Chapter 4: College Entrance Exam for Love
All day long, Jin Zhao always entered and exited the classroom through the front door. The back door felt like a sea of fire that would burn her.
In fact, the "sea of fire" slept for almost the entire day.
Teachers are always exceptionally lenient with high-achieving students. In several classes in a row, when the teachers saw Meng Yanxi slumped over his desk, not a single one threw chalk at him. Instead, they all asked in unison, "Are you sick?"
Luo Heng, who was standing behind Jin Zhao, explained for him: "He's not sick. He just landed this morning and hasn't adjusted to the time difference yet."
At this point, most of the teachers accepted it.
Only the biology teacher pressed on, "Jet lag must be really tough. Hey, why didn't he ask for leave together with Lu Jingyue? Weren't they together?"
The biology teacher's surname is Xu. He is older and somewhat thin, so everyone calls him Old Xu in private.
The restless Luo Heng leaned back against the chair leg and swayed, grinning as he said, "I just love studying."
As soon as these words were spoken, suppressed laughter erupted in the classroom, a blatant attempt to undermine him. But Old Xu accepted this reason without a doubt, and like the other teachers, he didn't wake Meng Yanxi for the entire class.
Jin Zhao: "..."
See? Good students get preferential treatment.
Jin Zhao actually felt that Meng Yanxi's exhaustion wasn't entirely due to jet lag; the pack of condoms in his desk compartment might provide some clues.
Of course, Meng Yanxi woke up once during the break between classes. Chen Shu called him to his office alone.
Si Tian dragged Jin Zhao to the supermarket to buy water, saying on the way, "It must be because of his early romance with Wu Fei."
Jin Zhao thought of the girl she saw during morning reading yesterday, and then of the five boxes of condoms that Meng Yanxi had mistakenly placed in her desk drawer this morning. She looked down at her feet and remained silent.
Si Tian continued whispering in her ear, "Oh, by the way, you might not know Wu Fei. She went to the next class this semester. Wu Fei used to sit next to you, and she was Meng Yanxi's deskmate. But they weren't deskmates all the time, only for about a month."
"In just one month, Wu Fei's grades have dropped and she's fallen out of Class A." Si Tian exclaimed in surprise, "Meng Yanxi is such a troublemaker. Yet he himself is firmly in first place, even more so than the second-place student."
The affections of young boys and girls are like dandelions, ordinary and inconspicuous, but when the wind blows, they spread all over the world.
Jin Zhao had heard about Meng Yanxi and Wu Fei's relationship while in the experimental class. Everyone said they were a perfect couple, and the most famous thing was that Wu Fei "took the college entrance exam for love." It was said that Wu Fei's family was also very wealthy. Although not as wealthy as the Meng family, they still lived in a large villa, had a driver and a nanny, and her monthly allowance alone was tens of thousands of yuan. Her family originally wanted her to attend the international program and study abroad, but Wu Fei stayed in Class A for Meng Yanxi. She took the college entrance exam for love.
“But I see that Meng Yanxi doesn’t care at all. When Wu Fei left Class A, he didn’t even ask her a question. He was sleeping soundly, and the teachers couldn’t even wake him up during class.” Si Tian couldn’t help but complain, “Meng Yanxi has no heart… I wonder what it would be like if he really fell in love with someone and was completely captivated.”
Jin Zhao suddenly recalled the scene before the morning reading session: he was holding the hottest thing in his hand, but his expression was rational to the point of being cold, and he could even casually twirl it, like a pen.
"How many people in this world truly like someone? Many people will never like someone in their entire lives," Jin Zhao couldn't help but say.
Si Tian disagreed, then suddenly leaned close to Jin Zhao, winking and smiling at her: "Honestly, have you ever secretly fantasized that Meng Yanxi has fallen for you? More than just likes, he's more than that. He's cold to everyone else, but he's different with you. He cares about your feelings, understands your thoughts, and knows all your preferences. To win your heart, this cool guy is willing to turn into a goofball. He's afraid you'll be jealous, so he actively distances himself from other girls. He gives you all the tenderness he has in his life."
