Chapter 302 - College Entrance Examination, Third Master Is Even More Nervous Than An Old Father
Chapter 302: College Entrance Examination, Third Master Is Even More Nervous Than An Old Father
During the last evening of self-study before the college entrance examination, Song Fengwan did two English readings. Even though there was a teacher watching from the desk, many people could no longer sit still. Many people were whispering and in no mood to read.
“Song Fengwan.” Someone poked her back. She turned around, and a student yearbook was handed to her. “Can you write a message?”
“Okay.” She reached out to take it and casually flipped through two pages.
Many people had written in it, and the quotes they left were all about stuff like how a day would come when one will hoist one’s sails, ride the wind to break through the waves, and traverse the vast, rolling sea[1].
After she entered her senior year of high school, she had spent most of her time studying fine arts outside. When she returned, everyone was reviewing, so her relationship with her classmates was so-so.
Although they didn’t have a good relationship, they had gone through a tough and tense senior year together. There was always a kind of revolutionary friendship that was hard to explain between them.
She usually didn’t talk much, had good grades, looked beautiful, and came from a good family background. She looked no different from ordinary students, but she also seemed a little out of place.
Few boys dared to go up and strike up a conversation with her. At this moment, seeing that she agreed to write a message in the yearbook without any hesitation, everyone became bolder. After class ended, many people handed their student yearbooks to her.
There was even a confession letter tucked into one of the yearbooks.
[Song Fengwan, I like you! I’ve noticed you since the first year of high school…]
He wrote at great length on a whole piece of paper.
Song Fengwan picked up her pen and wrote a line at the back. [Thank you. I have someone I like.]
When their yearbooks were returned, the anguished wailing of a group of boys traveled from the back row soon after. They were even reprimanded by the homeroom teacher.
Song Fengwan’s overall examination results had come out at the end of January, and the art examination results of the major universities had come out in February and March. Song Fengwan’s art examination results could be applied to many art academies.
The Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing was her first choice for her major, and she had also reached the cut-off point for the art academies in Suzhou and Nanjiang. The key still depended on her cultural class score.
Qiao Aiyun originally wanted her to go to the Suzhou Academy of Fine Arts. But because she was with Yan Wangchuan, she also hoped that she would go to the Nanjiang Academy of Fine Arts. Just choosing an art academy made her utterly worried.
But she didn’t know at all that Song Fengwan was bent on running to the capital.
As the examination was about to start, the teacher didn’t make the students stay for long. He let them go back at around nine o’clock and reminded them of many things to take note of. Song Fengwan checked her stationery again. When she left the school gates, she specially bought an extra 2B pencil to fill in answer sheets before getting into Yan Wangchuan’s car.
***
The night before the exam, Fu Chen called her briefly for a few minutes before hanging up.
Huai Sheng was watching the movie ‘Minions’ in the living room. Because of the college entrance examination, classrooms had been requisitioned, and teachers had been transferred to supervise the examination. So most of the elementary and middle schools in the capital were on vacation.
“Third Uncle, can I go up the mountain in the next few days? I miss Master.” Once Huai Sheng was on vacation, he would keep thinking about running up the mountain.
At this moment, he was eating popcorn chicken while still thinking about how to be a good abbot.
“Sure, I’ll send you tomorrow.” Fu Chen also planned to go to the mountain early in the morning to pray for good luck for Song Fengwan.
Before dawn the next day, Fu Chen set off with Huai Sheng.
The traffic police were already making preparations for the college entrance examination. After seven o’clock, many roads would be completely blockaded. There were even signs forbidding honking at some intersections, and mobile vans were set up everywhere in sight for the examinees.
Fu Chen lowered his head to look at his watch. As the time approached, he looked inexplicably restless and anxious.
Shi Fang looked at Fu Chen through the rearview mirror. “Third Master, don’t worry too much. Miss Song’s grades are very good. As long as she performs steadily, she will definitely have no problem getting into the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
“Besides, she scored very high in her specialization class. Isn’t there a professor in the Central Academy of Fine Arts who appreciates her a lot? As long as her marks reach the cut-off line, it won’t even be a problem for her to enter the best major.
“Don’t be nervous.”
“Do I look very nervous?” Fu Chen raised his eyebrows, his face expressionless.
Huai Sheng tilted his head and looked at him. “Third Uncle, you look very fretful and restless.”
Shi Fang held back his laughter.
Actually, ever since a few days ago, this kind of anxiety and unease had started appearing on Third Master.
He had never even been so nervous about his own exams before.
People said that students were nervous before their exams and couldn’t eat. Third Master wasn’t taking the exam, so why was he even more nervous than an old father?
He really couldn’t sit or stand still and was in no mood to work, so he directly gave his employees three days off.
The people in the company were dumbfounded.
What kind of vacation could they have when students were taking the college entrance examination?
***
Yuncheng, Qiao residence…
Due to Song Fengwan’s biological clock, she woke up at half past five. When she went downstairs, Qiao Aiyun was making dumplings for her. In the minds of the older generation, they felt that eating dumplings was auspicious and would bless everything to go smoothly.
