Chapter 53: The Monthly Exam Ends
By the time Sesame could stumble and run all over the floor, Mingde High’s first monthly exam arrived right on schedule.
Because the 1st of October was National Day, Mingde High scheduled the monthly exam at the end of September—right before the holiday.
For the second half of the month, Gu Qinghuan had been diligently buried in her books. She wasn’t aiming for any spectacular ranking—her main goal was to see how she scored in each subject, since this would influence her subject choices for the college entrance exam.
Her family, on the other hand, didn’t have any expectations. In Gu Haiyan and Wang Jia’an’s view, this was only the first monthly exam.
Middle school and high school had different levels of difficulty, and with education so competitive nowadays, plus the fact that Gu Qinghuan had just entered a new environment, it was only natural if she didn’t do well right away.
So rather than her grades, Gu Haiyan and Wang Jia’an were more concerned with where to take her for National Day vacation.
A self-driving trip was out of the question for now, but with so many transportation options, there would surely be a way to reach somewhere fun.
Although Mingde High’s monthly exam was only an internal school test, they still rearranged the seating order and mixed students from different classes.
The exam timetable followed the standard, but all the subjects were compressed into just two days.
In Gu Qinghuan’s exam room, only Xu Xinghe was also from Class Three—everyone else was from other classes.
After two days of testing, Gu Qinghuan felt neither joy nor sadness—just relief. No matter how unsure she was, once it was over, it was over!
As she walked out of the exam room, Xu Xinghe came over with a bitter face. “Class monitor, how did you do…”
“Stop!” Gu Qinghuan made an X with her arms and took two steps back. “No checking answers! The exam is over—it’s National Day break! Nothing is allowed to ruin my holiday mood!”
Xu Xinghe blinked. “Oh, right—I almost forgot, you’re just average at exams.”
Gu Qinghuan narrowed her eyes. “Didn’t Song Yi win a sanda championship before?”
“Yeah.” The sudden mention of Song Yi caught Xu Xinghe off guard.
“Wonder if I could learn a move or two from him?” Gu Qinghuan raised her fist.
Xu Xinghe thought: Right, I forgot—Song Yi calls her ‘big sister.’
He immediately straightened up and walked away. “Ah, finally done with exams—I’m going home to rest.”
Gu Qinghuan snorted, putting her fist down—just in time to see Yu Xin and Su Lin walking out of the exam room next door.
She was about to greet them, but seeing the top student and the overachiever walking together with serious expressions, she realized they must be discussing the exam questions.
Gu Qinghuan made a quick escape.
Near the school gate, she spotted Jiang Chuchu and Qin Yue ahead. She walked up and patted Jiang Chuchu on the shoulder. “Yo!”
Jiang Chuchu jumped, then smiled when she saw her. “Qinghuan! Done with the exam?”
“All done!” Gu Qinghuan beamed. “What are your plans for the holiday?”
“This year our family’s staying in. My brother’s coming back from university, so we’ll just rest at home,” Jiang Chuchu said.
Qin Yue added, “My brother’s coming back too, but we’re going to Germany—and we’ll catch Oktoberfest.”
Gu Qinghuan had never been abroad, so she was curious. “What’s there to do? What’s Oktoberfest like?”
Qin Yue didn’t know how to explain it well, so he waved a hand. “Just check my Moments these next two days—I’ll post lots of photos and videos!”
Oh, and he could bring back some souvenirs. With his brother there, picking gifts would be easy.
Jiang Chuchu gave him a disdainful look, deciding he was just showing off, and ignored him. She turned back to Gu Qinghuan. “Where are you going for the holiday?”
“My mom and dad are planning. I’ll ask when I get home—once it’s set, I’ll let you know,” Gu Qinghuan replied.
“If you’re not leaving the city, you’re welcome to come hang out anytime—I’ll send a car to pick you up,” Jiang Chuchu offered.
“If I’m free, I’ll come,” Gu Qinghuan agreed cheerfully. She also wanted to play with Jiang Chuchu’s border collie again.
When she left the school gate, she immediately spotted her dad sitting on an electric scooter, looking at his phone.
The moment she walked up, Wang Jia’an noticed her. “Huan Huan, you’re out! What do you want for dinner?”
Before the exam, the family had already promised that whatever she wanted, they’d take her to eat that night.
Gu Qinghuan fastened her helmet and climbed on the scooter, thinking hard: hot pot or barbecue? Japanese food or Thai?
After much consideration, she decided firmly, “I want sweet-and-sour crispy pork.”
“Alright, then Northeast cuisine it is.” Wang Jia’an twisted the throttle. “Let’s go order first—the usual place. Call your mom.”
Gu Qinghuan hummed in agreement and called Gu Haiyan as they rode.
When she heard it was Northeast cuisine, Gu Haiyan immediately started naming dishes. “Make sure to get the pork ribs stewed with beans.”
“I know—and Dad wants cold noodles and chicken stewed with mushrooms and vermicelli,” Gu Qinghuan replied.
Wang Jia’an nodded repeatedly. “Yes, those are my favorites.”
Gu Qinghuan hung up. The portions at that restaurant were large—three people couldn’t finish four dishes, especially with their amazing egg sauce for rice. They’d definitely have leftovers to pack.
When the owner, Sister Liu, saw them enter, she smiled. “Haven’t seen you for two months. What’ll it be today?”
Sister Liu was a local, married to a Northeasterner who was the head chef and rarely seen outside the kitchen.
Gu Qinghuan ordered the four dishes, and Sister Liu added with a smile, “And the egg sauce with rice at the end, right?”
“Yep!” Gu Qinghuan nodded. Her family didn’t really eat vegetable wraps with sauce—only tofu skins—but mixing the egg sauce with rice was another story. Delicious!
Sister Liu took the order to the kitchen, and Wang Jia’an and Gu Qinghuan found a table.
The place wasn’t busy yet, though four or five tables were already occupied.
A waiter came over to wipe the table. “How many people?”
“Three,” Wang Jia’an replied.
The voice sounded familiar to Gu Qinghuan. She looked up—and met a pair of familiar black eyes.
Wasn’t this Wen Ye? She was surprised.
Wen Ye clearly recognized her too, looking a bit wary. But since she didn’t call his name, he assumed she’d forgotten him and didn’t pay her much attention.
He brought over three sets of tableware, filled a pot with hot water, and left to serve other customers.
Gu Qinghuan unwrapped the utensils, thinking Wen Ye seemed more polite here than he was at school.
“That waiter’s new—I haven’t seen him before. Looks young,” Wang Jia’an remarked.
“Maybe a relative helping out?” Gu Qinghuan guessed.
“Could be.” Wang Jia’an didn’t dwell on it. “Want to rinse your utensils?”
“Yes!” Gu Qinghuan pushed the set over.
With Dad here, she could just sit back and relax for the small stuff.
