Restart life

Chapter 83 0081 [The College Entrance Examination Begins]

Yesterday's showers brought temporary relief from the heat.

To my surprise, the sun was shining brightly again when I woke up in the morning. Fortunately, it wasn't as muggy as it had been the previous few days.

A fleet of brand-new buses were parked in the open space outside the school gate.

Several teachers who hadn't been assigned invigilation duties stood in front of the bus, repeatedly shouting, "Check your equipment! Did you bring your ID card and admission ticket? Did you bring your 2B pencils...?"

Occasionally, one or two careless students, upon hearing the teacher's repeated reminders, would exclaim "Holy crap!" and turn around and run back.

The students from dormitory 302 acted as a group, filing into the bus one after another.

Some people on the bus were laughing and joking carefree, but most students remained serious and silent. A few, who had suffered from insomnia the night before, closed their eyes and dozed off as soon as they got on the bus.

Once a bus is full, it departs immediately without waiting for other vehicles.

The car started slowly, and the driver drove very steadily.

Xie Yang said in a low voice, "I'm only studying hard for the last month. Damn it, I hope I don't fail to get into a second-tier university?"

"Keep a calm mind and don't be nervous," Chen Guiliang said.

Xie Yang clenched his fists: "I always thought I wouldn't be nervous. But I almost had insomnia last night and didn't fall asleep until after 1 a.m.

Chen Guiliang pointed to the side and lowered his voice to the lowest level: "Don't say these things, don't make Yang Hao more nervous. That kid probably really has insomnia, he even had dark circles under his eyes this morning."

"call!"

Xie Yang exhaled a breath of stale air, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes to rest.

The examination venue they were going to was at the new campus of the county's No. 1 Middle School, which was about a ten-minute bus ride away.

The area outside the examination hall was packed with students and parents, some of whom had arrived two hours early.

Chen Guiliang got off the car with the others, but heard Xie Yang laughing and talking with Li Yulin and Wang Yu.

"Aren't you nervous anymore?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Xie Yang laughed and said, "It's alright, whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll get stabbed anyway."

Chen Guiliang turned to look at Yang Hao and saw him trembling slightly. He thought to himself: This kid is doomed. He'll probably underperform and only get into a third-tier university, just like in his previous life.

Such poor mental fortitude!

Xu Haibo remained relatively calm, having scored more than 30 points above the first-tier university admission line in each of his three consecutive mock exams.

My phone rang with a text message alert.

It was from Bianguanyue: "Keep it up!"

"Keep it up!" Chen Guiliang replied.

Two days before the college entrance examination, Bian Guanyue returned to Chengdu, where her school registration was located.

Just after sending a text message to Bian Guanyue, Chen Guiliang received another text message from Tao Xue.

"Go for it, nephew!"

"Thank you, Aunt Xue."

……

Rongcheng.

A Mercedes-Benz was driving through the old town.

Bian Guanyue looked at the text message, smiled slightly, and quickly regained her composure, leaning back in the seat to conserve her energy.

Bian Jinsong caught a glimpse of his daughter's fleeting smile through the rearview mirror and guessed that she was texting Chen Guiliang.

How could a father possibly abandon his daughter in a small county town?

He even knew that his daughter had a close relationship with Chen Guiliang.

Bian Jingsong also secretly donated 50 yuan to the school, part of which was used to support impoverished students and part to reward outstanding students. If Chen Guiliang is admitted to Peking University, part of the bonus he receives from the school will come from Bian Jingsong's donation.

"Don't be nervous, stay calm," Bian Jinsong said.

Bian Guanyue said, "I know, don't disturb my rest."

Bian Jingsong hesitated for a moment, but eventually shut up.

If it weren't for his help in getting the exam admission ticket, my daughter probably wouldn't have wanted to see him much when she returned to Chengdu this time.

Bian Jinsong is a native of Chengdu. He graduated from a teachers' college and worked as a teacher for two years.

At that time, Bian Guanyue's mother, Guan Xiaolin, became an actress in the Rongcheng Sichuan Opera Troupe. With the matchmaking of Bian's parents, Bian Jingsong and Guan Xiaolin fell in love and got married.

Amid the wave of reform, Bian Jinsong resigned to start a business, but his business did not go very smoothly.

He met a widow while doing business.

Not only is she incredibly beautiful, but her parents are both government officials.

The widow pursued him relentlessly, and Bian Jingsong simply couldn't resist. This widow was incredibly understanding, while his wife at home was utterly unreasonable.

Gradually, he spent less and less time at home and more and more time with the widow.

When their affair was exposed, the couple had a huge fight and eventually reached the point of divorce.

He later learned that the widow... who was his second wife, had secretly used some methods to frequently provoke his ex-wife into a rage.

His second wife was no pushover!
Bian Jingsong's business grew bigger and bigger, but he was increasingly suppressed by his wife, who also held a larger share of the company's shares. It wasn't until his father-in-law, a government official, passed away that he was able to breathe a little easier, but by then, his business was already inextricably linked to his wife's.

He didn't even dare to hire a female secretary who was too pretty, fearing that his wife would come to the company and cause trouble again, so in the end he simply replaced her with a male secretary.

Sometimes, Bian Jinsong regrets his initial choice.

He only regretted marrying the widow, not divorcing his ex-wife. Given his ex-wife's eccentric temperament, he figured they would have divorced sooner or later, regardless of whether there was a third party involved.

His two marriages were nothing more than jumping from one pit into another.

