After the gaokao, Su Xiaoye… or, more accurately, Yang Xiaoye, was successfully admitted to the political science and law university of her dreams.
Two years earlier, after Shi Jiahui was imprisoned for forging adoption documents to fraudulently obtain compensation, she had smoothly changed back to her original surname.
As for her given name, she kept it for two reasons. First, she had already grown used to the name “Xiao Ye.” Second, she didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.
Xiao Ye, Xiao Ye—like a little bamboo shoot, she had the courage to break through the soil and would eventually grow into a lush, flourishing tree.
After receiving her admission letter, the first person Yang Xiaoye shared the news with was Xie Tangning, the little sun who had saved her from dire situations more than once.
“Tangtang, I did it! I got into the most prestigious political science and law university in the country!”
“Go on, congratulate me~”
Xie Tangning held the freshly issued admission letter and examined it carefully from beginning to end.
“Yang Xiaoye, you’re amazing! I knew you were the best!”
“Congratulations, Student Yang. You have a limitless future ahead of you!”
“From now on, Yang Xiaoye will soar to great heights and become a famous attorney!”
Yang Xiaoye nodded with a radiant smile, accepting her best friend’s most sincere blessings before opening her arms.
“So, can I get a hug as my congratulatory gift?”
Xie Tangning immediately charged over like a little cannonball. Holding the admission letter in one hand, she scooped Yang Xiaoye up with the other and spun her around several times.
Over the past two years, Xie Tangning had grown quite a bit taller. She still hadn’t reached her ideal height of 170 centimeters, but she was getting there.
Under the sunlight, the sight of her lifting another girl into the air and spinning her around was incredibly picture-perfect.
After two years of growing and changing, Yang Xiaoye was no longer the little hermit crab who liked to curl up inside her shell.
When it came to praise from her best friend or affectionate behavior between them, she no longer felt awkward or at a loss.
“Ahh~ I’m getting dizzy~ Tangtang, put me down already!”
The young girl stuck out her tongue and pretended to faint against Xie Tangning’s shoulder, looking both adorable and mischievous.
Only then did Xie Tangning set her down. She glanced at the admission letter in her hand once more before returning it.
She knew how important that admission letter was to Yang Xiaoye. It was something she had earned by burying herself in her studies through countless days and nights.
It carried her dreams, her future, and the bright life that lay ahead of her.
That was why Xie Tangning took Yang Xiaoye’s sharing of the news so seriously.
“Well done! In a little over a month, our Baby Xiaoye will officially be a university student!”
“You really make me proud~”
Looking at Yang Xiaoye, Xie Tangning now felt like a mother watching her daughter grow up. She was bursting with pride!
“Of course~ Our Wanwan is amazing too. You’re both wonderful, and I’m equally proud of you!”
That was right. Although Xie Wanwan had been a champion in some subjects and hopeless in others, she later chose the subjects she was good at, so it didn’t affect her too much.
Besides, with Xie Shen personally tutoring her in mathematics, she might not have been at the very top, but she was more than capable.
And since she had no plans to study abroad for the time being, she applied to a university in China.
Xie Wanwan had already been praised to the skies, so she gave a slightly proud little snort.
“Nothing compared to our Miss Xie~ She left all of us behind and became a university student a whole year early!”
“Hey, don’t say that!” Qin Shuchun protested. “What do you mean, she left all of us behind? What does that have to do with me?”
“Only the two of you were left behind!”
Xie Wanwan glared at her and, unusually, fell silent.
Because Qin Shuchun was telling the truth. She and Xie Tangning had both been admitted through early recommendation back in their second year of high school.
While Xie Wanwan and Yang Xiaoye had been struggling through their gaokao preparations, those two best friends had already happily stepped onto university campuses hand in hand.
Even Liang Zhou and Shen Yunqiong, the two brothers who had always been called “academic slackers,” had also been successfully admitted through early recommendation that same year.
As for Qin Zhe, Tan Xiao, and the others, although they hadn’t secured recommendation slots at domestic universities, they had received opportunities to study abroad!
They had earned them entirely through their own abilities. After all, they had been carefully trained by their respective families, so they naturally possessed a certain level of skill.
Of course, a major reason was that they were determined not to attend school or take part in summer training camps.
From middle school through high school, Xie Tangning and her friends were sent to training camps every winter and summer holiday, where they underwent at least half a month of training.
Especially after they had played an elaborate prank on their instructors during that deserted-island show, their determination to get into university as soon as possible and escape the training camps grew even stronger.
One by one, the people who had never taken competitions seriously began actively signing up for all kinds of contests in hopes of earning early admission.
Their teachers even suspected, for a while, that their students had taken the wrong medicine.
Of course, Xie Tangning was the exception. She had earned her early admission entirely because of her extraordinary talent in chemistry.
