College Entrance Examination
Today is June 6th, the night before the college entrance examination.
Gu Hanzhi tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She went to the desk, opened the notebook of wrong answers, and solemnly wrote on the last page: "No matter which university I go to, I must be someone who can share the starry sky with Shen Zhihe." The light from the desk lamp trembled gently, and the moment the pen tip fell, the wrinkles in her heart were suddenly smoothed out by the wind - instead of worrying about whether she would be admitted to the same school, perhaps she should write down an answer on tomorrow's test paper that would not disappoint her current mood.
The moon outside the window quietly shifted. Gu Hanzhi hugged the notebook with her wrong answers and suddenly found a sticky note she had never seen before tucked inside the workbook. The handwriting was in Shen Zhihe's usual neatness: "Good luck on the college entrance exam. Don't study so hard anymore, or you'll ruin your health."
The pendulum struck eleven. Gu Hanzhi finally lay back in bed, the sticky note under her pillow rubbing against her cheek, itching. She stared at the ceiling and thought, the college entrance exam is never the end, but a new beginning—just like tomorrow's Chinese composition topic. No matter what it is, she wants to write: The best agreement is never to be tied to the same tree, but to let each of our roots, invisible underground, quietly grow towards the same spring.
The cicadas' chirping gradually faded. Gu Hanzhi closed her eyes, her mind drifting to the image of Shen Zhihe running in the playground, and the image of herself in the classroom, occasionally looking up to see him sleeping on his desk, his school cap sliding down to cover half his face. It turned out that the worries hidden in her exercise books had long since become the motivation to memorize ten more words each day, the reluctance to accept mistakes in derivatives, and the resolve to get a good night's sleep and work hard on the next day's problems, despite her nervousness.
It was late at night, and the desk lamp still shone for a moment. Gu Hanzhi turned over, pulled the quilt up, and suddenly felt a warm feeling in her heart - rather than worrying about whether or not they would get into the same university, perhaps more importantly, in this summer of desperate efforts for the future, she and Shen Zhihe were both earnestly working to become better people. And no matter where they went in the future, those afternoons spent solving problems together, the evenings spent complaining about the cafeteria together, and the little thoughts hidden in the sticky notes, would be like the stars in the night sky, forever shining, telling her: The best thing about youth is never the ending, but running hard towards the light with the one you love.
The wind outside gently blew the curtains. Gu Hanzhi's breathing gradually steadied, a faint smile still on her lips. On this night before the college entrance exam, she finally understood that so-called fear was actually caused by caring too much; and so-called care would eventually become the courage to cross mountains and seas - just like tomorrow's test paper. No matter what the answer was, as long as she wrote it carefully, she would not let herself down at this moment, shining brightly under the desk lamp for a person, for a dream.
The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight crept through the window, Gu Zhengfeng quietly rose from his bed. In the kitchen, his deft movements, stir-frying, frying, and deep-frying, gradually formed a delicious lunch. He was a skilled cook, but the grief he felt since Su Wanqing's passing had left him with no appetite for cooking. Now, he tried to dispel the gloom of the past with the aroma of home.
The crisp sound of a porcelain spoon hitting the edge of a bowl echoed in the morning light. Gu Hanzhi swallowed the last mouthful of porridge and looked up to meet Gu Songyi's sparkling eyes. The boy smiled sincerely and said, "Sister, I wish you good luck on the college entrance examination!"
The porcelain bowl trembled slightly against the tabletop, and Gu Hanzhi's fingertips hovered in mid-air. The lively little boy who always called her "sister" in her memory had grown to be half a head taller than her without her knowing. His serious look now made her eyes burn.
"Thank you, Song Yi. I will try my best." She reached out and ruffled the boy's hair, feeling the fine fuzz in her palm, as if she was holding a ball of warm cloud.
The clink of metal cutlery suddenly rang out as Gu Zhengfeng placed a sizzling bowl of braised pork into her bowl. Her father's gray hair flickered in the morning light, his eyes gleaming with guilt and tenderness. "Daughter, I owe you and Song Yi so much these past few years. I'll make amends. Good luck on the college entrance exam."
Steaming steam blurred her lenses. Gu Hanzhi stared at the trembling chunks of meat in the bowl, suddenly reminiscing about countless late nights spent studying alone. The warmth from the porcelain bowl now seeped through her fingertips into her heart. Her father's slightly hunched back, her brother's swaying schoolbag straps, and the newly sprouted willow branches outside the window were all bathed in the gentle morning light. Amidst the lingering aroma of the table, the intertwining paths of three pairs of chopsticks quietly wove a web of reassurance.
