Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was May 1966.
Sang Sang had already been living in Harbin for three years.
That day, as usual, she arrived at class right on the dot. In all those years, she still hadn’t changed her habit of sleeping in—she was almost always the last one to arrive. Both teachers and classmates had long since gotten used to it.
She was a little surprised, though—the teacher, who was always early, wasn’t there.
“Sang Sang, you’re here! Hehe, my dad made sweet braised pork today—he added sugar! At lunch, you can eat the lean meat and I’ll eat the fatty part,” Yuan Yuan said, her chubby face glowing with excitement.
She couldn’t wait to share today’s menu with her best friend.
Sang Sang was already used to this deskmate who had food constantly on her mind. Still, hearing there was braised pork today, she felt a bit of anticipation.
Yuan Yuan’s father was a chef at a state-run restaurant, highly skilled—especially when it came to braised pork.
The first time Sang Sang had tasted his cooking, her eyes had lit up.
The only slight regret was that she preferred the sweeter Shanghai-style flavor. After Yuan Yuan found out, she would always remind her father to add sugar whenever he made the dish.
“Alright, I brought scrambled eggs. We can share at lunch,” Sang Sang replied with a faint smile.
Seeing Yuan Yuan staring at her again in a daze, she sighed inwardly.
But after all these years, she was used to it.
In just a few months, they would be taking the college entrance exam. The smile faded from her lips as she focused on her textbook.
Glancing at Yuan Yuan, who was still daydreaming, she said coldly, “Hurry up and study. With your grades, do you still want to go to university in the capital? Don’t you want us to live in the same city?”
For someone as aloof as Sang Sang, this was already a small sign of concern for her deskmate.
After all, over the past three years, Yuan Yuan had treated her genuinely well. As some jealous girls in class would say, Yuan Yuan was practically Sang Sang’s little maid—doing whatever she was told.
Running errands, doing cleaning duty, washing lunchboxes—she happily bustled around taking care of everything for Sang Sang.
Some girls couldn’t stand it and reported to the teacher, claiming Sang Sang bullied Yuan Yuan. But Yuan Yuan insisted they were just jealous of her close friendship with Sang Sang.
And so, one willing to give, the other willing to receive—over time, everyone got used to it and stopped talking about it.
“Okay, okay, I’ll study now,” Yuan Yuan said, snapping out of her daze and quickly opening her book.
Even after all these years, she still couldn’t control herself—she loved staring at Sang Sang’s face.
And honestly, she didn’t think it was her fault. After all, her beautiful deskmate only kept getting prettier.
At eighteen, Sang Sang had a face like a painting—delicate brows, bright almond-shaped eyes, and flawless, fair skin so smooth it seemed poreless.
Pure yet alluring.
No wonder Yuan Yuan, a self-proclaimed “face enthusiast,” was completely captivated.
…
Sang Sang checked the time and frowned. The first class was supposed to be taught by Teacher Gong, who was always diligent. There was no way he would be nearly half an hour late.
The class was almost over—if he had been delayed, another teacher should have come to inform them.
Leaving them unattended like this… something felt off.
Just as Sang Sang was debating whether to go check the office, Teacher Gong finally pushed open the classroom door, his expression complicated.
He looked at the students, who were diligently reviewing, with a trace of reluctance.
After steadying himself, he delivered the news:
“Students, I’ve just received a notice. According to higher authorities, the college entrance examination is to be suspended indefinitely.”
…
The moment his words fell, the classroom went completely silent—as if time had frozen.
Five or six seconds later, chaos erupted.
“What? The exam is canceled?”
“If there’s no exam, what are we supposed to do?”
“Does that mean all these years of studying were for nothing?!”
…
“Alright, quiet down first! Teacher—when will the exams resume? Or… will they even resume?”
The class monitor restored order, and all eyes turned back to Teacher Gong.
Sang Sang did the same.
Her mind buzzed, and she looked at him almost pleadingly, hoping this was only temporary—just delayed by a few months.
…Even two or three years would be fine. She could wait.
But the answer shattered her hope.
Teacher Gong’s words were like a cruel curse.
“I don’t know when they’ll resume. But… most likely, they won’t. Or it may take a very long time. As for how long—no one knows.”
“Oh, and right now, there’s encouragement to go to the countryside and help with rural development. If you don’t know what to do after graduation, you can sign up.”
Sang Sang almost laughed.
After all her years of effort, was she really going to end up taking the same path—going to the countryside?
…
At the textile factory residential compound—
“Sang Sang, don’t look so down. Mom will find a job for you. Let’s not get mixed up with those people outside causing trouble,” Qin Yunxi said, having just returned from grocery shopping, recalling the chaos on the streets.
It had been a month since the cancellation of the college entrance exam.
Recently, people from the neighborhood committee had been going around encouraging young people to go to the countryside.
At first, Qin Yunxi hadn’t taken it seriously. It sounded nice—“educated youth going to build the countryside”—but she couldn’t bear the thought of her daughter suffering out there.
But in the past few days, things had become increasingly chaotic.
People Sang Sang’s age were either heading to the countryside with big red flowers pinned to their chests—or wearing red armbands, getting swept up in the turmoil. Even Bai Zhixin was rarely home these days.
Only Sang Sang, devastated by the cancellation of the exam, had been locking herself in her room, refusing to go out.
Qin Yunxi had seen more of the world. She knew times were unstable and changing by the day. To avoid trouble, it was better to settle her daughter down as soon as possible.
“Alright… but I want an office job. Don’t arrange anything like factory floor work. For the rest, you can decide,” Sang Sang said.
After so many days, she had come to terms with it.
Life had to go on. She couldn’t just sit around waiting for news of the exam’s return.
Even if she was still unwilling to accept it.
“Don’t worry. My daughter is so beautiful—how could I let you work in a factory?” Qin Yunxi assured her.
Seeing her daughter come around, she finally felt relieved.
She knew her daughter was just like her—ambitious, unwilling to live an ordinary life or struggle just to get by.
But perhaps it was simply their misfortune to be born in such times, where their abilities had no place to shine.
All they could do was try to make their lives as comfortable as possible.
After all… a comfortable day was still a day.