Chapter 64: A Magical Place

The seating arrangements in the examination hall followed a certain order, so Xiao Cheng easily found Examination Room 27. A girl like Yang Liushan would never submit her paper early and leave. Peeking discreetly through the window, he saw that more than half the students had already left, yet she still sat at her desk, lost in thought.

It was ten fifty—ten minutes until the exam ended. In other words, in the previous hour and thirty-five minutes, Xiao Cheng had finished everything he’d planned, and even returned ten minutes ahead of time. It seemed that his wish to ride back together, maybe hold her hand and chat a bit, could indeed come true.

During the last ten minutes, students trickled out into the corridor; standing at the door, Xiao Cheng didn’t draw much attention. When the bell rang, the last few students handed in their papers, returned to their seats to tidy up their belongings, and Yang Liushan looked up, just in time to see Xiao Cheng at the doorway.

She immediately panicked. Only a short while ago, as she entered the exam room, he’d said words that came dangerously close to a confession, making her blush. Now, seeing this tall boy appear before her again, she could hardly keep her composure.

“I’ve found a magical place—come, let me show you!”

This was the line Xiao Cheng had chosen after hundreds of mental rehearsals in those final ten minutes. Flirting with girls was far more difficult than math. At first, he’d thought about saying, “How was the exam?” But the imagined conversation went like this:

Xiao Cheng: “How was the exam?”
Yang Liushan: “There were so many questions I couldn't do, don’t remind me!”
Xiao Cheng: “Don’t forget, it’s just the math olympiad. You only need 34 points to get to the next round. You don’t expect a perfect score, do you?”
Yang Liushan: “That’s true. What about you?”
...
After comforting her, she’d just be recovering her mood, and then you tell her you got a perfect score—how could the conversation continue after that? It would collapse right there.

So that kind of opener was definitely out! He’d eliminated many such options—some would stall the conversation, others would be rejected outright. The best way was to leave her no choice: just “Come with me!”

Once he took her by the hand, the second question had to follow immediately. After all, she wasn’t used to holding hands with a boy yet; she’d surely hesitate, and he mustn’t give her time for that!

“Have you ever been to Sunward University before?”

If she said she had, he’d immediately ask, “When?” If not, he’d say, “Me neither. What do you think of it here?”

The principle was: in the few minutes after taking her hand, don’t let her mind idle. If you keep leading her along, she’ll get used to it. A rapid-fire barrage of innocuous questions, one after another—not only was her hand in his, but her thoughts followed his lead. Without realizing it, they’d already left the building, hand in hand. There were still plenty of school groups on the sports field, organizing students to return together. Dongfeng No. 2 Middle School had a teacher leading their group, but it wasn’t mandatory. Xiao Cheng didn’t check in; instead, he steered Yang Liushan well away from them.

Two middle schoolers, holding hands as they strolled across a university campus—not yet old enough to fall in love, yet wandering the holy ground of romance. Their yearning and longing for university life inevitably made them think of the future. Not yet grown, these young boys and girls, when imagining the future, saw endless possibilities.

A gentle breeze caressed their faces, and the grass was lush and green. At the end of a tree-lined path, the view opened up to reveal a pool of azure water. It was a small, crescent-shaped artificial lake, cradling a few slender willows along its shore. The water was clear, shimmering in the sunlight; when the wind blew, ripples layered the surface, and the willow branches swayed gently, reminiscent of the rivers south of the Yangtze.

“This is the place.”

It wasn’t a particularly exquisite scene, but it held a poetic charm. “Take a look, fix this image in your mind, and then breathe in the air here with your skin. You’ll feel as if you’ve traveled through time, as if you’re a college student here—a lake, a whiff of scholarly air.”

A few words, spoken softly in the background, almost hypnotic. The atmosphere seeped in, and Yang Liushan felt it too. At an age untouched by life’s burdens, the future glowed with promise; most alluring of all was those four years yet to come. Imagining university life, it was as if time had shifted, and she’d grown up in an instant.

Or perhaps, it was because she now sensed the feeling of being in love.

Once grown, she could fall in love.

Two college students, holding hands, willingly and rightfully so.

“I can feel it!” Yang Liushan exclaimed, delighted.

The water was crystal clear, the breeze fresh—real sensations, mixed with a touch of imagination, created a different state of mind. With someone at her side, whispering about the future, it really felt as if they could cross time and spend, in advance, the love meant for their eighteenth year.

There was no need for more words. Eighteen-year-old Yang Liushan and eighteen-year-old Wen Xiao Cheng, a few years later, as college students, would walk just like this, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, enjoying the lakeside scenery. Subconsciously, she needed to assign a logical identity to the person beside her. This subtle shift in her attitude—perhaps even the girl herself didn’t realize it.

“I told you it was a magical place—wasn’t I right?” Only after a long while did Xiao Cheng speak.

“Mm!” she replied.

She seemed still reluctant to leave, but her eyes had finally shifted. Dreaming about the future in such a place was always a joy—and for a girl in her teens, the most important thing about the future was not studies or a career, but love.

Some pleasures of the spirit cannot be bought; perhaps only with someone clever could one enjoy such moments.

“Let’s go,” said Xiao Cheng.

“Where?”

“To eat! My treat!”

Yang Liushan was surprised. She knew Xiao Cheng’s family situation; let alone treating anyone, she had never seen Xiao Cheng spend money on anything.

“I made some money today, but I can’t take it home, so you’ll just have to help me celebrate with a big meal!”

Now Yang Liushan was even more astonished—today? Hadn’t they just finished the exam? She had no idea that during those two hours, Xiao Cheng had done so much.

“Here’s what happened: I finished the test in fifteen minutes, then went out and gave an interview to the media. After that, I took a cab to the city’s largest math olympiad training center and wrote out the entire test from memory for them, including the answers. The center’s called Starry Sky—they posted the real exam online less than an hour after it started. They paid me ten thousand yuan for it!”

A look of astonishment, similar to Principal Ding’s earlier expression, appeared on Yang Liushan’s lovely face—but much cuter.

What did this mean? Not only had he completed a two-hour test in fifteen minutes, but he’d memorized both the questions and answers, and then had the idea to sell them to a prep school!

Wait—both the test and the answers?

“Don’t tell me… you solved every single problem?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“And by answers, you mean the official solutions?”

“Pretty much. The teachers at Starry Sky checked them and didn’t find any mistakes.”

“So, you’re saying… you finished the competition in fifteen minutes and got a perfect score?” Yang Liushan’s voice trembled.

“You shouldn’t be so surprised—you know what I’m capable of.”

Who would have thought you could be this freakishly—no, this brilliant!

———

This was Old Dao’s secret recipe for winning girls’ hearts, shared without reservation. So, is it too much to ask for a tip?