Volume One, Chapter Five: A Strange Encounter Outside the Examination Hall

On the podium, the proctor, dressed in a deep blue Zhongshan suit, spoke sternly, "The exam is now over. Please put down your pens and prepare to submit your papers."

The rustling sound of writing abruptly ceased.

Several students sighed deeply.

Two proctors moved swiftly, collecting the exam papers before allowing the students to leave.

Gao Yuan appeared relaxed as he stood up and glanced at the nearby students.

He noticed their expressions were increasingly despondent. One student asked another, "How did you do?"

The other replied dejectedly, "I messed up. Completely lost. I really had no clue. How about you?"

"I'm not much better. Those questions—I recognized them, but they didn’t recognize me. After that politics exam, I lost all confidence."

"Well, let’s study hard for a year and try again next year."

"That’s all we can do. This year was just too rushed."

They were giving up? Not taking the rest of the exams?

Listening to their conversation, Gao Yuan thought their willpower was weak and their mental resilience poor.

As he neared the school gate, a sudden chill ran down his spine. Turning around, he saw Qiao Shan glaring coldly at him, her eyes burning with unhidden hatred.

Honestly, Gao Yuan understood why she bore such hostility toward him.

This girl was very proud; his confession was a humiliation to her.

In her eyes, he was just a toad trying to eat swan meat—his family had fallen on hard times, he lacked ambition, and he had fallen from a privileged compound kid to a mere street wanderer. Compared to her, from a well-off family with parents as high-ranking officials, the difference was like night and day.

In her subconscious, even pitying him with a glance was an act of mercy.

Moreover, his words before the exam had indeed been cutting to the bone.

Gao Yuan knew Qiao Shan did not blame him for his family troubles, but since his rebirth, his mindset had shifted greatly.

This girl might be beautiful, but she was too arrogant.

If the old Gao Yuan was a superficial admirer of looks, the new Gao Yuan would never judge by appearances alone.

Not all beautiful girls had hearts of gold.

Gao Yuan shot her a sharp glare, making Qiao Shan shiver slightly.

She bit her red lips, her heart falling into a cold abyss.

A question quietly surfaced in her mind: in just a few days, from his enthusiastic confession to this cold attitude, what had caused such a drastic change in Gao Yuan?

She could not understand.

Gao Yuan withdrew his gaze, unwilling to have any further dealings with Qiao Shan. She was like a rose with thorns—fragrant but prickly.

He was not destined to enjoy that kind of pain.

He quickened his pace and left the school. Reaching into his pocket, he unlocked his bike chain and kicked down the stand, ready to hop on home.

Then he looked up and saw a familiar figure slowly crossing the street opposite.

"Little Aunt!" Gao Yuan called out, pushing his bicycle across the road.

Hearing the shout, Gao Yueran stopped and turned around. Seeing him catch up, she was first startled, then blushed deeply.

"Xiaoyuan, you’re here... taking the college entrance exam too?" Gao Yueran asked shyly.

She was also quite pretty, wearing a red-and-white striped cotton jacket paired with army-green pants that were modified to be less baggy and more fitted, and cloth shoes on her feet.

At 1.68 meters tall, with braided hair, an oval face, long black eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, a high nose bridge, and rosy teeth.

Among the four Gao siblings, Gao Yueran was the youngest sister, ten years older than Gao Yuan.

Gao Yuan had heard from their father that among their generation, little aunt was the most doted upon.

Because the Gao family had a strong male line and a weak female line, and their grandmother was already in her forties when she gave birth to little aunt, she was especially cherished.

Sadly, when little aunt was eleven, their grandfather, working at the Mentougou coal mine, was trapped underground in a mining accident, and not long after, their grandmother passed away.

Little aunt was raised by her two older brothers, including their uncle who was two years older than her.

"Hehe... I’m a fresh graduate, little aunt, so of course I have to take the exam. I didn’t expect you to be taking it too," Gao Yuan said with a smile.

In his memory, little aunt was from the older generation, had put down her studies years ago, and had taken the first restored college entrance exam but apparently did not succeed.

Gao Yueran’s face turned even redder as she lightly hit him and said grumpily, "If you can take it, why can’t I? You’re being cheeky."

Gao Yuan wasn’t offended; instead, he felt a rare warmth of family affection. He joked, "You misunderstood. I wasn’t mocking you."

"This kind of situation is normal. Today I saw many unusual sights: huge age gaps among candidates, brothers and sisters, even couples, teachers and students, uncles and nephews taking the exam together."

"After an 11-year hiatus, with the exam reinstated, no matter the generation, no one wants to miss this chance to change their fate."

Gao Yueran walked alongside him, saying, "That’s true. This year’s college entrance exam is probably the largest and most competitive in our country’s education history. By the way, Xiaoyuan, how did you do?"

