Summer in Your Name - 72

Every day after the third mock exam felt like someone had pressed a fast-forward button, speeding by unbelievably.  

Those not taking the regular college entrance exam route had already received their results, each embarking on their own path.  

Class 6 was a regular class, so most students were diligently preparing for the College Entrance Exam. Someone like Yang Linyu, who had secured a spot through independent enrollment, became the envy of everyone.  

Very few knew Sheng Xia had made it onto the review list for Heqing University.  

So when people saw Sheng Xia, who scored just twenty points above the first-tier university cutoff, constantly hovering around Zhang Shu, who was a shoo-in for a top-tier 985 university, fretting over his Chinese grades, they couldn’t help but sigh: This is the devotion of love! 

The cicadas’ shrill were deafening, and the countdown sign’s numbers had dwindled to single digits.

 

Teachers abandoned their usual pep talks, urging everyone to resume normal routines—no more all-nighters, no more stress, no more tackling difficult problems. Go out, take a walk, relax.  

Weekly test questions grew simpler. Zhang Shu stopped doing them altogether, focusing instead on reviewing past questions while practicing a few new ones daily to stay sharp.  

The school held a parent meeting, aligning with families to reduce pressure and create a relaxed atmosphere, both at home and at school.  

Everything revolved around one word: Steady.  

On the evening of the 6th, the third-years only had one self-study session. Wang Wei lectured from the front, repeating familiar reminders: Bring admission ticket, ID card, stationery. Don't eat cold or spicy food, don't stay up late. Call the police if you run into any trouble.  

As the dismissal bell rang, Sheng Xia packed up to leave. Suddenly, the building’s lights went out, plunging them into darkness, and a chorus of gasps filled the air.

  

Then, cheers erupted from the neighboring building.

The noise grew louder as underclassmen from the first and second years swarmed toward the third-year building.  

"Good luck on the College Entrance Exam! Affiliated High School, fight to win!"  

"Good luck on the College Entrance Exam! Affiliated High School, fight to win!"  

The shouting encouragement had begun.  

The shouts started unified, then turned chaotic as students yelled whatever came to mind.

Well-wishes rose and fell like waves.  

Seniors on the upper floors responded:  

"Affiliated High School, fight to win!"  

“Unsheathe the sword! Glory to Affiliated High Schools!"  

"Senior sisters, you’re so pretty!"  

"Junior brothers, you’re so handsome!"  

Class 6, on the ground floor, caught every shout clearly.  

Amid the noise, a few loud "Zhang Shu, you got this!" cut through the chaos and reached Sheng Xia’s ears.  

"Zhang Shu, you’re the best!"  

"Zhang Shu, I like you!"  

Emboldened by the darkness, the noise, and the knowledge that they might never meet again—someone was confessing their feelings.  

Xin Xiaohe leaned in, whispering to Sheng Xia, “So popular, huh?”  

Indeed.  

The so-popular guy in question maneuvered through the dark to Sheng Xia’s side and caught her hand, gripping it tightly.  

Xin Xiaohe rolled her eyes and stepped back.  

“So popular, huh?” Sheng Xia teased, standing on her toes to whisper in Zhang Shu’s ear.

Zhang Shu chuckled, cradling her head as she looked up. “Aren’t you going to cheer me on?”  

Lately, Sheng Xia had grown used to his close physical touch. She went along with it easily: "Zhang Shu, you got this!"  

As soon as she spoke, he gently lifted her chin. His face drew closer—  

Just as she thought their lips would meet, her spine stiffened in panic, her hands instinctively pushing him away—but then he tilted his head, and a soft touch grazed her cheek.

Light. Fleeting.  

He quickly straightened, looking out at the noisy crowd, fingers rubbing unnaturally at his upper lip.  

In the dim light, she couldn’t read his expression.  

That brief, dragonfly-like touch felt like an illusion—  

If not for Xin Xiaohe’s exaggerated gagging noises nearby.  

The shouting stopped. The younger students turned on their phone flashlights, waving them as they sang the school anthem.

Sheng Xia noticed the classmates around her clasping their palms together under their chins, eyes closed, making wishes.  

Seeing Sheng Xia still dazed, Zhang Shu gave her hand a shake. "Make a wish?"  

She had no idea about this tradition. Realizing what was going on, Sheng Xia quickly pulled her hand free from his, clasped it with the other, and wished earnestly.

