Chapter 26: College Entrance Exam, The Sprint Begins!

Night had deepened, and outside the window only the summer insects' chirping remained.

On the desk before Xu Yuexin lay several completed manuscripts, yet he still had not put down the pen in his hand.

"Write up to this first."

Finally, when another sheet of Manuscript Paper was filled, Xu Yuexin set aside his Parker Gold Pen and stretched lazily.

Roughly estimating, from the moment he finished reading the letter from that lost Educated Youth, he had written a total of 2,000 characters, which places him among the prolific in the realm of physical writers.

Wash up, then sleep.

……

The next morning, after Xu Yuexin woke up and ate breakfast, he remembered he had not yet replied to Wang Chaoyin's Letter.

He had been too absorbed in his creation last night.

Returning to his desk, Xu Yuexin took out Letter paper from the drawer and wrote a flowing Letter.

He thanked him and all the comrades in the publishing department for their effort, glad to see his book about to enter the market. He had finished reading the lost Educated Youth's Letter and felt quite moved. In a couple of days he would go to the editorial department to see him.

That is all the content of the Letter.

After finishing the Letter, Xu Yuexin took an Envelope from the bookshelf, put the Letter inside, and did not immediately go downstairs to deliver it.

He would write a novel later, and when he went out to play he would send the Letter together.

Xu Yuexin placed the Envelope at the edge of the desk, pulled out several sheets of Manuscript Paper, and continued the storyline he had written last night.

It is a work responding to the countless who once held ideals but now fall into confusion, and Xu Yuexin was deeply immersed while writing.

Unconsciously, Xu Yuexin kept writing until noon before putting down his pen.

In the afternoon, Xu Yuexin took the Letter for Wang Chaoyin down from the Faculty Building, went outside to buy a postage stamp, affixed it to the Envelope, and tossed it into the mailbox.

After mailing the Letter, Xu Yuexin hopped on his bicycle and went to Xinhua Shudian to buy high school textbooks.

Yesterday, he had been attracted by the youthful vigor of university campuses of this era, feeling he ought to experience such campus life once.

The Xinhua Shudian nearest to the Faculty Building lay within the future Three Ring. Xu Yuexin pedaled for about twenty minutes, and upon arrival parked his 28‑inch bike in front of the store's entrance.

On a weekday afternoon, the store still held many people reading. Among all books, the most popular were People's Literature and Poetry Journal; some readers held these two volumes, their gazes fixed like statues, moving only when they occasionally turned a page.

"Excuse me, could you move aside?"

"Hey, comrade, please move aside…"

Xu Yuexin passed by one reader after another, reached the innermost shelves, and selected a stack of early‑1960s edition textbooks from the dazzling array.

It is said that textbooks from this period were of the highest quality, most suitable for self‑study, comparable only to those produced in the 1980s.

"Comrade, could you settle the bill?"

Xu Yuexin placed a pile of textbooks on the counter, reminding the clerk seated behind the counter and reading.

The clerk set down the high school textbook in her hands, looked up at Xu Yuexin, and her eyes lit up.

"Hey, Yuexin, you've returned to the city?"

The female clerk happily stood up and greeted him, "When did you come back? You didn't even tell us old classmates."

"Early this year; too many things in between, didn't have time to look for you all."

Xu Yuexin said with a cheerful smile.

The clerk's name was You Peiling, a classmate from his high school days.

There had once been rumors in the class that she secretly liked Xu Yuexin.

Xu Yuexin had never investigated the matter, not knowing its truth. In fact, throughout high school he had spoken to You Peiling no more than twice, recalling only that she was a quiet, timid girl with fairly fair skin.

To his surprise after several years apart, You Peiling had grown into a beautiful young woman, her figure becoming fuller, and confidence shining in her brows and eyes.

"Then next time we have time to get together, your home is still at Wudaokou Faculty Building, right?" You Peiling asked warmly, "Are you buying these books to take the College Entrance Exam?"

"Yes, still there. This time I'll try taking it."

Xu Yuexin replied casually, feeling a bit uneasy, as a customer was already looking at him with curious eyes.

You Peiling was unperturbed and enthusiastically offered to help.

"Two of them are creased inside; I'll replace them with ones in better condition."

You Peiling took out the Chinese language and history books and jogged to the storage room.

Xu Yuexin felt the enthusiasm radiating from You Peiling's words and actions, briefly doubting whether the secret‑crush rumors were true.

Never mind, just treat it as a favor between old classmates.

People of this era still place great value on classmate bonds; after a long separation, warm attitudes and small favors are quite normal.

In no time, You Peiling returned from the storage room with three books; the trembling peaks of her movement made Xu Yuexin quickly look away.

"Your Chinese and history books, together with the other textbooks, total 3 yuan."

"And this People's Literature, consider it a gift from me."

You Peiling stacked the books on the table, gazed into Xu Yuexin's eyes, something seeming to flicker in her pupils, and said, "Inside there is a novel titled 'Wreath Under High Mountain', written especially brilliantly."

"This issue of People's Literature sold out several times because of it."

"Some customers came specifically to pre‑order People's Literature for it."

"Everyone is debating who the author Chunfeng actually is, being able to produce such a classic novel."

This… is quite good.

Xu Yuexin's face flushed from the praise; he took three banknotes from his pocket and placed them on the counter.

Before he left, You Peiling slipped several book covers into his hand, saying that wrapping them would prevent the textbooks from damage.

Xu Yuexin could not refuse and had to accept them.

In fact, he didn't have the habit of using book covers, because he was lazy.

Back home, Xu Yuexin set the book covers on the table, intending to give them later to his younger sister still in high school.

The textbooks bought today were Chinese, Mathematics, Politics, History, Geography, and the nationwide 1960s sensation Xu Guozhang English.

1979 was another unusual year in the history of the College Entrance Exam. In that year, the education authorities decided to include English in the total score, at a proportion of 10%, and to raise it each year thereafter.

In the 1977 and 1978 College Entrance Exams, English was only a reference subject for admission; it was in 1979 that the basic framework for the exams of the following decades was established.

That year, some well‑connected, forward‑thinking parents had already begun looking for College Entrance Exam tutoring classes for their children, and the curtain of the exam arms race was slowly being drawn back.

Fortunately, the difficulty of the questions in this era was relatively low for Xu Yuexin.

After reviewing the practice book at his desk and regaining his composure, Xu Yuexin proceeded to solve several math problems, and the feeling was quite smooth.

The current textbooks differ from those of later generations; the difficulty of the textbook problems is the difficulty of the College Entrance Exam itself. The situation where the book teaches something simply but the exam is much harder will not occur.

Xu Yuexin buried himself in solving practice questions, when a knock sounded from outside.

Is it Chen Qiaoqiao?

Xu Yuexin thought, put down his textbook, and went outside to open the door.

"May I ask whether Yuexin is at home?"

When he stepped out of his bedroom door, a voice as beautiful and melodious as a silver bell, belonging to Chen Yixue, sounded from outside.

(End of chapter)