He rubbed the top of Qin Xiangnuan’s head, "Stop overthinking. You’re about to take the college entrance exams. I brought back some books for you. Take a look at them when you have free time, and those test questions too, I had to pull many strings to get them. Let’s talk about everything else after your exams, the most important thing for you now is to focus on getting into a good university. Once you’re admitted, you can decide what you want to do next."
"I understand," Qin Xiangnuan recalled the piles of exam papers and materials kept in the room. It was a headache just thinking about them; there was such a huge stack, it was terrifying. If it weren’t for the system’s help, how could she possibly finish reading all those books in such a short time?
She sighed and grabbed a handful of her hair.
Even if given ten times more time than others, she still found it exhausting. No wonder the system said she had chosen the most challenging path; it was also the toughest road. However, if the system let her choose again, she would still take this path.
In her view, genuine knowledge and hard work made for a more interesting journey than just getting by on one’s looks.
She tugged at her hair again, which had finally grown long enough to be tied into small braids.
"When my hair grows down to my waist," she murmured softly...
"What?" Jian Zhiqing took over the conversation, his graceful smile always playing at the corners of his lips.
Qin Xiangnuan suddenly smiled.
"Would it be nice to strangle you with it?"
Jian Zhiqing was speechless, then couldn’t help but rub his forehead lightly, indeed, this girl really knew how to hold a grudge.
Qin Xiangnuan carried a pile of books into the system. For some reason, she could bring very few items into the system. Books could be brought in, but money couldn’t, otherwise, she would have thrown money in there for safekeeping and wouldn’t need Conghua, the watchdog. But it was strange; documents could be brought in, passbooks too, but not cash.
She didn’t understand.
They were all made of paper, so why could books enter but not money?
The system truly was a baffling creation.
She slapped her forehead, throwing out all the nonsense in her mind first, then picked up a book and gently exhaled, starting to seriously flip through the textbooks. There was nothing more miserable than treating textbooks like novels.
Because they were just so uninteresting.
She stuffed herself into the system daily, brooding for at least a dozen hours, and by the time school resumed, she had almost finished previewing the second half of the senior year’s syllabus. After the teachers’ explanations, she found it easier to understand and was able to reinforce her memory.
Having reviewed old materials and previewed new ones, she wouldn’t be so frantic afterwards.
This time her results were still second place, but the gap with the first place had narrowed a little. The teacher was pleased with her performance, so there was no further talk of needing her to board at school. Besides, Qin Xiangnuan’s home was indeed close by. As long as it didn’t affect her studies, as long as she was self-disciplined, what was there to worry about?
She was just afraid that without the school’s discipline, a good seedling would be ruined.
But now he was relieved. Qin Xiangnuan was naturally a very self-disciplined person, who wouldn’t stop studying just because she was at home. On the contrary, being at home allowed her more time to study, even revisiting previous materials, so the content she remembered was substantially high in value.
After the New Year, it was the first day back, and Qin Xiangnuan felt she had already put away her festive spirit and started bustling about with her senior year life.
She thought that this was what senior year was going to be like, but it wasn’t until the second half of the semester did she realize she was wrong. It was only getting worse, never the worst; she barely had time for herself. At school, even walking around meant carrying books, especially in the top class where teachers kept a constant watch, almost wishing they could just glue students to their chairs, except for meals and bathroom breaks, who had time for anything else?
Qin Xiangnuan once again felt how wise it was for her not to board at school. Listening to Li Li and Mao Xiaomei talk, after evening self-study, some were so tired they fell asleep while washing their faces, just lying down and immediately falling asleep upon touching the pillow. In the morning, as soon as they opened their eyes, they had to get up, too exhausted even to talk.
Qin Xiangnuan was comfortable at home, focusing her studies within the system. She slept early every evening and slept well, without much pressure. With Granny Lu changing up the meals daily, while others lost weight, not only was she in good spirits, but her complexion improved, and her academic performance never dropped.
However, no one really noticed since she stayed at home, which was much better than those eating in the cafeteria.
Time passed quickly amidst the busyness, not knowing how many problems she solved or how much text she memorized, until finally, it was time for the college entrance exams.
The day before the exam, Jian Zhiqing, as usual, brought her fried dough sticks and eggs. From the beginning until now, every midterm and final exam Qin Xiangnuan had gotten used to eating Jian Zhiqing’s fried dough sticks and eggs; if she didn’t eat them, she felt like she couldn’t perform well.
It was unsure whether it was psychological or that she had just gotten used to being nurtured by Jian Zhiqing.
After finishing the fried dough sticks and eggs, Jian Zhiqing drove her to the examination site. The school was somewhat far, so Jian Zhiqing had driven over.
Such top-notch treatment, Qin Xiangnuan had never imagined in her past life. She picked up a few classmates along the way to save them the inconvenience of taking public transport. If they were late or stuck in traffic, wouldn’t their entire year’s effort for the college entrance exams be missed?
Li Li and Mao Xiaomei chatted nonstop along the way, but they held hands together, presumably also nervous, their speech somewhat incoherent.
Jian Zhiqing waited outside, holding a cup of snacks and the like.
Why did he truly feel a sense of ’my daughter has grown up’?
His little girl had grown up, and after the exam, she would become a university student.
After finishing the exams in the morning, Qin Xiangnuan came out without any unusual feelings, just a bit hungry and thirsty. She was indeed nervous, but once she reached the exam site, she calmed down. She didn’t know if she had performed exceptionally well, but she should have done well, especially since the subjects tested were her strengths. Thus, she was now quite composed.