The copper pendulum of the old clock swung tirelessly for dozens of days and nights, and the calendar was curled up.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the college entrance examination has quietly arrived wrapped in the cold of winter.
As soon as the morning light climbed up the window frame, Lin Lang squatted at the entrance and repeatedly checked his daughter's canvas bag.
He took out the admission ticket and ID card from the file bag and checked them carefully, even pressing down the pen to confirm its hardness.
Wen Yu, wearing a floral apron, poked her head out of the kitchen, holding a freshly fried egg in her hand: "Let the child eat a few more bites. Only when he is full will he have the energy to take the exam."
Lin Zhiyue sat in front of the dressing table and pulled her long hair into a loose bun in front of the mirror.
The mirror reflected her mother's concerned eyes. When she took the porcelain bowl, her fingertips touched the temperature of the bowl wall: "Mom, you and Dad don't be too nervous, just treat it as an ordinary test."
Having said that, she still ate the warm egg bite by bite, feeling the heavy love of her parents.
Suddenly, a car bell rang outside the gate.
Lin Qiyang pushed his shiny 28 bicycle in, with a brand new pen pinned to the collar of his white shirt: "Little sister, are you ok? We can go now!"
He specially cleaned the back seat spotlessly and tied a bright red ribbon around it for good luck.
Lin Lang helped his daughter carry her schoolbag, and Wen Yu chased after her and stuffed her with a handful of White Rabbit candies: "Don't be nervous about the exam."
Her voice trembled slightly, but her eyes sparkled with pride.
Lin Zhiyue nodded, the silver bell on her wrist rang softly as she turned around, and she got into the car under her parents' eager gaze.
The morning breeze blew through her hair. Lin Zhiyue looked at the lush sycamore trees on both sides of the street and suddenly recalled every detail of these days.
Those hours of working late into the night, those cakes shared with friends, have now turned into strength in our hearts.
She opened the car door and whispered, "Let's go!"
The cold wind, carrying sporadic raindrops, swept across the ginkgo treetops at the school gate. The green jeep driven by Lin Lang slowly entered the school.
As soon as Lin Zhiyue opened the carved car door, the collar of her down jacket was blown up by the wind. She subconsciously tightened her scarf, but she heard a crisp call from not far away: "Zhiyue!"
Mu Yuchang came trotting over in non-slip short boots, her pink furry headband trembling with her steps. Behind her followed the tall and straight Mu Sihuai and Mu Siyou, who was fiddling with his admission ticket with his head down.
"I've finally waited for you!"
Mu Yuchang grabbed Lin Zhiyue's wrist, which was red from the cold. The white breath she exhaled condensed into a thin mist between the two of them. "Which examination room are you in? I just checked the examination area distribution map. We are completely separated!"
"Examination Room Three."
Lin Zhiyue pulled out the admission ticket from the canvas bag. When her fingertips ran over the gold-plated number, her eyes swept over the "1" sticker on Mu Yuchang's chest. "You are on the first floor. It is indeed a bit far."
As she spoke, Zhang Yao walked closer in her leather shoes, the hem of her cashmere coat rustling in the wind.
She smiled and patted Wen Yu on the shoulder: "Old Wen, you are here to send your child off too? We parents are more nervous than the candidates."
Wen Yu stuffed the thermos cup into her daughter's arms and gently rubbed her red earlobe with her fingertips: "How can you be absent at such an important moment?"
She raised her wrist to check her watch. The hands on the dial were glowing coldly and were about to point to half past eight. "It's time. Let's go in."
When Lin Zhiyue turned around, her scarf slipped off her shoulders. Lin Lang quickly tied it up for her, his movements were somewhat clumsy and gentle: "Don't worry about us, just focus on the exam."
"I know!"
Lin Zhiyue took two steps back and held her admission ticket high. The winter sun shone through the hollow pattern of the admission ticket, casting tiny spots of light on her palm. "Mom, remember to drink the ginger tea in the thermos, and Dad, zip up your coat. Aunt Mu, let's talk after we finish the exam!"
After saying that, she walked towards the teaching building side by side with Lin Qiyang and Mu Sihuai, who also waved goodbye. The three pairs of sneakers made a small and firm sound as they stepped on the icy stone road.
The school gate gradually returned to calm, with only four parents left, wrapped in their coats, looking through the blurry car windows at their children's backs as they disappeared around the corner.
The moment Lin Zhiyue pushed open the wooden door of the examination room, the smell of chalk dust mixed with ink hit her in the face. Sixty desks were neatly arranged, already filled with examinees who were bowing their heads and memorizing silently.
She walked along the aisle, the soles of her shoes rubbing against the terrazzo floor made a slight sound, causing the boys in the front row to subconsciously look back.
When the sound of metal chair legs scraping against the ground finally stopped, Lin Zhiyue spread the file bag flat on the table, and arranged the admission ticket and pen neatly in order.
The cold wind outside the window was hitting the rusty security net. She rubbed her frozen fingers and glanced at the "Take the Exam with Integrity" slogan posted above the blackboard. Suddenly, she heard the rhythm of high heels tapping on the ground in the corridor.
Two invigilators came in holding brown paper bags. The older female teacher pushed her gold-rimmed glasses and said in a professional and distant voice, "Please put irrelevant items on the podium."
Amid the rustling sound of test papers being distributed, Lin Zhiyue caught a glimpse of a boy in front of her nervously biting the pen cap, with ink leaving dark marks on his palm.
The moment the test paper was unfolded, the sunlight penetrated the frosted glass on the east side, illuminating the gold-plated words "First-year Senior High School Final Examination".
Lin Zhiyue quickly glanced at the question and the corners of her lips rose unconsciously.
The ideas for solving function graph problems automatically emerge in my mind, and the image analysis of ancient poetry appreciation questions is even more straightforward than the examples in the exercise book.
The rustling sound of the pen tip sliding across the paper was like spring rain passing over a wheat field. She was immersed in the rhythm of writing, and even the rustling sound of the girls in the front row turning pages gradually became blurred.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over the test paper.
Lin Zhiyue looked up and met her aunt's gaze.
The metal badge on the other party's dark blue uniform shone with a cold light, and a red cloth strip with the word "Inspection" written on it was pinned to his cuff.
The moment the two looked at each other, the sound of tables and chairs being moved in other examination rooms came from the corridor. Lin Zhiyue nodded, and the tip of the pen fell back on the paper, only to find that his handwriting had unconsciously become neater.
Half an hour later, after finishing the answer to the last big question, Lin Zhiyue turned the test paper over and folded it in half.
The boy sitting next to me was still scratching his head, with messy formulas all over his draft paper.
When she stood up, the sound of her chair rubbing against the ground was particularly abrupt in the silent examination room.
The invigilator raised his eyebrows when he took the test paper, his eyes swept across the paper filled with answers, and a barely perceptible sigh passed across the corner of his mouth.
However, as his eyes moved down line by line, the old teacher's fingers holding his glasses suddenly tightened.
She leaned closer to the desk lamp. In the blanks of the reading comprehension questions, Lin Zhiyue's rhetorical analysis marked with red pen was as clear as a textbook example;
The final math problem has problem-solving steps that are linked together like precision gears.
I don't know when the snow outside the window stopped. The sunlight shone through the glass and cast spots of light on the test paper, making the neat handwriting shine.
I sighed softly, I thought he was incapable of doing it, but I didn't expect him to be such a good candidate.
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