Her heart suddenly raced. Without even washing her face, she bolted out the door and, without a second thought, hailed a taxi.
Once inside the car, she remembered she hadn't brought her admission ticket, but it was too late. She'd just have to beg the teacher at the exam venue.
She kept urging the driver on, pushing him so hard he nearly turned the ride into a scene from *Need for Speed*.
She finally made it to the school, but Qiqi was still too late to catch the last exam—the students had already entered the exam hall, and over thirty minutes had passed since the start time. She couldn't go in anymore.
A few students had already handed in their papers early and were standing under the bulletin board outside the exam hall, discussing the test content.
Gu Qiqi ran to the exam hall entrance and pleaded for about ten minutes, but the proctor said there was nothing they could do for her.
In the end, Qiqi trudged out of the exam hall, dejected, and plopped down on a random step, on the verge of tears.
How could this be? Damn it.
Just as she was feeling so frustrated she wanted to bang her head against a wall, someone tapped her on the shoulder. Qiqi turned around—it was her classmate, Zhuzhu.
"Qiqi, why are you sitting here?" Zhuzhu asked.
Qiqi forced a bitter smile, too drained to even muster the energy to answer.
Zhuzhu went on, "Qiqi, you're really amazing. You're always the first to hand in your paper every exam, and today you finished in just half an hour. You haven't been coming to class lately—did you take time off on purpose to study alone at home?"
Qiqi froze, lifting her head. "What?"
Zhuzhu complained, "Oh, you always turn in your paper so early, leaving me with no answers to copy. You're so heartless."
Qiqi grew even more confused. Just then, a commotion broke out not far away. Zhuzhu straightened up and then jumped excitedly: "Wow, that handsome guy is back at our school! Qiqi, come on, let's go see him before it's too late!"
Qiqi stumbled as Zhuzhu yanked her forward, running clumsily. From their elevated position, Qiqi spotted the figure in the crowd at a glance—the tall, upright posture, the flowing long hair, the standout handsome guy—wasn't that Rong Yi? Why was he at school?
Today, Rong Yi was dressed in a low-key black T-shirt and blue jeans, his long hair tied back in a ponytail, walking with his head down.
A lot of students were watching him, and he soon couldn't move forward. He stopped in the middle of the crowd, frowning unhappily.
"Wow, that's him! He's so handsome. He's been showing up at our school for three days straight now. No one knows which department he's from, but he always brings a bag, so he must be here for exams," Zhuzhu gushed excitedly.
Three days? Qiqi immediately latched onto that crucial piece of information.
For her, why Rong Yi was at school was a minor detail—she'd have a chance to ask him tonight anyway. But what did Zhuzhu mean by "three days"?
She quickly pulled out her phone and stared at it intently—the screen showed July 4th. So, today was already the third day of exams, the last day?
Qiqi felt like she'd been struck by lightning again.
She tapped her phone, hoping it was broken, rather than her own mind being fried from sleeping like a log for three days and nights.
But Zhuzhu's words sent her heart plummeting: "Today is the 4th, that's right! The exams are finally over, and we can start summer vacation tomorrow!"
Then, just like the students below, she waved her arms and shouted excitedly, "Senior! Senior! Handsome guy! Handsome guy!"
Gu Qiqi stood there, thunderstruck, her face ashen.