Chapter 304: Still Summer
In this age where simply doing some exercises can change one's destiny, the college entrance examination is definitely one of the most important life events in youth.
People are always unable to estimate the value of a certain moment, and past events are always given meaning only in memories.
Although the college entrance examination cannot define life, its existence is indeed guiding the future direction of every student.
Although they have been in the third year of high school for a whole year, many students did not really feel the reality of the college entrance examination until their homeroom teacher handed them the admission tickets.
At this time, there are only two days left.
"You must remember to keep your admission ticket safe! Even if you forget to bring your brain, you must not forget your admission ticket!"
"Students who are slow at answering questions, be sure to pay attention to the time during the exam! Try to answer the questions you know in one go, and don't waste time on questions you don't know! Although the exam time is the same as usual, it really goes by very quickly during the college entrance examination, and you don't have that much time to waste!"
"The test paper and answer sheet are separate, so make sure you fill in the wrong candidate number information! Some students are used to writing their answers on the test paper first. If you forget to write your answers on the answer sheet, it will be useless to cry to anyone if you get a zero!"
"Even if there are only two days left, you still have to review. It's not time for you to slack off yet! Greedy students, please stop eating recklessly! You also have to adjust your biological clock and rest when you need to. Don't think that you have a holiday just because you don't have to stay in school for these two days!"
The head teacher and teachers of various subjects took turns to repeat over and over again earnestly the words that everyone had already heard until their ears were callused.
Obviously, they were not the ones taking the college entrance examination, but at this moment they seemed more anxious than them. Occasionally, when they talked about some strange things that happened to their seniors such as 'forgot the admission ticket', 'eating something bad and having diarrhea', 'going to the wrong examination room', etc., everyone was still laughing, except Teacher Liang.
"What are you laughing at! Do you think I'm kidding you? This happens every year! I've told you a thousand times, but there are still people who are careless! I've led you for three years, and I don't want your three years of hard work to fail in the end because of something like this. You're the ones who regret it, and I'm the one who's heartbroken!"
Suddenly everyone stopped laughing.
Teacher Liang was still spitting at the podium, but everyone in the classroom was quiet, with no trace of the laughter and playfulness that they had just had.
Gradually, Teacher Liang's voice also became quieter.
For a moment, no one spoke in the huge classroom, and the air was filled with the smell of impending farewell.
"Of course."
Teacher Liang's voice suddenly rang out, with a gentle tone that no one had ever heard before. Everyone raised their heads and looked at him quietly.
"The world is big, we are small, and the road of life is long. Even the current college entrance examination is not a big deal when compared with the length of your life."
"I am a teacher. I hope that each of you will do well in the exam, go to a good university, and have a bright future."
"Even if you don't have these, it doesn't matter. If you have something to do, someone to love, a house to return to, and a road to walk, then your life will not be in vain."
“Thank you for your cooperation with my work over the past three years.”
"I wish you all the best, too."
After Teacher Liang finished speaking, the classroom was silent again for a long time.
Until Fang Wei stood up first, there was no need for him to shout to stand up. With him as the center, like ripples, the students around him also straightened their backs and stood up one after another.
“Thank you, teacher—!”
The sound was so loud that it seemed to shatter the window glass, and the birds on the branches flapped their wings and flew into the midsummer sky...
……
The campus of No. 1 Middle School was bustling with activity. Because the examination halls had to be vacated for the college entrance examination, the first and second year high school students were delighted to receive a full five-day holiday.
I still remember the time of the high school entrance examination. Because of the poor conditions of Baitan Middle School, everyone had to go to Qingxi Middle School, Zhao Yueting’s alma mater, to take the exam. But now there is no need to run anymore. Candidates from our school take the exam at our school. In addition to candidates from our school, students from No. 2 Middle School also have to come to No. 1 Middle School to take the exam.
A Sheng was so happy!
I never thought that we couldn’t study together for three years in high school, but in the end, I could still take the college entrance examination together with Yushan... No, it was our Pineapple Island foursome!
At such an important moment in life, we can still face it together. It really shows that we four are born to be best friends!
Because the examination room had to be arranged in advance, the school was closed for the whole school from the 5th.
Three places in the first and second grade of high school and the experimental building are used as examination classrooms. Everything like student books must be cleared away, and seats must be arranged according to examination room requirements. However, this is not used for the third grade of high school, and the classrooms are retained for everyone to study as usual in the evening. Students like Asheng who come from No. 2 Middle School to take the exam study in the auditorium and the classrooms in the experimental building.
