Soda Cookies

When the willow catkins in the sky disappeared and the children no longer needed to wear masks to prevent the catkins from getting into their noses, the third mock exam came to an end.

As the college entrance examination is getting closer, schools are no longer focusing on review, but instead letting students find and fill in the gaps on their own.

Liu Zhaodi came to see Song Shixia once during the semester. Having repeated her studies twice, she couldn't help but feel nervous. If she failed to get into university this time, her father would force her to marry off a divorced man who was ten years older than her.

Liu Zhaodi sat on the sofa in a daze, with no intention of appreciating her friend's home.

Song Shixia brought out the soda biscuits she had made and asked her to have some.

"Eat something sweet to relieve your anxiety. Your grades will improve significantly. There won't be any problem."

The temperature in May was high enough to take off sweaters and wear light clothes. Liu Zhaodi's clothes were tight on her body, either because she had worn them for too long and they were too small, or because they were second-hand clothes given to her by others. The black trousers on her legs were a little wrinkled after washing, and her shoes were washed white. There were many traces of glue at the junction of the upper and the sole, which seemed to be because they had been glued together many times after being worn out.

Liu Zhaodi didn't eat the biscuits. She held the cup of water with a blank look in her eyes.

"Recently, my dad has been looking at me as if I were a commodity. I feel like a pig in a pen, and he will sell me off when he runs out of money."

Song Shixia comforted her softly: "Don't scare yourself. If you are really scared, just move out and rent a house until the college entrance examination is over."

Liu Zhaodi’s father is not a good person, but the most urgent thing is not to criticize him, but to let her adjust her mentality so as not to affect her college entrance examination.

Liu Zhaodi grasped at straws.

"I was so scared. I had to wait until he fell asleep every day before I dared to go home, for fear that one day I would go home and see a strange man picking me up. My mother gave birth to a son for that uncle, and he didn't give me living expenses for two months."

Liu Zhaodi's parents divorced, and she was able to repeat her studies thanks to the support of her remarried mother. However, her mother eventually got pregnant with her son, not because she didn't love her, but because her son was more important to her.

Song Shixia felt mixed emotions.

"I have a house I can rent to you, if you're not afraid."

Liu Zhaodi shook her head hurriedly.

"I'm not afraid, as long as I can shelter from the wind and rain and have a door."

Song Shixia laughed, "It's not that bad, it's just that the house is rather empty, there's not much furniture, there's no electricity, and you're the only one living there."

Liu Zhaodi was determined. "I'm not afraid. Compared to my father who is always thinking about selling me for a good price, it doesn't matter if I live in a cemetery. At least the ghosts won't harm me."

"Okay, I'll take you there later. I'll pretend I don't know about this. You're living alone so remember to be careful. There are neighbors around, but you have to be careful that your father isn't following you."

Liu Zhaodi had a determined look on her face.

"I understand. I won't hold you back if something goes wrong."

Song Shixia spoke in a relaxed tone.

"It's not that serious. Don't think it's that scary. There will always be a way out. Don't go to the extreme."

Liu Zhaodi's eyes were evasive. She thought that if her father really married her to an old man, the worst that could happen was that she would die with him.

Judging from her reaction, she probably had extreme thoughts in her mind. Song Shixia made up a sentence of chicken soup for the soul.

"The road of life is long, and this is just the first stepping stone on your way forward. You still have a bright future ahead of you, so don't be pessimistic."

"Thank you, Song. Actually, we were not friends before, but I thought you were good at studying so I wanted to be your friend. Fortunately, you didn't mind me being stupid."

Song Shixia smiled at her.

"It doesn't matter. I like to be friends with people who strive to improve themselves."

After Song Shixia finished taking care of her deskmate's work, she returned home exhausted and collapsed on the sofa.

The farm at home was looked after by relatives, but the door couldn't be left unattended all the time, so her father went home after a week, and her mother stayed behind to wait until she finished the college entrance examination before returning.

Mother popped her head out of the kitchen.

"You're back? I made some potato risotto. Would you like some?"

Song Shixia raised his hands lazily.

"Let's eat later. I'm so tired."

Mother Song wiped her hands on her apron and asked, "Didn't you go out by car?"

"I helped her buy daily necessities and also looked for the nearest vegetable market."

"You're very thoughtful. You even took the vegetable market into consideration."

Song Shixia sighed, "There's nothing I can do. I'll help her if I can. She's a poor girl."

My mother followed and sat on the sofa.

"What are the people in this girl's family thinking? How glorious it is to get into college, but they are just trying to push her into the fire pit. To be more selfish, when the girl gets into college, she can find a classmate as a date, which is definitely better than the person in the fire pit!"

Song Shixia had no choice but to throw up his hands.

"Some people are just like that, they only see the glimmer of hope. I'll go upstairs and pack up two pieces of clothes I don't want to wear. Mom, you can help me deliver them. I think she'll be embarrassed if I do it."

"Okay, is that the house you bought?"

"Well, she insisted on living in the storage room, saying that it was small and felt safe."

Song Shixia had no choice but to help make the small bed thicker to prevent him from catching a cold.

"This girl has a strong personality. I'm afraid she came to you for help because she was forced into a desperate situation."

Song Shixia had the same idea. Liu Zhaodi had never bothered her before, but this time she probably felt that her father was ready to make a move again, and her mother must be scared because she couldn't contact her now that she had a younger brother.

