Auntie, I Placed First in the Province This Time

Outside the school gate, the middle-aged woman in faded overalls was still leaning against the railing.

Her fingers were clenched so tightly they turned white, and her gaze remained fixed on the direction of the school gate.

There were hardly any people left at the school gate; the parents had all taken their children and left, leaving her standing there all alone.

She overheard a few parents who hadn't left yet discussing the matter.

"I heard something happened during the college entrance exam; the people from the lair attacked."

"Really? I've never heard of that before?"

"My son said this when he came out; it seems someone died during the fourth stage of the assessment."

Someone died? My God...

My aunt's face grew paler and paler.

Su Mu has not come out yet.

She didn't know anything about the secret realm of the college entrance exam or the Nest Cult; all she knew was that all the other kids had come out, Su Mu hadn't.

All she knew was that people were saying someone had died inside.

Her hands began to tremble, and her lips pressed into a thin line.

Just as she was about to rush into the school gate, she saw Su Mu.

Su Mu was walking out of the school gate, accompanied by a girl.

The girl was wearing a white light armor, her ponytail was tied high, and she had delicate features and a cool temperament.

Auntie breathed a sigh of relief, loosened her grip on the thermos, and the white marks on her knuckles slowly faded.

As Su Mu walked out of the school gate, he immediately saw his aunt.

He walked over quickly and noticed that his aunt's expression was not quite right.

"Auntie, what's wrong?"

Aunt shook her head. "It's nothing."

Then her gaze fell on the girl behind Su Mu.

Ye Qingxue followed Su Mu over and stood beside him. She glanced at her aunt and nodded slightly.

"Aunt."

Auntie paused for a moment, then a kind smile appeared on her face, and her gaze swept over Ye Qingxue several times.

"What a pretty child."

Ye Qingxue's face flushed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. She tilted her head and said, "Auntie, I have something to do, I'll be going now."

Her aunt looked at her and then asked, "Didn't your parents come to pick you up?"

Ye Qingxue paused slightly. "My parents have something to attend to."

Aunt nodded, then turned to Su Mu and said, "Then you see them off."

Before Su Mu could speak, Ye Qingxue interjected, "No need."

Her earlobes were tinged with a faint pink, and her voice was a few decibels faster than usual.

Su Mu smiled and pointed to the black sedan next to him, "No need, she has a driver to pick her up."

His aunt followed his finger and saw the black luxury car.

She couldn't recognize the car logo, but the streamlined body and glossy paint made it clear that it wasn't something an ordinary family could afford.

She paused for a moment, then looked at Ye Qingxue with some surprise.

Ye Qingxue smiled awkwardly.

"Yes, they were indeed waiting for me." She nodded to her aunt. "Goodbye, Auntie."

After saying that, she walked quickly towards the black car, her ponytail swaying gently behind her.

She walked to the car, and the driver respectfully opened the door for her. She bent down and got in. The door closed, and the car slowly drove away.

Auntie stared at the departing car for several seconds, then turned to look at Su Mu.

"This girl, her family must be very well-off."

Su Mu smiled helplessly, "Auntie, don't play matchmaker."

His aunt gave him a meaningful look. "That girl, is she the one who called you last night?"

Su Mu sighed, "Auntie, don't think about it that way."

Auntie waved her hand, a knowing smile playing on her lips, "Alright, alright, I won't say. You young people have your own way of getting along."

Then she reached out and began to examine Su Mu from head to toe.

"Did everything go smoothly with this year's college entrance exam?"

Her tone was casual, but Su Mu noticed that her fingers were trembling slightly, and the worry in her eyes had not completely subsided.

"I heard..." Aunt hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Something happened during the college entrance exam; it was an attack by people from their lair."

Su Mu paused slightly.

"That did happen," he said, "But it wasn't that dangerous."

He didn't want his aunt to worry, so he spoke very softly.

His aunt stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded.

"It's alright, it's alright. You scared me just now."

As she spoke, she clenched her hands again, as if trying to suppress the lingering fear.

Looking at her, Su Mu suddenly felt a pang of sadness. He thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Aunt."

"Um?"

I did very well on this exam.

His aunt looked up at him, her expression shifting from worry to understanding. She smiled.

"That's good. Auntie will cook you something delicious when we get back."

Su Mu looked at her. "Isn't Auntie going to ask me how I did on the exam?"

My aunt shook her head, her tone matter-of-fact.

"Since you said you did well on the test, your aunt will definitely believe you."

Su Mu smiled. Then he looked at his aunt and said seriously.

"Auntie, I got first place in the province this time."

Auntie's hand stopped.

Then he raised his head and stared blankly at Su Mu.

"What did you say?"

"First place in the province," Su Mu said. "Out of nearly a million test takers in the province, I came in first."

My aunt stood there, her lips moved, but she didn't make a sound for a long time. Then her eyes slowly reddened, and a thin layer of tears shimmered under the streetlight.

"First in the province..." Her voice was a little hoarse, "First in the province?"

Su Mu nodded.

Aunt lowered her head, wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, and then raised her head, her face showing a smile that Su Mu had never seen before.

"Okay," she said. "Okay. Let's go home, and Auntie will cook you something delicious."

She turned and walked towards the bus stop, her steps much lighter than when she had come.

After taking a few steps, she turned back to look at Su Mu, her eyes still red, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

"Number one in the province." She read it again, as if savoring the weight of those four words.

Su Mu followed behind her, watching his aunt's slightly trembling back with a smile on his face.