Jin Zhao looked at Si Tian, unsure of what to say for several seconds.
A cool breeze blew by, carrying swirling leaves, and Jin Zhao asked earnestly, "...Did I save his life?"
Si Tian was stunned for a moment, then clutched her stomach and laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight: "Zhao Zhao, haha ...
On her way back from buying water, Jin Zhao ran into the English teacher. Si Tian was the English class representative, and the teacher called her away halfway through the day. Jin Zhao walked back to the classroom alone, passing by Chen Shu's office on the way.
The door was open, and Meng Yanxi was awake and standing inside listening to the reprimand.
The cold air from the air conditioner blew through the boy's school uniform, the blue and white fabric clinging to his body and outlining his slender yet strong figure.
From the back gate to the front gate, Jin Zhao listened to Chen Shu's earnest advice: "The three years of high school are the most important three years of your life... You should do the right things at the right age. Your main task now is to study... Once you get to university, you'll have a lifetime to talk about this..."
The office walls were thick and provided decent soundproofing, making Chen Shu's voice sound intermittent.
Jin Zhao quickly walked to the front door, which was wide open, making the sound much clearer.
Meng Yanxi's slightly hoarse voice clearly reached her ears, sounding both tired and bewildered.
Meng Yanxi: "Who is Wu Fei?"
They truly have no heart.
*
Jin Zhao's initial impression of Meng Yanxi was like this; it wasn't exactly terrible, but it certainly wasn't very good.
Even if a slight, vague affection had once arisen from admiring someone from afar, it vanished on the very first day they met.
—Chaotic private life, arrogant and aloof, heartless.
It wasn't until the evening self-study session ended that Jin Zhao noticed Meng Yanxi was already awake. While the other students left the classroom one after another, he was still busy with his homework, oblivious to everything around him, his pen flying across the page.
So even a prodigy like him has to do homework. She thought he could just study by looking at his face.
Jin Zhao had finished her homework. After returning home, she took out the extra practice book she had bought at the bookstore last week and did another set of math problems before going to bed. She had a good feel for the problems that night and her accuracy rate was very high. She felt lightheaded and as if she was one step closer to the dream she had last night.
Before going to sleep, she made a wish that if she had that dream of getting rich again tonight, she would start earlier to avoid being woken up by the alarm clock.
That night, she was not woken up by the alarm clock, but by a series of clattering sounds.
She opened her eyes to find the room completely dark. She reached for the alarm clock on the bedside table, turned on the night vision light, and saw that the time was 3:55.
The clattering and clanging sounds outside were still going on, intermittently.
She lay in bed patiently waiting for a while, but the sounds outside didn't disappear. Instead, she became completely awake and finally couldn't bear it any longer, so she got up and went out to see what was going on.
Two hens were kept on the balcony, their black feet tied with a rope, the other end of which was attached to the railing. Not far away, an iron basin filled with water was placed on the ground. At this moment, the hens knocked over the iron basin, and their two chickens stomped back and forth on it, causing the basin to collide with the marble floor tiles, making a continuous clattering sound.
Jin Zhao closed his eyes and gently exhaled a sigh of frustration.
It's obvious who did this.
She removed the metal basin, ending the annoying farce.
However, when I went back, I couldn't fall asleep.
Jin Zhao's sleep is actually quite good. During the high school entrance exam, her classmates were so nervous that they couldn't sleep, and even in the affiliated high school, some students suffered from insomnia due to the pressure of the flexible class schedule. But she never experienced any of that. She's just a light sleeper; she wakes up easily and finds it difficult to fall back asleep.
Jin Zhao lay in bed, struggling until dawn. She drifted off to sleep for about half an hour, her sleep extremely light. During this time, she dreamt that she was doing homework while also hearing her stepmother, Lin Yao, and her grandmother talking quietly in the kitchen.
