transition

"In order to provide reference for this year's graduates in filling out their applications, our school has specially invited seniors currently studying at various universities to introduce the school. They are all from 985 and 211 universities. Parents who are interested can stay and learn more."

In other words, students whose scores are not high enough and whose attendance is useless can leave on their own.

The audience area in the front row, which was originally full, suddenly became empty.

Many people stood up on their own initiative, walked through the aisles, and slid out of the bright auditorium like beans being sieved.

Song Qi is one of them.

Following closely behind, Song's mother secretly looked at her daughter's classmate who continued to sit upright in her seat, frowned, and commented secretly: "With her hair down, she doesn't look like a diligent high school student at all."

How could I not have scored better than her? How could it be possible!?

But when adults talk about other people's children, they are not acting like adults at all. They should only talk about their own children.

"That kid in your class whose parents don't really care about him, who often takes leave and sleeps in class, must have done pretty well on the test."

This is a covert expression of dissatisfaction with her.

Song Qi realized the hidden meaning almost instantly, and didn't know how to respond. He made awkward and brief "uh uh" and "ah ah" sounds, and it took him a while to find his voice.

"He always does well in exams. Maybe he studies hard at home."

"You've been working hard, too. You've even signed up for two expensive tutoring classes. Sigh."

Feeling unsatisfied, she nudged her husband with her elbow and said, "Tell me, how come I didn't inherit your smart brain?"

"That's pretty good. It's not like plans can't keep up with changes. I've studied Chinese dance for so many years, but who knew the high-level admission quota would be reduced this year... I was negligent. It seems the most important thing in high school is to lay a solid academic foundation. As for the younger one, she has her older sister as a warning. Once she enters high school, I'll stop taking those miscellaneous interest classes. Let her rant about it."

"Hehe. Then I'll go to the temple to burn incense during the New Year and pray to God to let the little one inherit something he should."

“…”

She paused for a moment, pretending not to understand Chinese, and walked forward with big strides. The staggered footsteps surrounded her and converged towards the same place. They were all lost as the necessary losses of rivers flowing into the sea.

The overhead light slowly faded, but some people continued to be illuminated.

"Just listen to it, just in case it comes in handy."

The girl with a round face, curly hair and the currently fashionable Korean heroine bangs hugged her slightly taller friend and whispered coquettishly.

Yinsui, who was halfway standing up, couldn't stand her energy anymore and sat back down.

In fact, Jiang Kesong just wanted to keep the little sisters to take pictures with him. He smiled, loosened his tightly hugged hands, and raised the Polaroid camera again.

"Besides, the light in here is much better than outside. It makes you look like a snowman."

Snap——

Lin Xiao curiously leaned over from the seat next to him, eagerly watching the image gradually emerge. He then sat back down and said bluntly, "It feels like I've been dead for three days."

"It would have rotted after three days of death."

"Just kidding, it's still pretty good. The exposure is too high."

Jiang Kesong glared at her jokingly: "Stop talking, ignore her, let's take a photo together."

A bright smile was pressed against another more restrained smile, and the other free hand reached around from behind to replace Yinsui's hand and make a "V" sign.

Lin Xiao waited for them to finish filming, then asked, "Have you decided what to apply for?"

Yin Sui replied: "We'll have to wait a while to find out."

"when?"

"When I fill out the application form." She didn't know when exactly, but it should be fine to log in the day before the deadline.

"You're not being honest," she said, not angry at all. She smiled and turned to ask the other person, "What about you, Bread? I remember you wanted to study abroad, right?"

"I did consider studying abroad. My second and third mock exam scores were pretty good, so I wanted to give it a try. I didn't expect to do exceptionally well, so after discussing it with my family, we decided to finish my undergraduate studies before going abroad for further studies."

"Is that so? Then there's no need to rush the team-building activities. You'll be in the country anyway."

"No, we have to hurry. My mom and I agreed to go abroad for a concert the week after next, and we've already bought the tickets."

"I'm fine with either. By the way, do you mind adding Song Qi? She came to our dorm to play before, and we talked about going on a picnic together. Next time, we can just come along."

Jiang Kesong agreed with both hands: "Sure, more people means more fun."

"For a picnic, find a place with lots of plants. I'll create a group and everyone can post the places they want to go and vote."

The picnic arrangements were decided in a few words, and Yinsui followed their arrangements without any objection.

"Okay, please parents and friends, please leave with your children in an orderly manner. Please be careful on the steps when leaving, and be safe. The main gate is a little crowded, so you can exit through the door to our right. They are all the same. You will find the admissions offices of various universities right outside. If you are interested, please ask more questions and learn more."

"Will you go and see it?"

"No, I'm in a hurry to get home."

"Bye then. My mom has prepared a long list of potential schools and is going to inquire about them one by one. I don't think I'll be able to leave school very often."

There was a lot of noise outside the lecture hall. The parents who went out first had surrounded most of the enrollment tents, with three layers of people inside and three layers outside, making it impossible to get through.

"Where are you going?"

"What do you think about this? Maybe we can go to the same university again."

…

People were coming and going, and there were many young boys and girls gathered together to discuss where to go. After graduation, everyone walked out of the high school, nervously choosing their next destination.

