How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 95: Semi-Final_1

At this time, the sky had gradually darkened, and the view had become hazy and grey.

Qin Jin invited everyone to dinner.

Mr. Song and Mr. Zhao felt embarrassed, having been treated to two meals in the car; they could not keep imposing for food.

Unable to persuade them otherwise, Qin Jin parted ways with them and led Li Qiao into a restaurant.

Glancing over the menu, they ordered a serving of pickled fish, a serving of homestyle tofu, and a bowl of rice.

The northern dishes were served in large bowls, and the huge portion of pickled fish left Qin Jin dumbfounded, but a quick check of the menu reassured him that the price was correct.

Li Qiao had heard long before how incredibly delicious the restaurant’s dishes were.

Now eagerly tasting them, she found the fish both tender and spicy.

After eating two big bowls of rice, she set down her chopsticks, rested her chin on her hands, and waited for Qin Jin.

"Finished eating?"

Li Qiao nodded, "Yeah, there’s over half left, can you finish it?"

"Almost." Qin Jin took a couple more bites of rice, "Feeling nervous for the competition tomorrow?"

"Nervous." Li Qiao stated honestly, this competition was not only about the chance for her to be recommended for admission to a university, but also concerned Qin Jin’s job.

If she could achieve brilliant results this time, attracting the attention of prestigious universities, she would take the opportunity to make some demands and secure a job for Qin Jin. She shared her thoughts with him.

Qin Jin nearly choked on his food, arranging a job for him? He had no desire to be managed by others.

He refused, "I appreciate the thought, but please don’t meddle; I have my own plans."

Li Qiao raised an eyebrow, "What plans?"

Qin Jin did not intend to divulge his plans, as they were just starting to unfold and it was uncertain if they would succeed. "In any case, I don’t need you to arrange a job." It would be embarrassing to rely on his wife, and besides, how much could he earn from a job?

That went against his initial aim to become a rich man.

He aspired to regain the wealth and status his ancestors once had.

That year, the higher-ups had introduced many policies, and even though rural life had not changed, he saw it as an opportunity for rapid advancement.

He needed to seize the opportunity and make something of himself.

Li Qiao resigned, "Alright." After a moment, she added, "You won’t be worried about me running off when I come here for school in the future?"

"Not afraid." Qin Jin’s lips curled into a smile. He had heard from his grandmother that during the few days he was ’dead,’ she had cried her heart out, vowing never to remarry and to stay true to him for life.

...

Qin Jin finished eating the rest of the food, paid the bill, and left.

The chilly moonlight carried by the night breeze rustled through the passing sycamore trees.

Li Qiao wrapped herself tightly in her clothes.

"I reminded you to wear an extra layer when leaving home. You wanted to stay cool and didn’t. Are you cold now?" Qin Jin laughed gleefully at her misfortune.

Li Qiao was annoyed, he was actually laughing at her! "As my partner, shouldn’t you be offering me a jacket right now?"

"You know it’s cold, and I don’t? Serves you right! Let’s see if you’ll dare to take it off next time."

Li Qiao: "...." How can there be such a man?

She held in her frustration, and after a while, she was draped in a coat.

She turned her head slightly.

The young man lifted the corner of his eyebrows, "If I don’t freeze you a little, you won’t learn your lesson for next time."

Li Qiao smiled, "You’re really mean. When there’s no one around, can you carry me on your back?"

Upon her words, he bent down.

Li Qiao jumped onto his back, and due to momentum, he ran several steps forward before stabilizing his form. He scolded lightly, "Aren’t you afraid I’ll drop you?"

"Anyway, I have you to cushion my fall," Li Qiao laughed playfully.

Qin Jin: "..." So, who is the bad one, exactly?

.....

In the early spring morning, everything on the streets was bathed in the soft spring light.

Li Qiao got up early, got ready, and headed to the examination venue.

Mr. Zhao admonished the two students to beat their rivals and return to their hometown in glory.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t know where to put his face.

