It seemed that the Luo family would have a few dramatic events in the coming days.

Luo Xiaomei wasn’t as obedient as her two older sisters.

Not only did she look like Wang Yulan, but her selfish and self-centered nature was similar too.

Chuxia felt relaxed.

For the next few days, she wouldn’t have to worry about the Luo family coming after her. It would be a relief if they could solve Luo Xiaomei’s problem.

The next morning, Chuxia received a call from Cen Zhengnian.

He was returning to work.

Knowing that Chuxia had an exam the next day, Cen Zhengnian reminded her not to be nervous: “Bring everything you need. Don’t eat anything from strangers, and avoid cold or overly greasy food. During the exam, answer the questions you know first, and come back to the difficult ones later.”

Chuxia responded with an “Mm” and smiled, “What if I get too nervous and don’t do well?”

Cen Zhengnian’s voice became even gentler, “It’s okay. You can try again next year. I will always support you.”

Chuxia’s heart felt like it was soaking in warm water, and her smile grew bigger. But she said, “Encourage me, not talk about failing. I’m sure I’ll do well; I don’t want to try again next year!”

Cen Zhengnian agreed, “Yes, you’ll definitely do well.” His tone was firm, filled with trust in her.

He genuinely believed in Chuxia’s abilities. He knew her well from his guidance and was confident she would pass the preliminary round unless an unexpected situation arose.

After reminding Chuxia a few more times, Cen Zhengnian had to end the call due to time constraints.

That evening, Chuxia received a call from Grandpa Jiang.

He, too, knew that the exam was the next day and was encouraging her along with An’an.

Cen Huai’an’s childish voice came through the phone, “Mom, you’re definitely going to pass the exam!”

He had more confidence in Chuxia than in himself.

Chuxia responded with an “Mm,” her heart softening.

She wanted to finish the exam quickly and return to Beijing. She missed An’an.

The next morning, Chuxia got up early, packed her paper and pen, and carried her bag.

After having breakfast at her usual stall, she took the bus to the Ninth Middle School.

When she arrived at the queue for Class Three, many students were already there.

The homeroom teacher, holding the examination permit, was at the front and handed it to Chuxia when she saw her.

“Don’t be nervous.”

“Mm, thank you, teacher.”

The school’s arranged vehicle was parked at the gate. At the scheduled time, the homeroom teacher led her students onto the bus.

Those who hadn’t arrived yet would not be waited for. The exam could not be delayed for the sake of a few students.

Besides the homeroom teacher, there was another teacher on the bus who stood at the front, discussing the exam instructions and helping the students relax.

The homeroom teacher, known for being strict, let the other teacher speak after covering the necessary points.

As the exam approached, it was important not to be too tense.

The exam was more about mindset at this point, as everyone’s abilities couldn’t improve significantly at this stage. It was a matter of mental state.

Chuxia might have been the only one on the bus who wasn’t too nervous.

She had already experienced one college entrance exam and had confidence in herself, built from her long-term hard work.

The front teacher was trying to lighten the mood with jokes, and Chuxia laughed along.

Some students became increasingly relaxed, while others grew more anxious as they neared the exam hall.

The Ninth Middle School was in a neighboring district, and students were assigned to different exam centers.

Chuxia and a few other students were dropped off at one high school, while the bus continued to another exam center with the remaining students.

By chance, this exam center was also one of the nearby centers managed by her homeroom teacher.

The students were divided by the distance from the exam center, with one vehicle for those closer to the center.

Chuxia, holding her examination permit, entered with other students and saw Wang Chaoxi.

Chuxia didn’t know many students from Ninth Middle School. Apart from Luo Xiaomei, Wang Chaoxi was the only one she recognized. She didn’t know any students from her own class.

Wang Chaoxi looked at her and walked over, her tone somewhat stiff, “You’ll definitely pass the preliminary round, right?”

Chuxia replied, “What about you?”

