C8 The Day of the College Entrance Exams

As expected, the month before the college entrance examinations was a period of torture for all the examinees.

Understandably enough, some students would chose to skip their classes in an attempt to lighten the pressure they were feeling. And then there were those who soldiered on through the day, and still continued to burn the midnight candle, all in hopes to win the gamble f their future. Zhang Muye belonged to this latter group. He might have an arguably unparalleled intellect now, but he had still missed most of the first three years of middle school. His knowledge was built on shaky ground, so to speak. He wasn’t willing to take any chances, else his moment of victory just might slip from his grasp.

Besides, his ambitions had recently switched lanes. He was no longer aiming for a second-class university, let alone the average, mediocre ones. No, this time, he intended to blaze through to the most elite universities and make a name for himself.

His efforts didn’t go unnoticed by his parents. Though they were happy to see that their formerly errant son seemed to have turned over a new leaf, they couldn’t help worrying that he might be pushing himself too hard. And what if, after his hard work, he still couldn’t get into the university of his choice?

The rest of the month was full of uncertainty, not only for Muye, but for his family as well.

At school, the mock exams were changed from alternating between short quizzes and long tests to a series full-blown tests that were given every two days. This time, Muye made sure to keep his score between 300 and 400 points so as not to arouse any more of Lee Yong’s suspicions. After the first couple of rounds where his average “returned” to “normal”, the teacher finally paid less attention to him. After all, this only proved Lee Yong’s earlier doubts—that Zhang Muye had indeed earned that astounding total of 688 points by cheating.

Despite his new goals and resolve, Muye made sure to take some time to relax. It would only do more harm than good if he never took any break from studying.

And so, he went back to his old hobbies—playing some basketball and practicing a bit of kickboxing to release tension. He also picked up his guitar and strummed a tune from time to time, even composing his own melody and writing lyrics.

He had always thought that his favorite pastimes were just that—a way to take a breather, nothing more. But after what had happened to him at the lake, that didn’t seem to be the case anymore. His strength and stamina had vastly improved, and so had his creative skills.

Now, he could easily run a marathon everyday and not feel exhausted at all. Heck, he could even do dunk after dunk without breaking a sweat.

As for the guitar, he was now able to play any piece after hearing it just once, and even improvise some riffs that sounded better than the original. Not to mention his composing skills, of course. He had even written and composed a school folk song, which spoke of a graduate’s longing for his golden past and his hopes for an even brighter future.

Muye was quite pleased with the piece. The melody was flowed smoothly, and the lyrics were deep. The final product was both pensive and tranquil. He was proud of it.

After thinking it over for some time, he made the casual decision to upload his song to the internet. His intention was to put something out there that would resonate with other young people like himself, and hopefully inspire them to strive for a better new chapter in their lives.

Well, a small part of him did hope that the song would go viral and gain popularity among the students and fresh graduates, but he would be content just knowing that there are others who could relate to it.

Day after day, Muye would meet up with Liu Dong and Sheng Kai after classes ended, and the boys rode their bikes home as usual. Now and then, they would catch a glimpse of Xia Chuchu sitting pretty at the back of her sleek Mercedes-Benz as it zoomed past them. Sometimes, she would ride this fancy bicycle and wander around Old Town. She would always gaze around the with a nostalgic smile, as though the place had long been relegated to the deepest corner of her past.

Sometimes, Muye would also spot the folk ballad master, Lee Ren, albeit only from afar. The music legend was a middle-aged, spindly-looking man, not too tall, but very thin. With his reputation, news had quickly spread throughout the north and south of the Great River. Thus, he often came to his sessions with Xia Chuchu in secret, afraid that a group of reporters would pounce on him from out of nowhere.

In any case, Xia Chuchu was pleased with the arrangement and grateful for the opportunity. She began to fantasize about the day when she was doing the same thing, hiding from the media after establishing her own position in the industry. And when that time came, she would truly be above and out of reach for her former childhood playmates.

One day, Muye received a graduation message from several former classmates in Class 3. They were mostly boys who did well enough for themselves, so he was quite touched by their thoughtfulness. Among them, however, was something that came as a pleasant surprise. Muye found a particularly eye-catching message book among the stack. The material looked to be of the best quality, and it came with the distinct scent of smoked grass. It was from Cao Ying. He opened it eagerly and read—

“A man with knowledge and ideals must foster great ambitions.

No youth should waste their golden years.

I have faith in your talents. Whether your goal is to get into a university or not matters little. There is no one sure way to succeed in life, but there are many different avenues and choices to explore.

I hope to we meet again after the New Year. By that time, may we each be better versions of our current selves.”

At the bottom of the page was a scribble of a cute, smiling face.

It was short and simple, but it was sweet, and it warmed Muye’s heart.

Cao Ying’s beautiful face immediately came to mind. Who would have thought that he would be so lucky as to receive such kindness from an unattainable girl like her? Her gesture made him happy, the kind of happiness that made one feel as if they were walking on clouds.

Muye had always known that Cao Ying would occasionally watch them play basketball. He knew this because every time she was there, the boys would double their efforts and try to show off. Not that he could blame them; they only wanted to catch the attention of their “goddess”. Once or twice, he had witnessed her smile at some of his friends, and the poor boys had gone throughout their day with a stupid grin on their face. Cao Ying’s charm was that potent.

Even he wasn’t immune to it. Whenever he thought of her, a pleasant and comforting feeling always came over him.

But then, another thought came to mind—Cao Ying probably wasn’t expecting him to improve much. That would explain why she talked about “other choices in life”. Nonetheless, Muye understood that she was trying to encourage him in her own way. She was telling him not to give up despite of the setbacks he might encounter.

Muye started to wonder which university she was aiming for. If, at some point in the future, they both walk into the same campus, or perhaps take the same major… He was sure that Cao Ying would be shocked to see him.

And she would no doubt be happy for him, too. Muye smiled to himself. That would make for a truly marvelous encounter.

On the day before the college entrance exams, students from all over the province stirred up some drama by tearing their books and notes apart. It was supposed to signify their willingness to go into battle—an apt metaphor for the exams that would decide the rest of their lives.

Muye himself did not participate in the activities. He didn’t care much for theatrics. Instead, he waited quietly as the hours ticked by. Soon, the moment he had been looking forward to will come.

The next day dawned bright and sunny, and it only progressed to sweltering heat.

The weather forecast even reported that the day of the college entrance exams had registered the highest temperature in Jinnan City at 38 degrees Celsius.

That morning, Zhang Muye woke up as he usually would. And just as usual, his mother had prepared soybean milk and fried dough sticks for his breakfast.

As he ate his meal with relish, Cui Ping said, “Muye, just relax and go take the exams with a clear mind. Don’t be pressured by everyone’s expectations.”

Zhang Aiguo nodded in agreement while peeling his tea eggs. “Even if you don’t do well in the exams,” he said in a light tone, “you can just go back to school and try again next year. All you have to do today is try your best.”

His parents were obviously trying to ease the burden they thought Muye was carrying, and he loved them for it.

He smiled at them and nodded obediently. “I will try my best to get the best results!”

The couple couldn’t help but laugh at his witty reply. Indeed, their mischievous son wasn’t the type to turn his back on gold. No matter what his final score may be, they were determined to continue giving him their support.

Muye finished his breakfast, then went and grabbed his pencil case, his admission ticket, and other necessary documents. He said goodbye to his family and received their blessings, and then he was off to the examination venue.