Song Lei and Xia Yuanji entered the campus and noticed many people looking at them.
Song Lei lowered her head to check her clothes; there was no problem, everything was normal and suited for a student’s identity.
Xia Yuanji ignored the stares and walked into the school with big strides, "What are you dazing for?"
Hearing Xia Yuanji’s words, Song Lei ran a few steps to keep up with him.
Chiang Yi happened to enter the campus and saw the scene where Xia Yuanji stopped and Song Lei caught up to him.
Seeing the two of them exchange smiles, Chiang Yi felt quite displeased, wondering why he had to witness such a scene first thing in the morning.
Lowering his head to push his bike into the school, the duty student who saw them didn’t step forward to stop them or take down their names.
Everyone knew they were a couple, from the principal to the freshmen, but no one would be so indiscreet as to suggest calling their parents.
Not to mention that they had both been accepted to prestigious universities abroad, so even not attending school at this point was fine.
In the past, teachers would talk about the downsides of dating too early, but now the tone had changed, using Song Lei and Xia Yuanji as examples, saying that as long as you excel like them and get accepted into a prestigious school, that’s enough.
This discouraged many students who were initially eager to start a school romance, causing them to completely abandon the idea.
They really didn’t have the confidence; for them, getting into a decent university was already an achievement, let alone a prestigious one.
Some, relying on their good grades, dared to date secretly, thinking that Song Lei had only soared academically with Xia Yuanji’s help.
When two top students are together, there’s no reason for their grades to worsen, only to improve.
The idea was good, but reality was cruel; not only did their grades not improve, but they also regressed significantly, reaching the limit of the teachers’ tolerance before they realized that not every couple could be like Song Lei.
Song Lei had no idea that they had become role models in many people’s eyes; she always considered herself to be low-key at school.
"Song Lei and the others are here," one classmate burst into the classroom, announcing loudly.
Whether they were buried in practice problems or complaining about how tough the May Day holiday was, everyone looked up toward the door.
Seeing them come in, "Song Lei, you guys are really lucky to have gone on a trip."
"You can do it too. Just work hard, and after the college entrance exams are over, you can go wherever you want," Song Lei felt that they had just gone out to play a month earlier, and soon everyone else could go too.
Go out to play after the exams? Everyone gave a bitter smile.
"The struggle after the exams is to achieve a good result."
"And to get into a university that satisfies your parents, otherwise it’s all for nothing."
"Yeah, just thinking about the upcoming college entrance exams makes me so nervous."
No matter how many exams everyone had gone through, facing the imminent college entrance exams still made them quite anxious.
Previous exams could be flunked; one could score unsatisfactorily because there were always chances for redemption.
But the college entrance exams were different; failing to achieve good results meant wasting years of hard work.
"You’re lucky, Song Lei; no matter what your scores are, you’ll attend a good university."
Now, who would be jealous? As they painstakingly reviewed, Song Lei went on a trip. Their concern now was the college entrance exams.
Song Lei listened to their fears about the exams and could only listen; she believed that the more fearful you are, the less likely you were to perform well.
Instead, a relaxed approach to the exams was more likely to yield good results.
But if she shared this view, how many would believe her? They might even think she was trying to mislead them.
Everyone just wanted to vent their frustration, having strived for twelve years, with the dawn about to break.
"Was Tibet fun?" They all asked Song Lei about her trip.
"Not bad, I think I had a good time," of course, it’s good when you have plenty of money.
"The scenery along the way was really beautiful and relaxing," Song Lei said briefly.
"I truly recommend you guys go and see after your exams are over," Song Lei sincerely recommended.
"But isn’t it expensive?" someone raised a crucial question.
"We were short on time, so we took a plane. You can take a train there; the prices are reasonable."
"Some trains entering Tibet even offer views of the Qiangtang Nature Reserve and the Tibetan antelope."
Trains have their advantages, and you can enjoy the scenery along the way, but this kind of travel probably wouldn’t suit Xia Yuanji.
Chiang Yi listened to Song Lei talk about the scenery in Tibet, looked up, and could see the fondness in her heart and eyes.
Chiang Yi silently swore that someday he would visit the places Song Lei longed for.
After the May Day holiday, everyone fully entered the sprint phase, and Song Lei followed suit, immersing herself in studies.
Although Xia Yuanji didn’t understand why she needed to study so hard, if his wife liked it, that was fine, and reading more was always good.
As for becoming a bookworm, he really wasn’t worried.
And so, the day of the college entrance exams arrived. No surprises - their families were busy that day, leaving just the two of them to take the exams.
Song Lei was glad, "It’s a good thing we’re at the same test site."
"After the exam, let’s go eat something delicious," Xia Yuanji knew what their parents meant; they had already decided to study abroad, so taking the college entrance exams wasn’t really necessary.
Xia Yuanji didn’t have much attachment to the exams and never felt that studying all these years needed to be capped off with a perfect ending.
He was participating simply because Song Lei wanted to. "Don’t be too nervous."
The outcome of the exams wouldn’t affect their diploma.
"Why would I be nervous? I’ll treat it as an ordinary test."
"The ones who should be nervous are those who have to cross that single-log bridge to university."
"They’re the ones who really need to worry," Song Lei truly wasn’t nervous.
"They’re fighting a do-or-die battle, while we’re safely ashore." That’s the difference between them and many others.
"So there’s no need for me to be anxious. Why should I be?" If it weren’t for the original host’s wishes, Song Lei really didn’t want to stay in school; she could easily have gone home to rest.
She was indeed a good student, but whether her diligence influenced her classmates to study harder was unknown.
Late in the term, the teacher often used them as examples, implying that if these two, who already had offers from foreign universities, were still studying hard, then everyone else had no excuse not to do the same.
Admittedly, it was quite an effective way to motivate everyone, and their enthusiasm for studying visibly increased significantly.
After finishing the last exam, even Song Lei, who hadn’t been too nervous, was exhausted and just wanted to rest well.