For top-tier students like Shen Xingruo, mistakes were indeed a rare occurrence. The third mock exam, which closely resembled the difficulty of the college entrance examination, was rigorously graded, with no leniency given. Shen Xingruo reclaimed her position as the top scorer in the grade with an outstanding total score of 711, surpassing the second-place student by 18 points. To achieve such a significant lead in a school like Mingli, which was one of the top schools in the province, and against such formidable competitors at this stage, Shen Xingruo was undeniably just a step away from becoming the provincial champion — the title of “zhuangyuan” — in the upcoming college entrance examination.
Lu Xingyan’s third mock exam score remained stable at just over 520, which was satisfactory. He had quietly started looking into several local second-tier universities and international schools that offered joint programs with foreign institutions.
Early June arrived.
The summer breeze, laden with waves of heat, swept into the classroom. The ceiling fans creaked as they turned, and sweat trickled down everyone’s forehead, stinging their eyes with an uncomfortable sourness. Yet, nobody even spared a moment to wipe away the sweat; they were all focused on making the most of their final moments of revision.
On Thursday, they attended their last history and geography classes in high school.
On Friday, they gradually completed their final Chinese, math, and English classes of their high school careers.
The last class of the week, political science, was taught by Wang Youfu.
Wang Youfu, holding the results of the last quiz in his hand, hummed a tune as he stood up, ready to head to the classroom for the last lesson.
Just as another political science teacher, who also served as the homeroom teacher for Class 7, returned, Mr. Xia, Wang Youfu noticed her red eyes and sniffles and asked what was wrong. Ms. Xia sniffled again, then took off her glasses, her voice choked with emotion as she said, “Don’t even mention it. In the last quiz, the entire class failed.”
Wang Youfu was surprised. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of superiority, recalling that Class 1 had an average score of 89, truly an exceptional performance.
Ms. Xia continued, “I hadn’t even scolded them yet, and they were already telling me that failing meant they could repeat the grade as if they couldn’t bear to part with me. It was just too much!”
With that, Ms. Xia started to tear up again.
Wang Youfu was at a loss for words.
On his way to the classroom, he reflected on how unpopular he must be as a homeroom teacher. Even Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming, who had been failing consistently, had managed to scrape together scores in the sixties or seventies.
When he entered the classroom and called for class to begin, the class monitor, He Siyue, responded as usual with a call for everyone to stand up.
Everything seemed routine, as if scenes from the past hundreds of days were playing back.
For the last class, Wang Youfu began by analyzing the scores of the last quiz and then discussed some of the more difficult questions. The remainder of the class was spent reviewing certain points that were likely to appear on the exam. Although these points had been covered repeatedly before, Wang Youfu’s emphasis prevented anyone from feeling drowsy or impatient.
As the class neared its end, Wang Youfu checked the time and reiterated the exam schedule.
“With regards to your ID cards, make sure you have them with you as soon as you wake up! I refuse to tolerate any foolishness like forgetting your ID cards! Whoever forgets theirs, don’t you dare say you’re a student of mine, Wang Youfu!”
“As for finding the exam room, you won’t get lost. We’re taking the exam right here in our school; even a pig would know the way after three years!”
“I know it’s inevitable to feel nervous, but I still hope you can maintain a calm mindset. The college entrance exam isn’t the only path forward, right? Yes, it’s important not to focus too much on success or failure. As long as you have a clear conscience, you’re all amazing!”
As the bell rang to signal the end of class, Wang Youfu, contrary to his usual practice of feeling shortchanged if he didn’t drag on the lesson for another ten or twenty minutes, promptly announced, “Class dismissed!”
But the students below quietly waited for the bell to finish ringing before bustling with excitement:
“Mr. Wang, could you explain the last major question from the third mock exam again? I’m still not clear on the thought process for answering it.”
“Yeah, yeah, Mr. Wang, I’d like to hear more about the section on currency. I keep getting the multiple-choice questions wrong every time.”
“Mr. Wang, Mr. Wang, could you go over the exam schedule for us again?”
Wang Youfu stood at the lectern, holding his red thermos cup, and looked at the familiar faces in the classroom. The summer breeze flowed through the corridor, carrying the fragrance of flowers and plants from outside. The evening sun’s gentle rays pierced through the gaps in the branches, casting a soft warmth on the lectern.
