Grandma’s house was an east-west oriented, rectangular tube-shaped unit. The 32-square-meter space was divided into three rooms using wooden boards.
The bedrooms on the eastern and western ends were quite small, barely fitting a wardrobe and a bed.
The living room was slightly larger. Besides the dining table and a somewhat smaller wardrobe, there was an old artifact placed against the western wall corner – a pearwood bed passed down from the Ming Dynasty.
This bed was even larger than those in the eastern and western compartments, carrying memories of the family’s life changes.
The television was directly opposite the pearwood bed, making it clearer to watch while sitting on the bed.
“What exactly did your classmate want you to see?”
Cousin didn’t enjoy watching the news. After watching for a while, she lost interest, stuffed the last dumpling into her mouth, leaned back, and comfortably lay down on the bed.
“Who knows? So mysterious. Why couldn’t she just tell me directly…”
Lin Xiyu also felt a bit resentful. Seeing that the adults had almost finished eating, she took the empty bowl from her cousin’s hands, went to the dining table, and helped clear the dishes.
“Today is the final day of the college entrance exams. XX thousand students in our city have entered the examination halls.”
“Our reporter captured a scene at 7:29 this morning by the moat, where a candidate risked their own safety to jump into the water and courageously rescue someone while on their way to the exam venue…”
When the news suddenly broadcast information about the college entrance exams, Lin Xiyu turned around sharply upon hearing about the rescue, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Hey, hey, everyone look quickly!”
“It’s Xiyu! Xiyu is on TV!”
Cousin also sprang up from the bed as if resurrected.
Her high-pitched, loud voice attracted everyone’s attention. The whole family gathered around the television, staring wide-eyed at the screen.
For a moment, Lin Xiyu felt dazed.
The television footage was even more shocking than she remembered.
From the car accident happening, to her jumping into the water to rescue someone, to the helpful bystanders assisting.
The entire process, with its switching between fast and slow motion and the emotional narration, made one’s blood pump involuntarily.
This was truly documentary filmmaking!
Watching herself rescuing someone in the water, Lin Xiyu felt her heart racing, too excited to contain herself.
“It really is Xiyu!”
“Jumped into the river to save someone?”
“Our Xiyu is so capable – not only studies well but swims well too.”
“When did this happen? This morning? Did it affect your exams?”
“Such a big matter, this child is so composed, keeping it so secret. If we hadn’t watched the news, we wouldn’t have known…”
The news segment only lasted a few minutes. Once they recovered, the family members simultaneously turned their heads, their intense gazes focusing on Lin Xiyu.
Grandma looked at her with concern, took her hand, and pulled her closer.
“It didn’t affect them, I took the exams…”
Not wanting Grandma to worry, Lin Xiyu hurriedly explained: “I meant to tell you, but after coming back, with all the commotion from Zhang Dafen, I forgot about this important matter.”
“Xiyu.”
Cousin chimed in at the right moment: “You haven’t told Grandma about the documentary yet.”
“What documentary?”
Hearing this, the whole family was confused.
“I met a reporter at No. 7 High School’s entrance…”
Lin Xiyu didn’t disappoint her family. She truthfully recounted the scene at the time, and how after the exam, Li Yan had invited her to participate in a documentary.
“We can have cameo roles too?”
My cousin’s eyes lit up: “Like a celebrity, appearing on TV?”
“Yes…”
Lin Xiyu nodded: “That’s what the reporter said.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
Upon hearing the definite answer, my cousin happily twisted his body and broke into magical dance moves.