After the resumption of the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) in 1977, from 1979 to 2002, the national unified NCEE was held from July 7th to 9th, and this year is no exception.
July 7, 1997, the day of the White Dew College Entrance Examination.
The weather was not only sunny, but also so hot that it felt as if nine suns were hanging in the sky, scorching the road until it was steaming. The lush green leaves on the roadside trees withered and hung limply from the branches like dried fish out of water. The scorching temperature came from all directions, and even the air was filled with waves of heat.
Since there were no cars in town, Xiao Cheng rented a motorcycle to take Bai Lu to the examination hall.
The exam venue was in the city, a 40-minute drive, which Xiao Cheng shortened to 25 minutes.
The results were both good and bad.
The good thing is that the time spent being roasted on the highway is finally over; the bad thing is that both of them are covered in sweat.
Despite wearing the large sun hat Xiao Cheng bought for her, Bai Lu was still not spared from the heat, her face turning bright red.
Xiao Cheng bought her bottled water as soon as he parked the car.
"Would you like to go to the store and change your clothes?"
Bai Lu took the bottled water, exhaling hot air as she shook her head: "I'm not going. The store doesn't have any clothes for me, and I still need to go shopping. By the time I get back to the store, I'll probably be sweating buckets, and then I'll be drenched in sweat again when I get back to the exam hall..."
The area outside the examination hall was packed with people. A male student from the same school passed by and saw Bai Lu, looking quite surprised.
Upon seeing Xiao Cheng holding an umbrella for Bai Lu, Bai Lu's initial desire to chat vanished instantly. She quickly greeted Bai Lu and hurriedly entered the examination room.
The White Dew solar term is approaching, and it's a little cooler under the trees inside the school than here, so it won't scorch you.
Holding her exam supplies in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, she said goodbye to Xiao Cheng, "I'm going in now."
Xiao Cheng didn't want her to suffer under the sun here; even with an umbrella, it was hard to keep out the high temperature.
"Go."
Bai Lu walked to the school gate, then suddenly turned around and saw that Xiao Cheng was still in the same spot, holding the umbrella in the same position.
She felt a strange sense of peace and tranquility, ignoring the stares of passersby, and said with a smile, "Go back, it's too sunny and hot here."
"I can go to the store myself after the exam."
The exam venue wasn't too far from Xiao Cheng's electronics store; it only took about ten minutes by motorcycle taxi.
Xiao Cheng replied, "Okay."
I don't know if I agreed to go back, or if I agreed to let Bailu go to the shop by herself after her exams.
Bai Lu took it as a yes and, without lingering, turned and entered the examination room.
This isn't Bai Lu's first time taking the college entrance exam; she's been reviewing every day and doing practice tests.
I also practiced by creating many practice papers based on the question-setting ideas of the past exam papers and history papers.
Throughout the exam, he answered questions fluently.
After finishing the exam and leaving the exam hall, Bai Lu didn't see Xiao Cheng, but she saw Zhang San leaning against the motorcycle, waiting at the door and looking around.
As soon as Zhang San saw her come out, he waved high and shouted, "Sister-in-law! Look over here!"
"I'm here!"
Such a big person, at such close range, making such a loud noise—anyone would have seen it.
Bai Lu was constantly being stared at by gossipy eyes, and all she wanted to do was get in the car and leave as quickly as possible.
As Zhang San drove, he explained, "Brother Cheng went home to cook and will bring it over for you later. He also booked a room at the Ping An Hotel for you to rest there. He said you have an exam this afternoon and customers coming to the shop would disturb you."
Bai Lu knew Xiao Cheng would be going home, but she never expected him to bring food over.
Xiao Wei is still at home; he has suffered from heatstroke.
Xiao Cheng had to go back to take care of things. Originally, she was going to go back too, but on the way there, Xiao Cheng told her not to go back, as it would be too much trouble. She had an exam that afternoon, and he could go back.
Bai Lu agreed and said she would rest at the store, and Xiao Cheng agreed at the time.
Unexpectedly, he booked a room for her right away.
