Don't underestimate the poor and elderly; I was thrilled to refuse the class beauty's adva

After opening his eyes, Zhang Yifan immediately went to draw back the curtains.

The rain stopped.

The golden sunlight shone on his face, warm and comforting.

He squinted and reached out a hand to cover his brow.

Then he saw the trees downstairs.

Strange, how come the tree that was standing perfectly fine yesterday is now lying down?

A willow tree, as thick as a bowl, snapped in half, its trunk lying across the road, its crown smashing onto the roof of a silver sedan, leaving a deep dent in the hood.

Several trees nearby lay crookedly toppled, some uprooted, others with broken branches. The ground was littered with broken leaves and branches, mixed with the still-wet puddles, creating a scene of utter chaos.

Last night's downpour was much more intense than he had anticipated.

He walked out of the bedroom.

Liu Guilan was frying dumplings in the kitchen, the spatula flying up and down, the oil sizzling in the pan.

She heard footsteps but didn't turn around; she was already muttering to herself.

"Awake? Look at that tree downstairs, didn't you hear the wind howling last night?"

Zhang Yifan leaned against the kitchen door frame and yawned.

"Didn't you hear me? You know I have excellent sleep quality. I won't wake up easily, not even during a strong wind or heavy rain, let alone an earthquake."

"Young people are great, they can fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow."

Liu Guilan scooped the fried dumplings into a plate, tapped the spatula against the edge of the pan twice, glanced back at him, and

"Stop standing there, hurry up and wash your face and brush your teeth. Today is the college entrance exam, don't dawdle."

I have to rush back to the store to oversee the opening. Your college entrance exam and your dad opening the store have both come at the same time, so there's no one free at home.

After washing up in the bathroom, Zhang Yifan sat down at the dining table.

On the table were a plate of fried dumplings, a bowl of soy milk, two fried dough sticks, and a boiled egg.

His mother rolled the hard-boiled egg on the table twice, stuffed it into his hand, and said that this was "rolling egg," and that eating it would help him do well on the exam.

He wasn't sure what the logical connection was between the two things, but he peeled it open and ate it anyway.

He then realized that someone was missing from the table.

Where's my dad?

"Where else can we go? To the farmers' market."

He got up at five in the morning to buy vegetables for the opening today.

I said, "Today is the college entrance exam for our son. Aren't you going to see him off?"

Guess what he said... "It's just the college entrance exam, I believe in my son, he'll definitely pass."

He said it so casually, but when he put on his shoes, he put on the one that belonged to your dad on the right. He walked several steps before realizing something was wrong and turned back to change them.

Your dad is just stubborn. Even though he's incredibly nervous, he's afraid of putting pressure on you, so he just won't show it.

I tossed and turned all night and didn't sleep well. I got up before dawn to cook you porridge, but it burned, so I had to switch to making fried dumplings instead.

He bought fresh dumpling wrappers and made them himself; his hands were shaking while he was wrapping them, and several fillings leaked out.

Zhang Yifan chewed the fried dumpling very slowly.

He recalled how his father had been busy in the kitchen the night before, wielding the spatula high and blowing on the stove, saying something like, "Sending off my son."

Actually, behind this meal was his father's sleepless night. He went to buy groceries early in the morning, was so nervous that he wore the wrong shoes, and his hands were shaking while making dumplings.

They still had to pretend they didn't care at all.

He swallowed the last bite of the fried dumpling.

"If you say my dad's stubborn, then you won't be stubborn anymore?"

Liu Guilan paused for a moment in the kitchen.

"How am I being stubborn?"

"If you weren't nervous, could you turn the vinegar for dipping dumplings into soy sauce?"

Liu Guilan strode out of the kitchen, grabbed a small bowl from the table, hid it behind her back, and said, "How could this be! This is vinegar! You'd better grab your bag and get out of here, don't be so picky."

Zhang Yifan had already slung his bag over his shoulder, walked to the entrance, opened the door, and stepped out with one foot.

"Do your best on the exam, son!"

"Okay—"

The sound of the door closing cut off the last syllable in the hallway.

Liu Guilan stood there, looking at the closed door, then looked down at the small bowl in her hand.

She brought the bowl to her nose and smelled it again, and the corners of her mouth slowly turned up.

This is clearly vinegar.

This kid made her feel guilty for a while after lying to her.

She put the bowl back on the table and shook her head with a smile.

Traces of last night's torrential rain still lingered on the road.

The water in the low-lying areas was up to the soles of shoes, and broken branches were piled up on the sidewalk. A sanitation worker was using a chainsaw to cut the fallen tree trunks into sections, and the rattling sound of the chainsaw was particularly jarring in the early morning air.

The air was quite fresh, carrying a moist, grassy scent after being washed by the downpour.

Zhang Yifan walked around a broken tree lying across the sidewalk and quickened his pace.

His exam venue was at No. 1 High School, and he happened to be in Shen Zhiyi's class.

Shen Zhiyi's exam room was in his class.

The two of them were assigned to each other's classrooms as if they were being exchanged hostages.

Zhang Yifan stopped when he reached the school gate.

He had never seen the entrance to No. 1 Middle School so lively.

It wasn't the usual bustling scene of students going to and from school; it was the kind of bustling scene where all the parents turned out and blocked the entire road.

Electric bikes, bicycles, and private cars were all crammed onto the already narrow road in front of the school gate. Traffic police stood in the middle of the intersection, blowing whistles and making hand gestures. The whistles were sharp and urgent, and the hand gestures were as fast as ninjutsu hand seals in Naruto.

Several traffic police officers wearing fluorescent green vests weaved through the traffic, their voices hoarse from shouting.

Parents stood crowding around the stone lions flanking the school gate. Some peered inside on tiptoe, others took photos of their children with their phones, some clutched water bottles, and still others repeatedly reminded their children to "read the questions carefully," "don't be nervous," and "make sure you understand the order when filling in the answer sheet."

They've probably been saying these things since last night, and they don't even realize they're repeating themselves.

A red banner was strung at the school gate, which read "National Unified Examination for College Admissions - No. 1 Middle School Examination Center". Below the banner, candidates lined up to have their admission tickets checked.

Some people looked at their admission tickets over and over again, some opened and closed their pencil cases, some took deep breaths, some swallowed, and some took off their glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.

Zhang Yifan and Zong Wen had arranged to meet at the entrance, but the scene before him gave him his first concrete understanding of the idiom "a sea of ​​people".

There were at least dozens of people standing under the old locust tree where they were supposed to meet. Some were wearing school uniforms, some were wearing casual clothes, and some were wearing red T-shirts with the words "God of Exams" on them, but Zongwen was nowhere to be seen.

Where can I find this?

As he looked around, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from not far away.

There was an argument, and more and more people gathered around, forming a small circle.

The sound was coming from a small blue tent next to the school gate.

The tent was printed with the words: "Retake the exam and find Qihang, a new beginning in life!"

At this moment, dozens of people had gathered in front of the tent. Some were tiptoeing to look inside, some were taking pictures with their phones, and some were whispering to each other.

Zhang Yifan walked over, pushed through the crowd, and peeked inside.