46/Cicada Chirping
June 6th.
The day before the college entrance examination, the teacher reminded us of the precautions countless times on the podium: remember to bring your ID card and admission ticket; don't panic if you encounter a question you don't know how to do, do the questions you know how to do first, secure the points you can get, and then challenge the difficult questions; don't get stuck and don't waste time; remember to write neatly; and remember to bring your 2B pencils, black ballpoint pens, erasers, and other supplies.
I've heard these words so many times I'm tired of them, but I still carefully wrote down all the points to note in my notebook.
The bell rang for the end of get out of class for the first and second year students in the building across the street, but no one was chatting or playing in the corridor. Only the wind was still rustling through the school's shady green trees. The piles of books on the desks were put away in boxes. The empty desks reflected the light coming in from the window. The water cups were all on the ground, and finally, they no longer contained the coffee that had accompanied them throughout the semester.
Another bell rang, and the last day before the college entrance examination came to an end.
Chen Mian packed her things and was about to leave when she saw that the corridor was full of people.
Zhao Lili squinted at the outside, exclaimed "Holy crap!" and asked, a little bewildered, "Are there Ultraman figures all over there? Why are they so bright?"
Liu Junjie squeezed in from the corridor and shouted to the people in the classroom, "The juniors are calling for the building to be opened, what are you all standing there for? Come out now!"
Zhao Lili was instantly wide awake. She grabbed Chen Mian's arm and pulled her outside, saying, "I thought Suizhong wouldn't let us do it! It's finally our turn! Last year, I was so excited by the seniors that my voice was hoarse. I want to see how enthusiastic the juniors are!"
Chen Mian was pulled to the corridor, where the railing was crowded with people three layers deep. She could only stand at the back door. Someone on the opposite side held up a light board, which lit up the four big characters "Go for the College Entrance Examination" in the distance. Across the central courtyard, the shouts came in unison, like the slogans that the instructors required during the first year of high school military training.
Good luck on your college entrance exams, seniors!
"Good luck on the college entrance exam! May you know all the answers and guess all the right ones!"
They were so neat and uniform, as if they had rehearsed.
Holding up flashlights and nightlights, someone shouted, "The music's on! Play some music!"
Teachers coming out of the faculty office stood there looking this way, while students coming out of the convenience store below ran wildly toward the stairs. The grade leader, who usually had to come out to maintain order whenever the teaching building was a little noisy, was holding a thermos and jokingly said to them, "Sing something upbeat, don't come here with that sentimental stuff every year."
If you're brave enough to yell back, it'll be absolutely awesome!
A speaker, seemingly brought from somewhere, started playing music on the middle floor. As soon as the intro started, someone on the senior high school floor said, "This is what you guys call 'hot'!"
The first and second-year high school students, who were shoulder to shoulder and making their farewell ceremony look like a concert, didn't care about any of that. Their song "Reverse War," which was played every year at the sports meet and whose lyrics were always being asked to be changed, rang out from both buildings. They were singing it at the top of their lungs, even drowning out the music, to the seniors who were about to take the college entrance exam.
Zhao Lili hugged Chen Mian's arm, sniffed, and looked at the flashing lights across the street. She was so moved by the atmosphere that she suddenly teared up.
Like the final note of youth, the suppressed atmosphere of parting is ignited once again, and the destination that one wanted to escape becomes the starting point that one can never return to.
The bright, flashing lights made the teaching building sparkle, like it was adorned with countless glittering gems.
The moon overhead remained silent. A breeze swept through the corridor. The weariness on his face, the calluses from holding a pen for so long, the stomach churning from countless cups of bitter coffee, the nights he spent burning the midnight oil under the covers, the cold water splashed on his face before sunrise—all these elements that made up the picture of his senior year of high school became the closing ceremony of the stage amidst the songs and lights.
Zhao Lili asked Chen Mian, "Is university really better than high school?"
The light that came and went reflected in Chen Mian's eyes, and she answered Zhao Lili with a firm tone amidst the chorus.
Yes, it will.
"A future that you can choose for yourself will definitely be good."
On the evening of the 6th, Chen Mian and Shen Yu went to a nearby supermarket. The driver told them to remember to eat fried dough sticks and eggs for breakfast, as it was a good omen. Shen Yu didn't take it seriously, but Chen Mian dragged him to the supermarket that night.
Some students in the class had gone to Shandong to visit the Confucius Temple long beforehand. They even made a video call in the group chat to pray together for good luck in the exam. The physics teacher told them to remember to wear red underwear and red socks if they had any at home.
It was said to be for good luck, but in Shen Yu's view, it was more like just a sense of ritual.
