Chapter 146 College Entrance Examination

After Shi Qiu Shui returned the bottle full of lucky stars to Chen Muyang, he consciously ended the matter and didn't take it to heart.

Shi Qiu Shui didn't take it to heart, but someone did.

That night, Shi Qiu Shui was halfway through his homework when he opened the door and came out to get some water. He saw Shi Yue sitting on the sofa in a daze.

Shi Qiushui: "Dad, Dad?"

She stretched out her hand and waved it in front of Shi Yue's eyes a few times. Shi Yue finally came back to his senses. He reacted for a moment and asked, "Huh? What's wrong?"

Shi Qiushui: "Dad, what were you thinking about just now? When I came out, I saw you standing there in a daze."

Shi Yue: "Well, I didn't think about anything."

He paused, then couldn't help but say, "Ahem, well, Xiaoqiu, let me ask you something. Um, didn't anything special happen to you at school today?"

"Something special?" Shi Qiushui scratched his head. "What's special? Nothing special happened in our school today. Everyone went to class as normal, and the school didn't say they were going to hold any activities."

Shi Yue: "Hey, no, I'm not asking if your school has any activities. I'm talking about you. Did you encounter any problems today?"

Shi Qiushui: "Me? I didn't encounter any problems."

Shi Yue patiently coaxed, "Really? Didn't you meet any special people or encounter any special things? For example, did any classmates give you a gift?"

Shi Qiushui: “…”

She suddenly looked up at Shi Yue. Wasn't the direction of her father's question a little too obvious?

She said speechlessly: "Dad, you know?"

Shi Yue played dumb: "What do you mean you know? Xiaoqiu, what are you talking about? Why didn't Dad understand?"

Shi Qiushui pointed out: "Dad, did you know that a classmate gave me a lucky star today? Did Zhao Ran tell you?"

Shi Qiu Shui knew without even having to think that it must have been Zhao Ran who tipped off the secret. After all, the only ones who knew that she had received the Lucky Star were Zhao Ran and Xiao Taozi. Although Xiao Taozi knew her father, she would definitely not tell her father about such a thing.

Then Zhao Ran was the only suspect left.

Shi Qiu Shui gritted his teeth. This damn Zhao Ran, who usually spoke so little that people would mistake him for a mute, why did he suddenly talk so much and speak so fast at this moment?

Shi Qiu Shui had already made up his mind. When he saw Zhao Ran tomorrow, he would let him know that not everything could be said.

But the focus now is not Zhao Ran, but her father Shi Yue.

Shi Qiushui glared at me with dead eyes and said, "Alright, Dad, stop pretending. Just tell me straight up. What did Zhao Ran tell you?"

Shi Yue chuckled twice and stopped playing dumb. "Well, Zhao Ran didn't tell me anything. He just said that you found a jar of Lucky Stars in your desk drawer today. It was given to you by a boy from the next class. He also said that after school, you talked to that boy alone for a few words. He didn't say anything else."

Shi Qiushui: ...

Hasn’t the whole cause and effect of the matter been explained? What else has been said?

There's nothing to say about this, right?

Shi Yue: "Ahem, my dear, what did you say to that boy after school?"

After asking, he added, "Well, my dear, please don't misunderstand me. I'm not trying to pry into your privacy. I'm just concerned about you. You have the college entrance exam in less than two weeks. What if that man has bad intentions and just wants to distract you at this critical moment? So, tell me what you said to that man?"

Shi Qiushui: "Nothing."

"That's impossible!" Shi Yue: "Zhao Ran told me that you two talked together for quite a while. It's impossible that you didn't say anything for such a long time, right?"

Shi Qiushui: "...I really didn't say anything. I just returned the things he gave me and told him to do well in the college entrance exam. That's all."

Shi Yue: "Oh, you returned the things?"

Shi Qiushui: "Yes."

She paused and asked, "Didn't Zhao Ran tell you that I returned the things?"

"I didn't say anything." Shi Yue frowned, wondering how this little bastard could do things. He didn't even tell him such an important thing, which made him nervous all night.

When he sees this little bastard tomorrow, he'll be in big trouble...

