The two-day university entrance exam passed in the blink of an eye.
Thanks to Pu Sangzhi’s ticulous planning, Huo Feng didn’t encounter a single hitch during those two days of exams.
He diligently prepared, cramd at the last minute, and took the exams earnestly.
Three years of hard work were for these two days, as if they were ancient scholars’ three years of preparation for a single imperial examination.
During those two days, those three years, Huo Feng had not a hint of regret or remorse!
Because he had tried his best!
...
The sumr vacation after the university entrance exam had no howork, no extra classes, no pressure at all!
However, on the first day of sumr vacation, Huo Feng was already worrying.
At this stage, there was nothing else to worry about but the scores...
Waking up early, Huo Feng lay lazily in bed, chatting with Pu Sangzhi.
His mood was initially relaxed, but as the conversation went on, he beca more uneasy, more afraid.
Because they started talking about this round of exams.
Huo Feng wasn’t foolish enough to compare answers with Pu Sangzhi; he just discussed with her the ways they would frivolously date once they got into Tsinghua.
They ticulously planned out the details of their future romance!
In the end, Pu Sangzhi asked him, "Let ask you, if you don’t get in, what are your plans afterward?"
Of course, at that ti, Huo Feng quickly replied, "Impossible! I did exceptionally well on the exams! There weren’t any questions I couldn’t answer! I’m definitely getting in!"
Who knew Pu Sangzhi would remind him, "I an what if... Nothing is absolute. Even if you’re confident, you should have a backup plan before the results co out."
"Impossible!"
Huo Feng still responded to her like that, "I will definitely get in! No need for a backup plan! Do you need a backup plan?"
On the other end of the phone, Pu Sangzhi nodded and replied to him, "I have a backup plan. If I don’t get into Tsinghua, I’ll retake the exam next year."
"Huh?"
Huo Feng frowned at that instant...
So, after hanging up the phone, Huo Feng’s heart began to flutter with all sorts of unease!
In his mind, he thought: Sangzhi is worried she won’t get in and is planning a backup. As an eternal second-place finisher, what right did he have to be so certain?
Speaking of which...
Huo Feng felt that his essay in the Chinese exam might not have been written very well!
He purposely quoted an ancient poem in the opening sentence, which should have ended with a period, but he ended it with a comma instead!
Could that also be a fatal point deduction?
Huo Feng began to worry...
So, from the first day of sumr vacation, Huo Feng’s heart was fraught with anxiety.
So anxious that he lost his appetite, even the sumr waterlons tasted bland.
That noon, Huo Feng sat down to eat with his father, Huo Mingshan, in a tense atmosphere.
Shen Yu was a primary school teacher, and the primary school hadn’t yet closed for the sumr. So Huo Mingshan, who had just finished teaching a senior class and was on vacation, took on the responsibility of cooking at ho to take care of Huo Feng’s daily needs.
On the first day, Huo Feng didn’t give him any face.
With four dishes and a soup on the table, Huo Feng didn’t touch his chopsticks, just cradling the bowl, his head down, fiddling with his phone.
Huo Mingshan endured it for a few minutes, but couldn’t hold back any longer. He tapped his plate with the chopsticks, "Stop playing with your phone, eat!"
"I’m anxious."
Huo Feng replied without looking up, "Ask Teacher Zheng when the results will be out, see if she can get them earlier."
"She can’t. Eat!" Huo Mingshan replied impatiently.
"Just because you say she can’t, she can’t? Who do you think you are!"
Huo Feng retorted impatiently.
A few seconds after replying, he suddenly looked up, finally realizing, "Hey, I just had a brainwave, I realized you have a higher status than Teacher Zheng!"
Huo Mingshan silently lifted his chin, with an expression that said ’you finally get it, kid.’
"Old Huo, can you find out the results earlier? I’m anxious, I’m scared! There are still more than twenty days to go, I don’t even feel like having fun!" Huo Feng put down his phone and pleaded urgently.
"I don’t have that authority. The university entrance exam is nationally standardized, it’s not our school’s exam. Which teacher can get the results first?"
Huo Mingshan tapped the plate with his chopsticks and urged, "Eat. Since it’s all over, stop thinking about those things. Spend so ti taking Sangzhi out to have fun so that if she doesn’t get into Tsinghua, she doesn’t dump you with a single word."
"Hey! Hey, hey!"
Huo Feng slapped the table, agitated, "Are you even speaking human language! That’s too much!"
Huo Mingshan urged, "Eat! Stop thinking about it!"
Huo Feng took a deep breath, picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a chicken leg, yet still felt uneasy, "Dad, Sangzhi said if she doesn’t get into Tsinghua, she’ll repeat a year. What should I do then?"
