Chapter 531: Chapter 414: College Entrance Exam

In early July, the continuous rain and the earnest expectations blurted out by the old principal suddenly awakened Zhou Jiao. After catching a cold, she took the opportunity to totally rest at home.

“A tree standing out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; a bank standing out from the shore will face turbulent flows; a person outstanding in their actions will be criticized by others. The lessons of the past are not far away, the overturned cart is followed by the track of the wheel.”

This ancient adage made Zhou Jiao profoundly realize that she need not pursue perfection in everything. She needed more time to reflect on a measure, a measure that would allow her to maintain moderation.

For three consecutive days, whenever Zhou Jiao had free time, she would play chess alone in her study, pondering deeply. Afterwards, with Zhang Guoqing’s consent, she packed her bags and set off for the provincial city in the rain.

For a whole week, Zhou Jiao roamed the major university campuses of the provincial city, immersing herself in them. By the time she returned to the county town, it was already near the college entrance exams.

Zhang Guoqing finally awaited the return of his beloved wife. Seeing the transformed Zhou Jiao, he thought that she must have gained a lot from this spiritual journey.

On July 20th, the old principal, accompanied by two teachers, took a group of examinees to the provincial city a day early. Similarly, that afternoon, Zhou Xiaozheng set aside his official duties and took a military plane to the provincial city.

For Zhou Xiaozheng, as a father, not being involved in his child’s growth was a lifelong regret. This time, he hoped to personally watch his child walk into the exam room.

After meeting Zhao Chuan Guang, Zhou Xiaozheng inquired about Zhou Jiao’s recent mood and, upon learning of her behavior in the previous period, he pondered and smiled slightly.

Soon, the two borrowed a car and drove to the county town, where they learned from Mr. and Mother Zhang that the school had already gone to the provincial city ahead of time, missing the father-daughter pair.

After a discussion among the group, they decided to travel through the night with Mr. and Mother Zhang and Little Ping’an to the provincial city, planning to be outside the exam hall early the next morning. This decision delighted Ping’an, who clung to Zhou Xiaozheng’s neck with a silly grin the whole time.

With Ping’an’s company, Zhou Xiaozheng was not in a hurry to find Zhou Jiao, as he learned some news from the little fellow, which put him at ease.

The night passed, and after carefully checking their admission tickets and exam supplies, Zhou Jiao accompanied Zhang Guoqing and the others out of the dormitory building, walking into a huge surprise.

She didn’t expect her father to come. Ignoring the teasing looks of her classmates, she happily rushed forward. Zhou Xiaozheng’s arrival filled her with surprise and guilt.

While Mr. Zhang and the others were greeting the teachers and classmates, Zhou Jiao sneakily told Zhou Xiaozheng that this time she didn’t intend to vie for the top rank and asked if he would be disappointed.

Zhou Xiaozheng touched her head and quietly asked her how confident she was in getting into her first choice. Would there be a risk of backfiring? Did she need his help?

Zhou Jiao, full of confidence, indicated that she was in control. The time spent on campuses was not wasted; she had a mental budget of the scores needed.

The father and daughter smiled at each other. With the exam time approaching, they couldn’t elaborate further and agreed to chat after the morning exam.

At this moment, Zhou Xiaozheng dared not tell his child that he had to return to his unit in the afternoon.

Sixty-two students, none with parental accompaniment. The arrival of Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao’s relatives made quite a spectacle, drawing much attention, especially with Zhou Xiaozheng in full military regalia followed by two bodyguards, which made the exam hall’s school leaders extremely nervous.

Zhou Xiaozheng reproached himself inwardly for the oversight, worrying about causing a negative impact. He left Zhao Chuan Guang to handle things and quickly took his in-laws and grandson to leave by car. If Jiao Jiao found out, it would be consequential.

After the morning test, the couple left the exam hall first, quietly greeting the old principal and joining Xiao Wang to find Zhou Xiaozheng and his group.

