IP Chapter 41.1
Incurable Pain | Chapter 41.1
Entering Lan University may be a dream of mine, but it is not my top priority; you are.
The results of the second mock exam came out a week later. On the day the list was posted, almost half of the school’s students crowded around to take a look. It wasn’t just the seniors; students from other grades were there too.
Everyone knew that this exam was basically a preview of the college entrance examination two months later. Everyone wanted to see who the top students of the year were.
Bai Xunyin was also dragged along by Ah Mo to “join in the fun” and squeezed into the crowd.
Naturally, they went straight to the first page of the list to look. Bai Xunyin’s eyes fell on Yu Luoyin’s name, hanging in the top three, and it was hard not to see.
His score this time was similar to the first mock exam, fortunately not affected by the various distractions during the period.
But the third year of high school was all about reviewing and revising in the sea of questions. There wouldn’t be much new knowledge input. For students with a solid foundation like them, as long as their mindset didn’t collapse, they were unlikely to be influenced by external factors.
“Yinyin, your score this time is quite high.” Ah Mo, arm in arm with her, sighed beside her.
“Unlike me, I’ve been hovering around the top twenty all the time. It’s probably hard for me to improve my score…”
“You’re doing fine.”
Bai Xunyin knew that Ah Mo was a girl without great ambitions, and in her world, many things were more important than burying oneself in studying, so she comforted her, “Your score is enough. You can go to almost any school except for the top ones.”
But this time, instead of boasting about herself, Ah Mo frowned slightly, rare traces of melancholy crossing her usually lively and bright face.
Bai Xunyin looked at her somewhat unexpectedly.
“I actually… want to apply to the same school as Sheng Wen.”
Under Bai Xunyin’s probing gaze, Ah Mo had to speak the truth. She smiled shyly, a hint of disappointment in her expression.
“But his grades are so good, it’s probably difficult.”
It’s hard for others to give advice in such matters, especially when there is a clear gap between the two.
Bai Xunyin sighed, unable to give any better advice, and could only say, “Just don’t let it affect your mindset.”
“I won’t.”
Ah Mo clenched her fist, quickly adjusting her mood from despondent to determined. On the way back to the classroom, she whispered to Bai Xunyin, “By the way, which school are you planning to apply for? Are you going with Yu Luoyin?”
Bai Xunyin’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, feeling unable to answer this question.
But unfortunately, a lazy voice suddenly interjected from behind, “I’m also curious about this question.”
Bai Xunyin turned abruptly, only to see Yu Luoyin, who had somehow appeared behind them silently, like a ghost.
His knees were almost fully recovered now, so he didn’t need crutches anymore. He just couldn’t engage in vigorous activities like running and jumping. But now, free from constraints, Yu Luoyin rarely appreciated the importance of good health.
During the time he used crutches, it was undoubtedly the most “out of control” period of his life.
Initially, Yu Luoyin just wanted to go to the bathroom, but when he saw Bai Xunyin’s shadow, he couldn’t help but follow. What was even more “pleasantly unexpected” was overhearing her and Ah Mo discussing this topic.
It was a topic he was very interested in.
A slight embarrassment flashed across Bai Xunyin’s face. She pushed Ah Mo, who was waiting to see the show, away, and after the latter reluctantly left, she helplessly glared at Yu Luoyin.
“What’s there to be curious about.”
“Of course, I’m curious.” Yu Luoyin shrugged, stating the truth as a matter of course.
“I want to apply to the same school as you.”
Bai Xunyin pursed her lips and didn’t speak. She turned around and walked towards the classroom on her own.
Yu Luoyin didn’t mind. He followed her and chattered away unilaterally, “I remember you said you wanted to apply to Northern Engineering University before, right?”
There was a slight ‘thud’ in Bai Xunyin’s heart, not heavy, just like the feeling of a bicycle rolling over a pebble on the road.
But it existed after all, and couldn’t be easily ignored.
So she could only sigh silently, turn her head to look at Yu Luoyin, and say, “I won’t leave Lin Lan.”
“What?” Yu Luoyin was momentarily stunned.
“My mom takes care of my dad alone in Lin Lan… It’s too hard. So I don’t want to apply to schools outside the city. I want to stay and help her.”
There was no impurity in Bai Xunyin’s clear brown eyes, only calm narration.
“I’m considering local schools.”
Her flawless disguise made it impossible for anyone to detect her lie, a lie told with a straight face.
Yu Luoyin was unusually stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay.”
He usually wore glasses when reading, and now he forgot to take them off. A hint of obscure excitement flashed behind the lenses, and he said softly, “Then let’s apply to Lan University together.”
Lan University, of course, was the best in Linlan City.
Bai Xunyin’s eyelashes trembled slightly, her voice equally gentle and calm as she agreed, “Okay.”
Later, Yu Luoyin never understood why he was so foolish at the time, actually believing Bai Xunyin’s ‘nonsense’, actually thinking she would apply to Lan University and continue to be with him.
Perhaps it was just because he was too excited at the time, too immersed in Bai Xunyin’s docility to extricate himself, putting all his efforts into wanting to get into Lan University, fantasizing about continuing their student life together in the future…
In fact, if you looked closely, you could clearly see the clumsy acting of the young girl.
