Chapter 93: A Daring Struggle
Chapter 93: A Daring Struggle
On the day the exam room assignments were announced, Fang Yuenian's prayers proved ineffective, and he and Cheng Bing were not assigned to the same exam area.
Cheng Bing's exam venue was at their own school, while Fang Yuenian's exam venue was surprisingly at No. 3 Middle School.
He couldn't suppress his disappointment. That night, Cheng Bing squeezed into the corner of his small desk next to his bed, speaking softly to him, almost as if trying to comfort him. The others didn't know that Fang Yuenian was unhappy because he couldn't take the exam in the same district as Cheng Bing; they just assumed he was under too much pressure and that Cheng Bing was trying to comfort him. After all, at this time, anyone could act unusually for various reasons, regardless of their results, so no one questioned their behavior.
On the very last day before the exam, none of the crazy, exhilarating stress-relieving behaviors I had heard about occurred, which was strange, yet everything felt perfectly natural.
The whole class finished the last lesson quietly. When get out of class ended, everyone packed their books and bags, talked quietly with the students next to them, and slowly walked out of the classroom. It seemed that they would still walk into the classroom with the morning sun the next day. But everyone knew that there would never be such an ordinary day again.
Teachers, classmates, a dazzling array of slogans, the afternoon sunlight streaming through the window onto desks piled high with books—all of that will never return.
There are six people in the dormitory, belonging to three different classes. There are four people in the examination area. Besides Cheng Bing, Meng Xiaoyang is also from this school. Only Fang Yuenian is from No. 3 Middle School.
After the coursework is finished, the two days before the exam are for various preparations. The exam area of our school needs to be set up, and everyone should go to their respective exam venues in advance to check the surrounding conditions. If necessary, you should also book a hotel near the exam venue in advance.
Li Peixiang's exam district was in the remote No. 6 Middle School. Feeling lonely and disappointed for a while, he quickly went to prepare. Chen Yu, Wang Wei, and Li Mingqi's exam district was in No. 2 Middle School. Their families had already agreed to come and accompany them to the exam. They didn't need to worry about any living arrangements and could just focus on preparing their exam bags. They had also greeted everyone early on, wished each other good luck, and then moved out to stay.
Meng Xiaoyang had no family members accompanying him to the exam, nor did he need any. Staying in the dormitory was very convenient. Cheng Bing was in the same situation, having already discussed it in detail with his parents beforehand. In the end, Cheng Qiuyan and Lin Guohui respected his opinion.
Only Fang Yuenian, Cheng Bing hoped that he would have Wang Jing come and stay with him near the Third Middle School so that he could take the exam, but he refused.
“I can’t come, I really can’t come. I’ll be even more nervous if I come,” Fang Yuenian said while tidying up the books she had just moved from the classroom to the dormitory. “These past two days, the bus goes directly to No. 3 Middle School from here, and all the buses will give way to the exam-taking bus. If there’s any problem, whether I take a taxi or call the police for help, I can solve the problem quickly. I don’t want to live outside.”
Indeed, during the college entrance examination period, society provides full support to candidates, with traffic police, various organizations, buses, and taxis all offering services to them.
Cheng Bing knew he was right, but it was still about a half-hour journey. Although Fang Yuenian's motion sickness symptoms had mostly subsided, he was still worried.
Fang Yuenian said, "Apart from those whose commute is really far, aren't all day students taking the exam like this? This is normal for everyone else, so why are you so worried about me?"
Cheng Bing said, "Would living in the dormitory make you feel more at ease?"
"That puts my mind at ease a lot," Fang Yuenian smiled. "Don't worry about this anymore. I've already talked to my mom. The exam area will be set up by the afternoon. We'll go check out your exam room then."
Cheng Bing nodded, "Okay."
Meng Xiaoyang came in from outside, saw them, and asked Fang Yuenian with some confusion, "Are you moving out tomorrow?"
