Chapter 49: College Entrance Examination Revitalizes the Cultivation World (49% Progress)
As expected, I was late.
Even if Su Xiaoyao and Gong Yu performed at their best in a 100-meter sprint, they were still caught red-handed by the head of the teaching department at the school gate.
"It's over." Gong Yu sighed in frustration.
Su Xiaoyao, on the other hand, was full of energy. She was very interested in everything around her, looking left and right with a look of nostalgia in her eyes.
When she met the sharp gaze of the head teacher behind his glasses, her eyes lit up. She skipped over and said in a clear voice, "Good morning, Teacher Qing! Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Qing. We're sorry we're two minutes late. We'll be back in class for morning reading right away."
The words the dean of students was about to say were swallowed back down.
He was certain he wasn't mistaken; the person in front of him was indeed Su Xiaoyao, the most troublesome troublemaker in the Red Flag Squad.
Facing his suspicious gaze, Su Xiaoyao accepted it well. Recalling her past actions, she said frankly, "Teacher Qing, I used to always try to find ways to do odd jobs outside of school to earn money. I'm sorry to have troubled you. There's only one month left until the college entrance examination. I will definitely study hard and put all my energy into the exam."
The frown lines between the dean's brows eased a little: "It's good that you know the importance of the college entrance examination. Hurry up and go in for morning reading."
"Okay, Teacher Qing!" Su Xiaoyao pulled Gong Yu into the school.
As the head of the teaching department watched their youthful and energetic figures, he suddenly felt that something about Su Xiaoyao was different, as if she had grown up a lot overnight.
It was all good, he smiled with relief, and then suddenly realized something was off.
Wait, why does Su Xiaoyao call him Teacher Qing? His surname is clearly Lu.
Lu Tianzhu...Qing...Well done, Su Xiaoyao is still the same Su Xiaoyao, not changed at all.
The head of the teaching department was both annoyed and amused.
"Forget it, it sounds better than Old Li's Mediterranean hairstyle. At least I'm a decent person."
Gong Yu was stunned: "Optimus Prime just let us go like that? And what did you call him just now? You exposed his nickname! That's an organization secret!"
"Alright, alright, let's hurry back to class."
Even though she hadn't been to this place for seven years, Su Xiaoyao still walked back to her classroom as if she knew the way well.
In the last month before the college entrance examination, students began to study independently. Teachers were only responsible for sitting at the back of the classroom to answer questions. Morning reading was also a free memorization activity, so they were a little late today and didn't run into their homeroom teacher.
As she entered the classroom, she saw a group of innocent and naive faces. Many of them appeared to be reading, but their eyes were actually glancing in their direction.
When the figures appeared at the classroom door, the sound of reading aloud in the classroom suddenly became much louder. When they realized that the two people who were late had arrived, several students in the class slumped back and returned to their lazy sitting posture, continuing to read listlessly while feeling sleepy.
What a heartwarming scene.
Su Xiaoyao relied on her memory to find her seat and sit down.
"The sun was already setting behind the mountains, and people were scattered... Xiao Yao, you're actually late too? Aren't you usually the most timid?" The boy in front of me said, turning around with his face hidden behind his book.
As Su Xiaoyao searched for her morning reading textbook from the tall stack of books on the table, she glanced up at him and said, "It's okay to stay in bed a little longer now and then."
"Is it true that the King of Quiz has retired?" The boy's deskmate turned around as well. "I don't believe it. I know, you must be trying to lull us into a false alarm so you can catch us off guard during the midday quiz."
He gazed at her with eyes that seemed to know everything.
Su Xiaoyao finally managed to pull out the Chinese textbook from the bottom of the box. When she got to the classical Chinese text, she frowned slightly, then looked up speechlessly: "Su Xiaoyao, can't you broaden your horizons a bit? Learn from me, my eyes are filled with the stars and the sea, conquering all directions."
The boy sitting in front of her is a friend from the same orphanage. He has always been overshadowed by her since childhood and always wanted to surpass her. His grades have always been good.
"That's because you're already unbeatable at No. 1 High School. Your goal is to become the top scorer in the province, while my first step as the perennial runner-up is to maintain second place in the class and strive for first. Of course, I have to follow your example," Su Xiaogua said with a grin.
His deskmate chuckled and joined the discussion: "Hey, hey, hey, it's not very nice to say 'aiming for second place and striving for first' in front of me. Don't forget me, last time my total score was only one point lower than yours, and that was because my essay was three points worse than yours. Maybe I'll surpass you next time. To show some respect for me, the perennial third place, you should say 'aiming for third and striving for second.'"
Gong Yu opened her book and said helplessly, "Our teacher is coming soon. If she sees you chatting here, you're in big trouble."
The two people at the table in front of them hurriedly turned around.
Gong Yu's reminder was timely; less than half a minute later, the homeroom teacher's face appeared behind the last window of the classroom.
Su Xiaoyao shrank her neck. No matter what she had been through, she would still subconsciously avoid eye contact with her high school homeroom teacher.
After the morning reading session, I began my self-study session for the day.
Su Xiaoyao suddenly felt a little lost. She watched as the people around her skillfully picked up their exam papers and felt out of place.
She was a beat slow in picking out a blank math test paper from a stack of practice problems, her mind blank for a moment.
Let f(x) and g(x) be two periodic functions defined on R...
She could understand each symbol and word individually, so why did they seem so unfamiliar when put together?
