After viewing the examination hall on the afternoon of June 6th, the crucial two-day college entrance examination began for everyone.
While the college entrance examination might not determine one's entire life, it can certainly alter one's destiny.
For the vast majority of ordinary people who weren't born with a silver spoon in their mouths, the college entrance examination is the fairest opportunity to compete.
Ten years of diligent study have honed a sword; today, it is unsheathed to test its sharpness!
Even though he had gone through it once before, as this day truly arrived again, Qin Tian still felt a slight hint of nervousness.
Of course, it was only a slight hint.
At eight in the morning, he was woken up by his mother's knock on the door.
After getting up and washing, mother and son sat down in the main hall for breakfast.
Compared to the usual more oily stir-fried dough sticks and hot dry noodles, today's breakfast was lighter and healthier.
Millet porridge and steamed buns bought from the breakfast stall outside, along with a glass of milk and two fried eggs.
Perhaps to wish for good luck, a single slice of ham was also fried and arranged neatly on the plate to form the pattern "100".
"Mom, this sense of ritual is really well done!"
Qin Tian looked at his mother with surprise.
"Sense of ritual?"
Tang Xiuxia paused, and after roughly figuring out what the word meant, she rolled her eyes dismissively and said, "Stop the nonsense and eat quickly!"
"It's just not quite right; there are no 100-point scores for the four exams. Chinese, Math, and English are all 150 points each, and the Science comprehensive is 300. If I score 100 on everything, wouldn't that be disastrous?"
Qin Tian shrugged his shoulders with a helpless expression.
"Pah, pah, pah!"
Tang Xiuxia spat several times forcefully, picked up her chopsticks, and tapped him on the head, saying angrily, "I mean you to get full marks on everything, what nonsense are you spouting here?"
"Oh!"
Qin Tian rubbed his head in response and picked up an egg, eating it in one bite.
Tang Xiuxia stared at the remaining slice of ham and fried egg on the plate, her eyelids twitching a few times, and she suppressed the urge to tap him again with her chopsticks.
"Mom, I'll go to the exam hall myself after I finish eating. You don't need to come, since it's at our own school anyway."
Qin Tian took a bite of a steamed bun and said to his mother.
He was lucky; his assigned examination hall was at his own school, so he could just walk there as he would for classes.
"What? On such an important day, I can't come along to watch?"
Tang Xiuxia glanced at him sideways.
Qin Tian felt like crying but also laughing, and quickly explained, "That's not what I meant. It's just unnecessary. It's hot today, why would you stand outside?"
"Mind your own business, I just want to chat with other parents, is that not allowed?"
Tang Xiuxia glared at her son and asked.
"Fine, okay, I was wrong, I was wrong."
Qin Tian surrendered helplessly.
"Have you packed everything?"
"I've packed it. You don't need to bring much for the Chinese exam, just a pen is enough."
"Nonsense! What if it breaks? Bring two pens, one as a backup. Bring scratch paper and correction fluid, and don't forget your ID card and admission ticket."
"Got it, don't worry!"
"I'd be worried if you were like this! You're too careless. I'll check everything for you later to make sure nothing is missed."
"Okay, okay, okay."
After eating and drinking his fill, his mother meticulously checked the items he needed to bring, and then they left together, heading towards the examination hall.
When they passed a small convenience store, his mother went in and bought two bottles of mineral water, handing him one when she came out.
"Don't drink too much, in case you need to go to the restroom midway."
"Got it, do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"
"You're thirty, but you're still a child to me."
"You're really something!"
"That's right!"
While chatting and laughing, Qin Tian was messaging Xia Nuannuan on his phone.
Xia Nuannuan was unlucky and was assigned to the Experimental High School, which was the farthest away. She was also on her way to the examination hall with her parents.
On the chat app, Xia Nuannuan complained that both her parents were accompanying her. She had asked her father to send her alone, but her future mother-in-law wouldn't agree.
Qin Tian smiled and typed reassuring words, saying that all parents were the same and that his own mother was also nagging beside him!
"What are you chatting about now?"
Tang Xiuxia leaned her head over, full of curiosity, trying to glance at her son's phone screen.
"Nothing much, Mom, what are you doing?"
Qin Tian quickly pressed his phone screen to his chest and looked up at his mother with a wary gaze.
Tang Xiuxia put on a disgusted expression, pouted, and said, "I can't look? Are you hiding things from your own mother?"
"You should respect your child's privacy,"
Qin Tian said solemnly.
"Hmph, alright, alright, I won't look, okay!"
Tang Xiuxia gave him a sour sideways glance and reminded him, "Don't forget what you promised earlier, after the exam, find an opportunity to bring her home for a meal."
"We'll see."
Qin Tian said indifferently.
"We'll see what? Say that again?"
Tang Xiuxia immediately reached out and grabbed his ear, frowning and threatening him.
"I was wrong, I was wrong! I meant I'll think of a way. Mom, let go quickly! It's easy for my classmates to see, wouldn't that be embarrassing for me?"
"You still care about embarrassment?"
"Don't make a fuss, okay? My classmates in class either call me 'Ge' or 'Teacher Qin.' Who's like you, not respecting me at all."
"Pfft!"
Tang Xiuxia was amused. She let go of his ear and placed her hand on his shoulder, chuckling playfully, "Oh, my son has so much status in class?"
"Naturally."
Qin Tian smiled proudly, removed her arm from his shoulder, and gently pushed it aside, saying, "Don't lean so close, are you trying to steal a peek at my chat records?"
"You're overthinking it, who wants to look!"
Tang Xiuxia, her thoughts exposed, denied it with feigned disdain.
"Heh heh!"
Qin Tian didn't believe her at all. He moved a step further to the side and picked up his phone to continue messaging.
Seeing this scene, Tang Xiuxia's gaze became distant.
Her son, whom she had raised with her own hands, already had a girl he liked so much?
She was mostly happy, of course, but undeniably, there was also a slight sense of loss and sourness, feeling that her precious son was gradually no longer hers alone.
When they reached the school gate, many parents and students were already waiting for the gate to open.
Almost all of them were accompanied by parents, either their fathers or mothers, and many had both parents with them.
At this moment, the parents were either tirelessly repeating some precautions or comforting and encouraging their children not to be nervous and to perform well.
The students responded with helpless smiles, feeling nervous and apprehensive to varying degrees.
"Brother Tian, Auntie!"
A familiar shout came.
Qin Tian and his mother looked over and saw Zhang Peng walking towards them with a cheerful smile.
Behind him, with a resemblance to his features, was a burly middle-aged man, his father.
"Uncle Zhang!"
Qin Tian greeted him with a smile.
"Ah, Little Qin."
Zhang's father nodded with a beaming smile and said, "Little Qin, after the exam, find some time, and Uncle Zhang will treat you to a meal. Qin Tian's mother, you too."
He had seen his son's attitude towards studying and his academic progress during this period, and he knew it was all thanks to Qin Tian. He hadn't found an opportunity to express his gratitude.
He had originally planned for his less-than-stellar son to work with family relatives after graduating from high school.
But now that his son had the opportunity to attend a university, he was naturally very pleased.