The laboratory her brother, Lu Huaiyu, had equipped for her was no joke. Once she published a paper based on one of her experiments, securing an early-admission spot was effortless. She even became her future adviser’s star student before she had officially enrolled.
Yang Xiaoye casually linked arms with Xie Wanwan and said playfully, “That may be true, but who knows whether they secretly envy us for having taken the gaokao!”
“Maybe they’re regretting not getting to experience a colorful final year of high school!”
Xie Wanwan nodded emphatically. “You’re right. A high school life without the gaokao is incomplete!”
Xie Tangning and Qin Shuchun exchanged a glance before delivering what they considered to be comforting words to their friends.
“That’s right~ We’re so jealous~”
“You have no idea. Being a university creature is really not something just anyone can handle!”
Yang Xiaoye and Xie Wanwan shot the two of them a look, then immediately began chasing them around.
The way they had said it was simply too irritating. Even though they were speaking the truth, they sounded as if they were being sarcastic!
Xie Tangning and Qin Shuchun naturally took off running, with Xie Wanwan and Yang Xiaoye chasing after them.
For a while, the entire theme park where they had arranged to meet was filled with their laughter and joyful cries.
Little Fatty… though he really shouldn’t be called Little Fatty anymore, since Wu Dacheng had successfully lost weight.
At fourteen or fifteen, boys were at the age when they shot up in height. Wu Dacheng now faintly resembled his father, Wu Weixiang, in his younger days.
When he saw the girls running wild across the grass, he couldn’t help asking, “What are my Boss and the others doing? Playing hide-and-seek?”
Monkey Bro and Crazy Bro had just picked him up from the airport. The two of them glanced at this Xie Tangning’s biggest fan who had remained just as devoted as ever over the past two years.
“Playing hide-and-seek, my ass. Anyone can see that you two ran your mouths, so the little troublemakers are chasing you down!”
Wu Dacheng truly lived up to his title as the Boss’s biggest fan. He shot them an indignant glare.
“You think everyone is like you two?”
“My Boss is such a wonderful person. How could she possibly be chased around by anyone—especially by Xiaoye and Sister Wanwan?”
Monkey Bro/Crazy Bro: “…”
“I think you’re the one with something wrong with you. I should’ve just thrown you out of the car back there!”
“Exactly. We went to pick him up for nothing!”
The two brothers slung their arms around each other’s shoulders and jointly voiced their displeasure with Little Fatty.
Today was the day Yang Xiaoye and Xie Wanwan received their university acceptance letters, and the group had gathered in Haicheng to share in the joy.
Wu Dacheng had flown all the way from Gangcheng to join them.
Liang Zhou and Shen Yunqiong, who had both gotten their driver’s licenses as soon as they came of age, had volunteered to pick him up from the airport.
“Little Fatty! Did you miss us?!”
The moment Xie Tangning spotted the three of them in the distance, she immediately grabbed Qin Shuchun and dashed toward them.
Yang Xiaoye and Xie Wanwan, today’s guests of honor, were right behind them.
“Boss, long time no see!”
“I missed you guys so much!”
“I got an A in Chinese on my final exam this time! I’ve taken another step toward catching up with you!”
Xie Tangning let out an exaggerated gasp of delight. “Our Little Fatty is amazing! Today really is a lucky day—one piece of good news after another!”
“I’ve decided. I’m treating everyone today.”
“Especially you two, Xiaoye and Wanwan. You’re the stars of the day, after all. As your senior by one year, I absolutely have to give you both a proper reward!”
Having started university early and gotten her allowance restrictions lifted, the young girl spoke with a shamelessly arrogant, lavish confidence.
Her friends immediately began teasing her. The only exception was Monkey Bro, who was famous for being a profligate spender.
That was because he was competing with Xie Tangning for the honor of picking up the tab, firmly insisting that he had to be part of this money-throwing extravaganza.
Yang Xiaoye, the poorest and most well-behaved of them all, couldn’t help blurting out that he was crazy.
Wu Dacheng remained as loyal to his Boss as ever. At the first opportunity, he tricked Liang Zhou, who was getting carried away, into transforming into Liang the God of Wealth and showering him with money.
Shen Yunqiong, the loyal friend who would stand by him through thick and thin, joined Little Fatty in egging Liang Zhou on.
Xie Tangning and Qin Shuchun had always loved watching a good spectacle, so they dragged Yang Xiaoye and Xie Wanwan into coaxing—no, sincerely begging—Liang the God of Wealth Zhou for his blessing.
Liang Zhou had at least made it to university, and he quickly realized that something was wrong.
That had been close. He had almost gotten carried away and reverted to his old habit of spending money as if it were water.
Afraid that his father would restrict his allowance again, he turned and ran.
Xie Tangning and the others immediately took off after him.
In the park, the midsummer breeze once again bore witness to their friendship.
