The final exam this time was much harder than the mid-term exam. Jiang Yumo felt it while answering the questions. Some top students liked exams with higher difficulty because it allowed them to widen the score gap. Over the past few months, Ning Zhiyu had shared a lot of studying experiences with her. Of course, there was a difference between being an average student and the top student in the grade. Many of Ning Zhiyu’s study methods were not applicable to Jiang Yumo, but she still benefited a lot.
Before turning in her exam paper, Jiang Yumo checked the questions from beginning to end. She didn’t want to lose points due to unnoticed details; it would be as distressing as losing money.
While checking, she also got distracted and thought about Duan Ye.
…With such difficulty in the exam, the lessons she helped Duan Ye catch up on earlier probably wouldn’t be of much use.
Compared to Ning Zhiyu, Jiang Yumo, as an average student, made more accurate judgments. As expected, Zhou Ji and Duan Ye fell silent in the examination room.
Getting even one point was crucial, so Zhou Ji wrote down everything he could do or understand. As for some questions he couldn’t even understand, he could only earnestly write down a ‘solution’ before moving on.
Duan Ye had a bit more experience than Zhou Ji.
Mainly, after the first day of the exam, Jiang Yumo secretly shared some precious tips with Duan Ye : “Choose the longest when the other three are short sentences, and the shortest when the other three are long sentences; and when it’s unclear, choose option D!”
Duan Ye took her advice.
As it turned out, Jiang Yumo’s tips were like a blind cat encountering a dead mouse this time. The final exam lasted two days, and the teachers quickly graded the papers for the senior students. In just a few days, the exam papers were returned along with the class rankings.
Sitting at his desk, Zhou Ji glanced at his ranking and found that he was still 48th.
The gaze moved up one grid at a time, damn it! Duan Ye ranked forty-three!! He had advanced two positions compared to the last monthly exam??
When Duan Ye held the ranking list, he also breathed a sigh of relief; he could report back nicely.
At least, she should be happy when she sees this.
Zhao Zheng and the others created a group with the name ‘Ningcheng Handsome Guys and Beautiful Girls Gathering.’ There were only the eight of them friends in the group. Originally, Ning Zhiyu didn’t have an account, but Zhou Ji helped her create one and upgraded her level every day.
Zhao_Zheng : [(Image attachment)]
Zhao_Zheng : [It’s the end of the month, and you still have data left, right? Can you see the photos I sent? Hehe, it’s not a big deal, just got the exam results, giving you all a peek.]
Yan_Qing : [Wow, is Brother Duan still the boss?]
Sun_Mengting : […Do you guys know a singer called Wu Bai? I really like him.]
Without mentioning money, she just wanted to mention her favorite singer, Wu Bai.
Guo_Shichao: [I also like Wu Bai. Zhou Ji, what about you? Have you heard of Wu Bai? Do you like him? We all really like him.]
Zhou Ji stared at the flooding messages about “Wu Bai” in the group and felt very speechless : [Just wait.]
Jiang_Yumo : [Hehehe~ Did you guys hear the sound of a face slap? It was so loud, like *smack, smack, smack*!]
Zhou_Ji : [ . ]
Zhou_Ji : [@Duan_Ye Lao Duan, control her.]
Jiang_Yumo : “(surprised emoji) Why did you call him Lao Duan? Shouldn’t you call him Brother Duan?]
Duan Ye finally speaks up : [@Zhou_Ji, I’m not the boss.]
Duan_Ye : [She is.]
Zhou_Ji : […]
Zhao_Zheng : [Brother Zhou, you’ll understand later. Sister Mo is the boss, Brother Duan is second in command.]
Jiang_Yumo : [(Proud Emoji)]
Zhou Ji is not the kind of person who goes back on his word, and besides, he really wanted to give his friends red envelopes. Although he didn’t have much else, he had plenty of money, and of course, the main thing was to give a red envelope to Ning Zhiyu. The next morning, after self-study, during breakfast time, he took out several red envelopes from his down jacket pocket and handed them out one by one, “Yours, yours…”
When it came to Ning Zhiyu’s turn, he specifically reminded, “Open it when you get back.”
Duan Ye glanced at the red envelope placed beside him, then reached out to hold it and moved it over to Jiang Yumo’s side.
Jiang Yumo looked at him in surprise.
A smile appeared on Duan Ye’s face as he said, “Help me keep it. I don’t have pockets.”
Zhao Zheng grinned, “Brother, I have pockets. My cotton coat has two pockets, and my pants have four.”
Jiang Yumo eagerly collected the red envelope, looking like a little money enthusiast.
She was also very interested in Ning Zhiyu’s red envelope. On their way back to the school building, she secretly urged Ning Zhiyu.
