Jiang Fuyue wasn’t nervous. Every day went on as usual.
Going to and from school, eating at home, occasionally watching TV. Recently, she had even developed the habit of flipping through the newspaper. Then, when the time came, she went to sleep. Regular and orderly.
When Little Brother Jiang was livestreaming, many fans left comments, asking about Jiang Fuyue.
After all, “Goddess Yue” didn’t use social media accounts. They could only sneakily go through Little Brother Jiang.
All kinds of concern and fussing, showing so much care.
Little Brother Jiang wasn’t stingy and generously shared his sister’s status—
“Everything’s good.”
“Not nervous.”
“Not anxious.”
“Regular schedule, eating with great appetite.”
Fans were relieved, then started frantically showering him with gifts.
Little Brother Jiang: “?”
“No need for this, you don’t have to donate.”
Fan A: “We have to! We’re giving for Sister Yue’s nourishment.”
Fan B: “Buy her some bird’s nest and ejiao, good for her energy.”
Fan C: “Chicken, duck, fish, she needs them all.”
Fan D: “You girls are too rich for me. I can’t compare, but… let me buy Sister Yue some milk tea!”
Fan E: “Then I’ll treat Sister Yue to desserts.”
…
Fan N: “Goddess Yue of the wishing pool, I, your devout believer, sincerely offer this coin—please let me pass CET-4 and CET-6!”
Little Brother Jiang: “……” Oh, so it wasn’t for him after all.
If even fans were so worried, then what about her real parents, Jiang Da and Han Yunru?
“Hubby, isn’t Yueyue being too calm?”
Jiang Da scratched his head as usual: “Hasn’t she always been like this?”
“That’s exactly why it’s weird! How can this be the same as usual?”
“Maybe… Yueyue is confident?”
“No matter how confident, she hasn’t taken it yet, right? How can she not be nervous at all? Who did she learn this from?”
Uh!
Jiang Da couldn’t answer any of these questions, so he wisely chose silence.
Han Yunru muttered as she walked into the kitchen, “Yesterday was braised chicken wings and boiled fish. What should I make for Yueyue today…”
Late at night.
Jiang Da was snoring thunderously, but suddenly woke up when he was kicked twice. He shot upright: “What time is it? Has the delivery truck arrived? Tell Sanpang to go meet it—”
“Are you half-asleep?”
Only then did Jiang Da realize and glance at the wall clock. “Wait… wife, what’s wrong?”
Han Yunru sat up too: “Do you think tomorrow I should stew pork rib soup, or marrow bone soup? Yueyue seems to like ribs more, but the broth from marrow bones is fresher…”
Jiang Da: “……”
To take care of their daughter’s meals and logistics, Jiang Da and Han Yunru took turns watching the store, making sure at least one of them was home every day.
Jiang Fuyue: “Mom, you don’t have to do this, you should focus on your work. I can handle myself…”
Han Yunru: “Right now, you are our work!”
Alright then. Jiang Fuyue caught her father’s eye signal and obediently shut her mouth.
And so, under her mother’s meticulous care, June 7 arrived—the college entrance exam.
—
On exam day, the sun was bright.
Sixty percent of No.1 High’s students took their exams in their own school, the other forty percent were sent to No.2 High across the street.
Jiang Fuyue happened to be among those staying, but the proctors were all teachers from other schools.
Before the bell rang, everyone had to wait on the playground.
Jiang Fuyue stood in the middle, surrounded layer after layer—it was quite the scene.
“Sister Yue, please bless me so all my guesses are right, Amitabha—”
“And me, please let me get the final big question!”
“Give me a high score on my essay.”
“Please don’t let me mess up the multiple-choice and fill-ins.”
Jiang Fuyue: “……”
Not far away, students from other schools stared, dumbfounded.
“What are they doing?”
“Kinda looks like a supermarket crowd rushing for discounted eggs.”
“I think I just heard someone chanting Amitabha?”
“Why does it keep going, one batch after another? The first leaves, the next steps up—what the heck?”
“And why are the ones leaving all grinning ear to ear?”
“Are they really here for the college entrance exam?”
“No wonder they say No.1 High is full of weirdos.”
“Ahem! I’ll go check…”
Two minutes later, that guy came back. The first thing he said was: “Crap! Those people are terrifying.”
“What happened?”
“What are they doing?”
“That—‘ouqi!’”
“Huh?”
“They’re crowding around Jiang Fuyue to absorb her good luck!”
“Jiang Fuyue? That genius girl?! Always full marks, always hands in her paper early?”
“Yeah! That’s her!”
“No way—does that even work?”
“Ahem! I’m kinda curious now.”
“…Should we go try too?”
“…..”
9:00 a.m. Chinese exam.
