How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 67 - Competition_1

67: Chapter 67: Competition_1

67 -67: Competition_1

“Qiaoqiao, are you asleep?”

It was Qin Jin.

“Not yet, wait a second and I’ll open the door for you,” Li Qiao said as she got up and slid the door lock open.

In a low voice, Qin Jin said, “I live next to you, Liu Er has gone out.

Can I stay over at your place for a bit?”

After a moment of consideration, Li Qiao agreed.

“Hu Xiufang, I’ve got a date with my man, so make sure to lock the door tight.

If there’s any trouble, shout out loud.”

Hu Xiufang was clueless: “A date?

What’s a date?

Like a tea party?”

Suppressing a laugh, Li Qiao, who knew that television dramas hadn’t yet introduced such messy concepts and that an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old girl was still naive and inexperienced, assertively replied, “Exactly!

It’s a tea party.”

“Come back early,” Hu Xiufang advised.

“Sure.”

Following Qin Jin, Li Qiao left and, upon entering the door, pounced on him, giving him quite the scare before he burst into laughter.

“You’re really bold.”

“Do you like it?” Li Qiao teased with a coquettish tilt of her eyebrows.

“Absolutely smitten.”

Li Qiao laughed heartily, and after she had enough, she cupped his face and stood on her tiptoes.

…

At that moment, a series of loud knocks sounded from outside.

“I stepped out for a bit, why’s the door locked?

Jin, open up for me!” Liu Er banged on the door furiously.

Qin Jin instantly became irritated, “Weren’t you supposed to be out handling things?”

“Got a stomachache halfway and didn’t bring any paper; hurry up and give me some, or I’ll have to do it right at your doorstep.”

Rushing to the bedside table, Qin Jin grabbed a roll of paper and pushed it through a crack in the door for Liu Er.

“Damn you and your false cleanliness!

Just grab a handful of grass outside and wipe, it’d be done…”

Even with the paper in hand, Liu Er tried to squeeze in further: “Cigarettes, cigarettes.

Why’s the blanket bulged up?

Is someone on the bed?” He smirked suggestively, “I see why you’re so irritable.

This bed doesn’t seem sturdy, better go easy on it.”

Qin Jin narrowed his eyes, “Are you leaving or not?”

Liu Er ran off.

Cooled down by that interruption, Li Qiao’s mind grew clear.

If she stayed with him today, how would she have energy for tomorrow’s exam?

She had hidden under the blankets when someone came in since there was nowhere else to hide; now she lifted the covers.

“Jin, tomorrow’s competition is important, I should get to bed early.”

Qin Jin exclaimed in annoyance, “Damn!

I thought we had a date.” She was about to leave just after coming in without doing anything?

Was she deliberately messing with him?

He held her back, not letting her leave.

Gently nibbling at her ear, he insisted she take responsibility.

Li Qiao pondered for a moment and came up with a plan.

Half an hour later, she left the room with a red face and an arm sore from shaking.

Qin Jin wore a satisfying smile, “Qiaoqiao, you’ll come back tomorrow, right?”

Li Qiao: “…..”

…

The next day, Li Qiao got up early, checking her admission ticket, draft paper, stationery, and so on.

After breakfast, she and Hu Xiufang took rides from Qin Jin and Liu Er to the First High School.

After Qin Jin dropped her off, he instructed, “Qiaoqiao, if you don’t see me after the exam, wait for me at the gate, okay?”

“Okay.”

Once Qin Jin and Liu Er left, Li Qiao and Hu Xiufang showed their IDs and entered the school together.

They weren’t in the same examination room.

After parting ways,

Li Qiao started looking for her classroom and took her seat according to the number marker on the desk.

About half an hour later,

everyone had arrived.

The exam bell also rang.

The teacher entered the classroom right on time.

After speaking briefly about exam rules, they began distributing the test papers.

Li Qiao filled in her name, school, and admission ticket number on the paper.

She then started to review the exam paper.

The questions weren’t easy.

She couldn’t even comprehend the last two major questions.

Her heartbeat started to race.

But soon, she steadied her nerves.

She finished the problems she knew first, diligently checking her work again to ensure it was foolproof before she started contemplating the difficult questions.

Step by step reasoning, step by step calculation.

When the bell rang, she wrote down the final character, handed in her paper, and walked out.

She had barely moved to the spot she had agreed to meet Hu Xiufang,

when Hu Xiufang appeared, with eyes and nose all red, bursting into tears upon seeing her.

