The Young Girl's Chronicles of Demon-Slaying

Chapter 49: The High School Entrance Exam

The high school entrance exams lasted two and a half days. Every evening after the exams began, Song Wencheng and Lin Yuqin would hold a small meeting in the living room on the first floor to go over the answers with Song Jianqiu and estimate how she might have performed. In reality, there was no need for Song Wencheng and Lin Yuqin to analyze her scores—based on Song Jianqiu’s own estimates, she was on track to earn high marks in every subject, and getting into the high school division of Nan’an Affiliated High School would be absolutely no problem. But when it comes to exams, it’s only natural for parents to be concerned—it would be unusual if they weren’t. So even though she was confident in her own performance, she still thoroughly enjoyed these moments when the whole family sat together, discussing the exam questions. It made her feel valued and cared for. Two days later, after the final morning exam ended—it was just past ten o’clock—Song Jianqiu walked out of the exam hall and made her way through the bustling crowd. She was surrounded by students her own age, all of them excited. For them, the end of this exam—regardless of their scores—meant the official start of their vacation. They could finally take a proper break for a while, waiting just three days to return to school to pick up their diplomas and transcripts—only then would they know whether to rejoice or grieve. But no matter what, this was definitely a time for celebration. Song Jianqiu followed the crowd outward; it wasn’t until she reached the first floor that the space around her suddenly opened up, and the throng quickly dispersed. Some began to sprint, eager to get as far away from the school as possible, while others remained wildly excited, gathering in small groups of three or five and talking animatedly. But upon closer listening, they weren’t discussing the exam or the questions—instead, they were talking about a certain video game and even making plans to head straight to an internet café for an intense gaming session to blow off the stress they’d built up over the past two days. Song Jianqiu, on the other hand, had nothing in particular to do and didn’t plan to go anywhere to have fun. For her, the two-and-a-half-day exam period hadn’t actually been stressful at all, so naturally, she had no need to blow off any steam. After the exams were over, she was ready to head straight home. Just as she was walking out, she suddenly heard someone calling her name. “Jianqiu! Song Jianqiu!” From the sound of it, it was a girl. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a cute girl with long hair tied in a ponytail running toward her. The girl’s name was Li Chuyan; she was the class president of Song Jianqiu’s class and a very energetic girl. There weren’t many people in this class she could remember. After all, she had transferred in with just over a month left before the high school entrance exam. This meant her time in this class would last only as long as the exam period itself—why bother getting to know anyone in such a short time? Once the exam was over, most of the students in this class would likely go their separate ways. After all, although many students aspire to attend the high school division of Nan’an Affiliated High School, getting in is another matter entirely. As a top-tier high school, the high school division is notoriously difficult to enter, with very high score requirements. It’s likely that most applicants will be rejected and forced to attend other high schools. However, the reason she got to know Li Chuyan, the class president, was that after she joined the class as a transfer student, the girl actually took a genuine interest in her. Perhaps worried she’d feel lonely, Li would strike up conversations with her whenever she had a chance, enthusiastically helping her solve problems and doing her best to help her fit into the class. But at the time, she had absolutely no interest in dealing with a teenager, so she ended up being a bit cold toward the class president. But Li Chuyan didn’t seem to mind in the slightest; she continued to chat with her every now and then. Thinking back now, perhaps she had gone a bit too far? After all, the other girl had meant well, and brushing her off like that wasn’t exactly friendly. But now, it seems a bit too late to make amends. After all, once the high school entrance exams are over, everyone will go home for the summer. After that, seeing each other again would depend entirely on whether she gets into the high school division of Nan’an Affiliated High School—and of course, she’s sure to get in, but who knows if Li Chuyan will? She’d joined the class a bit late, and since she hadn’t paid much attention to her classmates or what was going on in the class, she didn’t really know how Li Chuyan was doing academically. But in any case, since the other girl had asked to speak with her—and today would likely be their last meeting—she figured she might as well be a little more friendly. At the very least, she should smile to leave a good impression, right? With that in mind, she gave a rare tug at the corners of her mouth, revealing a faint smile. Li Chuyan, who was running toward her, saw the smile and suddenly stopped in her tracks. A look of surprise flashed across her face, followed by a hint of uncertainty as she slowly walked over. Only when she was close did she ask, “Are you really Jianqiu?” What kind of question was that? As if she could possibly be someone else! Song Jianqiu let her smile fade and said, “It’s only been a few days since we last saw each other—have you already forgotten who I am?” The high school entrance exams were strictly organized, with classmates randomly assigned to different classrooms. She and Li Chuyan hadn’t even been in the same exam room. “No! Li Chuyan hurriedly said. “It’s just that this is the first time I’ve seen you smile—I was really surprised! I thought I might have mistaken you for someone else!” After saying that, she laughed. “But, Jianqiu, you look really pretty when you smile. Why do you always have such a cold expression on your face?” “Really?” Song Jianqiu instinctively touched her cheek. Hmm, her skin was smooth and delicate… Wait, that wasn’t the point. The point was, why didn’t she feel like she had a cold expression every day? “Yes, you do!” Li Chuyan nodded firmly, her voice dropping slightly as she said, “I actually thought you couldn’t smile, Jianqiu!” No sooner had she said this than, as if afraid Song Jianqiu might overhear, she added cheerfully, “But now that I’ve seen you smile, it seems you just don’t like to smile!” All right! Setting aside the question of whether she smiles or not—Song Jianqiu didn’t seem inclined to dwell on that—she asked, “You called me over—is there something you need?” “Oh, right! I almost forgot!” Li Chuyan tapped her head lightly, making an adorable face, then said, “The high school entrance exams are over, right? Summer vacation is coming up, and we won’t be able to see each other for a long time—we might not even see each other again in the future. So our class is planning one last group activity. That’s why I’m here to invite you to join us!” “Huh? Was this a last-minute decision?” Song Jianqiu asked. “Not really. Wasn’t it announced during the class meeting ten days before the high school entrance exams? I remember you were there too, Jianqiu. Don’t you remember?” Li Chuyan said, puzzled. Hearing this, Song Jianqiu actually felt a bit embarrassed. Since she’d transferred into the class, she hadn’t missed a single class meeting. But during those meetings, she was usually either daydreaming while staring out the window, or completely absorbed in the pen in her hand—scribbling in her textbook or reading other books—with her attention entirely elsewhere. As a result, she never paid any attention to what was discussed during the meetings and had no idea what was announced. “Hmm, I guess I wasn’t paying attention!” Song Jianqiu brushed it off vaguely, then said, “You don’t have to keep calling me ‘Classmate Jianqiu’—just call me Jianqiu!” “Sure!” Dropping the honorific “classmate” and calling her by her first name meant their relationship had grown closer, so Li Chuyan happily nodded in agreement. “Mm-hmm!” Song Jianqiu nodded and asked, “What’s this last group activity all about?” “It’s a camping trip up in the mountains!” Sure enough, what other group activity could possibly get so many people from one class to participate? Aside from camping, there’s practically nothing else. Sorry, sorry—it’s a small town, and it seems they’re doing maintenance for the New Year, so a whole big area is without power~~~I got the message at 8:00 p. m. ~~So I just came over now~~September 29, 2017 20:07:20 (End of this chapter)