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Chapter 54: High School Entrance Exam
I just didn’t expect that even after having you, she still wouldn’t tell me.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Qin Feng was momentarily speechless.
Gu Wuyi was also exasperated with the little brat. “You don’t even know who your uncle is—how did he die?”
“He’s still my uncle even if I don’t know,” the child retorted.
Qin Feng chuckled. “Have you ever called him ‘uncle’?”
The kid shook his head honestly, looking rather regretful. “Then does that mean he’s not really dead?”
Qin Feng couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. If getting a haircut was such a superstition, wouldn’t Wang Genbao take a few daughters every year before the fifteenth of the first lunar month to shave their heads? “Go wash your face.”
“Then tell me who my mom is.”
How would Qin Feng know?
Ever since he transmigrated into this era of rebuilding and renewal, it had been thirty years. In all that time, he had only had a few romantic dreams, and those were during his lonely days abroad. After returning home, with family around and a busy, fulfilling career, he was even more abstinent than a monk. He couldn’t even make up a name if he wanted to.
But Miaomiao saw him as her real dad. If he said he didn’t know who her mother was, even a three-year-old wouldn’t believe him. “I only know her name. Telling you won’t make a difference.”
Fu Qingyun was very curious about Miaomiao’s origins. “How did you two meet?”
Qin Feng had expected someone to ask, but he didn’t think it would be a bunch of kids. Still, it didn’t matter—he had already made up a story.
“I was a hotel waiter abroad, and she was a guest at the hotel—”
Miaomiao couldn’t help but ask, “Dad, you were a waiter?”
Fu Qingyun pulled him to his side. “Don’t interrupt, that’s not the main point.”
Miaomiao pouted, wanting to ask if his dad had been bullied while working as a waiter. But when his third brother glared at him, he swallowed the words immediately.
Seeing this, Qin Feng felt relieved—Miaomiao didn’t seem too concerned about that so-called mother. “She was beautiful, I was young, and there were no strings attached. So, we got together.”
Miaomiao tentatively raised his small hand.
Fu Qingyun: “Speak!”
“What does ‘no strings attached’ mean?”
Qin Feng: “It means no marriage. If things go well, they stay together; if not, they separate.”
This was the first time Miaomiao had heard such a thing, and he couldn’t help but gape slightly.
Qin Feng nodded. “It’s more open abroad. I just didn’t expect that even after having you, she wouldn’t tell me.”
“Good thing she didn’t tell you.”
Qin Feng was confused.
“If she did, then I’d have a mom.”
Qin Feng blinked.
—Did he hear that right?
The boy nodded. “Dad, what’s her name?”
“I thought you weren’t interested?”
The boy thought for a moment. “Tell me, so I can make a voodoo doll of her.”
Qin Feng was speechless.
Gu Wuyi suddenly turned to look at him.
Miaomiao instinctively wanted to run.
Fu Qingyun hooked an arm around his neck and tilted his head. “A voodoo doll?”
The boy instinctively looked at Qin Feng.
Qin Feng kept a straight face. “Who told you about that?”
Seeing his father’s stern expression, the boy didn’t dare to make something up. “I-I heard it from an old lady in the village.”
Qin Feng knew it had to be someone elderly. These days, young people making voodoo dolls would only get laughed at.
“Stop learning from those people. If voodoo dolls actually worked, why would we need the police?”
The boy thought about it carefully—made sense. “Then… then shaving your head in the first month of the year and ‘killing your uncle’ is just superstition too?”
“What else would it be?”
The boy looked disappointed. “Then I’ll just… wait until after the first month, when it’s warmer, to get a haircut.” He looked at Qin Feng pitifully. “It’s too cold, my head will freeze.”
Qin Feng chuckled. “I’m not forcing you. Do whatever you want.” With that, he went back to his room to put on a cotton jacket.
The brothers exchanged glances, made sure they were all properly dressed, and headed downstairs to wash up.
Afterward, Gu Wuyi opened the stove to heat some water, then went to the small vegetable garden in the yard to pick some spinach. Once the fire got going, he fried some eggs and finally cooked noodles in the hot water.
These weren’t store-bought noodles.
After the New Year, Gu Wuyi had turned fifteen, and Gu Xiao’er was already fourteen. Though they were still boys, they were old enough to knead dough and strong enough to roll out noodles.