“I’m not staying outside,” Fang Yuenian said. “I’ll stay in the dormitory for both days of the exam and take the bus to No. 3 Middle School in the morning.”
Meng Xiaoyang's reaction greatly encouraged Fang Yuenian. He smiled and said, "Really? The temporary traffic control signs on the road at the school gate have been painted. The buses will be fixed-point transfers and will take you directly to the gate. There will also be volunteers to deliver water when you enter and leave the examination room. I want to go out and wander around when I have nothing to do. Otherwise, I've been staying on campus all the time and haven't felt such a good atmosphere for sending students off to the exam."
Fang Yuenian immediately said, "I've also heard that every year some parents wear cheongsams to send their children off to the exam at the school gate. You must remember to go out and take a look the day after tomorrow morning, to get some good luck."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Cheng Bing, who patted his arm and said, "Come here and check the exam bag again."
Meng Xiaoyang said, "Are we going to the cafeteria for lunch later? There are already special meals for test takers today."
The school has always been considerate in this regard, and Fang Yuenian immediately expressed her willingness to go, even looking forward to what kind of meals the cafeteria would prepare for the candidates after the exams started the day after tomorrow.
The cafeteria staff were fewer than usual; most had gone to accompany their children taking the exams. The remaining staff were all in high spirits. With the school clearing out these past two days, everyone who came to eat was a high school senior taking the college entrance exams. Aren't they all precious students? And since they were eating in the cafeteria, they obviously had no one to accompany them, so they naturally needed even more care.
So when Fang Yuenian and the other two arrived at the cafeteria, they were greeted by an unprecedented wave of enthusiasm.
People ahead of them had already gotten their food, their plates were full and there was even fruit, and they all looked a little flattered.
Meng Xiaoyang was handsome and refined, with a scholarly air about him. He looked like a good student. The cafeteria lady smiled and asked what he wanted to eat, and strongly recommended the special dish of fresh shrimp with three colors, which was nutritious, light, and good for the brain and body.
Meng Xiaoyang was easily persuaded and quickly filled his plate. He was even chased down and given two oranges. He smiled to himself and went to find a seat first, while Fang Yuenian walked over.
When the cafeteria lady saw him, she saw another handsome young man, even more energetic and taller, and immediately smiled broadly: "Come on, what would you like to eat? How about a serving of shrimp first?"
Cheng Bing was worried that the aunt might be too enthusiastic and serve Fang Yuenian some spicy food, so she moved closer to him.
The two stood side by side, their upright posture strikingly impressive.
Not every young man this age can be so upright and handsome. The arrival of three at once made the uncles and aunts in front of them extremely happy. They kept praising them, saying that they would definitely do well in the exam. They showered the two young men with compliments until the two of them were almost embarrassed.
After getting the food, there was a man serving soup. This soup was obviously different from the free soup we used to have. It was authentic, flavorful, and had a wonderful aroma. The man kept calling out, "Have some soup after you eat! This soup is good for your brain. Drink it and you'll get into Tsinghua University!"
After finally bringing the food and soup to the table, Fang Yuenian chuckled and said, "Living at school has another advantage. I'm sure I'll be getting praised for every meal these next few days."
As they were talking, Meng Xiaoyang took a sip of the soup and exclaimed, "My God, this soup is so delicious!"
"Really?" Fang Yuenian hurriedly went to drink as well. "Let me try it. The school is being too generous."
He drank it too quickly and it was a little hot, so Cheng Bing said, "Slow down."
"Oh, okay," Fang Yuenian tapped her palate with her tongue. "It's alright, it's not burnt."
The cafeteria's thoughtfulness brought everyone a good mood. In the afternoon, the examination area finally opened. In addition to students from our school, many students from other schools also came to see the examination venue. The school arranged a small group of boarding students from grades 10 and 11 to volunteer and provide services.
Cheng Bing's exam room was on the seventh floor of the tallest building in the school, the Yifu Building, at the corner of the corridor, where there were two pots of exceptionally well-grown Dieffenbachia.
