Volume One, Chapter Four: The College Entrance Exam Has Arrived

As the words fell, the door curtain was lifted, and Qiao Yuannan and Qiao Shan came out of the house one after the other.

The moment they saw Gao Yuan arrive, Qiao Yuannan’s expression darkened, and Qiao Shan’s face turned cold and stern.

“What do you want this time? Isn’t it endless?” Qiao Yuannan’s voice was low and authoritative, commanding without anger.

He was one of the cadres who had not been toppled in the past, carrying an air of superiority. Coupled with his current important post, he looked down on Gao Yuan, this despised “leftover of the ‘stinking old ninth’ class,” speaking with a sharp tone.

Seeing the father and son both putting on airs of superiority, the anger in Gao Yuan’s chest was hard to suppress.

But he knew well that now was not the time to add fuel to the fire; the matter had to be settled so he could focus calmly on preparing for the exam.

“Uncle Qiao, you’ve misunderstood. I’m here to apologize. When I got home last night, my father gave me a severe scolding, and I have deeply reflected on my mistakes. I shouldn’t have let a bit of alcohol cloud my judgment and come to your house to speak nonsense to Miss Qiao Shan.

I sincerely apologize for my improper behavior to you and to Miss Qiao Shan. I’m truly sorry.”

He bowed deeply and said earnestly, “I promise here that I will never pester Miss Qiao Shan again. Please, for my uncle’s sake, forgive me this once and don’t hold it against me.

Once again, I apologize. Please accept these fruits. You’re going to work, right? I won’t disturb you anymore and will leave now.

Oh, and finally, I wish Miss Qiao Shan outstanding results in this year’s college entrance examination.”

Gao Yuan’s face flushed as he finished speaking. In all his previous lives, he had never bowed his head to anyone.

He shoved the apples into Qiao Dong’s arms, then turned and strode away.

Qiao Shan watched Gao Yuan’s retreating figure, feeling inexplicably complex.

She had been truly frightened by Gao Yuan drunk last night.

In the dead of night, Gao Yuan had been rambling outside her window about liking her for a long time, asking her to be his girlfriend.

In this conservative era, for a young man to openly declare his love to a young woman was outrageous.

Besides, although they were classmates, they rarely interacted at school.

Gao Yuan’s sudden confession shocked Qiao Shan so much that she barely said a word before she shouted, cutting him off. Then her father and brother rushed out and held Gao Yuan down for a good beating.

However, Gao Yuan’s behavior today made Qiao Shan think he was somewhat straightforward.

His willingness to come apologize on his own showed that, at his core, he wasn’t a bad person.

Qiao Yuannan was also a bit stunned. Watching Gao Yuan walk out of the courtyard and quickly disappear from sight, he muttered, “This brat’s personality has changed a lot.”

Holding a chamber pot in one hand and the apples in the other, Qiao Dong sneered disdainfully, “Dad, don’t be fooled by appearances. At heart, Gao Yuan is like a dog that can’t stop eating its own filth.

If I’m not mistaken, he’s apologizing today because he’s afraid you’ll hold onto this matter and stir up trouble for his family again.

You know, his uncle is still under organizational isolation and investigation; that label hasn’t been lifted yet. If Gao Yuan gets implicated now…”

“You bastard!” Qiao Yuannan suddenly snapped, loudly reprimanding Qiao Dong, “What do you take your old man for? I’ll tell you, Qiao Dong, I never take advantage of someone when they’re down!

And as for Gao Yuehua’s problem, the organization will come to a conclusion sooner or later. That’s not for you to gossip about.

From now on, watch your mouth and don’t let me hear any more nonsense from you!”

Qiao Shan sighed and said, “Brother, if you hadn’t forgotten to close the front door last night, how could Gao Yuan have gotten in? In the end, it was your carelessness that almost caused me to lose my reputation.”

Qiao Dong blushed but could not utter a word in reply, though in his heart, he hated Gao Yuan deeply.

That bastard—you apologize and leave, but I have to carry the blame.

Just wait. Your day of reckoning will come.

“What are you standing there for? Aren’t you going to empty the chamber pot?” Qiao Yuannan scolded Qiao Dong again, then pushed his bicycle and walked out of the yard.

The sunlight was bright.

In the streets of Beijing in 1977, scenes seemed to flash slowly before Gao Yuan’s eyes like old photographs.

The road wasn’t wide, but traffic was sparse, and a brigade of bicycles proudly cruised down the center.

Low houses lined both sides of the street, and the only tall building was the two-story Beixin Bridge Mall.

Most pedestrians looked pale from hunger.

The streets were filled with blue, gray, and army-green clothes, with only the white uniforms of the People's Police adding a splash of brightness.

Gao Yuan strolled leisurely toward the newly opened Xinkai Road alley, buying a sugar-oil cake for five cents at the alley entrance and eating as he walked.

He couldn’t help but marvel at how cheap prices were in this era, where even if you had money, things were hard to come by, and everything required ration coupons.

For example, eating at a state-run restaurant required food coupons; buying cloth needed fabric coupons; pork came with meat coupons; buying a bicycle required industrial coupons.

That said, exchanging coupons for cigarettes or alcohol depended on your connections with the supply and marketing cooperative.

For someone like Gao Yuan, who moved beyond the usual circles, making connections was definitely a skill.

After finishing the sugar-oil cake, he arrived home.

He took out the key, unlocked the door, entered, opened the stove lid, poked through the ashes with a coal hook, boiled a kettle of water, then sat at the three-drawer table to continue reviewing his politics textbook.

