Mornings in northern summers were often shrouded in a thin mist.
Zheng Qing pressed his phone in his arm pouch and switched to a more relaxing song.
It was still early, but there were quite a few people jogging. Along the riverside running track, morning exercisers in sportswear could be seen everywhere.
The track was located in Fenhe Park, one of the municipal government's recent urban beautification projects, which was built with great care. One side of the plastic track was the calm Fenhe River, and the other side was a lush willow forest. They filled the air of this land with the scent of Nature. These elements, scarce in the city, formed a huge temptation for people exercising in the city in the morning.
A black figure flashed past Zheng Qing's eyes and stopped on a stone platform not far away.
This black cat!
Zheng Qing sniffed, tightened his arm pouch, and glanced at it.
This black cat, with its four paws like snow, had very striking fur. Although its breed appeared to be just an ordinary domestic cat, it lacked the usual sensitivity and suspicion of house cats; instead, it was quite bold. From the moment Zheng Qing entered the track, it had been wandering not far in front of him.
Neither fast nor slow, close yet distant.
It neither vanished from Zheng Qing's sight in a flash nor did it ever fall more than a hundred meters behind him.
This made Zheng Qing, who was following behind it, a little curious.
His running speed was not slow, and many other morning runners had come and gone, but there was no one who seemed to be the black cat's owner.
Perhaps this cat just found it amusing.
Turning the bend ahead, the black cat suddenly disappeared from sight. Zheng Qing slowed his pace, looked around, and easily spotted the black cat in the dense woods.
It had left the main path and run into a quiet side path.
Compared to the main running track, this Fork in the road was only three to five meters wide, and the surface was not plastic, but ordinary flagstone. The black cat ran for dozens of meters down the Fork in the road , then stopped again, turned its head, and stared at Zheng Qing with its pair of emerald green cat eyes.
Zheng Qing hesitated for a few seconds at the fork in the road, then followed the black cat into this Fork in the road .
Running with a cat wasn't much different from running with a person; either way, he was running by himself. Zheng Qing thought to himself, and besides, this path looked so quiet, it would definitely be more comfortable to run here than outside.
The black cat trotted lightly ahead, the path beneath its paws changing from flagstone to asphalt, then from asphalt to a hardened dirt road, and finally, even the dirt road disappeared, leaving only a wild path made of dead branches and fallen leaves.
Zheng Qing decided to turn back when there was no path left.
He was running contentedly now, even ignoring the black cat not far in front of him.
He breathed greedily, his nasal cavity filled with the scent of decaying dry grass and tree leaves from the forest, mixed with pine resin and morning mist, clearing the stale air that had accumulated in his chest from the city, and also taking away the faint unease in his heart.
The sky gradually brightened, but the sun had not yet risen, and the mist in the forest grew thicker.
Turning past a thick ancient tree, Zheng Qing's eyes lit up; a large expanse of vibrant green bamboo forest appeared before him. This green was so dazzling that even the morning mist could not obscure its brilliance.
Bamboo leaves rustled, bamboo branches clattered. The feeling of jogging through the bamboo forest was enchanting.
Zheng Qing had completely lost his sense of direction and could only follow the black cat, which was strolling leisurely ahead, running at a slow pace.
The distant bamboo forest gradually thinned, and the light from outside slowly filtered in.
He was about to exit, and Zheng Qing felt a little reluctant; he decided to come back here for his morning run tomorrow.
After running out of the bamboo forest, the suddenly wide-open view and bright light made Zheng Qing involuntarily squint his eyes.
He opened his eyes, swallowed, and couldn't help but squint again.
Before him was an open lawn, and a few hundred meters away, an ochre-yellow six-story building sat steadily in the middle of the lawn. The building was surrounded by flowerbeds, rockeries, and fountains. All around the lawn were these tall, silent bamboo forests.
There's a building like this by the Fenhe River? Zheng Qing couldn't help but touch his arm pouch.
Seemingly sensing Zheng Qing's hesitation, the black cat not far ahead let out an 'aow' sound.
Cats don't make that sound, his mouth twitched.
The black cat completely ignored his thoughts, wagged its tail, and turned to run towards the ochre-yellow building.
Zheng Qing looked behind him; the bamboo forest, which had originally felt refreshing and comfortable, suddenly gained a deeper aura. That distant feeling made him hesitate to proceed.
Without this cat leading the way, he would surely get lost inside.
Sighing, Zheng Qing pulled out a small grey cloth bag from his arm pouch and quietly clutched it in his hand.
The black cat leading the way would occasionally encounter other small animals, such as squirrels, rabbits, foxes, and even a milky-white piglet. Each time it met one, the black cat would stop to greet them. These small animals were strangely curious; not only were they not afraid of Zheng Qing, but they would curiously circle around him a couple of times, as if observing something.
Figures could vaguely be seen at the main entrance of the building.
The black cat stopped by the flowerbed at the building's entrance, flicked its tail, and gestured for Zheng Qing to go inside.
“Aren't you going in?” Zheng Qing glanced at it.
The black cat snorted, leaped, and nimbly darted into the lush flowerbed, disappearing from sight.
From the outside, the building looked compact. But upon entering, Zheng Qing found the interior layout to be quite spacious.
