Chapter Thirteen: The College Entrance Exam Concludes

At 3 p.m., the second exam of the liberal arts comprehensive test began. Unlike the science subjects, Li Jie was not as confident about the liberal arts exam because grading often involved subjective judgment, making it difficult to achieve a perfect score. However, thanks to his strong memory, the liberal arts section did not consume much of his time.

When the test papers were handed out, Li Jie quickly skimmed through the entire exam. There were no particularly difficult questions. With swift, confident strokes, he answered all the questions. After finishing, he looked around; most of the other candidates were still diligently writing. After a thorough review, Li Jie completed his answer sheet and chose to submit his paper.

As Li Jie walked out of the exam hall, he saw parents anxiously waiting nearby and couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for them. Many of these parents, having grown up in a turbulent era with limited educational opportunities, pinned all their hopes on their children. Some even burned incense and prayed for good results before the exam. Though such acts were more psychological comfort than practical help, they spoke volumes about parental love.

At the gate, Li Jie noticed Lu Changzheng pacing anxiously under the shade of a tree. The sight warmed Li Jie’s heart. This anxious demeanor was a far cry from the commanding presence Lu usually displayed as a business magnate. Now, he was no different from the other worried parents.

Seeing Li Jie emerge from the exam hall, Lu Changzheng paused and glanced at his watch, hardly believing the time. He wanted to say something but held back. To him, the college entrance exam was merely a trial; even if Li Jie didn’t take it, he was confident that his son was no ordinary person and would eventually soar. But facing this pivotal moment, even he couldn’t hide his nervousness—parents always want the best for their children.

“Xinghe, is it okay to come out so early? How did the exam go?” Lu Changzheng asked anxiously, fearing something might have gone wrong.

“Don’t worry, it was easy. Old Lu, don’t you know my usual scores? The college entrance exam is a sure thing for me,” Li Jie replied confidently.

They then got into a waiting car by the roadside. The driver, Lao Liu, skillfully started the engine and drove the father and son to Lu Changzheng’s home. Watching the two quietly chatting in the backseat, Lao Liu smiled to himself, feeling pleased that their relationship was growing warmer. Having watched Lu Xinghe grow up, this was heartening.

On the morning of June 8th, at 9 a.m., the mathematics exam was underway.

For Li Jie, math was the subject he was most confident about scoring full marks in. After a brief scan of the paper, he completed all the questions with ease in just half an hour, then spent a few minutes checking his answers twice.

He raised his hand: “Teacher, I’m submitting my paper!”

This announcement struck like thunder among the other students. Most thought he was showing off or perhaps submitting a blank paper. Those sitting close enough saw his densely written answers and felt disheartened and intimidated.

“Whoa! A prodigy appears!” a bespectacled classmate whispered in awe.

“Do you have to show off so much? Aren’t you leaving the rest of us losers any hope?” a girl from the back row groaned silently.

Li Jie quickly packed up his stationery and handed in his exam paper and draft sheets. Among the invigilators was a math teacher who had just mentally calculated the multiple-choice section. Glancing at Li Jie’s paper, he saw almost identical answers except for one or two questions. Unsure whether he or the student was correct, he then looked at the pristine draft paper and was utterly stunned.

“This kid’s a genius! I wonder which school he’s from—probably Zhenhua High School. They often produce top scorers, but even compared to them, this is remarkable. Zhenhua really breeds talent!”

Ignoring the astonished invigilator, Li Jie calmly left the exam hall.

“Ladies and gentlemen, hello! This is Xiao Xiao reporting for Harbin Satellite TV, currently outside the test center of our province’s renowned Zhenhua High School. Wow! Someone just submitted their paper after only half an hour! Let’s go interview this student!” the reporter announced.

“Hello! I’m from Harbin Satellite TV. May I ask you a few questions?” The cameraman followed the reporter to Li Jie, aiming the camera at them.

Glancing at the official badge and microphone, Li Jie thought, “High school is almost over; might as well have a little spotlight.” He replied, “Sure, go ahead.”

“Why did you come out so early, only half an hour after the exam started?”

“Oh, the paper was quite easy. I finished it all.”

“You’re that confident? How many points do you think you’ll get in math this time?”

“Let’s set a modest goal—150 points,” Li Jie said confidently.

Xiao Xiao, having interviewed many students over the years, had never met such a candidate. A ‘modest goal’ of 150 points—the perfect score! Though inwardly shocked, she maintained a smile: “And your goal for the overall exam?”

“Goal? My score? Most likely the top scorer,” Li Jie answered nonchalantly.

Faced with such an unusual student, Xiao Xiao lost interest in continuing the interview. After a few brief questions, she ended it, thinking the footage might serve as online material but was unsuitable for official broadcast. Unexpectedly, the clip she casually uploaded went viral.

After the exams ended, the students who had just finished felt revitalized, shed their previous anxieties, and roamed freely like kites cut loose.

Restaurants and KTVs were filled with students celebrating the conclusion of the most important test of their lives. Regardless of whether they were top or struggling students, they all shared the bittersweet feeling of parting. Alcohol set the mood; some students wept with tears in their eyes, and others sobbed openly. The KTV was filled with wild shouting—a scene of utter chaos.

That day, while immersed in writing “The Little Shop of Troubles,” Li Jie received a call from his class monitor, Zhou Mo, informing him that Class 5 of Senior Year would hold a graduation party at the Fortune Restaurant on Tuesday the 13th. Zhou Mo urged him to attend, noting that with Li Jie’s mock exam scores and consistently steady performance, he was almost certain to claim the top spot in the school and could be the expected top scorer in the college entrance exam. The party would be far less lively without him.

Li Jie readily agreed. Although he was mostly just acquaintances with classmates other than Geng Geng, he felt it necessary to maintain some social ties; after all, three years of schooling forged at least some camaraderie.

After the exams, Geng Geng’s parents relaxed their strict control, no longer micromanaging her schedule as they had in the weeks before the test. The two often went out together, and Geng Geng, like a caged bird set free, chattered nonstop along the way.

She vented about the previous strict regime—how every detail from how much to eat, what to eat, to sleep schedules had been rigidly controlled, and even her phone, her only means of contact, had been confiscated. At night, lying in bed without her phone, she could no longer chat casually or say goodnight to Li Jie, a routine she had cherished.

“Thankfully, things are back to normal now, or I’d have been suffocated,” Geng Geng said cheerfully.

“Just think, soon we’ll be at Yanjing University. No one will be able to control you like that anymore,” Li Jie said, gently squeezing Geng Geng’s hand.

“Ha! Yeah, I’ll be free at last!” she exclaimed happily.

Watching Geng Geng’s joyful face, Li Jie thought to himself, ‘Little fool, you still don’t quite get what I mean.’