Cheerleading

Because she had been attending classes and doing her homework diligently every week for the past few weeks and had performed well, after friendly consultation between the two of them, she was allowed to read novels for one hour every day. However, from the start of the semester until the college entrance examination, she could only read for half an hour.

She hesitated, trying to buy herself more time, but the two men firmly refused, declaring: "As long as you get into a university on the south bank and come to the same city as us, you can look at us however you want in the future."

She forced a smile and gritted her teeth as she agreed. That required a score of over 600, almost 700, to get into the South Bank. How many books would she have to memorize and how many questions would she have to answer to get in?

It's worth mentioning, however, that in the first mock exam after the start of the semester, she soared to 27th place in the grade, which startled her homeroom teacher, who called her in for another talk, asking if she had been working hard during the holiday, what score she wanted to get in the college entrance exam, and which school she wanted to attend.

Having been lectured countless times by the head of the literature department, Ou Liyao was immune to such questions. She fluently explained her goal of scoring 700 points and going to Nan'an, making the homeroom teacher feel that she had been reborn and was a completely different person. The teacher praised her for her ambition and said, "I have high hopes for you!"

With only 102 days left until the college entrance examination, the school organized physical examinations and a cheering party for the senior students.

They used to be the ones performing on stage; now it's their turn to be the audience. They went for a medical check-up in the morning and came back to watch the show in the afternoon, making perfect use of their day, without even giving them three extra minutes to play.

The hospital where the physical examination was conducted was right across from the school, so the school did not require everyone to come back together. As long as we were back in the classroom before 6 p.m. and it didn't affect the evening activities, it was fine.

Xu Changjia's class was the last liberal arts class, followed immediately by the science experimental class, 369. She deliberately stood at the very back of the class so she could line up with Ou Liyao, who was squeezed in the front row, to complete the various tests, from blood tests to height checks and vision and hearing assessments. By the time they finished the last test, it was almost 4 PM. No wonder it was called a cheering party; there wasn't enough time during the day to watch it!

This gave them a chance to stroll around outside. Ou Liyao pulled her best friend toward a milk tea shop. The two were discussing what to eat later when they unexpectedly ran into Li Teng and his friends at the milk tea shop. Before they could even buy what they wanted to drink, three cups of milk tea were stuffed into their hands. It was as if they were afraid the friends would refuse. After giving them the milk tea, they disappeared without a trace.

Okay, so the two of them took their milk tea and went to the food street behind the school to buy some snacks. They happened to come across a new store opening with a buy-one-get-one-free promotion on noodles. Without saying a word, they went straight to the noodle shop. To their surprise, the noodles were quite good. They also noticed the store's decor and remembered the name "Wang's Braised Noodles". They agreed to come back for more next time.

Originally, Li Teng brought hot milk tea, but by the time it reached Zhang Yuning's hands, it had become room temperature and even tasted a little sweet. She took a couple of sips while sitting in the audience and then couldn't sit still, so she went to the back of the small square.

Xu Changjia sat on a small stool, propping his chin up as he watched the variety show on stage, one program after another. He was thinking about "Tales of the Republic of China" from last year's school anniversary celebration. Back then, everyone gathered together, and although Zheng Ruoqian was not there, he still participated in their program. The four-person team was not missing, and it was truly a joyful time.

As the singer on stage performed "Best Singer," the girl, now a senior in high school, was overwhelmed with emotion. Suddenly, someone patted her on the shoulder, then grabbed her right hand and pulled her to the side, crouching low. Her homeroom teacher, sitting at the back of the line, pretended not to notice and let them relax on their own.

Xu Changjia was pulled to the ping-pong table on the east side, where a row of instant noodles was laid out. Ou Liyao lightly jumped onto the table and pulled her up as well, smiling brightly, "How is it? Jiajia, isn't the view good? And you don't have to be timid or worry about blocking other people's view."

She took the bowl of instant noodles handed to her, gave a thumbs up, and praised, "Yaoyao, you're amazing! You found such a great spot with a great view, right in front of the stage. You even prepared instant noodles to watch the show. You really know how to enjoy yourself."

As she spoke, she added a couple of complaints, "You have no idea how boring it is for me to sit there alone watching the show with no one to talk to."

Although she was assigned to a new class, perhaps because of preconceived notions, she always felt that the classmates in Class 365 were just nodding acquaintances to her, the kind of people she would never contact again after leaving the school. But Ou Liyao and the others could accompany her for many, many years. Even if she died young after failing to complete the mission, they would still shed tears for her, right?

Was it the stage lights that blinded her, or the fireworks that lit up the sky once again? She couldn't help but want to say something sentimental, even while slurping instant noodles, and she wanted to ramble on and on, indulging in melancholy and lamenting the passing of spring.

Ou Liyao finished eating first and gently patted her head. "Good girl, good girl, not only are we here with you, but Zheng Ruoqian, who is far away in H country, is also your good friend. Others would love to have so many good friends. Doesn't that make you feel more at ease?"

