At nine o'clock, the exam officially started.
After the test papers were handed out, the girl bent over her desk to fill in information.
The sunlight dyed the edges of her ponytail golden yellow. Her hair had a slight split end. With her head slightly turned to the left, there was fine fuzz on her face, making her look even more serene and compassionate.
Jiang Nian withdrew his gaze from her fair neck, feeling cheerful.
To say he wasn't nervous would be a lie, even though he had memorized all the knowledge points of the subjects he could during his preparation time. But after all, this was the exam that decided his future in senior year.
But having a beautiful girl in front of him might just be a good omen.
The two days of exams passed in a blur.
The girl in front of him indeed brought him luck, from the Chinese exam all the way to the last English test. He performed normally, even a bit beyond his usual level.
After some back and forth, Jiang Nian also learned the girl's name, Zhang Ningzhi.
He borrowed an eraser during the math exam.
Before the English exam, Jiang Nian thought about how he had borrowed her luck. After the test, he might not see her again, so after much contemplation he decided to do something.
So, while expressing his thanks, he gave Zhang Ningzhi a box of fruit milk.
No one outside the school would dare accept something like this, after all, which girl would dare drink something handed out by a stranger boy, but the risk was much lower in school.
Zhang Ningzhi hesitated for a moment, said thank you, and accepted it.
He didn't dwell on it. During the last English exam, the classroom was so quiet that only the sound of pencils scratching could be heard.
Smelling the scent of ink from the test paper, Jiang Nian's hand trembled a bit. Probably because this was the last exam, or maybe it was because his half-soaked short sleeves.
The wind from the mountains blew in from outside, causing his rows of white teeth to clatter, feeling both sour and numb.
His heart was pounding like a drum, his head hot and flushed.
"No problem," he muttered softly to himself while doing the test, "Chinese guarantees one hundred, math should be one hundred, science should be above two hundred and ten..."
"Get twenty points for the English essay, lose ten points for listening, English is stable at one hundred and thirty."
Five hundred and forty was just his estimated minimum score, not particularly high for a paper with a total score of seven hundred and fifty, but it was already very high in the parallel class.
If these exams were the real college entrance exams, he would have more than enough to get into a double non-first-tier college.
Jiang Nian estimated that after this mock exam, he should be able to rank first in class. If all goes well, moving up to the science Olympic class shouldn't be an issue.
At 4:30 in the afternoon, he left the exam room, everyone was packing up to return to the classroom to clear their desks.
Having two days of exams over the weekend, the usual Sunday night study session was used as a holiday. Meaning from now until the end, there was a whole free evening.
The classroom was chaotic, some chose to head straight to internet cafes, others opted to restore their seats before leaving.
The class, corridor, and the whole senior year building were particularly noisy and lively, some were discussing the test papers. Some were surrounding the teacher chatting, occasionally clapping hands or regretfully pounding their chests.
Many students were also wandering around classes, the classroom was filled with many new faces. Some gathered around scrap paper for validation, some were joking loudly, and others made plans to go to the internet cafe.
Jiang Nian bent down and easily lifted his heavy book basket. As he straightened up, he saw Zhou Yuting walk in, looking around in the classroom, probably looking for someone to help move books.
When they passed by each other, Zhou Yuting called out to him.
"Jiang Nian, could you help me move some books, they're too heavy for me to lift."
--"When an acquaintance of the opposite sex, with whom you formally had a falling out but not officially, asks you for help, it's best to pretend you didn't hear them."
Jiang Nian ignored her and walked two steps forward before looking back.
"Huh? You called me?"
"Yeah, could you help me move some books?" Zhou Yuting asked, probably because of the weekend exams, she was wearing a white cotton dress, "And help Yingying too."
Sun Yingying was Zhou Yuting's so-called best friend, and she had an interest in Liu Feipeng.
"Oh, why not ask Le Zhi to help you?" Jiang Nian glanced at her, a slight curve at the corner of his mouth, "He'd definitely be happy to help you move books."
Zhou Yuting paused upon hearing this, of course she knew Le Zhi would help her. But Le Zhi was too annoying, Jiang Nian wouldn't nag her, and he was also good-looking.
Although Zhou Yuting would never consider dating someone as poor as Jiang Nian, having another handsome follower would raise her value.
"He's too annoying, it's better to ask you."
Jiang Nian originally wanted to bring up her birthday party last time and mock her in return. But then he thought he's about to move up classes, why waste the effort on this.
Making a girl cry doesn't mean you've won anyway.
"Ok."
He responded coldly, turned around, and left with his book basket in hand.
Zhou Yuting stood there, originally thinking Jiang Nian would put down the books and come back to help her. In the end, after waiting for a while and seeing no sign of him, she went out to look, and almost had her nose bent out of shape in anger.
Jiang Nian had gone to the next class, helping a girl move books.
She vowed she'd never look Jiang Nian in the eye again. Nor speak another word to him, thinking this way would make him feel gain and loss!
....
"No need, I can move it myself." Qianqian glanced at the surrounding onlookers, feeling a bit embarrassed, "Later they can find you to help as well."
"I'll help anyway, it's an easy task." Jiang Nian said nonchalantly.
"That won't do, their books are too heavy." Qianqian frowned, "Just leave later, wait for me at the school gate, I'll be there soon."
Unconsciously, Qianqian had already gotten used to going home with Jiang Nian.
"Alright."
After moving the books, Jiang Nian left the teaching building, looked back at his classroom. Suddenly feeling a bit of anticipation, anticipating the day the results would come out.
Today is Sunday, they should all be out by tomorrow, class changes happen next week.
Not long after, Xu Qianqian came out with her backpack, looked around and saw Jiang Nian. She tightened her backpack straps and walked towards him.
Nearby classmates saw this scene and couldn't help but stop and watch.
Originally thinking they could see some early romance gossip, but it turned out they just walked off plainly, and even pulled out their exams.
"Do you think you'll get five hundred and forty this time?" she asked, frowning, "I heard generally, for the lower class to move up, you need at least five hundred and fifty to be secure."
Walking side by side, Jiang Nian was almost startled into cardiac arrest by her words.
What, guys, I have cheats, not to this extent, right? You Olympic class people...are all like Ultraman Savers, no inside connections?
When Xu Qianqian learned about Jiang Nian's crude idea, she couldn't help but chide him.
"It's exactly because there are insiders, you need a higher score. People score four hundred still stay in the Olympics class, what's class change got to do with them?"
Too realistic, the small county's societal connections are just like this.
"Alright, let me go over the English answers with you then." Jiang Nian took a deep breath, "How did you do on English this time, full marks again?"
Xu Qianqian snorted, showing three parts mockery, three parts pride, three parts nonchalance, and one part of proud swan.
"What do you think?"
The neat power lines cut across the dusk, the night was quietly falling.