97. Chen Yang is going abroad

On the last day before the college entrance examination, the head teacher Fu Dongqing gave earnest instructions at the podium.

Go to bed at the same time as you did yesterday. Never go to bed early on purpose. This will disrupt your biological clock and make you sleep poorly.

Eat something light and healthy for dinner. Avoid eating meat or fish, and especially avoid drinks and fruits.

No matter what special circumstances you encounter, you must find the invigilator and don't hide it to yourself.

…

Fu Dongqing's emphasis is no longer on knowledge points or problem-solving strategies, but on the details of life. These details are like a soldier's tearful mother touching his face and whispering advice in his ear before he goes to the battlefield...

Everyone was moved by what they heard.

"Finally, I wish each of you success in the college entrance examination!"

After Fu Dongqing finished speaking, there was applause in the classroom, as well as a few faint sobs.

Xu Wenqiang sighed softly. The college entrance exam had begun, and this arduous senior year of high school was over. In a sense, the simple and pure days of being a student were also coming to an end.

Evening self-study classes had been canceled, but after the bell rang, few people left. Everyone lingered, as if reluctant to leave, yet also afraid to do so.

Xu Wenqiang was packing her schoolbag when Lin Tong said, "Xu Wenqiang, I'm a little scared."

Xu Wenqiang paused and said, "Actually, I'm a little scared too."

"You have such good grades, are you still afraid?"

"Lin Tong, I'm scared."

Xu Wenqiang smiled bitterly. "I'm afraid of going off topic in my essays, being careless in math, and not understanding English listening..."

"I'm afraid of these things too!" Lin Tong hugged Xu Wenqiang's arm, "Xu Wenqiang, it turns out we are all the same."

"Yes, we are all the same. It's not just you and me. The students in this classroom, in this school, in this city, and across China are all afraid. So, it's okay. Just be afraid. Don't take fear too seriously, and you won't be afraid anymore."

Lin Tong looked at Xu Wenqiang and scratched his head. "Xu Wenqiang, your words are too roundabout."

Xu Wenqiang patted Lin Tong and said, "Don't think too much. Just go home, eat well, and sleep well."

Lin Tong nodded, "I understand. You should also eat well and sleep well."

Although Xu Wenqiang's words were a bit convoluted, Lin Tong understood the point. Everyone was afraid, including the school's top student, so her fear was not worth mentioning.

As the two were talking, Ning Yi, who was sitting at the table in front of them, turned around and said, "Xu Wenqiang, Lin Tong, do well on your exam tomorrow!"

Ning Yi looked very serious, and a simple sentence he said seemed to carry a great weight.

"You have to do well in the exam too." Lin Tong also became serious.

Xu Wenqiang looked at Ning Yi, then at Lin Tong, "We will definitely do well in the exam."

The three of them looked at each other, their eyes full of smiles. Beneath their smiles, they already showed the calmness and courage to face the future.

"What do you think Xu Wenqiang and the others are talking about?" Gao Zhe said to Xiao Cheng while putting on his schoolbag.

Xiao Cheng looked up and said, "Why don't you just go over and listen yourself?"

"Let the past be the past," Gao Zhe said as he walked over. But after taking two or three steps, he stepped back and approached Xiao Cheng and said, "Tell me, Xu Wenqiang is obviously the same age as us, but why is it that when she looks at the people around her, I always feel that her eyes are filled with tolerance and kindness?"

Tolerance? Kindness?

Xiao Cheng glanced at Gao Zhe.

"Don't look at me like that. I just said it casually. Don't take it to heart." Gao Zhe walked away in a hurry.

After Gao Zhe walked away, Xiao Cheng's gaze passed across the classroom and fell on the "tolerant" and "loving" Xu Wenqiang.

Although she didn't like Gao Zhe's description, Xu Wenqiang's experience and character made her different from the ordinary high school students around her.

But sometimes, she was no different from an ordinary high school student. Thinking of that night when she held him in her arms, Xiao Cheng's mouth curled up again.

With an idea in his mind, Xiao Cheng walked towards Xu Wenqiang.

However, someone was one step faster than him.