The alarm clock finally rang, and Jin Zhao opened his eyes, utterly exhausted. He washed his face in a daze, sat down at the dining table, still feeling groggy.
At this time of day, her father, Jin Wenhui, and stepmother, Lin Yao, would usually be asleep, her grandfather would be out for his morning exercise, and her grandmother would be in the kitchen preparing a simple breakfast for her. Today, Jin Wenhui was going on a business trip and was rushing to the airport in the morning. Her stepmother, Lin Yao, had already gotten up with him, and her grandfather hadn't gone out for his morning exercise; he was in the kitchen helping her prepare breakfast.
It's rare for the whole family to sit down together for breakfast.
Jin Zhao was tired, sleepy, and yet fully awake, and didn't really want to eat. Lin Yao suddenly asked with a smile, "Lingling, did you bring the basin of water in from the balcony last night?"
Lingling is Jin Zhao's nickname.
Lin Yao is 30 years old this year. She is smart and beautiful. She is Jin Wenhui's new wife after Jin Zhao's mother passed away. There is a 15-year age gap between them. Age gaps in novels are always written in a romantic way. Jin Zhao doesn't know if it's like that in real life, but from her perspective, it feels terrible.
The sky was heavy, like dark clouds pressing down on the city. Although there was no rain, the sun was nowhere to be seen. Occasionally, when the wind picked up, it made it even harder to breathe.
Lin Yao was over eight months pregnant, wearing a loose dress, her belly prominently protruding; her due date was fast approaching. Jin Zhao guessed that the two chickens on the balcony were meant for her to eat during her postpartum period.
This realization prevented her from getting angry.
Lin Yao is the mistress of this house. She has the freedom to give birth and the freedom to raise confinement chickens in her own home.
Jin Zhao explained, "Last night, the chicken knocked over the metal basin containing water and kept scratching at it with its claws, making a lot of noise, so I brought the basin in."
"Did I wake you up?" Lin Yao asked with concern, then immediately smiled and said, "Your dad, your grandparents, and I didn't hear a thing."
Aunt Niu, the nanny who was eating next to her, chimed in, "I didn't hear it either."
Aunt Niu was the postpartum nanny that Lin Yao hired. She was around forty years old, which was still relatively young, but the loss of collagen had caused her temples to become severely sunken and her cheekbones to become very prominent.
Jin Zhao lowered his head and drank two mouthfuls of porridge, but there was no taste in his mouth.
"The balcony is next to my room, so I'm sure I can hear it more clearly."
Lin Yao explained with a smile, "It was my oversight. My parents came to visit me yesterday and brought me two chickens. They said they were free-range chickens that someone bought from the countryside. I couldn't bear to kill them and thought I'd keep them at home and eat them when I'm in postpartum confinement. I forgot that you're a light sleeper, Lingling, and I woke you up."
"Should we kill this chicken beforehand?" Aunt Niu asked, adding, "This is a rare free-range chicken from the countryside, it's very nourishing for postpartum women."
These were rare free-range chickens from the countryside, and no one else heard the noise except for her. So, naturally, they couldn't be killed, otherwise it would seem like she was being unreasonable.
Jin Zhao: "Don't kill it. Just don't put the iron basin next to the chickens at night. It's not that the chickens are noisy, it's just that the floor tiles are marble, and the iron basin rolling on it will make a lot of noise."
Lin Yao didn't say anything, but Aunt Niu exclaimed, "Oh dear, how can you not give chickens water? They'll die of thirst, it's better to just kill them."
Jin Zhao remained silent.
No one else spoke. Lin Yao turned her head and looked at her husband, Jin Wenhui, with a smile. Jin Wenhui frowned slightly in displeasure.
The grandmother across the way glanced at her son and smiled as she tried to smooth things over: "Then let's use a different bowl for the water. The balcony is paved with marble, and we don't want to disturb the downstairs neighbors by putting an iron basin there."
Lin Yao nodded and said with a smile, "Mom is right."
