The Scorching Sun - 56

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The next morning, the homeroom teacher came to the dormitory early to roust everyone out. After taking attendance, she herded them one by one onto the school bus and sent them off to their examination centers.

By the time they reached the school gates, Yan Lie was already there. He stood by the roadside looking bright and full of youthful vigor, the very picture of a young man in the prime of his life. Yet when his gaze landed on Fang Zhuo, there was a faintly aggrieved look in his eyes.

That was hardly fair.

Yesterday, he was the one who'd gone fishing for trouble, and she'd even helped him resolve his little problem.

The homeroom teacher handed out their admission cards one by one. After collecting hers, Fang Zhuo went over to the map to confirm the exact location of her examination room, then stood beside a flower bed reciting classical poems. Yan Lie came over with a pen and held it out to her. "Hand."

Fang Zhuo had no idea what he was up to, but she raised her hand anyway.

Yan Lie grinned. "I'm sharing the honor student halo with you."

He wrote four large characters across Fang Zhuo's arm: "A University, here I come!"

As he capped the pen, he added with complete seriousness, "Make sure you write yours nicely, okay? Use mine as the standard."

Fang Zhuo thought to herself that he was childish, impossibly demanding on top of it.

Wei Xi spotted what was happening and immediately shouted, "Write one for me too!"

The students around them started clamoring. "Honor student! Give me some of those points you scored above A University's admission line! I want to go to B Province!"

Yan Lie was instantly surrounded by admirers, a whole troop of monkeys crowding around him as passersby turned to stare.

"Line up! I'll write one for all of you!" he called as he kept signing arms. Then he loudly reassured Fang Zhuo, "Don't worry. Yours was the first one I wrote, you're definitely getting the biggest share of the luck!"

Fang Zhuo: "..." She didn't feel reassured in the slightest.

After a bout of fooling around, the bell rang and the broadcast began. The homeroom teacher urged everyone to wait outside their examination rooms.

Their examination center was a new campus, with brand-new, fully equipped facilities. The moment the invigilators entered the room, they switched on the air-conditioning.

The room wasn't particularly hot, but Fang Zhuo's palms were already drenched in sweat.

Fortunately, the first subject was Chinese. Even if the heat made her head feel a little feverish, it shouldn't affect her too badly.

By the time she reached the essay section, her fingers were already aching.

She switched to another pen and glanced up at the clock at the front of the classroom. Only about half an hour remained.

In pursuit of those supposedly beautiful characters, she'd taken longer than she usually did to finish the exam.

With less than five minutes left, Fang Zhuo completed her paper, checked her answer sheet once more, and handed it in without a hitch.

When she emerged from the teaching building, the place was roaring with voices. Students were already discussing the essay prompt they'd just faced, as well as what they were going to have for lunch.

A crowd of parents packed the area outside the school's main gate. With so many heads bobbing together, it was impossible to tell who was who, and the only way to locate someone was by following their voice.

Fang Zhuo was making her way toward the school bus when a familiar voice rang out from somewhere in the crowd. "Fang Zhuo!"

At first, she thought she'd imagined it. She took two more steps, and the voice called out again, more urgently this time. Startled, Fang Zhuo looked up and swept her gaze around. At last, she spotted Ye Yuncheng in the middle of the crowd, leaning on crutches and making his way toward her in small, careful steps.

Fang Zhuo hurried over and helped Ye Yuncheng to a more open spot nearby. "Uncle, what are you doing here?"

"I brought you lunch. I asked around, this school is pretty far out, there aren't many restaurants nearby. Don't just grab something outside. What if it upsets your stomach?" Ye Yuncheng had a large black cloth bag hanging from his other hand. "Uncle brought three portions. I timed it so I'd get here just now, the soup's still hot. It's all stuff you like. Has Yan Lie got lunch arranged?"

Fang Zhuo took the bag and immediately felt how heavy it was. Seeing the sweat covering Ye Yuncheng's forehead, she couldn't help feeling sorry for him. "I don't know. You find somewhere to sit first. I'll call him and ask."