Shi Yue secretly gritted his teeth and forced a smile on his face: "Haha, since you've returned the things, I don't have anything to say. Well, you should go back to study. Don't study too late. You should rest when you need to. In fact, at this time, you have almost learned everything you need to learn. At this time, maintaining your condition is the most important thing. Don't be too nervous..."

Shi Yue kept muttering to himself. In fact, this was not the first time that Shi Qiu Shui had heard this. As the time for the college entrance examination drew closer, the parents who usually cared about every point suddenly became gentle and began to say that grades were not the most important thing; the teachers who used to use exams as a magic weapon all day long also became kind, and when they were explaining the papers to everyone in class, they had friendly smiles on their faces.

In this atmosphere, the senior high school students gradually became agitated.

With one week left before the college entrance examination, the yearbook suddenly became popular in the school. Almost everyone in the senior year had a copy. Shi Qiu Shui was no exception and went to the convenience store at the school gate to buy one.

Of course, it was Zhao Ran’s money that was used.

After all, Shi Qiu Shui's pocket money was deducted by Shi Yue, and she is now a penniless pauper.

Going in groups to buy yearbooks and leaving messages in each other's yearbooks became everyone's favorite thing.

In fact, everyone knows that the remaining seven days may be the last days that many of them can spend together in their lives, so they fill out the yearbook carefully, trying to preserve this last time in this way.

It's not just the yearbook; everyone is making up for past regrets during these last few days. Those who like someone are confessing their feelings; those who have had a falling out with a former good friend are trying to make peace; those who dislike someone are brave enough to express their dislike...

However, Shi Qiu Shui did not get involved in this matter. After all, she has always been the kind of person who would express her love and hate directly to others' faces.

However, during the last few days, Shi Qiu Shui did something big. He ran to the principal's office and reported the school cafeteria.

Everything about Shi Qiu Shui and her classmates' high school was good except for one thing: the cafeteria was terrible.

As a school cafeteria, not only is the food terrible, but they also shortchange people by weight. The chefs who serve rice seem to have received uniform training. If you ask for one ounce of rice, they only give you eight cents. If you ask for two ounces of rice, they only give you one and a half pounds. If you ask for three ounces of rice...

This data was not obtained casually, Shi Qiu Shui really weighed it!

However, compared with the hygiene of the school cafeteria, the shortfall in weight is a minor problem.

In the school cafeteria, Shi Qiu Shui once found a hair, steel wool strands, and even a bug in her food. That incident left a psychological trauma on Shi Qiu Shui. It was such a terrible thing that a little girl who was extremely passionate about food developed a psychological trauma about food!

From that time on, Shi Qiu Shui never went to the school cafeteria to eat again, and started bringing food from home.

Before, Shi Qiu Shui still had to go to school and had been putting up with all the problems in the cafeteria without saying anything. But now that she was about to graduate anyway, she simply ran straight to the principal's office and talked incessantly about her opinions on the school cafeteria.

The principal didn't think much of it at first, but when Shi Qiu Shui talked about the hygiene of the cafeteria, he couldn't help but sit up straight and his expression became serious.

When Shi Qiushui finished speaking, he immediately made his position clear: "Well, classmate, don't worry, I will take the issue you raised seriously. If what you said is true, I will definitely ask the cafeteria to rectify the situation!"

Shi Qiu Shui looked at the principal's serious expression and felt relieved. She thought the principal would not care about what a student like her said.

After making her complaint, Shi Qiushui walked briskly back to the classroom. As soon as she stepped into the classroom, a classmate called out to her, "Class monitor, where have you been? The homeroom teacher was looking for you just now, but couldn't find you. She asked me to let you know when I saw you. If you're free, go look for her in the office."

"Oh, okay, I understand. Thank you." Shi Qiu Shui thanked him and walked towards the office.

"Teacher, do you have something to ask me?"

Shi Qiushui entered the office and went straight to his homeroom teacher's desk. Teacher Xie was busy with work. When she heard Shi Qiushui's voice, she looked up and said, "Oh, yes, where were you just now? I went to the classroom to look for you but couldn't find you."

