Chapter 43.3

Zhou Yao was wearing the white shirt Wen Yue had made for him last year. He looked a bit fatigued, with messy hair. He seemed to overlook Li Nianqiu beside her and walked directly to Wen Yue, leaning slightly to rest his chin on her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her slender waist.

Li Nianqiu, sensing the mood, turned and went back into the yard.

Wen Yue snapped back to reality and patted Zhou Yao’s back: “Why are you back?”

“How could I miss such an important day as the college entrance exam?” Zhou Yao chuckled softly, stepping back a little. “Where were you guys headed?”

“To the library.” Seeing Zhou Yao’s tired appearance made Wen Yue feel a twinge of concern, but she was also overwhelmingly happy. “Have you eaten?”

Zhou Yao shook his head: “Not really hungry.”

“Then you should go rest. Aren’t Old Fang and Ren Yeliang back yet?” Wen Yue said, pulling Zhou Yao’s sleeve toward the room.

Zhou Yao replied, “No, they don’t need to come back.”

He was truly exhausted, and after sitting on the edge of the bed for just a couple of minutes, he leaned against the wall and fell asleep.

Wen Yue watched him, sighed, and smiled gently, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

Zhou Yao slept straight through until evening.

After dinner and a shower, the two returned to the room.

Wen Yue wanted to ask Zhou Yao about what had happened in Shencheng, but as soon as she started, Zhou Yao interrupted, “The college entrance exam is tomorrow. Let’s go to bed early. We can talk after the exams are over.”

Seeing Zhou Yao’s serious expression, Wen Yue could only agree.

In this era, without mobile phones or computers, Wen Yue’s daily routine was quite fixed. She usually went to bed around eight or nine and woke up at five or six in the morning. Her biological clock was very regular.

The next morning, when Wen Yue woke up, she realized Zhou Yao had already risen, and even Grandma Fang was up, preparing breakfast.

Grandma Fang smiled kindly and encouraged Wen Yue and Li Nianqiu.

After breakfast, when it was time to leave, Wen Yue, Li Nianqiu, and Zhou Yao headed out. Wen Yue and Li Nianqiu were in the same examination room with seats right next to each other. They had to take seven subjects over the course of two days.

Zhou Yao had a tighter schedule. After Wen Yue finished her morning exams on the second day, they had lunch together before he bought a train ticket back to Shencheng.

Even though Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao were there, Zhou Yao felt they were still too inexperienced, and he didn’t want to worry. He left immediately after Wen Yue finished her exams.

Wen Yue had to wait for Lulu and Li Xiangdong to finish their exams before they could go on holiday.

Junior high school and elementary schools had slightly later breaks, starting about a week after their exams. But since Fang Lulu and Li Xiangdong were transferring to Shencheng, they had quite a bit to prepare.

When the results of the college entrance exam came out, Wen Yue and the others finally set their travel plans to Shencheng.

Unsurprisingly, Li Nianqiu achieved the top score in the city, and Wen Yue’s score was not far behind, just four points less. Both of them were admitted to their first choice, Shencheng University, and due to their excellent scores, they were exempt from tuition fees!

By the time the city officials celebrated this good news with the Li family in Hongshan Village, Wen Yue and Li Nianqiu had already boarded a green train heading to Shencheng.

They didn’t bring too much luggage, only the necessary clothes for changing, keeping it light.

After all, the weather was getting warm, and carrying too much would be cumbersome with elderly and children around.

This was Wen Yue’s first experience on a green train of this era, and of course, it couldn’t compare to the high-speed trains and planes of later generations in terms of convenience and comfort. The train was filled with strange smells, and thankfully, they could open the windows; otherwise, Wen Yue felt she might suffocate before reaching Shencheng.

The train’s restroom was also quite dirty, and after using it once, Wen Yue preferred to avoid drinking too much water to avoid going again.

After spending three days on the train, they finally arrived at their destination.

Wen Yue didn’t immediately lead everyone off the train. Instead, she waited until most passengers had disembarked before taking Grandma Fang and Lu Lulu by the hand to step out of the green train.

The outside air was fresh, and there were many people.

Navigating through the crowd, Wen Yue and the others made their way to the exit. She immediately spotted Zhou Yao standing among the throng of people waiting to greet them.

He was significantly taller than those around him, dressed in a denim jacket and jeans, with deep-set, dark eyes that sparkled with joy and excitement. A smile lit up his face as he waved a strong arm, flanked by Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao.

Wen Yue’s eyes crinkled with joy, and she hurried over with Li Nianqiu and the others, quickening her pace until she rushed towards him.

Zhou Yao chuckled and effortlessly caught her.

“Did you miss me?”

“I missed you.”

They both spoke at the same time.

Zhou Yao was taken aback for a moment, then tightened his embrace around her.

Ren Yeliang, standing nearby, hesitated for a moment before saying, “Uh, brother, why don’t we go back and hug instead? There’s more time at home, and no one’s around; you can hug however you want!”

Wen Yue felt a bit embarrassed and pushed Zhou Yao away gently.

Only then did Zhou Yao let go, naturally taking her hand in his. He glanced at Ren Yeliang and said, “The car is waiting outside. Let’s go. We’ll take you all home to freshen up and rest for a couple of days.”

He understood that the train ride had been tiring, and they probably had no appetite.

As Zhou Yao and Wen Yue walked slowly at the back, they fell into a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes. Finally, Zhou Yao broke the quiet, speaking softly, “We won’t have to be apart for such a long time again.” God knows how he had managed through this period.

Every day is just work, work, and more work; I don’t want to stop. As soon as I do, I want to go back and find her.

Wen Yue looked into Zhou Yao’s dark eyes, smiling brightly as she replied, “It won’t happen again.”

Zhou Yao’s lips curled into a grin, tightening his grip on her hand a little more.

Yes, it won’t happen again.

**

Ayalee: We have reached the end of the main story of Wen Yue and Zhou You.