Just as the major exam had ended, many media outlets rushed to publish fast-paced footage of students rushing out of the exam hall. As soon as the traffic control was lifted, they were already squatting at the entrance of the exam center.
With the opening of the gates, thousands of children dashed out like unleashed wild dogs. Most of them paid no attention to the reporters and ran straight to their parents, eagerly looking forward to a feast and spicy food to celebrate their liberation.
Mainstream media journalists quickly interviewed the students about the difficulty of the exam questions, while the reporters from smaller websites followed along. Finally, they caught sight of a masked and elegant-looking boy.
“Classmate, please let us interview you!”
The boy seemed hesitant, looking in the distance to find his ride.
The journalist seized the opportunity, knowing that with the large crowd and chaotic surroundings, he could continue chasing after him. “Classmate, may I ask what your surname is?”
“Huo.”
“Were the questions difficult this time? How did you feel while answering them?”
The boy paused his steps and looked into the camera to answer.
“There were more calculation questions in the humanities section, and the questions on import and export trade followed current hot topics. The geography questions required logical reasoning and critical thinking.”
“The English listening section was slightly easier than last year, and there were some vocabulary words at the level of CET-4, but the difficulty level was generally manageable.”
The journalist was baffled for a moment and continued to ask, “What do you estimate your score will be?!”
After thinking for a moment, the boy, who believed the teachers assigned by the company were generous with subjective grading, cautiously gave a number.
“Probably above 670.”
He hadn’t been outside for long when some young fans from the same exam room rushed over, chasing after him for autographs.
“It’s the captainโ”
“Don’t go, please, let me have another look!”
Huo Ren turned around hastily, and the nearby bodyguards finally recognized him, blocking the fans on both sides and urging him to get into the car.
There were six people in the car, and each had an ice cream, including one for Uncle Jiang. When Long Jia saw him, he handed him a cone. “Just bought it, eat it quickly!”
“How did the exam go?” Xie Lianyun waved his hand. “It’s already great to make it to the top 2. There’s no need to obsess over the title of the first place.”
Huo Ren licked his ice cream thoughtfully. “It seems like I made it into the news.”
Uncle Jiang nearly choked and reached out to slap him. “Did the entertainment reporters capture you? Did it disrupt the exam discipline? Nothing happened with any high school seniors not taking the exam seriously and chasing after you, right?”
“No,” Huo Ren shook his head. “It was the live news broadcast of Channel Four Education.”
The phone call from SPF headquarters immediately followed.
“Uncle Jiang, you’re trending at number 35 on Weibo, and it’s still rising. Should we use our connections to help take it down?”
Uncle Jiang broke out in a cold sweat. “What’s trending?”
“#Student Huo Who Doesn’t Want to Disclose Their Name#.”
“… Let me see.”
That young reporter was doing live coverage on the scene, and as soon as it aired, it was seen and captured by a freshman student who took a photo and immediately posted it online, causing a frenzy.
The Gem Girls were still waiting for the new group variety show to go online and scrambling to buy tickets for the concert, so they hadn’t reacted yet.
College entrance exams? What does that have to do with Corona?
What?? My idol has been in the same exam room as me for the past two days, and I didn’t even know???
Roughly speaking, I had a frame with my idol???
Even though Student HUo Who Doesn’t Want to Disclose Their Name wore a mask, their nose was straight, their eyebrows were long, and their eyes were deep under the unfiltered camera lens of the TV station.
“- Some math questions can be quickly solved using calculus, and there were many traps in the subjective questions of the Chinese exam.”
“Overall, I think the score required for admission to a first-tier university will be about five points higher than last year.”
The Gem Girls exploded.
My idol debuted in February and took the college entrance exam in June. What level is that??
They were still shooting advertisements the day before the college entrance exam. What level is that???
@HiddenGate: This is the worst group of paparazzi I’ve ever seen! Where are the pictures? I want to see what my baby looks like in a student uniform! Ahhh, flipping the table!
