When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 218: Her college entrance exam was much easier than now

Chapter 218: Chapter 218: Her college entrance exam was much easier than now

As expected, Old Man Jiang’s initial reaction to the problem was nearly identical to Jiang Xubai’s.

But after he finished reading through Pei Yan’s preliminary framework, it seemed like all his concerns suddenly subsided.

Old Man Jiang, in a cheerful mood, twisted open his thermos, took a sip of tea, and turned to Jiang Shuyao, "Are you ready, girl?"

He mentioned nothing else but that.

Being the only female member of the competition team, it was only natural for the teacher to ask this question.

The workload she was about to face could be more than ten times the usual amount.

The path of programming is not an easy one; three months of relentless mental exertion is something most girls simply cannot withstand.

Of course, in Old Man Jiang’s eyes, the boys, with their thicker skins and tougher flesh, were completely outside the scope of his concern.

"Don’t worry, teacher, I’m fine," Jiang Shuyao paused, then added, "Plus, with our team leader here, we’re filled with confidence every day. With confidence comes motivation, and it’d be hard not to win."

Someone who had just been named team leader cast a light glance at her, with a barely there smile curling his lips.

The next day, everything got on track.

With Pei Yan’s framework mind map as a reference, the competition material was smoothly progressing. Old Man Jiang stopped by twice for some simple guidance and then left the rest to them.

Jiang Shuyao threw herself into the competition project, crazily working every day with her books and laptop.

Every time Pei Yan saw his little girlfriend working as if she was on a frenzy, he felt inexplicably annoyed.

The girl in front of him was the moonlight in his heart, a Princess he cherished and protected in the palm of his hand.

Princess should rightfully sit on her throne and enjoy the fruits of victory—why on earth did she insist on experiencing this toilsome life?

Her hands should be holding a paintbrush, gracefully outlining the beautiful scenes of the world. Yet now, they have turned into a relentless typing machine, staying up late with two grown men, suffering through the nights. Several times she even fell asleep at the base, mumbling about CSS properties in her dreams.

Pei Yan couldn’t identify the feeling he had at that moment.

But he swore, this was definitely the last time.

Had he known it would turn out like this, he would never have indulged her in the first place.

In the days that followed, Jiang Shuyao’s life revolved around three points: the classroom, the dormitory, and the base.

Once someone gets busy, they gradually drift away from their usual circle of friends.

Initially, He Shumiao and Fang Wei would occasionally invite Jiang Shuyao out for shopping and meals. But they soon realized that any time Yaoyao went out to eat with them, she would end up staying up two extra hours that night. The profound guilt in their hearts made it so that they couldn’t bring themselves to disturb her anymore.

And since that night coming back from the hospital, Jiang Shuyao had barely seen Zhong Yuan.

According to Chen Jin, Moon, the band, was planning to release their first single by the end of August as a pre-debut test.

Releasing a single, and as the lead singer of the band, she probably wouldn’t be able to find the time to balance her schoolwork for a while.

Few people knew that Zhong Yuan only went to university to appease her family; to her, a diploma was almost irrelevant.

If she had the chance to chase her dream of music, she’d even drop out without hesitation.

But Jiang Shuyao never expected that day would come so soon.

As the semester drew to a close, and on the afternoon of the last final exam, she bumped into Zhong Yuan at the entrance of the counselor’s office.

They only glanced at each other without speaking, one going in, the other going out.

As they brushed past, Jiang Shuyao noticed that the smell of smoke on Zhong Yuan seemed much stronger than before. She paused mid-step, wanting to say something, but seeing the other’s cold profile, she swallowed her words back down.

On the counselor’s desk lay a leave of absence application, printed on A4 paper, with Zhong Yuan’s name written under the applicant section.

The date, however, was half a month prior.

She knew that if the band wanted to make a lasting debut, merely nestling in the small world of Rong City was insufficient.

The outside world was mottled and brilliant, which was why there were encounters and farewells between people.

Everything seemed regular and ordinary, and even though she was reluctant to let go, she still waited calmly and openly for that day to arrive.

After handing in the documents, Jiang Shuyao left the office, and at the end of the corridor, she saw that slender figure standing before the railing, smoking.

Upon seeing her approach, Zhong Yuan stamped out the cigarette and rummaged in the backpack to hand her something.

It was the Little Orange Lamp.

Jiang Shuyao stared at it in a daze, "For me?"

Zhong Yuan raised an eyebrow, "What, you don’t like it?"

"No," Jiang Shuyao quickly reached out to receive it, and noticed that the lampshade had been polished clean and gleamed much brighter than before.

As she looked down at it, she heard Zhong Yuan say, "If there’s anything in the future, just come to the studio to find me, and if I’m not there, use the key to open the door and go in."

It was an implicit way of telling Jiang Shuyao, that from today onward, she would not return to the school.

That key was still resting in the dormitory drawer, and Jiang Shuyao had always kept it safe.

Initially, she thought it was just a temporary measure from Zhong Yuan for backup, but she hadn’t expected to be granted such extensive access. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

No doubt, it gave her another private space.

After a brief conversation, Zhong Yuan didn’t plan to linger, not even intending to walk with her for a short stretch of stairs.

Watching the increasingly distant figure, Jiang Shuyao faintly felt that this was perhaps her last sight of Zhong Yuan.

This thought startled her.

But then again, if the band hit it big with their single release and started traveling the world afterwards, the chances of meeting again would indeed become difficult.

This summer, she would definitely spend at the base. The preliminary round was at the end of June, requiring submission of the competition entry via the official email remotely.

The moment she clicked send on the mouse, Jiang Shuyao felt her entire body relax.

The editor had been completed half a month ago, and the remaining time was basically used for testing and improvements.

The rules stated that the PC end should mainly choose from Windows, Linux, or Unix platforms. To be safe, Jiang Shuyao installed different systems on three computers and brought them to her workstation every day for synchronized testing.

Such a feat earned a thumbs up from the other two senior members.

During a break to smoke by the window, Jiang Xubai looked inside and couldn’t help commenting, "A girl who could clinch the city’s top science student really is extraordinary."

Pei Yan leaned lazily against the window, exhaling a puff of smoke and chuckled softly, "Do you believe she was a hundred times more at ease during her college entrance exams than she is now?"

Perhaps no one knew better than Jiang Shuyao herself how much weight she had placed on this competition.

It was like an obsession; once it took root, it would let itself grow into a towering tree.

And Pei Yan had never delved into the reasons from the beginning to the end. He knew that all of the Princess’s thoughts would be laid bare before him at some explosive moment.

In mid-July, on a bright and sunny morning, Old Man Jiang took two competing teams from his school and flew to the Capital.

The final’s organizers provided accommodations that were somewhat remote. Three whole floors of the hotel were taken up by teams from various universities across the country.

As the only girl in the team, Jiang Shuyao and a female student from the local Ligong University were assigned to one room.