Shi Qiushui certainly couldn't say that she had gone to the principal to complain. She scratched her head and said, "Ah, teacher, I just went to the bathroom. Do you have something to talk to me about?"

Teacher Xie: "Yes, the school is going to print graduation photos, the big group photo we took before. The printing fee is 20 yuan per person. Please go back and inform everyone to go home and prepare it and bring it to me tomorrow."

"Oh, okay."

Shi Qiu Shui nodded, and seeing that Teacher Xie didn't seem to have anything else to inform her, she said goodbye and returned to the classroom.

After returning to the classroom, I informed everyone about what Teacher Xie had asked them to do. Everyone in the classroom was very excited to hear that the graduation photos were going to be printed.

One girl grumbled quietly, "Graduation photos cost twenty yuan! How expensive!"

Apparently, she wasn't the only one who thought this. As soon as she said this, someone next to her immediately echoed her: "That's right, twenty yuan, and it's a group photo. Everyone's face only takes up a small spot. I don't even want this graduation photo."

"Stop talking about it. I really don't want it anymore. On the day I took my graduation photos, I got a big pimple on my face. It was right on my nose and it was really noticeable. When I think about opening my graduation photos and seeing that big pimple on my face, I'm like, 'Aaaah!'"

"Hey, don't you guys want graduation photos? I do want one too. After all, this is our group photo. After we graduate, we might never see each other again. At least having a group photo is something to remember us by."

"Yeah, I think so too. I still really want a graduation photo."

"Well, even though I say that, I will still print it..."

The classmates chattered and complained for a long time. The next day when Qiu Shui collected the money, he found that all 45 students in the class had paid their money.

After paying the printing fee for the graduation photos, the countdown to the college entrance examination on the blackboard was erased by one day. Day after day, July 7th arrived quickly, and the much-anticipated college entrance examination was finally here!

On the morning of July 7th, Shi Yue woke up at just four in the morning. Fortunately, it was summer, and the sky was already light at four o'clock. He got dressed, opened the door, and went out into the gray sky. He went straight to the pork stall in the vegetable market.

Shi Yue: "Brother, I ordered some pork offal from you yesterday, I'm here to pick it up."

The stall owner glanced at Shi Yue and said, "Oh, oh, oh, I remember you. Your child is taking the college entrance exam today, right? I've prepared the pork offal you requested. Look, it's right here. I just got it from the slaughterhouse. It's fresh!"

Shi Yue: "Oh, it really is. It's quite fresh."

It’s really fresh, the pig’s blood is still steaming.

The stall owner said: "Of course not. I just brought it back from the slaughterhouse. If you had come earlier, I wouldn't have come back yet. Of course it's fresh."

Shi Yue took out the money from his pocket, handed it to the stall owner and said, "Well, big brother, this money is for you. I have to take my things back and hurry to make breakfast for the kids."

"Hey, hey, hey, go ahead. Your child is taking the college entrance exam today, so you can't be late."

When Shi Yue returned home with the pork offal, it was not yet five o'clock, but it was almost time to cook. He went to the kitchen, closed the door, rolled up his sleeves and started to get busy.

This morning he is going to make top scholar porridge and scallion pancakes. Both are good omens. It goes without saying that top scholar porridge is good, and scallion pancakes symbolize intelligence and talent. The two go perfectly together, and they are also suitable for breakfast.

Shi Yue was busy all morning. Shi Qiu Shui woke up at seven o'clock. Before she opened her eyes, her nose woke up first. Smelling the strong aroma of food in the air, Shi Qiu Shui stretched her body and then got up.

"Dad, Dad, what delicious food did you make?"

Shi Qiu Shui slipped on her slippers and walked straight to the kitchen which was emitting a fragrant aroma.

Shi Yue: "Are you up? I'm almost done cooking, why don't you wash your face and get ready for dinner?"

Shi Qiushui stuck his head out and didn't want to leave, asking: "Dad, what did you make? It smells so good."

Shi Yue reluctantly lifted the lid of the pot, glanced at Shi Qiushui, and said, "I made top scholar porridge and scallion pancakes."