"Okay, I'll listen to Grandma and change the pot in a bit." Aunt Niu said, then suddenly turned to look at Jin Zhao and said with a forced smile, "But Lingling, you're really too sensitive. A chicken and a pot can wake you up. You really need to change your personality, or you'll get depression sooner or later."
*
Jin Zhao thinks that making her depressed should also be one of Aunt Niu's KPIs.
They probably felt that a girl like her, who had lost her father at a young age, would soon have another child after her father remarried, and no one would put her first anymore, no one would truly protect her, and she herself was too weak, so depression and going astray were natural consequences. Therefore, their words inevitably revealed their impatience.
Jin Zhao didn't want them to succeed, but he couldn't help feeling wronged.
Who wants to be woken up at three or four in the morning and then cursed with depression by the culprit early in the morning?
Although Aunt Niu's words ultimately angered Jin Wenhui, who sternly ordered her to take the chicken to the market to be killed, Jin Zhao didn't feel much better.
She couldn't help but think that if her mother were still alive, she would have fired Aunt Niu on the spot instead of killing the chicken.
This whole day was destined to be gloomy, in fact, the entire month of August was.
The summer sun blazed fiercely, yet she found it incredibly difficult to feel the world's intensity.
She could only study even harder. If knowledge could truly change her destiny, she hoped she could grow strong wings, so that even if the world was in turmoil and she had no one to rely on, she would no longer have to fear.
She can fly away.
*
School officially started in September, and the mock exams came out quickly. Jin Zhao ranked 26th in his grade.
On the day the results were released, Chen Shu was in a good mood and walked up to the podium with a stack of papers in his arms. He first talked about the overall situation of the opening exam, including who improved and who regressed after Meng Yanxi, who was unsurprisingly the first place winner. Then he gave special praise to Jin Zhao.
"The student who made the most progress this time is Jin Zhao from our class. We all know that the higher the ranking, the harder it is to improve. When Jin Zhao was promoted to our class, he was ranked 36th in the grade. In just one month, he has risen to 26th, a full 10 places."
After Chen Shu finished speaking with a smile, he led the applause, and the students immediately followed suit.
Luo Heng clapped his hands and exclaimed "Wow, wow!" behind her. Si Tian also turned around, put both hands in front of her, and frantically slapped her face.
There were no clouds outside the window, and the sky was a clear, deep blue.
The enthusiasm of young people is like the sun in the sky, straightforward and ardent.
Jin Zhao smiled with her lips pursed, her milky white skin tinged with a light pink, and her eyes sparkling.
After announcing the grades, Chen Shu then announced a parent-teacher meeting: "Also, we will be holding a parent-teacher meeting next Monday the 21st at 3 pm. This meeting is very important as it relates to your study plan for the entire second year of high school. I have notified you two weeks in advance, so please go home and tell your parents that no matter what, you must make time to come to the school."
A chorus of "howls" erupted from below, with Luo Heng's cries being particularly agonizing.
He ranked last in this exam, and being last in Class A is still last. As mentioned in the previous statement, he will likely be a key figure to discuss this with at the parent-teacher meeting.
Jin Zhao looked at the report card in front of him, but a sense of anticipation was secretly growing within him.
During break, Luo Heng moved to the side to get water, and across the aisle, he leaned over to ask Meng Yanxi, who sat in a separate row, "Brother Yan, is Uncle Meng coming to the parent-teacher conference?"
Meng Yanxi brought her phone to school again. She was currently texting with her phone hidden under her desk. Upon hearing this, she didn't even look up and said, "Come on."
Luo Heng failed to find his comrade-in-arms and exclaimed in disappointment, "Ah!" He said indignantly, "Your family is so big and makes so much money every day, how come Uncle Meng has so much free time? He comes to every family meeting. Isn't he afraid of delaying his money-making? Can't he just ask for a day off?"
Luo Heng scratched his hair in frustration.
Actually, whether Meng Yanxi's father comes or not has little to do with him. The main thing is that the two fathers know each other and they are in the same class. As soon as the Meng family holds a parent-teacher conference, Luo Heng's father will immediately get wind of it. This has pushed Luo Heng to the brink, making it impossible for him to find extras to impersonate parents.