@Bubble: My baby can actually study and take exams under such intense work conditions… My goodness, let me worship the study god wuwuwuwu
@Passerby: Little top scorer, go for it! What does being the top scorer in the middle school entrance exam count for!! The college entrance exam is your stage too!!!
Four or five well-informed paparazzi teams actually received the news on the first day.
At that time, many of them were still lurking near the studio area when they received the call, and they were all dumbfounded.
“What?? Huo Ren went to Yi Middle School’s exam center??”
“What kind of international joke are you playing? We can’t just squeeze into Yi Middle School now, you know? If those parents misunderstand us even slightly, they’ll peel off our skin and flesh?!”
There were some stubborn fellows who actually went.
However, without the admission ticket or a car pass, there was simply no way to enter the restricted area. They couldn’t force their way in and couldn’t squeeze into the front row. It was packed with people, mostly parents.
The next day, when the restriction was lifted, some paparazzi had already taken up positions in advance, but when more than a thousand students came out, all dressed in colorful outfits and mingling with their parents, it was chaos.
If they could recognize anyone, then that would be a miracle.
#Student Huo Who Doesn’t Want to Disclose Their Name# surged to tenth place on the trending list, and the slightly blurry silhouette of the masked person appeared repeatedlyโ
Long eyelashes! Beautiful eyes! A magnetic voice! Don’t ask, it’s the explosion of a male lead!
The Pink Rabbit Forum quickly followed suit with an enthusiastic discussion.
ใLi Tao, promoting an album and taking exams four months later, how will his results be?ใ
1l: First comment! I have an older brother who participates in science competitions, and even he feels the immense pressure of high school exam preparations. With the constant emergence of new question formats, I personally don’t think it looks good. Exams are not like solving a Rubik’s Cube.
2l: I bet he can pass the admission score for first-tier universities. If he does, I’ll buy ten more albums to celebrate!!
3l: What kind of blind optimism is that from the commenter above? Your idol is strange too… Doesn’t he participate in art exams? Is he aiming for prestigious universities like the “211985” ones?
4l: He doesn’t give interviews. At least he can save face when the mocking starts. Now that he’s been trending news, if he messes up the exam, let’s see how the company will salvage their reputation. Heh heh.
5l: Betting five cents is just for publicity. When has SPF arranged cultural lessons for artists? With his packed schedule this year, he’s still participating in the college entrance exam? He wants to be criticized out of the spotlight because being criticized also brings attention. ๐
…
The male protagonist at the center of the frenzy didn’t have the time to focus on answering exam questions.
That’s because they were thrown into the zoo as a group.
Even though it was June and most high school students were on vacation, many of them were still attending classes. The number of visitors to the zoo remained relatively stable, and even on weekends, it didn’t reach a chaotic level.
They had finished shooting dozens of endorsements, album covers, and interviews in April and May. They now collectively moved to the zoo to stay for a while and film a variety show in a semi-public manner for a month.
First, it allowed them to concentrate on shooting and have planned interactions with the zoo and visitors, increasing their popularity while also building momentum and publicity for the upcoming concert.
Second, it provided them with an environment that was relatively artistic and inspirational, making it convenient for them to work on the album during their fragmented time.
Shidu Zoo was located in the western suburbs, with a large venue and a rich array of facilities, including an oceanarium.
Wild animals like lions and gazelles roamed freely in simulated tropical grassland environments. Visitors drove through several gates in explosion-proof vehicles, ensuring the freedom and safety of both parties during occasional encounters.
The oceanarium had a time tunnel for mermaid performances, and the beluga whales and dolphins had ample space to move around and were quite friendly.
White Pear Island was adorned with large clusters of pear blossom-like flowers, and the duplex cottages had been completed. Two bridges were reinforced and locked, allowing access only with security clearance for sightseeing guests.
They packed their luggage and were taken to White Pear Island. The first thing they saw was a little lamb lying on the bridge.
“So adorable!” Chi Ji rushed over: “It’s a soft and fluffy lamb!”
The little lamb tilted its head and allowed him to stroke its neck, letting out a gentle “baa” as if greeting him.