Shi Qiushui opened his mouth wide: "Wow, top scholar porridge! What a great name!"

Shi Yue: "I made this porridge just for this good omen."

"Wow, Dad, you are so nice. You have worked hard. I love you the most~"

Shi Qiu Shui has a sweet mouth, and nice words come out one after another as if they are free.

Shi Yue: "Alright, alright, stop acting like a spoiled brat with me. Go wash up quickly, then have dinner. After dinner, I can take you to the exam room. It's the college entrance exam today, and the traffic will definitely be very congested. If you leave late, you might be late."

"Okay, I'll go wash up now!"

Shi Qiu Shui responded and quickly went to wash up.

Shi Qiushui didn't dare dawdle today. After all, it was the college entrance exam, and she really didn't want to be late. She quickly washed up and sat down at the table. Shi Yue had already brought breakfast to the table. Seeing Shi Qiushui sit down, Shi Yue handed her a pair of chopsticks and said, "Have you finished washing up? Then let's eat."

Shi Qiushui: "Well, Dad, you eat too!"

Shi Yue: “Yeah!”

Shi Yue also sat down with his chopsticks. He picked up a piece of scallion pancake and was about to eat it when he heard a knock on his door.

"Who is it?"

Shi Yue shouted outside.

"Shi Yue is me, Zhao Hui!"

Shi Yue: “Here I come!”

He put down his chopsticks, stood up and opened the door for Zhao Hui. Before opening the door, he was still wondering why Zhao Hui came to see him so early in the morning, but after opening the door and seeing Zhao Ran standing next to Zhao Hui, he was no longer confused.

Guaranteed it was Zhao Ran who came to look for his daughter.

Sure enough, the next second Shi Yue heard Zhao Hui say, "Shi Yue, where is Xiao Qiu? My son and I are here to cheer for Xiao Qiu."

Shi Yue leaned over and said, "Xiao Qiu is still eating inside."

Zhao Hui peeked inside and said, "Wow, your family had quite a sumptuous meal this morning."

Shi Yue: "Why, do you want to come in and eat something?"

"Oh, this is not appropriate. You didn't know that my father and I were coming, so you definitely didn't make any portion for us. If we had eaten, what would you have eaten?" Zhao Hui's politeness was limited to his words. He said he was sorry, but his eyes were already staring at the pot of porridge in front of the dining table.

Oh, to be precise, he wasn't very polite in his words, and Shi Yue understood what he meant as soon as he heard it.

Shi Yue pursed his lips and said speechlessly, "Don't worry, I cooked a lot. Not to mention you two, even if Uncle Zhao and Aunt Lu come over, there will be enough to eat."

Zhao Hui's eyes lit up again and again: "Really? If you say so, I won't be polite to you."

Shi Yue: "Well, don't be polite to me, come in."

Zhao Hui smiled and went into the house with Zhao Ran. He was familiar with Shi Yue's family, so he went into the kitchen and got out two sets of tableware without Shi Yue asking him to do so. Then he came to the dining table and served two bowls of porridge for himself and Zhao Ran.

"Oh, Shi Yue, your porridge is really good! This pork offal doesn't taste fishy at all!"

Shi Yue: "Is the pork offal delicious? I bought this fresh from the market around four this morning. The vendor sold it to me right after he brought it from the slaughterhouse."

Zhao Hui: "It's past four o'clock, you're up pretty early!"

Shi Yue: "Well, that's all for one day."

He paused, glanced at the little bastard on the table and said, "By the way, wasn't your Zhao Ran admitted without taking the college entrance exam? Why is he up so early today?"

Zhao Hui wolfed down his porridge while mumbling, "Well, he's coming to cheer for Xiaoqiu."

The smile on Shi Yue's face froze, and he looked at Zhao Ran with a wary look. But soon, he said calmly, "Oh, is that all? If you wanted to cheer Xiao Qiu up, you could have just said it yesterday. Why did you get up so early? It must be so hard for you."

Zhao Hui waved his hand: "Not early, not early. You know Zhao Ran doesn't like to sleep in. He usually wakes up around six."

