HomeSummer In Your NameChapter 77: Test Results

Chapter 77: Test Results

The entryway spotlight shone on Zhang Shu’s head. His lips were moist and bright, his eyes intense.

He cupped her face and lifted it, tilting his head slightly to let the light fall on her face.

Sheng Xia didn’t dare breathe, unconsciously holding her breath, eyes moist, staring at him helplessly.

She looked thoroughly victimized.

Zhang Shu’s lips curled slightly, his thumb brushing across her lips. “Breathe.”

Sheng Xia took a deep breath, truly relaxing, going limp and falling against him, instinctively wrapping her arms around his waist.

Like throwing herself into his embrace.

Zhang Shu turned his head with a smile, burying his face in the crook of her neck, his hand stroking the back of her head.

He was too tall – this position required him to arch his back. Probably feeling it wasn’t close enough, he pulled her even tighter, her back arching as if she was being melded into his body.

Sheng Xia’s body hadn’t cooled down yet and felt impossibly hot.

Her breathing was scorching.

He was very hot too.

They held each other quietly for a while, neither speaking. The motion-sensor light in the entryway went out, leaving the corner momentarily dark.

“It’s… it’s late,” Sheng Xia said in a muffled voice.

“Mm.”

“…”

“Won’t be able to sleep anyway if I go back. Let’s hug a while longer.”

“Xiao He still needs to come back?” She pushed against him weakly, without much strength.

If he didn’t leave, Xiao He wouldn’t dare return.

Next door was full of boys – it wasn’t appropriate for her to stay there alone as a girl.

Zhang Shu caught her hands against his chest and straightened up to create some distance. “Then kiss me.”

Sheng Xia lowered her gaze, not daring to meet his eyes. Zhang Shu could only see the glossy top of her head.

“Just once,” he compromised.

Sheng Xia hesitated for a few seconds, then suddenly stood on tiptoe and quickly pecked the corner of his mouth – just a brief touch – before lowering her head again to avoid eye contact.

Zhang Shu hunched down, chasing her gaze, clearly unsatisfied.

Sheng Xia turned her head left and right but couldn’t shake him off, so she simply glared at him and pushed him hard.

Zhang Shu smiled helplessly, kissed the top of her head, and finally let go. “Sleep early.”

He opened the door and stepped out, then turned back, leaning against the doorframe. “I’ve never been this happy in my life. Maybe I got a bit carried away. If you ever feel uncomfortable, you must tell me.”

He turned to leave, walked two steps then looked back again, waving at her with a smile.

Sheng Xia quickly closed the door.

Zhang Shu returned next door, where Xin Xiaohe opened the door, looking somewhat shocked. “You’re done?”

Zhang Shu almost couldn’t respond to that comment – Yang Linyu was going to be thoroughly dominated in the future, wasn’t he?

He coughed lightly and said to Yang Linyu: “Take your girlfriend back.”

Yang Linyu jumped up from the sofa. “Oh, oh.”

Xin Xiaohe’s eyes were full of teasing humor, but she was eventually pulled away by Yang Linyu.

Before leaving, she was stopped by Zhang Shu, who instructed: “It’s late, everyone should sleep early, no more chatting.”

Xin Xiaohe: “Okay~”

So that meant she should keep quiet when she got back, right?

Tsk tsk tsk.

He must be worried Sheng Xia would die of embarrassment.

Thus, Sheng Xia spent fifteen tense minutes preparing countless explanations, only to find she didn’t need any of them. As soon as Xin Xiaohe returned, she went straight to shower and then fell asleep.

Sheng Xia clutched the corner of her blanket, her mind full of images of kissing him, feeling unbearably hot. She stuck her legs out to cool off, then pulled them back when cold, still felt hot, and stuck them out again, over and over.

After who knows how long, a restrained voice came from beside her: “Sheng! Xia!”

Sheng Xia’s spine went cold.

Xin Xiaohe: “If you don’t go to sleep, I’m going to interview you!”

Sheng Xia closed her eyes, quickly pulled in her hands and feet, curled up in fetal position, not daring to move.

But she just couldn’t stop smiling.

Next door, Zhang Shu was much more obvious about it.

Lu Youze had left, leaving him alone in the room. He lay on this bed staring into space, then moved to another bed to stare some more, projecting images of their kiss onto the ceiling in his mind…

Even in the shower, the steam was full of her shy expression.

How could there be something as wonderful as kissing in this world?

He sang happily in the bathroom, his voice uncontrolled, echoing throughout the building. Hou Junqi covered his ears with both hands, lying on the bed rolling his eyes.

