I'm a senior in high school, and the system says I'm going on a blind date with my childho

Chapter 300 College Entrance Examination

The two stopped near the school gate.

It's not that I don't want to go there anymore, it's that I really can't go there anymore.

Unlike usual, a large number of parents had already gathered outside the school gate today. From a distance, they looked like a dark mass, filling both sides of the road leading from the school gate to the examination hall.

A silent yet heavy sense of anticipation and anxiety filled the air.

Most of the parents stood quietly, trying to maintain a calm demeanor.

Their eyes were fixed on the entrance to the examination center, their tightly clenched fingers betraying their inner tension, and the rhythmic tapping of their fingertips on the edge of their bags revealing their underlying anxiety.

In contrast, the students converging on the test center from all directions appeared remarkably calm.

They walked in twos and threes, their steps treading on familiar roads, their expressions reflecting the confidence and relief that comes after a long period of preparation.

There was no commotion, nor much laughter, but rather a quiet sense of clear purpose and unburdened composure.

Wearing the familiar school uniform, it now serves as a battle armor.

When the familiar school bell rang, its long, lingering sound, like a bugle call announcing the start of a battle, pierced the slightly stagnant air outside the school gates.

The tightly closed iron gates of the campus were slowly pushed open from the inside by security personnel with a heavy creaking sound.

Almost simultaneously, the traffic police and uniformed officers who were already in place acted swiftly.

Their steady, clear whistles rose and fell, drawing an invisible line of order in the tense yet expectant atmosphere at the school gate.

The parents, who had been gathered on both sides of the road and were causing some congestion, began to spontaneously move back a little under this orderly guidance, leaving enough space.

A dedicated passageway extending from the school gate into the school was quickly cleared.

"Candidates, please come this way! Keep order, don't rush, take your time!"

The police officers stood at the entrance of the passage, their voices steady and loud, carrying a reassuring power as they guided the figures in their "battle uniforms."

The student crowd, which had been somewhat gathered just moments before, seemed to have found its way to the confluence of rivers.

There was no commotion or pushing; instead, at the silent signal from the teachers and staff, everyone adjusted their pace and formed a somewhat disorderly but orderly queue.

Young faces, some tense, some calm, clutched transparent document bags containing their exam admission tickets and stationery, their eyes fixed on the open school gates, as they followed the line into the passage opened for them.

Shen Yuan and Li Zhi walked side by side through the quiet crowd, following the familiar path towards the teaching building.

The morning sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on their shoulders.

The surrounding noise seemed to be shut out, leaving only the soft sounds of each other's breathing and the gentle thud of footsteps on the pavement.

Approaching the square in front of the teaching building, the fork in the road leading to different examination rooms is already in sight.

Shen Yuan naturally took Li Zhi's hand and squeezed her small hand.

The two students were actually in very close exam rooms, both located in the same teaching building.

Li Zhi was upstairs, and Shen Yuan was downstairs.

Shen Yuan brought Li Zhi to the outside of her examination room.

The room was already filled with candidates waiting to enter, and the invigilators were already inside.

Shen Yuan glanced at his watch.

8 points.

The time is almost up.

The boy and girl didn't exchange many words, and there were no familiar classmates around.

Ah Jie and the others' exam venues are all a bit far away.

Time flew by in our tightly clenched fingers, and the bell rang at 8:30 for the candidates to enter the examination hall.

"Ding-ding-ding-ding-"

Li Zhi turned his head slightly, his fair cheeks bathed in the morning light, and his eyes, which always held a lively light, were now filled with a determination that was almost as solid as his own.

They were about to part ways and head to their respective battlefields.

Suddenly, without warning, Li Zhi turned around, opened his arms, and tightly hugged Shen Yuan's waist.

The girl's cheek pressed against the soft fabric of his school uniform against his chest, lingering for a brief but clear moment.

The embrace ended abruptly.

“Shen Yuan,” she looked up, her watery eyes staring straight into his deep gaze.

"come on."

Shen Yuan's arms stiffened for a moment in that sudden, warm embrace, and then it felt as if something hot was about to overflow from his chest.

He lowered his head to meet her gaze, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

The boy's usual languor and mischievousness vanished, leaving only pure solemnity.

He raised his hand and gently brushed away the stray hairs that had been ruffled by the morning breeze from Li Zhi's cheek, his voice low and steady.

"Go for it, Li Bao!"

No further words are needed; a hug and a simple word of mutual encouragement are enough to encapsulate a thousand unspoken sentiments at this moment.

