Zhong's father originally planned to accompany Zhong Hui to arrange everything for his daughter before leaving after the exam, but because of something temporary in Hong Kong, he could only advance the time to go back.

Before leaving, Father Zhong said gently to Jianning and them: "Our family Zhong Hui is a little reckless and impatient, but his heart is still good, I hope you two good friends can take care of it more." If you need your uncle's help with anything, let Zhong Hui write a letter or send a telegram to complain, although I am not in the mainland, I still have some old friends, maybe I can help you. ”

Wen Jianning and Jiang Xuwen nodded heavily.

Even without Father Zhong's words, this is what they should have done.

Father Zhong called his daughter aside and told him repeatedly: "Now in Peking is not as good as when I was in Hong Kong, with me and your mother worrying about you, you must think twice about what you say and do." Your two classmates are very stable, and they have to learn more from others on weekdays. The girl named Jianning fell out with her family at a young age, she was alone outside, and she didn't have a reliable relative, your birthday was a few months older than her, so you had to take care of others more, and you couldn't always have a big lady's temper and let people accommodate you. ”

Zhong Hui said coquettishly: "Okay, I know everything." You're leaving, and you're going to count me down. ”

His words, Wen Jianning and Jiang Xuwen in the distance naturally couldn't hear them.

However, they can guess just by looking at the situation of the father and daughter getting along.

Father Zhong probably told her something again, but Zhong Hui didn't listen, and he stomped his feet and coquettishly, and Father Zhong could only pat her shoulder helplessly, as if he had said some words of encouragement and comfort.

Wen Jianning sighed: "Uncle Zhong is so good. ”

When she escaped from Hong Kong last year, she and Father Zhong only met in a hurry, but he was willing to support his daughter to help Wen Jianning, and he didn't know how much better than those pedantic people. These days in Beiping, although Father Zhong is also busy with his own affairs most of the time, and only occasionally accompanies them out to see places of interest, his elegant and humorous conversation makes Wen Jianning quite respectful of this elder.

In addition, seeing Zhong's father's teaching to his daughter, he was even more envious of his friends. After all, the environment in which she grew up was full of women, and it was the first time she had seen a mature and reliable male elder like Father Zhong.

Jiang Xuwen next to him couldn't understand her state of mind, so he just nodded and agreed.

……

After Father Zhong left, with the arrival of summer, the weather became hotter and hotter day by day, and the day of the exam was approaching day by day. The three of them quickly took their hearts and spent the whole day in the study reviewing their homework, and only occasionally went out for a walk together.

The number of people who sign up for the entrance examination to Yan University is increasing year by year, but there are always only about 800 new students every year, and as for Peking University and Tsinghua University, it is said that only 600 students will be recruited this year. Most of the families who can afford tuition in this year are from some families, and even some are from eunuch families, with family backgrounds, and their elders are still working in the school. Competing with such a group of peers can be stressful for anyone.

The night before the exam, Wen Jianning and Zhong Hui fought together in the study.

Wen Jianning studied until about ten o'clock, he was really sleepy, got up and prepared to go to bed, and by the way urged Zhong Hui, who was still reading, to hurry up and rest, but Zhong Hui yawned and shook his head and refused: "I'll watch it for a while, and I'll sleep after watching it for a while." ”

Wen Jianning rubbed his eyes and said, "It's not bad for a while, it's better to go to bed early, in case you fall asleep in the exam room tomorrow, it won't be good." ”

Zhong Hui had already lowered his head again, and said while reading the question: "Maybe it's just a bit worse, if you can't pass the exam tomorrow and go back to Hong Kong, it's too shameless." ”

As she spoke, she yawned again.

Wen Jianning couldn't be persuaded to move, so she could only tell her to go to bed as early as possible, so as not to affect the next day's exam, and go back to her room to sleep first. She was so sleepy that she fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as she touched the pillow.

When I opened my eyes again, the sky outside the window was already bright.

She hurriedly got up to clean up and ran to call Zhong Hui and them, only to see Zhong Hui with two huge dark circles under his eyes, and his expression was depressed. Jiang Xuwen's face next to him was not very good, obviously he stayed up late last night.

The three friends hurried to their respective examination rooms and sat in the classroom waiting for the exam with countless candidates from all over the country.

I won't go into other exams for the time being, for Wen Jianning, the most concerned thing is the Chinese language exam.

