Chapter 144 Graduation Celebration (Secondary Couple Route)
On a June morning, the air was thick with an almost frozen silence.
Zhu Wan met the gazes of her parents, grandmother, and sister in turn, and finally raised a gentle yet firm smile: "I will do my best."
She was holding a transparent pencil case in her hand, which contained her exam admission ticket, ID card, and stationery.
Passing through the bustling crowd and police cordon, Zhu Wan entered the school and arrived at her examination room.
The exam papers were solemnly taken out of the sealed bag, and as the sharp ringing of the bell pierced the air, they were handed out page by page.
Zhu Wan lowered her eyes and heard her own steady breathing.
When the proctor gave the signal that she could begin answering the questions, she buried her head and began to write.
After finishing one exam, I put the next one aside.
The bell rang as the final exam papers were handed in, tearing through the frozen air.
Zhu Wan followed the crowd out, and the blazing sunlight hit her eyelids without any cushioning. She subconsciously raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.
The National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) is over.
The air was filled with the deafening sounds of liberation, but she felt as if the world had suddenly become silent, like a vacuum.
A feeling of joy and relief welled up inside, yet an indescribable sense of loss lingered. It was like a wind that had traveled for too long and suddenly lost its way.
-
This night was a night of revelry for the senior high school students.
In the private room of the bar, Zhu Wan was a beat slow to react when she saw the drink being offered to her.
Lin Zhenzhen had already extended the glass of wine in her hand and clinked glasses with the boy who was offering a toast.
The way she tilted her head back and chugged the wine made it clear she was aiming to drown her sorrows in alcohol.
Lin Zhenzhen's planned confession for tonight was nipped in the bud.
Ten minutes ago, Chi Feng officially announced his girlfriend on his WeChat Moments.
Zhu Wan took the high-proof liquor from Lin Zhenzhen's hand and replaced it with fruit beer.
Lin Zhenzhen took a sip of beer, her eyes instantly reddening, but she pretended to be strong: "A-Yuan, high school is over, and so is my unrequited love."
Zhu Wan hugged her and gently patted her back: "Don't drink too fast."
Lin Zhenzhen pointed to the bottle of beer in her hand and assured Zhu Wan, "This is the last one. I can't get drunk; I have to protect you."
Zhu Wan cupped her face, trying to see if she was drunk: "Zhenzhen, are you already slightly tipsy?"
Lin Zhenzhen touched her face with the back of her hand and shook her head at Zhu Wan. She complained softly, "The group of people who played billiards kept smoking one cigarette after another, making the private room smell awful."
The smoke drifted over and clung to my clothes.
Someone requested "Super Star," and the boys and girls sang it together, arms around each other's shoulders.
Lin Zhenzhen whispered in Zhu Wan's ear, "Jiang Tingyu will definitely come looking for you later."
The graduation celebration for Class 9 was also scheduled for Hongfu.
Qiu Chen had a batch of drinks, snacks, and fruit platters brought in.
There are plenty of social butterflies in the class, and many boys are very close to Qiu Chen.
As soon as they saw him enter the private room, they all greeted him warmly as "Brother Chen".
Qiu Chen, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, said, "Everyone, have fun, drink, and eat as much as you want. If you need any services, just say the word. But one thing: don't force my sister to drink."
Zhu Ju smiled at Brother Chen.
She hasn't touched a drop of alcohol so far.
"Brother Chen, you can rest assured. If anyone dares to force Zhu Wan to drink alcohol, I'll be the first to come and tell you."
Qiu Chen put her arm around the boy she was talking to and took the cigarette he offered her.
"Brother Chen, you'd better break our bones today!"
Qiu Chen waved his hand generously, "You guys eat well and have fun today, it's on me."
"Ah Yuan has received a lot of care from everyone this year, and Brother Chen would like to say thank you all."
The private room was filled with shouts of "Thank you, Brother Chen!" and "Tonight we're all thanks to Zhu Wan!"
Qiu Chen walked to Zhu Wan's side.
Zhu Wan told Chen Ge, "You'll lose money doing business this way."
Qiu Chen lightly flicked the girl's forehead, "The thing your brother Chen has in abundance is money."
"Thank you, Ah Yuan, for patronizing Brother Chen's business."
Zhu Wan thought that if she had known that Brother Chen wouldn't charge money, she wouldn't have suggested to the class monitor that they come to Hongfu.
Qiu Chen, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, could easily guess what he was thinking. "What is A-Yuan's relationship with Brother Chen?"
Zhu Wan replied obediently, "Little sister."
Qiu Chen took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Shouldn't your brother invite your sister's classmates to sing karaoke and have drinks?"
Zhu Wan nodded under Chen Ge's gaze.
Lin Zhenzhen raised her glass of fruit beer to Qiu Chen: "Brother, I'll toast you."
Qiu Chen opened a beer for himself and clinked glasses with Lin Zhenzhen. "You got rejected after confessing your feelings?"
Lin Zhenzhen nodded.
Qiu Chen sat down. "Brother Chen, can you give me some advice?"
Lin Zhenzhen let out a very soft burp. "Okay, but before that, I want to go to the restroom first."
Zhu Wan quickly helped Lin Zhenzhen up.
“Ah Yuan, I’m not drunk, I’m perfectly sober.”
Zhu Wan didn't believe her and said in a slightly fierce tone, "You can't even stand up straight, you're not allowed to drink anymore."
Qiu Chen laughed, "If you can walk in a straight line, you're not drunk."
As expected, Lin Zhenzhen refused to let Zhu Wan continue to help her and insisted on walking in a straight line out of the private room.
Zhu Wan pushed Chen Ge out of the private room, saying, "You're just making things worse."
Fang Qibai came up with the wine and happened to hear the girl say that.
The bar is packed today; all the private rooms are booked.
Qiu Chen was extremely busy and couldn't find anyone, so he called Fang Qibai for help.
Seeing him running around delivering drinks, he grinned like a dog: "I have to say, Dog Bai, you're quite suited for this line of work. I'll pay you to be the top host at the bar."
Lin Zhenzhen stared intently at the authoritative face.
The man was bathed in a hazy, half-lit light. Beneath his white short-sleeved shirt was a pale wrist, and his long legs were encased in light-washed jeans. Two cases of beer sat beside him. His posture was relaxed, like ice in a glass that was about to melt. His slightly raised chin and nonchalant expression gave him an air of aloofness and detachment in the scene.
She chuckled, "Ah Yuan, isn't this the person you like?"
Zhu Wan didn't have time to cover Lin Zhenzhen's mouth.
Qiu Chen followed Lin Zhenzhen's gaze.
The door to the private room behind Fang Qibai was open, and a rather handsome young man was standing there.
Jiang Tingyu put one hand in his pocket and smiled brightly, "Zhu Wan, your best friend said you like me, so I knew you definitely had feelings for me."
"You didn't accept my confession ten times before. Tonight, I'm confessing to you, and you're not allowed to reject me again."
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