Chapter 590: Sister, When Will It Be My Turn?

In the final semester of Gao San, the atmosphere in the senior high building of Fu Yi High School had changed entirely.

Unlike Gao Yi and Gao Er, who still had major sports events and the Ningshan March to look forward to this semester, the sole goal for Gao San students was now reduced to one.

That was the Gaokao.

At the front of the classroom blackboard in Class 8, Gao San, Ying Chanxi stood there, holding a piece of chalk, straining to tiptoe.

She intended to erase the "91" from the college entrance exam countdown on the upper right corner of the blackboard and replace it with "90."

It was precisely morning self-study time.

Although Ying Chanxi was publicly already taken—by their great class monitor, my lord—

at this age, many boys still couldn't resist the allure of a girl like her.

Watching her slender back as she strained to reach, even completely wrapped in the blue-and-white school uniform, it was still hard to look away.

But when everyone saw the "91" erased and their eyes fell again on Ying Chanxi's back, they unconsciously felt a tinge of melancholy.

This represented a pure moonlight of youth, with only ninety days left before it bid them farewell…

Class 8 was, after all, just an ordinary class; though due to Gaokao reforms, some students from key classes had transferred over during the Gao Er class division.

But most students still couldn't keep up with Ying Chanxi's pace—the score threshold for Qianjiang University was, for them, an impassable chasm.

Perhaps in ninety days, they would never see this figure, which had once cast a bright glow upon their youth, ever again.

And just then—

A figure walked in through the classroom's front door.

He had just come from the restroom, his hands still slightly damp; he walked up behind Ying Chanxi and, jokingly, wiped them on her uniform.

Ying Chanxi felt it, turned her head, and saw the guy using her clothes like tissue paper; yet she didn't get angry—instead, she gave him a reproachful glare.

This scene was truly adorable.

The girl who was always serious and stern in front of others—the vice monitor of Class 8, former student council president, top scorer of the entire grade—only revealed such endearing little emotions in front of this boy.

The two exchanged a few small gestures on the podium, after which Ying Chanxi whispered something.

Probably telling him not to disturb her and to get back to his seat.

But as Ying Chanxi turned back around and raised her hand to write the "90,"

Li Luo behind her didn't leave—instead, he used his tall frame to completely shield her petite body, blocking the boys' gazes.

Then he raised his hand, glanced out the classroom door, saw no teacher nearby, and gently took hold of Ying Chanxi's delicate hand.

The morning self-study recitations in the classroom instantly softened.

The girls also looked up toward the podium.

Male classmates like Liu Shaowen or Shao Heqi couldn't help but grit their teeth, their faces filled with envy and jealousy.

Ying Chanxi was startled by Li Luo's action; her cheeks instantly flushed red as she whispered, "W-what are you doing? Everyone's watching."

"What's wrong?" Li Luo chuckled softly in her ear. "I saw you couldn't reach, so I'm helping. If the vice monitor can't do it, the class monitor has to clean up the mess."

"Who asked you to clean up my mess?" Ying Chanxi's face reddened further as she lightly spat, yet she made no move to pull her hand away.

Together, they wrote the "90" on the blackboard—thick, bold strokes, far more substantial than the previous "91."

But that wasn't the point.

The boys watching this scene thought: This—this was real youth.

The girls daydreamed: If only I could do this openly with the person I like…

Oh my!

So embarrassing.

Sure enough, after putting down the chalk, Ying Chanxi turned and walked toward her seat, her cheeks blazing red, radiant and captivating, impossible to look away from.

But the next second, Li Luo tapped the podium with his finger and cleared his throat. "Don't slack off—Professor Kong will be here soon."

Everyone snapped back to reality; many glanced at their class monitor with exasperation, wondering who was really slacking off?

But just as Kong Junxiang's figure "coincidentally" walked in through the front door, the classroom's recitation volume instantly rose several notches.

Everyone returned to their enthusiastic state.

Kong Junxiang glanced at the students, then at Li Luo on the podium.

Li Luo immediately greeted him and hurried back to his seat.

"Let's go over the passages I assigned for memorization this morning. In the last five minutes of morning self-study, I'll come around to quiz you." As Kong Junxiang passed the podium, his eyes unconsciously lifted to glance at the Gaokao countdown.

