Chapter 109: You did extremely well on the exam!

Chapter 109: You did extremely well on the exam!

The slow internet speed in the countryside made the progress bar load very slowly, making each second feel like an eternity. Fang Yuenian's palms were sweating, her heart was pounding, and she felt like she was about to stop breathing.

Finally, the moment arrived, and the results came out.

669.

Fang Yuenian barely had time to react before she hugged Cheng Bing, who had just turned halfway around.

"Aaaaaaah!!!!!"

Cheng Qiuyan heard the commotion upstairs—excited shouts and the sound of tables and chairs scraping against the floor. For a moment, she couldn't tell if it was someone who was happy about doing well on the exam or someone who couldn't hold back their shouts after realizing they hadn't done well. Not daring to go upstairs, she listened intently for a while longer.

Just as she felt the silence had lasted a while and her fear was growing, she thought, "Oh no, could it be that these two children really didn't do well on their exams and are crying like this?" Just as she was about to go upstairs, she heard a voice:

"I said yes!!!"

The shout was clear, and Cheng Qiuyan heard it too. Unable to contain herself any longer, she called upstairs, "Bingbing, Niannian, have you found anything? What's going on?"

Cheng Bing didn't hear the sounds downstairs, and neither did Fang Yuenian. Overwhelmed by joy, all they could hear were each other's rapid breathing and jumbled interjections. Because they were hugging so tightly, it felt like they were trying to suffocate each other.

Another number, 632, was displayed on the computer screen.

Cheng Qiuyan waited in vain for a response, and finally couldn't wait any longer. She stomped upstairs and when she got to the door, she was shocked to see the two children hugging so tightly, with Fang Yuenian's head buried in her son's shoulder. Her face turned pale.

"What's wrong?" She strode in. "Niannian, Bingbing, how did you do on your exams? It's okay, it's okay, don't cry..."

Before she could utter the word "cry," Fang Yuenian suddenly let go, raised her face, and stood up—her face showed no trace of sadness; it was clearly one of ecstasy.

"Aunt Qiuyan, he scored 669!" Fang Yuenian exclaimed excitedly, panting. "I scored 632, which is a little higher than both of our estimated scores."

Cheng Qiuyan's heart was in turmoil, and she was momentarily stunned. She looked at Fang Yuenian, then at Cheng Bing, and came to her senses. She was overjoyed and felt extremely sorry for them. Her voice choked with emotion as she spoke: "Good, good! So good, good children, you two are so admirable! Oh, it's really wonderful. You've suffered so much these past three years..."

Cheng Bing also stood up and patted her mother's shoulder reassuringly, "Mom, you've worked hard too."

Fang Yuenian looked at the mother and son in front of her and suddenly felt a lump in her throat. Cheng Bing looked at him and said, "You should go home quickly. I'll investigate the rest. There's no rush."

Cheng Qiuyan quickly added, "Yes, yes, hurry home and tell your mother, Niannian, Auntie will call your sister in a bit, they'll be so happy."

Fang Yuenian was slightly taken aback, and her eyes suddenly reddened.

Cheng Qiuyan smiled again and affectionately patted his head, "Go on, college student."

Fang Yue Nian lowered her eyes, nodded, and said softly, "Okay, then I'll be going, Aunt Qiu Yan."

Cheng Bing followed him downstairs. Just as she watched him walk out of the yard, Cheng's mother-in-law came back from the vegetable garden with a small basket. Seeing that Fang Yuenian had left, she knew that the results had been checked, so she hurriedly walked into the yard. "Bingbing, have you found out what your score is?"

Cheng Qiuyan had already happily gone downstairs by this time. Hearing her mother asking, she hurriedly ran out, taking the shopping basket from her mother's hand as she said, "Mom, we're having a feast at home tonight. I've invited Dad and Guohui back for dinner. Bingbing did very well on her exam!"

Grandma Cheng didn't need to know the exact score; a simple "very good" was enough. Her eyes crinkled with laughter, and her steps quickened considerably. "Good, good, good! Oh, it's wonderful news! Another college student in our family! Our ancestors are truly blessed; all these young ones are so accomplished! Quickly, call Grandpa and his father back. Oh, and tell them to remember to buy some of that last time..."

Cheng Bing stood by the door, watching her mother-in-law and mother happily discussing things. The village was quiet in the morning; the summer heat had not yet reached its peak, but the sunlight was already dazzling.

--all is well.

Fang Yuenian returned home under such a scorching sun.

Her yard had just been renovated; the cement floor was completely dry, and the small flower beds still had soil on them, as no flowers or trees had been planted yet. To renovate this yard, Wang Jing withstood pressure from her entire family. Old Mrs. Fang objected, Fang Wu scoffed, and Teacher Fang stood by and did nothing, but she refused to budge and insisted on renovating. Now that it was almost finished, after some tidying up, it would surely be a clean and tidy yard like everyone else's, and no one would gossip anymore, comparing it to the Cheng family across the street.

Wang Jing is not afraid of being compared, but she doesn't want to give people that topic of conversation, since there's already enough to talk about.

As usual, after breakfast, Grandma Fang went to the village entrance to play cards with her old friends. Fang Wu still hasn't returned home. Wang Jing didn't go out to work early in the morning; she's been watching TV absentmindedly ever since her son left the house.

She heard the footsteps approaching and quickly rushed to the back, just in time to bump into Fang Yuenian coming in. The mother and son's eyes met, and Wang Jing noticed that her son didn't seem very excited, which made her heart sink a little. Not daring to show it too much, she forced a smile and said, "Niannian, you're home."

"Mm." Fang Yuenian stopped and smiled at her.

