Chapter 172: Chapter 172: Finally, the day has come
June 14th, Wednesday.
This is the day before the high school entrance exam, and also the last day of their junior high school days. The weather is not good, with dark clouds pressing down on the city, but it's not raining, which makes people even more annoyed.
Thanks to the college entrance exam, the first and second graders were given the day off yesterday afternoon, and the school was left with only the third graders, who were about to face the test of their lives. It was a little deserted and a little tense.
When each teacher arrived in the classroom, from Chinese to political science, none of them lectured again or told everyone to review. They all stressed the precautions to be taken during the exam in a gentle and patient manner, and then left, as they also had to prepare to go to other schools to proctor the exam.
'And one last thing: don't be nervous, just act normally. After all, you're still in school, just in a different seat.' Wang Yumin looked at the faces in the audience and felt that even the students she normally found most unappealing looked a lot better today.
After tomorrow, most of them and she would no longer have any contact, and they would become strangers in different parts of the world.
When they first enrolled, they were still naive children, but now they have all become young adults. I just don't know what path these spirited children will take in the future. Will they remember this moment, and me as their teacher, many years from now?
"Okay, I don't encourage you to read either. It's fine to empty your mind today, whether you sleep, chat, or whatever. Just to be safe, don't leave the school. And remember, don't eat anything other than the food in the cafeteria!'
Although she said this, very few people left the classroom. After a few years, it became second nature, and very few people could adapt to being told to go out and hang out during class time.
During evening study hours, unfortunately, the power went out. Everyone dug out the remaining candles, and candles were placed on desks, on the podium, and on the windows. The flickering candlelight in the classroom was a somewhat warm and somewhat sad atmosphere.
Although the books were opened on the desks as usual, none of them could be read. It was also customary, but sitting in the classroom with an empty desk, everyone couldn't get used to it.
On the eve of the college entrance exam, my mood was actually very complicated.
After two or three years of preparation, everything will begin to show results tomorrow. There is a sense of relief that the waiting is finally over.
At the same time, my heart feels empty, caused by the uncertainty about tomorrow and the future. If I had made up my mind, starting next week, I would follow my parents to the fields or go south to work as a migrant worker, I would feel more at ease.
But at this moment, who doesn't harbour a glimmer of hope that they can perform exceptionally well and make a splash in the next three days!
Only a few people bought notebooks, and most students used their notebooks instead. Feng Yiping's desk was piled high with notebooks, and not only were there notebooks from his own class, but from other classes as well.
He shook his sore wrist and noticed that Xiao Zhijie and Zhang Qiuling were lying face-to-face on the desk, whispering something to each other. Underneath the desk, their hands seemed to be holding hands. Damn, this kid!
Looking around the classroom, he saw that everyone had formed small groups. Some were chatting and laughing, while a few girls were together, tearfully reminiscing. Yes, three years, more than a thousand days and nights, interacting with each other without any outside interference. Such a friendship was indeed precious.
'Feng Yiping,' Wang Jinju in the back row handed him a notebook, 'This is mine, write a few words in it.'
Feng Yiping hesitated a little when he was asked to write to her. She was one of the girls he had interacted with more, and he couldn't think of anything for a while. He came up with two lines: 'There is no road longer than the foot, no mountain higher than the person. There is no difficulty in the world, as long as you are willing to climb. A message to classmate Wang Jinju.'
Wang Jinju and Huang Jingping both laughed when they read it. Huang Jingping said, 'It does rhyme a bit when you put it together like that. Can't you just say something of your own?'
Wang Jinju also said, "Exactly, someone who doesn't know would think that my teacher wrote it for me!'
'Come on, you've written so many of these, let me have a look!" Wang Jinju ran over, sat opposite him, and flipped through the books one by one. After looking at one, she said, 'Yuck, that's so sappy!'
Then she flipped through another one, saying, 'Ooh, so sentimental!'
'I'll read it too,' said Huang Jingping, moving her stool over and sitting unashamedly next to Feng Yiping. She flipped through a book, saying, 'Saying goodbye is precious, and wishing success is wonderful. It's so cliche!' freёwebnovel.com
Yes, some are cliche, some are sentimental, some are sensational... There's no way he can do it all without repeating himself.
'Oh, this one is a bit interesting,' Huang Jingping rummaged through the pile and pulled out a book, Liu Fei's. "Coming is fate, going is also fate, gathering is fate, parting is also fate, fate comes and goes like water.'
'This is a good write-up!" She commented insincerely, and Feng Yiping pretended not to hear and continued writing a message. But after a while, he felt someone pinch him on the waist. No way!
He stopped writing and reached out to rub it. At this time, Huang Jingping, probably feeling a little embarrassed, quietly reached out her hand, as if to comfort or apologize, and held Feng Yiping's hand.
Feng Yiping didn't react for a moment, a little stunned, how could she be so bold?
Huang Jingping held it for a while with a forced calmness, her heart pounding like a rabbit's, and when she saw Wang Jinju about to change the book, she quickly withdrew her hand and glanced at Feng Yiping. Feng Yiping looked at it for a moment, unable to bear it, those eyes full of autumn spinach!
...
It's 6 o'clock on a beautiful morning. The Three Musketeers get up on time. When they go downstairs after breakfast, there are still very few people on the street. Smoke from the chimneys of the farmhouses on both sides of the road curls up into the air. Many people have just got up too, with a towel around their necks and foam coming from their mouths as they brush their teeth.
Tractors rumble along the road, not giving them a second glance. Everything is just like normal.
Today is the middle school entrance exam, but it seems that not many people care. Some days that are extremely important to you are just ordinary days to others.
However, the school is very different from usual. Apart from the leaders, there are not many familiar teachers, and they are all unfamiliar faces. Some of the invigilators have already followed the inspectors from above to inspect the six classrooms in the first and second grades, which is Feng Yiping's exam room today.
Last night, the students felt relieved, but today they were nervous again. Many students picked up the Chinese language textbook they would be tested on this morning and started reading. Feng Yiping opened the third grade Chinese textbook and found the content familiar but also very vague. He simply didn't bother reading it and took the Walkman from Xiao Zhijie to listen to some music.
At 7:30, everyone entered the examination room one after the other with their admission ticket and pen, not even allowed to bring a piece of paper.
Feng Yiping went to the classroom of Grade 1 Class 3, but the desks were no longer next to each other, with a spacing of nearly one metre in front, back and to the sides.
His seat happened to be the first in the second row, with the podium directly in front of him. The invigilator's stool was just a few steps in front of him, which meant that he was literally under the invigilator's watchful eye.
He couldn't do any tricks in this seat. He placed his admission ticket in the upper left corner of the desk, with the pen and ink next to it, and greeted the invigilator in a standard student posture.
At 7:55, before handing out the exam papers, the invigilator, with a stern face, once again emphasised the examination discipline. At 8:00 sharp, with the ringing of a bell, the middle school entrance exam officially began!