That morning, in the shadow of the cordoned-off area outside the exam hall, Gu Hanzhi's dark blue baseball cap swayed gently with her steps. She raised a hand to smooth her wind-twisted hair. Her white T-shirt billowed in the morning breeze. Her black wide-leg pants swept across the steps, and the creaking sound of her canvas shoes against the ground, combined with the repetition of exam rules on the distant broadcast, wove together a unique prelude to the Gaokao.
The rustling sound of the pen tip scraping across the exam paper was the most melodious rhythm in the exam room. Gu Hanzhi lowered her eyes to gaze at the title "A Dialogue Across Time and Space" on her composition paper, her inky pupils reflecting a thousand-year-old galaxy. From the flying ribbons of the Dunhuang murals to the trajectory of a spacecraft piercing the clouds, her brushstrokes flowed across the grid, sometimes like flowing clouds and water, sometimes like a sudden, startling appearance.
The bell for collecting papers rang like a wind-blown copper bell, shattering the silence. Gu Hanzhi looked at her filled-in paper, the last line still scented with moist ink. She gently placed her pen in its bag and suddenly remembered the essay material she'd repeatedly polished under the desk lamp while preparing for the exam. Now, it all transformed into words blooming under her pen, and the corners of her mouth curled up unconsciously.
The moment they left the exam room, the midsummer heat washed over them, along with the clamor of discussion. Gu Hanzhi had just put on her sunhat when someone suddenly grabbed her shoulders. The familiar sweet scent of jasmine, mixed with the excitement of a young woman, washed over her.
"Hanzhi!" Jiang Wanning jumped and took her arm, her ponytail swaying happily with her movements, "I feel I can get more than 100 points in Chinese this time, more than 100! I checked the multiple-choice questions three times!" There was a glint of anticipation in her eyes.
Gu Hanzhi was infected by her excitement, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the strap of her schoolbag, thinking: "The essay topic is quite novel, plus a few small points..." She raised the corners of her lips slightly, and said with confidence, "I think it will be around 145 points."
"145 points?!" Jiang Wanning stopped abruptly, her eyes wide. "What kind of incredible score is that! I couldn't even come up with that even after reciting the model essay ten times!" She exaggeratedly covered her chest with her hands, then suddenly smiled, "It's just Hanzhi's words, as if all miracles are natural!"
The two walked side by side through the surging crowd, their elongated figures reflected on the glass curtain wall of the distant teaching building. The cicadas' chirping gradually grew more intense, heralding the next exciting chapter in this battle of youth.
The hourglass ticked, and in a blink of an eye, it was three o'clock the next afternoon. With the rustling sound of the invigilator handing out the exam papers, the final subject of the Gaokao—the foreign language exam—officially began. Gu Hanzhi's pen swished across the answer sheet, lost in the familiarity of English. Everything around her seemed to fade away, even the ticking of the clock. Time seemed to stand still in her concentration.
The bell rang suddenly, and Gu Hanzhi put down her pen, her tense nerves instantly relaxing. She breathed a sigh of relief, closed the pen cap, and carefully put the stationery into the pencil case. When she stood up, her eyes still retained the concentration she had during the exam.
As they exited the exam room, the summer heat, accompanied by the chirping of cicadas, washed over them. Gu Hanzhi spotted Shen Zhihe's tall figure in the crowd. Dressed in a black T-shirt and black pants, Shen Zhihe stood out. She hurried over, her eyes curved in a way that revealed her excitement. "Zhihe, tell me, how many points do you think you'll get in the exam?"
Shen Zhihe raised his hand to smooth her hair that had been messed up by the wind, a gentle smile on his lips: "Your performance was pretty normal this time. I estimate you can get more than 710 points."
As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Hanzhi blinked cunningly, and a malicious arc appeared at the corner of her mouth: "More than 710 points... Humph, I must surpass you this time!" She clenched her fists, her eyes full of determination.
Shen Zhihe smiled helplessly and reached out to gently poke her cheek: "I remember we are boyfriend and girlfriend now, why do you still have to compete with me?"
"I want both a boyfriend and grades!" Gu Hanzhi stood on tiptoe, looking at him cunningly, "It's called having your cake and eating it too!" After saying that, she playfully stuck out her tongue at him and made a face, "It's none of your business~"
Shen Zhihe looked at her full of energy and shook his head lovingly. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the two of them, casting a warm glow on this youthful contest.
Shen Zhihe returned home and, as soon as he opened the door, was greeted by the scent of sandalwood mixed with jasmine. His stepmother, Xu Huanxi, dressed in a pink brocade cheongsam, leaned against the entrance. The pearls adorning her buttons swayed as she bent forward, her eyes gleaming with a smile. "Zhihe, how did you do on the college entrance exam? I sincerely hope you do well and that you'll inherit the group."
