Chapter 41: Starting from Chapter 43
Xia Qing returned home and went to her room after lunch.

She closed her door and then sat on the bed to take out the gift box Qin Hao had given her from her backpack.

She slowly opened the gift box, curious about what Qin Hao might have given her.

When she saw the contents of the gift box, Xia Qing was stunned for a moment, as if she couldn’t believe her own eyes.

Then her cheeks instantly heated up and turned crimson, because lying inside was a set of women’s lingerie, and it was black lace.

What does he mean by giving me this?

Does he have those feelings for me? Otherwise, why would he give me something so intimate?

If he has feelings for me, he shouldn’t give me such a thing, it will be so awkward when we meet in the future.

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At around 5:30 PM, Qin Youguo and Li Shujie returned home and immediately smelled a familiar aroma.

Li Shujie said with a smile, “Xiao Hao, did you buy Jiangshan Roasted Duck?”

Upon hearing his mom’s words, Qin Hao was startled, “Mom, you know the name of this roast duck?”

Mrs. Qin answered, “Your dad and I just bought one on the way home. It tastes just like the one you bought last time. We didn’t expect you’d buy one this afternoon as well.”

Qin Hao, “It’s okay, we’ll set the other one aside, and just heat it up in the microwave later, the taste won’t change.”

Qin Youguo, sitting on the couch, said, “I heard the Jiangshan Roasted Duck store is right next to our community; it will be convenient to go there whenever we want.”

Li Shujie went into the kitchen to start preparing dinner as soon as she got home.

Mr. Qin said to Qin Hao, “Come sit down, Xiao Hao, your dad wants to talk to you.”

Qin Hao sat on the couch, curiously looking at his dad, “What is it, Dad?”

“The unified exam is the day after tomorrow, right? Are you confident?”

Qin Hao smiled and nodded, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.”

Qin Youguo showed a relieved smile, “Confident about reaching the second tier?” He didn’t dare to hope too high.

Qin Hao, “No problem, Dad, just wait to invite your friends and relatives then.”

“When did this cheeky kid learn to brag?” Qin Youguo glared at him, unamused.

Qin Hao said earnestly, “Dad, I’m not bragging. I’ve let you down many times before, but not this time. I will make you proud.”

Qin Youguo stared at his son’s expression, his eyes closing briefly. He had had a lot to say, but now he was at a loss for words.

Eventually, Mr. Qin said, “Dad believes in you.”

…

Time ticked by slowly, and then it was June 6th.

Mr. and Mrs. Qin both took the day off from work and drove him to the entrance of Changle Second Middle School.

At the entrance of Changle Second Middle School, there was a lot of traffic, and even more people, as nearly all the students’ parents had come to drop off their children.

Qin Hao got out of the car and said, “Mom, Dad, you don’t need to see me off. Our home is so close, I can just walk back after the exam.”

“How can we not! This is a very important affair for our family,” Li Shujie intervened.

Qin Youguo suddenly said, “Xiao Hao, isn’t that your classmate Xia Qing over there?”

Qin Hao looked up and froze when he saw the two people next to Xia Qing. Aren’t they the uncle and aunt who came to my duck restaurant that day?

Are they possibly Xia Qing’s parents?

I can’t let them see me, or I’ll give it all away.

Qin Hao hurriedly said, “Mom, Dad, I’ll go in now.”

“Okay, we’ll wait here for you.”

Qin Hao skirted past Xia Qing’s parents and made his way to the school entrance, where police were maintaining order.

After a brief check of his admission ticket at the main gate, he was let inside, to hall 10, seat number 22.

There were signs throughout the school, and exam room ten was on the second floor of the academic building.

He arrived outside his exam room where a proctor from another school was checking.

Only after triple checking for any mistakes did they let him into the exam room.

It was now 8:40 AM, with twenty minutes until the start of the exam, and the room was already full.

He found his seat, sat down, and looked around, seeing mostly unfamiliar faces.

Because participants at Changle Second Middle School weren’t only from this school, there were also many students from other schools.

At 9:00 AM, the classroom door was locked, the standardized test papers were distributed, and the four proctors in the room began to circulate.

Nowadays, cheating on the exam was very difficult, each room not only had four proctors but also electronic surveillance cameras.

After getting the test paper, Qin Hao straightened up and began working on the questions seriously.

The entire exam room was silent, and the proctors tried to slow their steps to avoid disturbing the students’ thoughts.

The “shush” sound of students writing could be heard in the room.

Time trickled away slowly, Qin Hao worked at a slow pace, of course, this was compared to his usual pace on practice tests.

He was more serious and meticulous than before.

More than an hour later, Qin Hao finished writing the essay, and had completed the entire test paper.

He glanced around; some were frowning in thought, others were writing rapidly, and some even fell asleep on the exam table.

This left him dumbstruck, as this was a standardized test. How could they treat it so casually?

At that moment, he recalled a saying, “How you treat life, life will treat you in return.”

If you treat life carelessly, then life will treat you carelessly in return.

He glanced at his paper and started to check it from beginning to end to see if there were any mistakes.

Twenty minutes later, Qin Hao had checked his paper thoroughly once and found a mistake, which he corrected.

He did not relax just because he had checked once, but kept checking over and over again, striving for perfection.

This serious, patient attitude lasted until 11:30 AM.

At 11:30 AM, the proctors promptly collected the answer sheets, gathering everyone’s papers.

Qin Hao sighed deeply, then picked up his things and walked out of the exam room, heading towards the school exit.

There was one session this morning and another in the afternoon, with two more exams tomorrow.

Out of school, Qin Hao found his parents.

Seeing him come out, Qin Youguo and Li Shujie both eagerly asked, “How did it go?”

Qin Hao smiled and nodded, “It was fairly simple.”

“That’s good, tired? Let’s go home, and mom will make you something delicious.”

They talked as they got into the car, then slowly drove away from there.

Similar scenes played out in many places, some joyful, some sorrowful.

Xia Yingjie and Tian Rong, seeing their daughter come out, smiled and asked, “Xiaoqing, how did it go?”

“Pretty good, not too difficult,” Xia Qing said with a smile.

Then she looked around, did not find that particular figure, and got into the car with her parents to leave.

…

After 2:00 PM

Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin once again dropped him off at the school gate, this afternoon’s subject was mathematics.

This was a difficult subject to define; to some, the questions were not tough, but to others, they were very difficult.

Some could score over a hundred forty points, even a perfect score, while others struggled to even pass.

Qin Hao entered the exam room early, and at 3:00 PM, the mathematics exam officially began.