Chapter 24

In those two supposedly decisive days, when everyone else treated the college entrance exam like a battlefield, a single make-or-break clash, Yu Min was calmer than she had been even for the mock exam. No anxiety. No stage fright.

During the pre-exam seat rehearsal, before the real thing had even started, the boy in front of Yu Min was already so tense that his legs shook uncontrollably. The student behind her was no better; he sat bolt upright the entire time, his face solemn, not relaxing for even a second.

Yu Min was one of the few exceptions. She stayed composed and steady throughout. Her seat was by the window, and the sky that day was exceptionally clear, cloudless and deep blue. The weather in early July had not yet turned stifling; the sunlight was warm and pleasant. Siping had more overcast days than not, so weather that was neither cold nor hot was rare. It was Yu Min’s favorite season of the year.

From the day of the seat rehearsal on, all boarding students were no longer allowed to leave school at will; the school’s restrictions tightened again.

The middle school building had been turned into exam rooms, and all the third-year high school classes were temporarily moved into the classrooms of No. 1 Middle School’s attached primary school. Teacher Qi was especially attentive to the class’s situation, repeatedly going over every precaution. She also had them turn in their admission tickets for safekeeping, and said that during this period boarding students had to move together with their entire dormitory, were not allowed to go out, should try to sleep in the classroom during lunch break, and after leaving the dorm in the morning should avoid going back if possible, so they wouldn’t miss the exam start time or leave something behind in the dormitory, and so on.

Li Xue Ting bought a large bag of dark chocolate and handed it out to everyone, telling them they could eat two pieces before going into the exam room. “I looked this up online. This stuff has some kind of phenethylamine in it; it can help with anxiety. If you’re too nervous, eat a little more. But drink less water after eating, or you’ll feel like you need to pee and run to the bathroom.”

As she spoke, Li Xue Ting peeled one open and stuffed it into Yu Min’s mouth. “Minmin, you eat too. Take it easy and do your best. You’re the hope of our whole group.”

On the evening of the sixth, Aunt came to the school to find Zhou Jin, and took the opportunity to check on Yu Min as well, bringing with her the concern of the rest of the Yu family.

“Take the exam properly. The afternoon after tomorrow I’ll come pick you two up and take you home together,” Aunt said, unusually gentle. “The family has already prepared a welcome banquet for you both. Your dad, your grandparents, and everyone else is waiting for you.”

Because they couldn’t leave campus, many parents came to the school to keep their children company during the exam period. Some adults couldn’t even get into the school and still waited anxiously outside, just in case their children needed them at any moment.

But not every examinee needed an adult with them. After all, having adults around could make things worse; the students were busy taking exams and still had to deal with the adults, so the parents became a burden instead.

Yu Min was in the latter category. If this had been before, she would have obediently listened and followed the adults’ arrangements, but not this time. She didn’t accept Aunt’s offer; instead, she made it clear. “No need to pick me up. You all can go; I’m not going.”

Then, ignoring Aunt’s astonishment and shock, she turned and went straight back into the classroom to study.

At that time, there were still many students and teachers in the classroom. Probably not expecting her to refuse so firmly, Aunt looked at her back with a complicated expression and took a moment to react.

When she saw a parent had come looking, Teacher Qi went out for a few minutes. Nobody knew what she and Aunt talked about, but before long she sent Aunt away.

Starting that night, Yu Min powered off her phone. She only sent Lin Baixin a WeChat message to let her know; she didn’t tell anyone else, shutting out every outside disturbance completely.

They had reached the point where the result would soon be decided. The relatives and acquaintances who had disappeared from her life all suddenly surfaced one after another, sending Yu Min waves of encouragement messages, as if they cared deeply about her.

The next two days passed without incident.

The college entrance exam was just that; nothing more than finishing a few papers. Once you turned in the last answer sheet, the three years of high school were over.

After the exam, they were free. Released.

Some were overjoyed, some worried. Those who hadn’t done well were crying before they even left the exam hall, but most students left smiling. Their scores and rankings were a later matter; all that mattered was that they had done their best. Every class had a farewell dinner on the day the exam ended, and Class 32 was no exception. Teacher Qi had booked hotpot for seven-thirty at a restaurant near Zhao Shiyu’s home.

The Yu family still came to pick them up. Zhou Jin must have done well; he got into the car with the elders in high spirits and didn’t even go to the class dinner.

What kind of scene could a class gathering be compared to a special welcome banquet prepared just for him? Just going to the welcome banquet meant he could receive red envelopes from the elders until his hands were full.

Yu Min said she wasn’t going, and she really didn’t go. Zhou Jin even came all the way to the dormitory building entrance, saying her grandparents were waiting in the car and had come specially to pick them up. Yu Min was still stubborn; she wouldn’t go.

“Are you reluctant to leave your classmates?” Zhou Jin couldn’t understand. “Your class still has activities after dinner, right? How about this: go home and eat first, then let my mom take you over later to join them. That way neither side is delayed and you can attend both, okay? Grandfather and the others came all this way; don’t refuse to go. Can you bear to do that?”

Yu Min could bear it. She remained absolutely unmoved. Zhou Jin had no way to force her; things like this couldn’t be forced. He could only sigh and go out to report back to the adults.

Lin Baixin was the one who came to pick Yu Min up. The parents who were accompanying their children waited with flowers and gifts outside the school gate. Lin Baixin followed the crowd and brought a bouquet too; it was sunflowers, symbolizing “seizing first place in one try.”

Having been through this herself, Lin Baixin understood the current exam process very well. She didn’t even need to guess to know that Yu Min would attend the class dinner that evening. Lin Baixin had come to help Yu Min pack her things. Boarding students had to move out within at most a week after finishing the exam, and the parents of the other three girls in the dorm had all come too, helping them pack ahead of time with large bags and boxes. Lin Baixin came with Lu An, and the car was parked by the back entrance, so Yu Min’s luggage could be loaded first.

