40: Chapter 40 College Entrance Examination

During dinner that evening, Chen Jianjun brought some good news: the new house at Zijin Garden was ready for move-in, and they planned to move over tomorrow.

The current place would be returned, and after Chen Fan finished school, he could go straight back to Zijin Garden.

Hearing this news, a flash of joy appeared in Chen Fan's eyes—he could give Lin Xi a surprise tomorrow.

...

After school the next day, the two of them walked out of school together as usual.

Following their usual habit, they would separate after walking less than a kilometer, heading toward their respective residential complexes.

But today, Chen Fan did not part ways with her; instead, he prepared to continue walking back with her.

"Aren't you going back?" Lin Xi looked at Chen Fan with confusion.

"I'm seeing you home."

"No need." Lin Xi waved her hand. "It's just a short walk, I can go back by myself."

"You're my girlfriend now, so it's only natural that I see you home."

Hearing Chen Fan say this, a blush appeared on Lin Xi's face. "Alright then."

Chen Fan smiled slightly and then took the initiative to hold her hand.

Lin Xi's body trembled slightly, but she didn't refuse, letting Chen Fan hold her hand as they walked toward the residential complex.

Her hand was small, soft, and a little cool. Chen Fan tightened his grip.

The two walked along holding hands like this, neither of them speaking.

After walking half a street, Lin Xi suddenly whispered, "Your hand is so hot."

"Your hand is so cold."

Lin Xi pursed her lips and didn't speak, but the corners of her mouth curled up quietly.

Arriving at the entrance of the Zijin Garden complex, both of them slowed their pace.

Lin Xi looked up at him: "I'm here."

Chen Fan finally let go of her hand. Lin Xi turned to walk into the complex, and Chen Fan followed her inside.

After a few steps, seeing Chen Fan following behind, Lin Xi stopped and gave him a reproachful look. "Why did you follow me in?"

"I forgot to tell you, I moved. I'm now at Zijin Garden, Building 5, Floor 8, 803."

"Ah?" A look of surprise appeared on Lin Xi's face, then she feigned annoyance and tapped him lightly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"The house had been airing out after the renovations were finished; we only moved in today, so I wanted to give you a surprise," Chen Fan explained.

"That's not a surprise, that's a shock." Lin Xi glared at him, but her eyes clearly held a smile.

Chen Fan didn't respond, just looked at her and said, "From now on, I can see you home every day."

Lin Xi's face turned red again.

"Who asked you to see me home every day..."

She turned and continued walking, took a few steps, then turned back to look at him.

Chen Fan was still standing there, watching her with a smile.

"Come on," she said. "What are you standing there for?"

Chen Fan caught up.

The two walked side by side, the streetlights of the complex casting long shadows.

Walking to the bottom of Building 8, Lin Xi stopped: "I'm here."

Chen Fan nodded: "Mm."

"Then... see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Lin Xi turned to walk into the building, took two steps, then turned back to look at him once before disappearing through the door.

Chen Fan stood there watching for a while before continuing toward Building 5.

...

The next morning, Chen Fan saw Lin Xi looking at him with intense focus.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Xi stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly spoke: "I just thought of a question."

"What question?"

"During the New Year, after we finished walking around Cultural Square, you saw me home," Lin Xi said, enunciating each word clearly. "You already knew back then that we would be living in the same complex later."

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment.

Lin Xi continued to stare at him: "Right?"

"...Right."

"Then why didn't you tell me at the time?"

"The house had just been bought and hadn't been renovated yet, and I didn't know when we would be able to move in. Besides, didn't I tell you the first chance I got?" Chen Fan looked nonchalant.

After a few seconds, Lin Xi looked away and muttered softly, "Well... alright then."

...

Over the next period of time, the two were basically inseparable, always going home together after school.

They entered the classroom together in the morning and left the school gate together in the evening.

As time passed day by day, the day of the college entrance exam soon arrived.

For the college entrance exam, an important test that would determine the direction of his life, Chen Fan didn't feel a shred of nervousness; mainly because he had a cheat code, he wasn't panicked at all.

Lin Xi, on the other hand, was a bit nervous and even called Chen Fan that night.

Chen Fan could only spend an hour comforting his little girlfriend in a soft, gentle voice.

They talked about the exam, about which city they wanted to go to in the future, and about how she looked back at him the day he moved into the experimental class.

As they chatted, Lin Xi's voice slowly stopped trembling.

I don't know how long it had been, but a soft sound of breathing came from the other end of the phone. She had fallen asleep.

June 7th, seven o'clock in the morning.

Chen Fan was woken up by the commotion in the kitchen.

He opened his eyes and glanced at his phone—7:05. The alarm hadn't gone off yet.

Sounds of pots and pans came from the kitchen, lighter than usual, but he had sharp ears.

He got up and pushed the door open to see Wang Mei standing in front of the stove, holding a spatula, moving cautiously as if afraid of waking someone up.

In the pan were fried eggs, and beside it were already a bowl of porridge, a plate of side dishes, and two steamed buns.

"Mom," Chen Fan called out.

Wang Mei was startled and turned to look at him: "Why are you up? Go back to sleep for a while, it's still early."

"I won't sleep anymore."

Wang Mei didn't try to persuade him further; she scooped out the fried eggs and brought them to the table: "Come eat quickly, and check your admission ticket one more time after you finish."

Chen Fan sat down and picked up his chopsticks.

Wang Mei stood nearby, wanting to say something but hesitating.

"Mom, you sit down too."

"I'm not hungry." Despite what she said, Wang Mei sat down beside him and watched him eat.

"The buns are meat-filled, the kind you like."

Chen Fan took a bite and nodded.

Wang Mei stood up again and went to rummage through his schoolbag: "Did you bring your admission ticket? What about pens? 2B pencils? Eraser?"

"I checked everything last night."

"Check it again." Wang Mei had already opened the schoolbag and was taking things out one by one.

"ID card, admission ticket, pencil case... here is water, here are tissues..."

Chen Fan watched her bustling about without saying anything.

The door opened and Chen Jianjun walked in, carrying a bag of things.

"Soy milk," he said, putting the bag on the table. "Just made, it's still hot."

After breakfast, it was 7:30.

Wang Mei handed the document folder to Chen Fan and reached out to straighten his collar: "Don't be nervous, just perform as usual."

"Mm."

Chen Fan indicated that he had absolutely no idea what nervousness was.

After leaving home, Chen Fan took the bus to his exam site.

His exam location was at the County No. 1 Middle School, the same exam site as Lin Xi, but not the same exam room.

He was in the third exam room, and Lin Xi was in the fifth.

Originally, he was supposed to go with Lin Xi, but Lin Xi's parents wanted to take her, so Chen Fan had to go by himself.

At the entrance of the exam site, there was a sea of people.

Traffic police were maintaining order at the intersection, and police cars were parked on the side of the road, flashing their lights.

Parents seeing their children off packed the school gate, making it impassable.

Some were holding up phones to take pictures, some were pulling their children aside to give instructions, and some were squatting on the side of the road smoking.

The most eye-catching were the ones wearing qipaos—red, pink, floral—standing in groups of three or five, holding sunflowers in their hands.

"Victory upon opening the flag, winning the championship in one stroke." Chen Fan took a glance and continued walking toward the exam room.