Unfortunately, contrary to his wishes, Ashan narrowly missed the cutoff for acceptance. His father was furious, insisting Ashan should have gone to military school. With this setback, he could now join the military academy's next recruitment drive, especially since his father would retire in a month and hoped Ashan would follow in his footsteps to serve the country.
Ashan himself had a strong desire to attend the Naval Academy. Besides his patriotism, he admired the navy's pristine uniforms and the international opportunities it offered to explore the world. However, his mother vehemently opposed this idea. She believed Ashan had potential and blamed his failure on his girlfriend. She insisted that with a year of tutoring, he could surely get into university and even study abroad, without necessarily joining the navy.
Unable to sway the matriarch of the household, the two men yielded. Ashan agreed to his mother's request, focusing on studying diligently at a tutoring center for a year, with a strict prohibition against any romantic involvements.
Xiao Hui managed to barely get into high school, but her parents blamed Ashan's mother for his failure and forbade Xiao-Hui from seeing Ashan again. Their chances of meeting dwindled.
Ashan was determined this time. To curb his restless nature, he began his study sessions by lighting incense. He forced himself to remain seated until the incense burned out, gradually finding peace to study for hours. Initially puzzled, Ashan's parents joked that he had turned to Buddhism. They teased him as "Little Monk" whenever it was time for him to study.
After another year of hard work, Ashan entered the university entrance exam. He was extremely nervous this time, still haunted by the blame Xiao-Hui took last time. If he failed again, he couldn't escape his father's military discipline, especially with his father's worsening mood after retirement. Moreover, summer exams in Taiwan were an additional ordeal for students.
Ashan fell ill after the first day of exams, running a slight fever but managed to finish the second day barely holding on.
He feared the worst when the results were released, afraid to look. Thankfully, Ashan's name was on the list, though only at a private college. Both father and son thought the tuition was too expensive and considered the naval academy instead. Yet, Ashan's mother encouraged him to attend, suggesting they could manage with a bit of frugality. Eventually, his elder sister pitched in with some tuition fees, finally making Ashan a college student in their family.
但不幸的事與願違，阿三以些微的差距落榜了。阿三爸非常生氣，直說阿三本來就應該去唸軍校，這回兒沒考上，正好可以接著參加軍校聯招。何況阿三爸再過一個月就要退役了，他總想阿三能夠繼承他的衣砵，繼續報效國家。
其實阿三也很想去唸海軍官校。除了愛國心使然以外，他最喜歡海軍潔白的制服，而且海軍是國際軍種，有機會遨遊四海、增廣見聞。可是阿三媽是打心坎兒裏就不贊成。她一直強調阿三本來底子並不壞，是交女朋友耽誤了。只要補習一年，一定可以考上大學，以後還可以出國留學，不一定非要幹海軍才可以遨遊四海。
兩個男人爭不過這個家的女主人，阿三最後答應了媽的要求，到補習班去好好唸一年書，同時不可以再交任何女朋友。
小蕙倒是勉強吊車尾考上了高中。不過小蕙的父母也很不諒解阿三媽把阿三落榜的原因，歸責在小蕙的身上，所以也賭氣不准小蕙再與阿三來往。兩人見面的機會也就愈來愈少。
阿三這回是真正下定決心。他為了要壓抑自己好動的個性，所以在溫書之前，先點燃一柱香。然後強迫自己在一柱香沒燒完以前，絕不離開座位。
這個方法還真管用，果然漸漸地就可以定下心來，好好看幾個鐘頭的書。不明就裏的阿三爸媽，起初還以為阿三開始信佛了呢！後來就常打趣的說：「小和尚，燒香唸經的時候到了。」用來提醒阿三該溫習功課了。
經過再一年的努力，阿三又踏入大專聯考的考場。這次他真的很緊張，上次有小蕙頂罪，這次再考不上，可是逃不過老爸的軍事處罰了。況且老爸退役後，心情一時無法適應，脾氣也變壞了。再考不上，皮肉之痛是一定逃不過了。
台灣教育界選在夏天舉行聯招，對學子來說，真是考上加烤。阿三在第一天考完就身子不舒服，還有點發燒，第二天是撐著考完。
阿三心想這下完了，連放榜時都不敢去看榜。好在老天有眼，阿三還在榜上，不過是個私立學院，父子都以為學費太貴，還是去進海官吧！但是阿三媽鼓勵兒子去唸，家裏省一點，總可以撐得過去。後來大姐知道了，也匯了些學費來支持阿三，終於家裏總算有了位大學生。