Directly facing the main entrance was a hall about a hundred meters in circumference. On the left and right sides of the hall were two deep corridors, dark and silent, with no lights inside. Eight pillars stood in the four corners of the hall, and between every two pillars was a closed black door.
Some people wearing black robes moved back and forth in the hall. Most of them looked serious and walked quickly, seemingly completely unaware that a stranger had entered through the main door.
Zheng Qing observed for a moment, then picked out a fair-faced girl with a ponytail, hurried a few steps to stop her, and asked with embarrassment: “Hello, I don't know where this is…”
“New here?” The girl seemed a bit rushed and interrupted him quickly.
Zheng Qing nodded repeatedly.
“Taking an exam, or a talent test, or a faith appraisal, or a simulated battle?”
Zheng Qing looked bewildered: “Exam?”
He only heard that word clearly.
“The exam is this way.” The girl grabbed Zheng Qing's arm, led him to the black door between the two pillars in the northeast corner, pulled it open, and pushed Zheng Qing inside.
The girl's strength was surprisingly great; Zheng Qing hadn't even reacted to what was happening before he was already standing inside the large black door.
This was a very large tiered classroom, with nearly a hundred rows from front to back. The light streaming in from the eight tall glass windows on all sides made the classroom exceptionally bright. At this moment, hundreds of people were sitting densely in the classroom, heads down, working on their test papers, the rustling sound of pens making the classroom exceptionally quiet.
Zheng Qing turned his head; the door behind him had quietly closed at some point.
He gently pulled it; the door didn't open.
“You're late!” A stern voice came from the distant podium. At this distance, Zheng Qing could only make out a tall figure, also wearing the black uniform robes like the people outside.
A few figures around him, who were answering questions, secretly cast a glance, making Zheng Qing swallow the words he was about to say.
Noise was most taboo during an exam.
“The test paper is in front of you. You are about fifteen minutes later than others. Don't just stand there, hurry up and do the questions!”
Zheng Qing saw that there was indeed an empty seat not far in front of him, with a set of test papers, pen, and paper all ready.
He definitely hadn't signed up for this exam. Zheng Qing was very clear in his heart.
Maybe someone really was late? I'll give up the seat when he arrives.
He quietly sat down and gently picked up the paper. He was very curious about what kind of exam this was.
The large bold text on the front of the test paper was exceptionally clear:
2008 Unified Global Entrance Examination for Advanced Wizarding Schools (Nine Provinces Volume)
Zheng Qing shook his head and blinked; he felt like he was hallucinating.
He tried to open the grey cloth bag in his hand, but found that the opening, which usually opened easily, was tightly tied and he couldn't untie it no matter what.
“Thump! Thump! Thump!” A slender hand, with its index finger bent, gently tapped on the desk in front of Zheng Qing.
Zheng Qing looked up and only saw a pair of dark red eyes.
It was an invigilating teacher.
“Only the paper and pen distributed by the examination hall are allowed for answering. If you have other special needs, you may state them.”
Zheng Qing gave a dry laugh, stuffed the soft grey cloth bag into his pants pocket, and turned to the first page of the test paper.
Notes: This test paper is divided into two parts, Part I and Part II, totaling 20 pages. Part I consists of mandatory questions, and Part II consists of optional questions. The total score is 500 points, and the examination time is 300 minutes. Please use the uniformly provided 0.57 mm gel pen for answering; it is strictly forbidden to bring your own calligraphy brushes, quill pens, or other specifications of pens. Before answering, please remember to sign your true name on the first page. After answering, the Assistant Teacher invigilator will collect the test papers uniformly.
Please adhere to the invigilator's examination hall discipline.
Cheating is strictly forbidden!
Turning to the second page of the test paper, Zheng Qing scratched his hair.
The content on the paper was surprisingly ordinary; Zheng Qing found that much of it was from the calligraphy practice sheets he used daily.
Maybe he could leave after finishing the paper. He looked up at the figures around him who were buried in their answers, sighed, and picked up the gel pen next to the test paper.
After an unknown amount of time, Zheng Qing, having finished his paper, was napping at his desk, waiting for the invigilating teacher to collect the papers.
When he got out, he definitely had to find that black cat and poke its little chrysanthemum a hundred times, he thought vaguely.
“Wake up! Wake up! You should go home!” A violent shaking startled Zheng Qing awake.
“Hand in the paper!” He fumbled forward with drowsy eyes, finding nothing.
A burst of laughter erupted in his ears.
He opened his eyes and looked around; the empty and quiet classroom from before he fell asleep had completely disappeared, replaced by a small, noisy KTV room.
“The college entrance exam is over! You're free! No more exams!” A dark-faced Fat Man yelled into his ear, making his ears ring.
Zheng Qing looked around blankly, his mind still half-disconnected. He vaguely saw more than a dozen figures embracing each other, singing loudly.
“Friends walk together for life, those days are no more…”
It seemed to be a final burst before the end, and the atmosphere in the private room instantly reached its peak. A large glass of beer was also thrust into Zheng Qing's hand.
As the beer went down his stomach, the strange exam from not long ago was cast aside, and Zheng Qing's memory reconnected with normal life: he was at a gathering with classmates after the college entrance exam.
As for the running and the exam?
Just a dream.
