The sky had just lit up, and outside the college entrance examination center set up in Chengkou County, a large crowd had already gathered.
Wang Wei handed hot buns and soy milk to Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao sighed and took it: "I said there's no need to rush, the doors aren't even open yet."
Wang Wei knew she hadn't fully woken up, so he gently touched her forehead, feeling sorry for her, and whispered, "Eating something will wake you up." He looked around and saw a set of steps nearby, so he went over and spread a piece of paper on the steps, then pulled Xiao Xiao to sit on it.
Holding the buns obediently, Xiao Xiao followed his lead and sat down, resting her head on Wang Wei's shoulder and half-closing her eyes to start eating.
Suddenly, Wang Wei whispered, "Wait a moment."
When he said to wait, Xiao Xiao really waited, her half-open mouth stopped, and she looked at Wang Wei with a puzzled expression.
Seeing her being so well-behaved, Wang Wei couldn't help but chuckle softly a few times. After laughing, he took the bun from Xiao Xiao's hand, blew on it, and handed it back to her after it cooled down a bit, tapping her forehead, "You're so absent-minded, if you took a big bite and got burned, you'd definitely start whining again."
Xiao Xiao nudged his shoulder and started whining, "I wouldn't."
Xiao Sanmei sat silently on the side, nibbling on her own bun, unable to bear to look directly at them. She had always been worried that her second sister's laziness would annoy her brother-in-law, but now it seemed that she had worried too much.
They woke up too early today, Xiao Xiao hadn't fully woken up yet, and when they came to the exam venue, Wang Wei half-carried her over. Now she was eating the bun, with some filling sticking to the corners of her mouth. She lifted her chin towards Wang Wei, and he took the initiative to wipe it clean for her with a piece of paper.
The two of them seemed oblivious to others around them, but many people couldn't help but sneak glances in their direction.
Their appearances were too outstanding; needless to say, Wang Wei, but Xiao Xiao, perhaps because her eyes were wide open, had softer features that were sharper than before, making her much more striking at first glance.
And upon closer inspection, they were even more appealing.
The two of them were just too intimate and looked so good together that it was hard not to attract attention.
Li Xiaoru was also among the crowd waiting for the exam. She looked at Xiao Xiao, who was closing her eyes while eating buns, and Wang Wei's meticulous care, and snorted, "Can't you use your own hands?"
She only dared to mutter quietly, not wanting Xiao Xiao to hear.
Over the past two years, she had come to realize that she couldn't compete with Xiao Xiao. She also knew the extent of Wang Wei's devotion to Xiao Xiao. She understood that dreaming of getting Wang Wei was nothing but a foolish fantasy.
Last year, she got married, and her husband worked as a police officer in the Public Security Bureau. She no longer harbored any unrealistic thoughts about Wang Wei. The reason she mentioned Xiao Xiao was purely out of habit from a long period of rivalry between them.
Li Xiaoru thought she was speaking quietly, but Xiao Xiao and Wang Wei's hearing had become increasingly keen. As soon as she finished speaking, their gazes shot over. Wang Wei gave her a cold glance, while Xiao Xiao had a smile that seemed both amused and sly.
Li Xiaoru felt psychologically overshadowed by Xiao Xiao. When she noticed Xiao Xiao looking at her, she subconsciously shrank her neck, humbly turned her head away, and dared not look at her.
"Didn't expect you two to actually come to take the college entrance exam!" Seeing Li Xiaoru acting so timid, Xiao Xiao playfully withdrew her gaze. Just as she lowered her head to eat the bun, a figure blocked her way.
Xiao Xiao looked up and saw it was Jiang Wenwen.
She smiled and warmly called out, "Sister Wenwen."
Wang Wei pinched Xiao Xiao's hand, dissatisfied with her being so friendly with others.
Xiao Xiao retaliated by pinching him back and blinked at him.
Wang Wei lowered his head to eat the bun, no longer concerned about the interaction between her and Jiang Wenwen. After all, his wife wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
Jiang Wenwen's face darkened. "Xiao Xiao, what are you pretending for? It's as if we're very close."
Xiao Xiao nodded, "Yeah, we are close. Otherwise, why would you lend me textbooks? Now, look, you've come to talk to me."
Jiang Wenwen was disgusted by Xiao Xiao's words. "We all know what's going on with the textbooks." She paused, crossed her arms, and snorted, "I'm kindly reminding you, don't think you can get into college just by reading textbooks. You three elementary school graduates shouldn't have too high hopes. When you fail the exam, at least you won't be too disappointed."
Xiao Xiao chuckled, "But I think I might do better than you."
At this remark, Jiang Wenwen burst into laughter as if she had heard the funniest joke. She laughed for a long time, even shedding tears. Finally, she wiped away her tears with her fingers and said, "This is the biggest joke I've heard in years. Xiao Xiao, I didn't expect you to not only have thick skin but also be quite humorous. Not bad, not bad!"
Xiao Sanmei snorted, "You know nothing. My second sister is naturally smart. She can even tutor me and my brother-in-law..."
Jiang Wenwen scoffed and looked at Xiao Xiao, "You have this skill too? Are all three of you going to end up in the gutter?"
Xiao Xiao remained unruffled, calmly took a bite of the bun, and smiled at Jiang Wenwen, "Sister Wenwen, how about we make a bet? If I perform better than you in the exam, you have to agree to one condition of mine."
Wang Wei's face darkened at the suggestion. Why involve Jiang Wenwen? He found this woman annoying every time he saw her.