After the last class in the afternoon, the first and second year high school students began to move into the classrooms and dormitories busily. The extra desks and chairs were piled in a row outside the corridor.
No one knew who started it, but the freshmen and sophomores gathered on the balcony and shouted loudly to the seniors in Zhiyuan Building across the teaching building:
"Good luck to you all in the college entrance exams, seniors!!!"
"Passed the exam!!!"
"Go go go go go!!!"
"Come on, Senior Fang! I love you!!"
"??"
Fang Wei was not in a hurry to leave. He stayed in the teaching building with everyone else, listening to the cheers from his younger classmates.
Seeing them all so excited as if it was New Year's Day, I felt both funny and touched. I thought about how I was also on the balcony last year cheering for my seniors, and now it's my turn.
Don’t be fooled by the enthusiasm and excitement of these juniors and seniors. Fang Wei has been a junior himself, so he knows very well that they are excited because of the five-day vacation!
But even so, I was still quite touched when I heard those cheers and shouts.
After packing up the materials and books he would need for review at home over the next two days, Fang Wei went home with Cai Ling Zhiyi. When he returns to school next time, he will be a candidate.
Although the 'holiday' is two days, I decided not to go back to the village. I stayed at home and reviewed my studies well.
I called Asheng.
"Awei!! I have to go to No. 1 Middle School to take an exam!! Let's take the exam together!!"
"I know, I know. Do you want to stay at my place during the days when you have your exams? We can sleep side by side. My mom said she'd come over and cook for us."
"It seems that it's not possible. Our school has arranged that we all have to live in your school dormitory. We can't live outside..."
"Would you like to come to my house for lunch after the exam?"
"Um... hehe, let's wait and see. If Yushan has no one to accompany her, I will eat with her in the cafeteria. Otherwise, she will be so pitiful all alone..."
"Traitor!!" Cai Ling, who was also listening to the phone, concluded decisively.
“I’m not…!”
"Haha, I'll ask Yushan and the others to come over to my house for dinner, and you can eat in the cafeteria by yourself."
"Wait, Awei! I want to go too! I want to go too! You know I am greedy for Auntie's cooking!"
"There's no more dishes for you."
"I'll take it myself! I'll take it myself!!"
……
The college entrance examination is such a big thing, how could parents not care about it?
Because Fang Wei and the other two were not going home for the next two days, Tian Xilan came over from home as a parent representative to cook for the three kids.
Fang Wei rode a motorcycle to the dock to pick up his mother.
Tian Xilan's body was almost full of bags and bags of things. They were not her luggage. She only brought two sets of clothes with her. The rest were all food, such as live geese, chickens, ducks, and so on.
"Mom, why did you bring so many vegetables? There's a vegetable market next to the community. Aren't you tired of carrying so many from such a long distance?"
"Well, I didn't bring them all by myself. This duck is from Cai Ling's family, this goose is from Uncle Liu's family, and these vegetables, when they heard I was coming, they urged me to bring them to you to cook! How can the things bought in the market compare to the vegetables we grow at home and the chickens, ducks and geese we raise at home!"
"..."
When Fang Wei brought Tian Xilan back home, Cai Ling, who had just finished cleaning the house, was also shocked to see the chickens, ducks and geese. She hurriedly found a cage and locked them up on the balcony, for fear that they would poop everywhere.
But you know what, the chickens, ducks, and geese that you raise at home, the vegetables that you grow at home, and the cooking that your mother makes, all taste especially delicious.
Except for the two well-behaved and virtuous girls helping out when cooking, Tian Xilan refused to let them do any work after dinner.
"Auntie Lan, let's wash the dishes! We can do it quickly!"
"No, no, no! Cailing Zhiyi, you two should go and review quickly. Auntie Lan can do it! You have an exam tomorrow, so go read more books. Go ahead."
"Hahaha, it's okay. It doesn't take long to wash the dishes!"
"Auntie Lan, come here, Auntie Lan, come here. By the way, what time will you finish the exam tomorrow?"
"At half past eleven!"
"Okay, then I'll cook in advance and it will be ready for you to eat when you get home!"
"Mom, then you can make more when the time comes. I'll ask Asheng, Yushan, and Peipei to come over to eat."
"Okay! Tell them all to come!"