Li Zhi gave him one last look, her lips pressed into a resolute line, her delicate chin raised.

"—I'm leaving!"

The moment she finished speaking, she turned around without hesitation, straightened her slender back, and strode quickly toward her assigned exam room, 02.

Shen Yuan stood still, his gaze following the familiar figure as it merged into the crowd surging towards the teaching building.

His hand slowly clenched into a fist, then relaxed.

Taking a deep breath, he turned around and walked steadily toward the area where exam room 05 was located.

At this moment, the figures wearing the same battle robes, after a brief gathering, each merged into the flow of people heading to the final battlefield.

Examination Room 05.

At the entrance of the examination room, the invigilators, wearing their invigilation badges, were already waiting.

A solemn, breathless atmosphere filled the air.

Shen Yuan followed the group and stopped in front of the proctor.

"Student, please show your admission ticket and ID card." The invigilator's voice was calm and clear, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Yuan smoothly took out his ID card and examination admission ticket from the transparent document bag he carried with him.

The slightly stiff feel of the paper was exceptionally clear when held in the palm of my hand.

His fingers moved steadily as he handed it over.

The proctor scanned the photo on the ID card and then looked up to compare it with Shen Yuan himself.

After careful examination and repeated confirmation, I found that the name and photo on the information board matched the face in front of me perfectly, and the test center, test room number, and seat number were also correct.

Their meticulous expressions ensured absolute accuracy at the entry checkpoints.

"Okay." The teacher nodded gently, handed the ID back, and then picked up the shiny metal detector on the table.

The detector swept across Shen Yuan's arms, torso, and legs, emitting a soft buzzing sound.

Shen Yuan raised his arm in cooperation, the movement natural.

When the detector swept past his pocket, there was nothing inside except his keys.

"Lift your foot," the teacher gestured.

Shen Yuan lifted his foot as instructed, and the detector slid over the sole of his shoe to confirm that there was nothing unusual.

"Okay, you can go in now." After completing the entire thorough security check procedure, the proctor stepped aside to make way. Shen Yuan nodded and stepped into the classroom, which was already filled with many unfamiliar faces.

The examination room was unusually quiet.

His gaze swept quickly over the exam number label on the seat, without lingering, and he walked straight to his seat.

Seat 17, located in the middle of the classroom towards the back, isn't exactly a good spot.

I pulled out a chair and sat down, placing the transparent file folder in the upper right corner of my desk.

Shen Yuan picked up his admission ticket and ID card and carefully placed them side by side in the designated position in the upper left corner of his desk.

The photo on the ID card looked somewhat serious, while the printed text on the admission ticket was clear yet cold.

They lay there silently, serving as a pass to this battle.

Shen Yuan did not make any further moves.

His hands rested naturally on the table without touching any stationery.

A silent wait filled the classroom.

Like the young figures around him, Shen Yuan adjusted himself to a ready-to-fight stance, holding his breath and concentrating, waiting for the command to open the battle.

The scene from last night's self-study session suddenly flashed into my mind—

Old Zhou paced back and forth in front of the podium, looking more relaxed than usual.

But after emphasizing the exam room rules, he paused slightly, as if hesitating, and finally lowered his voice, adding with a hint of "don't tell anyone."

"When you're actually in the exam room, you have to be flexible within the bounds of principle!"

Shen Yuan couldn't help but let a very slight upward curve appear at the corners of his mouth.

Old Zhou, who usually talks about exam rules all the time, gave the most practical advice at the last minute: "You have to be flexible."

This sudden display of "pragmatism" before the exam brought a touch of warmth and amusement to Shen Yuan's heart.

abruptly—

The clear and loud sound of the electric bell pierced the silence of the examination room without warning!
The familiar yet defiant "ring ring ring—" sound, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirred up ripples in the hearts of all the examinees.

The proctor perked up, immediately stood up, picked up a heavy brown paper document bag, and held it high to show all the candidates.

His movements were steady and skillful as he precisely and carefully tore open the seal with his hands, making a soft "tearing" sound.

The sealed bag opened immediately.

Next, the teacher took out stacks of thick, large-format paper from the bag.

He walked down the corridor, distributing the snow-white answer sheets to each student one by one.

The answer sheets were passed accurately from the invigilator's hands to every corner of the classroom, including where Shen Yuan was.

Shen Yuan steadily accepted the paper that was handed to him.

He didn't move immediately; he just looked down, the icy touch spreading along his fingertips.

