A week passed in a blink of an eye, and Lin Jinran was gearing up for the first senior year exam of Wannanshi No. 1 Middle School.
Right up until the exam, Lin Jinran was still poring over the previous semester's final exam papers that Su Qinian had neatly organized for her.
The boy had beautiful handwriting. His strokes were bold and powerful, like a dragon soaring through the clouds. Just skimming through the papers was a feast for the eyes. She couldn't help but want to go through them two or three more times.
Ten minutes before the exam was set to start, Lin Jinran finally put away the papers, gathered her stationery, and made her way to the exam hall.
Just like in previous school exams, they would take the Chinese test on the morning of the first day, followed by math in the afternoon. Then on the second day, it was English in the morning and the comprehensive science exam in the afternoon.
For the entire two days, Lin Jinran was completely immersed in the exams. Apart from the rare moments when she had to ask Su Qinian about something she didn't understand, she hardly said a single word of nonsense.
With the ringing of the bell for the last exam, the students quickly handed in their papers and filed out of the exam hall. The tense two - day period was finally over, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.
The once - quiet building was instantly filled with a hubbub of noise. Lin Jinran slowly made her way back to the classroom with the flow of students. Her taut nerves gradually relaxed when she saw the familiar sign of Class 1, Senior Year, like a gentle breeze caressing her skin, making her feel light from the inside out.
In the corridor outside the classroom, the students were haphazardly moving their desks back to their original places. Lin Jinran's desk was in the inner part of the classroom and had been used as an exam desk.
She walked into the classroom, where quite a few people had already gathered to compare answers.
"Damn it! It's actually A. I changed my answer at the last second before handing in the paper. This single multiple - choice question is worth a whopping five points! My heart aches so much."
"Hahaha, I guessed it right. Five more points for me."
"What did you guys choose for this question? I saw everyone else choosing C, and I'm the only one who chose D."
"Don't tell me you got such a simple math question wrong. Watch out or the homeroom teacher will invite you for a chat."
"Brother Su, is the answer to the last big question 1? I calculated it twice during the exam, and it's definitely 1."
"Yeah, I got 1 too."
"Hahaha, great! I'm sure to get full marks for this question."
"..."
As Lin Jinran walked closer, she saw Lu Youchuan jumping up and down in excitement, his eyebrows and eyes scrunched up in a big smile.
Apart from him, there was a small crowd around Su Qinian's desk. Everyone was there to compare answers.
She lowered her head and saw that her desk had been neatly placed next to Su Qinian's. A warm feeling of gratitude welled up in her heart.
The boy was sitting right in the middle of the group. His once - cold and sharp features now had a faint smile on them as he calmly answered the questions from his classmates.
Lin Jinran stood not too far away. Behind her was the sparse sound of desks being moved, and in front of her was the radiant young man. Even though the sun was setting and the sky was no longer as bright, he still shone so brightly that it made others envious.
She stared at him for a while, then took out her phone from her schoolbag, set it to silent mode, and quickly pressed the shutter button while no one was paying attention to her.
This photo was forever saved in her phone.
Years later, it would be one of the few photos Lin Jinran had of Su Qinian from his high - school days. It was strange because the two of them had taken quite a few photos before.
"Hey, Lin Jinran is here." Xie Wanyu spotted her and waved cheerfully, her face beaming with joy.
It seemed that Xie Wanyu had done well in this exam.
The students around Su Qinian also looked over and made way for her.
Lin Jinran sat down and took out the papers he had given her before, returning them to him. "Thanks, Su Qinian."
"No problem. How did the exam go? Is it okay?" When Su Qinian took the papers, he noticed that the girl's face was as calm as water, and her glass - like eyes were clear and clean.
It was impossible to tell from her expression whether she had done well or not.
"Hey, class monitor, you have study materials but you don't share them with us." Zhang Qiaozhi asked sourly, "We're your classmates too. You can't be so partial."
"Yeah, yeah, don't be so partial." Someone chimed in.
"This was last semester's final exam. You've all taken it." Su Qinian raised his eyebrows and glanced at the two who had spoken, speaking slowly, "Lin Jinran is a new student. She's not familiar with our school's question - setting pattern. It's only right that I give her the papers to review."
"Exactly. It's not some top - secret stuff. It's only natural for the class monitor to take care of new students." Xie Wanyu grumbled, "Besides, you guys didn't even ask. Why would he offer it to you?"
Zhang Qiaozhi smiled and continued, "I didn't do well in this exam. I got a bit impatient when I saw the materials. I'm sorry, everyone."
"Come on, you top students always say you didn't do well. But every time, your rankings are sky - high. I can only look up to you from afar."
Lu Youchuan was almost heartbroken and indignant.
Every time he really believed them and happily anticipated an improvement in his ranking.
But in the end, when the results came out, he was so angry that he almost spat out blood.
He knew they were just deceiving honest people like him.
During the first evening self - study that night, the homeroom teacher came to the classroom with a USB drive.
"Teacher, the results are already out? This is even faster than a rocket!!!" A sharp - eyed student spotted the USB drive and shouted out. Hearing this, the other students in the class all craned their necks and stared eagerly at the teacher.
"Don't talk nonsense. The exam only ended this afternoon. How could it be that fast?" Zhou Ping, the homeroom teacher, waved his hand. "Relax tonight. I'm going to show you a movie."
"Damn it, teacher, you're so awesome. I'm so touched."
"I love you so much, teacher. You're the best homeroom teacher I've ever seen."
"Teacher is so cool. Teacher is so awesome. Teacher, go for it!"
"What do you mean by 'go for it'? Lu Youchuan, don't misuse words. Watch out or the teacher will invite you for a chat."
"..."
The classroom was filled with deafening cheers.
Zhou Ping covered his ears and made a shushing gesture. "Quiet down. The class next door is still having evening self - study. Only turn off half of the lights when you're watching the movie. Some students might still want to study. Got it?"
"The class next door is so unlucky."
"Hahaha, let them envy us to death."
Zhou Ping plugged in the USB drive. After successfully importing the movie into the computer on the podium, he unplugged it, told the disciplinary committee member to maintain order, and then left to grade the exam papers.
"Hurry up, turn off the lights. The students by the window, help pull down the curtains." Lu Youchuan urged.
"Lu Youchuan, I still want to study. The homeroom teacher said to only turn off half of the lights." Zhang Qiaozhi quickly stopped Lu Youchuan's actions. She really hadn't done well in the exam, and her face looked rather pale.
"Come on, Sister Zhang. You're always the second in the grade. There's no need to study this one moment. Watching a movie with us is so much fun."
Lu Youchuan was being rather flippant and didn't look serious at all.
Perhaps this comment offended Zhang Qiaozhi, and she roared, "I've already said I want to study. Can you hear me!"
"Okay!" Lu Youchuan responded reluctantly. "The students in the front row, help. Only turn off half of the lights and leave one on for Sister Zhang to study."
The commotion finally ended.
The movie officially started. The movie the homeroom teacher had imported was *The Shawshank Redemption*.
Lin Jinran put down her pen and looked up at the screen.
She had already compared answers with Su Qinian after school this afternoon, so she had a rough idea of how she did.
Suddenly, something was stuffed onto her desk. Lin Jinran looked down and saw a bag of potato chips. She was stunned for a moment and then turned to look at Su Qinian.
"How can you watch a movie without potato chips?" Su Qinian said proudly, with the corners of his mouth turned up.