EFB Chapter 234 College Entrance Examination
Chapter 234 College Entrance Examination
The city of Wuhan in June was unbearably hot.
The sun hung overhead, blindingly white, so bright it was hard to open one's eyes.
The air was scalding hot; it felt like it was burning when I breathed it into my lungs.
The cicadas were chirping in the trees, one chirp after another, without end.
But today is different from the past.
Red banners hung down from both sides of the gate at the entrance of Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School.
"Stay calm and answer the questions carefully." "Ten years of honing your skills, today you will test your mettle."
The police car was parked on the side of the road; it was blue and white, and its roof light wasn't flashing.
Several police officers stood at the school gate, their hands behind their backs, their expressions serious.
There were reporters at the school gate, and a woman's voice came from inside, clear and articulate.
"Dear viewers, at 9:00 AM sharp, the 2007 National College Entrance Examination officially begins."
"Today is the first day of the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao), and also the 30th anniversary of its resumption. Approximately 9.5 million students across the country are simultaneously entering the examination halls to face this important test in their lives."
……
Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School was filled with senior high school students.
No one was sitting in the classroom.
Everyone was downstairs, gathered in twos and threes. Some were leaning against the wall, some were squatting by the flower bed, and some were sitting on the steps.
Some people were laughing, some were talking, and some were looking down at their notebooks, flipping through two pages before closing them again.
Song Huan sat under the shade of a tree, leaning against the trunk, her legs stretched out long.
He closed his eyes, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on his face in patches of light and shadow.
Xiao Yunqing walked over from a distance, sat down next to him, and patted him on the shoulder.
"What are you doing?"
Song Huan opened one eye and glanced at her.
Xiao Yunqing chuckled, "They say fools are lucky, so I've come to borrow some of your good fortune."
Song Huan closed her eyes. "Then stay away from me. If I fail to get into university, it'll all be your fault."
He quietly shifted his position to the side.
Xiao Yunqing pouted and moved closer to him.
"You're so stingy. I'll just return a little bit of my good fortune to you."
She took a pen out of the transparent file folder and handed it to me, saying, "Here you go."
Song Huan opened her eyes and looked at the pen.
It's black, with a red "福" (good fortune) sticker on the cap, and the edges are slightly curled up.
He paused for a moment, feeling that the face looked somewhat familiar.
"Isn't this the one you gave me for my high school entrance exam?"
"Yes, I took it again later." Xiao Yunqing nodded. "I'm giving it back to you now."
Song Huan took the pen and examined it from all angles. The penholder was smooth and warm, as if someone had held it many times.
He curled his lip, "At least you have some conscience, you didn't steal my luck."
Xiao Yunqing slapped him in anger.
Song Huan smiled, put the pen into the file bag, and placed it together with the admission ticket.
The two sat under the shade of a tree and chatted for a while.
We didn't talk about exams, we talked about the future.
The two of them chatted back and forth, and soon they started laughing.
As she laughed, Xiao Yunqing suddenly stopped laughing.
She looked at Song Huan, about to say something, when the loudspeaker came on.
"Please enter the examination room. Please enter the examination room."
People started moving downstairs in the teaching building.
Some people walked towards the teaching building, some ran, and some were still high-fiving their classmates.
Song Huan stood up and patted the dust off her pants.
Xiao Yunqing also stood up and hugged the file bag to her chest.
"Which building are you in?" Song Huan asked.
"Building 5, what about you?"
"Building No. 1".
The two people stood facing each other, the sunlight shining down from above, making their shadows shrink into a small ball.
"Do your best on the exam," Song Huan said. "If you do well, you'll be an alumnus; if you don't, you'll be a factory worker."
Xiao Yunqing smiled and nodded. "The exam is over. See you in the school garden."
"I'm leaving."
Song Huan smiled, turned around and left.
Xiao Yunqing stood there, watching his back walk through the garden, turn a corner, and disappear.
"I'm leaving too."
She hugged the file folder tighter and turned to walk in another direction.
The exam room is on the third floor.
Song Huan found her seat by the window.
He placed the document bag on the table, took out his examination admission ticket, and put it in the upper right corner.
Place the pen next to your exam admission ticket.
He sat down and looked out the window.
The playground was empty; there wasn't a single person in sight.
Cicadas are chirping in the distance, one call after another, very loudly.
Looking at the empty playground, he suddenly remembered three years ago.
Three years ago, he walked into this school for the first time, wearing a white school uniform and carrying a new schoolbag.
The playground was just this big back then, and the trees were just this tall.
He ran, played ball, and wrestled on the playground.
He walked side by side with Xiao Yunqing countless times on this playground.
Go to the cafeteria, go back to the classroom, and finish evening self-study.
Sometimes she's in front, and he's behind.
Sometimes he's in front, and she's behind.
The two shadows are always close together.
He remembered the first day of his first year of high school, when she sat next to him.
He recalled the way she explained problems to him; she didn't understand, her brows furrowed, and she drew on the paper.
He remembered that when she was angry, her lips would pout like a little pufferfish.
He remembered how her eyes would curve into crescent moons when she smiled, revealing shallow dimples.
