Song Xueyun snorted. “Hah, you wish! I’m not keeping up with your arrogant ass. Who knows I might have applied to the same college as Genius Gu.”


    “I can vouch that you didn’t, ” Gu Shangyan replied. “You are going to Shanghai as you always wanted to.”


    “You are going to Shanghai?” An Qinyan asked, surprised.


    “I’m not sure, ” Song Xueyun shrugged. “Nanxian and I made ns to go to Shanghai once upon a time but he got a better college. I don’t know if I want to go there alone.”


    “You can’t stop dreaming just because of him, ” Lu Xuan snorted. “Go to Shanghai, if you want and don’t think of that hateful boy again.”


    Before Han Zixin could say, An Xin reacted, “Teacher Han is not hateful. He was justpelled by the circumstances. Lu Xuan, how many times do I have to tell you that he doesn’t think like us normal people? He is a genius and he knows what he should do in a particr situation.”


    “Why do you always worship him?” Lu Xuan raised his brow.


    “Because Teacher Han helped me a lot, ” An Xin confessed. “When I was losing my way in Junior year because my score was going nowhere, I approached him for help and he didn’t back off. Also, I don’t worship him but respect him.”


    “You talk to Han Nanxian?” Song Xueyun questioned her.


    “I don’t. He sends me study strategies and helpful material once in a while, ” An Xin truthfully said. “We never talked about personal life if that’s what you all want to know.”


    “Howe I don’t know?” Han Zixin asked her.


    “You never asked and I don’t want to spoil your mood, ” An Xin said.


    Song Xueyun stared at the food on her te with great difficulty. Soon, the topic was changed from Han Nanxian to something else and she breathed in relief.


    “Yue’r, I just realised that I don’t know where you want to go for studies, ” An Xin suddenly said.


    “I love my home city. I’m not leaving, ” Shen Yue smiled. “I want to work here.”


    “The world is too big and vast. Don’t you want to go out and explore? Going to Beijing and Shanghai is beneficial as you will see a lot of bigpanies there. You are a bright child. You can make your future there, “An Qinyan softly said.


    “Auntie, I have no other ambition but to work alongside you, “Shen Yue answered politely. “One day, I will be capable enough to work in yourpany. What I want is not in Beijing or Shanghai but here.”


    An Qinyan smiled and patted her head. “Then, I will wait for that day.”


    “My Yue’r is best, ” An Xin whistled like a hooligan and everyoneughed at her antics.


    _______


    The second day of the National Entrance Test.


    “All the best, children, ” Lu Zhaolin said as he saw the children going inside the examination centre. Today, he hade to drop off the children with Song Yifei. Han Qian, Han Zixin’s grandfather also arrived.


    “Old Han, ” Lu Zhaolin greeted him.


    “Zhaolin, you are getting old, ” Han Qianmented.


    Song Yifei stifled augh. She didn’t know why these two men always pulled each other’s legs. But she loved to see them teasing each other.


    When Han Qian and Lu Zhaolin were teasing each other, the students were inside appearing for the exams.


    An Xin had just solved ten questions when she felt her eyes getting heavier and her head spinning. She closed her eyes for a moment to rx. As she opened her eyes after a moment, she felt a little good. She began solving questions again. It was when she turned the page and the teacher announced that half-time was over did she feel something was wrong. She looked at her watch and her eyes widened as she saw the time.


    Did she actually fall asleep during the exam? Her heart started beating fast and her hands began trembling. She took five more minutes to calm down. After that, she refused to look at the time and focussed only on solving the paper.


    In the end, she was unable to do more than sixty per cent of the paper.


    However, when she met her father, she behaved as if she was feeling fine. She couldn’t tell them that she didn’t have a good exam.


    Han Zixin was surprised when she didn’t wait for him even though they were in the same building. When he asked her how her exam went. She replied saying it went extremely well. He didn’t know why he felt as if he was missing something.


    To make up for her bad exam, An Xin decided to perform extremely well in thest paper. She might have slept for less than four hours once again. Her body was shutting down. For more than a month, she had been surviving on four hours of sleep. It was a miracle that she hadn’t cked out anywhere.The eye bags under her eyes were more prominent now. She looked so thin that her family was scared that she would fly away with a gust of wind.


    The third day of the National College Entrance Exam began like just any day. The parents dropped the kids at the examination centre.


    “Come on, ” Han Zixin said as he grabbed her hand and went inside. Their sses were different but the building was the same.


    When An Xin was seated inside, she realized that she hadn’t filled her water bottle. She asked for permission for the teacher to go outside to fill the water bottle. As she filled the water bottle, she was returning back to the ss but a staff member approached her and said, “Student, can you hold the door for me? I have to take out the bundle of sheets. I’m unable to do both things at once.”


    “Of course, ” An Xin instantly agreed.


    She helped the staff member carry the sheets inside. As she was climbing up the stairs to her ss, she felt her steps getting lighter with each passing moment. She had this feeling as if she was walking on clouds. The urge to close her eyes again and again. She could hear this buzzing sound in her ear now.


    “What happened?” The staff member asked as she stopped walking behind her.


    An Xin shook her head and walked ahead. As she would step up thest stair, her feet slipped because her body shut down on its own. She didn’t recall what happened after that or did she hear anyone after that?