Qi Xiulei was in a similar state. Yang Linyu already regretted showing Zhang Shu the video – should have let him go home to go crazy instead of involving everyone else.

The three brothers shared masks of suffering.

The next day, a plane carried a group of drowsy young people on a journey that would last over ten hours.

Late June at Nanli was as hot as a tropical island.

The summer heat simmered, without a hint of wind.

They bid farewell at the airport.

“Let’s meet again when filling out college applications!”

“Sure!”

“We still need to go play at Lian Li!”

“Yes!”

“Summer is still long!”

Summer was still long.

They would meet again.

Wang Lianhua was busy, so it was Sheng Mingfeng’s new assistant who came to pick up Sheng Xia. They heard Li Xu was being transferred.

In other words, promoted.

Sheng Xia had a strange association – this was a magical summer, it seemed everyone was transforming.

As soon as Sheng Xia got home, Wang Lianhua had already packed and was preparing to head to Dongzhou – Qiu Xuan had her middle school entrance exam.

Naturally, Sheng Xia had to go too.

So without stopping, they didn’t even need to unpack the suitcase.

Wang Lianhua had long ago booked a hotel near Wu Qiuxuan’s exam location. Wu Qiuxuan didn’t seem nervous at all, even more relaxed than when Sheng Xia took her college entrance exam and was secretly trying to probe about Sheng Xia’s graduation trip.

“Sis, still got your first kiss?”

Sheng Xia tensed up, almost dropping her phone.

How did Ah Xuan know?

Was it that obvious?

Seeing her sister’s reaction, Wu Qiuxuan giggled: “After going on a trip, if you came back empty-handed, you should question your charm.”

“What does kissing feel like? Is it like biting cotton candy?”

Cotton candy? His lips were softer than cotton candy.

Sheng Xia’s little face turned red.

“You have an exam Wu Qiuxuan! Middle school entrance exam! Very important!”

“Hee hee hee hee I know I know don’t be shy!”

In all the rush, Sheng Xia didn’t have time to tell Zhang Shu. She thought he’d sleep heavily after returning home.

Who knew that after dinner that evening, she’d receive a QQ message from Zhang Shu: “Do you have any trash to take out downstairs?”

A seemingly random question, but Sheng Xia understood.

Sheng Xia: “Are you downstairs at my place?”

Zhang Shu: “Smart head.”

Sheng Xia: “I’m in Dongzhou, my sister has middle school entrance exams.”

Zhang Shu: “…When are you coming back?”

Sheng Xia: “The day after tomorrow, you should go home early!”

Sheng Xia: “[Tiger pat sticker]”

After a while, he hadn’t replied. Sheng Xia was busy checking Wu Qiuxuan’s stationery, listening to Wang Lianhua give Wu Qiuxuan pre-exam psychological counseling, so she put her phone aside first. When she was done, half an hour had passed.

He still hadn’t replied.

Did he get upset about hitting empty air?

Should she comfort him?

Just as Sheng Xia was thinking about picking a cute emoji, a message came from him.

“Sheng Xia, there’s a plantain tree in your compound, and the moon is quite crescent tonight.”

He was still at her place? Hadn’t left?

Sheng Xia was about to ask, then thought – where would there be a plantain tree in her compound?

You could barely find any plantain trees in all of Nanli.

And the moon?

Nanli and Dongzhou were so close – if there was no moon visible in Dongzhou, how could there be a crescent moon in Nanli?

Suddenly, she remembered when he sent her home during last semester’s break, desperately trying to keep her there, asking about various poetic images, which she had answered one by one.

A full moon symbolized homesickness; a crescent moon symbolized missing someone.

A plantain tree symbolizes loneliness.

Why was he using this approach? So summery and affected.

Sheng Xia smiled, pursing her lips, and replied: “No moon or plantain in sight, Nanli is full of camphor trees.”

— Ah Shu was being unreasonable everywhere.

He replied instantly: “Okay, fine, I miss you.”

Sheng Xia smiled sweetly, hugging her phone and rolling around on the bed.

When she sat up straight, she saw Wang Lianhua standing in the doorway, staring at her.

And she hadn’t managed to hide her smile in time.

Three o’clock in the afternoon on the last day of the middle school entrance exam was also when college entrance exam results were released.

Two forty-five.

Whether on WeChat or QQ, class groups or small groups, Weibo or Xinfeng, everyone was sharing lucky koi fish.

Major self-media accounts had also built up the tense atmosphere of checking scores to the extreme.

Wang Wei sent a big red envelope to the class group, instantly creating a lively scene.