He remembered the photo of her wearing high heels, her long, white legs, standing sideways in front of the mirror.
He remembered that day at the beach, when she lay on the sand and said she wanted to watch the sea with him for the rest of her life.
He remembered that day under the streetlight, she was squatting on the ground, and the two of them were eating a cake that had been smashed.
He remembered what she had said.
"Remember tonight's fireworks, and remember me!"
"You must accompany me for walks, to feel the breeze, and to watch the sunset from now on, okay?"
"Song Huan, whatever decision you make, I will support you!"
The bell rang.
The proctor walked in, holding a stack of exam papers.
"Put things that are not related to the exam at the beginning."
Song Huan picked up the pen and held it in her hand.
The penholder is warm.
He took off the pen cap and placed it on the table.
The "Fu" character sticker was facing him, and it was bright red.
He held his pen, waiting for the exam paper to be passed to him.
I'm preparing to give my three years of youth a perfect ending.
……
Xiao Yunqing sat in the examination room of Building 5, also by the window.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling brightly on the back of her hand.
She opened the file folder, took out her exam admission ticket, and placed it in the upper right corner.
Then he took out another pen, black, with a red "福" (good fortune) sticker on the cap.
A new pen.
It's exactly the same as Song Huan's.
She held the pen and looked out the window.
Outside the window is the playground, and on the playground stands an old banyan tree with a large canopy, like an umbrella.
She recalled the first day of her first year of high school three years ago, when she walked into the school for the first time and looked for her name on the list at the school gate.
She found Song Huan's name, then her own, and was happy to see the two names side by side.
She remembered the military training in her first year of high school, when he stood next to her and shielded her from the sun.
His broad shoulders completely blocked out the sunlight.
She remembered that night in her first year of high school when he sat on the playground playing guitar and singing "Won't Cry".
She was in the crowd, watching him.
The moonlight shone on him, casting his shadow on the ground.
She recalled choosing her major in her second year of high school; she had chosen science.
But everyone said she should choose humanities, but she didn't listen.
She remembered that basketball game; because of her, he missed the championship.
She remembered that winter when he braved the rain to pick her up, his umbrella tilted to one side, his shoulders soaked through.
She recalled countless nights when the two of them walked home, the streetlights casting long shadows.
She remembered him saying, "Little Cloud, after graduation, will we still see each other every day?"
She didn't answer at the time.
She already had the answer in her heart.
Yes, it will definitely happen.
Our story has only just begun!
……
On June 9th, the last exam was over.
A tide of people poured out of the teaching building.
Someone stood in the corridor and shouted "It's over!" Then they shouted it again.
Someone was squatting on the ground crying, and someone next to her was patting her back.
Someone ran across the stairwell laughing, running very fast, as if they were using up all the energy they had accumulated over the past three years.
Xiao Yunqing came out of Building No. 5, stood on the steps, and watched the figures rushing by.
Someone ran past her, creating a gust of wind.
Someone shouted "Liberation!" The sound came from the other end of the playground and bounced several times between the buildings.
Her eyes searched through the crowd.
From left to right, from right to left.
No.
She stood on tiptoe, but still couldn't reach it.
"Hello, who are you looking for?"
A familiar voice rang out from behind.
She turned around abruptly.
Song Huan stood under the tree, hands in her pockets, a faint smile still on her face.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on him in patches of light and shadow.
He wasn't wearing his school uniform today; he was wearing a white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
Her hair had grown a little longer, and her bangs were falling over her forehead.
His lips were upturned, and his eyes were bright.
Just like before.
Xiao Yunqing looked at him for two seconds, then smiled.
She laughed until her eyes curved into crescent moons and her dimples appeared.
She walked down the steps and stood in front of him.
"How did the exam go?"
Song Huan shrugged. "It's alright."
She snorted. "What do you mean by 'not bad'?"
Song Huan thought for a moment, "It means I can still go to the same university as you."
Xiao Yunqing blushed and raised her hand to slap him.
It's not heavy, and the sound is crisp.
The two walked out of the school gate side by side.
There were many people at the entrance, including parents, students, reporters, and police officers.
Some people are hugging, some are crying, and some are laughing.
When Song Huan reached the school gate, she suddenly stopped.
He turned around and looked at the gate of No. 1 Middle School.
The door was old, the iron railings were rusted, and several tiles were missing from the doorposts.
The school name was printed in gold lettering, shining brightly in the sun.
He stared at the door for several seconds.
"What are you looking at?" Xiao Yunqing asked.
Song Huan didn't turn around.
He said calmly, "Look at my youth."
Xiao Yunqing was stunned for a moment.
She turned around and looked at the door.
Looking at the words on the door, looking at the old banyan tree inside, looking at the people still running on the playground.
She nodded.
"It was also my youth."
……
For students, summer is always more profound and longer than any other season.
It is a first meeting, a farewell, the end of a chapter in youth, and the beginning of a new chapter in life.
We are parallel to each other, yet intersect perpendicularly with the height of summer.
That summer was half passionate poetry and half youthful, stubborn illness.
In that summer filled with the incessant chirping of cicadas, we quietly turned back and said goodbye to that door full of stories.