Shi Yue gritted his teeth. "Oh, that's different from our Xiaoqiu. Our Xiaoqiu likes to sleep in. On holidays, she can sleep until noon. She won't be willing to get up if you call her before noon. Compared to Xiaoqiu, your Zhao Ran is better. He's self-disciplined."

Shi Yue was trying his best to sow discord between Shi Qiu Shui and Zhao Ran, but his seductive glances were obviously aimed at a blind man. Shi Qiu Shui and Zhao Ran lowered their heads and were talking about something, completely unaware of what was happening on his side.

Shi Yue: ...

Grinding teeth, continue grinding teeth...

Zhao Hui didn't notice anything wrong with Shi Yue. He chuckled and said, "Well, it's normal for children to sleep until noon because they don't need enough sleep."

"Oh, yes, well, Shi Yue, do you have any pickles at home? I have a strong taste, and porridge alone feels a bit bland."

Zhao Hui touched the back of his head and looked at Shi Yue with a silly smile.

Shi Yue: ...

"Yes!" Shi Yue stood up and said, "There are pickles. Wait for me to get them for you."

After bringing back the pickles, Zhao Hui drank three bowls of porridge with them.

Shi Yue: ...

Didn't this guy eat at home?

Of course, Zhao Hui came over after having dinner at home, but Shi Yue's porridge was so delicious that he couldn't resist...

"belch--"

Zhao Hui burped loudly, slumped down on the stool, and said, "I'm so full."

Shi Yue: "If you're full, go home and digest it. It's Sunday anyway, so you don't have to go to work. I have to go now. It's time to take my daughter to the exam."

Hearing this, Zhao Hui stood up, holding onto the table: "Go send Xiaoqiu off. Zhao Ran and I will go too."

Shi Yue: "Are you two going too?"

Zhao Hui: "Hey, what you said is true. We are all here to cheer Xiaoqiu on. We must send Xiaoqiu to the entrance of the examination room to cheer her on."

Shi Yue: "...Then, let's go."

Zhao Hui and Zhao Ran are both here, he definitely can't chase them away.

In this way, the father and daughter of the Zhao family went out together with the father and daughter of the Shi family. They took the subway to avoid traffic jams.

Needless to say, the subway is fast, even faster than taking a taxi. When they arrived at the entrance of Shi Qiu Shui's examination room, it was just a little after eight o'clock.

"Xiao Qiu!"

As soon as she reached the gate, Shi Qiushui saw Xiao Taozi, who had already gone in, waving at her. She took two steps and was about to run in, but after two steps she stopped again. She turned back to look at Shi Yue and the others and said, "Dad, Uncle Zhao, I'm going in."

Shi Yue waved his hand: "Go ahead, go in, and do your best during the exam."

Zhao Hui: "Well, Xiaoqiu, do your best on your exam. We are all waiting outside for you to come back after the exam."

Zhao Ran: "Xiaoqiu, don't be nervous when you take the exam. If you encounter questions you don't understand, just take your time and work through them. You will definitely be able to solve them. I believe in you."

Shi Qiushui: "Okay! I know! I'm going in!"

After waving goodbye to the people who came to see her off to the exam, Shi Qiu Shui skipped into the gate of the examination school. She skipped to Xiao Taozi and walked inside holding her hand.

Shi Yue and Zhao Hui, who were outside seeing off the students, watched Shi Qiushui's back gradually disappear before their eyes. Zhao Hui said, "Xiaoqiu has gone in. Let's find a place to sit. It's still early for Xiaoqiu to come out."

"Okay." Shi Yue looked around and noticed a small empty space on the side. He pointed there and said, "Hey, there's a place over there. Let's sit over there."

"Um."

As soon as the three of them sat down, they saw a large bus driving over. The first few people to get off the bus were a few people who looked like mothers and were wearing cheongsams.

Shi Yue muttered quietly, "They all wore cheongsams to send off the examinees. Is there something special about that?"

Hearing Shi Yue's words, Zhao Hui sighed and said, "You don't even know this? Qipao, qipao, means a successful start. It's used to bring good luck."

"Oh, I see."

Shi Yue touched his chin, looking thoughtful.

Zhao Hui: “???”