When she opened her eyes, Zhang Shu asked, "What did you wish for?"  

Still flustered by what had just happened in the dark, she avoided his gaze but answered honestly, “To get into Heqing University smoothly. You?”

"I wish…If I say it out loud, will it come true?" The flickering phone lights cast shifting shadows on his face, his smile radiant. "Then I wish to have an entire summer (Sheng Xia).”

To have an entire summer (Sheng Xia).  

Sheng Xia repeated it silently in her heart.  

He peeked!

When the lights came back on, she saw the mischief in Zhang Shu’s eyes.  

"You peeked!" she accused.  

Zhang Shu didn’t deny it, entirely unrepentant. "The College Entrance Exam is tomorrow."  

Sheng Xia fumed. The exams is tomorrow—how could she stay mad?

She’d said he could only look after the College Entrance Exam, but that was just a talk.  

Aside from not wanting to affect his focus, she was simply too embarrassed.  

Now that he had peeked, all she felt was embarrassment, not anger.

Sheng Xia hurriedly slung her backpack on, deciding retreat was the best option. "I’ve got to go home. Good luck tomorrow!"  

"Good luck."  

"And the day after too!"  

Zhang Shu laughed helplessly. "Yeah, even more luck the day after."  

---  

The Night Before the College Entrance Exam. 

On what supposedly monumental moment—Sheng Xia spent it doing something she doesn't usually do.  

No studying, no practice tests. Just eating fruit while watching TV dramas with Wang Lianhua. 

Her phone flipped between social apps, and everyone seemed to be doing the same.

The class group chat had devolved into a meme war, shifting from hyped-up “Let’s do this!” to “I’m done, let it all burn.” Topics grew increasingly bizarre.

A boy posted a screenshot. Sheng Xia clicked on it without thinking.

One glance, and she nearly choked on her mango.

It was a Baidu Health Q&A screenshot.  

Patient: Hello, expert, my College Entrance Exam is tomorrow. I heard sexual activity helps with exam performance. Is there a scientific basis for this?    

Expert: Hello, student. Sexual activity can help you relax, and pleasure may aid sleep, but it has little impact on your exam performance. First-time experiences might even cause anxiety if unpleasant, so it’s not recommended.

…What?  

Was their upcoming graduation peeling away everyone’s filters?  

The screenshot was quickly retracted.

But by then, everyone was online and had already seen it.  

Several floors of speechless ellipses followed.  

A few class clowns replied with "HAHAHA" emoji.  

One quipped: "As if you’ve got a partner.”  

The original poster: "I don’t, but SOMEONE does."  

Zhang Shu: "…"  

The original poster: "Brother Shu, why’d you surface now??"  

Another reply: "Because your Brother Shu has a partner."  

That exchange was retracted just as fast.

Another wave of speechless ellipses followed. 

Translation: Read.

They had seen everything that had to be seen. 

Sheng Xia had only been stalking the group chat; she'd never spoken there before.

Why did it feel like she was being CUE-ed?  

Seconds later, the member count in the group chat dropped by two.  

The chat went quiet.  

Then, Xin Xiaohe’s dorm group exploded. Since their late-night snack outing, Sheng Xia had been added to their private group—the one without Zhou Xuanxuan.  

Damai: "HAHAHAHA. I’m dead. I can't believe Zhang Shu kicked Tao and his buddies out!"  

Xin Xiaohe: "Good. Those idiots had it coming.  

Damai: "The woes of teenage boys.jpg"  

Lanlan: "More like the woes of middle-aged creeps."  

Xin Xiaohe: "But seriously, is what the expert said true?” 

Lanlan: "I heard guys suck the first time. HAHAHA, talk about anxiety!"  

Damai: "If an expert said it, it’s probably legit. That last line killed me. Guys probably all finish in seconds the first time, right?"  

With the college entrance exam looming, this group chat was getting a little too vibrant.  

Sheng Xia remembered she’d promised to share some last-minute predictions for exam. Since she hadn’t sent them yet, she took the chance to forward them now.  

It wasn’t really ‘predictions’—just some classical poems she thought might appear in the memorization section, to help everyone get the hang of it.

Xin Xiaohe: "Thumbs-up.jpg"  

Lanlan: "Xiaxia, why’re you changing the subject?”

