Chapter 7: Truly Unbearable Pain
The next morning, Lin Yi stretched leisurely, refreshed in spirit. After washing up and having breakfast, he rode his father’s motorcycle to the exam venue.
It was June 8th, with only two subjects left in the college entrance examination: liberal arts comprehensive and English.
Lin Yi had reviewed all night and felt confident there were no major issues.
At five in the afternoon, the school’s loudspeaker announced the familiar voice, “Time is up. Please put down your pens, stop writing, wait for the teachers to collect your exam papers, and exit the hall in an orderly manner.”
Thus ended Lin Yi’s 2012 college entrance exam.
After the exam came celebration.
Not long after the exam concluded, the class chat group was flooded with over ninety-nine messages.
“The exam is finally over! The questions were so difficult!”
“Right! I couldn’t even solve the big math problems! Ah, so frustrating!”
“Sigh! Don’t even mention it. When others listened to English, I felt like I was hearing bird songs.”
“Lu Chen, Li Fei, Xia Lu… they must have done really well this time, right?”
“Of course, they’re all top students!”
“Ah, I envy them so much! I wonder if old man here can even get into a second-tier university.”
“Gao Liang, you better keep quiet.”
“Why can’t I speak? If I can’t get into a second-tier university, I’ll have to go home and take over my dad’s factory. So depressing.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
…
“By the way, where are we gathering for dinner?” a quiet classmate suddenly spoke up.
“At the Vienna Hotel.”
“Did you guys hear Lin Yi had a car accident?”
“Huh? Is he okay?”
“Don’t know. When I left school, I saw his dad supporting him, and he was still holding a crutch.”
“That must have been a huge blow for Lin Yi, right?”
“Definitely! Just imagine if you met something like that during your college entrance exam.”
“True!”
“Let’s have a moment of silence for Lin Yi! (hands clasped, burning candle emoji)”
“Moment of silence for Lin Yi! (hands clasped, burning candle emoji)”
“Moment of silence for Lin Yi! (hands clasped, burning candle emoji)”
…
Lin Yi, silently watching the uproar, saw these messages and felt his nose wrinkle in irritation. What nonsense was this?
Though he knew they meant no harm, he suddenly felt like giving them a good scolding!
He wasn’t dead or anything, so why all the fuss?
“Forget it, no need to argue with these petty people,” Lin Yi muttered as he left the chat.
At that moment, a message popped up on his phone: “Director Li Xue of ‘Nirvana in Fire’ is offering a large sum for the theme song.”
“Nirvana in Fire?”
Lin Yi’s eye twitched. This… this… this can’t be!
“Nirvana in Fire” was produced in 2014 and didn’t air until September 2015!
What time was it now?
It was 2012!
What on earth was going on?
Had time itself gone haywire?
Lin Yi’s heart tightened as he immediately went online to check.
The “Nirvana in Fire” crew had started filming back in 2011!
He sucked in a cold breath.
He hurriedly searched for other information. The 2012 hits “Gangnam Style” and “The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style” were nowhere to be found!
Calm down! Calm down!
Impulsiveness is the devil!
Suppressing his inner turmoil, Lin Yi gradually calmed.
It seemed this world had indeed shifted somehow. The 2012 “The Voice of China” wasn’t on; neither were the 2012 dramas “Beijing Love Story” or “Empresses in the Palace.” Instead, there was “Nirvana in Fire” from 2014.
As Lin Yi sat pondering, the phone rang.
Ring ring ring~
“Too painful to bear!”
“Really can’t take it!”
…
Lin Yi’s inner voice: “What an old-fashioned, cheesy song! Was I really that uncool back then? Can’t take it???“
“Hello, who is this?” Lin Yi answered calmly.
“It’s me, your dad.”
Lin Yi: “…”
Hearing that familiar annoying voice, he knew exactly who it was.
His best friend, Niu Junjie.
He never understood how his parents came up with that name.
He recalled Junjie’s self-introduction, chest puffed out, “My surname is Niu, my name Junjie. From now on, Brother Niu’s got your back!”
That had nearly made Lin Yi laugh himself into the afterlife.
“Say what you need to say. Don’t hold it in, you little brat.”
“I heard you had a car accident and even fractured a bone. Is that true?”
Lin Yi: …
“What do you think?”
“How was your exam?”
“Not bad, I guess.”
“Are you coming to the party tonight? If so, I’ll drive over to pick you up.”
“The girls in our class are dressing up really nicely for the party.”
“Especially Zhang Siqi.”
Hearing Junjie’s words, Lin Yi fell into thought, picturing Zhang Siqi’s face.
Zhang Siqi was the girl he’d had a secret crush on throughout high school.
Fair-skinned, gentle and refined, with short hair.
“Are you going or not? Stop spacing out!” Junjie urged.
“No, I’m not going,” Lin Yi hesitated but finally answered.
After all these years, the feelings had faded.
Was it worth seeing her one last time, only to drift further apart?
No need.
Besides, there was nothing left in this class to hold on to.
In those fleeting years, we were all just passing strangers.
“Are you sure you’re not coming?”
“Yeah, really not coming. If I have time, I’ll meet up with you.”
Junjie was his closest friend. In the previous life, he had helped Lin Yi a great deal during hard times. Lin Yi could never forget that kindness.
“Alright then, take care of yourself and heal well.”
“Mm.”
Junjie stared at the now-ended call for a while.
His friend seemed different from usual.
Maybe he should go see him?
Having a car accident during the college entrance exam—Lin Yi must be hurting a lot.
This quiet bookworm deserved a visit.
Junjie sighed and started driving in the opposite direction of the Vienna Hotel.
“Son, you’re not going to the party?” Lin Yi’s mother, Wang Xin, knocked and entered.
“No, I don’t want to go.”
“Why not? The exam’s over. Go out and relax. Don’t just stay in your room all the time.”
“I know what I’m doing,” Lin Yi said with a bitter smile.
Stepping into the living room and scanning around, Lin Yi frowned. “Mom, where’s Dad?”
“Your dad’s working overtime. The factory’s busy and short-staffed, so they have to push harder.”
Lin Yi felt a surge of helplessness. His parents toiled day and night, and he couldn’t help.
“No, I have to make sure Mom and Dad enjoy life properly someday!” Lin Yi clenched his fists, determination shining in his eyes.
Knock knock knock!
“Coming!”
“Huh, it’s you? Didn’t you go to the party?” Lin Yi widened his eyes at the visitor.
“I just wanted to check on you,” Junjie grinned mischievously.
“Oh, Auntie, this is a little something from me.”
“You’re here, that’s enough. Why bring fruit?” Wang Xin took the fruit from Junjie’s hand, sounding exasperated.
“Hehe,” Junjie scratched his head.
“You sit here. I’ll go cook.”
“Okay, thank you, Auntie!”
“Why did you come?” Lin Yi asked suspiciously.
“I… I was worried about you! I thought you might be feeling down, so I came to cheer you up,” Junjie chuckled.
“I appreciate that, but you should go to the party. After this, it’ll be hard to gather again.”
“Nope. You’re not there. Am I supposed to sit alone on the sidelines?” Junjie peeled a banana from the table and ate it, unfazed.
“By the way, how many points do you think you got?” Seeing Lin Yi in a better mood, Junjie’s nervous heart settled as he continued.
(There will be another update tonight.)