Hearing this, Huo Mingshan chuckled, "If she doesn’t get in, neither will you. If you still don’t want to give up, obediently repeat the year as well."
"And if she gets in, but I don’t?" asked Huo Feng.
Huo Mingshan picked up so cauliflower with his chopsticks and set it in his bowl, speaking bluntly, "That’s why I said you should make a move during this ti. If you win her over, it won’t matter if you don’t get in. Life is long, being apart for a few years of college is nothing."
"It is a big deal! Won’t we be separated for several years then? What if she goes on to graduate school, won’t it be even longer? I’m afraid she’ll get snatched up by soone else at school!"
Feeling miserable, Huo Feng lost his appetite for food.
Looking at Huo Feng’s troubled face, why did Huo Mingshan find it so amusing!
Huo Mingshan then cleared his throat and suddenly puffed up his chest, assuming the air of an elderly patriarch.
"You, lad, have truly not been a disappointnt in your studies these high school years. And your treatnt of Sangzhi, too, has been good!"
Huo Mingshan nodded and said, "Things have gotten to this point, it’s ti I step in and give you a hand."
Huo Feng frowned, giving Huo Mingshan a ’what nonsense are you spouting now’ look.
Then, Huo Mingshan took a bite of cauliflower and casually scooped so soup while bringing up nonchalantly, "Well, whenever you’re free, bring Sangzhi ho for a al. With your mom and here, we’ll all say so good words for you. You put on a good performance yourself, and who knows, Sangzhi might set her heart on you."
"Oh~~"
After listening, Huo Feng seed to understand the old Huo’s intentions!
Turns out this old coot was planning to step in, playing up his identity as Huo Feng’s father!
Really, oh...
Throughout high school, he never showed Sangzhi that he was Huo Feng’s father.
Now, with Huo Feng’s rising grades making him proud and becoming a good student... he’s ready to acknowledge Huo Feng as his son!
Picking up such a convenient advantage without any sign of embarrassnt!
Huo Feng chuckled as well, played around with the rice with his chopsticks, and said to Huo Mingshan with a curl of his lips, "What’s this? Not hiding anymore? Planning to show off your son?"
"What’s there to show off about you?"
Huo Mingshan snorted, "This year’s exams, Sangzhi is enough for to boast about. You... psh~"
The father and son vied for face, each holding their ground, neither yielding to the other!
This stubbornness was actually a legacy of their bloodline!
"It’s up to you to decide."
Huo Mingshan chewed unhurriedly and said, "Sangzhi has always been very respectful towards . Over the three years of high school, I’ve looked after her a lot. She might indeed part ways with you. As for , I’ll be her ntor for life! With my status, if you leverage it properly, it just might make her see you as more reliable!"
"Heh heh!"
Huo Feng laughed, "Don’t flatter yourself. The principal’s son is still after her too! Do you see any chance of developnt between her and that Han Lei? Let tell you, there’s none! What’s a teacher anyway? In choosing a boyfriend, it’s all about the heart! Sangzhi likes because she likes , not because of anyone else. With or without you, it would be the sa!"
Huo Mingshan: "..."
Huo Feng: "..."
After finishing this exchange, Huo Mingshan and Huo Feng, father and son, fell into silence together.
Huo Mingshan didn’t argue with him, didn’t respond, just kept eating.
Huo Feng couldn’t find a way to bring up what he wanted to say...
Actually, Huo Feng wanted to say that if Huo Mingshan argued back just once more, he would agree to bring Sangzhi ho to et the parents!
This shaless old codger! His defeat ca too quickly!
It left Huo Feng at a loss!
After a few minutes of silence, Huo Feng ate a few bites of his food before bringing the topic back, "What do you think, when does Mom have ti off? When would it be convenient to bring Sangzhi ho? Don’t get wrong, I’m bringing her ho because it’s ti to et the parents! We need to solidify our relationship!"
Huo Mingshan shoveled food into his mouth, replied indifferently, "Whatever."
Huo Feng nodded, "Then I’ll set it up with Mom’s schedule. When that ti cos, you guys have to save so face in front of Sangzhi. I’ll make it clear upfront, it’s fine how you hit, scold, bully, or insult normally! But in front of Sangzhi, you must act like you love ! I can’t lose face in front of her!"
Huo Mingshan frowned in displeasure, "You’d better show so respect too. I don’t want to hit you in front of her either."
Huo Feng said, "Deal! I’ll respect you as a father, and you treat as your son!"
Huo Mingshan: "Faulty logic, you already are my son."
Huo Feng: "..."
Ah, this iron-clad fact, Huo Feng always seems to forget!
...
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