 

Damai: "Are your cheeks red and heart racing?" 

Sheng Xia: "Good luck on the College Entrance Exam!"  

The chat quieted down.

Checking the time, Sheng Xia thought it was time to rest.  

She forwarded the classical passages she’d just sent to Zhang Shu, then went to wash up.

Wang Lianhua made her double-check the admission ticket, ID, and stationery before finally letting her sleep.    

Half-reclining on her bed, Sheng Xia grabbed her phone to remind Zhang Shu to check his exam ticket too. But the moment she opened their chat, her brain short-circuited.  

Song Jiang: "?"  

Song Jiang: "…Are you hinting at something?"  

Song Jiang: "I've no experience, so I wouldn’t know.”

Song Jiang: "But not in seconds."  

Panicking, she scrolled up and saw what she’d forwarded.  

Among the classical passages, the very first line was Damai’s message: "If an expert said it, it’s probably legit. That last line killed me. Guys probably all finish in seconds the first time, right?"    

It totally looked like she was asking him!

This was mortifying!

She must’ve accidentally selected the message right above hers when forwarding!    

God, just end me now.

Regaining her composure, she decided to ignore it.  

Sheng Xia: "Don’t forget to check your admission ticket, ID, and stationery. Make sure your pencil lead isn’t broken.” 

Zhang Shu must’ve been glued at his phone because “Typing…” appeared instantly.   

Yet the reply took a while to arrive.

Song Jiang: "Don’t worry, I’ll check. I’m not anxious."  

Aaaaaahhh!

What a freak!  

---  

The day the College Entrance Exam finally arrived, Sheng Xia felt oddly calm.

Perhaps the endless string of mock exams had drained away all her nerves.  

As an off-campus student, she headed to the exam center alone, without the school’s bus send-off or teachers’ fanfare.

So when she got to the testing site, it felt like just another routine task—she simply looked for the classroom she'd scouted out before.

Zhang Shu wasn’t in the same testing zone as her. Likely because she was a transfer student, she’d been separated from most of Class 6.    

There wasn't a familiar face in the whole room.

Only then did it truly sink in—this was the College Entrance Exam.  

When she got the test paper, Sheng Xia skimmed straight to the classical poetry memorization section. To her surprise, the passage she’d predicted, one that hadn't been covered in class—had actually appeared.  

Though just one.

The exam went unusually smoothly. By the time she finished the essay, she found that she still had twenty minutes left. This made her a bit nervous.

She’d always been fast at Chinese, but never this fast.  

Had she missed something?

Sheng Xia took deep breaths, replaying mindful meditation in her head, refusing to spiral into worry. She checked her multiple-choice answers over and over again.  

That afternoon, halfway through the math exam, the glaring sunshine gave way to rain.  

The sky hung low, clouds churning, as torrents poured down.  

The downpour drummed against the leaves, chaotic and distracting.

But Sheng Xia, used to meditation soundtracks with rain, found it rather calming, far better than the screech of cicadas.  

The rain stopped the moment the exam ended, as if it had only poured to spite the test-takers.    

The next day played out the same. Midway through the science exam, there was another downpour.  

And just before the end, it ceased.

“Exam over. Candidates, stop writing…”

At the prompt, Sheng Xia sat, waiting for her paper to be collected. Suddenly, she felt like a spinning top that had lost its whip—wobbling, staggering, coming to a halt.    

Was high school life… really over?  

It felt surreal.  

"Nothing can stand in the way of your yearning for freedom..."

The exam center, perhaps inspired by online trends, played folk music over the speakers. To its rhythm, students streamed out of the exam halls. Some ran, some cheered, but most, like Sheng Xia, walked quietly, eyes dazed. 

Outside, parents waited anxiously, each more restless than the other.

Sheng Xia spotted her mother and father standing amid the crowd.

Sheng Mingfeng and Wang Lianhua stood side by side. There was no tension, no conflict—just the same anxious look. 

Wang Lianhua, holding a bouquet, was already teary-eyed when she saw Sheng Xia.

Sheng Xia’s eyes locked with her mother, and jogged toward her.  

The College Entrance Exam is finally over.  

Senior year is finally over.  

High school is finally over.  

These three years—especially this last one—hadn’t just been her journey. They were also her parents’ trials.  

---

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