Gaokao

Many feminists often express outrage that humans are the only animals that use violence to force women into sexual relations... Of course, their primary target of condemnation is men.

Violence is actually a very common phenomenon, affecting both men and women, and fathers and mothers.

In fact, otters, penguins, and dolphins are the true kings of metamorphosis in nature. Although their intelligence may limit the extent of their metamorphosis, their impulses and frequency of metamorphosis surpass those of humans, because the probability of them becoming metamorphic in their lifetime is almost 100%.

In Liu Chang'an's opinion, the red mark on Zhong Qing's lower abdomen was hardly a punishment. It was probably just playful banter between her and Third Mistress Zhu. Such a red mark would disappear in two or three days at most, restoring her fair and flawless skin.

The "playing" of sea otters, penguins, and dolphins is quite different; compared to them, the images of Thai eagles circulating on social media are like pure angels.

Among them, dolphins, the most intelligent creatures, accompany their actions with their own language. According to Liu Chang'an's analysis, they probably shout something like, "I'm angry with you, mom, don't be angry to death! I'm telling you, I can make you fly..."

And so on.

Liu Chang'an never thought sea otters, penguins, or dolphins were cute. Whenever someone thought they were cute and therefore should be protected, Liu Chang'an felt that many humans were too shallow and foolish... in a general sense, not innocent and lively.

Liu Chang'an still remembered the riverside brothels along the Qinhuai River. They were convenient places to stay, and the river was always bustling with people. Lantern boats and painted barges constantly came and went on the river. In the brothels on both banks, the jasmine fragrance wafted through the air, and the women were very charming. They had round fans and light silk handkerchiefs, and their hair was loosely tied up. They were soft and charming. Hong Chengchou also admired them. "The Qin Huai River, the red bridge and the stone slabs, its fragrance and beauty are so captivating that I dream of it."

Back then, girls were already aware of these things between Zhong Qing and the Third Mistress. Liu Chang'an was somewhat aware of it, and Zhong Qing's affectation was obviously not hidden from his eyes. When she unbuttoned her clothes, her eyes darted around, but she didn't seem to care about Liu Chang'an. The shyness hidden behind her seductive manner had nothing to do with Liu Chang'an... She clearly didn't realize how clearly Liu Chang'an saw through her.

Liu Chang'an has always been a reasonable person. If the Third Mistress were missing an arm or a leg and had difficulty moving around, Liu Chang'an would certainly be willing to go see her. But she didn't.

As for the relationship between Zhong Qing and the Third Mistress, he wouldn't gossip about it; it was just an ordinary matter.

Liu Chang'an continued making his own clothes.

On June 7th, the first day of the college entrance examination, Liu Chang'an ate a bowl of clear soup noodles with scallions and an egg for breakfast.

Zhou Shuling set off a string of firecrackers for him, and Zhou Dongdong also picked up a lot of unburned firecracker fragments.

Old Man Qian gave him a piece of cured meat, and Old Lady Liu also brought over a basket of eggs that they had agreed to have. Several mahjong and card-playing friends pooled their money to buy an even bigger string of firecrackers, so Zhou Dongdong collected even more broken firecrackers.

Liu Chang'an's exam site is at the Affiliated High School, as is An Nuan's. Traffic control has been implemented near the Affiliated High School today, three additional security posts have been set up, and two special police vehicles are parked at the main gate. Parents are gathered around, and reporters and anchors from major TV stations, online media, and live streaming channels are conducting random interviews.

"Excuse me, are you taking the college entrance exam today?"

Liu Chang'an was interviewed because he was the only student-looking person they could find to interview at this time.

"Yes."

"You seem to be late..."

"It seems so."

Huang Shan, furious, spotted Liu Chang'an was late and roared, "Liu Chang'an, you're going to drive me crazy! You're late again today! Get inside now!"

Seeing that Liu Chang'an wanted to share his thoughts in front of the camera, Huang Shan quickly dragged him into the examination room, without asking him why he was late.

"What's wrong with your phone? An Nuan has called you so many times, she's really worried... An Nuan's exam room is next to yours. When you go in, just hang around outside her classroom for a bit." Huang Shan was at a loss. Although he usually strongly opposed students dating, he couldn't do anything about it now... He just wanted to make sure it didn't affect An Nuan's mindset for the exam, and he didn't care about anything else.

"I forgot to charge it."

Liu Chang'an was only slightly late; those who were fifteen minutes late were not allowed to enter the examination room, so Liu Chang'an wasn't in a hurry. He found An Nuan's examination room, peeked into the classroom door, smiled at An Nuan who was breathing a sigh of relief, and then went to his own examination room.

An Nuan patted her chest. They had agreed that wherever she went, he would go too. If she went to university and he went to a cram school, that guy who didn't keep his promise would definitely make him swallow that college application form.

The first session was Chinese, lasting two and a half hours. Liu Chang'an first looked at the essay topic: Choose two or three keywords to present your understanding of China, and write an article to help foreign youth understand China.

Liu Chang'an first wrote the essay:

"To claim to fully understand China is an exaggeration. Even after five thousand years of history, it's still difficult to comprehend China civilization. To expect to understand China with just two or three words is arrogant and nonsensical. If we must use two or three words today, then we can only offer a few words..."

Liu Chang'an finished early and handed in his exam paper. He was the last one to enter the exam room, but the first to hand in his paper. He looked at the crowd gathered outside the door, their anxious and expectant eyes all focused on him. Some wanted to ask about the exam room, others wanted to ask about the difficulty of the exam paper. In short, they were all trying to get some comforting information.

Liu Chang'an stopped about twenty meters from the door, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest. It was a sunny day, a clear day during the plum rain season, and the air was always humid and particularly muggy.

"This guy..."

"Classmate!"

Are you done yet?

"Are the questions difficult?"

Liu Chang'an handed in his paper early, but waited until the bell rang and all the other candidates had left before leaving the examination room with An Nuan.

At this point, no one had time to scold that despicable guy who handed in his paper early but ignored everyone.

"You didn't just throw things around in your reading comprehension and essay, did you?" An Nuan asked worriedly. She knew most people wouldn't be so careless at a time like this, but she couldn't be sure about Liu Chang'an.

"No."

"That's good. Let's check the answers." An Nuan pointed out a few points she wasn't sure about.

The two compared their answers and both felt they had performed reasonably well. This year's Chinese exam was of moderate difficulty, with virtually no obscure knowledge points tested, which was advantageous for students with a solid grasp of the basics.

There was an exam in the afternoon. After lunch, Liu Chang'an and An Nuan had lunch together, and An Nuan asked him to come with her.

"Where are you sneaking off to?" Liu Chang'an asked suspiciously.

"Turn your head... Bi Wanwan is looking over there!" An Nuan quickly pulled Liu Chang'an to turn his head away.

"What are you going to do?"

"Aren't you taking a break at noon?" An Nuan looked around casually. "My mom booked me a standard room to rest in."

Liu Chang'an understood and touched An Nuan's hair.