Besides, the maximum score for Chinese, Math, and English on exams is now 150. Even if you put fried dough sticks and eggs together, it only costs 100. What kind of good omen is this? Losing 150 points in three subjects is just bad luck.
While Chen Mian was picking out things, Shen Yu said to her, "Feudal superstition is unacceptable."
She ignored him, and after she finished picking out her items, she was about to pay when the man grabbed her and turned her towards the digital products section.
Chen Mian thought Shen Yu wanted to buy something, but then she saw him casually glance at the shelves and ask the salesperson who came over, "What items do you have here that cost 700?"
The salesperson seemed a little confused. "Seven hundred? What type do you want?"
Then they heard the handsome young man casually say, "Anything is fine."
The girl next to him seemed to understand and turned to leave, but he grabbed her wrist with a smile.
"Anything is fine, as long as it costs seven hundred yuan. Could you please get one for me? Someone is getting impatient."
The salesperson looked bewildered, handed him an instant camera, and seemed a little hesitant as she did so, "This one is exactly seven hundred, but we have other colors and better brands. Don't you want to exchange it for another one?"
"Need not."
After putting the items into the cart, Chen Mian looked at the 750 displayed at the cashier and, as if in retaliation, said to Shen Yu, "Feudal superstition is unacceptable."
Shen Yu pulled money out of his bag, handed it to the cashier, and replied to Chen Mian with a smile, "Stop it, can't you see I'm just playing along?"
Chen Mian fell silent.
He watched as the items were packed into a bag and carried by Chen Yu.
I got home at 9:30 p.m., put the food in the refrigerator, and set my alarm for 6:30 a.m. Then a message popped up on my phone from Song Ai, telling me not to fail the exam.
10086 also sent a message reminding citizens not to honk their horns tomorrow for the college entrance examination, and to pay attention to safety when going out and about.
The homeroom teacher tagged everyone in the group chat, reminding them again to bring their exam supplies. They had sent out their ID cards and admission tickets countless times, urging everyone not to forget.
The next day, Chen Mian woke up as soon as the alarm rang. She walked out of the living room and found food already laid out on the dining table: a fried dough stick, two eggs, and toast on another plate. The boy was drinking a glass of milk while looking at his phone. He didn't even look up when he heard her footsteps. He just said, "Eat up. Your sense of ritual."
"..."
The day seemed no different from any other; the traffic on the road was quiet, and taxis parked on the side of the road had "Good luck to students taking the college entrance exam" stickers on them.
When we arrived at the exam hall, we saw our homeroom teacher and other subject teachers dressed in red. Some of our classmates went over and hugged them one by one before carrying their backpacks and walking into the exam hall without looking back. When we got off the bus, the driver also wished them good luck on the college entrance exam.
The most common things I heard that day were "Good luck on the college entrance exam" and "May the college entrance exam go smoothly."
The homeroom teacher hugged her, patted her on the back, and said to her, "You can do it."
The following memories are somewhat blurred: the announcement of the start of the exam over the loudspeaker, the rustling sound of pens on exam papers, the occasional movement of proctors, people handing in their papers, and the announcement of the exam ending.
It ends on the 7th, and begins on the 8th.
When the final exam ended, Chen Mian heard a collective sigh of relief from everyone in the exam hall.
"It hasn't rained this year."
"Yeah, I remember it rained during the college entrance exams for the past few years."
"Finally, the exams are over."
As Chen Mian stepped out of the classroom, she heard the sound of birds flapping their wings and flying into the sky. She turned around and saw the classroom window half open, and the sunlight shining in from outside onto the desk.
White scraps of paper fell as crowds standing at the doors of different classrooms shouted "Happy Graduation!" while tearing up review questions, test papers, and draft notebooks.
"We've graduated!"
"Screw senior year! I never want to do math problems again!"
"I'm going to a freer university!"
"Finally, I won't have to have my phone confiscated anymore!"
Happy graduation!
...
A draft swept through, and the sky, which was sunny just a moment ago, was suddenly covered with dark clouds.
The person who had just said it wasn't raining immediately shouted, and the raindrops started falling the instant the voice fell.
The drizzling rain enveloped the campus like a dense net, wetting the words on the red banner that read, "Let your youth be without regrets through action, and let your future be glorious through hard work."
People with umbrellas went down, while those without umbrellas went up to join the revelry. Chen Mian, however, was filmed in a slow-motion shot, becoming the only still figure amidst all the movement.
The wet shards fell on her shoulder, and just as she reached out to pick them up, she heard someone laugh from above.
She looked up and saw Shen Yu standing in front of her at some point.
He was holding a black umbrella.
In the midst of this summer snow, I said to her, "Let's go home."
The chirping of cicadas rose and fell in waves.
And so, high school came to an end.
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