Chapter 41: The National College Entrance Examination

"Why do you always love to say these random things?" Jiang Yuwei said, somewhat speechless.

"I'm just speaking the truth. Isn't the saying that eyes are the windows to the human soul absolute? What else did you think I was talking about?" Chu Nan looked at her with a very teasing expression.

Jiang Yuwei just nodded faintly. "Fine, can you answer my question from just now first?"

"Yang Liuqing told me to come and help."

"No need, I can manage on my own."

"Don't we still need to clean up?" Chu Nan sat directly on a nearby desk and said with a chuckle, "We're friends after all, aren't we? Helping out is completely normal. But if you really don't want me to, I'll leave. I won't force you."

Chu Nan found that although Jiang Yuwei seemed cold to people on the surface, she was actually a warm-hearted person at core. Getting along with her required learning to be thick-skinned. Of course, besides being thick-skinned, one also had to learn to maintain an appropriate distance. If he acted like that blockhead Luo Xiang, it would be utterly impossible to become friends with her.

"Then you can stay."

Hearing this, the corners of Chu Nan's mouth hooked up slightly. Sure enough, Jiang Yuwei ultimately did not refuse.

There were still other people in the classroom, and Jiang Yuwei was just quietly reading her book.

"You like Murakami's books?" Chu Nan suddenly spoke up.

Jiang Yuwei gave him a surprised look. If she remembered correctly, she hadn't opened the cover at all. The other person recognized the book she was reading just from the content, which meant it was very likely he had read it too.

However, her response to Chu Nan's question remained as calm as still water, like a piece of white jade, seemingly never letting anyone see it blush from white to red.

"I wouldn't say I like it, just curious."

"Oh."

"What are your insights on this book?"

"No particular insights. I just feel it's written quite well—the writing style is good, and the storyline is good, neither of which I can compare to."

"That's like saying nothing at all."

Chu Nan gave a faint smile. "I think this book is quite absurd. At least to me, it's quite absurd, and I can't empathize with it."

"Oh? Why?"

"Any novel, once it detaches from reality, will appear absurd, even if it mirrors reality just the same. I don't like the metaphors inside. Metaphors are not foreshadowing; they require people to guess, and I hate solving puzzles while reading a novel, especially when you're not even guaranteed to solve them correctly."

Chu Nan sighed. "Of course, it's undeniable that it's written very well, otherwise it wouldn't have won awards."

"Won awards?" Jiang Yuwei's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. As far as she knew, this author's book hadn't won any awards yet, had it?

Hearing this, Chu Nan was stunned for a moment before remembering that her book would only win an award around October of this year, and the time hadn't arrived yet.

So Chu Nan hurriedly glossed over it. "Oh, oh, I must have remembered wrong, I guess. He's written many other books that won awards, haha."

Jiang Yuwei nodded. "You're right, but this book might actually win an award. It's written very fantastically."

"Yeah, using this fantastical way to expose the meaning of life, the cruelty of war, and the changes of the era is indeed written quite interestingly. But a novel is just something to read; there's no need to empathize with it."

Jiang Yuwei glanced at Chu Nan. "I didn't empathize with it either?"

"Uh, I wasn't talking about you." Chu Nan instantly felt awkward.

Half an hour later, Chu Nan and Jiang Yuwei walked towards the school's garbage dump, each holding a bag full of trash.

The closer they got to the place, the heavier the smell became. Seeing her frown, Chu Nan smiled. "I'll go throw it away."

Jiang Yuwei hesitated for a moment. "Okay."

She had a slight case of mysophobia. She had already felt strangely uncomfortable all over her body while cleaning with him earlier, as if her body was covered in filth, so naturally she didn't want to get close to the garbage dump now.

"Where do you plan to go next?" Chu Nan asked.

"Back to the classroom, pack my schoolbag, and go home."

"The next time we meet will be in three days. Anyway, good luck with the college entrance examination."

