The incessant rain in early July and the old principal's earnest hope jolted Zhou Jiao awake. After catching a cold, she took the opportunity to rest completely at home.

"A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; a pile that stands out on the shore will be swept away by the current; a person who stands out from others will be criticized by the crowd. The lessons of the past are not far away, and the same old ways will continue."

This timeless quote made Zhou Jiao realize that she didn't need to strive for perfection in everything. She needed time to contemplate a balance, a balance that would allow her to find the golden mean.

For three days, Zhou Jiao spent her free time in her study, playing chess and meditating alone. Then, with Zhang Guoqing's consent, she packed her luggage and braved the rain to head to the provincial capital.

For a whole week, Zhou Jiao visited all the major university campuses in the provincial capital and immersed herself in them. When she returned to the county town, it was almost time for the college entrance examination.

Zhang Guoqing finally got his beloved wife back. Looking at Zhou Jiao, who seemed to have been reborn, he thought that Zhou Jiao must have gained a lot from this spiritual journey.

On July 20th, the old principal and two teachers took a group of students to the provincial capital a day early. Similarly, Zhou Xiaozheng put aside his official duties that afternoon and arrived in the provincial capital on a military aircraft.

For Zhou Xiaozheng, not being involved in his child's growth as a father is a lifelong regret. He hopes to see his child walk into the examination room for the Gaokao this time.

After Zhou Xiaozheng reunited with Zhao Chuangguang, he asked about Zhou Jiao's recent mood. When he learned about the child's behavior some time ago, he thought about it carefully and smiled.

Soon, the two borrowed a car and drove to the county town. When they met Zhang's father and mother, they learned that the school had moved to the provincial capital ahead of schedule, and the father and daughter had just passed each other.

After a few people discussed it, they decided to take Zhang's father and mother and Xiao Ping'an to the provincial capital overnight and go to the examination hall early the next morning. Ping'an was so happy about this decision that he hugged Zhou Xiaozheng's neck and kept grinning.

With Ping An by his side, Zhou Xiaozheng was no longer in a hurry to find Zhou Jiao. Hearing some news from the little girl put him at ease.

After a night, Zhou Jiao carefully checked their admission tickets and examination supplies, and followed Zhang Guoqing and the others out of the dormitory building, where she was greeted by a huge surprise.

She hadn't expected her father to come. She ignored her classmates' laughter and happily rushed forward. Zhou Xiaozheng's arrival made her feel both surprised and guilty.

While Zhang's father and the others were greeting the teachers and classmates, Zhou Jiao secretly told Zhou Xiaozheng that she wasn't going to compete for the top spot this time. She asked him if he would be disappointed.

Zhou Xiaozheng patted her head and whispered, "What are your chances of getting into your first choice? Will you make things worse? Does he need to help?"

Zhou Jiao looked confident, indicating that everything was under control. She hadn't been wandering around campus for nothing. She had a rough estimate of her score.

The father and daughter smiled at each other. Due to the approaching exam time, they couldn't talk in detail, so they could only agree to talk again after the exam in the morning.

At this moment, Zhou Xiaozheng didn't dare tell his child that he had to rush back to work in the afternoon.

Sixty-two students, not a single parent accompanied them. The arrival of Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao's family and friends was so grand, it drew considerable attention. Zhou Xiaozheng, in particular, sporting a military rank and flanked by two guards, made the school officials in the examination room nervous.

Zhou Xiaozheng was secretly upset at his miscalculation, worried about the negative repercussions. He left Zhao Chuangguang to deal with the situation while he quickly got in the car with his in-laws and grandson and left. If his daughter Jiaojiao knew, it would be disastrous.

After finishing the exam in the morning, the couple left the examination room early, greeted the old principal in a low voice, and followed Xiao Wang to find Zhou Xiaozheng and his gang.

After a few casual chats, Zhou Xiaozheng knew his daughter and son-in-law had to hurry back to have dinner with their classmates. Seeing it was getting late, he gave Zhou Jiao a few instructions, telling them to leave as soon as they received their notice.

Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao nodded.

Before leaving, Zhou Xiaozheng told them to focus on the exam and not worry about the admissions issue. He had to rush back today, so he would discuss the remaining details in a letter later.

They would be reunited soon, and this time the father and daughter were in a much more stable mood, which made Zhang Guoqing feel relieved. He entrusted his parents and child to Zhao Chuangguang, took Zhou Jiao and said goodbye to everyone.

Zhao Chuangguang watched them leave, patted Zhou Xiaozheng who was standing still, and pulled him into the car.

The sound of a car driving away was heard, and Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao walked out of the corner. They watched the car disappear, smiled at each other, and then turned and left.

Just now the couple was worried that the child would cry, but to their surprise, everything was fine. Now they were finally relieved - if you are not a parent, you really can't understand the worry of a child.

The old principal saw the young couple running over and pointed ahead, "There are still people who haven't come out yet, so wait a little longer. How about you go back to spend time with your parents at noon and come over this afternoon?"

Zhou Jiao quickly shook her head. She didn't want to be treated specially. If she had known her father was coming, she would have waited at the gate and wouldn't have let them in. Many of her classmates had looked at her differently. The image she had worked so hard to create might be gone forever.

Zhang Guoqing smiled and said, "My father-in-law has to go back this afternoon, and now they have left. The environment here is good, so we can carry on as usual."

Zhou Jiao listened to their small talk and frowned slightly when she saw that Zhao Yuanyuan hadn't come out yet. It shouldn't be that difficult, as these exams weren't very complex.

The bell rang, and Zhao Yuanyuan came out with her head lowered. She came to Zhou Jiao and looked at her sadly.

Zhou Jiao didn't ask, but pulled her along, answering the classmates' gossip. They finally arrived at the cafeteria, which was finally much quieter.

During the three days of exams, the school cafeteria humanely prepared a lot of sorghum rice, corn porridge, steamed corn bread, sorghum steamed cakes and other grains, and the prices of the dishes were cheaper than usual.

It wouldn't cost much if a few people joined together. Even those students from poorer families who brought their own food were invited by Zhang Guoqing and his group to eat together.

In the girls' dormitory, everyone secretly planned to buy more dry food to take home on the third day. Zhou Jiao didn't know if they succeeded, because they only had one meal at noon on the third day.

Zhou Xiaozheng left, and the sky, which had rested all day, began to pour again. Zhang Guoqing joked that this time, the father and daughter parted without tears, and even Heaven couldn't bear to see it.

Zhou Jiao grabbed him hard and sighed. It had been raining continuously since the end of June. I wonder if the old captain is worried sick again.

Having not been back home for over a month, Zhang Guoqing had no idea what was happening. The provincial capital was relatively safe, but much of the ground in the county town was flooded. He worried about how long the rain would last.

After the three-day exam, we had planned to go sightseeing in the provincial capital. But once we left the exam room, the pouring rain had killed our appetites. Everyone's clothes smelled, and we couldn't wait to get home.

Once back in the county town, Zhang Guoqing didn't bother to say a few words to anyone. He held an umbrella over Zhou Jiao and hurried home. He hadn't seen the child for the past two days and didn't know how she was doing.

The couple, who were eager to go home, had not yet reached the door of their house when they saw Ping'an's small body huddled under the eaves at the gate, with his father and mother Zhang holding an umbrella to protect him.

Zhou Jiao didn't know what she was feeling at the moment. Distress, anger, sadness, surprise, all of these washed over her, bringing tears to her eyes.

She blinked hard, hugged her son tightly, and finally could only sigh.