"Mom, please help me pay attention to that, I may not be able to take care of it."

"Don't worry, just study hard with Yanran at home. I'll go there every two days."

Hearing her mother's words, Song Shixia stretched and went to the kitchen to eat.

Before going to bed at night, Song Shixia turned over and snuggled into Ji Weiqing's arms.

"What major do you think I should study?"

Ji Weiqing pondered for a while.

"My seniors told me to recommend that you study physics or mathematics."

Song Shixia sat up quickly.

"You didn't agree?"

Ji Weiqing pulled the person back.

"How can I agree? I won't interfere with your wishes. You can choose whatever you like."

Song Shixia drew circles on his chest.

"What if I choose a major that's really useless?"

Ji Weiqing lowered his head slightly.

"What profession is called chicken ribs?"

Song Shixia racked his brains and thought, it seemed that any major was very popular at this time, unlike some majors in the future where graduation would mean unemployment.

She rolled her eyes and said, "I just thought that if I study archaeology, what if I can't even see an ancient tomb after graduation? Wouldn't that be useless?"

Ji Weiqing put his arm around her shoulders and said, "There is a shortage of talent in all walks of life. There is always a place where you can shine. You don't have to go into archaeology."

After thinking about it, it made sense. If I were admitted to Yenching University, I would be in high demand for any job after graduation, and there would be no problem finding a job at all.

Alas, this era of guaranteed jobs upon graduation is both sweet and troublesome, so what major should I choose?

Song Shixia looked up and asked him, "Do you have any suggestions?"

Ji Weiqing lowered his eyes and gently stroked her hair that was scattered on her back.

"I hope you can be my colleague."

Song Shixia immediately shook his head like a rattle.

"No, no, no, I was educated for exams in physics and math, I don't have a brain as sharp as yours."

Ji Weiqing repeated in a low voice, "Exam-oriented education? That really hits the nail on the head."

Song Shixia quickly covered her mouth.

"Isn't it the exam-oriented education? If it weren't for the purpose of getting into college, many people's only contact with mathematics in their lives would be arithmetic. You can't use derivatives when buying groceries."

Ji Weiqing shook his head and laughed.

"You're right. Since you're not interested, I won't force you. Just choose what you like."

Song Shixia buried her head in his arms and acted coquettishly.

"If you can't think of one, just close your eyes and pick one at random. I think any one of them will be interesting anyway." She doesn't have to worry about employment after graduation. Her family won't interfere with whether the major she applied for has a future. As long as she gets into university, she will be the pride of the whole family.

"Don't think too much. There are still more than ten days until the college entrance examination. Think about it slowly."

Song Shixia was still talking before she went to sleep.

"What do you think of literature? You can be a university teacher like Professor Xie next door, leisurely holding a cup of water and leaving after class every day. English major seems to be good, maybe you can join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and being a translator is not bad... Computer major is okay, but it's a bit brain-intensive..."

She got no response, and when she raised her head, she found that the person holding her had fallen asleep.

Song Shixia tried to pinch his waist, but he didn't react at all and could only fall asleep in frustration.

Two days before the college entrance examination, Teacher Meng called Song Shixia to inquire about the situation.

Song Shixia answered the phone while the two younger ones beside her gave her a shoulder massage and a leg massage.

The kids knew that their mom was going to take an exam, and it was a very important exam, so they didn’t even play with the car at home recently. Every day when they came home from class, they didn’t make a big fuss and stayed by their mom’s side, asking about her well-being.

"I'm in good condition. Dabao is massaging my shoulders and Xiaobao is massaging my legs. My status at home is comparable to that of Empress Dowager Cixi."

Teacher Meng's tone was full of envy.

"Your two little darlings are really sensible. When I have children in the future, I will learn from you."

Song Shixia didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"I have no experience here."

As she was about to graduate from high school, why did Teacher Meng put her in the position of a friend instead of a student?

Teacher Meng joked,

"It doesn't matter. Maybe our time will be about the same by then."

Song Shixia thought about it and thought, maybe it’s true.

The two of them joked a few more times and didn't mention anything about the college entrance examination.

Ji Yanran locked herself in the room and buried herself in reviewing. The attic was really great. She couldn't hear the voices downstairs and it wouldn't disturb her. She could immerse herself in the ocean of knowledge.

However, she didn't feel happy for long before she was caught by her sister-in-law from the attic.

"Don't review it. You won't be able to learn anything if you review it now. You will only get more nervous. Come exercise with me."

Ji Yanran still wanted to look at her book of wrong answers.

"Listen, your classmates have all gone home for the holidays. There is no point in studying any more. You need to relax these two days and don't be so nervous."

Ji Yanran hugged her sister-in-law,

"But I'm scared. What if I fail the test? What if I fill in the answer sheet incorrectly like I did on the first test?"

Song Shixia touched her head.

"Don't be afraid. Every failure is a learning experience. You didn't have any problems the second and third time, so you will definitely be fine in the college entrance examination. Don't scare yourself."

"You are very anxious right now. If I ask you to read, you will only get more and more scared. Your mind will go blank and you will feel unprepared. When you enter the exam room, you will find that all the questions are familiar. So listen to me, stop reading and come with me for a walk."

To celebrate the two festivals, I'm planning to hold a lucky draw. Let me see how to do it.

Wish you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day!