Chuxia looked at the two of them and had no choice but to sit in the back with Cen Huai’an.

Throughout the journey, Jiang Zhishu remained silent.

Chuxia didn’t mind; with the imminent separation from Cen Huai’an, she just wanted to spend as much time talking with him as possible.

With Jiang Zhida making jokes in the front seat, the atmosphere in the car didn’t become gloomy despite Jiang Zhishu’s presence.

After their previous separation, both Chuxia and Cen Huai’an felt the sadness deeply.

No matter how many times they parted, the sorrow of separation never seemed to lessen.

Chuxia was in the sleeper compartment, finding her bed and about to toss her belongings onto it when a hand suddenly appeared from behind to help her place her things.

Startled, Chuxia quickly turned around and saw Jiang Zhida grinning behind her.

“Cousin-in-law, surprised?”

Chuxia didn’t hold back her eye roll, “Surprised? More like shocked.”

She quickly looked outside and saw Jiang Zhishu and Huai’an standing together.

Jiang Zhishu had no expression on his face, his hand resting on Cen Huai’an’s shoulder, looking down at his watch, while Cen Huai’an, with sadness in his eyes, gazed at the train compartment, appearing very downcast.

The contrast between the tall adult and the small child was striking.

Chuxia hurriedly pushed Jiang Zhida, urging him to get off the train quickly as she could already hear the whistle signaling the train’s departure.

“The train is about to leave. If you don’t get off now, you really won’t be able to.”

Jiang Zhida, still grinning casually, didn’t move an inch, “Cousin-in-law, I’m not getting off. Grandpa and my second cousin asked me to accompany you to Liangzhou.”

Just as he finished speaking, the train doors closed, and it began to move.

Chuxia stopped pushing him, turned her eyes to the window, and saw Jiang Zhishu lifting Cen Huai’an in his arms, frowning as if not understanding why Cen Huai’an was so sad.

Now Chuxia finally understood why Jiang Zhishu had come to the station with her; the excuse of needing the car might not have been entirely true.

Watching Jiang Zhishu holding Cen Huai’an gradually disappear, she turned to glare at Jiang Zhida, “Didn’t I tell Cen Zhengnian not to let you come?”

Jiang Zhida had found his bed by then, the lower bunk, which was next to Chuxia’s upper bunk.

Sitting on the lower bunk with his leg propped up, he said, “Second cousin said so, but both Grandpa and Uncle are worried. I’m free at home anyway, and since I’m free, it’s just right to accompany you to Liangzhou. I’m looking forward to Liangzhou’s braised noodles, spicy soup buns, and the carp baked noodles that Huai’an mentioned.”

Jiang Zhida was also a foodie, and these were the dishes he had heard from Cen Huai’an. If Cen Huai’an remembered them as delicious, they must be very tasty.

The train had already started, so even if Chuxia didn’t want Jiang Zhida to go, it was too late.

She climbed to the upper bunk and continued packing her things, saying, “I’ll treat you to those when we get to Liangzhou.”

“No need, no need.” Jiang Zhida waved his hand dismissively, sticking his head out from the lower bunk, “Cousin-in-law, just tell me where to go. I’ll find my own way to eat. I don’t want to affect your exam.”

Maybe because Jiang Zhida’s outfit was too fashionable, other passengers avoided them whenever they left the compartment.

Chuxia glanced at Jiang Zhida.

He was wearing a large, colorful short-sleeve shirt, matching knee-length shorts, had his hair styled, and was sporting a large pair of sunglasses.

With his muscular arms, anyone who saw him would think he was intimidating.

Even crying children would immediately cover their mouths in fear upon seeing him.

Chuxia’s trip was very smooth; she didn’t hear any disturbances at night and slept well.

Upon arriving in Liangzhou, Jiang Zhida accompanied Chuxia to the staff quarters.

After helping her settle in, he planned to go to a nearby guesthouse.

Chuxia hurriedly called out to him, “Let me give you some money to stay in a better room.”

There are differences in guesthouse rooms; cheaper ones are certainly less comfortable than the expensive ones.

Since Jiang Zhida was accompanying her for the exam, she didn’t want him to stay in a dormitory-style room.

“No need.” Jiang Zhida waved his hand before she could even take out the money, “Grandpa and my older brother already gave me money; it’s enough.”

Chuxia ran after him, but Jiang Zhida had already reached the downstairs and quickly left the staff quarters.

---

The next day, as Chuxia opened her door to buy breakfast, she saw Jiang Zhida standing at her door with a paper bag of breakfast, raising his hand to knock.

