Chapter 396: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 396: No Discussing After the Exam

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

The proctor collected the answer sheets and test papers, and the originally quiet classroom began to fill with chatter and discussion.

The students packed up their exam materials and left the exam venue one after another.

Wang Xiaohua walked out of the classroom and saw some people laughing, some dejected, some regretful, and even some crying.

The one crying was a girl; she said she hadn't finished her essay.

Wang Xiaohua couldn't help but feel some sympathy for her, but it was merely sympathy.

The reason she hadn't finished the essay was the inevitable result of her usual choice to neglect her studies.

In other words, her failure to finish the essay was her own choice.

Crying is useless.

Everyone must take responsibility for their own choices.

No one else can possibly help you bear this consequence.

"Xiao Hua, how did the exam go?"

Walking out of the exam venue, on the tree-lined campus path, Wang Xiaohua ran into Li Jianjia.

Li Jianjia greeted Wang Xiaohua with a smile.

"Not bad, just normal performance."

Wang Xiaohua replied politely with a smile.

"Don't be modest; as long as you perform normally, the top score in the whole school is definitely yours. Speaking of which, this year's essay topic was so open-ended it got me unsure which angle to write from..."

Li Jianjia was just about to discuss the essay.

But Wang Xiaohua interrupted her:

"Let's not discuss the questions; the teacher told us to forget it once it's over, so finding out we made mistakes doesn't mess up our mood for the next exam."

Li Jianjia smiled wryly, helpless:

"Alright, alright, then we won't discuss it. What do you plan to eat for lunch?"

Wang Xiaohua smiled:

"I'll go back to school and eat at the canteen; I'll eat whatever the canteen has."

But Li Jianjia said enthusiastically:

"It's the Gaokao, why not reward yourself? How about this, I'll treat you to a good meal outside!"

Wang Xiaohua declined politely:

"Better not; I'm afraid of getting an upset stomach eating outside, and I still have the math exam this afternoon. I advise you not to eat outside either."

Li Jianjia nodded hurriedly:

"True, then I won't eat outside either. I'll go home and eat. After the Gaokao ends, I'll treat you to a good meal, and you can't refuse then!"

Li Jianjia's home was right in the County Town; she was a day student and didn't eat or board at school.

Wang Xiaohua smiled politely:

"Then okay, we'll talk after the Gaokao ends."

The two walked out of the No. 1 High School gate shoulder to shoulder.

At this time, quite a few parents who had come to pick up or drop off their children were gathered at the school gate.

Wang Xiaohua's parents naturally couldn't come pick him up, and he didn't want them to come either; they can't help him take the exam, so coming to stand guard would just waste time — what use would it be?

Li Jianjia's mother, however, had come.

"Jianjia, over here!"

Just as Li Jianjia exited the school gate, a middle-aged woman waved to her.

The middle-aged woman wore a cheongsam, symbolizing "instant victory"; she was dressed exquisitely, and although already in her forties or fifties, judging by her looks and figure, she seemed like she was in her early thirties.

"My mom came to pick me up, I'm heading off first!"

"Okay, okay, then you go. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

Li Jianjia said goodbye to Wang Xiaohua, then hurriedly ran over.

"Mom, didn't I say you didn't need to come pick me up? Why did you insist on coming?" Li Jianjia reached her mother, unable to hide some reproach.

She felt she had already grown up and didn't want to still need her parents to pick her up and drop her off like a kindergarten child.

"But this is the Gaokao! Such an important day, I absolutely had to come. What if something happened to you on the way home? That would ruin everything. Come on, get in the car; your dad cooked a table full of good dishes at home, just waiting for you to come back and eat."

Wang Xiaohua watched from afar as Li Jianjia followed her mother and got into an Audi.

Although Wang Xiaohua didn't know much about cars, he could tell at a glance that the value of that car might be higher than his parents' combined income of five years.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.

The gap between people can sometimes be really huge.

But he didn't feel inferior or ashamed because of it.

For things that cannot be changed, he had already learned to accept them.

Like his height, his appearance.

His family situation was the same.

Just seeing the gap made his inner heart even more determined: he must strive hard, break free from the bottom, climb higher in society — not seeking great wealth and nobility, but at least ensuring his future children could have living conditions like Li Jianjia's.

"Who was that classmate who just came out with you?"

Li Jianjia's mother asked Li Jianjia in the passenger seat casually while driving.

"From our class, Wang Xiaohua."

Li Jianjia answered honestly.

"Oh oh, that Wang Xiaohua who always ranks first in the grade, what a pity!"

Li's mother suddenly sighed.

"A pity for what?"

Li Jianjia felt baffled, completely at a loss.

"He's too short, and his appearance isn't good."

Li's mother said this.

Li Jianjia was even more baffled:

"Whether someone is tall or short, fat or thin, good-looking or not, what does that have to do with us?"

Li's mother's lips moved, wanting to say something, but in the end she held back and didn't say it.

"Forget it, I won't talk to you about these things anymore. Besides, now isn't the time to talk about this kind of thing. You go back, eat your meal, hurry up and take a nap. The afternoon math exam needs the most brainpower, you have to rest up fully."

"Mhm mhm, I know, I know what to do even without you telling me, I'm not a little kid anymore."

Li Jianjia said somewhat impatiently.

Her parents doted on her very much, but doting too much made them a bit nagging.

Additionally, her mother only spoke half of what she wanted to say, leaving her completely at a loss, very speechless.

Wang Xiaohua walked back to No. 1 High School alone. He returned to the classroom to get his lunch box, went to the canteen to get food, and after eating, went back to the dorm to rest.

When he returned to the dorm, some classmates were still discussing the Chinese exam questions from the morning.

Especially the essay, because it was too open-ended, everyone looked at the topic from different angles, so the central ideas of their essays were also different.

They discussed back and forth, and some classmates started to worry whether they had gone off-topic.

"Xiaohua, you tell us, should this essay be written from the rich man's perspective, or from the three poor families' perspective? I think it should be from the rich man's perspective. The rich man is the subject of that passage. Otherwise, the beginning of that material should be 'There were three poor families, funded by a rich man's donation,' not 'There was a rich man who wanted to fund three poor families.' Xiaohua, am I right or not?"

A classmate, seeing a deadlock with other classmates, came to ask Wang Xiaohua's opinion.

Wang Xiaohua didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

"You do observe the problem quite meticulously. I think actually writing from either perspective is no problem. Let's not discuss exam questions anymore. The exam is already over. No matter how much we discuss, it's useless. Better to sleep well and rest up fully for the afternoon math exam."

With Wang Xiaohua saying this, everyone stopped discussing.

But the classmates who had already discussed still had their moods affected for sure.

They couldn't help but feel uneasy.

The essay is such a big chunk, 60 points. If they went off-topic, this college entrance exam would be finished.

The homeroom teacher repeatedly urged them not to discuss after the exam, but they just wouldn't listen. Now look, it's affected their mood, right?