Jiang Yuwei rarely lifted the corners of her lips in a slight smile. "I hope the agreement between us holds."

Chu Nan was momentarily stunned.

"What's wrong with you?"

"You look really pretty when you smile..."

"..." Jiang Yuwei couldn't help rolling her eyes at Chu Nan and quickened her pace to leave.

"I'm telling the truth. I've never seen you smile before. If the other boys in our class saw you smile like this, wouldn't they lose their souls on the spot?"

Jiang Yuwei turned her head and gave him a faint look. "Were you about to say 'a smile could topple a city, a second smile could topple a country'?"

"Yes, yes, exactly like that."

"You certainly think highly of me. But... if you can get into a key university, I might smile for you again. Goodbye." After saying that, Jiang Yuwei waved at him and quickly disappeared from Chu Nan's sight.

"Turns out... Jiang Yuwei could actually be this cute?" Chu Nan touched his chin. "Or could it be... that this is the real her?"

In the blink of an eye, three days passed in a flash. On this early morning, the entire Jiangcheng became lively and crowded.

For no other reason than that June 7th was the day of Jiangcheng's college entrance examination.

Of course, under the coordination of various government departments, even with heavy traffic, things were still quite orderly. On this day, students could even take buses to the testing centers for free just by holding their admission tickets.

The reason for the heavy traffic was probably because some wealthier parents were eagerly trying to send their children into the examination halls at the very first moment...

"Jingjing, did you take your things? The admission ticket, ID card, and pens and paper!"

"And little Chu, did you bring your ID card and entrance examination pass? Don't forget, oh."

"Mom, I've already said I took them. How many times do you want me to say it?!" Huang Jingjing next to her was somewhat speechless; her mom had repeated this sentence at least five or six times.

"Oh, what's wrong with you, child? Mom is just worried about you!"

"You—you're making me so nervous."

"That's right, Mom, are you still afraid Jingjing won't do well on the exam? Not to mention Tsinghua or Peking University, isn't any top-tier 985 university just up to Jingjing to pick?"

"What 985?" Aunt Yang had little education, so naturally, she felt baffled by such terms.

Huang奇 (Huang Qi) was stunned for a moment. "It means a really awesome university, a tier-one university!"

"Tier-one is good, as long as she can get into tier-one," Aunt Yang hurriedly said. "Little Chu, you must also get into tier-one, and let Jingjing go to the same school as you in the future."

"Mom!" Huang Jingjing's face turned beet red from this remark, but she still cast a stealthy glance at Chu Nan.

Chu Nan was just about to speak when the phone in his pocket rang.

"Chu Nan, are you ready? Did you bring everything? Don't wait until you're inside the exam hall to realize you're missing things!" The voice of his mother, Zhu Caihong, sounded from the phone.

"I brought everything, I brought everything, don't worry, Mom! Didn't we talk about everything last night? Why are you calling me again?!"

"How can I not call? We said we wanted to come to Jiangcheng to send you off to the exam hall in person, but you wouldn't let us. Can I possibly not worry?!"

"Caihong, the kid is grown up, why do you nag so much? Aren't you just distracting him?"

"What do you mean distracting him? Isn't he my child?" Zhu Caihong snorted and said, "Chu Nan, your mom and dad gave you five hundred yuan. You must make sure to nourish yourself well these next few days and secure a tier-two university for your dad and mom, you hear me?!"

"… Can't you have a bit higher expectations for your son? I'll get into a tier-one university to show you!"

"As if a brat like you could get into a tier-one university. If you can get into a tier-one university, whatever you want to buy when you come back, I'll buy it for you!"

Chu Nan instantly chuckled. "Mom, you said that yourself, don't regret it!"

"I won't regret it!" his mother said decisively.

...

Hanging up the phone, Chu Nan waved goodbye to Aunt Yang and hopped onto Huang Qi's motorcycle, charging straight into the battlefield!