On the day of the college entrance examination, Ji Xiaosong got up before dawn.

She quietly started a fire and cooked a pot of millet porridge and two scallion pancakes.

Two poached eggs were also placed in the pot.

"Brother, wake up." She gently nudged Ji Jianguo, who was still fast asleep. "You have an exam today, so you need to eat well."

Ji Jianguo jumped up, his eyes still a little red.

He studied until the early hours of the morning last night, and memorized the math formulas that his sister had compiled.

Looking at the steaming hot breakfast on the table, my throat suddenly felt tight.

"Don't be nervous," Ji Xiaosong handed him the chopsticks, "Just do it like you would when you do a math problem."

The brother and sister finished their breakfast quietly.

Before leaving, Ji Xiaosong took a small cloth bag out of her pocket: "Here, take this with you."

When Ji Jianguo opened it, he found several pieces of fruit candy and a new fountain pen.

That pen is a Hero brand, and it costs five yuan.

"This……"

"I bought it with my bonus." Ji Xiaosong helped him clip the pen to his shirt pocket. "If you get nervous during the exam, suck on a piece of candy."

There were already quite a few pedestrians on the streets of the county town in the early morning.

The examination center was located at the county's No. 1 Middle School, with a red banner hanging at the school gate that read "National College Entrance Examination".

A large number of students and parents have already gathered outside the school gate.

Ji Jianguo stood out in the crowd.

He was half a head taller than the seventeen or eighteen-year-old candidates around him, his rough hands gripping his admission ticket tightly, his dark face etched with tension.

"Isn't that Doctor Ji?" someone recognized Ji Xiaosong. "Who is she here to take to the exam?"

"I heard it's her older brother, he's 29 and still taking the college entrance exam..."

Hearing the whispers, Ji Jianguo's back stiffened.

Ji Xiaosong immediately took his arm and deliberately raised her voice: "Brother, you are the best candidate recommended by our commune, and the county education bureau has high hopes for you!"

This statement was half true and half false, but it did turn the curious glances around him into admiration.

Ji Jianguo glanced gratefully at his sister, and his tense shoulders finally relaxed a little.

The preparatory bell rang, and the candidates began to enter the examination room.

Ji Xiaosong stood on tiptoe and straightened her older brother's collar: "Go on, I'll wait for you here."

Ji Jianguo took a deep breath and strode towards the examination room.

As he reached the door, he suddenly turned around and waved his fist at his sister.

Under the sunlight, that honest smile brought tears to Ji Xiaosong's eyes.

The first exam was in Chinese.

Ji Xiaosong found a spot under the shade of a tree outside the school gate, took out her book "Anatomy" from her bag, and started reading.

But after reading only a few pages, her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the teaching building.

Big brother should be starting to write his essay by now, right?

He's practiced so many times, he should be fine...

Just as I was lost in thought, a commotion broke out.

Several staff members rushed into the teaching building and soon carried out an unconscious student.

"This is too alarming! Get him to the hospital quickly!"

Ji Xiaosong immediately stood up; her professional instincts told her to step forward and help.

Without hesitation, she rushed forward: "I'm a doctor from the clinic, let me take a look!"

After speaking, she squatted down and quickly checked the examinee's condition: pale face, rapid and weak pulse, cold hands and feet, typical fainting caused by excessive tension.

"Move aside, let the air ventilate!" She deftly unbuttoned the examinee's collar, and at the same time took out some cooling balm from her medicine bag and applied it to the examinee's temples.

"Student, can you hear me?" She gently patted the student's cheek, her voice gentle yet firm. "Take a deep breath, yes, just like that..."

The examinee gradually regained consciousness and opened his eyes blankly.

Ji Xiaosong helped him sit up and handed him a water bottle: "Drink some sugar water, take your time."

A chorus of exclamations arose from the surrounding crowd.

The staff member said gratefully, "Thanks to this lady!"

Ji Xiaosong shook her head: "Of course."

It's a pity that once you leave the exam room, you can't go back in.