Immediately afterward, the invigilator, carrying a heavy exam paper, walked up to his side.

The snow-white Chinese language test paper was gently placed on his desk.

Shen Yuan lowered his eyes, his gaze calmly falling on the unfolded exam paper—it was not only the battlefield that would determine his fate, but also the bridge leading to his promise to Li Zhi.

Unlike ordinary exams, his review this time carried a different kind of solemnity.

Long, slender fingers silently caressed the ink-printed words at the beginning of the scroll, their fingertips slowly moving along the outline of the printed characters, as if touching a heavy future.

He scanned every punctuation mark in the essay prompt, capturing the hidden meaning between the lines.

His gaze lingered on the blank spaces for reciting ancient poems, his throat moved slightly as he repeatedly confirmed those sentences that were already etched into his bones.

The passages in the reading comprehension section were repeatedly scrutinized by my eyes, and the logical threads between the words quietly unfolded in my mind.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating his slightly furrowed brow.

The boy's eyes no longer held any trace of the intimacy or nonchalance he displayed outside the examination hall; only a focused intensity, like that of someone tempered in fire, remained.

Amidst the soft rustling of turning pages, he was like a hunter who had infiltrated a dense forest of words, silently surveying every inch of his territory one last time before heading into the real battle.

"Ding-ding-ding-ding-"

The bell, piercing the heavy silence of the examination hall, suddenly rang out, sharp yet long, like the final command before charging into battle.

The proctor stood at the front of the classroom, his sharp gaze sweeping across the entire room, and announced in a clear and loud voice:

"The exam has begun. Start answering!"

As soon as the last syllable of the words was uttered, the entire examination room was immediately enveloped in a chorus of sound.

Thirty hands moved almost at the same instant the command was given, landing in unison on the snow-white answer sheets.

"Swish..."

"Da da da……"

The sounds of pen tips gliding across paper intertwined instantly, creating a unique and rapid sonic wave at that moment.

Without any hesitation, Shen Yuan firmly gripped the pen, his gaze fixed on the first multiple-choice question. With a slight flick of his wrist, he wrote the first decisive stroke of ink within the answer box.

Before long, Shen Yuan entered a state of focus.

The pen tip seemed to be guided by the rhythm of the exam paper, drawing smooth and confident lines on the clean white answer sheet.

The multiple-choice boxes were quickly filled, and the blanks in the classical poetry section were precisely filled with phrases that were already thoroughly memorized.

His eyes were sharp and calm, moving quickly through the dense text to capture key information.

The tense atmosphere, the candidates' faint breathing, and the scratching of pens on paper seemed to be separated by an invisible film.

The difficulty of the exam and the passage of time seemed to be compressed and diminished after he entered this highly focused state.

At this moment, his world consisted only of the piece of paper and the pen in front of him.

The pen tip moves smoothly and efficiently.

With a slight turn of the wrist, the questions were analyzed and answered, and the answers were neatly arranged and extended.

Thoughts flowed like a clear spring, without any hindrance, and all the stored knowledge was precisely extracted and utilized in this focused state.

The boy was immersed in this mental surge, focusing intently on the only clear world before him.

The pen tip pierced through the shallows of multiple-choice questions, crossed the still pool of ancient poetry recitation, and carved through the mountain walls of modern text reading.

When the answer to the last non-essay question was firmly engraved on the answer sheet, the slight soreness in my knuckles from prolonged exertion vaguely surfaced from the edge of my consciousness.

Shen Yuan's gaze slowly shifted from the densely packed reading comprehension section to the last page of the exam paper.

The essay topic was like a deep pool hanging in front of him, quietly waiting for his thoughts to leap into the water.

He exhaled softly, almost imperceptibly.

The pen tip hovered about an inch above the snow-white writing area.

The key images in the essay prompt and the bright light streaming through the window outside the exam room slowly intertwined in my mind, like weaving an invisible net, waiting to capture the expression that best fits the theme and is most capable of touching people's hearts.

He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. His eyes were calm as still water in an ancient well, concealing a wellspring of literary inspiration about to burst forth.

Shen Yuan's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

He pressed down steadily with his wrist, not immediately starting to write the essay, but first sketching out his general thoughts on the draft before turning his gaze to the answer sheet.

The pen tip touches the paper, announcing the official start of the final and most magnificent voyage in the vast ocean of words.

He made his first stroke on the paper, beginning this writing process concerning thought and expression.

(End of this chapter)