She pointed to the distance, trying to distract Xu Changjia by showing her Zhang Yuning, who was playing ping-pong with Li Teng and the others. He was jumping around and hadn't seen him like that before.

Zhang Yuning, who was still playing ping-pong, tossed her paddle to Wang Shun, opened a can of cola from a bag under the ping-pong table and gulped it down. Turning around, she saw them sitting on the table, reached in, grabbed two bags from the bag, and tossed them to them, saying, "Here you go."

The person sitting at the ping-pong table happily accepted the two bags of spicy strips, feeling very satisfied. "Hey, Jiajia, this new flavor of spicy strips is great, you should try it. Look at what they're doing on stage, so ambitious, they've really set a good example for the younger students."

Xu Changjia slurped up a mouthful of noodles, nodded, and stuffed the spicy strips into his pocket. "Yeah, so what about you? Have you decided whether you want to come to the South Bank with us?"

Ou Liyao extended her index finger and gently tapped her head. "It's not that I've made up my mind, it's that I'm determined to go to the South Bank with you."

Novels provided her with spiritual richness, but the people she encountered in her life offered her a few guiding lights, a quiet and comforting warmth.

She limited herself to reading novels for only half an hour each day, and the days began to look forward to something. As long as she finished the exercises in her daily plan, memorized the English words and classical Chinese texts, and reviewed the questions she got wrong that day, she could return to the world of novels to raise her child and enrich her inner world.

Seeing how the people in the book persevered in pursuing their goals, she also wanted to find something to do and strive for it tirelessly.

"Okay, then I'll work hard with you and we'll go to the South Bank together." The two girls held hands and made a wish once again amidst the twinkling stars.

Watching the stage lights flicker, overlapping with the billboards she had seen in her past life, she wanted to live well and change her destiny.

In this life, aside from studying, the entertainment news she keeps up with in her spare time doesn't seem to be of much help to her. Aside from the time she pushed her senior to get into the TV station, which added three months to her lifespan, she hasn't had any more opportunities. Her lifespan is stuck at twenty-three years and three months. If she doesn't take action while in university, she might really die young in another two years.

She heard her mother say that after going to university, there would be many opportunities to intern at a TV station and get involved in the entertainment industry. As the capital of the country, Nan'an was naturally at the top of the food chain and had more opportunities to prolong her life. However, the school she attended in her previous life was not good enough, and she had not been exposed to such resources.

If they study hard in this life and change their destiny, she will have more opportunities on the South Bank to bring them onto the stage, help them achieve stardom, and guide them onto the path they should take.

Her thoughts drifted far away, only to be gradually pulled back by the person in front of her. The two of them ate spicy snacks all night long, eventually even finishing their instant noodle soup together. If they could have had a couple of drinks, it would probably have left her with some fresh memories in this life.

After Zhang Yuning finished playing ping-pong, he sat with them for a while, chatting about life and ideals. Not a single word was about the entertainment industry, and the little flame that had just been ignited in his heart was extinguished again.

After the college entrance exam cheering rally, all that was left was to give it their all. Countless mock exams, plus stacks of test papers as tall as half a person, pushed them forward step by step until they entered the college entrance exam hall on June 6th and 7th.

Fortunately, in this life, she was confident and clear-headed. Even after the exam, she could still remember most of the questions and match the answers with Zhang Yuning and the others, and they were basically the same.

Zhang Yuning patted her shoulder earnestly, "Alright, you can relax a bit now. This time it's a sure thing. Take a break and see you at Nan'an University."

She agreed, and the weight that had been hanging over her lifted completely. She went home and slept for three whole days straight.

Her parents were both away on a business trip, and Aunt Chen didn't know she had returned home, so no one noticed until Ou Liyao called her for what seemed like the umpteenth time. She answered groggily, "Hello, what's up?"

"Jiajia, what are you doing? Why aren't you answering the phone or replying to messages?" The anxious voice on the other end of the phone was so loud it almost shook her ears.

"Go to sleep." She struggled to open her eyes, then put her phone on speakerphone, tossed it onto the bed, and tried to check the time. But the time on her phone surprised her: 2 PM on June 10th?

As she listened to Ou Liyao's endless chatter on the other end of the phone, she learned that Zheng Ruoqian had sent everyone a congratulatory text message wishing them success in the college entrance examination, but for some reason it was intercepted. By the time they received it again, it was already several days later. When asked if she had received it, she didn't answer.

She continued talking about graduation dinners, filling out college applications, and going on vacations abroad, when Xu Changjia interrupted, "Yaoyao, is today June 10th?"

The person on the other end realized that she had been sleeping the whole time these past few days, not answering the phone or replying to messages, and had been sleeping so soundly that she didn't even know what day it was.

"Yes, at 2:27 PM on June 10th. Ms. Xu Changjia, is there a problem?"

She sat up in bed, her head throbbing. She felt as if the world outside had changed drastically in the past few days, making her feel somewhat unfamiliar with it. "Is everything alright, Miss Ou Liyao? Let me clear my head first, and I'll get back to you later, okay?"

"Okay, then remember to tell me about your vacation."