"Mr. Bian, there's traffic control ahead, you'll need to get out and walk a bit," the driver reminded him, then added, "It seems like you can pass by showing your exam admission ticket."

Bian Jinsong said, "Let's find a place to pull over." The father and daughter walked towards the examination hall, with more than 40 minutes left before the exam started.

The two stood silently outside the examination room, not allowed to enter for the time being.

"I won't bother you anymore," Bian Jingsong said, deciding to leave first.

Bian Guanyue thought for a moment and said, "It's nothing."

Bian Jingsong was overjoyed and quickly returned to stand beside his daughter. He didn't say anything more, just stood there until he watched his daughter walk into the examination hall.

He was very worried.

Everyone says that Henan and Shandong provinces have special exam papers, but the college entrance examination admission rates of these two provinces have always been higher than those of Sichuan province.

Sichuan is ranked at the bottom!

Firstly, there are too many test takers, and secondly, the rate of repeating a grade is particularly high.

Take the No. 2 High School in the county as an example. There are fewer than 1000 graduating seniors, but there are about 160 repeat students.

It was too difficult for Bian Guanyue to give up the art exam in her senior year of high school.

……

Chen Guiliang found his exam room and seat, handed his phone to the invigilator, returned to his seat to set up his exam tools, and then dozed off on the table.

Not long after, the test papers were handed out.

The proctor said, "Don't start writing the answers yet. Fill in your exam information first. In previous years, some students did very well on the questions but forgot to write their names!"

Two or three minutes later, the exam officially began.

Question 1: Choose the correct pronunciation for the following words: 执著 (zhízhù), 结束 (jiéshù), 孕孕 (yùnyù), 言简意赅 (yánjiǎnyìgāi).

very simple.

For the second question, choose the group without any typos.

It's relatively simple, but easy to make mistakes.

The third question is also relatively simple, but it's easy to make mistakes.

Chen Guiliang had long forgotten the college entrance examination questions from back then. Now, when he did the Chinese exam, he felt that it was relatively simple but also easy to fall into traps.

For the average test taker, as long as they are careful, there shouldn't be any major problems; only the last few essay questions are slightly more difficult.

Translate the classical Chinese text into modern Chinese. (8 points. Relatively difficult)

Analyze and understand a poem by Yan Jidao. (6 points. Extremely difficult)

Write a connecting text for a radio travel weather forecast. (6 points. Relatively difficult)

Match the couplets. 4 points. Relatively difficult.

These 24-point questions offer a high degree of freedom. As long as your answers aren't too outrageous, you can easily get the basic points, but you'll need to perform exceptionally well to get high marks.

Essay: Happiness and Our Way of Thinking

What essay did I write in my past life?

Chen Guiliang couldn't remember at all.

Instead of rushing to write the essay, he carefully reviewed the previous questions and answers, and took the opportunity to adjust his mood and train of thought.

After checking, I corrected one multiple-choice question.

Then I laid out my draft paper and began to brainstorm ideas for my essay.

After thinking for five or six minutes, Chen Guiliang wrote down the title of his essay: "Where there is a change of perspective, flowers bloom."

The article's central idea is that happiness and joy are subjective feelings, and even in favorable circumstances, one may not necessarily possess them. Especially in adversity, people often become miserable and negative. At such times, it's crucial to overcome mental barriers and adopt a different mindset to face the world. Even in adversity, happiness and joy can be found.

For college entrance exam essays, you need to use a lot of erudition, quotes from famous people, and anecdotes about extraordinary people.

The beginning and ending should be concise and compelling, as examiners will read them first. Only if they find them engaging will they carefully read the rest of the text.

Just write about Tao Yuanming, Su Dongpo, and others, and then write their poems about finding happiness in the ordinary or in adversity.

Finally, here's a motivational ending: "Life is unpredictable and uncertain. Enjoy life with gratitude and face difficulties with equanimity, and happiness will always emerge in the little things. As long as you break through the barriers of your mind, in a moment of change, barrenness can blossom and cages can be transformed into clouds."

It's greasy and inspirational, but that's how college entrance exam essays have to be.

After copying the essay from the draft paper, there was still half an hour left before the end of the exam.

Chen Guiliang checked his answers again and felt he could score over 140 points in Chinese this time.

Chen Guiliang handed in his paper 15 minutes early and strolled out of the examination room.

On the way, they encountered two staff members who were helping a girl walk towards the school gate, heading straight for the ambulance parked outside.

After the girl got into the ambulance, Chen Guiliang asked, "What happened to her?"

The staff member replied, "I was so nervous right after the exam started that I got menstrual cramps. I forced myself to finish the essay, but then I was in so much pain that I fell to the ground and couldn't get up."

Chen Guiliang scratched his head.

Familiar classmates left from time to time, and some of them forgot the teacher's instructions and started comparing exam answers as soon as they came out. They were just asking for trouble.

Two minutes later, Xie Yang walked out of the examination room looking relaxed, indicating that he had done quite well.

Xie Yang said with a smile, "The Chinese questions were so easy, I was worried for nothing."

"What did you choose for the second question?" Chen Guiliang asked.

“A,” Xie Yang said.

Chen Guiliang nodded: "You chose A, you got it right."

That's bullshit, Xie Saobang has fallen into a pit!
But we shouldn't dampen his enthusiasm at times like this.

It is estimated that the exam questions for all subjects will be similar this year. Most of the questions are very simple but easy to fall into traps, while a small number of questions are more difficult and are specifically designed to differentiate scores.

(End of this chapter)