As soon as the paper arrived, she looked at the questions first, and saw that the Chinese language test questions at Peking University this year were mainly divided into two items:

One is grammar, which is mainly composed of sentence formation, correction of errors, and the use of false words in classical Chinese, and the other is a two-choice white topic composition, with no limit on the number of words.

I saw that the first essay title reads: Describe the difficulties you feel in your daily essays, and find out the origin of the difficulties.

Wen Jianning was stunned for a moment, and soon began to write again.

The exam time was tight, and there was no room for her to be in a daze.

The whole examination room soon sounded like a rustle of spring eating mulberry leaves, until the bell rang again, which gradually subsided.

……

After two consecutive days of exams, when the three of them met again after the exam, they were all listless and their faces were equally ugly.

One is because of the continuous high-intensity review during this time, and the other is because no matter who it is, there is no bottom in the heart. Fortunately, this exam is finally over, and the three friends who met met agreed to go to the restaurant together.

Today, the restaurants around the school were overcrowded, but fortunately, they came early, occupied a seat against the wall, and ordered a few signature dishes from the restaurant with the runners, drinking tea first and waiting for the dishes to come up.

Zhong Hui's interest in chatting today is not high, Jiang Xuwen is not easy to speak, and Wen Jianning has always talked little.

After a while, the meal was served, and the situation still did not improve.

Jiang Xuwen had the intention to ease the atmosphere, but seeing that the two girls didn't want to say more, he could only eat honestly. However, after a while, Zhong Hui next to him lowered his head and picked up the food, but the tears suddenly fell down.

Wen Jianning glanced at Jiang Xuwen and found that he was also looking at her. The two were at a stalemate for a while, and she had no choice but to say softly: "Zhong Hui, what's wrong with you, the exams are over, why are you still sullen." ”

Zhong Huicai choked up and said, "I, I just feel like I can't pass the exam." ”

As she spoke, she couldn't hold back any longer, her eyes were hot, tears rolled down again, and Jiang Xuwen next to her was in a hurry.

Wen Jianning persuaded her softly: "If we can't pass the test, we can take the test again next year, but if we can't pass the test, the sky will fall." Let's stay in Beiping, and continue to take the test, again and again, I don't believe that with your intelligence, you will not be able to pass the test. ”

Although Zhong Hui felt that it made sense, he still flattened his mouth: "If this is the case, it will be a shame to be admitted after taking the exam for so long." ”

Regardless, she finally calmed down.

However, when he returned that night, Zhong Hui had a fever.

She had stayed up for a long time all night, coupled with the fact that she was not accustomed to the water and soil after coming to the north, and accumulated into a disease, this time the illness was menacing, and the high fever did not go away for several days. She didn't get out of bed until the day the list was released, but it was Wen Jianning's results that they went to see for her.

On the day of the release, there was a sea of people in front of the notice wall.

Wen Jianning relied on the advantage of being small and squeezed in.

Unsurprisingly, she found her name at the top of the list, and then looked all the way down, and soon saw that Zhong Hui's name was also prominently listed. Wen Jianning breathed a sigh of relief, turned his head to look, and found that Jiang Xuwen was missing for some reason.

She made her way through the crowd and finally found someone under the wall.

Jiang Xuwen was squatting on the ground with his head down, and when he noticed Wen Jianning coming, he raised his head and showed a bitter smile on his face. Seeing his lost expression, Wen Jianning chuckled in his heart-

Among the three of them, it turned out to be Jiang Xuwen who fell off the list.

……

On the way back, the two walked slowly along the street and talked.

Only then did Wen Jianning know that Jiang Xuwen accompanied Zhong Hui to the north this time, and it turned out that he had also taken a risk.

He was the eldest son in the family, and there were several younger siblings waiting for him to help. The Jiang family itself is just an ordinary medium-sized family, and his coming to the mainland this time can be regarded as a willful and reckless act. Now that he is famous in Sun Shan, naturally there is no reason to stay in the mainland and spend another year in vain. What's more, he can't dare to guarantee that he will definitely be able to pass the exam if he takes the exam again.

While the two were talking, they had returned to their residence in a blink of an eye.

Jiang Xuwen reluctantly squeezed out a smile: "It's just that Zhong Hui is going to trouble you to take care of her, she has always been impulsive, you are her good friend, help her more, don't let her get into trouble recklessly." Also, help me say goodbye to her. ”

He only came to try his luck, and since he failed the exam, he should have returned to Hong Kong as soon as possible.

