On the morning of June 8th, I got up early. Mom had already prepared breakfast. After the whole family ate together, Dad said he wanted to take me to the exam site, but I refused. I told them to wait at home for my good news. Mom made a cheering gesture, and I smiled and returned one. Walking out of the house, I couldn’t help but feel a longing in my heart—a longing to be acknowledged by others! Let me shock you all once again. Sitting on the school bus, I silently shouted in my heart!
The exam admission ticket said we had to enter the exam room thirty minutes early, so at eight-thirty we began entering. The whole way, Athena followed behind me, though of course no one else could see her. Athena looked around curiously and remarked with emotion, "No wonder you people need family planning. There really are too many people!" I looked around and saw she was right. I gave Athena a helpless smile!
Athena blinked and said to me playfully, "After you enter the exam room, open the door a bit heavily, then slam it shut. Then strike a weird pose and stare at the ceiling. When everyone in the room follows your gaze to the ceiling, you can go back to your seat. Remember, the more disgusting the better—like picking your nose or something. When everyone is looking at you, greet them. The more disgusting, the better!"
Puzzled, I asked in my mind, "Why would I do that?"
Athena clutched her stomach and burst out laughing. "I guarantee that the moment you greet them, their brains will go blank for three hours!"
Only then did I realize Athena was teasing me, trying to make me laugh so I could relax. Thinking of that, I looked at Athena gratefully.
Athena couldn’t quite handle my teary-eyed gaze. She turned her head away, a blush rising on her face, and said in a coy voice, "Alright, alright. Stop staring! Who looks at a girl like that?"
I scratched my head awkwardly. Seeing me like that, Athena let out a laugh and said, "Look at you, all silly. Hurry up and go in!" With that, she took the lead and entered the exam room.
I pushed open the exam room door and glanced around. To my surprise, Kozuki was also in this room. She shot me a glare the moment she saw me! I couldn’t be bothered with her. I found the desk with my exam number and sat down. At nine o’clock, three proctors entered the room. The first exam was Literature. Once the papers were handed out, two proctors began pacing back and forth. I stole a glance at the three proctors, then said to Athena in my mind, "Alright, we can start now!"
Athena immediately appeared in front of me. She leaned down and began reading the test paper carefully, slowly whispering answers in my ear. Athena’s speed was astonishing—she practically read ten lines at a glance. Filling out the paper, I couldn’t slow down even if I wanted to. It took less than half an hour to finish. Athena didn’t even let me check my answers before urging me to turn in the paper. Under the astonished gazes of the other students, I picked up my completed answer sheet, stood up, and walked toward the proctor sitting at the front. The proctor kindly said, "Classmate, there’s still plenty of time. Would you like to check your answers again?"
Before I could answer, Athena, standing beside me, had already shouted, "The great Goddess of Wisdom’s test paper needs checking?" But unfortunately, no matter how much she yelled, no one else could hear her. I smiled at the proctor and said, "Thank you, but I don’t think that will be necessary!"
The proctor wore a pained expression and waved his hand, signaling I could leave. He probably thought I was turning in my paper early because I didn’t know the answers! Turning back, I saw Kozuki staring at me in disbelief. A moment later, her expression shifted back to disdain. I couldn’t stand her. The moment I stepped out of the exam room, I was surrounded by a large crowd of parents. "Was today’s exam hard?" Some aunties even shoved cold drinks and beverages into my arms. Sweat dripped from my forehead. I mumbled a few vague answers to brush them off, then fled in a panic.
Athena burst out laughing at the sight. I said, annoyed, "What are you laughing at?"
"Haha, watching you... being pulled around by those aunties—it’s hilarious!" A perfect figure, an angelic face. A super beauty of a goddess laughing so hard she shook like a flower in the breeze. It made my mouth water just watching. Athena saw me staring at her without blinking, gulping hard, and immediately stopped laughing. Her face flushed with shyness, but she forced herself to act stern and yelled, "What are you looking at? Never seen your big sister before?"
I wanted to laugh but didn’t dare. I stammered, "I’ve seen you before, just never seen such a fierce goddess sister!" Then I turned and bolted.
"Stop right there! I’ll skin you alive!" Athena chased after me, shouting loudly. She completely forgot she was a goddess—why would a goddess need to run to catch someone? Along the way, a trail of joyful laughter followed!
All the remaining exams were finished within half an hour. Math didn’t even take ten minutes! This made me a celebrity at the exam site, and a "bad student" in the eyes of those parents. Finally, after finishing the last exam, I stood outside the exam room and stretched. Just then, a car stopped in front of me. It bore the logo of the SH City television station. The doors opened, and two people burst out with cameras on their shoulders. Then a woman stepped out. She looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Her long hair gleamed with a black luster, tied behind her head with a ribbon. Delicate eyebrows, dark eyes, fair skin with a hint of pink, alluring lips, and a tall figure dressed in a professional suit—there was a soft charm beneath her intellectual appearance! I couldn’t help shouting in my heart: "What a beauty! Even taller than Kavuri!"
While I stood there stunned, the beauty had already thrust a microphone to my mouth, and the camera was aimed at me. "Hello, are you a student who took this year’s college entrance exam?"
"Yes!" I quickly nodded in reply.
"Haha, hello. I’m Shin Garei, a reporter from SH Education Television’s Education Online. May I ask you a few questions?" The beauty smiled like a spring breeze.
In an instant, I was intoxicated by her smile and nodded dumbly!
"You’re the first student to come out of the exam room. How do you find the difficulty of this year’s college entrance exam? Very hard, or average?" the reporter named Shin Garei asked again.
"Huh? Not hard!" I... It was my first time talking to an unfamiliar beauty, and I was so nervous I didn’t know where to put my hands.
"Hehe, don’t be nervous. We can just talk casually." The beauty noticed my nervousness and reassured me gently.
"Oh, okay. Hehe!" I scratched my head awkwardly.
"Do you think the proctoring was strict?"
"Mm, pretty strict!" My answer was very brief.
Dealing with someone like me was truly a headache! I was practically a miser with words, which made it hard to broadcast on the news. Shin Garei’s pretty brows furrowed slightly as she said, "Can you describe it?"
"Huh? How should I put it? During the exam, there were three proctors monitoring at once. One stood on each side, and one sat at the front. I’d say it was very strict!" I thought for a moment and answered.
That answer satisfied Shin Garei a little. She nodded and asked again, "As far as we know, the last exam started less than forty minutes ago. You came out so quickly—was it because you didn’t perform well?"
"Of course not. I finished my paper and then came out!" For some reason, I didn’t want Shin Garei to look down on me, so I quickly explained.
"Hehe, thank you for accepting our interview!" Shin Garei said with a smile. Then she turned to the cameraman behind her and said, "Let’s go in and interview the proctors inside, and get some footage of the exam room." With that, she walked right past me.
I watched Shin Garei’s quickly retreating figure, leaving behind a faint, elegant trace of perfume, and I was lost in it. It wasn’t until the bell rang signaling fifteen minutes left in the exam that I snapped out of it.
I walked to the gate and saw the homeroom teacher pacing back and forth outside the iron gate. When he saw me come out, he asked, "How did it go?"
I nodded and said, "Alright. I filled in everything that needed filling. Just don’t know if it’s right."
Hearing me say that, the homeroom teacher lost all interest in comparing answers with me. Clearly, he didn’t believe I could get them right. He said flatly, "Oh, then head home first. Remember to come back to school on the 20th to fill in your college applications!" Then he ignored me and craned his neck to look inside.
I didn’t mind either. I nodded and headed home.