He lowered his eyes to hide the coldness in them, raised the corners of his lips with just the right arc, and reached out to take the slippers handed to him by the servant: "Auntie, I feel that my performance this time was normal. Inheriting the group is a matter for the future, and it depends on my father's arrangements." His bony fingers were bruised and white on the door handle, forming a strange contrast with the gentle smile on his face.
"Brother Zhihe!" A sweet voice suddenly pierced the false warmth as Xu Zhiyi descended the spiral staircase, textbook clutched in her arms. Her pale yellow dress rippled gently with each step, and the bow in her hair trembled with each movement, like a fledgling straying into a thorny bush. "I want to ask you a question. Could you please come over here?" Her fingertips nervously stroked the pages of the book, her eyelashes casting a subtle shadow under her eyes.
Shen Zhihe followed Xu Zhiyi to her room. The moment the metal door locked with a click, Xu Zhiyi's gentle demeanor suddenly vanished, and a cold light flashed in her eyes. "Shen Zhihe, I want to ask you something. You'd better answer truthfully."
Shen Zhihe sat down casually on the soft sofa, his slender fingers resting on the armrest, a smile on his lips, "Is this how you talk to your brother?" The ending tone was a bit casual and teasing.
Xu Zhiyi dug his nails deep into his palms, suppressing the surging anger. A perfectly placed smile appeared on his face again, but his tone was filled with an unquestionable sense of oppression. "Brother Zhihe, is Wang Ye in your class?"
Hearing the name, Shen Zhihe's pupils shrank slightly, and the past came flooding back like a tide. That year, Xu Zhiyi pushed Wang Ye to the ground without hesitation for him, and that ruthlessness was still etched in his memory. He suppressed the emotion in his eyes and said lightly, "Yes, but don't blame me for not warning you, he's been getting close to a girl recently."
Xu Zhiyi walked slowly to the sofa on the other side and sat down. His posture was elegant but he couldn't hide the coldness emanating from his body. "Her name is Lin Yue, right. That woman approached Wang Ye intentionally or unintentionally, as if there was a deal between them. I asked Wang Ye but he never gave a direct answer." At the end, his voice was full of disappointment and ridicule.
Shen Zhihe stared at Xu Zhiyi, and after a moment of silence, he asked softly, "Do you still like that person?"
Xu Zhiyi raised her head and chuckled, her laughter was crisp but a little desolate, "If I were the kind of pure and gullible girl before, I would. But now I understand that kind of two-faced person is not worthy of my love at all." Her eyes gradually became firm, as if she had made up her mind to uncover the secret hidden behind this.
Xu Zhiyi changed the subject, raised an eyebrow and smiled slyly: "By the way, it seems you went to Paris last month. Were you with Sister Hanzhi?"
Shen Zhihe's knuckles suddenly turned white, and a suspicious crimson tinged the tips of his ears. "Where did you hear that rumor? I did go to Paris with Han Zhi, but we were just ordinary friends. Don't overthink it."
Xu Zhiyi said, "Yes, ordinary friends would give Tiffany's iris necklace and spend their time studying diamond rings at three in the morning. Brother Zhihe, your ears are red all the way down to your neck, and you're still being stubborn?"
"What are you gossiping about, little kid?" Shen Zhihe didn't even raise his head, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the folded corner of the music score.
Xu Zhiyi leaned against the door frame, her eyes curved in a smile, the tips of her canvas shoes tapping the ground. "I'm only two years younger than you, and Sister Hanzhi is very kind to me, treating me like her own sister. It's not impossible for her to be my sister-in-law."
The pen "clicked" on the piano bench. Shen Zhihe looked up suddenly, and the pupils behind the glasses shrank slightly: "Do you know each other?" His Adam's apple rolled unconsciously. He reached out to push his glasses that had slipped to the bridge of his nose, but twisted the temples so much that they trembled.
"Of course," Xu Zhiyi tiptoed closer, the ends of her hair brushing against his tense shoulders, "We've met a few times during piano competitions, and Sister Hanzhi even praised me for being cute." Before she could finish her words, they were blown away by a sudden gust of wind outside the window, leaving Shen Zhihe staring at the ahoge on top of her head, his ears gradually turning a light red.
The June breeze rustled gently. The Gaokao exams were over, and the rustling of the sycamore trees outside the window seemed to accompaniment this youthful revelry. Perhaps the destination of our journey would change, and the companions we traveled with might also differ as we went our separate ways, but the anticipation and excitement that shone in everyone's eyes at this moment had already dispelled any uncertainty or anxiety. This unfinished journey was like the most moving footnote to youth—it wasn't about the distant future, but about the burning passion of the present, and the courage and romance we shared in the countless possibilities of the future.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