He didn’t know why, but he suddenly smiled, then his eyes welled up with tears again. He quickly wiped his face, picked up a piece of chalk, and turned to write six words on the blackboard — “Class 1 of Grade 3, Dismissed.”
In the end, he didn’t turn around. He walked straight to the classroom door, then paused. His voice, slow and choked with emotion as usual, came out, “Mr. Wang wishes everyone here a bright future and success in their endeavors.”
The entire class stood up suddenly, silently saluting towards the front door of the classroom.
When Shen Xingruo saluted, she lingered for a long time, long enough to see the ink on her exam paper blur into a large patch.
That summer evening was magical. The sun was half set, no longer scorching, just warm.
The classroom was quiet. Other classes were wailing and sobbing, but the students in Class 1 were silently packing their bags. When they left the classroom, they were smiling and saying goodbye to each other as usual, as if they would see each other again tomorrow.
Exiting the gate of Mingli High School, in the alley near the East Gate Antiques Street, Shen Xingruo suddenly paused, looked back, and then tears burst from her eyes without warning.
She cried quietly, her eyes open, hands constantly wiping away tears.
Seeing her cry, Lu Xingyan instinctively embraced her and closed his eyes, and tears fell onto Shen Xingruo’s school uniform from behind.
The year and a half since transferring to Mingli had been the happiest time for Shen Xingruo since her mother passed away.
She even remembered the first day she came to Mingli. Wang Youfu was wearing a big red woolen cardigan with a blue shirt underneath and an unbuttoned coat on top. His belly was round, and when he smiled, he had three chins.
Because Lu Xingyan said she was pretending, she absentmindedly bought a bunch of the wrong pencils and then randomly grabbed a pen from Wang Youfu’s desk to fill out the paperwork.
Wang Youfu, on the other hand, held his thermos cup and told her how great Mingli was, and how high the salary was, and then he dissed their principal at Huize, saying he was just a little trash who used to live next door to him in the dormitory.
The memories of this year and a half were vivid. Some were warm, some were moving, some were funny, and some were indescribable but bittersweet.
She thought she would never encounter such a lovely homeroom teacher again in her life, nor would she ever meet such lovely classmates again.
After Lu Xingyan wiped his face and took a deep breath, he patted her back and comforted her, “Shen Xingruo, if you become the provincial champion, make sure to earn some bonus for Wang Youfu. He said last time that he wanted to go to the Maldives with his wife and kids during the summer vacation.”
Shen Xingruo closed her eyes and nodded gently.
After all the high school lessons were over, there were two days off for everyone to review independently. Then came the day to check the exam venue on the 6th and the exams on the 7th and 8th.
Shen Xingruo’s menstrual cycle wasn’t very regular, so Aunt Zhou gave her some Chinese medicine to delay it to prevent any accidents during this critical time.
Pei Yue returned to Xingcheng early and prepared red outfits for the two of them for the college entrance examination. She even specially chose Nike from head to toe.
Hastening the two to change clothes, Pei Yue said to Shen Xingruo with joy, “Ruo Ruo, a friend of mine’s daughter will take the college entrance exam next year. She heard that you’re doing well and will probably get into a good university, so she pre-booked this outfit from me, saying she wants to share your luck and have her daughter wear it next year!”
Then she turned to look at Lu Xingyan and said, “Lu Xingyan, you need to perform steadily, just reach the second-tier university admission line or something. It’s only fair for me to buy you this new outfit.”
Before she could even tear off the tag from the clothes, Lu Xingyan looked at his outfit and then at Shen Xingruo’s, suddenly asking, “Mom, why is hers twice as expensive as mine?”
“I just said someone pre-booked Ruo Ruo’s outfit,” she looked Lu Xingyan up and down, “You won’t wear this bright red color, and nobody wants it. It’s not auspicious to donate it if you don’t do well in the exam, so it’ll have to be burned. Why spend so much on it?”
“…You’re my mom.”
Lu Xingyan couldn’t get over it. He wondered, “No, I’m about to take the college entrance exam. Can’t you say something nice and flattering about me?”
Pei Yue looked at him as if he had a problem. “If I’m not flattering Shen Xingruo, why should I flatter you? Do you have a chance to get into a top university or become the provincial champion? Stop making a fuss, what if you distract Shen Xingruo? Go back to your room and memorize classical Chinese texts! Maybe you can score a few more points!”
