raknovel Chapter 50 What? You want me to take the college entrance exam?
Chapter 50 What? You want me to take the college entrance exam?
That evening, when Li Si'an returned to the shop, Tang Yun had already finished dinner and was sitting behind the counter flipping through a magazine. When she saw him come in, she closed the magazine and stared at him with bright eyes.
"How is it?"
"It's done." Li Si'an put her bag on the counter and plopped down in a chair. "Xu Zhongming took it. China Record Corporation's studio, top-notch recording engineers. He managed to get the production fee down to 50,000."
Tang Yun's eyes narrowed into slits. "Really?"
"Why would I lie to you?" Li Si'an leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh. After a day of tension, she could finally relax.
Tang Yun came out from behind the counter, stood next to him, and gave his shoulder a couple of gentle massages. Her fingers weren't very strong, but she was hitting the right spots, and Li Si'an squinted his eyes in comfort.
"When will recording begin?"
"Once my uncle registers the company and signs the contract, we'll move into the shed," Li Si'an said with her eyes closed. "I reckon it'll be around July."
Tang Yun hummed in agreement and didn't ask any more questions. She continued to press her fingers on his shoulder.
The fluorescent lights in the store were humming, and the cassette tapes on the shelves were neatly stacked.
On the poster wall, Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok looked at them under the light. From the video rental store in the backyard came the sound of "God of Gamblers 2," and Chow Yun-fat's laughter was muffled through a door.
Li Si'an was enjoying herself when the phone on the counter rang.
Tang Yun stopped what she was doing, and Li Si'an opened her eyes and reached for the microphone.
"Feed?"
"Si'an, I'm your uncle."
It was Zhou Weidong's voice. But his tone was different from when they parted in the afternoon. I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong, it just sounded a bit strange.
"Uncle? What's wrong?"
Come to my place tomorrow night.
"What is it?"
There was a pause on the other end of the phone. Zhou Weidong seemed to be smoking; you could hear him exhaling.
"Your exam admission ticket has arrived. Come pick it up tomorrow."
Li Si'an was stunned. The exam admission ticket?
"What exam admission ticket?"
"College Entrance Examination Admission Ticket"
Li Si'an held the microphone, his mind blank for a moment. The college entrance exam? He hadn't even registered for it.
From the very first day he transmigrated, he hadn't thought about the college entrance exam. The record store was open, the video arcade was playing, and the album was about to be recorded—how could he have time for the exam?
"Uncle, I didn't sign up."
"I registered you for it."
On the other end of the phone, Zhou Weidong's tone was calm and indifferent, as if he were talking about what he had eaten that day.
Li Si'an opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say for a moment.
"For art majors at Beijing Normal University, a score of just over 300 in the general education subjects is sufficient."
Zhou Weidong's voice came through the receiver, unhurried, "I've found someone for you at the school. You've won awards in school performances and appeared on cable TV, so your resume is good enough. All that's missing is academic knowledge."
Li Si'an gripped the microphone but didn't speak.
"Si'an, I know you're thinking about the album right now. But when it comes to the college entrance exam, you have to listen to me."
Zhou Weidong's tone became serious, unlike his usual casual conversation.
"No matter what you do in the future—whether you sing or start a company—you must get a university degree. Not for any other reason than to have something to show for it."
He paused.
"I need to give an explanation to your mother, your maternal grandfather, and me."
There was a few seconds of silence on the phone. Li Si'an could hear Zhou Weidong's breathing on the other end.
"Don't think about recording for the next two weeks. Pick up your academic subjects and study hard. The exams are on July 7th, 8th, and 9th, three days. After that, you can record however you like."
Zhou Weidong's tone left no room for negotiation.
"Come pick up your exam admission ticket tomorrow night."
Li Si'an leaned against the counter, staring at the poster of Aaron Kwok on the wall. The Heavenly King was wearing a black leather jacket, his hair parted in the middle, his eyes both cool and affectionate. He looked at it for two seconds, then suddenly smiled.
He had never really thought about the college entrance exam in his life. He had taken it in his previous life, but after so many years, he had long forgotten all the historical dates and political questions.
I never imagined that after time-traveling, I would have to go into the exam hall again.
But then again, he's not really scared now.
After my mental strength increased to nineteen, my mind became much sharper than before.
You can recall everything you saw in your past life in this one.
Things that I used to have to read several times to remember, I can now remember after just one or two glances.
He wasn't worried about math at all. He had been tutoring Tang Yun and Zhang Ziyi for the past two months, going over the formulas and theorems over and over again, so they were already etched into their minds.
Once I'm in the exam hall, math shouldn't be a problem. For the remaining four subjects—Chinese, English, Politics, and History—I'll bring the books back and go through them from beginning to end to get a general idea, so I won't be completely lost on the exam.
Since his uncle has already registered him, and his maternal grandfather is waiting for an explanation, then let him take the exam.
He put the microphone back, leaned back in his chair, and suddenly thought of something, and chuckled to himself.
Tang Yun watched him from the side.
"What are you laughing at?"
Li Si'an leaned back in her chair, her hands behind her head.
"I was originally planning to take you to the exam hall as your family member on the day of your college entrance exam. I would wait at the entrance and hand you a bottle of water or something when you came out."
He turned to look at Tang Yun.
"Now look what's happened, I have to go in too."
Tang Yun paused for a moment, then laughed until her eyes narrowed into slits, her shoulders shaking.
"Then you'd better do well on the exam." She suppressed a laugh and said seriously, "Don't embarrass me."
Li Si'an reached out and ruffled her hair.
"Okay, let's go into the exam room together and see who embarrasses whom."
The next morning, when Chen Nan came over to check the accounts, Li Si'an was squatting behind the counter, rummaging through drawers looking for an old textbook.
Tang Yun helped rummage through the pile of old books and magazines under the counter, turning the room upside down and kicking up dust.
"What are you two looking for?" Chen Nan put her bag on the chair and fanned the dust in front of her eyes.
"High school textbooks." Tang Yun looked up. "Si'an is going to take the college entrance exam and apply to Beijing Normal University."
Chen Nan paused for a second, then his expression turned as if he had heard some incredible joke, his mouth stretching to his ears.
"You? Taking the college entrance exam?"
Li Si'an ignored her, pulled a math textbook from under the counter, its cover stained with oil, and the corners curled up like a cabbage. He patted the dust off.
Chen Nan plopped down in a chair, laughing so hard her shoulders were shaking.
"Anzi, I'm not trying to be mean, but back in elementary school, you and Dongzi—from first to sixth grade—always ranked second to last in every exam. You took turns being number one, and neither of you ever competed for first place."
She counted on her fingers, becoming happier with each count.
"I remember it clearly. In second grade, you got third from last, and Dongzi got second from last. Your mom asked you how you did, and you said, 'It was alright, better than Dongzi.'"
Your mom was quite happy, but later at the parent-teacher conference she found out that there were only thirty students in the whole class, and you got twenty-eighth place.
Tang Yun listened from the side, covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking.