Chapter 65 Chapter 65
The chance encounter in the bookstore that day was a meeting between Ren Li and Wen Shuo before watching the fireworks during the Spring Festival.
Later on the Spring Festival, Wen Shuo came to her house, gave her a gift he had carefully prepared, and held her hand.
After the Spring Festival, the days of her senior year were numbered. After school started, Ren Li resumed her high-pressure, day-to-day study life.
Although the two of them no longer have much interaction, she now firmly believes that Wen Shuo likes her.
It was precisely because of this certainty that she felt so resentful about Wen Shuo's departure.
The sunshine in the summer of the year I took the college entrance examination was no different from any other time. The chirping of cicadas was not as loud as I had imagined, and the air and people's hearts were just as hot.
Ren Li grabbed his school bag and boarded the bus bound for the exam center. As he tilted his head to look out the window, he wondered if Wen Shuo was also on the bus to the exam center, just like him. But he certainly wasn't as nervous as he was.
The days leading up to the college entrance exam passed smoothly. Ren Li didn't have any stressful incidents like forgetting her admission ticket or losing her 2B pencil.
She just sat quietly in the examination room, answering all the questions on the test paper stroke by stroke, step by step.
She was like a clockwork machine, following a pre-set program and immersed in the cycle of "exam-eating-nap-exam-rest" every day.
In order not to affect her performance, she, who always loves to check her answers, didn't even glance at her phone. She was so calm that it was scary.
On the night after the college entrance examination, we returned to the classroom of Class 17 of Grade 3 of No. 4 Middle School after a long absence.
The classroom seemed empty at this time, and the books piled up like mountains on the tables were gone, making people feel a little strange.
Wen Shuo's desk was empty; he still didn't come to evening study today.
The head teacher He Guang brought all the teachers over, and gradually all kinds of beautiful blessings and farewell messages were written on the blackboard. Everyone happily spent the last time in high school.
However, after the bustle, there is a quiet desolation.
The calendar turned a few pages, and the joy of the holiday quickly dispelled the melancholy of parting. After the college entrance exam, while awaiting the results, the class chat group was unusually active. From time to time, classmates would send in their estimated scores, but Ren Li, ever nervous, never dared to open them.
In order to relieve the anxiety while waiting for the results, she sometimes goes shopping with Zhang Xintong or Jiani.
Girls’ preferences are often very simple, so Ren Li had her first manicure, learned how to curl her hair with a curling iron, and even bought her first set of cosmetics.
Every day is fresh, and every day is like the future, full of beautiful longings and expectations.
Wen Shuo went to the United States for vacation after the Gaokao, a custom he'd always had during his vacations. However, during the holidays, Wen Shuo would often contact Ren Li, even though they were separated by a 12-hour time difference. Sometimes, they would text or call each other, just like before.
They were still like ordinary friends, but Wen Shuo had made an appointment with her that after he received his university admission letter, he would return to China to meet Ren Li.
During that time, Ren Li was worried for many days because she was afraid that she would not perform well. Fortunately, God always favors those who work hard.
The college entrance examination results came out, and Ren Li performed normally, achieving the highest score in her entire senior year of high school.
She was so happy that she almost went crazy, and Lin Yuan and Ren Quan were also very happy. For the first time, Ren Quan took many days of annual leave in a row, and stayed at home with Lin Yuan every day to help Ren Li study for the college entrance examination.
However, Ren Li and her parents had some disagreements about where to go to college. Ren Li wanted to go to Shanghai, but Ren Quan wanted to go to Beijing because he wanted to develop his career there.
But in the end, the whole family unanimously decided to respect Ren Li's choice, whether it was Beijing or Shanghai, and everything would be based on the school and major that could be achieved with the college entrance examination scores.
So, the final choices were lined up, all of them popular schools and majors. Actually, Ren Li had a personal preference when filling out her application. Almost all of the schools that offered a guaranteed score were in Shanghai, while the one in Beijing was a top-tier institution that was practically out of her reach with her Gaokao scores.
The time waiting for the admission letter was also very difficult. In order to prevent Ren Li from staying at home all day and thinking about things, Lin Yuan decided to take her out for a trip.