Though the questions from memory were still clear in his mind, Gao Yuan didn’t dare be sure if his rebirth would trigger a butterfly effect; he couldn’t gamble that the exam questions would be exactly the same as in his previous life.

In his last life, he never took the college entrance exam; he only knew those questions because, while working in the library, he had casually come across past exam papers and studied them carefully.

Back then, he thought, "These questions are so easy, I could get into a prestigious university just by doing them."

For the next nine days, Gao Yuan devoted all his energy to reviewing, growing more confident with each question.

Occasionally, to satisfy his father’s teacherly pride, he selected some difficult questions to consult him.

His father patiently explained, breaking the problems down.

Even when his good friend Zhang Dalong came looking for him to go out, he refused.

With this intense study pace, the 1977 college entrance exam finally arrived.

On the evening of December 9th, his mother Zhang Xuemei, having heard her son was taking the exam, rushed back from the countryside in Yanling County.

She cooked and made dumplings filled with cabbage and pork cracklings as a send-off for her son.

Early the next morning, Gao Yuan got up early.

After breakfast, under his parents’ repeated reminders, he double-checked that he had his exam admission ticket, pencils, and other supplies.

Before setting off, Gao Yuemin solemnly took off the “Hero” brand pen from his jacket pocket and handed it to him, patting his arm and saying, “Don’t be nervous. Adjust your mindset and just perform normally.”

Gao Yuan took the pen, put it in his pocket, hugged his father and then his mother, and said seriously, “Don’t worry, Mom and Dad. I’ll do my best.”

With that, he resolutely turned and headed outside.

He mounted his father’s old 28-style bicycle and rode toward the Wuzhong exam center.

Zhang Xuemei’s eyes were slightly moist. Linking arms with her husband, she softly said, “Xiaoyuan seems to have suddenly grown up.”

“Yes, Xiaoyuan has grown up and become sensible—that’s a good thing, a very good thing,” Gao Yuemin said, rubbing his nose.

The entrance to Wuzhong exam center was crowded.

Gao Yuan parked and locked his bicycle, then glanced around at the candidates—there was a huge age gap.

The older ones were in their thirties, while the younger ones were fresh graduates.

This was not surprising.

The college entrance exam had been suspended since 1966 and was restored this year. Participants ranged from the 1966 cohort to the 1977 cohort, totaling twelve grades, plus a few outstanding 1978 high school students allowed to take the exam early.

It was no exaggeration to say that thirteen grades of young people were about to enter the exam hall.

The competition was unprecedented in intensity and ruthlessness.

At 8:30, the school gates opened.

Gao Yuan followed the crowd into Wuzhong.

Since he had already been there to identify his exam room, he easily found the classroom. After a strict check by the proctor, he was allowed to enter.

There were twenty-one students in the room, arranged in three rows of seven, each sitting at a single desk.

Gao Yuan’s seat was by the window, the third seat in the odd-numbered row.

As he sat, the student in front of him also took her seat.

Her short hair reached her ears, her face apple-like and pretty, skin as white as snow.

Turning to look at Gao Yuan, Qiao Shan’s eyes held disbelief.

Gao Yuan was stunned too and thought, “What a coincidence! To be seated directly in front and behind each other in the exam hall—what a twist of fate!”

He smiled awkwardly and whispered, “What a coincidence.”

Qiao Shan snorted like a proud peacock and said, “I didn’t expect you to take the exam too.”

Did she mean I wasn’t qualified to take the exam?

Gao Yuan was not one to back down easily, and he retorted immediately, “You’re openly discriminating against me. Why can’t I take the exam? Comrade Deng said it: everyone has the right to attend university.

Besides, the admission criteria were already announced. The political review focuses mainly on the individual’s political conduct. The shackles of family background or whether family members are under investigation have long been broken.

If you keep bringing that up, shouldn’t I accuse you of going against the Party’s educational policies?”

Qiao Shan was left blushing and speechless by Gao Yuan’s pointed words.

Feeling very wronged, her eyes welled up with tears, but she stubbornly said, “You’re talking nonsense. That’s not what I meant at all!”

Her voice rose, drawing the proctor’s attention.

“Students, please maintain exam discipline! This is the college entrance exam hall, not your neighborhood market. If you want to argue, take it outside. Don’t disturb the others!”

Gao Yuan smiled at the teacher and quickly apologized, “Sorry, teacher. I won’t shout again. I’ll pay attention to the exam discipline.”

Tears swirled in Qiao Shan’s eyes, but she knew the college entrance exam was a crucial opportunity in her life. Violating exam rules at such a critical moment could cost her everything.

She also said to the teacher, “Sorry, teacher. I won’t do it again.”

The teacher understood the students’ difficulties and did not press further, just warning them not to repeat it. Looking at his watch, he said, “Now I’ll explain the exam rules. Please place your admission tickets on the upper left corner of your desks for inspection…”

After ten minutes of instructions, the exam bell rang.

The sealed politics exam papers were opened by two proctors and distributed.

Gao Yuan quickly skimmed the paper.

He felt relieved—the questions were nearly identical to those from his previous life.

The politics exam was divided into two parts: term explanations and essay questions, with eight questions total.

The exam lasted two hours.

Gao Yuan removed the cap from his pen and began answering. The more he wrote, the smoother it went.

After one hour and thirty minutes, he had completed all the questions.

He carefully checked his answers three times to ensure accuracy.

Then the bell signaling the end of the first exam sounded.