Tian Xilan likes lively surroundings. Since she has raised these children under her care, it is natural for her to take care of them.
Cailing and Zhiyi couldn't get any work to do, so they had to obediently go and review.
Although both girls have obtained the qualification for recommendation, the college entrance examination is still very meaningful to them. After all, Fudan University has also promised that if they reach a certain score in the college entrance examination, they can apply for a policy of exemption of tuition and miscellaneous fees and scholarships. The same is true for Fang Wei. In fact, after the first and second mock exams, the admissions offices of major universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University and Jiaotong University called him more frequently. Not only did they call his parents, they also called Teacher Liang, and gave Fang Wei various attractive policies one by one, hoping that he would apply for the exam.
Fang Wei didn't care much about it. He just wanted to get a satisfactory score to the best of his ability as a perfect ending to his high school career.
"Mom, let's go read a book. If you're bored, you can watch TV or go shopping downstairs."
After saying that, Fang Wei went back to his room.
"Auntie Lan, then, let's go read a book too!"
After saying that, Cai Ling and Zhi Yi followed Fang Wei to his room and closed the door.
Tian Xilan nodded with a smile.
What three good kids who love learning!
Of course, they were really reading. After all, they were going to take the college entrance exam soon, and their mom was there too, so the three of them didn't dare to act too recklessly.
It’s just right to save it first, and then release it freely after the college entrance examination!
……
The next day, the college entrance examination began.
The road that I walked thousands of times on weekdays was particularly different today. There were traffic police controlling traffic near the school gate, and many parents came to send their children to the exam. Even after the students entered the school, the parents still stayed outside until they finished the exam and came out.
And more of them are boarding students like Peipei Yushan. Because their homes are far away, they also live on campus during the college entrance examination. However, there are still many parents who come over and pass the carefully prepared meals to the students across the fence.
June 7th and 8th are two days of the college entrance examination.
The first subject of the exam this morning was Chinese, which lasted from 9:00 to 11:30, and the subject of the afternoon exam was mathematics, which lasted from 3:00 to 5:00;
Tomorrow morning, we will have science and liberal arts exams, also from 9:00 to 11:30. In the afternoon, we will have English, the last subject. After 5 o'clock, it means the end of the three years of high school.
The time to arrive at school is the same as usual. Before the exam begins, each class stays in their own classroom to study. After 8:30, everyone has to rush to their respective examination rooms one after another.
Maybe it was because we had gone through too many mock exams, big and small, in the past three years. Apart from the strong feeling when we got the admission ticket, we didn’t feel anything at the moment of the college entrance examination. It was like going through a test that had been repeated thousands of times. Maybe when we felt it again, it would be when the English test paper was taken away by the invigilator...
At half past eight, everyone packed up their things and left the classroom, rushing to their examination rooms.
Some went to the first-year teaching building, some went to the second-year teaching building, and some went to the experimental building.
Fang Wei's examination room happened to be Class 1, Grade 1. He never expected that his high school career would start and end here. He could not help but sigh at the wonder of fate.
Because students from No. 2 Middle School were also taking exams here, there were many unfamiliar faces on campus. Even though no one was wearing school uniforms at the moment, some of the students from our school still looked familiar.
My deskmate Deng Xu was looking at the pretty girl with great interest. When the two of them were walking towards the first-year teaching building, Fang Wei would poke him from time to time and ask him to look at the girls.
"Brother Wei! Look at that girl over there! She's pretty! Is she from No. 2 Middle School?"
"It's from No. 2 Middle School. How come you like him? Go ask for his contact information."
"Brother Wei, stop joking! I wouldn't dare to do that even if you kill me!"
"Coward, I dare you."
As he spoke, Fang Wei raised his hand and greeted the pretty girl:
"Ye Xiaoli! Ye Xiaoli!"
“…Huh?! Class monitor?!”
Ye Xiaoli, who was also preparing to go to the examination room, turned around and saw Fang Wei. Her face immediately brightened up and she trotted over to talk to him with a smile.
Seeing how the two of them hit it off right away, Deng Xu almost popped his eyes out of shock.
"Fuck! Do you know Wei Ge?!"
"Yes, my junior high school classmate, the one sitting in front of me, loves playing Gobang the most. He's not good at it but loves to play."
"Who is so bad at this and loves to play?!" Ye Xiaoli rolled her eyes at Fang Wei.