Ning Zhiyu had no choice but to open the red envelope. Immediately after that, the four girls fell into a dead silence. If this were a comic, there would probably be a group of crows flying over their heads, cawing loudly.
Inside Ning Zhiyu’s red envelope, apart from five brand new one-hundred-yuan bills, there was also a twenty-yuan bill.
Five hundred and twenty yuan.
Five two zero.
I love you1.
Yan Qing smiled dryly and said, “This… is quite creative, huh.”
Sun Mengting said, “He said earlier that Zhiyu should open it when she’s alone. I thought it would be much more than what we got.”
Jiang Yumo couldn’t hold back her laughter, “He’s really a quirky guy!”
Ning Zhiyu felt helpless but couldn’t help but chuckle at the five hundred and twenty yuan in the red envelope. “He’s so strange.”
In fact, they had already discussed this and knew that Zhou Ji’s family was well-off. However, they wouldn’t really accept the red envelope he gave. He had given over three thousand, which was a huge sum for high school students. They planned to pool this money and use it to celebrate Zhou Ji’s birthday and buy gifts for him. Zhou Ji’s 18th birthday was coming soon, just a few days after the start of the new semester.
They were looking forward to it so much!
Their group, all of whom are eighteen years old, have their birthdays before the start of university. This signifies that they can all accompany each other through this most crucial day for them at the moment—the day of becoming adults.
Two days after the final exams, Jiang Yumo received a notice from her dance teacher, suggesting that she should prepare for the university auditions in Yanjing. Several universities there recently arranged auditions, and her dance teacher selected two for her to try. Jiang Yumo was surprised upon receiving the news because she had always been thinking about the two art universities in the provincial capital. Unexpectedly, her dance teacher suddenly presented her with a bold move—to challenge the auditions at more prestigious universities.
Yanjing? Yanjing!
Jiang Yumo lacked confidence as there were many talented individuals there, and both of those universities were excellent, far beyond what she had dared to consider before embarking on the path of an arts examinee. Father and Mother Jiang also had some hesitations; Yanjing was too far, and they feared their daughter might be disappointed if she couldn’t pass the auditions. On the other hand, if she did pass… wouldn’t that mean she’d be far away from home for the four years of university? Her dance teacher was very responsible, and Jiang Yumo’s homeroom teacher was also known for being highly responsible2. In the end, Father and Mother Jiang decided to let their daughter give it a try.
If she didn’t pass the auditions, it wouldn’t matter; they would consider it a valuable experience.
Before leaving, Mother Jiang was more nervous than the previous exam, but she was also excited. If, if her daughter really passed the auditions, then it would be completely different. Although she had not attended university herself, she knew that the two art universities in the provincial capital could not be compared to the ones in Yanjing.
Father Jiang teased, “You said you couldn’t bear to let our daughter go too far, but it seems like you are more hopeful than anyone else for her to go to the university in Yanjing.”
Mother Jiang replied seriously, “That’s nonsense! If she has a better future there, of course, I have to support it. We can’t hold our child back!”
Like this, Mother Jiang took time off from the pharmacy, and together with Jiang Yumo, set off on their journey to Yanjing for the audition.
While the third-year students at Fifth High have not started their break yet, the first and second-year students were already on break. The once lively campus has suddenly become much quieter, and even the cafeteria, which used to be crowded, is now increasingly empty. However, this time, the few friends were not as worried about Jiang Yumo as before. Thanks to her explanations, they now know that if things don’t go smoothly, she might have to keep participating in various school examinations until March or April.
But now, she is just at the beginning.
Except for Zhou Ji, none of them have traveled far from home, and none of them have been to Yanjing.
Guo Shichao noticed that Duan Ye remained silent and knew he was worried about Jiang Yumo. So Guo Shichao asked Zhou Ji, “Zhou Ji, is Yanjing a big city?”
Zhou Ji had lived in Yanjing for seventeen years, but he couldn’t give a straightforward answer to this question. “There are many cars and many people, and the buildings are tall. When you encounter traffic jams, it can grind away all your patience. So I guess you could say it’s big.”
“Traffic jams?” Yan Qing interjected, “Oh right, the Traffic Jam Law.”
Everyone turned to look at her.
She cleared her throat, “Whenever the male or female lead encounters something crucial, there will definitely be a traffic jam. For example, in the most classic scenario, when the male lead or female lead is rushing to the airport to see off the other, they will inevitably encounter a traffic jam. Then the male lead or female lead will have to get out of the car and run all the way there. At this moment, there must be background music, you know, the soundtrack playing in the background.”
Duan Ye : “…”
He looked at Zhou Ji, “Continue.”
Zhou Ji felt puzzled and asked, “Continue, continue what?”
Ning Zhiyu reminded him, “Tell us how big Yanjing is.”
