At the end of the Bar Mitzvah ceremony, all students had to walk through the inflatable arches placed on the track, which represented the first time they became adults.
Yu Ran walked the red carpet side by side with Chu Mian, and at the same time, he waved to his classmates and nodded, "Thank you, thank you for your blessings to us!"
Cui He resolutely split the tightly held hands of the two with his palm, "This is a fucking coming-of-age ceremony, not your wedding!"
"Hush—" Yu Ran frowned at her and gestured for silence, "Keep a low profile, don't let others know about my relationship with Chu Mian, Chu Mian is ashamed."
Chu Mian sighed softly, grabbed Yu Ran's wrist, pulled him to her side, and said softly, "Everyone has known about it for a long time."
"Ah?" Yu Ran was stunned, "When did it get out, why didn't I know?"
Chu Mian's lips moved a few times, not bothering to explain. In the end, Cui He smiled and said to Ran: "How long have you two been together? Do you act like someone else is blind and can't see you hugging and hugging at the school gate? Chu Mian was confessed to by a girl every three days or two before. Hasn’t anyone been looking for him since last year?”
Cheng Jun confessed that the two most popular boys on the wall fell in love, which would indeed cause quite a stir, but Yu Ran had no way to understand other people's views at all, and he did not expect that this matter would have been widely spread and become a famous Gossip that other people relish.
"Then I'm quite embarrassed." Yu Ran pinched his earlobe.
He turned to Chu Mian and asked, "Am I blushing?"
"Do not."
"Why not red? I'm obviously shy!" Yu Ran stretched his neck, wanting Chu Mian to take a closer look.
Chu Mian covered Yu Ran's forehead, and slowly pushed him away. Then he raised his arms around Yu Ran's shoulders and led him towards the "Adult Gate". Because the inflatable arch was crudely made, the sense of ceremony was greatly reduced. The students talked and laughed, not at all as serious as when they took the oath just now.
"Huh? I'm a child now." Yu Ran stood outside the door, then walked over quickly, "Huh? I'm an adult now!"
He jumped repeatedly under the inflatable door, said "hey" several times, and switched between child and adult identities freely.
Chu Mian just stood aside and smiled, and when he had had enough fun, the two of them went to the front to line up to receive the thousand paper cranes.
The huge cardboard box is full of red paper cranes, all of which are folded with the help of school girls from the handicraft club, and the senior high school students are asked to write their preferred schools or ideal scores on the wings. Yu Ran picked the biggest one and borrowed a pen to write the words "Central Academy of Fine Arts".
Hundreds of red origami cranes are hung on the tree in a string, carrying everyone's expectations and fluttering in the wind.
Yu Ran asked Chu Mian: "Baa, can you stack a thousand paper cranes?"
"meeting."
"Can you fold your pants?"
"Yes, I will."
Yu Ran's admiration was beyond words, "You build me a Transformer."
"You are embarrassing me." Chu Mian smiled.
"Then change it, fold me the southeast and northwest."
"There's a big difference between the two."
"I don't want to embarrass you!" Yu Ran thought he was very considerate.
Chu Mian asked someone else to ask for a piece of red paper, stood there and folded it with her head bowed. Yu Ran was fascinated by the skillful technique.
Two minutes later, he neatly folded out a peach heart, put it in Yu Ran's hand, and wrote lightly: "You can't learn it even if you see it."
This peach heart is very small, Yu Ran held both sides of it with both hands, raised it high towards the sun, and showed off happily: "Look, Chu Mian dug out a heart for me!"
Others looked sideways in shock.
Yu Ran held this precious paper peach heart all the way, looked at its structure from time to time, couldn't put it down.
After the coming-of-age ceremony, the squad leader organized everyone to have a dinner and eat hot pot. Yu Ran hadn't participated in class activities for a long time, this time he was very active and offered to buy drinks for everyone.
"I'm an adult, what's wrong with drinking?" Yu Ran plausibly said, carrying a case of beer into the private room.
Fang Zhao stopped him, "Don't be brave, you forgot the time you were drunk like a dog once before."
