Chapter 241: Countdown

Su Yuqing sat at her desk, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the open math practice test.

A solid geometry problem had her stuck, the lines on the page blurring before her eyes.

She forced herself to concentrate, but her thoughts, like disobedient feathers, kept drifting toward the small, hardcover notebook in the side pocket of her schoolbag—the one that held her sweet burden: the [Confession Plan].

"Yuqing, how did you draw the auxiliary lines for this problem?" Chen Mo’s voice pulled her back from her momentary lapse in concentration.

Su Yuqing collected herself, quickly reining in her thoughts and pointing to the diagram on the test paper. "Here, at the intersection of BD and EF..."

She explained clearly, her thought process fluid, demonstrating a solid foundation in the subject.

Chen Mo nodded in satisfaction. "Your skills are basically flawless now."

Su Yuqing returned his smile, but only she knew how much effort it took to maintain her focus on studying these days.

The call to arms for the Gaokao was already sounding in her ears, leaving no room for the slightest distraction.

She had to take all those chaotic thoughts about the confession’s location, timing, and wording, and, like an unneeded folder, forcibly stuff them into a corner of her brain, slapped with the label "Open After Gaokao."

She stole a glance at Chen Mo beside her.

He was sitting perfectly straight, his profile looking especially calm and focused in the light filtering through the window.

He was rapidly scribbling calculations on a piece of scratch paper, the tip of his pen making a steady, rhythmic scratching sound as it moved across the page.

Su Yuqing’s heart skipped a beat, but it was immediately followed by a strange sense of peace. On the days he was by her side, she always felt an inexplicable calm.

This made it hard for Su Yuqing to imagine what kind of state of mind she would be in if they were ever to be separated one day.

After letting her mind wander, Su Yuqing shook her head, trying to cast out the unnecessary thoughts. Seeing that even Chen Mo, with the top grades in their entire year, was studying hard without a hint of complacency, she took a deep breath and buried her head in her practice problems once more.

In class, the intense pressure brought out each teacher’s unique style.

The physics teacher, an older man with graying hair, was currently using his characteristically loud voice, tinged with a slight accent, to hastily write "A Comprehensive Guide to High-Frequency Exam Traps" on the blackboard.

"Attention! This model didn’t appear on last year’s test, or the year before’s, but it was on the one three years ago! It’s unconventional, but it’s very important! Open your eyes and look sharp!" The sound of chalk tapping against the blackboard was like a drumbeat, rattling everyone’s nerves.

The Chinese teacher, on the other hand, seemed much gentler, but her speaking pace had noticeably quickened.

She held a stack of selected essay materials, quickly walking through the aisles to distribute them. "In these last few days, your essay’s theme and source material are key! Don’t aim for originality, aim for stability! Aim for precision! Review these hot topics and classic examples one more time! Especially you, Chen Mo!" She walked over to Chen Mo’s side and tapped lightly on his desk. "Your writing style and depth of thought are your strengths, but you must be steady when analyzing the prompt. Don’t let your thoughts stray off-topic as you write."

Chen Mo wasn’t great at Chinese essays. His biggest problem was that when he started writing, his content would easily go off on a tangent.

This was mainly caused by him overthinking things.

Chen Mo nodded gratefully and took the materials. He could feel the heavy weight of his teacher’s expectations in her gaze.

Lately, their homeroom teacher, He Xiaoyun, had been like a ghost, liable to appear at any moment outside the glass window of the back door.

Her usually somewhat stern face now looked more like a tightly drawn bow.

Every time she appeared, her gaze would sweep across every corner of the classroom like a searchlight, not missing a single slacking or dozing figure.

Occasionally, her eyes would land on Chen Mo and Su Yuqing. Seeing them as focused and outstanding as ever, the tight corners of her mouth would relax almost imperceptibly before she turned her attention to other students who needed to be "spurred on."

She rarely gave long-winded lectures, but her silent pressure was more effective than any words at making their restless youth temporarily lie dormant.

During the lunch break, the self-study area in the library was packed, so quiet that the only sounds were the flipping of pages and the scratching of pens on paper.

Wang Susu, carrying a cup of coffee, tiptoed over to the table Su Yuqing and Zhao Yuanyuan had claimed and sat down, placing a few pieces of chocolate on it.

"Here," she said, lowering her voice with a teasing smile, "a little sugar to get the brain working faster." Her eyes flickered to the corner of the hardcover notebook peeking out from under Su Yuqing’s book. "So, how’s our ’Chief Confession Architect’ doing? Haven’t finalized the final battle plan yet? You’re cutting it pretty close, you know."

Wang Susu’s grades had never been great, so she already knew what to expect. Not holding out hope for a miracle score, she seemed rather relaxed.

Su Yuqing’s face flushed slightly. She pushed the notebook further under her book and whispered, "Right now... I just want to think about the Gaokao."

Wang Susu nodded knowingly and unwrapped a piece of chocolate, popping it into her mouth. "That’s the spirit. No matter how big a deal it is, it can wait until after the exams. Once the tests are over, the sky will be bluer, the water will be sweeter, and even the air you breathe will be free! Then, you can confess wherever you want, however you want! But for now..."

She patted Su Yuqing’s shoulder, then pointed at Zhao Yuanyuan. "You two, get your heads out of the clouds and back into your test papers!"

Even though Wang Susu felt she didn’t need to try hard herself anymore, she would still encourage those who wanted to keep striving.

It showed she was a good person at heart.

Su Yuqing and Zhao Yuanyuan looked at each other and smiled. Although that sweet little worry still lingered in their hearts, Wang Susu’s words had indeed been a wake-up call—the Gaokao was the mountain peak right in front of them, and they had to give it their all to reach the summit.

Only after crossing it could they paint the scenery on the other side with their own hands, including that long-awaited, momentous beginning.

’If I can get into a top university, that would be a huge point in my favor, no matter how you look at it.’

Su Yuqing picked up a piece of chocolate and took a small bite.

The sweetness melted on her tongue, giving her a bit of strength.

She opened her workbook again, her gaze falling on the various complex problem types, and her eyes once again became determined and focused.

Outside the window, the sun blazed fiercely. The faint sound of cicadas on campus drifted in, carrying the unique sweltering heat and vitality of early summer.

Inside the academic building, however, the atmosphere was that of a grim battlefield.

The gears of the countdown were clicking in everyone’s hearts, pushing the youth of every boy and girl toward a finish line full of uncertainty, yet brimming with hope.

Lately, Chen Mo hadn’t been idle, either. Zhou Hao had suddenly become determined to improve, and as a good friend, Chen Mo was spending most of his time helping him cram. As a result, he was around Su Yuqing much less often. But this actually helped Su Yuqing focus more on her studies, with fewer moments of her attention being pulled away toward him.