NOVPUB
Chapter 350: 340
Li Hongjun was surprised by the resumption of the college entrance exam, and even more so that his wife really wanted to take the university entrance exam. However, after a long heart-to-heart talk, he roughly understood his wife’s thoughts. Although he felt it was unnecessary, as he could support her without her attending university, and she couldn’t leave him even if she went, he ultimately was convinced by his wife and expressed support for her decision to take the college entrance exam.
As for whether his wife could pass the exam, he hadn’t even considered it, or to be more precise, he had never thought that Yunfang would fail.
In the outside world, the news of the restored college entrance exam had already caused a stir, especially among those educated youths who had gone to the countryside, who finally saw a glimmer of hope after near despair. They dug through doors and drilled holes in search of review materials, ready to once again pick up their pens and vie for a spot on that narrow bridge to university. However, the situation in the military district was different, and it wasn’t greatly affected by this news. Those young military wives took it as a joke. Since they couldn’t recognize a single character, whether or not to take the university entrance exam had little to do with them. In the entire military district family compound, a total of eleven people registered to take the college entrance exam, including Yunfang. Apart from her being a military spouse, the rest were children of military personnel, with Yunfang being the most conspicuous among them.
Fortunately, no matter how nasty the talk was outside, it didn’t affect Yunfang because since she had registered for the college entrance exam, she had shut her doors and immersed herself in her studies for a month.
When December arrived, Li Hongjun took leave in advance to accompany his wife and children to the provincial capital. Shen Yunfang’s examination site was at Provincial Capital Number Two High School. In order not to delay the exam, candidates who lived far away would arrive in the provincial capital a few days early to prepare. Li Hongjun also wanted his wife to become familiar with the examination environment as soon as possible for her to perform at her best, which was why he brought his family a day early for his wife’s exams.
The family of four stayed in a guesthouse near Number Two High School. On the morning of the exam, Li Hongjun went out specially to buy a fried breadstick and two boiled eggs for his wife, "Eat up, it will help you score a hundred."
Yunfang accepted the breadstick and eggs with a smile, "You know this is superstitious, right? You’re still a Party member; your ideological awareness is lacking."
Li Hongjun squinted his eyes, "What, you’re already looking down on me because you haven’t even started university yet?"
Yunfang gave him a look, "I have an exam today, don’t make me uncomfortable, okay?"
Li Hongjun’s mouth twitched, and finally, with a gruff voice, he said, "Eat up, quit the chatter."
Yunfang suddenly stood up and with her oily lips from the breadstick, gave Li Hongjun a hearty kiss, "Don’t worry, where would I find another man as good as you? So even if I get into university, I won’t leave you." The two often joked about this recently, and Yunfang knew that her taking the university entrance exam must have stirred some thoughts in Hongjun’s heart.
The smile on Li Hongjun’s lips couldn’t be suppressed, "As long as you know. With your temper, only I can put up with you. Hurry up and eat the egg, and focus on the exam without any distractions," he said while stuffing the peeled egg into his wife’s hand.
Yunfang rolled her eyes secretly, wondering who really had the bad temper.
After this little commotion, any nervousness that was just beginning to rise in her dissipated.
After breakfast, the couple tidied up the children neatly, with Li Hongjun carrying both, and together they sent Yunfang off to the examination. 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝔲𝔟.𝔠𝖔𝖒
"Go take the exam without worries; I and the kids will come to pick you up later," he said with a serious face at the school gate.
"Yeah, hurry back so you don’t get cold. I won’t come out till time’s up, so don’t come early. When I’m out, I’ll find you under this tree," Yunfang said while warming Pangpang’s red little cheeks with her hand.
There were many people coming for the exam, and it wouldn’t be easy to find someone in the vast crowd without agreeing on a specific location beforehand.
"Mama hug," Pangpang, finally receiving attention from his mother, squirmed forward wanting to be held again.
"No," said Shen Yunfang, the strict mother.
"No, Pangpang, Mommy is going to take the exam now. Can I hug you after I come out? Pangpang, you are a big brother now, the best behaved." Li Hongjun hugged his older son tightly, comforting him softly. This was the tender father.
Pangpang was about to cry, but as soon as he heard his father say he was a big brother, he quickly reigned in his tears and with a sobbing voice said, "Mommy, go and come back quickly, Pangpang misses you."
"Alright, Mommy will be back soon," she assured.
After calming the child, Shen Yunfang turned and walked resolutely into the examination room under the watchful eyes of her husband and child.
The three days of exams went by quickly. Each time Shen Yunfang came out from the exam hall, she could see Li Hongjun standing at the entrance holding one child in each arm, their warmth and silent support completely alleviated the burden in her heart, allowing her to face the challenge with ease. After the final exam, she looked at the three people dearest to her in life with a smile on her lips.
Li Hongjun cleared his throat seriously and whispered in a voice that only the family could hear, "Let’s go have a good meal to celebrate mom’s college admission in advance." He had great confidence in his wife.
The family of four enjoyed a meal in the provincial capital, then each parent carried a child as they strolled through the department store before returning home.
Afterwards, the other examinees in the residential compound were busy comparing answers and discussing questions, but Shen Yunfang did not join in. Of course, no one sought her out. After finishing the exams, she was very confident that she would definitely be accepted.
Her confidence, of course, was not blind. She had secretly calculated her scores and was certain she should be able to get into a university. She and Li Hongjun then discussed which schools and majors to apply to.
Shen Yunfang had actually already decided on Agricultural University; it was just a matter of choosing which Agricultural University to consider more carefully.
After much deliberation, the couple eventually chose North Agricultural University, which is quite renowned nationwide. The most important factor was its location in S City, close to where Li Hongjun’s military unit was based. It was only a five or six-hour train ride from the provincial capital, which made it convenient for Shen Yunfang to take the children home during holidays and for Li Hongjun to visit his wife and children at the university.
Next, they started to discuss an even more important issue: what to do with the children.
Who would look after the children while Shen Yunfang attended university?
For a couple like them without in-laws to take care of the children, without a mother who doted on her son-in-law, and without relatives or friends to whom they could entrust such a responsibility, they truly didn’t have many options.
"The children are so young; I can’t leave them at home alone. I’ll have to take them with me. But I have classes during the day, so I need to find someone to help look after them," Shen Yunfang set the tone firmly. The children could not be away from her side—they had to accompany her to the university.
Li Hongjun’s mind raced, searching for someone trustworthy to look after the children, as the parents would otherwise be worried.
"Also, if I bring the children to the university, I definitely can’t live in the dormitory. I’ll have to stay outside with them, which means I need to find a place in advance," she explained. She had to visit S City earlier to look for housing, to see if it was possible to rent or buy a place where she could settle down with the children.
"Alright, I got it. Once we receive the admission notice, we’ll go to S City to check it out," Li Hongjun finally decided.