Some classmates shared calligraphy writing of “Success in the Imperial Examinations” in the group, while others showed off the large zongzi they made at home, symbolizing high achievement.

Compared to everyone else’s sense of ceremony, Sheng Xia was away from home, feeling no less nervous, but without any way to participate in the rituals.

After sending Wu Qiuxuan into the exam room in the afternoon, Sheng Xia and Wang Lianhua anxiously waited in front of a computer in the hotel’s business center.

In the graduation trip small group chat, Hou Junqi was sending red envelopes.

“I don’t need high scores, giving them all to you! May all your wishes come true!!”

“Brother Hou give us more~”

“After getting this red envelope, must get 650!”

“So nervous so nervous so nervous.”

“Ten minutes left everyone!”

“Is this how life’s turning point comes? Why does it feel so surreal?”

“Where’s Brother Shu, Brother Shu Brother Shu Brother Shu! Calling Brother Shu!”

Zhang Shu: “111111.”

Indicating he received the message and was online.

Xiaomai: “Brother Shu quick delete that, you should send big numbers at this time, not small numbers!”

Zhang Shu: “11111111.”

Xiaomai: “Brother Shu V587. Your fate is in your hands, not heaven’s!”

Xin Xiaohe: “No matter how much you flatter him, can he share his score with you hahahahaha?”

Wang Lianhua frowned at the chat window, seeming half-understanding, and asked, “Zhang Shu is quite popular among your classmates?”

Sheng Xia nodded: “Mm. Everyone likes him quite a lot.”

The group chat continued scrolling rapidly.

“Three minutes left everyone!”

“Open your fastest internet, a bright future is right ahead!”

“Two minutes left everyone!”

“God of Literature, did you see my offerings? Quick illuminate our group!”

“Scores, it’s been three years, you’re mature scores now, gotta learn to rush to me yourself!”

“Where’s Xiaxia, where’s Xiaxia, calling Xiaxia!”

Sheng Xia: “11111111.”

Xiaomai: “Wow, hope your scores can be in such marital harmony too!”

Sheng Xia’s heart jumped, her hand quickly clicking the X to exit the chat interface, focusing on refreshing the exam board’s official website, not knowing if her mother had seen it.

The screen’s reflection showed Wang Lianhua’s darkened face.

Unknown if it was from nervousness or other emotions.

The computer’s clock in the bottom right jumped to 15:00.

Sheng Xia clicked the mouse to refresh.

It froze.

Blank page.

The little circle on the screen kept spinning, the progress bar not moving an inch.

Sheng Xia’s palms were sweating, feeling like she should do something to fill this brief yet endless time.

This time she didn’t dare look at the chat window on the big screen, lowering her head to look at her phone.

Both the class group and the small group were silent.

Everyone was frantically refreshing at this moment.

Two minutes passed.

The groups became lively again.

The screen was full of “stuck” “can’t get in” and “good things take time”…

Sheng Xia saw a red “1” appear on “Song Jiang’s” chat box.

The message preview showed: Image.

He had sent her an image.

Sheng Xia’s palms were wet, and her whole body was hot.

Though sitting, her legs felt powerless.

She was nervous.

What did he send her?

Didn’t dare look.

In front of her, the webpage was still spinning circles, Wang Lianhua was getting anxious too, reaching for the mouse to click refresh again.

At the same time, Sheng Xia opened the chat box.

Suddenly, she jumped up with a shout, fiercely hugging the neck of Wang Lianhua who was bent over looking at the computer! The impact almost made Wang Lianhua stagger, quickly steadying herself by grabbing Sheng Xia’s arms.

“Mom! Mom! First place! He’s first! Zhang Shu! He’s the top scholar! He’s first! Mom! He did it! Mom!”

“He’s the top scholar, Zhang Shu is the top scholar Mom! First place wuwuwu he did it…”

She repeated excitedly, shaking Wang Lianhua’s arms, her whole body jumping, as she kept shouting, her voice became choked with emotion.

The image Zhang Shu sent her wasn’t a screenshot of the webpage scores, but a text message screenshot that came first.

15:02

[XX Province Education Examination Board] Name: Zhang Shu, Candidate Number: xxxxxxxx, Total Score: 715, Ranking: Undergraduate 1.

Wang Lianhua was stunned for a moment, slightly smiling, raising her hand to pat Sheng Xia’s back, “Mom knows, knows, alright alright…”

“Wuwuwu…”

Sheng Xia couldn’t care less, she didn’t know why, but tears kept flowing uncontrollably.

At this moment she forgot her scores hadn’t been checked yet.

Forgot that her mother didn’t approve of this relationship.

She forgot everything.

She only knew he was first.

