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On the morning of June 7th, the sky was clear, and the rain that had fallen all night finally stopped. Zhang Qiu and Jiang Xue had a nutritious breakfast made by their mother before setting off for the exam. The air was filled with the scent of damp earth, the branches and leaves of the willow trees along the roadside were washed clean, and the streets were wet, providing a rare freshness in the heat of summer.
The exam venue for the liberal arts class was arranged at Second High School. As soon as they entered the entrance, they saw a huge warning sign in the middle of the road, with caution tape set up and police officers standing around. Police cars parked by the roadside still flashed their red and blue lights. Inside the caution tape, students and parents were crowded together, while volunteers under the sunshade nearby continuously handed out bottled water to the examinees.
Zhang Qiu tightly held Jiang Xue's hand as they squeezed into the crowd. Jiang Xue stopped and said, "Do you hear that? Someone seems to be calling you."
"Really?" Zhang Qiu paused to listen. Most of those attending the exam were classmates, so it was normal to run into someone familiar. Upon listening closely, she indeed heard someone calling her name in a familiar female voice. Following the sound, she saw it was Taolengman and Tao Ya, known as Sister Flowers. Jiang Xue asked, "Do you know them?"
"I do; they're from our club."
Zhang Qiu led Jiang Xue over to Sister Flowers and smiled, "What a coincidence to run into you here! Are you here for the exam too?"
Taolengman, dressed in a black long dress, walked up holding her sister Tao Ya's hand and said with a smile, "Brother Qiu, we are only sophomores; what exam are we taking?"
Tao Ya chimed in, "Sister came specifically to see you."
"That's thoughtful! After the exam, I'll treat you both to celebrate."
"Go for it, Boss!"
"Then we'll head inside first. You two should hurry home; it might rain again."
"Goodbye, Boss!"
After walking a few steps, Jiang Xue asked, "Who are those two beauties? I don't think I've heard you mention them before."
Zhang Qiu recounted how she met Taolengman and Tao Ya to Jiang Xue. Jiang Xue laughed and said, "What a non-discriminatory approach! But why do I feel like this is like selecting a harem?"
"What harem are we selecting? One queen is enough with you around."
"Ah, but there are so many people!"
"I can hug my own wife if I want to, haha."
Outside the examination hall, the SWAT team stood in a row, ready for action. The school gate became a clear boundary. Outside the caution tape was a crowd of people, while inside were students holding their admission tickets and pens. After sending Jiang Xue to the exam hall, Zhang Qiu headed to his own exam location, gently kissing Jiang Xue on the forehead before parting, smiling as he said, "Good luck!"
In the first language exam, Zhang Qiu felt no pressure at all. He answered calmly and confidently, and when it came to the essay at the end, he was even more at ease. After all, he had published articles in newspapers; if he couldn't handle an essay, it would be a disservice to all the extracurricular readings he had done under various homeroom teachers.
Without discussing scores, Zhang Qiu and Jiang Xue had a mutual understanding before the last subject exam. From Jiang Xue's expression, Zhang Qiu could guess that she had done well. However, Zhang Qiu himself wasn't as fortunate; despite putting in a lot of effort in mathematics, there were still several problems he couldn't solve. In the comprehensive arts section, he managed to write something based on keywords he had memorized. During the first mock exam, he scored over 200 points just by stringing together those keywords.
Before the English exam began, Zhang Qiu felt extremely nervous, worried that the gap between him and Xue'er would be too wide for them to attend the same school or even be in the same city. However, when Zhang Qiu saw the test paper, unfamiliar words suddenly felt like old friends; he surprisingly recognized their meanings. Zhang Qiu couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "Looks like my English study during this time wasn't in vain."
"Quiet please!"
The invigilator approached Zhang Qiu's desk to remind him. Zhang Qiu smiled slightly and focused on reading the questions. The invigilator's reminder didn't affect him; by the time the listening section started, Zhang Qiu had already understood the meanings of all the options. Although he grasped the literal meanings well enough for listening comprehension, he struggled with that aspect despite a month of intensive practice not yielding much improvement. Fortunately, he felt more confident about the written part than usual and was quite satisfied with that.
After finishing the exam, Zhang Qiu waited at the entrance of the teaching building with immense relief; he had arranged to meet Jiang Xue there. As the bell signaling the end of exams rang out, students poured out from various classrooms—some were happy, some dejected, but most erupted in cheers as they tossed their transparent boards into the air.
Zhang Qiu spotted Jiang Xue in the crowd and ran towards her with a smile saying, "Wife, you worked hard."
"You too," Jiang Xue replied sweetly as she adjusted his collar. "Let's go."
"Let's go!" Zhang Qiu took Jiang Xue's hand.
At Beiluan Second High School's entrance, the gate was tightly shut. Outside it was crowded with anxious parents waiting for their children while inside students were equally packed together. The students who had just been freed from their locked-up state were noisy and boisterous. The parents outside were also extremely anxious; some who lived nearby began shouting across the gate. Observing this scene, Jiang Xue sighed and said, "It really echoes Mr. Qian Zhong's famous line from 'Fortress Besieged.'"