With that, she pushed Lu Xingyan away, almost wanting to shove him back into his room until after the exam.
“… “
Lu Xingyan wanted to wait until after the exam to go to the hospital and check the records to see if he and Shen Xingruo were switched at birth.
The college entrance exam on the 7th and 8th arrived as scheduled.
The weather was favorable, with partly cloudy skies, neither rain to add tension nor harsh sunlight to scorch everyone.
Lushan and Shen Guangyao also made time to come to Mingli to see off Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo.
The single lane in front of Mingli was packed, not with cars, as the traffic police had controlled them outside the single lane, but with parents seeing off their children.
Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan were dressed in bright red, like a modern, fashionable version of the lucky dolls, perfect for taking a photo to hang on the wall for the Lunar New Year.
At first, they felt a bit awkward, but once they entered the school and saw the two rows of teachers in formation, they felt it wasn’t such a big deal.
After all, these two rows of teachers were not only festive but also performed a square dance medley on the spot. Lu Xingyan went up to hug Wang Youfu and joked, “Mr. Wang, you’re not bad at dancing ‘Little Apple.’ If you teach freshmen in the future and the old ladies from the neighborhood behind us don’t listen to you, you can challenge them to a dance-off. You’ll beat them!”
“Hey, Lu Xingyan, you seem to have a good attitude. Can you set the bar for me to see if it’s as impressive as Shen Xingruo bringing back the top spot?”
“Whoa, hold on there. I’m about to take the exam. Don’t put pressure on me!”
Wang Youfu laughed and scolded, “What pressure do you have? If you don’t pass, you’ll just inherit the family business! You’re the one with the least pressure in the whole school, you little rascal!”
Shen Xingruo followed behind, waiting for them to finish, then stepped forward to hug Wang Youfu.
Wang Youfu didn’t want to pressure her, always finding ways to help her relax, treating it like a monthly exam.
After the briefing, Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan walked towards the exam hall together. They were taking the exam in different teaching buildings. Stopping at a fork in the road, Shen Xingruo suddenly took Lu Xingyan’s hand and hugged him.
“Lu Xingyan, let’s do our best together.”
Lu Xingyan smiled and nodded. “Sure.”
Everyone was most nervous during the first subject, Chinese.
This time, the essay topic was different from previous years’ vague stories or materials for interpretation. It was straightforward—Float and Sink.
Shen Xingruo read a lot, and her essay ideas were always sharp. She handled this type of essay effortlessly, discussing profound points with abundant examples from history, current events, and literature.
Interestingly, Lu Xingyan also wrote smoothly this time.
In the college entrance exam, teachers usually focus on teaching argumentative essays and do not recommend or teach narrative essays much. However, Lu Xingyan wrote a narrative essay this time, about his father, Lu Shan.
After finishing, Lu Xingyan wasn’t confident because Zhang Jiao always advised against writing narrative essays, as they were difficult to score. But this time, his essay was full of genuine emotions, expressing everything he wanted to say. So, he didn’t care much about the advice.
For some reason, during the two days of exams, both Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan remained unusually calm, despite some students in their exam rooms having emotional breakdowns and leaving midway. It didn’t affect their peace of mind at all.
Just as Wang Youfu said, they treated it like a monthly exam.
After the exam, they could discuss answers with classmates. If they did well, that’s great. If not, it didn’t matter. They would just take the criticism from the teachers and try again next time.
What most people lack isn’t the glory of reaching the peak in one go, but a calm heart and the courage to try again after failure.
The final English exam ended, and He Siyue, Ruan Wen, Shi Qin, Li Chengfan, Zhao Langming… and even Li Ting, all nervously approached Shen Xingruo to ask how she did.
Shen Xingruo thought for a moment. “Seems like it went okay.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed like Class 1’s reputation was secure.
When Lu Xingyan arrived, everyone asked him too, “How did it go?”
Lu Xingyan rubbed the back of his neck and casually replied, “Seems like it went alright.”
Everyone exchanged smiles and then chatted as they walked outside the school gates.
The setting sun cast long, crowded shadows behind them. At the school gate, they all looked back involuntarily.
Goodbye, Mingli.