…

After morning self-study ended, Kong Junxiang scanned the classroom and said, "I won't grade the dictation—check your own mistakes and be more careful next time."

With that, he didn't delay their break time and turned to leave the classroom.

And just then, a voice called out to him.

"Professor Kong." Ying Chanxi rushed out first, running up behind Kong Junxiang.

Yan Zhusheng and Li Luo followed beside her; when Kong Junxiang turned around, they stood before him.

"What is it?" Kong Junxiang looked at the three kids, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"It's like this," Ying Chanxi spoke up. "We have some family matters tomorrow, so we'd like to take half a day off. I'm letting you know in advance to get a leave slip."

"Family matters?" Kong Junxiang blinked. He was about to ask what kind of matters, but his gaze landed on Yan Zhusheng, remembering Yuan Wanqing's status, so he changed his question: "Does your whole family have matters?"

"Yes," Yan Zhusheng nodded.

"I'll call your parents to confirm. Is that okay?" Kong Junxiang asked. "If it's truly necessary, I'll issue the leave slip during the third-period Chinese class."

"Thank you so much, Professor Kong," Ying Chanxi nodded.

…

March 10, Friday morning.

At the Minzheng Bureau on the north side of Ningshan in Yinjiang District, Zheng Xin, a newly hired front desk staff member, was still diligently preparing for his duties.

The elderly female clerk, who had worked at the Minzheng Bureau for ten years, arrived just in time to clock in and, after sitting down, pulled out her breakfast.

"Sister Meng, the director said yesterday not to eat breakfast at your desk," Zheng Xin kindly warned, "what if someone comes in to handle business right now? It'd look terrible."

"Who's going to show up this early?" Sister Meng ate her breakfast unconcerned, "The director doesn't come until nine. What's the worry?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than the Minzheng Bureau's main door was pushed open.

A man and a woman walked in from outside, followed by three young people.

Seeing this, Sister Meng quickly shoved her breakfast to the back of the counter and hid it beneath the upper cabinet.

Though she talked big, she couldn't bear it if a client came in and filed a complaint.

At that moment, Zheng Xin had already put on a smile and greeted the approaching pair: "What service are you here for?"

"To apply for a marriage certificate," the man said calmly, taking out the required documents from his briefcase.

The woman beside him, wearing sunglasses and a mask, removed all facial coverings.

Zheng Xin instinctively glanced at the woman's face—she looked fairly young, but upon closer inspection, she was clearly not young anymore.

It was just… oddly familiar.

Zheng Xin thought this, but couldn't stare too long; he took the documents from the man and began processing the application.

Sister Meng also stood up to help, handing over the "Declaration for Marriage Registration" for them to fill out.

"Ying Zhicheng… Yuan Wanqing…" Zheng Xin checked their ID cards and cross-referenced the household registration records, confirming accuracy.

At that moment, one of the girls trailing behind leaned forward over the counter and asked curiously: "Do you only need ID cards and household registration for a marriage certificate?"

Zheng Xin had only just graduated from university; when he looked up and saw Yan Zhusheng's delicate face, he froze for a moment, then nodded and replied:

"You also need three 2-inch photos together. Of course, we can take them here on-site."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nodded, her gaze secretly lingering on the household registration book her mother had brought, staring for a long while, lost in thought.

"All documents have been verified. Would you like to take photos on the oath platform?" Zheng Xin asked Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing.

"Yes, take a photo," Ying Zhicheng nodded, "we brought our own camera—just need to borrow your space."

"No problem. I'll take you over," Zheng Xin smiled and turned to his colleague, "Sister Meng, please finish preparing the marriage certificate."

"Got it. Go ahead."

Sister Meng waved her hand, took the documents Zheng Xin had just processed, and turned to produce the marriage certificate.

But as she verified the information on the certificate, she suddenly froze.

"Yuan Wanqing?"

"That name sounds familiar."

Sister Meng mulled over the name, then studied the photo Yuan Wanqing had provided—each glance made it more familiar.

After a few seconds, she suddenly gasped, as if remembering something, and quickly pulled out her phone to check.

Then she stood there, stunned.