They had made these noodles before the New Year when they had free time.
Because of the cold weather, the noodles had frozen solid in the cupboard.
Gu Wuyi boiled a portion in a wok, then added the spinach and eggs. The pot was nearly full—anything less wouldn’t be enough to feed all six of them.
After the meal, the five brothers went about their own tasks.
As for Qin Feng, there was no such thing as a winter break for him yet. He went to the factory with his colleagues.
Just like that, ten days passed, and schools across the country reopened.
Thanks to their daily practice, Fu Qingyun and Miaomiao’s skills on the erhu and suona had improved by leaps and bounds.
Some villagers passing by the Qin family’s house would hear the music and joke that old man Qin should take them to perform at weddings and funerals.
But that was impossible.
Before the New Year, someone had invited Old Qin to play a lively tune at a wedding banquet, but he had declined, saying he was too old and could only teach his grandsons instead.
It wasn’t that Old Qin was lazy or looked down on wedding performances. Rather, he considered the fact that his son was an engineer at Northern Railway Factory—he didn’t want to embarrass him.
Not that he thought it was shameful, but he couldn’t guarantee that others wouldn’t see it that way.
That being said, on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the five brothers returned to school, and both of Qin Feng’s aunts' families had separated from their sons as well.
On the morning of the eighteenth, Aunt Qin came to deliver festive gifts for the Lantern Festival. When she arrived at Qin’s old house, she immediately sensed something was off. The usually lively courtyard was now empty, with only the elderly couple left, making the place feel vast and desolate.
The elderly couple wore sour expressions, as if Aunt Qin owed them tens of thousands of yuan. This made her uneasy, so after dropping off the gifts, she went next door to find Madam Zhou. “Third Sister-in-law, what’s wrong with the eldest brother’s family?”
Madam Zhou couldn’t hide her schadenfreude. “They split up.”
Aunt Qin thought she misheard.
Madam Zhou nodded.
Aunt Qin instinctively looked outside and hesitantly asked, “Split up? Where did they go? I haven’t heard of them building a house.”
Madam Zhou replied, “All their sons moved to the city. I don’t know if they rented or bought a place, but they divided up the household one day and moved out the next.” She pointed west. “Second Brother’s family too.”
Aunt Qin blurted out, “Then what about them?”
Madam Zhou showed no sympathy for her two sisters-in-law and replied coolly, “They’ll have to figure it out, just like all the other families with many sons in the village.”
Without thinking, Aunt Qin said, “When they’re old and can’t move anymore, each son should take turns housing them for a few months.”
“Then that’s what they’ll do.”
Aunt Qin glanced toward the east and west, frowning. “Weren’t their sons always very filial?”
“No matter how filial a son is, he can’t withstand his wife whispering in his ear. The mothers doted on their sons but never treated their daughters-in-law as family.”
Aunt Qin knew this all too well—they treated their daughters-in-law like bought servants.
If this were the old society, they would have scolded them three times a day and still not let them eat their fill.
With that in mind, she wasn’t surprised that her nephews wanted to separate. She didn’t feel even a shred of sympathy. “I told them before not to treat their daughters-in-law like that. But they insisted that since even the daughters-in-law’s own families didn’t care about them, they could treat them however they wanted. What could they do—fly away to heaven? As if they’ll live longer than their daughters-in-law and never grow old themselves.”
Madam Zhou couldn't help but say, “You’re absolutely right. Our eldest and second sisters-in-law act like they’re the Buddha himself, but even if their daughters-in-law were Sun Wukong, it wouldn’t change a thing.”
Aunt Qin shook her head in exasperation.
Madam Zhou didn’t want to dwell on those two families any longer. “How’s business going?”
Aunt Qin was momentarily stunned but quickly understood what she meant and smiled. “Pretty good. Just the sales to restaurants alone are enough to cover costs.”
Madam Zhou nodded. “That’s great. Better than sitting idle during the winter.”
Aunt Qin sighed, “Exactly. And it doesn’t interfere with planting early-season watermelons and vegetables.” She paused for a moment before adding, “It’s all thanks to Xiao Feng.”
Madam Zhou shook her head. “He didn’t do much. If anyone deserves thanks, it’s the Lin family for being generous and not keeping things to themselves.”