"Those outside want to get in; those inside want to get out."
Zhang Qiu completed her sentence for her, and they exchanged smiles. They had both read 'Fortress Besieged' shortly after getting to know each other. After every physical education class during their sophomore year when they finished running, they would sneak off to read in the garden.
Forty minutes later, a gap finally opened in the gate. The students who could no longer contain themselves surged through like a flood breaking through a dam. Cars on both sides of the road instantly became trapped in the flow of people; even bicycles and electric vehicles found it difficult to move forward. Zhang Qiu held onto Jiang Xue's hand tightly, fearing they might get separated in the crowd.
After walking for over ten minutes until they reached a stone platform beside a shop, Zhang Qiu looked out at the dense crowd along the entire road and pulled Jiang Xue towards an alleyway. Seeing unfamiliar puddles in that alley made Jiang Xue worryingly ask, "Can we get out from here?"
"I’m not sure either. Even if we can’t get out, it’s better to take a detour and get to the front; it’s too crowded."
Zhang Qiu and Jiang Xue wove their way south through the Alley, turning at dead ends, and by the time they emerged, they were indeed faster than most people. Although Zhang Qiu had parked the Electric Vehicle quite close to the exit, they were still blocked by the crowd. Zhang Qiu pushed the Electric Vehicle slowly behind the flow of people. On the main road, traffic police stopped all vehicles on both sides, allowing only candidates to pass.
Once on the main road, Zhang Qiu headed straight for White Day Fire, where Rui Rui and Yang Yu had been waiting. As soon as Zhang Qiu arrived, he stepped forward and said, "Brother Qiu, you finally finished your exams."
"Yeah, three years, finally over."
"Let’s celebrate properly."
"Of course we should celebrate. Let’s gather everyone tonight for a get-together. By the way, who are those two girls, Taolengman and Tao Ya?"
Yang Yu recalled, "Brother Qiu, are they a pair of Sister Flowers of yours?"
"Exactly, one is fiery passionate while the other is icy cold."
"They’re with Gao Zhi; he has been bragging about having such a pair of Sister Flowers for a long time. So, Brother Qiu, are you planning to..." Yang Yu got excited and almost let something slip but stopped when he saw Jiang Xue and Rui Rui's expressions.
"I just want to invite them to hang out; what are you thinking? I only need your sister-in-law," Zhang Qiu replied with a smile while pulling Jiang Xue closer. Finishing the college entrance exam made Zhang Qiu incredibly excited, while Rui Rui seemed somewhat downcast in comparison. Noticing Rui Rui's disappointment, Zhang Qiu asked, "Rui Rui, why do you look unhappy?"
"Brother Qiu, I was thinking that once you go to university, I might not be able to see you anymore."
"Of course you can! With transportation being so developed now, whenever you miss me, just come find me. I’ll also come back often to see you all."
"You’re right, Zhang Qiu. We’ve come this far together; no matter where we go, our hearts should stay together and not drift apart."
"Exactly! We can’t drift apart!"
Gao Zhi, Zhao Pingchuan, and Wang Zhengxiang walked in from outside. Zhang Qiu looked at them and smiled, "Everyone relax! Where’s Yao Yu? Why didn’t he come along?"
Although Yao Yu is not in the Hall Society, Zhang Qiu has always considered him a brother, and he couldn't miss him during the college entrance examination. Before the exam, Zhang Qiu reminded Gao Zhi to make sure to bring Yao Yu along.
"Brother Qiu, don't worry. Yao Yu is packing up in the dormitory and will be here soon."
"Then I can relax."
Gao Zhi continued, "Brother Qiu, is your phone on? I tried calling you but couldn't get through."
"Oh, I forgot! It's still on the second floor."
Zhang Qiu hurried upstairs to grab his phone. Once he charged it and turned it on downstairs, missed calls began popping up one after another. Zhang Qiu laughed, "Gao Zhi, how many times did you call me?"
"Just once."
"Just once?"
"Yeah."
Zhang Qiu unlocked the screen to check the missed calls. Out of twelve missed calls, aside from Gao Zhi's single call, all belonged to one number that had no name associated with it.
"Brother Qiu, what's wrong?"
"There are a few unknown calls. Let me call back later."
Zhang Qiu casually dialed the number back. The number was registered in the capital city. When the call connected, Zhang Qiu frowned and asked, "Who is this?"
"It's me, Bai Jingwei."
The voice on the other end made Zhang Qiu feel disgusted. He didn't understand why he felt such aversion towards Bai Jingwei but managed to suppress his dislike and asked, "What do you want?"
"Of course I have something to discuss; the college entrance examination is over, right?"
"It's over."
"Heh heh, don't you want to know why I asked?"
"What do you really want?"
"Young people are always so impatient. Now that the college entrance examination is over, have you thought about going to university in the capital?"
"Of course I have." Zhang Qiu spoke the truth; the Chinese Department at Jingbei University had always been his dream place.
"If I could help you, what would you choose?"
"What I want to know more is what conditions you have."
"The conditions are simple. I know there are others bothering you. If you give me what they want, I can protect you and guarantee your admission to school in the capital."
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