Chapter 42 Chapter 41: Those who are favored are safe

It was snowing heavily on Saturday, and she got up early to wait for the bus, but the bus was not coming, so she took a taxi to Beiyu, praying that she would not be late along the way. There were very few people on the campus in the morning. After entering the door, she walked along the test center route signs posted every ten meters.A girl in a red down jacket ran over to strike up a conversation and asked her if she was also looking for the examination room.The two walked together, occasionally talking about their guesses about the test questions and the reasons why each other signed up for the IELTS test.

"I majored in tourism management. Our school collected a lot of money when recruiting students for this major. It was jointly run by a university in Ireland—which is not well-known anyway—and once I got 6 in IELTS, I was able to go out in my senior year. In three years, I directly changed my undergraduate degree into a dual-university degree, and my graduate student is the one at the Irish university. But I have to be able to pass 6. This is the fourth time for me. The last time was 5.5. I almost didn’t regret it. Yes. I haven't passed the fucking fourth grade yet..." The girl's slightly hoarse voice didn't make too much noise in the empty campus. Luo Zhi thought back to the weird physics problem in junior high school. The first snow was spread on the ground, fluffy and porous, which has the effect of absorbing sound...

While she was distracted, she listened to the girl complaining that her parents were nosy. "Nowadays, everyone knows that going abroad is not as easy to bluff people as it was a few years ago. With my virtue and the Irish college, it seems that I have piled up money, and no one wants to write it on my resume. I and My mother said that I would go back to the province after graduation and work as the lobby manager in the bathing center opened by my dad. Anyway, when they recruit lobby managers, they all say that they need a master's degree. Don't you think this is not sick?..."

A foreigner with a dark and uniform complexion ran up to him, wearing a T-shirt and thin sports trousers, and smiled at them who were dressed thickly. His eight white teeth formed an extremely sharp contrast with his complexion. "Damn, don't tell me, this black guy is really handsome." As soon as the girl finished speaking, the foreigner who ran past suddenly turned around and replied loudly in Mandarin with a Beijing accent: "So-so, thank you!" Luo Zhi laughed, and the girl next to her suddenly returned to depression after laughing, "My English is definitely not half as fluent as his Chinese."

When they were queuing up in the examination room, they said goodbye, Luo Zhi waved at her to cheer her up, and when she turned around, she unexpectedly remembered a seemingly unrelated line of lyrics: "Those who are favored have nothing to fear." After entering the examination room, everyone adjusted the wireless headsets, fiddled with the special egg-laying pencils and erasers that had been placed on the table by the examiner in advance, and then sat there boredly waiting.The man next to him looked quite old, and he chatted up with a smile, little sister, how many exams are you taking?Luo Zhi has always been a kind person on the outside, she nodded and said, this is the first time.

Oh, it's all right, don't worry, usually you can get better at the second test. Luo Zhi was furious, but she still smiled and said, take the test hard, come on. The old British lady who invigilated the exam had a kind tone and a warm smile, but the moment she saw a girl flipping the exam paper ahead of time, she shouted "YOU!", her sharp and serious voice scared Luo Zhi so much that her heart pierced.At the end of the reading test, when the examiner collects the test papers, everyone is asked to put the test papers back on the table and no one should move. The man next to her winked at her, signaling her to turn the test paper over and let him copy two strokes—she turned her head indifferently. to the other side.

The restaurants around noon are full.She went to the supermarket and bought a box of chocolate pies and a bag of milk. In the oral test in the afternoon, the dark-skinned Indian examiner actually spoke beautiful American English, which surprised Luo Zhi, but felt rather happy.After all, her American English was practiced following American dramas, which is much better than her English pronunciation. Both spoke at the speed of a debate, but the conversation was pleasant.Luo Zhi's voice had already returned to normal, but now it's obviously a bit unbearable, it's a little hoarse, and she always clears her throat before speaking

Then the examiner said, the last question. "Why do memories sometimes differ from facts?" Luo Zhi felt that the problem was directed at her.She tilted her head and smiled: "Maybe it's just self-preservation. The facts are bad enough, why bother yourself when you remember." Very arbitrary and emotional answer, without listing one, two, three, and four.The examiner hesitated for a few seconds, and then gave her an extremely dazzling smile. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon when I walked out of the examination room.The snow had stopped, and she couldn't get a taxi at the school gate, and couldn't wait for the bus, so she walked slowly along the road on the fresh snow.The wind was very strong, and after a while, the tip of the nose lost consciousness.