She initially thought she had died and been reborn in the mortal world. With her strong adaptability, she decisively threw all the knowledge she had learned in the ninth grade of compulsory education to the back of her mind. Now, seeing a bunch of text, she felt a little resistant deep down.
Why did it have to be right before the college entrance exam? Even the day after the exam would be fine.
She had no doubt that she could catch up with the schedule within a month. As the former queen of the scrolls, there was nothing she couldn't do if she wanted to.
But going back to the month before the college entrance exam was really torturous.
Su Xiaoyao, who has been accustomed to intermittently giving up for the past three years, finds it hard to accept.
Her sighing action, synchronized with her thoughts, quickly caught the attention of her deskmate, Gong Yu.
Gong Yu glanced at her.
Self-study periods allow students to communicate and study without disturbing others, so she pushed a note over.
Why are you sighing like that? You seem really off today. Did you have a nightmare?
Su Xiaoyao picked up a black pen, ready to reply with "It's nothing," but paused before putting pen to paper.
A thousand thoughts flashed through her eyes before she readjusted her grip on the pen and wrote a few words.
I guess so. I have something to tell you later.
Okay, don't force yourself if you're not feeling it. Your grades are so good, as long as you maintain a good mindset, you'll be fine.
【Uh-huh】
Su Xiaoyao was feeling down, staring at the question for a while before she finally perked up.
She has a good ability to adjust herself, and the sudden change of identity in just two hours did not make her feel too uncomfortable.
She wrote a few words in her notebook and only started looking at the exam paper after her wrist had adjusted.
Seeing the questions on the exam paper felt like encountering a familiar stranger.
These triangles and auxiliary lines are old friends.
Time flies when you're engrossed in studying. When the bell rang, Su Xiaoyao wanted to say something to Gong Yu, but the classroom was quiet after class. The only sounds were the turning of pages and the scratching of pens on paper. Occasionally, a few students would quietly leave the classroom to play.
She swallowed her words.
I almost forgot that this is a crucial period for the college entrance examination. Everyone is studying on their own all day and doing practice questions. There is no strict distinction between get out of class time and break time.
Su Xiaoyao glanced around discreetly, not feeling awkward at all; on the contrary, she became even more certain of her judgment.
She really came back.
An illusion could never be this real.
This mundane yet incredibly fulfilling high school life was the trajectory she had originally followed.
Su Xiaoyao's heart calmed down slightly.
Because the classroom remained quiet, she didn't have time to talk to Gong Yu until the lunch break bell rang.
As soon as the bell rang, the once quiet classroom became noisy. Everyone rushed to the door, and laughter and conversations mingled together as they ran quickly toward the cafeteria.
Only Gong Yu was held back by Su Xiaoyao and forced to stay.
Within two minutes, the classroom and corridor were empty.
Meeting Gong Yu's puzzled gaze, Su Xiaoyao pursed her lips and said, "Xiaoyu, I have something to tell you. Don't be surprised, and don't think I'm crazy."
Gong Yu glanced at the cafeteria downstairs from the window, reluctantly turning her gaze away. In the end, she chose her best friend over grabbing a table at the cafeteria.
"Don't worry, I'll believe whatever you say. I'll even believe you if you say you're a reincarnated person, as long as what you're talking about isn't less important than my eating." Gong Yu smiled.
There was no good food to be had, so there was no difference between queuing up at the cafeteria now and queuing up later. She sat down and listened to her friend talk.
Su Xiaoyao hesitated for a moment, then said, "You guessed right, I was indeed reborn from the future."
Gong Yu's smile faded, and she casually picked up a notebook and pen: "How much will the next lottery be?"
She trusted Su Xiaoyao's words completely and didn't question how absurd the "rebirth" thing was.
Su Xiaoyao didn't expect her to ask this question first, and thought she would have to explain it again before the other person would believe her.
"Uh, I've never bought a lottery ticket, and I don't have any record of it."
"So who will win the World Cup? Knowing that is fine too." Gong Yu continued to look forward to it.
Noticing Su Xiaoyao's gradually stiffening expression, she narrowed her eyes dangerously: "The World Cup always trends on social media, you don't even know that?"
Su Xiaoyao's eyes darted around: "You know my personality. Since I started college, I've been busy competing and improving my GPA, so I haven't paid attention to these things."
Gong Yu's smile vanished, but her eyes quickly lit up again as she excitedly exclaimed, "The college entrance exam! You must remember this year's exam questions, right? You weighed the options and found that being the top scorer in the college entrance exam would earn more money than being admitted through a guaranteed admission program, so you gave up the guaranteed admission and took the college entrance exam. You must remember the exam questions, right?"
Meeting her friend's bright, sparkling eyes, Su Xiaoyao fell silent.
Gong Yu stared at her, then gradually put down the draft paper in his hand.
The two looked at each other in silence.
Su Xiaoyao paused for a moment before saying, "Let me explain. I graduated seven years ago and never expected to come back, so I didn't bother to remember. Think about it, if I asked you now what the high school entrance exam questions were, you'd probably say you don't remember either, right..."
She spoke softer and softer, her confidence waning under the critical gaze of her friend.
Her friend's face clearly said: Then why did you come back, you good-for-nothing?
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Author's Note: Another chapter is under construction and will be released later.
The original world is essentially a personal instance centered around Xiaoyao; it's a blur of truth and illusion, and it all depends on her own choices.
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