It's just that he also knows very well what it means for him to go.

Although he and Zhong Hui are in love, the two have not really confirmed their boyfriend and girlfriend relationship so far. Later, the two were separated from the north and the south, one in Hong Kong to make a living, and the other to study in the mainland, adding endless variables in between.

He can't let Zhong Hui wait for him at a girl's house.

Wen Jianning didn't want to think about it, and flatly refused: "I won't help you, if you have anything to say to her, just tell her in person and explain everything clearly." If you don't want to talk to her, you shouldn't have to say that. ”

Jiang Xuwen opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a while.

Wen Jianning passed him and went into the house to see Zhong Hui without looking back.

After a long while, Jiang Xuwen followed up with the house.

Wen Jianning really did what she said, and did not mention half of the matter in front of Zhong Hui, but told some jokes to relieve her boredom. After Wen Jianning and Zhong Hui's conversation was over for a while, Jiang Xuwen couldn't help but interject: "Jianning, can you go out first, I have something I want to talk to Zhong Hui alone." ”

Zhong Hui, who was sitting on the bed in a coat, was still pale, but his spirit was already better, his black and bright eyes were smiling, and he was not half shy and shy after hearing the words, and nodded to Wen Jianning generously.

Wen Jianning retreated, leaving space for the two to be alone.

Walking into the courtyard, Wang Li and Wang Yong were building a Portuguese shelf for her.

Two days ago, Wen Jianning joked casually that there was only one old pomegranate tree in their yard, which was too empty, and if there was a full shelf of grapes, it would be better to sit on a rocking chair in autumn and watch the branches hang down and bear fruit.

Wen Jianning looked up at them with his head down: "I just said it casually, you don't have to be so troublesome." After you're gone, I'll have a lot of trouble taking care of it alone. ”

The two men glanced at each other and smiled bitterly: "You're driving us away again." ”

Wen Jianning shook his head: "It's not to get rid of you, but I've been admitted to the university, and I will probably live in the dormitory provided by the school in the future, and I won't come back here often." You can go to my cousin to get back to me, there is no need to stay in Peking with me all the time. ”

The two brothers smiled bitterly: "If we go back, we really can't explain to Chief Wen." ”

Wen Jianning persuaded: "On my cousin's side, naturally my cousin and I will help talk." Good men are ambitious in all directions, and it is only right for you to go to the army and the front line. What's the matter with staying here as my guard? ”

What she said made both of them a little moved.

The two brothers joined the army in order to serve the country. However, Chief Wen was kind to them, and they were ordered to take care of his relatives, which was right, but they were still a little unwilling in their hearts.

Wen Jianning saw their vacillation, and was about to work harder, when Jiang Xuwen had already walked out of it.

As soon as the eyes of the two met, Jiang Xuwen was glared at fiercely by Wen Jianning.

Wen Jianning's apricot eyes are big and beautiful, and he can praise his bright eyes on weekdays, but this will stare at people and be really fierce, which scared Jiang Xuwen to stand in place on the spot.

And Wen Jianning had already crossed him without looking back and went inside to comfort Zhong Hui.

After knocking on the door and entering, Zhong Hui was still wearing a coat on his shoulders and sitting on the bed with a teacup in both hands.

Wen Jianning saw that her expression was quite calm, and only after sitting down did she ask carefully, "Are you all finished talking?"

Zhong Hui nodded and said with a smile: "I have already agreed with him, let him wait for me in Hong Kong, I will also wait for him in Beiping, and when I finish my university in Beiping, I will go back to Hong Kong to find him." If one of the parties changes their minds and wants to marry again, just write a letter to inform the other party. ”

Wen Jianning didn't expect Zhong Hui to be so transparent, and he didn't know whether to be happy or sad for his friend for a while.

On the contrary, Zhong Hui looked at her worried appearance, and took her hand with a smile: "Look at your appearance, you are even more concerned than me." I don't think there's anything myself, so don't worry about those useless people who haven't been in a relationship. ”

Wen Jianning took her hand away and twisted her head to the side: "Okay, Miss Zhong, count me as nosy." One of you is in the south and the other is in the north, and one day sooner or later, you will know how awesome it is. ”

"My birthday is half a year older than yours, why are you still talking so old-fashioned," Zhong Hui suddenly thought of something, with an inquiring look on his face, and asked curiously: "When I was in school before, I thought it was strange that several male classmates had a good impression of you in private, but in the end they all failed." ”

In fact, more than that, Zhong Hui has known this friend for many years, and Mo said that he has never seen her fall in love with other male classmates, and even male friends who have close contacts have never seen her.