After sending the message, Meng Yanxi tossed her phone into the desk drawer, turned to Luo Heng, and slowly asked, "Have you ever seen anyone ask for leave at an awards ceremony?"
Luo Heng was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and immediately yelled, "...Get out!"
The students around him all burst into laughter.
Jin Zhao couldn't help but laugh.
It seems that's true. For Meng Yanxi, isn't the parent-teacher meeting his award ceremony?
She couldn't help but turn around and look.
Across a seat and an aisle, a boy sat languidly in a chair, leaning back, twirling a pen in his hand, his long legs stretched out unabashedly. He was smiling too, the cool indifference in his peach blossom eyes gone, replaced by undisguised arrogance.
*
On the day of the parent-teacher meeting, Jin Wenhui suddenly stood him up.
It's not entirely his fault; he did allocate time in advance. However, Lin Yao's water broke that morning, and her family rushed her to the hospital.
Naturally, I missed the parent-teacher meeting in the afternoon.
Other parents arrived one after another. Jin Zhao went out of the back door of the classroom and went to Chen Shu's office.
"Taking leave?" Chen Shu was somewhat surprised. "Didn't you tell Dad beforehand?"
Chen Shu knew about her family situation, that her mother had passed away, and that her father was very busy with work. She assumed it was because her father hadn't arranged his work schedule in advance.
Jin Zhao stood in front of Chen Shu, like a child who had made a mistake, and explained in a soft voice: "Sometimes it was in advance, but something came up at the last minute."
"If something comes up unexpectedly, grandparents can come over too."
Jin Zhao looked down at the ground, his eyes stinging and swollen.
After a few seconds of silence, she said softly, "Grandpa and Grandma can't come either. Auntie is giving birth today, and they're at the hospital."
She was on the verge of tears as she spoke, and she couldn't bear to look at Chen Shu.
But she didn't seem to have the right to shed tears. After all, the birth of a child is a great worldly event, and if you ask a hundred people, all one hundred and one would offer their blessings.
Everyone else was happy, but she wasn't.
She even doubted herself, wondering if she was being too petty.
Chen Shu was surprised to receive such an answer, and she suddenly felt a little annoyed with her own loose tongue.
Jin Zhao isn't Luo Heng, so how could she possibly lie to both of them? What on earth is she asking?
Chen Shu exclaimed "Ah!" and hurriedly stood up, saying, "Okay, okay, it's nothing, it's nothing really. Actually, it's not a big deal today, just a casual chat about the last exam results. Your results were very good. Tonight, no, tomorrow, the teacher will call your dad and talk to him alone."
The snow-white marble floor began to blur, and Jin Zhao stared at his feet, nodding slightly.
Chen Shu couldn't bear to let her stand there any longer.
At this moment, Jin Zhao looked as if he were being cruelly executed.
"Go ahead," Chen Shu patted her shoulder, his voice extremely gentle.
Even knowing she couldn't cure her, at least not now, she wanted to offer the girl in front of her the utmost tenderness, at least for this moment.
The moment Jin Zhao turned around, tears still fell uncontrollably.
Knowing that Chen Shu was still watching her, she didn't dare to raise her hand to wipe it, but quickly walked towards the back door.
She froze, caught off guard, the moment she opened the slightly ajar door. She nearly bumped into the person in front of her, and looked up in surprise.
Meng Yanxi stood by the door, having arrived at some unknown time.
The classroom corridor was noisy and chaotic during recess, and the sounds came from behind him. The boy stood there quietly, slender and upright, his dark, almond-shaped eyes lowered, his gaze fixed on her upturned face.
Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears, her eye sockets were red, and there were clear tear tracks on her cheeks.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Jin Zhao isn't a pampered, spoiled child like Xi Xi in the previous book, so she might lack the satisfying feeling of being rich, but her journey of growth will be very heartwarming and offer a different kind of satisfaction.
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