“Well,” Zhou Ji thought for a moment and realized that he had left Yanjing several months ago. Now, recalling it, it felt like a lifetime ago. “It has many districts, divided into the first ring, the second ring, and the third ring. Thinking about it, it’s really quite big.”
After Jiang Yumo left, Duan Ye was unexpectedly silent.
On their way back to the classroom, Zhou Ji took the initiative to put his arm around Duan Ye’s shoulder and said playfully, “Don’t worry, after all, she is your girlfriend and Ning Zhiyu’s good friend. I won’t ignore her.”
Duan Ye turned his head slowly and his tone was displeased, “Won’t ignore?!”
“What I mean is, she’s a friend to me too,” Zhou Ji boasted confidently. “You said before, not to use my methods in Ningcheng. Now that she’s in my territory, I can use my methods. Don’t worry, Lao Duan, there’s a saying that goes well, ‘Be nice to your girlfriend’s good friend.'”
Duan Ye suddenly had a foreboding feeling and asked, “What have you done?”
What did Zhou Ji do?
Mother Jiang and Jiang Yumo got off the high-speed train, and they followed the signs towards the exit. Yanjing was truly bustling; the high-speed train station was packed with people, and looking back on the escalator, it was a sea of people.
Originally, Father Jiang wanted to come with them, but now that the peak travel season had begun, the passenger terminal was also crowded, and he couldn’t get leave from work at this time.
Mother Jiang’s heart was a bit uneasy.
It was her first time in Yanjing, but she still pretended to be calm. She couldn’t afford to lose her composure in front of her daughter.
The mother and daughter dragged their suitcases and carried backpacks, making their way to the exit checkpoint with difficulty.
Jiang Yumo felt her breath getting difficult. Drawing from her previous experience of shopping in the provincial capital, she tightly held onto her backpack.
Suddenly, she heard her mother asking in confusion, “Those people… are holding signs with your name on them?”
Jiang Yumo looked up.
It was hard not to notice those people.
Each of them was tall, standing at 1.8 meters, all wearing black suits. The other passengers were looking over at them, whispering to each other, unaware of what was going on.
Someone even murmured, “Could they be bodyguards picking up a celebrity? Such a grand lineup, it’s my first time seeing this.”
Another person immediately retorted, “Celebrities wouldn’t use this exit, and besides, they all came by plane!”
A tall man in a suit was holding up a prominent sign— ‘Warmly welcome Miss Jiang Yumo from Ningcheng.’
Jiang Yumo, with excellent vision, still asked her mother uncertainly, “Is she sharing the same name and surname with me?”
But Jiang Yumo from Ningcheng?
Something felt odd, as if something was not right.
Mother Jiang also hesitated, “It should be.”
“My name is indeed very common,” Jiang Yumo complained softly, “Dad and Mom should have looked it up in the dictionary more.”
Her mother glanced at her and said, “Your Dad spent several days flipping through the dictionary to choose your name. He said you are like a jasmine flower in the rain3.”
Of course, Jiang Yumo knew the origin of her name.
For the older generation, it seemed that boys were likened to trees, and girls were like flowers. Originally, she was supposed to be named Jiang Mo, but her Dad had a moment of inspiration and added the character for rain, hoping she would be like a flower and a tree, unafraid of wind and rain.
As they were discussing names, the tall man in the suit holding the sign suddenly walked up and stood in front of them.
Mother Jiang : “!”
Jiang Yumo : “!!”
Both mother and daughter were filled with surprise and suspicion, not knowing what had happened. Jiang Yumo tightly held her mother’s hand, and her mother instinctively protected her daughter behind her.
In the next moment, the tall man in the suit spoke up, his voice deep and magnetic, “Excuse me, are you Miss Jiang Yumo, who came from Ningcheng?”
Uncertain about how to respond, Jiang Yumo hesitated, and then he continued, “Hello, our young master instructed us to come and pick you and your mother up.”
“…” Jiang Yumo asked with difficulty, “May I ask, is your young master… Zhou Ji?”
The tall man nodded, “Yes.”
Jiang Yumo: “…”
- this is a Chinese slang. ‘Five two zero’ in Chinese is ‘wu er ling’ which sounds like ‘wo ai ni’ that means ‘I love you’. ↩︎
- honestly, I don’t understand what being responsible has to do with this context, but I suppose because her teachers were responsible, so her parents could trust their advice? ↩︎
- Jiang Yumo’s ‘Yu’ means rain and ‘Mo’ means jasmine ↩︎
CRAZY!!! BUT SO FUNNY 🤣🤣🤣
P.s. it’s so cute that papa was looking for her name so long in the dictionary. I love her parents.
LOL, omg such hospitality from our Zhou Ji 😂 Thank you for the chapter!