Instead of answering Wang Chaoxi, Chuxia countered with a question.

She would express her confidence to those she was close to, but before results were out, she wouldn’t guarantee anything to strangers.

Wang Chaoxi answered, “I’ll definitely pass! You will too. We’re the top students from our school. If you don’t pass, no one else from our school will.”

Chuxia glanced at Wang Chaoxi.

The girl spoke straightforwardly, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

She smiled and said, “The preliminary round isn’t as hard as the college entrance exam. I hope everyone from our school passes.”

With that, Chuxia saw her exam room, waved goodbye to Wang Chaoxi, and headed towards her exam room.

At the entrance of the exam room, there was a teacher checking examination permits.

Before the exam started, Chuxia went to the restroom and then waited at her seat for the papers to be distributed.

Her seat was in the middle of the row by the corridor, with only a wall next to her, no windows.

She was thankful it wasn’t too hot yet; otherwise, this spot would be stifling without any breeze.

Soon, the exam papers were distributed. The first subject was Chinese.

Since Chuxia was a science student, her Chinese paper was worth 100 points, while liberal arts students had a 110-point paper with additional questions.

Similarly, science students had an extra 20 points in mathematics, which liberal arts students did not.

The homeroom teacher had mentioned this before the exam, and all students were aware of it.

Taking the paper, Chuxia quickly skimmed through it as usual to check for any missing or misprinted questions.

Finding none, she picked up her pen and focused on answering the questions.

Compared to the previous exams for transfer students, Chuxia found the current Chinese paper much easier to handle.

Especially when she came across a term in the vocabulary explanation section that she had previously asked Grandfather Jiang about, Chuxia felt a sense of luck.

If she hadn’t asked Grandfather Jiang, she might not have been able to explain the term perfectly.

Overall, Chuxia found the Chinese exam quite smooth, and the essay was no exception.

The prompt was a famous quote: “It takes ten years to grow trees, but a hundred years to cultivate people,” and students were asked to express their views on it.

Chuxia glanced at the clock and saw that there was still plenty of time left before the exam ended.

She wrote out a rough outline of her essay on a scratch paper before starting her writing.

By the time she finished the entire paper, there were still more than 40 minutes left in the exam.

Chuxia didn’t turn in her paper immediately but carefully checked it from start to finish.

Her intense focus on the test made her unaware that her speed had put a lot of pressure on other test-takers in the room.

Especially for those who wrote slowly, seeing Chuxia already finished and checking her paper made them even more anxious.

They broke into a sweat and hurried to complete their essays.

After finishing the Chinese test, Chuxia felt she had a good grasp of its difficulty, so she was less nervous about the remaining exams.

The pre-tests and college entrance exams were held over three days, with the final exam being English.

Every time the exams ended, Chuxia felt that the gazes from others seemed to carry some resentment.

She found it perplexing; the questions were difficult, but she couldn’t be blamed for that.

Although she didn’t find the exam difficult, Wang Chaoxi looked pale after finishing the math test.

She asked Chuxia how she had answered the last few major questions and whether she had completed the bonus questions.

Chuxia didn’t compare answers but told her, “I finished all the questions, but I don’t know if they’re correct. As for the answers, I don’t remember them. Since the exam is over, I won’t think about the previous test anymore; otherwise, it might affect the next one.”

Wang Chaoxi looked at Chuxia and gradually relaxed her expression. “You’re right. I’ll review for the next exam.”

After finishing the English test, Chuxia and a group of students took a bus back to school.

The atmosphere on the bus was heavy, unlike the tense but hopeful mood when they arrived.

Some students kept comparing answers, cheering if they were correct or sighing in frustration if they were wrong.

Others, who knew they hadn’t performed well, looked dejected.

The homeroom teacher and another teacher repeatedly told everyone to relax, but they couldn’t stop some students from quietly comparing answers.

Everyone knew that Chuxia’s grades were excellent. Although she didn’t know many students, many recognized her, given her rapid rise to the top of the school rankings.