Aunt Qin agreed—she had even made a special trip to visit the Lin family this past Spring Festival.
Lin Xiaobo’s parents weren’t much older than her, nor were they direct relatives, so she had gone under the pretense of paying respects to Lin Xiaobo’s grandparents.
“Speaking of the Lin family, I heard from Xiaobo that by autumn, he’ll be attending the same school as our Xiaoda?”
Madam Zhou had heard Old Qin mention it before. “That’s only if Da Xiaozi gets accepted.”
“He’s smart—he’ll definitely make it.”
Madam Zhou also believed he could.
But Gu Wuyi wasn’t as confident, even though he had always worked hard and ranked at the top of his class.
In his past life, he had never set foot in a high school. If he made it this time, it would mean his life had truly changed. Because of this, just as Qin Feng had predicted, Gu Wuyi never let his guard down.
Even little Miaomiao, who only ever thought about eating or playing, noticed that as the weather grew hotter, his eldest brother became more and more silent.
Worried, Miaomiao secretly asked Qin Feng what was wrong.
Qin Feng explained that Gu Wuyi was afraid of failing the entrance exam.
From then on, no matter the time of day, the little boy never dared to disturb Gu Wuyi in his room.
Even Madam Zhou and Old Qin, fearing that the pressure would keep him up at night, avoided bringing up his studies.
Completely focused on his schoolwork, Gu Wuyi didn’t even notice their efforts.
As the high school entrance exams approached, everyone except Qin Feng tried to avoid talking to Gu Wuyi, afraid that saying the wrong thing might affect his performance.
It wasn’t until the final exam was over and Gu Wuyi walked out of the exam hall with a smile that Miaomiao finally let out a deep sigh of relief. “Big brother is finally done! I’m exhausted.” Saying this, he dramatically flopped onto his dad.
Gu Wuyi couldn’t help but ask, “Why don’t you find a place to rest for a bit?”
Miaomiao blinked in confusion before realizing the misunderstanding. “I’m not physically tired—I’m mentally exhausted!”
Gu Wuyi was puzzled.
Gu Xiao’er asked, “Didn’t you notice that for the past few weeks, everyone’s been tiptoeing around, afraid of saying something that might distract you from your exams?”
Thinking back, Gu Wuyi was surprised to realize that for nearly two months, his mind had been consumed only by teachers, classmates, test papers, and his dad. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he said, “I made you all worry.”
Qin Feng responded, “That’s how it should be. Come on, your grandparents must be getting anxious by now.”
Gu Wuyi nodded and started heading toward the bus stop.
Miaomiao quickly grabbed his arm.
“What’s wrong?”
Qin Feng chuckled. “They’re at Binhai Grand Hotel.”
Gu Wuyi didn’t quite understand.
Gu Xiao’er slung an arm around his shoulders. “Congratulations on escaping the sea of suffering and embracing a new life.”
“What are you even talking about?” Gu Wuyi laughed.
Gu Xiao’er grinned. “It was Dad’s idea.”
“Thanks, Dad, for all the trouble,” Gu Wuyi said without a second thought.
Gu Xiao’er nearly choked and wanted to smack him.
Qin Feng laughed. “Well, what can I do? I’m your dad.” Then he ruffled Miaomiao’s hair. “Walk properly.”
Miaomiao dragged Gu Wuyi past him.
Gu Wuyi had done well on his exams and was in a great mood, letting him have his fun.
Seeing him smile again, Qin Feng knew things were looking good.
However, since the scores weren’t officially released yet and the admission letters hadn’t arrived, he still had some concerns. At this time, the high school entrance exam process wasn’t as strict and standardized as it would be thirty years later—there was always a risk of someone using connections to take a top student’s place just to avoid paying a hefty school choice fee.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long. As soon as the hottest days of summer arrived, Gu Wuyi’s scores were announced—he had achieved a high score and secured a spot at City No. 1 High School, becoming Lin Xiaobo’s schoolmate.
The admission letter was sent to his school, and the teacher personally called Qin Feng with the news.
On the way to pick up the letter, Gu Wuyi suddenly recalled that in his past life, Lin Xiaobo had been senior to Lawyer Chu. He couldn’t help but ask, “Dad, when school starts, that means Lin Xiaobo will be my senior, right?”
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