Chapter 84

A week before the results were released, I accepted He Man's invitation and went to an art exhibition with Chen Zhoujing.

He Man brought a boy with her; according to the introduction, he was a neighbor she had grown up with.

The boy was rather introverted and didn't talk much, but Jian Sheng could tell that his eyes were always on He Man, and he was paying attention to her all the time.

Compared to Chen Zhoujing, who was always trying to lighten the mood, he kept people at arm's length.

A few days later, the group had a meal together, but then they lost contact.

During this period, many people made appointments with Jian Sheng, and most of them tacitly agreed that making an appointment with Jian Sheng was equivalent to making an appointment with Chen Zhoujing.

Because Chen Zhoujing will definitely come.

The day before the results were released, Jian Sheng was so nervous that he couldn't sleep. He opened the door and walked towards the recliner in front of the French windows.

She let the wheat field out and lay there holding it for a while.

Moonlight filtered through the white gauze curtains and fell onto the wooden floor, casting eerie, dappled shadows.

She took out her phone, opened the search engine, hesitated for a long time on the screen before typing in the name Huai'an University.

Upon exiting, she saw the school's official introduction. She clicked on the pictures and looked at everything, from the campus environment to the dormitory environment to the surrounding facilities.

After about an hour and a half, she started searching for other universities under construction in the province.

I weighed the cut-off scores from several mock exams against the options of several schools.

At three in the morning, she finally succumbed to sleepiness and fell into a deep sleep on the recliner.

She didn't have a computer at home, so she went to the school to check her scores, together with Chen Zhoujing.

When she arrived, there were already quite a few students in the classroom. Jian Sheng paused as she entered, almost thinking she had gone to the wrong classroom.

Chen Zhou was surprised to see her stop and looked up: "What... oh ho..."

A class of over forty students collected all seven colors of the rainbow.

At the corner, Zhao Chengyang glanced at the two men, looked at Chen Zhoujing, and called out, "The hero is back."

As soon as he finished speaking, many people turned around, and when they saw Chen Zhoujing at the back door, a chorus of jeers erupted.

"Yo yo yo, Chen Zhoujing is back."

"The top scorer is back!"

"You two can't be apart for a moment."

"Chen the dog's shadow is back~"

Despite their playful and mischievous nature, Class 13 has never followed the outside world in criticizing or negating anyone in the class.

When Jian Sheng arrived, they subtly influenced her, and later, when her grandmother passed away, everyone quietly showed their concern.

Even though Chen Zhoujing's past has been widely publicized, everyone in Class 13 will speak up for him.

Zhong Mei was right about one thing: the people in Class 13 weren't bad.

Jian Sheng was still a little reluctant to part with these people.

"What are you doing standing at the door? Why aren't you going in?" Amidst the jeers of the crowd, Lin You walked in through the back door.

She had dyed her hair a sophisticated brown and wore light makeup, so Jian Sheng didn't recognize her at first glance.

"Holy crap, who is this?"

"Is this the class monitor?"

Xu Xiao slammed her hand on the table: "Why did you all dye your hair? Well done, class monitor!"

Lin You pursed her lips, a little embarrassed, and patted Jian Sheng on the shoulder: "Go on in."

The three of them went inside. Jian Sheng walked in front, and as Lin You brushed past her, she tugged at her hand and said, "It looks beautiful."

"Thank you." Lin You paused, raised her eyebrows, winked at her, and returned to her seat.

A few minutes later, Zhong Mei walked in through the front door. As her gaze swept over everyone's faces, her expression became quite interesting. She smiled and stood on the podium, carefully examining each person's face.

As the noise from the audience gradually subsided, she shook her head with a soft laugh: "They're all at the age of high spirits."

"nice."

"Being young is great. Be bold and do what you want to do. Your teacher will always support you."

She raised her hand and pinched the frame of her glasses, then walked around the audience: "Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. When you first came, you hadn't grown up yet. When you stood in front of me, you were just kids."

"It's good now, they've all grown up."

"Wait a minute, when your names are called, line up at the door to go to the computer lab. Don't be nervous, it's all settled. When it's time to fill out the first batch of applications, I'll help you one by one. For some schools, we'll see if we can wait for the remaining spots..."

As Zhong Mei passed by Chen Zhoujing, she stopped and glanced at his all-black attire: "So young, yet dressed so lifelessly."