Fang Yuenian quickly found the seat Cheng Bing would be sitting in the day after tomorrow. It was neither too far forward nor too far back, and the desks in the exam room had all been carefully selected so that none of them would be old, bumpy, or cause any problems. After looking at it for a while, he said to Cheng Bing with satisfaction, "I can already imagine what you will look like sitting in there. I'm sure a lot of people will be paying attention to you."
Cheng Bing smiled and said, "At that time, everyone will probably only focus on the exam paper."
"That's not necessarily true. Some people are just easygoing and don't take the college entrance exam seriously. So, Brother Cheng, you have to be careful about your words and actions, and don't let others influence you."
Cheng Bing said earnestly, "I promise I will only look at the exam paper and will never look up at any other time."
Fang Yuenian couldn't help but laugh, "Just kidding, just kidding. You just focus on the exam, let them worry about the rest."
After checking Cheng Bing's exam venue, the two headed to No. 3 Middle School.
Thankfully, the weather forecast for the next few days showed no rain, saving them a lot of trouble. The two took a bus and arrived at No. 3 Middle School without any problems. When they got off the bus, they saw that there were also temporary public transportation stops along the road in front of No. 3 Middle School.
The last time I came here was for the middle school entrance exam, and now it's the college entrance exam. Fang Yuenian was filled with emotion and said to Cheng Bing, "Brother Cheng, I still have a deep impression of what happened during those days when I took the middle school entrance exam."
Cheng Bing nodded slightly. "Yes, me too."
Fang Yuenian reached out and took out the three amulets around her neck.
That's really an exaggeration; even he himself wanted to laugh.
One of these amulets was given to him by his mother-in-law and aunt years ago, another by Cheng Bing before his high school entrance exam, which has been with him for three years, and the third was given to him by Cheng Bing after he was hit by a cabinet.
Seeing this, Cheng Bing smiled and reached out to touch the talisman. "Let's go in and check out the exam room."
Perhaps because they felt a sense of familiarity with the place, they found it quickly without asking anyone.
I calculated the time, and including the five minutes I spent waiting for the bus, it took me a total of thirty-five minutes from start to finish until I found the exact location. This time is quite reasonable, and it should be about the same by the day of the exam.
After checking out the exam venue, Fang Yuenian and Cheng Bing returned to No. 1 High School. Tomorrow they would need to review some short-term memory booklets before the exam, but not today, as they had already memorized enough.
After dinner and a shower, the two of them took one last leisurely stroll around the school.
The summer night breeze carries everything away, making every place seem meaningful.
They've been through so many years together, facing one challenge after another. The road ahead is unknown, and a major test is just around the corner. Fortunately, the people around them have always been there. This companionship is invaluable and incomparable.
And so, the college entrance examination, which carries the expectations of countless families, arrived.
Fang Yuenian has a long commute and needs to get up a little earlier. Cheng Bing and Meng Xiaoyang are already dominated by their strong biological clocks, and even if they try to stay asleep, they usually get up around 7 o'clock.
The day before, various relatives and friends called to encourage her, but after the exam officially started, no one bothered her. Fang Yuenian finished washing up, packed her things, went to the cafeteria for breakfast, and then went to the entrance to catch a bus.
By this time, the first wave of early-arriving test-takers had already arrived and were indeed driven directly to the school gate. Numerous sunshades were set up on both sides of the gate, providing everything from exam supplies and water to heatstroke prevention medication. The escorting procession was indeed impressive.
Cheng Bing saw him to the door and whispered "Good luck" in his ear as they parted. The two smiled at each other, and Fang Yuenian turned and walked away gracefully.
—They both wore their lucky charms securely, and when they were writing furiously in the exam room, the charms would occasionally slip out of their collars, as if they were silently sending each other encouragement from afar.
After arduous review and meticulous preparation, the intense college entrance examination came to a close two days later, marking the end of their high school years.
Completed in my youth. Author's note:
Thank you for reading. This book
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