Suddenly, Wang Jing realized that her son seemed to have grown up.

Although he's still a bit thin, he's shed most of his frailty and is no longer as thin and childish as he was when he was little. His eyes are also steady, and he's long since lost his rebellious and unruly demeanor. Now, even his college entrance exam results are out, and he'll be going to university at eighteen, ready to stand on his own two feet.

"Niannian," she said softly, afraid of saying something inappropriate, but cautiously asked, "How...how is it?"

Fang Yuenian strode into the house and gave Wang Jing a long-awaited hug.

After hugging him and letting go, he smiled and said, "Mom, I did really well on the test."

Wang Jing breathed a sigh of relief, her temples throbbing several times in response.

Startled by her son's hug, she froze at first, then tears welled up in her eyes as she patted his shoulder hard, exclaiming, "You scared me to death! Ouch..."

She quickly stopped crying and started laughing. "That's good, that's good. Mom knew you'd do well. How many points did you get? Was it close to your estimate? And what about Cheng Bing? He must have done well too, right? Have the university admission scores been released? How are you filling out your applications?"

Fang Yuenian almost laughed at the barrage of questions, so she had no choice but to answer them one by one. She added, "We don't know the school's ranking yet. We'll go to the school in a couple of days. There will be guidance on filling out college applications. There are still many things to do. We have a lot of time to think about filling out applications, so there's no rush."

Most importantly, he and Cheng Bing had basically decided on the general direction and were just waiting to receive the admission plans and application guides from various universities this year.

Wang Jing was relieved and nodded, saying, "That's good."

She was a little embarrassed. "Niannian, Mom doesn't know much about these things either. Just choose what you want to study and where you want to go. Mom will support you. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask your teachers. Your teachers will be so happy to hear that you did well on the exams. They will definitely give you advice."

"I know, Mom, I want to eat braised chicken feet tonight."

Wang Jing had no choice but to agree. She was probably so busy cooking that she could practically fly off her feet. She quickly said, "Okay, okay, Mom will cook for you. I bought it a couple of days ago. Is there anything else you want to eat? Oh, by the way, call your aunt and tell her how many points you got on the test. She'll be overjoyed. Also, your grandpa went to play chess at the village entrance. Go and call him over."

Calling her aunt was a pleasure, but going to her grandfather was a real pain. Fang Yuenian: "Hmm."

Seeing that he wasn't in a good mood, Wang Jing pretended to be stern and said, "Nian Nian."

In such a pleasant atmosphere, there was no reason to get angry, so Fang Yuenian said, "Okay, I'll go in a bit."

There were a few other high school seniors in the village, and by noon, everyone's results had spread.

Grandma Fang took a break from playing cards and came back to find Fang Yuenian, panting as she asked, "Yuenian! I heard from Qinqin's mother that you got 630 points on your test?!"

Wang Jing had just come out of the kitchen with a bowl of fried chicken drumsticks, intending to reward her mother-in-law. She was a little unhappy when she heard her mother-in-law's words, but she didn't make a scene because it was a good day. She replied, "Well, not long after, Qinqin's mother came over and gave me a purple cabbage. She also asked how Niannian's exam went, so I told her."

"No wonder she made such a fuss and came over to tell me I was just drawing cards!" Old Mrs. Fang talked a lot while playing cards. She was thirsty and muttered as she looked for her teacup, "Is 630 a high score? Her Qinqin did well in her exams before and got into that medical university. She gets in every year, doesn't she?"

Wang Jing ignored her and handed the bowl of chicken legs to Fang Yuenian: "Eat quickly, they're freshly fried."

"Why are you making fried food again?" Grandma Fang glanced at it and said unhappily, "It's a waste of oil, there's not much to eat, and it wastes a lot of gas."

Fang Yuenian didn't even look up. She took the bowl and placed it on the table. Just as Old Mrs. Fang was about to say something, an acquaintance came to the door.

Hongmei beamed: "Jingjing! Jingjing! I've come to congratulate you! Where's Xiaoyuenian? Oh, over here," she saw Fang Yuenian being blocked by Old Lady Fang, "Xiaoyuenian, you're really doing well, you did so well on the exam! Wait until you've rested for a couple of days before you have your banquet, then I'll come back to ask for a drink!"

Wang Jing had already come out upon hearing the commotion, and there was an inevitable exchange of laughter and self-deprecation as they linked arms.

"Oh dear, the way you're shouting is ridiculous. He just did average on the test; he performed as expected."

"Oh my, you've got a college graduate in your family, and you still don't want me to congratulate you? Let me tell you, when Xiaoyue has her wedding banquet, I'll find you a chef team. You won't have to work a single slack, just enjoy yourself!"

Grandma Fang's face darkened.

Hongmei, that young mistress, is too shrewish. She speaks loudly, even to her elders. Just now, as soon as she entered the door, she started talking to Fang Yuenian and chatting with Wang Jing, acting as if she didn't even see her elder there.

However, that's just how Hongmei is; she simply can't be bothered to care about the old Jiangshan's attitude.

When her son was admitted to university, Wang Jing had put in a lot of effort, helping with everything from arranging the dishes to making sure everything was in order. She appreciated this kindness and, having always liked Fang Yuenian, this congratulation was genuine. Seeing that Wang Jing was still preparing vegetables, she helped peel garlic while chatting about how the students from the other villages were doing on their exams.

Fang Yuenian listened for a moment, but did not mention Cheng Bing.

The Cheng family has always kept a low profile, so it probably won't be out so soon.

He was itching to shout it from the rooftops about his brother Cheng getting such a high score. (Author's note:)

Thank you for reading. This book