She was overjoyed, she lost control, she couldn’t suppress the urge to share from the bottom of her heart.

She wanted to tell everyone, that Zhang Shu was first, he would always be first.

He stood at the peak.

He deserved to stand at the peak.

Those doubts, those mockeries, would all be trampled under his feet, looking up at his success.

She wanted to call him right away.

Wiping away tears, she clicked voice call.

He picked up almost immediately.

Before she could speak, tears that had just been suppressed welled up again, before she could say a word, sobbing sounds had already reached Zhang Shu’s ears.

He was confused for a moment, but his urgent voice came through: “What’s wrong, didn’t do well? Don’t worry, speak slowly, it’s okay if you didn’t do well, I said, even going abroad is fine, don’t cry don’t cry…”

Sheng Xia was confused by his words, “No, haven’t checked yet… I’m, I’m happy, congratulations, you’re amazing Ah Shu, wuwu…”

Wang Lianhua sighed lightly, turning away with complex emotions, bending down to continue clicking refresh on the page.

Sheng Xia was still mumbling: “I knew you could do it wuwu but I was also really worried wuwu, they always said, said those unpleasant things, if it were me, I probably couldn’t take it, wuwu, you’re amazing Ah Shu, so happy, so happy Ah Shu…”

Wang Lianhua had never seen Sheng Xia ramble like this.

“It’s loaded,” she patted Sheng Xia, “quick enter your exam number.”

Sheng Xia slightly came to her senses, took a deep breath, and put her phone aside on speaker.

Taking out her admission ticket, she typed in the exam number digit by digit.

On the other end, Zhang Shu was checking too.

His voice came through: “I still haven’t refreshed it…”

Sheng Xia responded while typing: “How did your text message come so fast, I still haven’t gotten mine?”

“Maybe because it’s first place.”

“Oh oh, right, that’s nice.”

Sheng Xia’s scores appeared.

Total: 589

Chinese: 134

Math: 129

English: 130

Science Combined: 196

Both Sheng Xia and Wang Lianhua were stunned.

Sheng Xia’s highest score in her second and third year of high school was 568.

At that time, the first-tier university simulation cutoff line was 529.

“Mom…” Sheng Xia looked at Wang Lianhua, “Maybe you should double-check the exam number…”

Was this her?

Wang Lianhua stared at the screen intently, suddenly hugging Sheng Xia’s neck from behind, “Good child, well done! Don’t doubt it, you’re amazing too!”

This time both their eyes were brimming with tears.

Mother and daughter were teary-eyed in the business center.

The staff nearby watched them, also smiling slightly, silently sharing in this joy.

The phone set aside transmitted clicking keyboard sounds, Sheng Xia had just slightly steadied her emotions, belatedly realizing this scene would be awkward to end.

Unexpectedly, Wang Lianhua took the initiative to speak: “Zhang Shu, have you gotten into the website?”

On the other end, Zhang Shu seemed surprised that Wang Lianhua would speak, paused for half a second, then suddenly realizing he could speak, said hesitantly: “Not yet, Auntie.”

Somehow, because of this “Auntie,” Sheng Xia’s palms started sweating again.

“Then shall we help you check?” Wang Lianhua suggested, “Send your exam number to Sheng Xia.”

“Okay, thank you,” his voice regained composure, sending the number while saying, “Congratulations to Sheng Xia first, seems like good news.”

Though his words were talking to Wang Lianhua, Sheng Xia jumped in: “Mm! If the first-tier university cutoff line isn’t crazy, should be an exceptional performance.”

Zhang Shu: “It’s normal performance, Xiaxia is amazing, ah, I mean li-hai.”

The two laughed in turns over the phone.

Wang Lianhua: …

Sheng Xia successfully checked Zhang Shu’s scores, and though they already knew the total, Wang Lianhua was still shocked.

Total: 715

Chinese: 128

Math: 147

English: 145

Science Combined: 295

“He scored a hundred points more than you in science, Xiaxia?” Wang Lianhua marveled, “How can there be such a big difference?”

Uh…

How to explain this?

Zhang Shu’s best performance, he only lost three points in science.

“Mom, there are differences between people.”

How should she console her mother, make her accept that her child was still in the ordinary range, not particularly special?

Sheng Xia quickly screenshot the scores and sent them to Zhang Shu first.

His consoling voice came through: “Auntie, Xiaxia is good at Chinese, very high in Chinese.”

Wang Lianhua just realized: “Oh yes, even higher than the top scholar?”

The top scholar himself confirmed: “That’s right.”

Wang Lianhua: “Very good, all very good, all amazing.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Chapters