As a result, many students, eager to know whether their answers were correct, came to ask Chuxia. Wang Chaoxi, sitting next to her, also listened attentively.

Chuxia no longer claimed to have forgotten the answers.

When asked, she would provide her answers but gave a disclaimer: “This is how I answered, but I can’t guarantee it’s correct. It’s better to wait for the school’s official answers.”

Students who had similar answers to hers were pleased, while those with different answers showed signs of disappointment. Even though Chuxia said she wasn’t sure if her answers were all correct, being the top student in the school, her answers were likely more accurate than theirs.

“Alright, no more comparing answers. The exams are over. Go home and rest well,” the homeroom teacher, noticing that everyone had gathered around Chuxia, frowned and asked them to return to their seats.

Chuxia stopped discussing answers, but Wang Chaoxi still asked her about the English questions, and she answered her quietly.

Finally, they arrived at the Ninth Middle School, and Chuxia breathed a sigh of relief as she quickly got off the bus and headed home.

The atmosphere in the back of the bus was tense due to the students who had performed poorly.

Even those who had done well were hesitant to smile, fearing they might upset others.

After the exam, Chuxia didn’t need to wait for the results. If she passed, the principal or homeroom teacher would call her.

Before the exams, Chuxia had also visited Chenchen and his mother, delivering the items An’an had prepared for Chenchen and gifts for his mother.

When she visited Beijing, Chenchen’s mother had also given her gifts, and they had maintained correspondence.

Chenchen’s mother looked noticeably thinner and was very happy to see Chuxia.

She talked a lot about her weight loss journey and mentioned that she and Chenchen’s father were now both trying to lose weight.

Being overweight wasn’t just about appearance but also affected health.

However, Chuxia only had a meal with Chenchen and his mother and declined their offer to go shopping in the afternoon.

She was focused on returning home to review and didn’t want to spend time shopping.

Chenchen’s mother understood.

Returning home from the Ninth Middle School, Chuxia first had a drink of water and rested for a while.

Feeling less tired, she began packing her things.

Her train ticket and introduction letter had already been prepared, so she just needed to bring them and take the train the next day.

Her luggage, similar to when she came, was almost untouched and even lighter without the gifts An’an had helped carry.

However, Chuxia soon realized that Bangzi and the others hadn’t sent her a letter.

It would be too late to get the letter tomorrow.

After eating a piece of bread and finishing her drink, she calculated that Bangzi and the others should have returned by now.

She got up, closed the door, and went to find them.

As expected, Bangzi and the others were at home.

They were hunched over their desks, frowning and scratching their heads as they looked at the papers in front of them.

Chuxia walked over, and the sound of her footsteps made Bangzi and the others look up immediately. “Auntie?”

Seeing it was Chuxia, Bangzi and the others furrowed their brows even more.

“You’re doing homework?” Chuxia walked over with a smile. “Is the homework for kindergarten so difficult that you’re so troubled?”

“It’s not homework,” Bangzi said.

Maozi sighed deeply and said with drooping ears, “Auntie, it’s a letter to An’an.”

Chuxia understood.

Out of respect for An’an’s privacy, she hadn’t looked at the letters Bangzi and the others had written to him.

However, when An’an read them, Chuxia accidentally saw a bit of the content.

To be honest, even if she had seen them, she wouldn’t have understood them.

They were too chaotic, with crooked handwriting and drawings that only children might understand.

Chuxia admired An’an for overcoming communication barriers with them.

It was normal for Bangzi and the others to struggle with writing letters.

They didn’t know how to write many of the characters they wanted to use.

Seeing their troubled expressions, Chuxia said, “If you don’t mind me knowing the content of the letters, you can ask me about the words you don’t know.”

“Don’t mind, don’t mind,” Maozi and the others replied quickly, their eyes shining as if they had found a savior.

Even Bangzi didn’t refuse.