Yu Ran didn't take it seriously, "Why didn't I remember—"
His voice stopped abruptly, and the moment he accidentally caught a glimpse of Chu Mian, he suddenly remembered. A long time ago... I did drink one more time, which caused Chu Mian a lot of trouble.
Knowing that he can't drink enough, of course Yu Ran won't drink too much, after all, there is the most important CAFA exam the day after tomorrow. But today is a special day, and the students raised their wine glasses to symbolically celebrate, which can also be regarded as relieving the pressure of the college entrance examination.
"I wish you a successful start in the college entrance examination, success in no time, and a title on the gold list."
"I also wish everyone good health and prepare for the college entrance examination in the best condition."
"Everyone who takes the test will be correct."
"And... what else is there?"
Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, exchanged meaningful glances, and clinked glasses with a smile, "I also wish Yu Ran Chumian a happy wedding and an early baby!"
Caught off guard, Yu Ran was stunned for a moment and quickly stood up to toast one by one. While being sincerely grateful to them, I did not forget to ask for the most important thing: "The money will be handed over to me later."
Chu Mian sat beside her with half of her face in her hands, and occasionally pursed her lips and smiled a few times following the atmosphere.
"By the way, Yu Ran, you should restrain yourself and stop showing your affection in front of so many teachers." Someone kindly persuaded, "Ordinary teachers are fine, but some school leaders are very rigid. The results of the college entrance examination fell every year, and they always held meetings to say that it was because the school spirit was not rigorous.”
It didn't mean that there was a reaction, and others retorted: "The school spirit is not strict? Our school is just more open and inclusive, and the school rules are still quite strict. Besides, didn't the vice principal let relatives and children come in through the back door? Who took the lead?" not serious."
The class monitor also added to the topic: "I secretly heard the teacher talking in the office before. It seems that the principal will be resigned from the next term."
"Because I'm old, but at such an age, I'm more open-minded than the grade leader. Maybe the new principal won't let you use your cell phone, don't let you grow your hair long, and definitely catch puppy love." Someone patted Yu Ran on the shoulder while talking. , "Don't repeat it."
Hearing that Cheng Jun was going to change the principal, everyone couldn't help but feel sorry and regretful, but they were also glad that they caught up with the good times. There was a time when the grade teachers were very strict in catching couples, ranging from naming and criticizing, to asking parents to take them home for reflection.
However, this method did not last long, because after the principal heard about it, he ordered to prohibit teachers from using their status to suppress students. If the child's grades decline, then we should find ways to help the children prioritize and improve their grades; instead of restraining students across the board, the more arbitrary, the more likely it will be counterproductive.
Some parents also raised objections and asked the school to explicitly ban puppy love. However, the principal thought about it for a few days, but he still couldn't think of a reason to ban puppy love. He could only reject the parents' request: "Love is an innate instinct of human beings. No one is the authority in front of feelings."
He firmly believes that only an understanding and inclusive education can guide young people in a bright direction. The emergence of love is human nature, and it is against human nature to suppress emotions.
"Don't worry, I won't retake the exam. At worst, I will stay in Ronggang. I can still go to several schools with my entrance exam results." Yu Ran laughed twice, looking at Chu Mian, "And from Ronggang to Beijing, I am afraid that it is better than the Beijing subway. Hurry up, maybe it's more convenient for me to meet you, right?"
Chu Mian didn't answer, but looked at Yu Ran with deep eyes, as if there were only two of them left.
Yu Ran quietly stretched out a hand from under the table, put it on Chu Mian's knee, and shook him slightly. The completely meaningless physical interaction can also allow them to capture a trace of ambiguity in the lively atmosphere.
After the dinner, the crowd gradually dispersed and took different transportation to go home. Yu Ran sent Chu Mian across the road as usual, then turned back and waited for the bus with Fang Zhao.
He carefully pinched the paper peach heart that Chu Mian made for him, and pressed it to his left chest.
"Hey, hey, in broad daylight, don't be disrespectful." Fang Zhao glanced at him in disgust, and stopped him from touching breasts in public.