Wen Jianning had never thought about these things.

She grew up in a mid-level villa, and the men and women she saw were either playing on the scene or had other plans. After seeing through these at a young age, even if the legend written by his pen is entangled, it is difficult for Wen Jianning to be interested in it again. Coupled with the fact that she knows that she is withdrawn and sensitive by nature, it is difficult to trust others easily, so she simply stays away from this kind of thing.

But Zhong Hui refused to let her fool her easily, and after grinding for a long time, Wen Jianning racked his brains and said: "The type I like must be young talents, like-minded people with me." ”

This was similar to not saying anything, Zhong Hui couldn't ask anything from Wen Jianning's mouth, glared at her, and finally let her go.

After that conversation, Jiang Xuwen originally wanted to stay in Peking for a while longer, and then leave for Hong Kong when Zhong Hui recovered from his illness. Unexpectedly, within a few days, his family sent several telegrams, saying that his mother was seriously ill and asked him to go back quickly.

After Zhong Hui heard the news, he just smiled and said, "Then I won't send you." ”

On the day of parting, Wen Jianning saw him off.

Before the train started, she wanted to remind Jiang Xuwen to remember the promise to Zhong Hui, but in the end she held back and waved at the friend who was gradually moving away on the platform, after all, the next time they see each other, I am afraid it will be four years or more. Although she didn't know what it would be like to wait until then, at least at the time of parting, she still hoped to leave a good impression on the other party.

After Jiang Xuwen left, Zhong Hui's condition improved, and he was gradually able to get up and get off the ground.

After a short time, they went to the train station together to see off Wang Li and Wang Yong.

Until he got into the car, Wang Li, the elder brother of the two, was still a little relieved about Wen Jianning's safety, and repeatedly instructed: "Miss Wen, our brother will not be there in the future, you must be more careful when you stay in Beiping alone." Nowadays, North China is really not peaceful, and I don't know when I will call, if you notice that something is wrong, you must leave this place as soon as possible. ”

Wen Jianning also made a psychological plan for this, and said sincerely: "You don't have to worry about me about this, now I am also a college student." Education is the foundation of a nation, and if a war breaks out, the government and schools will certainly organize the transfer of students en masse. When it really comes, I have hands and feet, how can I find a way to run out early, and it will be safe to follow the large army. ”

Speaking of this, she remembered something, took out a cloth purse from her pocket and handed it to them: "The next time we meet, I don't know when it will be, you must take care." This is a little heart, so take it. ”

The two men hurriedly waved their hands and said, "Miss, how can we collect your money." ”

Wen Jianning couldn't help but stuff it into their hands: "Take it, this money should have been your travel expenses and reward." When you return to the army, please help me take good care of my cousin. ”

They couldn't refuse, and in the end they accepted the money and boarded the train.

As soon as they left, there were really only two people left in the courtyard, Wen Jianning and Zhong Hui.

Probably because he was not paying attention to the wind blowing again when he went out, and at night after going back, Zhong Hui had a high fever again.

Fortunately, Wen Jianning has been paying attention to her condition, and hurriedly went to the doctor again to come and see. However, this time Zhong Hui was even more sick, and the high fever did not go away for several days, and finally when her fever subsided, Wen Jianning's heart was put back.

Because she was worried about Zhong Hui's physical condition, she was often busy all night during this time, and the whole person was exhausted, and sometimes she simply stayed by Zhong Hui's bedside to close her eyes and take a nap.

In the middle of the night that day, Zhong Hui suddenly woke up in a daze by a burst of thunder.

When she opened her eyes, she was almost startled by the tall black shadow shaking in front of the bed. When she opened her eyes and took a closer look, she found that the person was her friend Wen Jianning, and she was relieved.

Before he could ask, the muffled thunder in the sky sounded again, mixed with bursts of violent explosions like firecrackers. Zhong Hui listened carefully for a moment, and his already unattractive face became more and more pale.

- She could tell that it was not thunder at all, but the sound of gunfire.

Zhong Hui found that his voice was hoarse and terrifying: "Jianning, what's going on outside?"

Wen Jianning, who was standing in the shadows with his back to her, looked out the window, and his voice seemed to be still in a dream: "It may be that the army is exercising, or it may be that there is a fight." ”

(End of chapter)