Xiao Xiao quickly turned to him and said, "Just kidding. Sister Wenwen has always admired me."
Jiang Wenwen's face turned even darker than Wang Wei's. "...Admire you?" Was she kidding? She simply couldn't stand Xiao Xiao's fake behavior.
"Do you dare or not?" Xiao Sanmei was worried about the results of Wang Wei and Xiao Xiao, but for herself, unless she intentionally lost points, she should get a perfect score.
Jiang Wenwen didn't think Xiao Xiao had a chance to surpass her. "Alright, let's bet. But if you lose, you have to agree to one condition of mine."
"Sure, as long as it's not related to Wang Wei."
Jiang Wenwen sneered, "See? You don't dare to involve Wang Wei, which means you know you can't possibly outperform me."
Xiao Xiao shook her head, "Wang Wei is my treasure, how could he be used as a bet."
Wang Wei, hearing this, lowered his head and curled the corner of his mouth.
"What's your condition then?" Jiang Wenwen was disgusted by Xiao Xiao's cheesy words. She regretted why she had walked over and started a conversation. Now she felt a shiver down her spine from the goosebumps all over her body.
Xiao Xiao's eyes flickered as she laughed, "I haven't thought of one yet. I'll let you know when I do."
Jiang Wenwen sneered, "Fine, I haven't thought of one either."
Xiao Xiao nonchalantly nodded, "That's fair."
After teasing Jiang Wenwen for a bit, Xiao Xiao became fully awake. In no time, the exam hall opened, and all the candidates filed in.
Wang Wei and the others were in a different exam room. Xiao Xiao scanned the room and noticed a significant age difference among the candidates—some were in their thirties or forties, while others were fifteen or sixteen.
These candidates all wore serious expressions and looked nervous. Some were even trembling.
After such a long hiatus, returning to take the college entrance exam, a battle that determined their fate, naturally made them anxious. Xiao Xiao understood their feelings.
The invigilator entered, announced the exam rules, and as soon as the bell rang, the exam papers were distributed.
Xiao Xiao took a glance at the paper and frowned strangely. Wasn't this too simple? Wasn't the college entrance exam supposed to be the most challenging test?
She had been worried about Xiao Sanmei and Wang Wei, but if the content was this straightforward, then Xiao Sanmei and Wang Wei would easily achieve good results!
After quickly reading through the paper, Xiao Xiao picked up her pen and began answering, not hesitating at all. She moved from one question to the next without a second thought.
It was the first college entrance exam after such a long break, and most of the candidates hadn't expected this day to come. They hadn't prepared much, hastily reviewing for a few days before entering the exam hall.
Although the questions for the first exam weren't difficult, for those who hadn't touched a book in a long time, it felt like climbing a peak.
In the exam room, some people frowned in thought, some had nervous sweat on their faces, and some struggled to even start. Xiao Xiao's focused appearance, burying herself in answering questions, stood out conspicuously compared to the other candidates, drawing the attention of the invigilators.
Xiao Xiao finished the questions at an incredible speed. She thought she could leave the exam room after answering the questions, but to her surprise, the invigilator informed her that she couldn't leave and had to stay in the classroom until the designated time to submit the paper.
With no other choice, Xiao Xiao sat back in her seat. Having not slept enough in the morning, she laid the exam paper on the desk and rested her head on her arms, dozing off.
Other candidates, seeing this, became even more nervous. Some looked at Xiao Xiao with disdain, thinking that with no hope of passing, she was giving up so easily.
After enduring the exam and finally submitting their papers, Xiao Xiao walked out of the exam room and stretched lazily.
Wang Wei also emerged, wrapping his arm around her waist from behind. Xiao Xiao, catching a whiff of Wang Wei's scent, leaned back into him. Xiao Sanmei also came out excitedly, approaching Xiao Xiao, "Second sister, I thought the college entrance exam would be tough, but it turned out to be so simple. I knew how to answer all the questions!"
Xiao Xiao nodded with a smiling face, "Yeah, it was much simpler than I expected."
She then asked Wang Wei, "Brother, did you find it easy?"
Wang Wei uttered a soft "Hmm," and said, "Quite simple."
The people passing by them couldn't help but feel complicated emotions. Some self-doubt, wondering if the questions were really that simple, why did they find it challenging? Most others looked at them with expressions that suggested, "Bluffing again? You're inflating your own abilities too much."
Jiang Wenwen walked past them, overheard their shameless boasting, and sneered disdainfully, "Could it be you didn't even understand the questions, so you found them easy?"
The college entrance exam spanned three days, and shortly after completing it, the process of choosing colleges began.
Unlike later years when students waited for their results before selecting schools, this time they estimated their scores and submitted their preferences in advance. If they overestimated their abilities and ended up failing, they had no choice but to accept their misfortune.
The county provided a guidebook for filling out the college preferences.
After inquiring about it, Xiao Xiao found out that the best universities were in the capital city, Peking University and Tsinghua University. So, all three of them applied to Peking University— Xiao Xiao applied for the Physics Department, Wang Wei for the Economics Department, showing his interest in making money. Xiao Sanmei applied for Foreign Language Translation.
The next step was waiting for the results and admission notices.
A little over a month later, the results and admission notices were released.
Xiao Xiao only lost one point in Chinese, getting full marks in all other subjects.
With a total score of 700, Wang Wei scored 655, Xiao Sanmei scored 623, and Jiang Wenwen scored 614. All of them successfully received acceptance letters from Peking University.
When these results became known, it caused a stir in Chengkou County.