Chen Zhou was taken aback: "Huh?"

"This...isn't it nice?" He patted the clothes. "You just said it looked good."

"Teacher, he likes black. He says it's cool. Every morning when he gets up, he looks in the mirror and says three times, 'Chen Zhoujing is the most handsome!'" He Shang shouted.

"Oh my~"

"Yes, yes, he looks good in black!" someone echoed.

Chen Zhou's face darkened in shock, and he glared at He Shang.

Zhong Mei tapped the table, glanced at his black long-sleeved shirt, then at Jian Sheng's white long-sleeved shirt, and said indifferently, "He is quite handsome."

"All in black, all in white, simple and elegant." She smiled, reached out and patted his shoulder, then walked away.

At the table in front, Jian Sheng's ears turned bright red. The outfit she was wearing was bought for her by Jian Qingyao, and it was the same style as the one Chen Zhoujing was wearing.

Actually, you wouldn't notice unless you looked closely, but as soon as Zhong Mei mentioned it, those whispered jeers rang in her ears again.

Until a teacher came to call someone from outside.

She and Chen Zhoujing walked at the very back, about five meters away from the group.

The sun was blazing in the afternoon, and he raised his hand to shield her from the sun while reassuring her not to be nervous.

Jian Sheng is alright, because even if she doesn't do well on the exam and doesn't get into Huainan University, she can choose other universities in the province. Even if they are not in the same school, they are still in the same province.

Chen Zhou's reassurance made her realize that he was the one who was extremely nervous.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she looked up and noticed the sweat on his forehead. She slowly took out a tissue from her pocket and handed it to him, saying, "You should relax."

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, because once he did, Chen Zhoujing felt like his body was about to turn into a puddle of water, and even his movements as he went upstairs seemed unnatural.

He bent down to hold onto the stairs, letting out a sigh of relief: "I wasn't nervous."

"Simply said 'oh,' stood on the steps in front of him, took the tissue back from his hand, unwrapped it, took out a tissue, and gently wiped his forehead."

Chen Zhoujing's lips twitched, his eyes slid over her serious movements, and then over her fair and delicate skin.

He swallowed hard, his palms sweating.

"No matter what happens in the end, Chen Zhoujing, we'll always be good friends." Jian Sheng withdrew his hand.

Chen Zhou lowered his eyes and remained silent for a while before slowly raising his head: "Just friends?"

He clenched his fists behind his back, his hands trembling with nervousness.

Jian Sheng didn't move; the sounds around her stopped, and all she could hear was the thunderous pounding of her heart.

He straightened up and looked her in the eye.

The sound of their heartbeats echoed in the suddenly quiet stairwell.

Chen Zhoujing didn't expect a response. He disliked vague or perfunctory statements, the kind of things anyone could say.

He looked at her increasingly red neck and her ear tips, which were already bleeding, and chuckled softly.

"Wait until the scores are checked." Wait until he's completely free from his mother's clutches.

After checking her score, Jian Sheng didn't ask what the sentence meant, but she wasn't stupid; she understood.

However, she didn't continue the conversation, just hummed in agreement, and turned to go upstairs.

Chen Zhou paused for a few seconds, then grabbed her hand as if possessed. Jian Sheng was stunned, glanced to the side, and then tightened her grip on his hand.

The two didn't let go of each other until they reached the classroom door.

As she turned on the computer, a sense of tension rose in her chest. She held the mouse, but hesitated to open it.

The sounds around her made her feel even worse.

She felt that what she was holding in her hand was not a mouse, but her future and her promise to Chen Zhoujing.

"Holy crap, it's out! Waaah, I can't look!!!!!!!!!"

"Holy crap... I opened mine too... Oh my god, my heart is pounding at 180 beats per minute."

The sounds of parting gradually reached her ears, a mixture of joyful tears and heartbroken grief, swirling above her head.

"How is it?" Chen Zhou's surprised voice suddenly appeared.

Jian Sheng's voice trembled slightly: "I dare not investigate."

He sat down next to her, and Jian Sheng waited for a long time, thinking he was going to say something, but he said indifferently, "I don't dare to investigate either."

“…” She smiled and said, “We’re all cowards.”

"Yeah, we're all cowards." Chen Zhoujing bit her lip, and caught a hint of panic on her stern face.