Turning on the phone, the phone began to vibrate endlessly.Luoyang, Zhang Mingrui, Belle, mother... many people sent her text messages asking about IELTS, and even Xu Riqing - Zhang Mingrui must have told her.She replied with a smile.A while later a phone call came in.It's mom. "Lolo, are you done with the exam?" "Just after leaving the examination room, your call was really timely." "Telepathy." Mom laughed on the other side of the phone, "How is it?" "Good." "By the way, do you have a holiday for Christmas?" "What holiday do we have for Christmas? Do you think I'm at Harvard?"

"The Aunt Fu I mentioned to you last time said that she has a relative on T71. If you come back at that time, you can buy a platform ticket and get on the train, and then you can make up for the student ticket for the sleeper berth. In this way, you don't have to worry about the ticket when you go back and forth. The problem is, it’s still a sleeper. When I returned to Beijing, I was with Aunt Fu’s house, and she didn’t need her to bring you the shoes, but you just sent them to the subway, understand?” Luo Zhi smiled, "Understand, understand." Her mother babbled on the other side of the phone and told her how to find the train conductor, the time and train number, and asked her if she had any important courses. She talked for a long time before putting down the phone.

December 24 was a Saturday, and Luo Zhi planned to get on the bus on Friday morning, skip politics, financial accounting, and physical education, and then return to school on Sunday night. December 24 this year is my father's 15th anniversary. Luo Zhi can't remember the tedious funeral process. From her own home to the crematorium, she met countless strange relatives along the way. During the long and complicated ceremony, she only cared about crying, and only one aunt was in charge of taking care of herself who was dressed in filial piety.All she needs to do is cry. The child's sadness is just seeing a father who doesn't move, with a pale and cold face, and hearing someone say "Dad will never come back", and she can cry until the dark, and then get tired and rest. After a while, she will be mentioned a few more times, and she will cry again—anyway, many people will kneel down and hug her and say, poor child.Then she just kept on crying. But for some reason, she suddenly raised her head in her aunt's arms.It was also snowing heavily that day, even bigger than this one.Goose feather heavy snow, lead gray sky, she opened her eyes wide and watched the snow flakes grow from scratch and then fell into her eyes, freezing her tears.Such repression and grandeur suddenly made the little Luo Zhi no longer sobbing, but turned around to look at the mother in the crowd, her lips were white and trembling, she was smashing a clay pot but couldn't break it several times, and she had no strength Mother. She knew that the hard times were just beginning. At that moment, the grief intensified, surpassing the child's ignorant possessiveness and tears. Just as I put down the phone, the phone vibrated again. This time it was Sheng Huainan. "IELTS finished?" "Well, it's pretty good." When the same greeting comes from someone else, she just smiles and says thank you, and if it comes from him, she will be moved.The human heart is always biased. "Generally, even if others do well in the exam, they will only say, um, that's it. You are really honest." Sheng Huainan's voice was very bright. "Really." Luo Zhi was not in the mood to argue. Sheng Huainan paused for a moment, then asked again, "Going back to school?" "On the way. The snow is too thick and there is a traffic jam again. I will walk back. Fortunately, BLCU is not far from our school." "I'll pick you up." "There's a traffic jam here, the only thing that can come over is a helicopter, how do you pick it up?" "Oh, that's right." Sheng Huainan smiled, a little embarrassed, and didn't speak for a long time.Luo Zhi was holding the phone without gloves, and soon became stiff, but she didn't urge her. "Is it cold?" he asked. "Yep." "Without gloves?" "Yep." "Then hang up the phone. You haven't recovered from your cold, and your voice is still a little hoarse. Put your hands in your pockets and warm up. I wish you good grades in the exam." "Thank you." Luo Zhi put the cold mobile phone back into her school bag. The intersection ahead was in chaos, and pedestrians were passing through the gaps between vehicles freely. She stared blankly for a while, then lowered her head and continued walking. No matter how severe the injury is, as long as the other party asks if it hurts, he will be able to come back to life. Luo Zhi's smile gradually turned into mockery, facing the icy wind.