Qian Keke's bedroom.
A brownish-red large bookshelf stood against the wall, and through the transparent glass on the two cabinet doors, one could see various neatly arranged books inside.
Things like "Modern Chinese Dictionary," "Keeping Pace with Composition and Complete Answers," "Junior High School Final Mathematical Problems Explained and Practiced," "Quyixian Five-Year Middle School Year Three Mock Tests," "Spark English Junior High School English Grammar Solutions," "2000 Questions on Junior High School English Grammar and Vocabulary"...
There were practically no extracurricular books; it was mostly all sorts of reference books and exercise books!
Tang Xiaoxin and Qian Keke were sitting in front of the desk, with several summer vacation homework books and textbooks spread out on the table.
Qian Keke was flipping through a math textbook, staring blankly at the formulas on the pages as if a philosopher gazing at the stars contemplating the truth of the universe, while Tang Xiaoxin, with her legs propped up, was leisurely flipping through "Rickshaw Boy."
Summer vacation was over, and school had already started!
The homework at the beginning of the school year wasn't actually that much. Tang Xiaoxin had already finished hers; she came here mainly to accompany her good friend to do homework, to help with any difficulties, and once Qian Keke finished, they could go out and play together.
After gazing at the starry math problems for a long time, Qian Keke finally started scribbling calculations on scratch paper. Moments later, as she stared at the chaotic jumble of written calculations, her expression suddenly fell, as if she had accidentally eaten a hedgehog, and, grimacing, said, "Xiaoxin, come help me look at this problem!"
"Which one?" Tang Xiaoxin leaned over, looked at the homework question, and said speechlessly, "This question, isn't it super simple? Just use the formula."
Qian Keke's face took on a mournful expression: "But I don't know how to apply it!"
"You see, if you do it like this..."
"So that's how it's done! No wonder I kept getting it wrong."
At that moment, Mother Qian came in with a plate of grapes, saw the two of them seriously tackling the problems, and said with a smile, "Here, have some grapes, Xiaoxin! You have good grades; you have to help teach my Keke more. This child has always struggled with math."
Tang Xiaoxin quickly expressed her thanks: "Thank you, Auntie! You're too kind."
"I want some too." After Mother Qian left, Qian Keke immediately put down her book and pen, popped a grape into her mouth, and reverted back to her cheerful self, eating several more grapes in quick succession.
Tang Xiaoxin nudged Qian Keke's ribs with her toes, reminding her, "Stop eating grapes and get back to solving the problems. The sooner you finish, the sooner we can go to the zoo. They've got lots of new animals at the zoo this time, including raccoons!"
The pair could now be considered loyal little fans of Linhai Zoo, taking any opportunity to plan a visit there.
Their parents were quite supportive of their trips to the zoo. Each time the kids returned, they would talk about what they saw and learned at the zoo. Having such an interest was good; it got them active, allowed them to breathe fresh air, and they learned in the process, which was far better than playing on the computer or reading trivial books.
Naturally, neither of them had brought a photo without a hat, and Qian Keke felt a small regret: "We'll have to wait until next time to get it then!"
After buying their tickets, they entered the zoo, where a young school-aged boy holding a chocolate ice cream cone excitedly yelled, "Let's go see the red pandas!"
He darted past them overly energetically, glanced back at them, and then tripped over his own feet, falling flat on his face.
The boy lay on the ground, paid no heed to his own pain, and looked at the ice cream cone in his hand, only to see the cone left, the pointed Ice Cake topping had flown onto the path, and he immediately burst into tears: "Ah, my ice cream cone..."
The boy's parents hurried over: "Why were you running so fast? Are you hurt?"
"Waaah, my ice cream cone..."
After checking, the parents realized he'd only scraped his knee and relaxed: "We can just buy another ice cream cone! Really, be careful."
Tang Xiaoxin and Qian Keke chuckled quietly, noticing that many visitors around them were holding Ice Cakes, ice cream cones, or drinks.
Looking in the direction the boy had run from, they discovered a new refreshment stand had opened in the zoo without them realizing it.
Tang Xiaoxin immediately exclaimed with delight: "Hey, when did this refreshment stand open? Keke, let's go get some cold drinks!"
"Yes, yes!" Keke's eyes lit up even brighter!
The sun was blazing, and with the weather so hot, if there was anything more enjoyable than wandering the zoo, it was certainly strolling through the zoo while sipping cold drinks.
Gazing at the price list, the ice cream cones varied in price according to the flavor, with the original flavor at 5 yuan, chocolate flavor at 7 yuan, strawberry cones at 8 yuan, and a variety of cold drinks like sour plum soup, cola, and orange soda available in medium and large cups, all priced above 10 yuan.
The few staff members were running around busily as the business was quite good.
Three minutes later, it was finally their turn, and Xiaoxin said, "I'll have a sour plum soup!"
"I'll take an orange soda then!"
After paying, the staff member swiftly operated the drink machine, filled their cups with the requested drinks, and handed them over: "Here you go, take care!"
The two took their cups, felt the gentle coolness through them, and started sipping with content, feeling refreshed and much more spirited.
```