Yan Lie didn't turn on his phone until he got into the car. Yan Chengli, sitting in the front, asked him how he'd done on the exam, and Yan Lie gave a perfunctory, "So-so."

Traffic was jammed in both directions, leaving their car stuck in the middle of the road.

Yan Chengli rested both hands on the steering wheel, wanting to talk to him, when Yan Lie's phone suddenly vibrated. Whoever was on the other end said something that immediately wiped the fatigue from his slightly drawn face. He slapped the back of the seat to let Yan Chengli know what was happening, then jumped straight out of the car.

Yan Chengli had never seen such a vivid expression on his face. He glanced at the rearview mirror several times, before he could say a word, Yan Lie had already disappeared. He rolled down the window, wanting to follow, but there was nowhere to park nearby, and the drivers behind him were laying on their horns nonstop. In the end, he could only move forward with the flow of traffic.

Following the signs, Yan Lie found Fang Zhuo. The moment he spotted her from a distance, he quickened his pace and hurried over.

Fang Zhuo handed him an insulated lunch container, the three of them sat beneath the shade of a tree to eat.

The air was stuffy and muggy. As Fang Zhuo drank her chicken soup, she urged him, "Uncle, don't come tomorrow. We can take the school bus back to school. We'll eat in our own cafeteria at noon. It's perfectly safe."

"Of course I'm coming. How could I not come for something as important as the college entrance exam? Look at all the parents around here. It's packed. If I'm out here waiting for you, maybe you'll feel a little more at ease." Ye Yuncheng took out a pen and paper and asked earnestly, "What do you two want to eat tomorrow? A few of the market vendors know you're taking the college entrance exam today, they gave me discounts when I bought the ingredients. Just tell me what you want."

Yan Lie raised his hand. "I want chicken soup again! This soup is so good, Uncle. I honestly want to be adopted by your family!"

Ye Yuncheng laughed and nodded. "Then I'll make chicken soup for you again tomorrow."

"I want shrimp soup," Fang Zhuo said.

Yan Lie immediately changed sides. "Then I want that too."

"Plenty for everyone!" Ye Yuncheng laughed twice, then hesitated, as though unsure whether he should say what was on his mind.

Yan Lie spoke first. "Anyway, I did pretty well."

"So did I," Fang Zhuo said.

"That's good!" Ye Yuncheng brightened for a moment, cautiously adding, "Of course, even if you happen to perform below your usual level on one of the exams, it doesn't mean anything. You know your own abilities. There's no need to be nervous."

Everything went smoothly on the first day of the exams.

When every subject was finally over on the second day and Fang Zhuo walked out of the examination center, she had a feeling that A University was practically within reach.

The sun hadn't set yet, the sky was still brilliantly bright. After so long without rain, a few pale gray clouds drifted overhead, bringing a thread of coolness through the shrill chorus of cicadas.

Ye Yuncheng was still waiting outside the school gates. He was looking down at Yan Lie as the boy ate when he spotted Fang Zhuo and hurriedly handed her a bottle of ice-cold milk.

Yan Lie had handed in his paper early and was among the first batch of students to come out. He'd just finished being interviewed by reporters.

With a piece of bread between his teeth, he raised an eyebrow. "Want me to suffer through comparing answers with you?"

"No need." Fang Zhuo shook her head. "Let me enjoy being happy for a little longer."

Yan Lie grinned. "Sounds like someone's pretty confident."

Ye Yuncheng smiled too.

The homeroom teacher stood at the assembly point, waving a little yellow flag.

Fang Zhuo packed up all of Ye Yuncheng's bags and helped sling them over his shoulders. "Go home first. I'm going back to school to pack up my things."

"Do you have a lot of stuff? Can you carry it all? Or should Uncle call a little cargo truck for you?"

Yan Lie volunteered immediately. "I'll help her carry it. No problem. My dad's picking me up, I promise I'll get Fang Zhuo all the way to her door."

"Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Yan," Ye Yuncheng said.

He caught hold of Fang Zhuo, glancing toward the noisy crowd. He seemed to feel there was something he ought to tell her. Pressing his lips together, he said earnestly, "Make sure you say a proper goodbye to your classmates. Take a few more pictures, too. Don't leave yourself with any regrets."

