthermore, the reporter, who had been waiting outside for a long time, had beads of sweat on her forehead, reminding Liu Chen of his own efforts for a single order in his previous life. So, he agreed:
"Alright."
After Liu Chen went to meet his mother, the four women got into a somewhat old Nissan.
After Liu Chen left, the television reporter stopped another girl who looked to be a good student.
"Hello, we are from C City News Television. What are your thoughts on the difficulty of this college entrance exam?"
Hu Qian looked at the camera and the reporter, pulling a wry smile. She wished she could say, like Liu Chen, that she could get a top-three score, but she didn't dare.
Shaking her head, Hu Qian dejectedly avoided the camera, which she had longed for before, and walked towards the bus stop on the main road amidst the joyful families and children.