…

"Why did you just ask what's needed for a marriage certificate?" Ying Chanxi turned to her adopted sister, narrowing her eyes.

"I was just curious," Yan Zhusheng blinked innocently, "what if I need it someday?"

"Where would you ever need it?" Ying Chanxi pouted; the thought of someone scheming to steal her home—and now even targeting marriage certificates—made her imagination spiral.

But Yan Zhusheng glanced at Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing walking ahead, then turned serious, counting on her fingers to Ying Chanxi:

"Of course I'm going to marry Li Luo—but that doesn't stop you from marrying Li Luo too."

Ying Chanxi froze, her mind struggling to catch up: "What do you mean? And—who said I'm going to marry this guy!"

"Really?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head. "I actually have a great idea."

"If I marry Li Luo first, then divorce him, then you marry Li Luo, then divorce him, then Senior…."

"Stop!" Ying Chanxi cut her off, increasingly alarmed. "What are you talking about? Why divorce?"

"Otherwise it'd be illegal," Yan Zhusheng said seriously. "But if I marry him first, then divorce, we're both his ex-wives. Wouldn't an ex-husband still look after his ex-wife?"

Ying Chanxi: "... I don't want to talk to you."

"What are you two talking about?" Li Luo, lagging behind, was fiddling with Ying Chanxi's camera and hadn't heard their whispering. He asked curiously.

"N-nothing!" Ying Chanxi blushed.

But Yan Zhusheng cheerfully told Li Luo: "She says she wants to marry you."

"I never said that!" Ying Chanxi's cheeks flushed crimson; she immediately slapped her hand over Yan Zhusheng's mouth. "Don't listen to her nonsense!"

"Zhusheng, don't say silly things," Li Luo coughed lightly, smiling as he watched them tussle. "Enough fooling around—let's go take the photo."

The five followed Zheng Xin into the oath platform room.

Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing had already stepped onto the platform; Zheng Xin stood beside them, smiling: "We provide bouquets here, and there are oath booklets on the table—you can hold them for the photo."

"Once the marriage certificate is ready, we'll bring it over—you can hold it too for the photo."

"Today's quiet, so we can give you extra time."

Ying Zhicheng nodded, then asked: "May our daughter come up and join us for the photo?"

Zheng Xin glanced at Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng below, then nodded: "Of course."

At Ying Zhicheng's gesture, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng stepped up, each taking one of their parents' arms.

Li Luo held the camera, watching the scene, a tender smile spreading across his face.

On the platform, Ying Chanxi looked at Li Luo, then turned to her father, studying his strong profile, then glanced toward Yuan Wanqing and Yan Zhusheng.

Her gaze swept around, her expression momentarily dazed—until she snapped back to reality, finally confirming it was real.

Her father had formed a new family.

No… we had built a new family together.

Ying Chanxi pressed her lips together, looked down at Li Luo raising the camera, and smiled directly into the lens.

Zhusheng is sometimes annoying, but he's not bad.

Aunt Yuan is also very kind; during the New Year, she never treated her and Zhusheng differently.

When she was with her father, Ying Chanxi could clearly see her father's expression soften.

Thinking of these things, Ying Chanxi couldn't help raising her head to look at the ceiling.

If Mom knew, she would have sent her blessings too, wouldn't she?

"Why are you still crying?"

As they walked out of the oath-taking room, Li Luo turned to look at Ying Chanxi, saw the tear glint at her corner of the eye, and raised his hand to gently wipe it away.

Ying Chanxi buried her face in Li Luo's arms, rubbing left and right; just as she was about to pull back, he held her tightly against his chest.

His soft whisper reached her ear:

"If Aunt Yan knew, she'd be happy for you too."

"Li Luo." Ying Chanxi lifted her face in his arms, her eyes red as she looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't talk."

Ying Chanxi tiptoed and lightly brushed her lips against Li Luo's.

Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing instinctively turned back, but Yan Zhusheng blocked their view, thinking Ying Chanxi was looking at the photo taken by the camera in Li Luo's arms.

After a while.

Ying Chanxi felt her shoulder poked a few times.

Then Yan Zhusheng's voice sounded in her ear: "Sister, when's it my turn?"

(End of Chapter)