"We don't need to get this sentimental yet," Yan Lie said. "They haven't even given us our graduation certificates. We've still got a class dinner in a couple of days."

"Is that so?" Ye Yuncheng gave a shy smile and nudged her along. "Then hurry up and go."

The mood on the school bus changed from exuberant to quiet as they traveled from the examination center back to A High School.

When they reached the school gates, the principal and a group of teachers who had stayed behind were waiting outside with two red banners stretched across the entrance to welcome them home.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Shen Musi clung to the bus window and let out a loud "Wow" before bursting into tears.

The homeroom teacher took a specially made yellow cap and plopped it onto his head. "Pull yourself together. We're not at that part yet."

Shen Musi wiped his face, hugged the schoolbag against his chest, and forced the emotions surging inside him back down.

They filed back into the classroom, pulled open the curtains, and switched on the lights.

The desks were still buried beneath piles of test papers and textbooks, but from today onward, those things that had tormented them in their dreams would have nothing more to do with them.

The homeroom teacher scratched her forehead. Under the expectant gazes of the entire class, she took a long time before finally speaking. "This really is my last speech. I honestly don't have much to say. First of all, congratulations, everyone, on finishing the college entrance exam! From now on, whether you date, smoke and drink, or get up to all kinds of mischief, none of it is my business anymore. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all!"

The class immediately protested, pounding their desks.

"Old Gao!" Zhao Jiayou shouted. "At a time like this, can't you praise us a little?"

"Fine! I'll give you a proper compliment!" The homeroom teacher planted both hands on the desk, her expression suddenly solemn. "I believe every one of you will become a backbone of our country's future, you're the best class I've ever taught! Diligent, sincere, kind, down-to-earth... You've all grown into exactly the people I hoped you'd become, and some of you have even surpassed those expectations. Every one of you is a rare and precious flower of the motherland!"

At first, everyone felt a little moved by her speech. Then she described them as "rare and precious flowers of the motherland," and their feelings became rather complicated. It was hard to bring themselves to applaud along with her.

"I apologize for every time I've hurt you. Maybe I've yelled at you, cursed at you, even hit you, but I really, truly cared about every one of you." The homeroom teacher pointed at them. "And none of you are allowed to cry. You're a bunch of little devils. You can't get this sentimental."

Everyone fell silent.

The homeroom teacher spread her hands and sighed. "You're graduating. That's it. Nothing more. Start cheering."

After a moment of silence, someone flung a test paper into the air and shouted, "We're free!"

The whole class erupted, jumping to their feet and letting loose.

The students from the neighboring class had reached the same stage as well. White sheets of paper flew wildly through the corridors, some slipping through the railings and fluttering down toward the terrace in the middle.

The younger students downstairs poked their heads out one after another, looking up at the commotion.

Standing at the podium, the homeroom teacher calmly took a sip from her goji berry tea. "Tear them up! Tear them up and have fun! But if this classroom isn't cleaned properly, nobody's going home today!"

Everyone charged out of the classroom and leaned over the railings, screaming down at the courtyard.

"Big brothers are graduating! Juniors, good luck!"

"Juniors, sing us a song! Send off this damn senior year!"

"Old Wang! Be honest! Those cigarettes you confiscated, did you smoke them yourself?! Tell us the truth today and I won't hold it against you!"

"Goodbye, youth!"

"What goodbye! My youth is only just beginning!"

In the corridors bathed in the light of dusk, figures streamed past as a crowd of young people celebrated with the fervor of a revolution finally won.

The homeroom teacher lifted her goji berry tea and took another sip, sighing with contentment. "How wonderful."

Fang Zhuo didn't understand how any of this could possibly be wonderful.

Reckless, immature, awkward... All the emotions they'd kept bottled up came pouring out like a flood, bursting into a cacophony of loud, graceless words.

But she felt that one day, even if she might forget all those formulas and equations she'd learned in school, she would never forget this moment, when eighteen years of her life seemed to stop and become forever fixed in the corridor.

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