Seeing Chuxia, he lowered his hand and grinned triumphantly, “Cousin-in-law, look at the spicy soup and fried buns I bought. I got them from the stall you mentioned.”

Chuxia let him in.

Seeing the familiar paper bag, she felt a bit tempted, “You didn’t get it wrong. They have bowls and chopsticks; I’ll wash my hands.”

When Chuxia returned, she happened to bump into Sister Li.

As she greeted Sister Li with a smile, Sister Li grabbed her arm and asked, “Didn’t Cen Zhengnian come back with you?”

Chuxia was momentarily stunned, then looked at her house and said, “No, it’s Cen Zhengnian’s cousin. Cen Zhengnian was busy with work and was worried about me coming back alone, so he sent his cousin to accompany me.”

Sister Li patted her chest and sighed in relief, “I knew you weren’t that kind of person. The people in the staff quarters will say anything. I’ll go talk to them; they shouldn’t spread rumors like that.”

Chuxia thanked Sister Li with a smile, not stopping her or dwelling on the matter. Her main focus was still the college entrance exams.

Just like in the previous mock exams, students from No. 9 High School were dispersed.

Some took exams in other districts, while others stayed in the same district as No. 9 High School.

The whole city was divided among various locations.

Chuxia was assigned to a nearby district. It wasn’t too far but also not very close.

The school had already arranged for students to stay in hotels if the exam was far from home.

Chuxia told her homeroom teacher that she would stay in a hotel.

Although her exam venue was in a neighboring district, the school was not close to her staff quarters.

Taking the bus would take around forty to fifty minutes, and cycling would be even more time-consuming.

During the exam period, she wanted to use more time for rest rather than commuting.

The day before the exam, Chuxia took the school-arranged bus to the hotel.

The room was for two people, very small compared to modern hotels, but it was clean enough.

Coincidentally, Chuxia’s exam venue was at the same school as Wang Chaoxi’s, and they were assigned to the same room.

The Ninth High School arranged students according to their exam scores, with Chuxia being first and Wang Chaoxi second.

Jiang Zhida also stayed at the hotel where Chuxia was. Initially, Chuxia refused his offer, as she was concerned about potential issues during the exam.

However, Jiang Zhida insisted, “I’m here to accompany you for the college entrance exam. It’s crucial, and if I stay at the guesthouse, I wouldn’t be fulfilling Grandpa’s and Second Cousin’s request!”

It had to be said that with Jiang Zhida around, Chuxia didn’t have to worry about meals during the exam.

He had somehow found a chef who provided clean, healthy, and varied meals, including breakfast.

Jiang Zhida was really taking Grandpa and Cen Zhengnian’s advice to heart.

During the exams, Chuxia encountered a minor incident.

In the first Chinese exam, a student, overly nervous and affected by the heat, fainted.

The entire examination room was startled.

After the student was carried out by the teachers, many candidates struggled to calm down and focus on their papers.

However, Chuxia wasn’t among them. As an exam-taker, her primary task was the exam itself.

With teachers and emergency medical staff present, she knew the fainted student would be fine.

Chuxia glanced at the situation, assessed it as heatstroke, and, seeing that prompt medical attention was given, she focused on her own exam.

The Chinese paper was not too difficult for Chuxia.

The first question was to write characters based on pinyin, similar to “China is one of the world’s oldest countries.”

She completed the first question smoothly.

The subsequent questions, which involved filling in blanks with literary knowledge, explaining underlined words, and interpreting a passage, were also not challenging.

These were all familiar to her from repeated practice.

When it came to classical Chinese text, it was a passage from “Zhou Yafu’s Army at Xiuliu,” which she knew well.

Even the final multiple-choice questions were straightforward for her.

sShe finished the exam without encountering any difficulties.

She maintained her composure and carefully reviewed her essay topic: “Worry for the people before the people worry, and rejoice after the people rejoice.”

Chuxia smiled. This type of topic was her strength.

She had seen discussions of this phrase online in her previous life, and when studying “Yueyang Tower,” her teacher had asked her to write her thoughts on this phrase.

She had received an excellent grade for it.

She organized her thoughts, outlined her essay, and began to write, providing arguments based on the given topic.

After finishing, she still had plenty of time left.

She reviewed her paper several times, correcting a careless typo, and only submitted it when time was up.

In the afternoon, the math exam was also easy for her. She even managed to solve the additional questions. Though they were more complex compared to earlier problems, they were manageable with a few extra steps.

Three days of exams passed quickly.

The last exam was biology, which, like English, was another strong subject for Chuxia.

She felt relaxed during the final exam.