Gao Yuan flashed an OK sign confidently, "Pretty good."

Gao Yueran’s expression dimmed, sighing, "Little aunt didn’t do well. Out of eight questions, I answered six but don’t even know if they’re right. Probably hard to get into university."

Gao Yuan comforted her, "The exam is over; don’t worry now. Focus on the next one. Hop on, let’s go home for lunch."

He mounted his bike, balancing with one foot, and once Gao Yueran sat behind, he pedaled hard.

Gao Yuan planned to give little aunt a crash review at home, having her redo the history and geography practice papers he had already completed but with altered questions.

In the evening, he would give her two more sets of math and Chinese questions. It might help to sharpen her skills last minute.

He knew little aunt’s personality well—she disliked troubling others and hadn’t even told their parents about taking the exam.

To put it nicely, she had strong pride; less flatteringly, she was stubborn and concerned with appearances.

They sped along so fast the bike chain almost sparked.

When they arrived home, their mother Zhang Xuemei was just bringing the meal to the table.

Seeing the niece and son arrive together, Zhang Xuemei smiled warmly, took Gao Yueran’s hand, and asked, "How did you two happen to meet here?"

"Second sister-in-law, I’m taking the exam too, at the same test center as Xiaoyuan. We ran into each other after the morning session," Gao Yueran said shyly.

Zhang Xuemei was a bit surprised but then laughed, "Good, good. Don’t miss this opportunity. Wash your hands and eat quickly, then rest before the afternoon exam."

"Also, Yueran, you should stay here during the exam period. Don’t go back to the textile factory dorm. You and Xiaoyuan both need to focus on the exams. I’ll cook all three meals for you. Don’t bother cooking for yourself."

Gao Yueran squeezed Zhang Xuemei’s hand and smiled, "Then I won’t be polite with you."

"Good, don’t be polite. Hurry and wash up; let’s eat."

"Alright."

Gao Yuan and little aunt went to wash their hands in the courtyard and sat down to eat.

Their mother had stir-fried some cabbage stalks and shredded potatoes, and to boost Gao Yuan’s nutrition, she cooked four eggs.

In winter in Beijing, ordinary households often ate cabbage, radishes, and potatoes. Leafy greens were rare; some were imported from the south but only sold in certain circles. For common folk, finding fresh greens was extremely difficult.

Gao Yuan thought that after the exams, perhaps greenhouse farming could be tried. It wasn’t technically difficult, just operationally challenging.

But currently, the collective ownership of land forbade individuals from contracting land for farming, so the idea was impractical for now.

He bit into a white steamed bun and smiled with satisfaction. In these days, being able to eat fine flour was a luxury.

Most families mixed white and coarse grains, and Gao’s family was no exception.

Each family member had a monthly quota of coarse and fine grains, bought from the grain station with ration coupons.

It wasn’t until 1993 that the government abolished the urban residents' rationing system.

He picked up some scrambled eggs, placing them on the bun little aunt was nibbling, saying, "Little aunt, eat more. You’ve become so thin, it pains me to see."

Gao Yueran gave the eggs back with a smile, "You eat. No matter what I eat, I don’t gain weight. That’s just my constitution."

Watching the niece and nephew playfully defer to each other, Zhang Xuemei chuckled, "Alright, no need to fight over eggs. Half a plate each, you won’t finish more than that."

They both laughed, enjoying a happy lunch.

After the meal, Gao Yuan guided little aunt to sit at the three-drawer table. He selected a history and geography mock test he had completed, erased the answers, and had her redo it.

Gao Yueran looked at him puzzled, "Is that necessary?"

"Of course. The last-minute review might be clumsy but better than nothing." Gao Yuan had chosen those questions deliberately to reinforce key points. If little aunt mastered these, the afternoon exam would be manageable.

Seeing her nephew’s serious attitude, Gao Yueran smiled, knowing he meant well, and began to focus on the test.

An hour later, she had filled in the answers.

Gao Yuan reviewed the paper thoroughly, explaining the few mistakes until little aunt understood.

The crash course ended only then.

Just before 1 p.m., the niece and nephew headed out to the Fifth High School.

At 1:30 p.m., the history and geography exam officially began.

Gao Yuan ignored Qiao Shan sitting ahead, concentrating fully on the test. He finished smoothly within 60 minutes and, after carefully checking, grew bored and decided to submit his paper half an hour early.

Amid the stunned eyes of the proctors and other students, Gao Yuan strode out confidently.

Qiao Shan, still answering questions, watched his tall figure and curled her lips with a mocking smile, muttering, "I knew you were just a delicate pillow—giving up so quickly. If that attitude gets you into college, then you’re just too naive."