Chapter 130

Chapter 130

However, Xu Meng soon had no time to dwell on these matters because she was about to face the gaokao.

Having prepared for a full year, to say Xu Meng wasn't nervous would be a lie.

In the final month, she barely even saw Han Jiming or visited Zhang Mingqing’s shop. Everyone seemed to have a tacit agreement—they tried not to disturb her. Yet, she remained this tense all the way until three days before the exam.

As the exam approached, she found herself less inclined to study.

In her past life, her academic performance hadn't been as strong as it was now, but she still made it to university. Back then, the pressure hadn't been as intense—perhaps because her expectations for the exam weren't as high, and her grades hadn't been outstanding.

This time, however, aside from her first mock exam where her progress was modest, her scores improved with each subsequent test. In the final mock exam, she even outscored second place by twenty-plus points, putting her far ahead of the pack. Thanks to the improved average English scores in Ms. Zhang’s class, their projected scores for the last mock exam were high, with a college admission rate of at least 80%.

This ratio was remarkable even in the capital city in 1991.

Xu Meng’s performance even ranked highly in the district. If not for the fact that the final exam results weren’t out yet, the school would have already put up celebratory banners.

The school gave students a two-day exam break to help them relax.

But Ms. Zhang called Xu Meng into her office. After a long talk, she said with gravity, “I don’t know why you’re putting so much pressure on yourself. With your current grades, getting into Peking University shouldn't be hard, you know? The most important thing now is to relax. Don’t overthink it—walk calmly into the testing center and return home happily. I know you’ve been driving yourself hard this past year, but don’t burden yourself too much. Carrying too heavy a load won’t take you far.”

Ms. Zhang had been through the wringer many times in life. She had been through tough times multiple times but always managed to pull through. She had been sent down to the countryside young, already older when she arrived in the rural areas. By the time she got into university, she was thirty, and when she started working, she was already in her thirties. As she often said, she had experienced more in one lifetime than most people would in several.

Now, looking at Xu Meng, she felt both a teacher’s pride and an elder’s warmth.

A student like this, with such outstanding potential, was once in a lifetime.

Xu Meng nodded.

Watching her student leave the classroom, Ms. Zhang sighed, wondering if her advice had gotten through.

The school’s examinees were divided into groups, with most staying at their own campus. Xu Meng was among the minority assigned to an off-campus testing location.

Those assigned to off-campus locations had to book hotels near the exam venue. Xu Meng’s family debated between reserving a hotel or arranging transportation. The hotels near the school were generally mediocre at best, and with so many bookings during the exam period, the conditions were certainly worse than home.

Adding to the stress, the supervising teacher at the external site wasn’t Ms. Zhang.

Feng Yanwen had already begun fretting well in advance. Being assigned to their own school for the exam would have been ideal, but if not, they needed to plan ahead—and sure enough, Xu Meng wasn’t assigned to her own school.

“You weren’t assigned to your own school?”

“No. Quite a few were assigned to external sites. Don’t worry about it—just focus on resting. It’s been so hot lately, so I think I’ll just book a hotel outside the school.”

The recent heatwave had left everyone restless. Xu Meng struggled to sleep, and Feng Yanwen slept even worse. Her once soft, oval face had visibly thinned into a pointy chin. On top of that, she was still juggling school matters, losing even more weight.

Xu Meng had been torn about what to do, but seeing her mother’s concern, she finally decided to stay at a hotel during the exam days.

Coincidentally, Wei Xiang was also assigned to the same testing site, so the two decided to share a room.

But before they could finalize their plans, the supervising teacher informed them that the school had rushed to book hotels, and all rooms were already taken.

Xu Meng was about to say she could just go home—it wasn’t too far—when the supervising teacher, Mr. Xia, changed his tone: “We'll play it by ear on the day. The school still recommends everyone staying together.”

His words suggested he could arrange something for them.