Yinsui did not participate in the selection and naturally had no idea where he would go in the future, but he knew he would go home after school.

A figure walked in through the door that was always open. The figure and shadow merged into one, dragging each other along in a long and dark way.

The white-haired old man hunched over and pretended to add firewood, and the old woman behind him looked at the person who came.

"I'm back."

The young girl, as tender as a fresh onion, was out of place in this old house with peeling walls. Her eyes deftly passed by the burning firewood and fell on the dancing flames.

The moisture in the wood was not fully released, and during the burning process it made intermittent crackling sounds. If the only young man did not come back, this would be the only sound in the small room.

After watching for a while, she looked around as if suddenly awakened, and said in a light tone: "What did you make today? It smells so good."

Braised duck, sausage, and stir-fried bok choy.

The old man's answer was exactly the same as the name of the dish he wanted to know: "braised duck, sausage, and stir-fried bok choy."

"I was wondering why it smelled so good," she praised enthusiastically, then retreated to the door. "Grandma, the food is ready, call me to serve it. I'll put my bag away first."

"Hurry up, the heavy bag is going to crush you."

Entering the living room, my nose was filled with a fishy smell that I had smelled many times. The drawer of the TV cabinet was pulled open, revealing a dead fish inside, still wet, which almost took up half of the cabinet space.

I don't know how long it has been there, but I can still feel the cold and sticky liquid oozing out of it through the paper. There are a few fallen fish scales and water marks on the bottom. I picked up all the small scales and threw them away, and wiped the water marks hastily and left them alone.

The wall clock faithfully turns its bones to chase the tail of the endless cycle, twelve minutes, thirteen minutes, fourteen minutes, okay, time's up.

The next second, the old woman's loud call came: "The food is ready!"

Yinsui went back to the kitchen to help serve the dishes as if nothing had happened.

At the dinner table, the old man asked about what happened during the day as usual, his eyes showing worry: "Did school go well?"

"all the best."

Hearing the affirmative answer, the inward folds relaxed.

"I learned how to make grated yam in club class today. I have an exam next time, so I wanted to try cooking it in a wok."

"Okay, you can use it after grandma finishes washing it."

It’s a small matter, Qiong Qing will respond to your request.

Knowing that he couldn't get away with it, Yinsui didn't try to get the task of washing the pot. As a result, when making the yam puree, the old man insisted on helping to peel the yam.

She could only stand aside helplessly and argue: "We need to peel the vegetables for class."

"Who cares? How itchy would that raw yam be if it got on your hands? I've been tossing the kid around in a club class. At worst, I can peel the milk for you and just carry it to school on the morning you need it."

The way they spoil their children to the point of causing them to behave recklessly makes adults laugh and cry.

When I entered the room again, Jianlin, who had disappeared just now, was already sitting upright at the fire, holding the fire tongs in his hand, as if he was afraid that they would be snatched away.

"Just steam it directly in the pot. No need for an extra person to watch the fire."

"I'll sit here and smoke and make a fire." The implication is that he is unwilling to give up his seat.

There was no way around it; the final step of mashing and adding jam to the complete yam puree was done independently by the original chef.

"Da Huang, suck, suck."

The local dog tied at the back slowly sat up. According to human age, it was eighteen years old, which was considered to be the age of death.

That's the truth.

When it arched its back and buried its head in eating, its protruding bones rose from the loess like mountain ridges. It was so old that it had little interest in eating and was very thin.

The lifespan of a Chinese native dog is usually 12-20 years, with some records showing up to 26 years.

By then, we might have a chance to observe the state of living things that die in the village.

She watched this life with mixed emotions: "Poor you."

Dahuang raised his head inexplicably, his dull gray eyes fixed on his owner, but he was unable to discern her thoughts. He raised his long, sparsely-haired tail and swung it left and right in confusion.

The more it was like this, the more uncomfortable Yinsui felt.

The old TV was playing an outdated weather forecast in a hoarse voice. Qiong Qing's figure, with her back to her, was reflected in the flickering light of the screen, which was half-bright and half-lit in a hazy halo.

"I'm going to bed."

"It's a bit cold today, remember to add a blanket. It's under the wardrobe."

"good."

"Let me find it," Qiong Qing stood up and walked in front, rushing into the dark stairs.

Click, the light bulb in the corridor had poor contact and was flickering, causing the lighting range to jump between bright and dark. It felt like something ominous was about to appear in front.

"Grandma is so old and confused that she doesn't even know to turn on the light."

"I'll just drive it."

All the windows on the second floor were tightly blocked with wooden boards and felt, with only small holes in the middle for ventilation, making the spacious room seem particularly depressing.

Even so, Qiong Qing still pulled the curtains: "It's windy at night." Before leaving, she asked her granddaughter lying in a blanket to remember to call her if anything happened.

"good evening."

"good evening."

It's not a peaceful night.

She suddenly threw back the quilt and tiptoed to the window. She estimated the time and waited patiently for a while, and finally heard the noise that had been repeating for nearly ten years.

"Bang!"

"Hahahahahahahahaha..." Everyone burst into laughter.