The college entrance exam ended on July 9th, 1980.

After the college entrance exam, An Guoping stayed home and worked. He was remarkably calm. A few days later, he went to the school to fill out his college applications.

He didn’t involve the An Family in the process at all. According to him, his score was unpredictable.

An Guoping’s grades in high school were average. If he were an average student in a big city, his chances might have been a little better.

But for an average student at an ordinary high school in a small town, his prospects were certainly iffy.

At the end of July and the beginning of August, the test scores and admission cutoffs were released.

On this day, An Ning rode her bicycle with An Guoping on the back seat. The two of them were heading into town to check the results.

An Guoping was finally starting to get nervous.

Sitting on the back seat, he found that no amount of deep breathing could calm his wildly pounding heart.

"Sis, what if I didn’t get in?"

"I can support you."

An Ning’s answer miraculously calmed him for a moment, and he chuckled from his seat on the back.

"Sis, you’re only older than me by a few minutes. I can’t have you supporting me."

An Ning, pedaling in front, didn’t see it that way.

"Even one second older is still older. I’m your big sister."

"Got it."

An Guoping held onto the bike’s rear rack with one hand, his long legs held up to keep from dragging.

"Sis, you want me to ride for a bit?"

"No. You’re in no condition to ride right now."

An Guoping figured she was right. ’Failing the exam would be one thing,’ he thought. ’But breaking the bike would make things even worse.’

As An Ning rode her bike, she passed several other educated youth on the road. She gave them a slight nod and continued on.

"Are they also taking the exam?"

"Not necessarily. You can take it if you’ve graduated from high school, and some people can take it even if they haven’t."

An Guoping briefly explained the requirements for taking the college entrance exam, and An Ning took note.

’The next exam is exactly one year away. By then, I might have different plans for myself.’

They soon arrived at the high school. An Ning put her foot down to brake, and An Guoping nimbly hopped off the back.

"Sis, park the bike over there."

"Okay."

An Ning pushed the bike forward, staring at the sea of people ahead. The crowd was packed several layers deep.

It wasn’t just crowded; it was also incredibly noisy.

Some were laughing boisterously, others wept in silence. One person punched a wall. The wall was fine.

It was a microcosm of the human experience, all centered around a list of test scores.

An Ning parked and locked the bicycle, then followed An Guoping as they squeezed into the crowd.

Fortunately, the two siblings were strong and sturdy, which helped them cut a path through the throng.

"Sis, the cutoff scores!"

An Guoping shouted, pointing to a spot. An Ning looked over and saw the posted scores: 325 for the Arts stream and 350 for the Science stream.

"Little Brother, are you Arts or Science?"

Only at that moment did An Ning realize there was a distinction between Arts and Science streams.

"Sis, I’m in the Science stream! This way!"

An Guoping was in a hurry to find his score, and An Ning quickly followed him.

They finally found the main results board, which listed every student’s score.

But there were simply too many people. Even An Ning couldn’t push her way through.

Everyone in front was desperately pushing forward, so the two of them could only stand on their tiptoes at the back, trying to see.

An Ning glanced around, found a raised flower bed, and hopped on top of it, creating a plausible excuse for her to scan the list with her spiritual power.

"Little Brother, I see it! An Guoping."

"What’s the score?"

An Guoping’s eyes held more hope than they had in days.

An Ning didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she jumped down from the flower bed and walked over to An Guoping.

"Three hundred forty-nine."

An Guoping felt the air catch in his throat. He was off by one point. Just one point.

He rubbed his head and scrunched his nose. "I actually did pretty well," he said. "That’s my highest score ever."

"It’s okay. You might not have made the cutoff for a four-year university, but you’ll definitely get into a junior college."

An Guoping accepted it rather quickly. He hadn’t held out much hope for getting into a four-year university anyway.

An Ning wasn’t sure how to comfort him. She patted An Guoping on the shoulder and said, "Wait here for a minute."

"Okay."

An Guoping was disappointed, but he could accept the result.

An Ning turned and left, though he didn’t know where she was going. An Guoping, meanwhile, continued to push through the crowd, wanting to see the results with his own eyes.

Meanwhile, An Ning had found the school director to ask about the difference between junior colleges and four-year universities, as well as other matters concerning the exam and admissions.

Once she understood everything, she thanked the bald director, whom she had met once before.

"No need to thank me. An Guoping did quite well this time. Junior college is good too. Nowadays, any kind of higher education is better than none."

"Thank you, sir. Could I possibly get a copy of the exam paper? I can pay for it."

"No need. I’ll get a copy for you."

The bald director was very accommodating. He found a teacher and had them get a copy of the exam paper for An Ning.

An Ning thanked him again and left with the paper.

In a deserted corner of the campus, An Ning quickly scanned the Science exam paper.

’The maximum score is 610, and you only need 350 to pass.’

An Ning raised an eyebrow. ’This really isn’t that difficult.’

Holding the exam paper, she seemed lost in thought for a moment before getting up to find An Guoping.

By this time, An Guoping had seen his score for himself. He really was just one point short.

But that single point was like an uncrossable chasm.

"Sis, you’re back. Let’s go home."

"No rush. I’m taking you out to have some fun."

"Huh?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

An Guoping was genuinely confused by this turn of events.

"Don’t look so surprised. As your big sister, it’s my duty to take care of my little brother when he’s down about his results."

An Guoping didn’t know what to say. This was a truly disappointing outcome. Most parents would either scold their child or be afraid to bring it up. His sister, however, was totally unfazed and had skipped straight to the consolation phase.

"Alright, where are we going?"

"The supply and marketing co-op."

An Ning looked at the dumbfounded An Guoping and said, "What? Don’t you know that spending money is the cure for everything?"

An Guoping shook his head. He really didn’t know that.

"Right. You don’t have any money, so of course you wouldn’t know."

An Ning’s words made An Guoping, who had been feeling down, crack a smile.

"Sis, you’re way too good at this comforting thing. Next time... keep it up."

When An Guoping saw the earnest look in An Ning’s clear, bright eyes, he didn’t have the heart to criticize her method.

"I will. Let’s go."

An Ning first took An Guoping to the Fatty’s trading post, where she exchanged some things for a pile of ration coupons.

When the Fatty heard the siblings were planning to go shopping, he suggested that he also had plenty of good things for sale, none of which required coupons.

An Ning thought about it and decided to browse the Fatty’s wares with An Guoping.

The Fatty’s little "co-op" was set up in a single room, with everything arranged very neatly.

An Guoping spotted a few comic books and picked one up, flipping through it with interest.

"I’ll take them all. Here’s the money."

An Ning held out ten yuan and bought all the comic books on the stall.

The Fatty’s assistant, looking a bit dazed, made change for An Ning and asked for confirmation, "All of them?"

"All of them."

"Sis, I was just looking."

An Ning pocketed her change and looked at An Guoping, her eyes full of care. "Be good."