June 7.
Emerald Garden Residential Complex, Building 3, Unit 201.
Shen Heng crossed his arms, leaned against the door frame, and quietly gazed into the room.
Inside the room, Shen Shuning placed her schoolbag in front of her, her hands inside, while Xu Yuqin stood beside her, checking each item against her phone.
"Examination admission ticket."
"I brought it." Shen Shuning took a small piece of paper out of her schoolbag.
"ID card."
"I brought it."
"A pen for the exam?"
"..."
After a moment, Xu Yuqin finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming the information, and she turned to look at Shen Heng.
" Xiao Heng, I'll have to trouble you to take your sister over there!"
"That's not a problem, but..."
Shen Heng picked up his phone and checked the time: 7:23
"Are you sure you want to go this early? It might not even be eight o'clock yet if we go now!"
"Okay, let's go early, so we don't get stuck in traffic and be late!" Xu Yuqin said.
Shen Heng nodded and looked at Shen Shuning.
"So you're leaving?"
Shen Shuning didn't reply, but instead walked towards Shen Heng.
Shen Heng stepped aside to let Shen Shuning out of the doorway, then looked at Xu Yuqin again and asked:
"Mom, are you really not going?"
Xu Yuqin shook her head, "Mom won't go. Mom needs to prepare lunch. Remember to wait there then, and then pick up your sister!"
"Okay, I understand!" Shen Heng replied.
"Mom, I'm leaving now!" Shen Shuning stood at the door and looked into the house.
Xu Yuqin looked at the two people standing at the door and nodded with a smile.
"Okay, go on! Remember to take the exam seriously!!"
"Mm." Shen Shuning nodded gently.
The door closed, Shen Heng turned to look at Shen Shuning.
Let's go!
Shen Shuning nodded without saying a word and followed Shen Heng downstairs.
Shen Heng led Shen Shuning to a black sedan at the entrance of the residential area, then opened the door and got in.
Shen Shuning stared at the scene before her with some surprise. She had assumed that her mother had asked Shen Heng to take her, and that Shen Heng would borrow an electric scooter from somewhere. Now...
Shen Heng waited in the driver's seat for a while, and only after Shen Shuning got in the car and fastened her seatbelt did he start the car and drive towards Linhai No. 2 High School.
Shen Shuning was assigned to take the exam at Linhai No. 2 High School, which was good, as it saved her the trouble of getting familiar with the exam venue.
Along the way, watching the vehicles heading to various schools, Shen Heng had a strange feeling.
It was like he was sending his daughter to an exam, except the father-daughter relationship was rather ordinary... Shen Heng chuckled inwardly.
In the past two months, Shen Shuning's attitude towards him has improved slightly, and she is not as cold as before, but their relationship is just so-so now. They don't exchange more than a few words unless there is something going on.
After a moment of silence in the car, Shen Shuning asked:
Where did you get this car?
"It's provided by the company for me to use to commute to and from get off work."
"You've only been there for two months, and you already have a company car?" Shen Shuning frowned slightly.
"They have more resources in this area, so they provided it! Besides, this car wasn't given to me directly; if I leave the company, I'll have to return it," Shen Heng explained.
Having said that, he added an explanation, realizing what Shen Shuning was thinking.
"Besides, cars are very cheap now. New ones cost tens of thousands, and older ones, especially those from a long time ago, can be found for just a few thousand!"
This car was indeed provided by the Supervision Bureau, since Shen Heng would be joining the day shift schedule in a few days.
If Calamity Beast is discovered at night, we can't exactly make him take a taxi to the place where Calamity Beast was found, can we?
So, after confirming that Shen Heng could indeed drive, Wang Hai gave him a car.
Of course, as Shen Heng said, cars are indeed very cheap now.
Given the salaries paid to its employees by the Supervision Bureau, even the lowest-ranking inspectors could easily afford it, but...
Why do you think the Supervision Bureau provides each of its inspectors with a car for personal transportation?
Hearing Shen Heng say this, Shen Shuning nodded and said nothing more.
She turned to look out the car window, letting the gentle breeze blow her hair back...
The car was quiet.
After a long silence, a cold voice broke the stillness inside the car.
Do you remember what happened at school two weeks ago?
Shen Heng paused on the steering wheel, then replied nonchalantly, "I remember, what's wrong?"
"Do you remember what happened that day?" Shen Shuning asked.
"Didn't the school say that there was a chemical leak, which caused us to lose consciousness, and that some people who inhaled the overdose died from the same cause?" Shen Heng read out the official explanation.
"But..." Shen Shuning frowned slightly, "Our school shouldn't have anything that dangerous!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Heng couldn't help but glance at Shen Shuning, who was looking out the window.
Individual incidents are manageable, but group incidents like this are really hard to cover up, especially for those with brains... He began:
"These days, you can find anything. People are making rocket fuel at home, researching medicines for incurable diseases at home, let alone in places like schools where materials are even easier to obtain!"
"Maybe..." Shen Shuning nodded silently and said in a low voice.
She turned her head to look out the window and said nothing more.
Another twenty minutes or so passed.
The car slowly came to a stop about 70 or 80 meters away from Linhai No. 2 High School.
In front of them, cars were parked neatly, all the way to the designated parking area in front of the school.
Shen Heng glanced at the time: 08:06
"Do you want to go straight there, or wait in the car?" Shen Heng turned to look at Shen Shuning.
"I'm going straight in; I won't stay in the car!" Shen Shuning replied.
Shen Heng nodded, took a bottle of water (without the packaging) from the car, and handed it over.
"Remember, just drink a little when you're thirsty, don't drink too much!"
Shen Shuning looked down at the bottle of mineral water that was handed to her, and felt a sense of disorientation.
In the past two months, she and Shen Heng have rarely communicated, but every time they do, she feels that Shen Heng is completely different from before, as if she is the smaller person in his presence...
Seeing that Shen Shuning didn't answer, Shen Heng spoke again:
What? You don't want it?
"No, thank you!"
Shen Shuning shook her head and took the mineral water bottle.
She turned around, opened the door, got out of the car, and walked towards the school gate.
Shen Heng sat in the car, quietly gazing in the direction of the school gate. He only felt at ease after hearing Shen Shuning's footsteps enter the examination hall.
He lowered his eyes slightly and closed them as he exhaled.
10:56
Shen Heng stood at the entrance of Linhai No. 2 High School.
He was a little worried that Shen Shuning wouldn't recognize his car, so he waited at the school gate early.
By this time, rows and rows of parents had already lined up at the school gate.
Unlike when I took the college entrance exam in my previous life, when my parents were all dressed simply, the situation here is quite different.
People were delivering flowers, wearing cheongsams, and holding banners—all sorts of people were there...
Shen Heng glanced around, then his gaze suddenly landed on a figure squeezing towards him.
"Teacher? What are you doing here?" Shen Heng looked at his homeroom teacher, Zhou Hong, with some surprise.
"I'm a teacher, what's so strange about me being here? But you, didn't you say you weren't going to take the college entrance exam?" Zhou Hong retorted.