"This is called 'heart to heart'." Yu Ransha said seriously, and then moved the paper peach heart to Fang Zhao's chest, "This is called 'wolf heart and dog lung'."
"roll!"
Yu Ran put the paper heart into his pocket, was silent for a moment, and sighed involuntarily.
He pointed to the flower bed by the roadside and said, "When I come back next time, these flowers should be blooming."
"Why, you think they are opened for you?"
"This is my artistic conception!" Seeing that the bus was about to stop, Yu Ran waved his hands and walked forward, "Forget it, I have nothing to say to you!"
Fang Zhao sticks out his tongue, and childishly utters a "little little little" sound at him.
Yu Ran got on the car and left, but the car stopped suddenly at the platform just after driving a few meters.
The back door opened, and he walked down resentfully with his pockets in his pockets, bowing his head and not speaking.
Fang Zhao looked at the flower bed and asked, "The flowers haven't bloomed yet, so you came back too soon."
Yu Ran explained embarrassingly: "It's been a long time since I took a car here, I forgot which one to take, fuck."
"It's okay, you can remember everything after a while." Fang Zhao's tone was a little gloating, "For example, Mr. Wang's dictation."
"How dare I forget this! The memory is still fresh."
Most of the art exams have passed, and after the next few school exams are over, Yu Ran should go back to school and sprint. Learning used to be the thing he resisted the most, but now it has become a bridge close to his dream, and he can no longer feel resistance, but can't wait.
Two days later, Yu Ran came to Beijing again to take the exam for the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
For this exam, Yu Ran spent a lot of time searching the Internet for posts on various art exam forums, and learned some skills from the experience of seniors and sisters. School exams are different from joint exams, especially top colleges like CAFA, which pay more attention to candidates’ creative thinking in addition to painting skills; coupled with all adjustments to art design subjects this year, the exam questions must be adjusted compared to previous years.
Yu Ran walked towards the gray building of CAFA with his painting tools on his back. During the waiting process, he was rarely nervous, but he thought again, Chu Mian must be thinking about himself at this time, if there is a telepathy between them, wouldn't it make Chu Mian worry
Yu Ran hurriedly adjusted his breathing.
When the test bags with basic shapes were handed out, the audience was silent; when everyone saw the test questions clearly, they were surprised—the teacher provided them with drawing paper and lollipops. The title requires that the work must include three parts: candy, stick and candy wrapper, and you can choose at will whether to unfold the candy wrapper.
The unprecedented topic made Yu Ran's mind blank. Before he could start thinking, he saw several people in the examination room get up and leave.
After a short period of daze, Yu Ran only had a strong desire to win. This is CAFA's first exam. He must seize the opportunity and must not leave any regrets.
Since the topic is flexible, it means that candidates have more room to play. Yu Ran took half a minute to stabilize her heartbeat and the strength of her fingertips, and then slowly unwrapped the candy wrapper.
Yu Ran clearly remembered that Chu Heng told him that if he wanted to be recognized by teachers in top universities, his creations should not be mediocre. When most people see this fresh topic, they will definitely want to win steadily and choose to sketch directly; then they have to change their methods to attract the teacher's attention.
Yu Ran tore the wrapping paper in half, then sent the candy between his teeth, biting it hard.
Of course, drawing irregular pieces is more difficult than drawing spherical candies. Yu Ran has never practiced sketching, but he is quite confident in his skills. Broken candies, crumpled candy wrappers, and thin sticks with faint teeth marks, Yu Ran concentrated on drawing them one by one with a pen.
This exam took more time than he estimated, but fortunately, the final product was complete and did not digress.
After it was over, Yu Ran breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn't resist calling Chu Mian on the way to lunch.
He didn't tell Chu Mian about his nervousness just now, but excitedly expressed to Chu Mian that he had worked hard to overcome a big difficulty. Chu Mian was genuinely happy on the phone, and praised him softly.
"I might as well take half a day off." Chu Mian suddenly had this idea, "What time do you finish in the afternoon?"
