Chapter 97: At This Moment, Their Heartbeats Are in Sync
「June 8th.」
The second day of the college entrance exams.
Compared to the chaos of the first day, today was much calmer.
After dropping Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe off at the exam site, Chen Dongmei hurried home to start preparing a lavish dinner to welcome them back after their tests.
「Around 5:10 PM.」
Once Chen Dongmei had mostly finished preparing the dishes, she drove hurriedly to the gates of Mountain City First Middle School.
The entrance was already packed with parents waiting for their children to come out.
Everyone was craning their necks, their hearts filled with nervous anticipation.
5:30 PM.
"CLANG—CLANG CLANG—"
"The exam has concluded. All students, please put down your pens and stop writing immediately. Place your answer sheet, test booklet, and scratch paper on your desk in that order, from top to bottom."
With that broadcast, the final English exam of the college entrance examinations was over.
It also meant that the third-year students’ three years of high school had officially come to an end.
"They’re coming out! They’re coming out!"
It was impossible to tell who shouted it, but all the parents outside the school gates instinctively turned to look.
A boy with bleached-blond hair emerged, sauntering out with a nonchalant air.
A collective sigh of disappointment rippled through the crowd.
In an instant, everyone looked away, disappointed.
It was simple, really.
That head of blond hair just screamed "troublemaker"!
...
As time passed, a steady stream of students began to trickle out of the school gates.
"Hey, honey, over here! Over here!"
some parents shouted, waving their arms.
Meanwhile, the reporters who were live-streaming from the side quickly found a well-behaved student who looked like a top scholar to interview.
As for why they were so selective, well, you get the picture.
...
「Meanwhile, on Gu Yifan’s end.」
He was currently standing under the large banyan tree outside the exam building, smoking a cigarette while playing on his phone.
As usual, Gu Yifan had turned in his paper early and left.
But he didn’t head straight for the school gates.
There were two reasons. One, he wanted to wait for that silly Hanhan, Su Qinghe.
The other was that the area outside the school gates was definitely swarming with parents and reporters.
While being the first one out might look cool, Gu Yifan had no desire to be gawked at like a zoo animal.
So, it was much better to just chill here in the shade, smoke, and play on his phone while waiting for Su Qinghe.
’Besides, when Su Qinghe comes out and sees me waiting for her, she’ll be super touched. With a little more coaxing, I might even get to see a black-stockings show tonight!’
’Isn’t that way better than going out there and staring at those parents’ yellow teeth?’
Another two minutes passed. Gu Yifan had long since finished his cigarette. He glanced toward Exam Hall 3, where a crowd was now pouring out.
Gu Yifan scanned the crowd but couldn’t find any sign of Su Qinghe.
’Of course.’
’With that Hanhan’s quiet, unassertive personality, she’d probably see this crowd and wait until she was the very last one out!’
Gu Yifan shook his head helplessly, thinking to himself.
Looking away, Gu Yifan thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone to send Su Qinghe a text telling her where he was waiting.
This time, however, Gu Yifan was wrong.
Su Qinghe had actually left with the crowd and was already walking down the stairs. She knew Gu Yifan was waiting for her and didn’t want to keep him waiting too long.
Just as Gu Yifan was typing his message, Su Qinghe reached the bottom of the staircase.
BEEP—BEEP BEEP—
Su Qinghe was just about to look for Gu Yifan when she suddenly heard a text message notification from her pocket.
Big Bully Gu: "I’m under the big banyan tree outside the exam building."
After reading the message, Su Qinghe looked up and immediately saw Gu Yifan under the large banyan tree not far away.
And as it happened, Gu Yifan looked up in her direction at that exact moment.
Their eyes met.
Amid the bustling crowd, their worlds narrowed until they were the only ones in each other’s sight.
In the sunlight, Su Qinghe flashed a brilliant smile.
A single glance, an eternity.
Gu Yifan felt as if the entire world had instantly faded to gray, leaving only her delicate, flower-like smiling face.
By the time he came back to his senses, Su Qinghe had already jogged right up to him.
Seeing the fine beads of sweat on Su Qinghe’s forehead from her run, Gu Yifan’s eyes softened. He reached out with the sleeve of his right hand and gently wiped the sweat from her temple.
Seeing Gu Yifan’s sudden gentle and intimate gesture, Su Qinghe’s face flushed a light pink.
’There are so many people around... How could he be so bold!’
Su Qinghe kept her head down, her face bright red, not daring to move a muscle.
"Let’s go. Let’s go home."
Gu Yifan smiled faintly, then held out his right hand and said softly.
Su Qinghe froze for a second. She looked up and met Gu Yifan’s gaze, which was as gentle as water.
"Mhm!"
She suddenly broke into a sweet smile and nodded earnestly.
In that moment, their hearts beat as one.
Amid the crowd, their fingers intertwined, they walked slowly toward the school gates, hand in hand.
......
At the school gates, Chen Dongmei and her old friend Ye Wanqing were craning their necks, looking toward the entrance in anticipation.
Seeing that the people around them had all gradually reunited with their children while Gu Yifan and the others were still nowhere to be seen, the two women couldn’t help but start to worry.
"Wanqing, do you think something unexpected happened to Yifan and the others?"
Chen Dongmei said to Ye Wanqing, pacing back and forth anxiously.
"Well..."
"I don’t think so!"
"It’s probably just crowded. It might take them a while to get out!"
Ye Wanqing was also a little worried, and her voice was filled with uncertainty.
"Sigh..."
"Why does this feel even more nerve-wracking than when we were waiting for our work unit assignments back in the day!"
Chen Dongmei sighed.
If Chen Dongmei knew that at this very moment, Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe were walking hand in hand, lost in their own sweet world, one can only wonder what she would be feeling.
’Damn it!’
’I’m out here about to die from anxiety, and you two are taking your sweet time, strolling along and flirting?!!!’
’I swear, giving birth to a pork roast would’ve been better than having you!’
Yes... she would probably be thinking something along those lines.
In reality, both Chen Dongmei and Ye Wanqing were just letting their worry get the better of them.
They had both forgotten about the existence of something called a cell phone...
Another five minutes passed.
Han Ning came out!
When she saw her mom and Gu Yifan’s mom, she quickened her pace and walked over to them.
Both Ye Wanqing and Chen Dongmei’s eyes lit up, and they hurried forward to meet her.
"Hey, Xiaoning’er, have you seen that rascal Gu Yifan?"
After Ye Wanqing and her daughter exchanged a few pleasantries, Chen Dongmei couldn’t help but ask.
"Gu Yifan?"
Han Ning paused for a moment, then said, "I haven’t seen him. I was in Exam Hall 16, and he was in Exam Hall 3. We weren’t together."
"Oh, I see."
"Sigh, that kid Yifan... what’s taking him so long to come out?"
Chen Dongmei sounded disappointed, her voice tinged with worry.
"Aunt Mei, don’t worry. There are still a lot of people inside. He’s probably just walking slowly," Han Ning said comfortingly when she saw Chen Dongmei’s concern.
Just as they were speaking,
Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe, still holding hands, slowly approached the school gates...