Qiao Aiyun didn’t sleep much this whole night, afraid that she would oversleep and delay her exam.
“Didn’t I tell you to sleep more? I’ll call you when it’s time.” Qiao Aiyun lowered her head and continued to knead the dumplings.
“I can’t sleep.” Song Fengwan was also nervous.
She had endured studying hard for twelve years and shouldered the hopes of her elders, so she was also nervous.
If she didn’t do well in the exam and missed the opportunity to enter the Central Academy of Fine Arts, she might have to undergo a long-distance relationship with Fu Chen. It was really hard to say what would happen in the future.
Fu Chen was also worried about this.
What if she didn’t get into the Central Academy of Fine Arts? What if she went to a school somewhere else in the country? Universities were full of young and handsome men. How could he be at ease if they played together all day?
Song Fengwan’s examination hall was in the middle school near her house. After breakfast, Qiao Aiyun and Yan Wangchuan accompanied her there, treating it as a walk to exercise and strengthen.
When she reached the school gates, the school was already open. Parents couldn’t enter, so they could only send her in from the outside.
“There’s chocolate in the bag. Bring this water too.” Qiao Aiyun was even more nervous than her. “Don’t be nervous. Just perform normally.”
“Okay.” Song Fengwan looked at the examinees and parents at the school gates and found it difficult to calm down.
“Take the exam well.” Yan Wangchuan had been silent the entire journey and finally spoke in the end.
Song Fengwan went in with her bag. She had come to see the place in advance, so it was easy for her to find the location of the examination hall. All the students were waiting outside. Everyone came from different schools, so they didn’t know each other. Occasionally, a few people from other examination halls would gather and chat with their heads tilted.
The rest of the people were looking down at their study material, as if a last-minute effort could make them feel more at ease.
Song Fengwan took out her phone and called Fu Chen.
“Hey.” Fu Chen was already in the mountains, and the signal wasn’t good. It came on and off.
“Third Brother.” Song Fengwan’s heart had jumped into her throat.
“Don’t be nervous. You have to be confident.”
Standing beside him, Shi Fang extended his hand and rubbed his nose. He himself has been nervous for many days, yet he still turned around to comfort her.
“I know. I’m not nervous…”
The two of them chatted for a while. When she saw a group of teachers carrying sealed bags coming over, she hurriedly hung up and turned off her phone to prepare to enter the hall.
After the invigilator entered the examination hall, he checked the classroom thoroughly and turned on the signal-blocking equipment and metal detector. He also wrote the examination subject and time on the blackboard before letting people in one after another.
Song Fengwan was extremely nervous. Only until she sat in the examination hall did her heart slowly calm down…
Fu Chen’s note was pasted on the back of her admission ticket. She took a deep breath and tried her best to relax her tense body.
***
At this moment, Fu Chen, who was in the temple, was even more nervous than her. He prayed to the gods and Buddha before drawing a lot for Song Fengwan.
Double blessings[2].
Even so, he couldn’t feel at ease. He lost three rounds in a row against Master Pudu.
“Third Master, you have something on your mind today.” Master Pudu put away the chessboard. “Your thoughts aren’t here. If there’s anything, you can tell me. Perhaps I can help you.”
Fu Chen smiled. “You might not be able to help me.”
Huai Sheng had already changed into a grayish robe. He leaned over at the side and poured tea for the two of them. “Master, you can’t help Third Uncle with this matter.”
“Since you’ve come up the mountain, you must have something to ask of Buddha. Praying to Buddha and drawing lots all went very well. I wonder what else has you troubled?” Master Pudu picked up the hot tea beside his hand and blew at the puffing steam before taking a sip.
Fu Chen smiled wryly.
The college entrance examination was two days, and he couldn’t sit still at all. It was really torture.
“Because Third Uncle’s girlfriend is taking the exam today, of course he’s nervous,” Huai Sheng said matter-of-factly.
Master Pudu was stunned for a moment. He remembered that last year, Fu Chen had given him a set of birth characters to calculate his marriage fate. That girl was only 17 years old at the time. According to her age, she should indeed be taking the exam.
Over the past few days, many parents had come to draw lots and ask for blessings for their children during the exam.
Some time ago, Old Madam Fu had even gone up the mountain to ask him about Fu Chen’s marriage fate.
She had said that something was very wrong with him during this period of time. He had even been in a daze while eating and had almost scalded his hand. She had never seen Fu Chen in a state of anxiety and absent-mindedness before. There was once when he had almost fed grapes to his dog at home and almost poisoned Fu Xinhan.
Old Madam Fu wanted to ask if there was a problem with his relationship or if his work wasn’t going smoothly.
Now, it seemed like the abnormality about Third Master…
It was probably a syndrome of his worry for his girlfriend before her exam.
Song Fengwan had already started the exam at this moment, so she didn’t know about Fu Chen’s worry and anxiety at all.
[1] This is a part of the Chinese poem 行路难/The Hard Road about being free by the famous Tang dynasty poet Li Bai.
[2] When someone prays at a temple and draws lots to receive a hint about the future, there can be all kinds of outcomes. In this case, this ‘double blessings’ means that there will be an ideal result.