"do not worry!"
"I'm not worried. But this is your most important exam, and when it's over...you should need someone to accompany you."
Chu Mian felt that Chu Ran was in an unusual mood just now. After speaking, he became more determined to accompany the other party, "I'm going to the office now."
Yu Ran didn't stop him, and said "OK" with a smile.
After a simple lunch, Yu Ran had to go back to the Academy of Fine Arts for the afternoon color test. After experiencing the baptism of "lollipop", the candidates are all mentally prepared, waiting for more exotic questions.
However, what they didn't expect was that the teacher was holding a big bag of Xu Fuji and handing it out. The theme of the design basic subject is also lollipops, and candidates are also required to eat the lollipops given out, and redesign the basic elements in the candy paper according to their own taste feelings.
Taste feeling... Yu Ran smacked the orange flavor in his mouth, thinking that there is no "feeling". When he ate something sweet, he would think of Chu Mian, thinking that Chu Mian would come to pick him up in the evening, and the candy in his mouth became even sweeter.
The scene of more than 80 people holding lollipops together is quite strange. This time, Yu Ran's mentality is much more stable than in the morning. He carefully observed Xu Fuji's wrapping paper, and slowly figured out the design concept. Starting with this element, the wrapping paper presents a realistic style. After all, he is not yet good at product design. Too wild ideas may be self-defeating. It is better to show creative ideas with heart, which is more clear and intuitive.
The candy in his mouth had already melted away, Yu Ran forgot that there was still a plastic stick dangling from the corner of his lips, and focused on the drawing paper, finishing the finishing work.
The moment the exam was over, Yu Ran was completely relieved, and only that sentence emerged in his mind - do your best and obey the destiny.
He packed his backpack and called Chu Mian.
"I'm at the side door, opposite is the bus station and shops." Chu Mian said, "There aren't many people here, so come out early."
"Ok!"
Before he walked out of Yangmei gate, Yu Ran saw that familiar figure. He immediately quickened his pace and started to run gradually. Once he got close to Chu Mian, he dropped all the burdens on his body, opened his arms, and jumped up.
Yu Ran jumped on Chu Mian's body, clamped his legs tightly, hooked his neck tightly, and said with a hearty smile, "Baabaa, I miss you so much."
"I just met the day before yesterday." Chu Mian smiled and hugged Yu Ran, gently bent her knees and picked up the things he dropped on the ground, "It should be all right from your voice, don't forget to call my aunt when you get back, She has been thinking about you."
"Okay, I will never forget this." Yu Ran shrank his neck back and opened his mouth to Chu Mian, "I ate a lot of sugar today, do you want to taste it?"
"Yeah." Chu Mian moved forward to kiss, and sure enough, there was still a faint smell of orange between Yu Ran's lips and teeth.
Although there will be other professional exams in the next few days, the end of the CAFA school exam actually means that the art exam has come to an end for Ran. For the past six months, he has been working hard for this every day, and every time he draws a stroke, he seems to be able to get close to this wish.
Chu Mian didn't let him go, just hugged him like this, and walked forward slowly. Yu Ran leaned on Chu Mian's strong shoulders, tilted his head, and looked at the dense creeper vines that had not recovered from the wall of the Academy of Fine Arts.
"Chu Mian."
"Ok."
"I really want to see how this wall is covered with green leaves." Yu Ran pointed.
Chu Mian glanced back and said, "I think so too. You can show me in the future."
For now, they believe unconditionally in the possibility of each other's dreams, despite the uncertainty ahead. The smell of oranges in Yu Ran's mouth completely dissipated, and he lay on Chu Mian's pillow, finally realizing the tiredness of today.
"How long do we have to go?" Yu Ran asked.
"It's been a long time, the driver can't come, so I asked him to park outside." Chu Mian turned her face away and lowered her voice, "This way we can stay a little longer."
"I'll take a rest at home tomorrow and go to school the day after tomorrow."
"So fast?"
"Yeah." Yu Ran lay on Chu Mian's shoulder, narrowing his eyes very comfortably, "I'm back."