“Li Qiao, I’m doomed.

I won’t even get 50 out of the 150 points.

This exam is a hundred times harder than the ones in the newspapers.

I used to think I was pretty smart, and I was only one point away from getting into college.

Participating in this competition makes me feel like I’m mentally challenged.”

Li Qiao couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

“These kinds of competitions are meant to select geniuses.

We’re not geniuses, so of course it seems hard.”

“No, no, no, we are different,” Hu Xiufang protested.

Li Qiao held her forehead.

“How are we different?

We all need to eat, drink, and sleep.

All right, stop thinking about the exam, and when my boyfriend arrives later, I’ll have him treat you to beef noodles.”

“Forget it, that’s too expensive,” Hu Xiufang said, feeling embarrassed since she had already freeloaded a meal earlier that morning.

The two stepped out of the school.

There was no sign of Qin Jin.

While waiting, Hu Xiufang couldn’t help but bring up the exam again, asking Li Qiao about the answers.

“I can’t remember now.

Those questions were difficult for me too.

All my attention was on solving them at the time; you suddenly ask, and my mind goes blank,” Li Qiao replied honestly.

Hu Xiufang sighed with distress.

To distract her, Li Qiao said, “I’ll select some materials for the Educated Youth later and pick a couple for you as well.

Even if you don’t do well in the competition, you’ll definitely have no issue getting into college.”

Hu Xiufang finally brightened up.

“Deal!”

….

It was around noon.

Qin Jin arrived quite late.

Qin Jin’s figure lacked the presence of Liu Er.

The fertilizer bag that had been strapped to his bike’s crossbar was gone, and in its place on the handlebars was a nylon net holding a dusty ball-liked object.

Only when he got closer to Li Qiao she realized it was a wrapped package.

Qin Jin took down the net bag and handed it to Li Qiao, “Were you anxious waiting?

I brought you a roast chicken.”

Li Qiao had already caught a faint whiff of the aroma.

She opened the net bag, unfolded the wrapping paper, and tore off a chicken leg for him.

“I’ve already eaten,” he said.

Li Qiao turned her hand and passed the chicken leg to Hu Xiufang.

Hu Xiufang was indeed hungry: “I won’t be polite then.”

Li Qiao hummed in response, biting into her chicken leg.

“Where’s Liu Er?

Isn’t he with you anymore?”

“He had something to do and left early,” Qin Jin replied.

Hu Xiufang tactfully said, “Then I’ll take the minibus home later by myself.”

“Take the…” Li Qiao was about to say take my boyfriend’s car, but a glance from Qin Jin made her quickly correct herself.

“Taking the minibus is good, it’s fast and reliable, I’ll walk you to the bus.”

“Yeah.

Alright.”

After Li Qiao and Qin Jin finished a chicken, they headed straight to the bookstore.

After browsing for a while, she selected a few materials.

Hu Xiufang took an interest in two books but couldn’t provide the required coupons when the clerk asked for them.

Li Qiao came to her rescue, “They can use them when they’re done, and then I’ll bring them to you, saving you money—these books aren’t cheap.”

“Is that okay?

Won’t they say something?” Hu Xiufang worried.

Li Qiao: “No, we usually share materials.”

…

After leaving the bookstore,

the three of them arrived at the underground market again.

The location was different from the first visit, but the book vendor was the same person.

Li Qiao flipped through the selection and found a complete set of chemistry exam papers.

After reviewing them and finding they matched the curriculum well, she asked for the price.

It was only one yuan and fifty cents, so she bought them immediately.

Hu Xiufang lamented, “You really see the value when you compare goods, and you lose heart when you compare people.

It’s one thing that you study better than I do, but your eyesight is sharper too.

From such a distance, you spotted them immediately.”

Overhearing this, Qin Jin slightly turned his head.

He had taken his grandmother to get glasses, and she had asked him to find time to take Qiaoqiao as well, noting that her studies had impaired her eyesight.

She couldn’t even clearly see a high school classmate who was only an arm’s length away.

Was she deliberately lying?

So, she didn’t actually recognize Gao Dagang, did she?

His gaze fell back on her, observing her more closely.

Her skin was pale and seemed to glow with a hazy light under the sun.

Her delicate brows and eyes were downturned, and her lips, a light red, were pursed, especially when she was focused on reading.

He suddenly couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Instinctively, he leaned closer to her side.