Xiao Cheng watched Su Xiaoshan walk towards Xu Wenqiang, and thought, well, he put on his backpack and said to Gao Zhe, "Let's go home first."

Su Xiaoshan walked up to Xu Wenqiang and said straight to the point, "Xu Wenqiang, I have something to tell you."

Xu Wenqiang was stunned for a moment, then agreed, "Yeah, okay."

Ever since that day when Su Xiaoshan reminded Xu Wenqiang that she and Xiao Cheng were not the same kind of people, Xu Wenqiang had not spoken to Su Xiaoshan alone for a long time.

Perhaps it was because she hadn't parted ways with Xiao Cheng, and Su Xiaoshan was already disappointed in her, so when he saw her, he lowered his head and walked away, as if he didn't know her. And she didn't know how to explain to Su Xiaoshan, so she could only sigh after Su Xiaoshan left.

She thought that they would just be strangers in the future, but she didn't expect that Su Xiaoshan would take the initiative to find her before the college entrance examination.

Su Xiaoshan walked out of the classroom, greeted Xu Wenqiang and Lin Tong and the others, and they encouraged each other, then quickly caught up with Su Xiaoshan.

"Su Xiaoshan, I wish you success in the college entrance examination tomorrow and that you can get into your ideal university as you wish." Xu Wenqiang spoke first. Originally, if Su Xiaoshan hadn't come to see her, she would have said this to him.

Su Xiaoshan kept looking around, as if he didn't hear what Xu Wenqiang said.

Xu Wenqiang then chuckled to herself, "Maybe you think this is all nonsense."

"Nonsense?" Su Xiaoshan looked at Xu Wenqiang, "What did you just say?"

Xu Wenqiang smiled and said, "Nothing." Blessings themselves are just for the sake of sincerity.

"It's really nothing?" Su Xiaoshan stared at Xu Wenqiang, feeling that he had missed something.

Yes, I really missed too much. Whether it was junior high school or high school, I always had various reasons to distance myself from Xu Wenqiang.

I have reflected on it and regretted it, but I still ended up in the situation I am in now.

"Xu Wenqiang..."

I wanted to say something more to her, but I didn't know where to start.

"It's nothing really." Xu Wenqiang smiled and talked about something else. "Su Xiaoshan, what are you going to do after the college entrance examination?"

"Let's find a job." Su Xiaoshan answered and wanted to say something, "Xu Wenqiang..."

"We are the same." Xu Wenqiang took over the conversation, "Where are you going? We can go together--" Xu Wenqiang's words stopped abruptly. She saw Chen Yang standing outside the school gate, smoking on the roadside.

Across the gate of Qingshi No. 1 Middle School, Xu Wenqiang stared at Chen Yang, motionless.

Outside the gate are people who have left the campus, while inside are people who have not yet left the campus. People outside the gate cannot walk in, while people inside the gate will eventually walk outside and never return to the gate.

Xu Wenqiang withdrew her gaze from Chen Yang, treating it as a chance encounter. She lowered her head and tried to avoid him, but Su Xiaoshan stopped her, "Xu Wenqiang, Chen Yang has something to tell you."

Xu Wenqiang was firm, "But I don't want to listen."

"He'll just say a few words. It won't take up too much of your time."

"I don't want to hear a word."

Xu Wenqiang walked around Su Xiaoshan and continued forward.

"Xu Wenqiang, this may be the last time you see Chen Yang." Su Xiaoshan's voice came from behind, "Chen Yang is going abroad."

Xu Wenqiang stopped.

Xu Wenqiang had been hearing the term "going abroad" quite a lot lately. There was a student in their class, and another in the next class, whose families had arranged for them to go abroad, skipping the college entrance exam and studying abroad.

But what could Chen Yang do abroad? Would he speak English? Would he survive? Would he return?

He sighed, and finally raised his head and looked at Chen Yang.

Chen Yang has been looking at Xu Wenqiang.

When she first saw him, she looked away as if she had seen something unclean. But he kept looking at her, even if she thought he was a ghost, he would still look at her. Because after today, he would probably never see her again. Because he didn't let her go, when she looked at him again, he immediately caught her gaze.

This time, the look in her eyes when she looked at him finally had some warmth, and it finally felt like she was looking at a real person.