That answer, Yu Min still hadn’t given. The time wasn’t up yet.

Lin Baixin wasn’t in a hurry. She had even brought special moving boxes. They were very convenient; if Yu Min later chose to go to Kyoto with her, then these things wouldn’t need to be repacked at all and could be shipped straight out in the boxes.

The hotel had reserved extra rooms, so Yu Min could stay there tonight, and her luggage would be taken to the hotel too.

Yu Min had no objections. While packing, she specially put the dolls and ornaments Lin Baixin had given her into a separate box and wrapped them tightly layer by layer with foam film. Lin Baixin watched and couldn’t help looking at them a few more times. Yu Min treasured everything Lin Baixin gave her; every item still looked as new as when it had been bought, clean enough that not even a trace could be seen.

Lu An had only come to help. Once most of the things were packed, she went downstairs first to load the car. The other three roommates in the dorm finished packing not long after and also went down one by one, leaving only Yu Min and Lin Baixin in the room. After standing by the desk for a while, Yu Min lowered her eyes and finally asked softly, “Can I wait until school starts before I go to your place?”

That answer was somewhat vague, not decisive enough; compared with Lin Baixin’s directness, it also felt rather insincere.

“I still can’t…” Yu Min stopped halfway through, choosing her words more carefully. “I won’t go now. Can I go later?”

She was only giving an answer without giving a reason. Compared with the exams she should have been worrying about, she was instead more caught up in this. She wasn’t very good at handling these things. After the exam, she had been thinking about how to bring it up to Lin Baixin. She had originally planned to talk about it tomorrow, but in the end she still spoke first while they were alone.

Yet Lin Baixin’s reaction was completely different from what she had expected. The other woman didn’t ask why, or anything else. Lin Baixin didn’t even seem surprised, or have any big reaction at all, as if she had already expected it. She only answered with an “Mm,” and said, “All right, up to you. There’s still the score release and college application choices later anyway; that works out fine. We can handle all that first. Otherwise, if we’re too far apart, it’ll be troublesome.”

Yu Min had thought she would ask a few more questions, and paused for a moment. Lin Baixin then raised a hand and rubbed the back of her head, smiling. “All right, relax. It’s not a big deal.”

What Yu Min had thought was a huge problem, the things she had found hard to say, were actually nothing at all. Lin Baixin was easygoing; she didn’t need Yu Min to tiptoe around her.

That evening’s farewell dinner was hotpot. Lin Baixin drove Yu Min there, and later that night she also picked her up and took her to the hotel. Lin Baixin asked, “Then should the luggage be sent to my place first, or will you send it yourself after school starts?”

Yu Min said, “I’ll send it.”

“All right,” Lin Baixin replied, then as she drove, said casually, “Can you find your way to where I live?”

Yu Min had never been there, but with navigation, it probably wouldn’t be hard to find.

Lin Baixin said, “I live very close to X University.”

Yu Min lifted her eyelids slightly and understood. She knew exactly what Lin Baixin meant.

The hotel room was one person per room, and the two rooms were next to each other. There was still an English oral exam tomorrow morning, which didn’t count toward the total college entrance exam score, and the material was simple. They couldn’t stay up too late tonight. By then it was already past midnight, and Lin Baixin told Yu Min to go to sleep first; she would call her in the morning.

Lin Baixin also drove Yu Min to the English oral exam venue. It had rained that day; a sudden downpour, heavy and rushing all at once.

Yu Min took an umbrella from Lin Baixin’s car and got out. She raised a hand, thinking she should say something, but Lin Baixin lowered the window first and told her, “I’ll wait for you.” As she spoke, she even made a phone gesture with her hand.

Yu Min understood. It meant they could contact each other at any time afterward.

When the oral exam ended and Yu Min came out, the one waiting for her was no longer Lin Baixin, but Yu Shengyu.

Yu Min was taken back to the Yu family home. Yu Shengyu had paid such a huge price to wrest her away from Zheng Qing; she was the Yu family’s only hope for the future. The agreement Yu Shengyu had made with Zheng Qing was that he could only take his daughter away after all the exams were over. Yu Min’s exams were now all finished, so Yu Shengyu came immediately, more anxious than ever, afraid that if he was even a step late, the Yu family’s hope would be gone.

The original house was gone; it had been sold. Yu Shengyu took her to another place, a house belonging to his “friend.”

And in such a short time, Yu Shengyu had already found a new woman. It was said the other party had been introduced by her grandparents and the rest of the elders; she was much more proper than the one Yu Shengyu had found himself. It was a match of suitable families, someone fit for a steady life. Of course, like Yu Shengyu, the woman couldn’t have children.

Yu Shengyu was attentive. He treated Yu Min a hundred, a thousand times better than before. Even when Yu Min refused to call that woman “Auntie,” he didn’t lose his temper or get angry; he was simply nothing like himself.

Lin Baixin returned to Kyoto first. After arriving, she sent a message to say she was safe. Yu Min was lying on the bed when she received Lin Baixin’s WeChat message, and she burrowed under the covers while replying.

They had made one phone call; it was in the middle of the night. Yu Min called Lin Baixin, but after the call connected, she didn’t know what to say.

Yu Min had nothing to say, so Lin Baixin found things to talk about instead. Her voice on the phone sounded very pleasant. She had only just finished showering, so Lin Baixin’s voice was a little hoarse, faintly rough against the ear, and it always made Yu Min feel a little itchy inside.

Just before they were about to hang up, Yu Min finally spoke. In a soft, obedient, weak voice, she said, “I can’t fall asleep…”