"Have you two checked? How much is Chen Zhoujing? What about Jian Sheng?" Zhao Chengyang walked over from the back row, squeezed between the two, and pushed Chen Zhoujing away by half an arm's length.

"Hurry up, stop being so lovey-dovey, let me see how many points you got?" He smiled, his face no longer showing his usual hostility, but rather a hint of joy.

Just as he was about to touch the mouse with Jian Sheng's voice, Chen Zhoujing slapped his hand away: "You checked? How much?"

Zhao Chengyang smugly punched his shoulder: "What? Afraid I'll surpass you?"

Chen Zhoujing ignored him, opened the page, entered the URL, and then turned around and asked, "Hurry up."

Zhao Chengyang leaned against the back table, looking radiant: "Six hundred and seventy."

"Damn! Awesome." Chen Zhou gave a thumbs up.

This year's exam was quite difficult, so getting this score is already very impressive.

"Hurry up, hurry up, you two. Jian Sheng, take a look at yours first. Our mock exams are about the same." He moved closer to Jian Sheng, looking at her expectantly.

Jian Sheng's heart skipped a beat: "I'm so nervous."

She opened the webpage, entered the website address, and then entered her admission ticket number and ID card number.

More and more people who had finished their investigations were crowding around her.

Her hands were shaking so badly that she let out a long sigh: "Why don't you turn around?"

"Alright, alright, alright." Zhao Chengyang waved his hand. "Stop looking, stop looking, let her investigate."

After everyone turned around, she glanced at Chen Zhoujing and asked, "Why don't you investigate for me?"

Chen Zhou shook his head in surprise: "You should uncover the surprise yourself."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jian Sheng's hand trembled, and she accidentally clicked on the mouse. She turned her head sharply...

The scores matched unexpectedly.

Chinese Language: 134.

Mathematics: 122.

English: 139.

The other three subjects were scored as follows: 282.

The total score is 677.

Chen Zhou was surprised to see that Jian Sheng didn't speak. He turned to look at her, and she was sitting there blankly. So he leaned closer and said, "Six hundred and seventy-seven..."

"Holy crap, six hundred and seventy-seven!"

"That's amazing, Jian Sheng, 677 is incredible!!!" He grabbed her arm, shook it excitedly, and then stood up and spun around behind her a few times.

Jian Sheng didn't expect to perform so well. Her mock exam score was just over 660, but she didn't expect to score even higher in the actual college entrance exam.

The people blocking the way had already turned around, and someone started clapping. In an instant, the small area erupted in thunderous applause.

This drew Zhong Mei over: "How much?"

Zhao Chengyang cheered the most enthusiastically: "Six hundred and seventy-seven, how about that, awesome, teacher?"

Zhong Mei's smile faded: "Great job, Jian Sheng, that's an excellent result!"

She raised an eyebrow at Zhao Chengyang: "How much?"

"Six hundred and seventy." He crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows with an air of certainty.

Zhong Mei glared at him, but her tone was one of relief: "Go back and tell your parents properly. They absolutely have to celebrate. It's wonderful."

"Absolutely."

She walked over to Jian Sheng and gently patted her on the back: "You did very well on the test, and the teacher is very pleased."

Amidst the applause, Jian Sheng felt an unprecedented sense of pride.

It comes from the bottom of my heart and I can't stop.

She turned to look at Lin You, who was standing silently behind her: "How much?"

Lin You coughed, his tone somewhat unsteady: "About that, six hundred and seventy-one."

"Sure, I'm also benefiting from your help. Three people with scores over 600 came at once..." Zhong Mei glanced at Chen Zhoujing, who was smiling and looking at Jian Sheng from the back of the crowd. "Stop smiling. Did you find out yours?"

Chen Zhou's smile froze; he was hesitant to investigate further.

He Shang got up from his seat and pulled him over: "You're usually so easygoing, but you're being so awkward when you check your scores!"

Chen Zhoujing rubbed the back of his neck, glanced at the gazes of those around him, then looked at Jian Sheng, and said dejectedly, "How about... you turn around again?"

"Hurry up, Chen Zhoujing, I want to see if you've studied at all since you got back." Zhong Mei walked up behind him. "Do you remember your exam admission ticket number?"

“I remember.” He took a breath. “Teacher, I can do it myself.”

Although Zhong Mei said that, she still made everyone turn around.