Finally, exam day arrived. Mr. Xia led the students to the testing site. After reminding them to stay relaxed during the exam, he added:

“I’ll be waiting here for you at noon. Lunch will be arranged for everyone. Though our group is small, it’s still important to stay organized, so I expect everyone to follow the rules—no exceptions. Accommodations will also be arranged uniformly. I’m warning you—don’t wander off. Don’t leave the hotel without permission. If anything affects your exam or causes trouble, don’t blame me for being strict. This is the college entrance exam—you all need to be giving it your all.”

When he said "no special treatment," he shot Xu Meng a glance, whether intentional or not.

This was just a small test center, with only two teachers assigned to lead the team.

Since Yang Ruohua moved to the junior high school section and Mr. Xia took over the class, this teacher had a reputation for a bad temper. Originally in charge of the high school experimental class, he was forced to take on this problematic class. After understanding the whole situation, his impression of Xu Meng wasn’t great either.

Xu Meng was used to this kind of treatment and went along with the others.

The first exam was Chinese, and Xu Meng felt it went well.

Although she had taken the gaokao in her past life, who remembers exam questions forever? For her, like everyone else, everything had to rely on herself.

Her only advantage over others was the experience and comprehension from her past life.

After lunch, Mr. Xia started distributing room keys. When it was Xu Meng’s turn, he specifically added, "This room was originally reserved for my own midday rest, but now I’m giving it to you. You’d better stay in the hotel and rest properly, don’t wander around. There’s still politics in the afternoon, and you all need to give it your all. Rest well at noon, and gather in the hotel lobby at 2:40 p.m. Hand over your exam admission tickets. Anyone who isn’t on time can forget about taking the exam."

There was a three-and-a-half-hour gap at noon, and even excluding meal time, there was plenty of time to rest.

Even Xu Jia, usually so laid-back, became serious today.

Xu Meng looked at the key shoved into her hand and knew she’d been singled out—again.

As a top student, some people adored her, but there were also those in the school who had it out for her, like this Mr. Xia.

It was said that Mr. Xia was famously hot-tempered, a senior figure at the school, and someone who hated trouble. Leading a team for the gaokao was a pain in the neck, and he had long been ready to snap.

That look of disdain suggested he thought she was angling for special treatment.

Xu Meng opened her mouth but said nothing. Though he had a bad temper, at least Mr. Xia had given her a room, hadn’t he?

Wei Xiang said, "Let him say whatever he wants. After the exam, who’s going to remember who he is? He’s just putting on airs as a teacher now."

That was true enough. Xu Meng smiled at her. "Just a few more days, and we’ll be completely free. What do you want to do after the exam?"

Wei Xiang knew she was deliberately changing the subject to lighten the mood.

She stretched her arms. "I want to learn how to swim."

In her past life, Wei Xiang had apparently drowned!

Xu Meng managed a weak smile. "Swimming outside is really dangerous."

Wei Xiang: "People in my village swim in the river every summer. It’s not like the big rivers in the south—the deepest part is only about chest-deep. It’s not dangerous. Have you ever been to the countryside? My hometown has a river. If you ever visit, I’ll take you to play by the river. It’s really fun, and the water is cool in summer. Lots of people go there every year."

Seeing Wei Xiang so carefree, Xu Meng couldn’t muster a smile anymore.

She knew it was useless to argue with Wei Xiang now. Until something goes wrong, no one thinks much of it. But for the rest of the time, she seemed preoccupied, speaking very little—until they saw the room Mr. Xia had given them.

When they opened the door, both of them were stunned. A wave of heat hit them before they even stepped inside. The room was unusually hot, facing southwest with no shade, turning it into a sauna. Forget resting—just entering made them feel like they were being steamed.

Wei Xiang, who considered herself quite hardy, shook her head the moment she went in. "It’s too hot. Staying here for two hours would give me heatstroke. Should we buy a fan?"

There was no way Mr. Xia would have kept this room for his own rest.

By now, even if Xu Meng had been slow on the uptake before, she knew she’d been tricked. If Mr. Xia hadn’t said a room was free, she would have arranged to go home to rest. The three- to four-hour break at noon was more than enough time to go back and forth and still get proper rest.

