Later, when Shao Wu looked back on those two exams, his memories had already grown hazy. Maybe he had been too nervous, or maybe everything had simply been too new. All he remembered was that the Beijing Normal University exam had been very difficult and he had left several questions blank. The Beijing Foreign Studies University exam had gone a little better. During the interview, a teacher asked whether he had a favorite foreign author, and Shao Wu gritted his teeth and answered Hemingway.
What he remembered most clearly was lunchtime on the day the exams ended. His cousin picked him up outside Beijing Normal University and took him to Siji Minfu for roast duck. It was spring in Beijing. There was none of the legendary sandstorm; the weather was cold and dry, but the sunlight was fierce, and the sky was an unreal blue. Beijing had far more high-rises than Yongchuan and far more cars on the roads. Their taxi driver was from Northeast China and complained about the traffic in an accent unfamiliar to Shao Wu.
Shao Wu did not think the roast duck was as delicious as he had imagined. Maybe people from Chongqing were simply more accustomed to bold, spicy, salty flavors. But the crab-roe tofu was incredibly savory, and with the tofu, Shao Wu polished off two bowls of rice in one go.
His cousin sighed and shrugged. “Your school scheduled everything way too tightly. Couldn’t they let you stay one more night?” The school had bought their return tickets to Chongqing for four that afternoon.
“The teacher said there wasn’t enough time…”
“Yeah, I suppose. Senior year.” His cousin wrapped some shredded pork with sweet bean sauce for him. “So? How did it feel?”
“I don’t know. Beijing Normal was kind of hard, and Beijing Foreign Studies was also…”
“I’m not asking about that. The exams are over, so forget about them.” His cousin said, “I mean, what do you think of Beijing?”
Shao Wu suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Staring down at the roast duck on the table, he said, “I think Beijing… is really nice.”
“Right? It’s just a shame there’s no time to take you around. In weather like this, it’s really nice to go boating on Houhai.” His cousin patted Shao Wu’s shoulder. “But it doesn’t matter. Your grades are so good, you’ll definitely get into a school here eventually.”
After lunch, his cousin took Shao Wu to the railway station to meet up with Zhang Han and the others. He had even gone out of his way to prepare a Daoxiangcun pastry gift box for each of them.
Five days and four nights passed just like that, at a breakneck pace.
Everyone was quite excited on the return journey. However the exams had gone, at least they were finally over. Li Yijun even spent ages on the phone with his girlfriend right in front of Zhang Han, while the other four boys pulled out a deck of cards and asked Shao Wu, “Want to play?”
Shao Wu shook his head. “You guys play. I’ll watch.”
Zhang Han looked at them, his smile much more relaxed now. “Hurry up and enjoy yourselves while you can. Once you’re back at school, you’ll be working yourselves to death again.”
“Ugh…” One boy tipped his head back with a long sigh. “Teacher, don’t say that. Let me forget I have school tomorrow.”
Another said, “What? School tomorrow? Aren’t we only getting back to Chongqing around noon?”
“Our homeroom teacher told me to go to evening self-study…”
“Damn, that’s brutal.”
Before they left, Shao Wu’s homeroom teacher had actually told him that when he got home the next day, he should rest properly for the night and return to school the day after that.
But judging from the schedule, they could make it to evening self-study tomorrow, couldn’t they?
“My homeroom teacher told me to go to evening self-study too.” Li Yijun put down his phone. “Shao Wu, what about you?”
“I…” Shao Wu paused. “I have evening self-study too.”
“That’s brutal,” Li Yijun groaned.
At half past five the next afternoon, the group returned to Yongchuan. Both of Shao Wu’s parents came to pick him up at the railway station, with freshly bought KFC already waiting in the car. His mother hugged him worriedly. “Son, did you lose weight?”
“Huh?” Shao Wu was surprised. “No way. It’s only been a few days.”
“Your face does look a little thinner.” His father studied him through the rearview mirror. “Couldn’t get used to the food in Beijing?”
“The food was fine.”
“Of course the food in Beijing would be good. It’s the capital. What food wouldn’t they have?” his mother said. “The exams must have worn you out.”
“Mm… they weren’t too bad.”
His parents had originally wanted to take him out for hotpot. Instead, under their astonished gazes, Shao Wu wolfed down the KFC burger in a few bites and walked straight through the school gates.
His parents were both touched and distressed. Shao Wu, meanwhile, felt terribly guilty.
Of course he was not going to evening self-study because he was desperate to seize every last minute to study.
He just… just wanted to see Yang Shuyi so badly. It had been five days.
It was break time. Carrying the Daoxiangcun gift box his cousin had given him, Shao Wu had not even entered the classroom before his classmates crowded around him. Zhou Lei led the charge, hooking an arm around his neck and shouting, “You’re back! Hey, you even brought us souvenirs!”
If it had been anything else, Shao Wu would have shoved it straight at Zhou Lei and told him to share it with everyone. But these were genuine Daoxiangcun pastries, and Shao Wu had selfish plans for them. He wanted to pick out a few of the best ones and give them to Yang Shuyi.
Once he entered the classroom, Han Huiyuan came over to greet him. “You’re back.” She had only gone to Shanghai for Fudan’s autonomous-admissions exam, so she had returned before Shao Wu.
“Mm. Finally done with the exams.” Shao Wu smiled and turned to look toward the back of the classroom. Yang Shuyi’s seat was empty. Books and test papers were scattered messily across his desk.
“Looking for Yang Shuyi?” Han Huiyuan followed Shao Wu’s gaze toward the back of the classroom. “He hasn’t been to school for several days.”
“What?”
“I think something happened to his little sister… I only heard about it yesterday.”