The candidate's parents arrived quickly and took him away. The crowd discussed the matter for a while.

When the bell rang at noon, the candidates filed out.

Ji Xiaosong craned her neck to look around and finally spotted her elder brother's tall figure in the crowd.

"Brother! Over here!" she waved her arms.

Ji Jianguo strode over, his face showing rare excitement: "Little sister, the essay topic is 'An Unforgettable Day,' and I wrote about the day you got sick!"

Ji Xiaosong was stunned for a moment, then realized that it was the day that would change the fate of his whole family.

She quickly handed him a water bottle: "Have some water first, don't rush to talk. Come on, let's eat under the shade of a tree."

She specially booked a room at the county guesthouse so that her older brother could have a good rest at noon.

Lunch was braised pork and rice bought from a state-run restaurant, along with a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup.

"That's too extravagant..." Ji Jianguo hesitated as he looked at the glistening braised pork.

"Eat up!" Ji Xiaosong put the biggest piece of meat into his bowl. "You have a math exam this afternoon, so you need to replenish your energy."

The afternoon exams ended later than expected.

Ji Xiaosong waited at the school gate for nearly an hour before she saw her older brother come out.

His expression was somewhat serious, and he walked slower than usual.

"What's wrong? Is the question too difficult?" Ji Xiaosong asked nervously.

Ji Jianguo shook his head and pulled a piece of draft paper from his pocket: "For the last big question, I didn't use the conventional solution..."

Ji Xiaosong took a look and her eyes widened immediately. She had never seen this solution before!

"Brother, what's wrong with you...?"

"I figured it out myself," Ji Jianguo said, scratching his head. "I don't know if the teacher will accept it..."

"Definitely!" Ji Xiaosong jumped up excitedly. "This solution is even simpler than the standard answer! Bro, you're a genius!"

The exam on the second day went smoothly as well.

Physical chemistry was Ji Jianguo's forte, and he handed in his paper half an hour early.

Although the last subject, English, was difficult, I still managed to answer all the questions I knew how to do.

The moment the bell rang to signal the end of the exam, cheers erupted outside the school gate.

Parents rushed forward, searching for their children.

Ji Xiaosong stood still, simply smiling as she looked towards the exit of the teaching building.

Ji Jianguo was the last one to come out.

He walked very slowly, as if he wanted to firmly remember this examination hall that would change his destiny.

When he walked up to his sister, this usually taciturn man suddenly had tears in his eyes.

"Little sister, I..." His voice choked with emotion.

Ji Xiaosong stepped forward and hugged her older brother tightly: "Brother, you did it."

The scene of the brother and sister embracing attracted a lot of attention, but who cares?

At this moment, they only felt each other's heartbeats and the future they both looked forward to.

On the way back, Ji Jianguo was much more talkative than usual.

He explained the solution to each problem to his younger sister in detail, gesturing with his hands when he got excited.

Ji Xiaosong listened quietly, nodding and smiling from time to time.

As they passed the supply and marketing cooperative, Ji Jianguo suddenly stopped and said, "Little sister, wait for me."

He ran inside and came out a moment later with a paper package: "Here, your favorite White Rabbit milk candy."

Ji Xiaosong took the candy, and her nose suddenly stung with tears.

When I was little, my family was poor. Every time my older brother went to town to sell vegetables, he would always bring back a few pieces of candy for me with his spare change.

This habit remains unchanged.

“Brother,” she said, unwrapping a candy and popping it into her mouth, the sweetness melting on her tongue, “when the acceptance letter arrives, let’s go home together and tell Mom and Dad.”

As the sun set, it cast long, long shadows of the two of them.

Ji Jianguo gazed at the distant sunset and softly hummed in agreement.

He knew that whether he passed the exam or not, the days he spent striving for his dream and his sister's unconditional support would become the most precious memories of his life.

After a day of rest, Ji Jianguo returned home.

He only needs to wait another twenty-odd days to find out his results.

Before that, he needs to carefully consider which school to apply to.

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