Wei Xiang started panicking. "What do we do? There’s no way to rest here."

"Wait, let me think of something." Xu Meng pondered for a moment, then went to the front desk with the key. "This room is too hot. Can we switch to another one?"

Business has been booming lately, and the front desk was slammed. Now that the guests had checked in, it wasn't as hectic. The young girl at the front desk finally had a moment to spare and was glued to the lobby TV. She replied impatiently, "We don’t have endless rooms to swap. Everyone wants to change—our hotel is fully booked."

Seeing Xu Meng still standing there, she glanced at her and asked, "What?"

Xu Meng said, "The room assigned to us is extremely hot—it’s impossible to rest at noon. How about I pay extra for a better room?"

The girl, only about sixteen or seventeen and still very playful, was annoyed at being interrupted during a key scene. Seeing Xu Meng still asking questions, her temper flared. She snapped, "Even money won’t fix this. Our hotel is completely booked."

Just then, Xu Jia walked in from outside, holding a bottle of ice water.

Seeing Xu Meng at the front desk, she said, "So you got that room, huh? You didn’t check it out beforehand, did you? We came a day early to look. No one wanted that room—it’s just two afternoons. Just grab a fan and deal with it. Should’ve scoped out the room sooner!"

So Mr. Xia had already brought her to see it beforehand.

Those who checked early had the chance to know in advance, but no one had told Xu Meng and the others.

Wei Xiang was livid, her voice shaking as she asked, "When did you come to check? Why didn’t Mr. Xia tell us?"

Xu Jia smirked, "Maybe he forgot. Should’ve buttered him up sooner." Humming, she sauntered away.

By now, it was clear Mr. Xia had screwed them over on purpose.

Among the students he led, only Xu Meng and Wei Xiang were from another class—the rest were all from his own. Those students had already given him gifts to smooth things over, to get special treatment for the exams.

Xu Meng’s grades were excellent, even the higher-ups noticed. But at the end of the day, she was just a student.

Her success would reflect well on the school administration and Ms. Zhang, but what’s in it for the other teachers?

Teachers like Yang Ruohua, who made no secret of their jealousy, weren’t rare—those were easier to deal with. But someone like Mr. Xia, who pulled underhanded stunts, was hard to guard against. No one saw this coming.

They got nowhere bargaining. Despite Xu Meng’s pleading and even waving a hundred bucks, the front desk refused: "I can’t take your money. My job is more important than a hundred yuan. If the boss finds out I took a bribe, I’ll be fired. Don’t put me in a tight spot, alright?"

No dice.

Xu Meng gritted her teeth. "Let’s go upstairs."

She wasn’t about to be defeated.

The hotel bed had a bamboo mat. Xu Meng and Wei Xiang worked together to take it down and spread it in the hallway. They also took the bedsheet, hung it on a pole as a makeshift curtain, and angled the fan by the door to blow into the hallway. The corridor, flanked by rooms on both sides, stayed pretty cool—even more so with the fan.

Their room was at the very end, with only one opposite occupied—by two other exam-takers. Though they found the setup odd, it was just a one-day thing. After a quick greeting, the two lay down to rest.

It wasn’t as comfortable as a bed, but Xu Meng was used to hard mattresses. Wei Xiang wasn’t fussy either—both conked out immediately.

They managed about two hours of sleep before waking to the noise indoors.

"How was it?" Xu Meng asked.

Wei Xiang stretched. "Actually, kinda great."

While everyone else rested indoors, no one had come out. Seizing the moment, they quickly packed up the mat and pillows and darted back inside.

The room was still a sauna—totally unlivable. The afternoon sun would only make it worse.

They were the first in the lobby, zoning out with their eyes shut. When Xu Jia’s classmates arrived and saw them sitting dazed at the front desk, they assumed the two hadn’t rested at all. The girls huddled together, whispering and bursting into laughter as if sharing some hilarious joke.

Hah. Let ’em have their fun—for now.