Mr. Song, upon hearing this, pulled Li Qiao aside and said, "I don’t expect too much from you. If you don’t do well, we still have the college entrance exam. Just take it easy, huh?"

Li Qiao knew that Mr. Song was afraid the pressure might affect her performance: "Okay."

Once inside the school, she followed the directions on the notice board to find the examination room and casually chose a seat to sit down.

Soon, the teacher arrived and only handed out one piece of draft paper.

The problems were directly written on the blackboard for the students to solve.

The students in the classroom didn’t know each other, but they still whispered amongst themselves, discussing how the problems were too difficult to even start.

"Quiet, you only have forty minutes," the teacher announced. "Remember to write your name, place of origin, address, and school."

After the teacher spoke, the noise in the classroom subsided.

The invigilator was a woman, wearing wedge-heeled leather shoes, pacing back and forth in the classroom, making a clacking noise.

Li Qiao was extremely annoyed, she still preferred male teachers as invigilators, who would sit at the lectern and never come down.

The female teacher could wander around until the bell rang.

Li Qiao waved away the distracting noise and focused on reviewing and answering the questions.

After two months of preparation, the problems weren’t difficult for her, and she filled the draft paper in just half an hour.

She checked her work from beginning to end and then put down her pen.

The teacher came over to her side, picked up her draft to look at it, glanced at her after a while, and then took it away.

Li Qiao: "???"

"Student, did you solve them all?"

The student behind Li Qiao poked her, and she turned back and nodded lightly.

"Awesome!"

Only after the bell rang did the invigilator return: "Li Qiao, attend the second round at ten o’clock. It will be in the classroom upstairs, the same spot as this one."

Li Qiao was delighted and instantly understood that this competition was like a preliminary selection, and she had now earned a spot in the next round: "Thank you, teacher."

She packed up her stationery and left, first stopping by the restroom before heading to the school gate.

From a distance, Mr. Song waved to her.

When she got closer, he hurriedly said, "Li Qiao, did they notify you about participating in the second round?"

"Yes, at ten o’clock."

Mr. Zhao said congratulations and then criticized his own students: "Look at her, able to get through while in a relationship. You guys, sigh! Didn’t solve a single problem, came all this way for nothing."

Two of the students lowered their heads, not daring to contradict.

Mr. Song said, "Just participating in this competition already proves the child’s excellence. Didn’t you hear what the invigilating teacher said earlier? Out of six hundred students, ninety percent will be eliminated. In the end, only ten will remain. Whether Li Qiao can make it to the end is still an unknown."

Mr. Zhao was still a bit unconvinced, but he couldn’t do anything about it and sighed, "How many problems did Li Qiao solve, huh?"

Mr. Song changed the subject: "Are you going back home now or what?"

"Since we’re already here, let’s wait and see if Li Qiao can make it to the end," Mr. Zhao said.

Mr. Song: "...."

Students who were eliminated from the campus had all dispersed, and it was almost ten o’clock when Li Qiao returned to the examination room.

This time, there were only five students in the exam room, and the problems were no longer on the blackboard.

Instead, test papers were directly handed out.

A large sheet of rolled-up paper unfolded to be about as tall as a person.

"You have ninety minutes, which is still a bit short, so work quickly," the invigilator announced as the room filled only with the sound of turning pages.

Li Qiao solved the problems one by one.

She had just finished when the bell rang, and as the invigilator collected the papers, she told everyone to come back after lunch, as the results would be posted on the notice board.

As Li Qiao stepped out of the school, Mr. Zhao, more excited than Mr. Song, grabbed her wrist: "Li Qiao, how did it go? Top ten?"

Li Qiao smiled and withdrew her hand: "The results haven’t come out yet."

"When will they be released, do you think you might make it to the top ten?"

Li Qiao patiently explained, "After lunch. I can’t say for sure if I can make it into the top ten; moreover, all the other students in the examination finished their papers too." Although she had completed the paper, she hadn’t checked it and couldn’t guarantee a hundred percent accuracy.

A single point could mean the difference between advancing or being eliminated.