At about half-past eight, Wen Xinya entered the examination hall to see that it was already filled with numerous candidates who were talking in groups of five and three.
The Chinese paper was the first one that she had to sit for, and it would last for two hours from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM.
At about 8:40 AM, the invigilators entered the examination hall and began checking all of their entry proofs and other relevant documents, before tallying their seat numbers and reading the rules of the examinations out to them.
At 8:45 AM, the invigilators started giving out the answer sheets and foolscap papers, after which the candidates filled in their names and subject codes.
At about 8:50 AM, the invigilators finally took out the question papers which were placed inside envelopes titled "Confidential". They only distributed the question papers officially at 8:50 sharp.