After exchanging a few casual words, Zhou Xiaozheng knew his daughter and son-in-law had to rush back to accompany classmates for lunch. Seeing that time was running out, he instructed Zhou Jiao to depart once they received their notice.

Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao nodded.

Before leaving, Zhou Xiaozheng urged them to focus on the exams and not to worry about the admission issues that followed. He needed to rush back today, and the remaining details would be discussed in letters later.

About to reunite soon, this time the father and daughter were much more emotionally stable, making Zhang Guoqing feel relieved. Trusting Zhao Chuan Guang with his parents and child, he took Zhou Jiao’s hand and bade farewell to everyone.

Zhao Chuan Guang watched them leave, patted the stationary Zhou Xiaozheng, and took him by the shoulder onto the car.

The sound of the car driving away was heard, and around the corner, Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao emerged. Watching the car disappear, they exchanged smiles before turning to leave.

Moments ago, the couple worried about the kid throwing a tantrum, but everything was normal. They finally felt at ease—for without being parents, one truly cannot understand the worry over a child.

The old principal, seeing the young couple run over, pointed ahead and said, “There are still people who haven’t come out, let’s wait a bit longer. Otherwise, you can go back to accompany your parents at noon and come back in the afternoon?”

Zhou Jiao quickly shook her head; she didn’t want to create special circumstances. If she had known earlier that her dad would come, she would definitely have waited at the gate, not letting them all come in. Many classmates had different looks in their eyes just now. The image she’d worked hard to cultivate might now be gone forever.

Zhang Guoqing laughed and said, “My father-in-law needs to rush back in the afternoon, they’ve already left. The environment here is quite nice, so we’ll just continue as planned.”

Listening to their idle conversation, Zhou Jiao saw that Zhao Yuanyuan hadn’t come out yet and frowned slightly. Normally, it shouldn’t be like this, these test papers weren’t that profound.

The bell rang, and Zhao Yuanyuan emerged with her head lowered, looking at Zhou Jiao with a plaintive expression.

Zhou Jiao didn’t ask, just took her along, responding to classmates’ gossip on the way. After finally reaching the canteen, it was much quieter.

During these three exam days, the school canteen thoughtfully prepared plenty of sorghum rice, corn porridge, steamed corn buns, sorghum cakes, and other grains, with vegetable prices cheaper than usual.

A few of them banded together for a meal without spending much money. Even classmates from difficult households who brought their own food were invited by Zhang Guoqing and his group to join them for meals.

In the girls’ dormitory, they secretly planned to buy more provisions on the third day to take home. Zhou Jiao didn’t know if they ultimately succeeded, as on the third day only lunch was provided.

As soon as Zhou Xiaozheng left, the sky that had paused raining for a day started pouring again. Zhang Guoqing joked that since the father and daughter duo didn’t part tearfully this time, even the heavens couldn’t stand it.

Zhou Jiao gave him a sharp tug and sighed. It had been raining since the end of June, and she wondered if the Old Captain was worried sick again.

It had been over a month since returning home, and Zhang Guoqing was unaware of the specifics. The provincial city was better, but the county town had a lot of water accumulation. He was worried about how long this rain would last.

Once the three-day exam was over, everyone had planned to explore the provincial city. But after leaving the exam hall, the torrential rain outside extinguished their appetite, and everyone with a change of clothes waited until they were first to go home.

Back in the county town, Zhang Guoqing didn’t linger in conversation with everyone, quickly took cover with an umbrella to shield Zhou Jiao as they rushed home. They hadn’t seen the child for several days and were anxious about his well-being.

Eager to return, they hadn’t yet reached the gate when they saw Little Ping’an’s small figure huddled at the door, with Mr. and Mother Zhang holding umbrellas to shield him.

Zhou Jiao didn’t know what she felt at that moment. Distress, anger, sadness, joy—all these emotions surged in her heart, making her eyes misty with tears.

She blinked hard, held her son tightly, and ultimately could only sigh.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep