Chapter 136

When Shaw, Alston, and Clement had all gone home, Amanda and Michael, who were lurking outside Summer's kitchen, were also called back home. Just then, Becky and Stephen heard Ada calling them from inside their house, "Becky, Stephen, it's time for dinner."

"Coming," Stephen responded.

He and Becky stood up and headed back to their own house's west wing to have dinner.

As they sat down at the table to eat, Becky couldn't help but speak first.

Looking at Ada, Becky said, "Did you guys see how beautiful Summer has become?"

They had noticed, but what did it matter to them?

Ada responded, "So what if we saw? Why are you so concerned about her?"

Ada had always discouraged Stephen and Becky from getting too close to the other kids in the courtyard, whether they were from Henry's family or Summer. In her view, none of them were of good standing or had any prospects.

"Birds of a feather flock together," she feared Stephen and Becky might be negatively influenced by them.

Becky didn't stop talking. Looking at Ada, she continued, "I'm just thinking, since she's become so pretty, maybe the countryside has something good about it. Maybe I should volunteer to go there for a couple of years after graduation."

She was in her second year of junior high and would graduate at the end of the year.

If she wanted, she could volunteer to go to the countryside.

But hearing this, Ada immediately frowned and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Are you out of your mind? The country has already slowed down the sending of young people to the countryside. There are so many waiting to return to the city, and you still want to go?"

Becky muttered, "I'm just envious of Summer."

Ada replied, "What's so enviable about looking pretty? You should envy those who are smart and study well, who have abilities and prospects. Summer's only thoughts are about marriage, and she's interested in a no-good person like Henry. No matter how beautiful she becomes, she'll never amount to anything. You mustn't learn from her. If you do, all my teaching will have been in vain!"

Becky pouted and fell silent.

Adam spoke up, "Listen to your mother and stop thinking about these useless things. Soon, the news about the resumption of college entrance exams will be officially announced. Studying hard and getting into university is what's important."

Becky lowered her head and softly said, "Got it."

Adam then turned to Stephen, "How's your revision going?"

Since the Ministry of Education decided to resume college entrance exams, Adam, working in the education bureau, had learned of this early on and had been pushing Stephen to prepare for the exams.

Of course, the news about the resumption of the exams was not a tightly kept secret. Leaders had been discussing it in many meetings. Living so close to the sources of information in the capital, it wasn't hard to get wind of it, especially if someone worked in government agencies.

Stephen, now in his second year of high school, was the right age for the exams.

Knowing the news early and starting revision ahead of others, with access to study outlines and materials, gave him a significant advantage.

Stephen, unlike Becky, wasn't distracted by many thoughts. He had always been obedient to his parents.

He nodded, "Yes, I've been studying diligently."

The topic shifted to Stephen, which was the important topic for their family.

Ada added, "If you come across anything you don't understand while revising, make sure to ask your teachers, especially in math and science. Understand and grasp them well, and spend time doing lots of exercises."

Stephen nodded again, "Understood."

Ada continued, "The past decade has seen schools in a semi-abandoned state. People believed that studying was useless and didn't take it seriously, so serious students were few and far between. Most have already joined the workforce or gone to the countryside, and after leaving school, they study even less. But you have always been diligent in your studies, and we started revising a month earlier than others, so you will definitely succeed in the exams."

Stephen always trusted Ada's words.

As a teacher, even if she taught at an elementary level, she understood the school environment, student quality, and exams better than others.

If Ada believed he could do it, he knew he could.

So he nodded again, "Yes."

With that said, Ada gave one final reminder, "As usual, don't talk about what we discuss at home to anyone outside."

This was directed at both Stephen and Becky.

They both nodded.

***

At Summer's house and Henry's house, the atmosphere wasn't as serious as a meeting.

Henry's family table was still noisy, while Summer's family of three was relatively quiet.

Carman, eating a dish Summer had made, said, "Our daughter is really good at cooking."

Shaw joked, "Of course, she inherited my skills."

Carman smiled, not contradicting him.

He didn't have any particular skills; his small restaurant had closed while he was still the chef. Later, he couldn't find another chef job and went to work at a pickle factory instead.

Summer naturally didn't refute Shaw's face.

She smiled, "Yes, I inherited your talent and skills."

This was just casual talk at the dinner table. The three of them avoided topics that would upset anyone, creating a warm and pleasant atmosphere. They finished all four dishes with smiles and laughter.

After dinner, Shaw took the initiative to clear the table and wash the dishes.

Summer and Carman went to the courtyard to watch him wash the dishes and to digest their food.

While talking to Carman, Summer noticed a piece of paper on the ground nearby.

Seeing some writing on it, she bent down to pick it up and looked at it. It was printed with two lines of large characters in the middle – "1977 College Entrance Examination Review Outline."

It looked like a page from a study guide.

Before she could react, someone snatched the paper from her hand.

She looked up to see Stephen, Becky's brother.

Stephen had changed a lot in the past two years, now wearing glasses due to nearsightedness.

He pushed his glasses up and said, "This is mine."

Summer realized and said, "Oh."

Stephen and Becky's books were on the table under the acacia tree, likely blown over by the wind.

Summer was very interested in the review outline.

So she quickly asked Stephen, "What's the college entrance examination?"

She suspected this was the review guide for the upcoming exams.

With Adam working in the education bureau and Ada being a teacher, it wouldn't be hard for Stephen to know about the exams early and get a review guide to start studying.

Summer asked to strike up a conversation and hoped to borrow the guide from him.

But Stephen didn't answer her question.

He simply said, "It's something you wouldn't understand."

Summer felt speechless.

Why would she not understand something academic? She had finished high school before going to the countryside.

Before she could say more, Stephen turned and walked away with the paper.

It was getting dark, and he gathered his books and headed inside.

Summer pouted slightly and returned to Carman.

Carman and Shaw hadn't caught much of Summer and Stephen's conversation, so Carman asked, "What was that?"

Summer replied, "A study guide."

Carman said, "It's about studying, so it doesn't concern us much."

Neither Shaw nor Carman paid attention to the college entrance exams, and Summer didn't plan to say more since the official announcement hadn't been made.

Carman was right, though. Stephen not letting her see the guide wasn't a big deal.

According to the novel's timeline, the official announcement of the resumption of the exams would be made in about a week.

She had been preparing since March last year, so a week's delay wouldn't matter.

Once the exams were officially announced, the review guide would be widely available, and there would be plenty of ways to get a copy.