Rules allowed early submission, but not within the first 30 minutes. Students who did submit early had to stay in a supervised room, no phones allowed.
So after finishing the paper in forty minutes, Jiang Fuyue just laid her head down and slept.
Proctor: “?”
He passed by her several times, coughing heavily to remind her.
But this student didn’t react, sleeping sweetly.
Finally, the teacher grew anxious and knocked her desk with his knuckles—bang bang.
Jiang Fuyue opened her eyes.
Lowering his voice, gritting his teeth: “Classmate, this is the college entrance exam! Please take it seriously!”
Jiang Fuyue nodded. “Got it.”
As soon as he walked away, she lowered her head again, changed positions, and went right back to sleep.
Proctor: “!” Utterly hopeless!
Forget it. If a student won’t try, what use is a teacher’s worry?
Pity, though. So young, already throwing away her future… these kids nowadays…
He shook his head.
Jiang Fuyue slept until the bell rang. The moment it did, she sat up immediately.
Outside, she got into the Cullinan. Jiang Da was driving, Han Yunru handed her chilled mung bean soup. “Yueyue, good job, drink some.”
Back home, food was ready. After eating, she watched TV for a bit, then napped for forty minutes before heading out for the afternoon exam.
Math in the afternoon was even more of a trial.
Jiang Fuyue finished in twenty minutes, even checked it once, but still had over an hour left. Too awake to sleep, she propped her head and watched other students.
This time, the proctor glared, scolded, and tapped the desk. She had no choice but to face the wall, head down, trying to sleep again.
Summer afternoon. Sunlight outside, cicadas droning, the AC humming. Pages flipping.
Together they made a perfect lullaby.
She eventually dozed off again.
The proctor nearly ground his teeth to dust. If this were his student, he’d have beaten them silly!
Sleeping during the college entrance exam? Infuriating!
Bell rang. She woke up, yawned, stretched lazily.
Proctor: “……” Beyond saving.
—
That evening, back home, Han Yunru had already set the table.
Little Brother Jiang: “Mom, sis is home—”
At night, after washing up, Jiang Fuyue leaned against the headboard with her phone, browsing the news.
Whenever she saw keywords about F Continent, she paused, reading carefully—not just about the epidemic, but also crude oil prices, armed group movements, military actions, policy changes.
Things that looked unrelated, once pieced together, revealed the bigger picture.
Oil prices rising meant daily necessities would too, which meant the epidemic situation would worsen.
Vaccine development was urgent.
The whole international community was watching. The pressure on the expert teams could be imagined.
At eleven, she put the phone down, turned off the light, and closed her eyes.
Dingdong!
A WeChat notification.
She picked it up. It was Xie Dingyuan—silent for over three months—finally sending a message. Just one line:
【Wishing you success in the college entrance exam! Good night, don’t reply.】
Jiang Fuyue’s lips curved. She put the phone down and went to sleep.
—
The next day, another sunny morning.
In the science comprehensive exam, Jiang Fuyue deliberately slowed down, but still finished with over an hour left. Again, she slept.
The proctor coughed, knocked, sighed deeply.
Afternoon—final subject, English.
When the bell rang, it wasn’t just the end of the exam. It was the end of high school.
Youth was gone, the next stage of life lay ahead.
“Whoo—finally done!” Jiang Han ran out, grinning ear to ear.
Ge Meng chased after: “Sister Han, wait for me—”
Liu Bowen and Lin Qiao bumped into each other at the gate.
Liu: “This year’s test was pretty easy.”
Lin: “Yeah, I think so too.”
Neither looked at the other, but they still walked out side by side.
Liu Sisi and Wan Xiutong emerged together, quiet and shy girls. Pushed by the crowd, they ended up together.
Wan whispered: “Shall we… go find Jiang Jiang and Sister Han later? Tonight’s party we can share a table.”
Liu Sisi smiled gently: “Mm.”
Their bond instantly grew closer.
…..
That night—post-exam party.
The “farewell dinner.” After this, everyone would go their separate ways. No more sitting in the same classroom.
They chose a hot pot restaurant. Class 1 and Class 7 were there too, but in different rooms.
Before starting, homeroom teacher Xu Jing was pushed out to give a speech.
“Usually I nag nonstop, but now that it’s time, I don’t know what to say. I’ll… just say whatever, don’t laugh if it’s bad.”
He was never this polite. Clearly, he now saw them all as adults.
“First, thank you all. Thank you for growing up so tall and strong—of course, I mean in your studies, not your physiques!”
The whole room roared with laughter.
“Second, thank you again. Thank you for your company these past three years, letting me grow alongside you.”
“And last—may your future be bright, your path filled with blossoms!”
His voice cracked despite trying to sound firm. He quickly sat down, wiping his eyes, thinking no one noticed.
