The morning light filtered through the carved lattices of the old wooden window, casting tiny spots of light on the "Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry Series" spread out on Lin Zhiyue's lap.
She lowered her eyes and calculated trigonometric functions. The silver bell tied with a red string on her wrist swayed gently as she turned the pages of the book, making a subtle sound.
Recently, she has completely concentrated her life in the old courtyard covered with wisteria at home. She helps her grandmother dry pickled vegetables every morning, plays chess with her grandfather in the afternoon, and organizes review materials under the light in the twilight.
Lin Zhiyue was completely unaware of the various rumors and undercurrents in the outside world, and had no interest in exploring them.
She focused all her attention on the upcoming college entrance examination.
This exam, known as a turning point in destiny, not only carries her personal aspirations, but also affects the future of Mu Sihuai, Mu Siyou, Mu Yushang, and her fifth brother Lin Qiyang.
These days, the sound of flipping books and discussions can often be heard from the east wing of the old courtyard. Four old wooden tables are put together, covered with test papers with wet ink and notebooks full of comments.
At this moment, Lin Zhiyue was holding a red and blue pencil, and his fingertips were drawing the figure of a solid geometry problem.
"This is how you draw auxiliary lines."
She turned the draft paper to Mu Siyou, who was staring at the graph in a daze, biting the pen.
The sunlight slanted across the tips of her hair, casting a layer of gold between the boy's serious eyebrows.
Mu Sihuai silently copied the key points of her explanation on a piece of note paper, Mu Yuchang held up his chin and took notes seriously, while fifth brother Lin Qiyang occasionally came up with new ideas for solving the problem.
The wisteria flowers outside the window trembled in the wind, casting tiny shadows on this group of young students.
The chirping of cicadas outside the window gradually became louder. When the sun was about to set, the draft papers on the desks of several people had piled up half a foot high.
Mu Sihuai rubbed his sore neck and looked up, just in time to see Lin Zhiyue put down his pen and stand up.
There was a wisteria petal on the end of her hair, which trembled gently in the breeze.
"Take a break."
Lin Zhiyue reached out to tidy up her falling hair, "I'll go to the kitchen to get something to eat."
Before she finished her words, she had already walked on the blue brick floor towards the west side of the old house.
A corner of the bamboo curtain under the corridor was lifted by the wind, revealing her figure as she walked through the kitchen room with familiarity.
Standing in front of the mottled wooden cupboard, Lin Zhiyue's fingertips unconsciously stroked the corner of her clothes, and she suddenly remembered that her fifth brother had mentioned yesterday that he wanted to eat some sweet snacks.
What should I do?
He clenched his palms, and when he opened them again, there was a bag of snow-white low-gluten flour, and fresh eggs, pure milk and butter were soon piled up next to it.
The porcelain bowl and the egg beater made a crisp sound when they collided, and Lin Zhiyue separated the egg white and yolk with such skillful movements as if she had practiced it thousands of times.
While beating the egg whites, she occasionally looked out the window, looking at the warm light coming through the room, and the corners of her lips unconsciously curved up.
When the oven began to emit a rich sweet aroma, Lin Zhiyue was washing and putting the freshly picked blueberries on a plate.
There are water droplets on the lavender berries, which contrast beautifully with the golden and fluffy cake base.
She hummed a tuneless song and sprinkled mint leaves on the icing. In a trance, she felt that such ordinary and warm time was more worth cherishing than any secret.
As the rich aroma of milk mixed with caramel filled the entire room, Lin Zhiyue was standing on tiptoe to take the golden cake out of the oven.
As soon as she put the porcelain plate on the stove, she couldn't wait to push open the half-closed kitchen door and shouted towards the east wing: "Fifth brother, I made a cake, come and take it out to eat!"
The tail end of the sound was still lingering in the corridor when footsteps came from the corner.
Lin Qiyang walked quickly over with a draft paper in his hand. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, he was stopped in his tracks by the scene in front of him.
There were three round cake bases on the stove, with snow-white cream covering the surface of the cakes lightly like clouds, dotted with crystal blueberries and mint leaves, and vine patterns carefully outlined with chocolate sauce on the edges.
"Wow, little sister, what did you do? It's so beautiful!"
He came closer, his nose almost touching the icing, his eyes wide open, "Why have I never seen people make pastries like this?"
Lin Zhiyue smiled and put the heat-insulating gloves on his hands, and gently pushed the porcelain plate with the cake over to him: "Fifth brother, I made this cake with your favorite jam filling. Take it out and let's eat it together. If you don't eat it now, the aroma will make you greedy!"
She blinked, touched the tip of Lin Qiyang's nose with her butter-covered fingertips, turned around and picked up the celadon tray with scented tea.
As soon as the porcelain plate was placed on the wooden table, the rich aroma of milk wrapped in the sweetness of blueberries spread throughout the house.
Mu Yuchang put down the math exercise book in her hand, and her eyes instantly lit up like two pools of spring water.
She carefully cut off a corner of the cake with a silver fork. The fluffy cake bounced and the cream-covered cut surface revealed a dark purple jam filling.
"Ah ...
The moment she took a big bite, Mu Yuchang's eyelashes trembled slightly. The cream melted densely on the tip of her tongue, mixed with the moist and soft cake base, and the sweet and sour blueberry jam burst out between her teeth.
She puffed her cheeks and exclaimed incoherently: "Wow, Zhiyue, you are so great!"
The admiration that escaped from her throat was interrupted by the swallowing action. She hurriedly cut off the second piece, "This is better than the one made by the old master in the pastry counter of the department store! Look at the texture of the cream, and the filling..."
Lin Zhiyue was adding osmanthus honey tea to everyone's cup. When she heard this, she raised her eyebrows and said, "It's good that you like it. After you finish reviewing for this mock exam, I will make you strawberry mille-feuille and add mango cubes."
She glanced at the cream on the corner of Mu Yuchang's mouth and wiped it off with a handkerchief. "Then we'll set up some snacks under the grape trellis and recite political knowledge points while we eat."
"Yes, yes!"
Mu Yuchang raised her fork in the air and made a cheering gesture, then turned around and added another piece of cake to Mousse's plate, "Brother, try it. Zhiyue's cooking skills are good enough to open a pastry shop!"
Lin Zhiyue looked at the half-empty cake plate with a gentle smile on her face. She reached out to tidy up her hair and said, "I have two more in the kitchen. Yuchang, take one back later. Fifth brother, send one to Grandpa Bai and the others. The old man has bad teeth, and this soft cake is just right for him."
Mu Yuchang's eyes sparkled like two pools of Crescent Moon Spring: "Great! Take it back and let my parents have a taste. My mom always complains that snacks are too sweet nowadays. Zhiyue's will definitely suit her taste!"
As he spoke, he gently hugged Lin Zhiyue's arm and rubbed his head against hers affectionately, "I'll bring the plate back to you tomorrow, and bring some homemade pickled plums!"
Lin Qiyang had already neatly arranged the draft papers into a pile. Hearing this, he took over the conversation: "Little sister, don't worry! Grandpa Bai's osmanthus wine should be opened soon. When the cake is delivered, I can ask for two jars and make you osmanthus honey cake."
He reached out and rubbed the top of Lin Zhiyue's head, his action showing the unique doting of a brother.
Along with the sound of books being put away, the wooden chairs made a slight noise as they rubbed against the blue brick floor.
Mu Sihuai silently and carefully wrapped the cake, while Mu Siyou was already holding the rattan basket containing the tea set.
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