Zhang San drove Bai Lu directly to the entrance of Ping An Hotel, gave her the room key, and then rode his bicycle back to the hotel.
Bai Lu finished her mineral water in the exam room and bought a bottle from the convenience store next to the hotel.
I had just finished paying the bill and came out when I unscrewed the cap of a mineral water bottle. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck, and everything went black.
Ah-Dai, who came out from around the corner to buy cigarettes, saw a girl being knocked unconscious by a man in black with a single slash and then tied up in a van.
He rubbed his eyes hard, and when he saw the girl's stunningly beautiful face clearly, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"That looks like my sister-in-law!"
Last time, when Xiao Cheng's electronics store was set on fire by Hu Biao, Zhang San came to call for help, and Adai also went.
In the end, the fight didn't happen, but each person was given a pack of cigarettes, which Zhang San said was given to him by his sister-in-law.
The brothers were all very curious about their sister-in-law, who had given them a gift before they had ever met her.
The next day, not far from the store, they found Cheng Ge bringing a girl into the store. The two were chatting and laughing, and Cheng Ge had a faint smile on his face that he had never seen before.
She never gave him a doting look, and the brothers knew that the beautiful girl was their sister-in-law.
Ah-Dai rushed to the electronics store to find Xiao-Cheng.
Upon arriving at the store, they only saw Zhang San and Li Si serving customers and buying appliances, but Xiao Cheng was nowhere to be found.
Ah-Dai didn't care about anything else and went straight up to Zhang San, asking, "Where's Brother Cheng? My sister-in-law has been kidnapped!"
"What!"
After his initial shock, Zhang San thought Ah Dai was joking: "I personally escorted my sister-in-law to the hotel entrance and checked the surroundings to make sure there were no suspicious people before I came back, how could that be..."
"Those who arrested Sister-in-law are hiding in the clothing store next to the hotel!" Ah-Dai interrupted Zhang San before he could finish speaking.
"If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself!"
Zhang San couldn't believe it, but seeing Ah Dai's unprecedentedly anxious and serious expression, he had no choice but to believe it.
Go back and call Xiao Cheng right away.
Xiao Cheng had already packed the food and soup in a lunchbox, then left and closed the door.
Xiao Wei, who was still eating at the dining table, heard the phone ring and groggily got up to answer it.
"Brother Cheng, your sister-in-law has been arrested!"
Xiao Wei's face, which had just regained some color, suddenly turned deathly pale. He hung up the phone and chased after her.
"Big brother!"
Xiao Cheng had already walked quite a distance when he heard the anxious, faint running and shouting behind him, so he stopped and turned around.
The little figure had fallen to the ground because he was running too fast and too fast, but he still shouted loudly to him.
"My sister-in-law has been kidnapped by bad guys. It was a call from the electronics store in the city, and it was Zhang San's voice."
Having spent a long time with Xiao Cheng, Xiao Wei's way of speaking has also become like Xiao Cheng's, getting straight to the point in just a few words.
Xiao Cheng's expression changed, and he turned and left, disappearing from the street corner in an instant.
Xiao Wei had abrasions on his hands and knees. He struggled to his feet, wanting to continue chasing after Bai Lu with his older brother.
But then he remembered that his older brother and sister-in-law had reminded him more than once not to go to unfamiliar places alone, to go straight home after school, not to listen to anyone, and not to talk to anyone.
He took a trembling step, then withdrew it, gritted his teeth, turned around, and went home to wait for news by the phone.
After Zhang San finished his phone call, he and Ah Dai went to the Ping An Hotel, next to the clothing store.
The shop owner was also terrified and called the police. He obviously didn't know that the customer who went to his shop to look at clothes was a kidnapper. He only found out the truth when he saw Bai Lu being kidnapped.
Zhang San and Adai then went to interrogate the other convenience store, but the store owner was also unaware of the situation.
The whole process took no more than ten minutes. When Zhang San and Ah Dai returned to the shop, they were surprised to find that Xiao Cheng had already arrived!
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