Several cameramen had already started working, and the director from Star Rainbow Station was standing on the opposite side of the lake, holding a thick stack of plans and discussing with Uncle Jiang.
“So, recording has already started?” Long Jia carried Chi Ji’s luggage across the bridge, and Huo Ren looked at Bo Jue and asked, “Teacher Bo, did you bring the guitar this time?”
“I did,” Bo Jue smiled and nodded. “After we finish recording during the day, I can still give you a lesson at night.”
Xie Lianyun sneered, “You’ll definitely be exhausted after recording.”
“Xie Lianyun, if you don’t speak, you can give your mouth to someone who needs it.”
The six of them pushed their suitcases into the courtyard and couldn’t help but exclaim in unison.
“This place is really well-designed!” The front half is for tourists to eat and have fun, with wooden tables and a pergola covered in purple wisteria. There’s a swing under the old pear tree, and by the lake, there’s a small square paved with pebbles where you can dance and sing karaoke.
The wooden house has three and a half floors. The first floor has the kitchen and a reception hall, and there’s even a cabinet-style piano against the wall.
The second floor is a large open rest area, the third floor has a tool room and a music room, and the top floor is a meticulously planted small garden with a variety of vegetables, fruits, and flowers.
Before they even had a chance to put away their luggage, Mei Shengyao leaned by the window and shouted, “Brother, come over here! There are swans in the lake!”
“Did Teacher Bo fall into the water?” Long Jia approached and took a look, laughing. “There are also mallards and black-necked cranes.”
“I heard that when they built the zoo here, the park considered the adjacent wetlands, making it convenient for the animals to survive the winter,” Huo Ren said as he leaned his suitcase against the wall near the open rest area. He reached out and pressed the already prepared bedding. “Our kitchen waste and domestic water won’t be poured into this lake; they’ll be collected in dedicated containers and taken away.”
“Wait a minute… there are cameras in the bedrooms too?”
“You can temporarily cover them when changing clothes, but they’ll definitely capture our late-night conversations,” Xie Lianyun said halfway, then suddenly stood up with curiosity. “Xiao Chi, I found that you can fit inside this suitcase!”
Huo Ren had just emptied the suitcase, so he instinctively opened it. “This?”
Chi Ji’s eyes brightened as he took off his shoes and crawled inside.
With his small frame and good flexibility, he still had some extra space inside the 28-inch suitcase.
Uncle Jiang had just walked up the stairs to give them final instructions and was taken aback when he saw a boy inside the suitcase. “What are you playing at?”
“We asked you to take care of the animals, not turn into one.” He lifted Chi Ji out of the suitcase and tapped the schedule hanging on the door with his knuckles.
“Take care of the animals during the day from Monday to Friday, free time in the evenings.”
“On Saturdays and Sundays, we run the restaurant for guests, so prepare and don’t make a fool of yourselves.”
“I have a business trip coming up, and I might not be back for half a month.” Uncle Jiang rubbed his forehead and looked at Huo Ren again. “I’m leaving this bunch, big and small, to you, Captain.”
Bo Jue breathed a sigh of relief. “We only cook on Saturdays and Sundays, so it shouldn’t be difficult.”
Mei Shengyao quickly hugged Huo Ren’s waist. “Captain! I’ll sleep next to you at night!”
Long Jia suddenly remembered something. “By the way, do you guys know that Xie Lianyun often sleep-talks at night?”
Xie Lanyun froze for a few seconds. “Really…?”
Author’s note:
Today I went to Disneyland… and then there was a torrential rainstorm plus a typhoon in Shanghai.
It felt like a military training-style vacation… We braved the strong winds and still managed to experience all the outdoor attractions. Phew! =.=
By the way, it seems that the college entrance exam results will be released on June 23rd, so in this fictional world, let’s set it on the 23rd!
The recording for the show starts on the 8th, which happens to be around the same time as the release of the exam results. Hehehe, Uncle Jiang might go crazy with laughter.
Well then, see you tomorrow!