She was lying with her mouth, but her lowered gaze couldn’t deceive anyone.
When it was too late to regret, Yu Luoyin finally realized in hindsight how cunning Bai Xunyin was, no less than him.
The girl must have seen that he wanted to apply to Northern Engineering University with her, so she used this trick to deceive him.
Because at that time, for him, his dream of entering Lan University was not his top priority, but Bai Xunyin was.
More than sixty days passed in the blink of an eye. On the eve of the college entrance examination, the school organized a parents’ meeting for the seniors.
Yu Shen stood on the podium, looking at the various expressions of the parents and the students in school uniforms below, feeling emotional.
He had been a teacher for decades, starting to teach senior classes in his early thirties. He didn’t know how many times he had seen scenes like this.
But every time I see it, I can’t help but feel sentimental. After all, every year in the height of summer, in the sticky, hot air, we have to go through this again.
“Dear parents and students, we are just three days away from the college entrance examination.”
“For twelve years, you’ve endured the hardships of studying diligently, getting up early and staying up late. In fact, what we’re preparing for is this exam, which can be said to be the biggest and fairest test in life.”
“I don’t know if you remember what the principal said at the oath-taking ceremony. A good university is like a ticket to life. What kind of occasions you’ll be able to attend in the future will mostly depend on this ticket. Only a very few can take a so-called shortcut.”
“So you need to face and value this exam, but don’t let nervousness affect you. Keep a calm mindset…”
Accompanied by Yu Shen’s impassioned speech, the parents and students below couldn’t help but sit up straight, listening attentively to the teacher’s speech, which they had never taken seriously in the past three years.
People are probably like this; they only know how to cherish something when it’s the “last time”.
Ji Huiying also naturally noticed the boy sitting behind her was Yu Luoyin, who had accompanied Bai Xunyin to the hospital last time. He was sitting alone in the chair, without any parents accompanying him, starkly out of place.
“Yinyin, is that boy behind you the one who came to our house last time?”
After Yu Shen finished speaking, Ji Huiying whispered to Bai Xunyin’s ear.
Bai Xunyin nodded.
“You two sit in front and back, quite a coincidence.”
Ji Huiying smiled and asked curiously again, “Why didn’t his parents come?”
Bai Xunyin remained silent, slowly shaking her head.
She didn’t know either, but she knew that Yu Luoyin’s mother was Gu Yan. Thinking about it, she probably… was too busy to spare time.
But fortunately, Yu Luoyin was mentally tough enough to withstand the strange looks from the people coming and going, sitting calmly alone during the “parents’ meeting”.
Even after the meeting, he could joke with Bai Xunyin—
“I’m my own parent now, taking charge of myself.”
By then, almost everyone had left the school. It was the eve of the college entrance examination, and the school had given the seniors a day off. There were hardly any third-year students left.
The warm afternoon sunlight fell on the two figures in school uniforms in the corridor, casting a golden edge on them.
Bai Xunyin was pulled by Yu Luoyin to sit in the corridor of the teaching building where they had been in their freshman year.
There was a long wooden chair, and the girl curled up against the pillar, feeling the warmth of the sunlight shining on her half of the body.
In theory, she should have squinted her eyes comfortably and enjoyed this quiet moment, but with the college entrance examination approaching, few people could easily achieve tranquility.
Her azure eyes unconsciously looked at Yu Luoyin’s clean and sharp profile, his slender chin resting on the back of his hand placed on his knee, feeling warm under the sunlight.
“Do you not feel nervous?” Bai Xunyin’s voice was soft and gentle, like a breeze.
“Really not.”
Yu Luoyin knew exactly what she meant and smiled indifferently, “Just treat it like a normal exam.”
In fact, Bai Xunyin found that whenever they talked, she didn’t need to say much. Yu Luoyin was always very good at ‘understanding the whole from a glimpse,’ understanding her meaning.
It was really like they had a kind of telepathy. Bai Xunyin smiled silently, and her restless heart gradually calmed down.
She saw Yu Luoyin tilting his head slightly, looking up at the sun hanging high, the sunlight hot and radiant, forcing him to squint his eyes, and eventually even closing them.
Bai Xunyin knew what Yu Luoyin was thinking—he really wasn’t nervous about the college entrance examination, but about what would come after it.
And she should be the ‘anchor’ for him, to prevent them from making any wrong steps.
“Yu Luoyin.”
For the first time, Bai Xunyin took the initiative to hold his hand. The girl’s slender and fair fingers hooked his pinky finger, entwining them together as if making a pact.
“Remember, we promised to go to Lan University together.”
“Mm.”
Yu Luoyin turned his head, his fine black hair falling onto his eyelashes, but it couldn’t hide the impending smile.
“I won’t break my promise.”
He was genuinely happy. After all, there were too many hardships in high school, and he couldn’t wait to step into university.
But Yu Luoyin didn’t know that Bai Xunyin would break her promise.
There are two things in this world that should not be directly looked at—the sun and the human heart—but he insisted on forcing it.
When her heart truly calmed down, and she could predict everything that would happen next, the arrival of the college entrance examination didn’t make her nervous at all.