She knew that Ren Li loved the sea, so she bought a plane ticket to an island abroad that would allow her to obtain a visa on arrival.
It was only two days before departure that Ren Li learned that there were other people traveling with her - Zhou Yan and Lin Jiacheng.
Because of Lin Yuan's relationship with Zhou Yan, she had no right to refuse. Furthermore, Lin Yuan explained that they had all booked separate hotel rooms, so they could look after each other while traveling together abroad.
Fortunately, the whole trip was relaxing and pleasant, and Lin Jiacheng didn't cause any major trouble. The beach was so big, and Ren Li always found a way to avoid running into Lin Jiacheng too often.
She stayed on the island for more than a week. Every day when she woke up from the hotel, she would lie under the parasol, drink coconut milk, look at the sea in the distance, and read a book to pass the time.
I was almost done reading the books I brought with me when the university acceptance notice was finally announced.
That day, Ren Li felt even more nervous than when she was checking her grades. She sat in front of the computer in the hotel and her hands were shaking as she typed on the keyboard.
With a nervous mood, she entered her information on the website. The webpage froze for a second when it refreshed. When she saw the school she was admitted to, she was a little at a loss for a moment.
The school in Shanghai that I had originally decided to go to did not open its arms to me. On the contrary, the university in Beijing that I absolutely could not go to extended an olive branch to me.
Lin Yuan performed steadily in the college entrance examination and was picked by an unexpected school. This result was beyond his expectations.
She was very satisfied and couldn't wait to call her relatives to tell them the good news as soon as she saw it.
Ren Li seemed to be infected by the atmosphere and immersed in happiness. She felt dizzy all day long, as if she was dreaming.
She didn't really think too much about it. She just felt that her years of hard work had paid off, that she had made it through the crowded, single-plank bridge and reached the first turning point in her life.
The signal on the island was not very good and was intermittent. It took Ren Li a long time to send a message to Zhang Xintong that day.
After a long time, she finally received a reply from Zhang Xintong.
Ren Li was lying on a beach chair, facing the blue sea bathed in sunshine, when she learned that her good friend had been admitted to a university in Shanghai.
She was happy for Zhang Xintong, and that happy mood covered up the slight sadness in her heart, but since they had agreed to be each other's friends forever, no matter how far apart they were, they would meet again.
Growing up was not as wonderful as Ren Li had imagined, because growing up also meant separation.
Ren Li thought of Wen Shuo. She actually wanted to know where Wen Shuo would go to college, but she also knew that fate was always unpredictable. She would not joke about her own future, and she believed that Wen Shuo would be the same.
She is not afraid of distance. Her idea is very simple. As long as two people truly love each other, distance will not be a problem at all.
No matter whether Wen Shuo is in Shanghai, Beijing, or any corner of the world, as long as he is determined, she will move forward without hesitation.
On the beach not far away, a boy appeared in sight.
That's Lin Jiacheng.
Ren Li put her thoughts away, quickly grabbed the book beside her and pretended to read.
Although the two did not have much interaction during the vacation, they shared the same beach and ate in the same hotel restaurant, so it was inevitable that they would meet.
The phone vibrated. Ren Li put down the book and saw the voice call invitation from Wen Shuo.
She pressed the call button.
What happened next? The memory of that incident was so painful that Ren Li didn't dare to think about it anymore.
She heard Wen Shuo's emotional questioning and wanted to explain, but the network on the island was not good, and the voice from the phone was intermittent. She hung up the phone and wanted to type to ask for clarification, but after finally sending a text message, the huge red exclamation mark on the screen was very eye-catching.
She didn't know what she had done wrong. By the blue sea, her tears fell on the screen and could not be wiped away.
She never saw Wen Shuo again.
The last time they met alone before the college entrance examination, they met in a water bar. Ren Li bit the straw of her soda and heard Shuo say that he would go to the United States after the college entrance examination. The two agreed to meet again after returning to China. At that time, she thought it was just an ordinary day in her life.
She finally accepted the script given to her by fate, and her first love ended in vain.
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