Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

There are still two days until the results are released.

The Red Flag Commune, however, seemed to have entered the height of summer ahead of schedule.

It's hot during the day, and even hotter at night; the wind blowing through the village entrance carries a sense of dryness.

Many people toss and turn after lying down. Even though they are tired after a long day and their eyes are closed, their minds can't stop.

Especially for families with children taking the college entrance exam. The later the night, the later the lights are turned off.

Zhao Family Village.

Zhao Xiaomei sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), the kerosene lamp burning with only a small flame the size of a soybean.

My mother was already asleep; I could hear her even breathing in the room.

But she couldn't sleep.

There was a piece of paper on the kang (a heated brick bed) with estimated scores written on it: 280, 290, 300.

She has calculated it more than a dozen times, and each time it is different.

Sometimes I feel confident that I can pass the exam, and other times I feel it's unlikely.

Finally, he simply crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the stove pit. A flash of fire, and the paper ball quickly turned black.

"Xiaomei?" Her mother groggily turned over. "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Soon."

Zhao Xiaomei agreed and lay back down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

The wooden beams of the roof lay there silently. She gazed into the darkness, but suddenly her mind drifted back to the day of the exam—the moment she walked into the exam hall, the moment she wrote her name, the moment she handed in her paper.

As I thought about it, a smile slowly crept onto my lips.

Regardless of the outcome, at least she actually sat down inside.

Thinking about this, I suddenly felt a little relieved.

On the other side, the Lin family.

Wang Xiulan was also awake. The dog in the yard barked twice, and she immediately sat up: "Jianguo, are you asleep?"

Lin Jianguo rolled over: "Go to sleep."

"What score do you think Weidong will get?"

"We'll know when the results come out."

"I was just asking."

Wang Xiulan couldn't sleep at all.

These past few days, she's been telling everyone she meets that her son will get into university, and the more she talks about it, the more nervous she becomes.

If you do well on the exam, you'll naturally be basking in the glory; but if you don't do well, what about all the things people say?

Thinking of this, she simply put on her clothes and got off the kang (a heated brick bed).

The moonlight was bright in the courtyard, casting the shadow of the old locust tree on the ground. She looked up and suddenly remembered her spiteful remark—to cut down the tree for firewood.

Thinking of this, she spat and said, "How could that be? How could Wei Dong lose?"

After saying that, she turned and went back into the house. But that night, she still woke up three times.

The quietest place was actually the supply and marketing cooperative.

It was very late at night, and only a table lamp remained in the warehouse, its light casting a white glow on the paper on the table.

Lin Xiuhe was organizing materials, and when she finished writing the last notebook, the clock on the wall pointed to eleven o'clock.

She closed the notebook and rubbed her wrist.

The score sheet on the table was still there, having been flipped through many times, and the edges were even a little curly.

She looked at it for a moment, put the paper in her notebook, and then blew out the lamp.

The entire warehouse was plunged into darkness. Outside the window, insects chirped, near and far, one after another.

She didn't go to bed late that night, nor did she get up repeatedly.

Because I had already experienced it once in my previous life—the feeling of waiting for the results was more agonizing than taking the exam, but after the results came out, life went on as usual.

She knows this better than anyone else.

Meanwhile, the county machinery factory.

The lights were still on on the second floor of the office building. After the equipment malfunction was resolved, the project restarted, and the entire technical team worked continuously for two days. The desk was covered with blueprints, and the water in the teacups had long since gone cold.

The deputy factory manager returned from the workshop and saw Zhou Zhiyuan still changing data: "Aren't you going back?"

"Finish the last bit."

The deputy factory director pulled up a chair and sat down: "I heard your commune is about to produce results."

"Um."

Are you nervous?

After Zhou Zhiyuan finished recording the last set of data, he paused for a moment and said, "A little."

The deputy factory director laughed: "That's rare. I thought you weren't in a hurry for anything."

The office window was open, and the night breeze blew in, carrying the distinctive rusty smell of the machine factory.

Zhou Zhiyuan looked out the window; in the distance, the lights of the county town were scattered. He had seen this scene once before. Only, in his previous life, the outcome was different.

Thinking of this, he closed the document, stood up, and said, "Deputy Factory Director, I would like to ask for half a day off tomorrow afternoon."

"Go back to the commune?"

"Um."

The deputy factory director glanced at him for two seconds, then waved his hand: "Go ahead. The college entrance exam only happens once a year, a half-day delay in the project is fine."

Zhou Zhiyuan thanked him and put the blueprints away again.

The night grew deeper outside the window. Meanwhile, in the Red Flag Commune, many people remained awake.

Some people are calculating their scores, some are dreaming, some are staring blankly at the ceiling, and some are already fantasizing about their acceptance letters.

Time passed little by little.

The next morning, the loudspeaker at the broadcasting station announced on time: "Attention all candidates, the results of the college entrance examination will be released on the morning of the day after tomorrow."

The sound echoed throughout the entire commune, startling the sparrows in the trees into flight.

At the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative, the red betting paper fluttered in the wind, and the names on it were still clear—Lin Weidong and Lin Xiuhe.

Everyone knows that the answer will be revealed in one more day.