Unfortunately, someone called him out.
Meng Zhijian: “Crying?”
Xu Jing: “Who cried?! Bullsh*t—”
Meng teased Yu Wenzhou: “Look, he won’t admit it.”
Yu coughed: “Let it be, give him face. A tough man’s tears are the most moving.”
Meng: “Tch! You’ve gotten sharp-tongued lately.”
Yu smirked: “Thanks for the praise.”
Xu Jing shooed them off: “Go back to Class 7, they’re waiting for you to host. And don’t you dare cry during your speech!”
Meng: “Whoever cries is a b*stard!”
Yet twenty minutes later, photos of him crying buckets at the podium were all over the forum. Caption: First time seeing homeroom teacher cry. Unexpectedly, it makes me both sad and amused.
Xu Jing saw it too, snorted: “B*stard!”
Meanwhile, Yu Wenzhou had secretly filmed Xu wiping his tears earlier and anonymously posted it.
The party grew louder with food and drink. Many were tipsy.
Suddenly, a girl from another table staggered to Jiang Fuyue, eyes bright, face flushed.
“Hi—hic—Sister Yue…”
Jiang Fuyue: “?”
Blushing, she said, “I… want to toast you. You might not remember, but I do. Last year on November 21, two thugs tried to mug me after school. You drove them off and told me to be brave, that the weaker you act, the more you’ll be bullied.”
“I took up Taekwondo since then. Now no one dares bully me! Because I want to be as cool as you! Next time I see someone bullied, I’ll beat the bad guys till they run too!”
She even mimed moves, sloshing beer everywhere.
“Sister Yue, you’re my idol!” Then downed her whole glass in one gulp.
Everyone gaped.
Jiang Fuyue raised her cup too: “Thank you. I hope…” she paused, “you succeed in Taekwondo.”
She drank.
The girl giggled blissfully: “Hehe… I will!”
Then came the second, the third…
“Sister Yue, when I sat next to Li Xue, she bullied me every day. I even thought of ending my life. But you helped me live normally again. You showed me life can be good.”
“And me! Sister Yue, the way you explain problems is so cool!”
“Sister Yue, maybe you don’t even know my name—”
But Jiang Fuyue said it, perfectly correct.
Everyone was shocked.
“Of course the Goddess Yue remembers.”
“She’s got a photographic memory!”
“She could probably recite the whole school’s student names backwards!”
“Hey! Don’t insult my IQ like that—shh, let Zhang Xiaohua finish!”
That girl almost cried when Jiang Fuyue knew her name.
“Since senior year, my grades kept dropping. I was so afraid of failing, the more afraid, the worse it got. I couldn’t sleep at night, couldn’t focus in class. I thought I was finished.”
“But in those dark days, it was you who gave me confidence!”
Jiang Fuyue was stunned. They’d barely spoken before.
Zhang Xiaohua smiled through drunken courage. Once shy and timid, she now looked reborn.
“Whenever I doubted myself, I watched your interviews online, the moments you won awards.
I know I can never be as excellent as you, but at least I can run in your direction.”
Someone could really shine so brightly, with light in her eyes—so what excuse did she have to waste away?
To her, “Jiang Fuyue” wasn’t just an idol, or glory, or legend. She was—faith.
She gulped her drink, bowed deeply to Jiang Fuyue, then pushed through the crowd to leave.
She needed somewhere quiet to cry her heart out.
In her darkest hour, she had found light.
The fear and relief of survival—only she would ever truly know.
More and more came to toast. Jiang Fuyue’s table was livelier than the teachers’.
By the end, even her good tolerance left her slightly dizzy.
Wan Xiutong whispered: “Hoo~ finally my turn.”
Jiang Fuyue: “?”
“Jiang Jiang, I’m so glad you were my desk mate. You’re the most beautiful, the best, the coolest desk mate in the world! No one will ever be better than you, wuwu…”
Tears streamed down her face.
“I want to go to the same university as you, but I know I can’t make it. I… I don’t want to part with you…”
“Fool.” Jiang Fuyue gently wiped her tears.
Liu Sisi’s eyes flashed with envy, before dimming again. Yes… there really was no one better.
Just when everyone thought the toasts were the climax, Yi Ci and Zhong Ziang arrived, raising the heat even higher.
“Whoa! Those two rich second-gens from Class 7?”
“Look—they’re heading straight to Sister Yue!”
“Cr*p! Are they gonna confess?!”
“Rumor said they both liked her, even fought on the basketball court—Zhong ended up with a fracture! Epic, right?”
“D*mn—this is like a TV drama. I’m crying.”
“They’re standing in front of her now. What do we do? I’m so excited!”
“Quick, record it—”