It is said that girls change a lot when they grow up. Ye Xiaoli is indeed much prettier than when she was in junior high school. The two of them have not seen each other since graduation. They meet at class reunions every year. But they are still very excited to meet their old good classmates here in No. 1 Middle School.
"Really? From your tone, it seems like your Go skills have improved in the past three years?"
"Of course! Let's have a PK next time when our classmates have a reunion. I will definitely kill you and make you beg for mercy!"
"Hey, which examination room are you in?"
"Class 16! What about you, squad leader?"
"I'm in Class 1, so you have to climb the stairs."
"Hey, where are Cailing Zhiyi and the others?"
"They are over there in the laboratory building."
"Haha, Qiao Yun is also over there in the experimental building. Your No. 1 Middle School is really big, much bigger than our No. 2 Middle School!"
"It's all the same. We're graduating soon. Do your best! Go!"
"Yeah! You too, squad leader! Come on!"
After a brief chat and saying goodbye to his old classmates, Fang Wei also came to his examination room.
The invigilator is assigned from outside. He checks each candidate with a metal detector. Once the candidate enters, he cannot come out again. Even if he wants to go to the toilet during the exam, he has to report to the higher authorities and then be accompanied by the invigilator. The level of strictness is far beyond that of ordinary exams.
After entering the examination room, Fang Wei found his seat and sat down, looking around the classroom where he once studied.
Memories flooded into my mind. Looking at the footprints left by some naughty kid on the white wall, I suddenly felt that time was flying fast.
Fang Wei could no longer remember how he felt when he took the first subject, Chinese, in the college entrance examination. He didn't even have any recollection of the topic of the composition. Even if he still remembered, it would probably be of no use. After all, the various butterfly effects he had caused over the years had already affected the world outside the island.
But even if it was a brand new paper, Fang Wei would not feel nervous or panic at all. After all, the knowledge he had acquired over the years was his most confident thing.
Nine o'clock.
The exam officially began.
The paper handed to him was brand new, just like his life.
Fang Wei took off the pen cap and wrote his new student number and his new answer in this life on this new answer sheet.
The examination room was completely silent, with only the rustling sound of pens scratching on paper.
For Fang Wei, it was difficult for him to have any idea of the difficulty. Even though it was a brand new test paper with brand new questions, Fang Wei was still like meeting an old friend again. Without too much thought, the pen in his hand naturally left lines of handwriting on the answer sheet, writing his own chapter with a smooth and flowing momentum.
The sunlight outside the window filtered through the mottled leaves, casting a few golden rays of light, as if cheering for his smooth and perfect answer.
There was no such thing as not having enough time. Fang Wei didn't even pay attention to the time while answering the questions. When the perfect answer sheet was spread out on his desk, there was still half an hour left before the end of the exam, while many of his classmates had just started writing their essays.
Fang Wei was not idle either. He checked carefully and thoroughly until he could no longer see any mistakes or omissions. Only then did he close the pen cap with ease.
If it goes as expected, 130 or 140 points is still a safe bet. As for how many points I can get, it depends on fate. After all, Chinese is such an unreasonable subject...
After perfectly conquering Chinese, the subject with the greatest uncertainty, Fang Wei then gained control of the subsequent subjects, namely mathematics, comprehensive science and English.
Sure enough, what Teacher Liang said was right. Even though the exam time period is the same as usual, during the college entrance examination, the passage of time in one's perception is exceptionally fast.
It was not until Fang Wei wrote down the last English word that he came to his senses. These two most important days of his youth had passed by so uneventfully.
I thought I would feel it more fully if I experienced it again.
But I never expected that it would be the same as the first time. It was not until my English answer sheet was taken away by the invigilator that I truly felt that I had experienced the college entrance examination and that it was over.
[My three years of high school are over]
It was as if he had traveled through time and space, and the words that had constantly lingered in his ears back then suddenly rang through his mind again.
I still remember that year when he left the examination room in a state of despair, standing woodenly in the sunshine of midsummer in June, but feeling as cold as the cold winter in December;
And now, this voice still echoes in his ears, but the feeling it brings is completely different.
My three years of high school have ended, but not with regret or sorrow, but perfectly.
He felt the scorching heat of the midsummer sun.
Looking up into the distance, the gorgeous sunset clouds covered the western sky.
Under the golden sunset on the campus, two girls ran towards him with bright smiles.
“Fang Wei——!”
"The test is over——!"
"We're graduating—!"
(End of this chapter)
