I still feel angry when I think about it.
"How could you do this?" Xiao Wei nudged her.
Looking at Xiao Wei's concerned face, she sighed, "It's all because of that Yang..." The word "Sen" got stuck in her throat for a long time because she saw Yang Sen walk into the classroom!
Before her mind could even process what was happening, she was already crawling under the table. Could she be so unlucky? He transferred to their class?!
Xiao Wei looked at Yan Shu's actions with a puzzled expression and bent down as well: "What are you doing?"
Seeing Xiao Wei's face suddenly loom large in front of her, Yan Shu was genuinely startled and patted her chest: "No, nothing. I just dropped my eraser."
"You didn't even take your pencil case out, so why did you drop your eraser?" Xiao Wei is indeed Xiao Wei; her eyes are sharp.
"I...I..." Yan Shu's gaze shifted from under the table to Xiao Wei, then back to under the table, unable to finish the sentence.
"What are you doing?" This time, Yang Sen's face was suddenly zoomed in on.
"Ouch—ouch—" Startled, Yan Shu hurriedly backed away, but unexpectedly, her head hit the bottom of the table. It hurt so much! Tears welled up in her eyes. She could only cover her head and crouch down, crying out in pain.
Mu Yang heard the earth-shattering "Ouch!" from the other side, and then found the entire class had fallen silent. Mu Yang walked over and found Yang Sen squatting there, greeting him: "Hey, Mu Yang. I saw that idiot Yan Shu squatting here, so I came over to check on her, but I didn't expect that idiot to suddenly bump his head."
Yan Shu crawled out from under the table, clutching her head: "You, how did you get here?"
Yang Sen gave her a strange look: "I'm a transfer student."
"Ring ring--" The bell signaling the end of get out of class means the exam is over. Students must hand in their papers, regardless of their mood or whether they have finished answering. That's what exams are all about.
Yan Shu handed in her test paper and straightened her pencil case. The classroom was noisy, filled with groans and complaints. The girl in front of her turned around and asked listlessly, "How did you do on the test?"
"I don't know." Yan Shu shook her head. She had done it, but whether it was good or bad was beyond her control.
"Seriously. Why do they have to do this kind of thing right at the start of the semester?"
Yan Shu smiled wryly. What could she do? They had to take the high school entrance exam this year.
Watching Yang Sen walk by, a basketball in his hand, I thought, "Only someone as clueless as him would be so indifferent at a time like this."
"It seems like he only pays attention to Mu Yang and you, and ignores everyone else." The person in front suddenly lowered his voice, looking mysterious.
Who is it?
"Yang Sen," she rolled her eyes at her, "he and Xiao Wei just don't get along!"
Yan Shu turned her head. Mu Yang was quietly reading a book, as if the exam had nothing to do with him. Xiao Wei, on the other hand, readily answered the questions handed to her by several people.
"Hey, Yan Shu." She nudged her hand. "I'm talking to you." She followed her gaze: "Sigh, people like Mu Yang and Xiao Wei can't even be considered human."
Yan Shu nodded: "Yes, I know." She had always known.
"Teacher, you wanted to see me?" Yan Shu knocked on the teacher's office door, her heart pounding with anxiety. Students like her, in the middle of the class, were actually the most inconspicuous. Unlike Xiao Wei and Mu Yang, who were the teacher's darlings, or the really bad students who received much special attention, she was now in the office, wondering what she had done wrong. Had she done terribly on the test?
"You've arrived." The teacher, who was preparing her lesson, looked up from her desk and handed her a piece of paper with a smile.
Transcript.
She nervously found her name, somewhat disbelieving her eyes.
"You've made great progress!" the teacher said with a smile. "You must have studied very hard during the summer vacation."
"It's alright." I'm so grateful that Mu Yang helped me with my studies during the summer vacation.
"You also hope to get into a top-tier high school, right?"
Yan Shu nodded: "I hope I can get in."
The teacher smiled: "Although this exam doesn't mean anything, as long as you work hard, you'll definitely succeed."
Although Yan Shu suspected that the teacher's encouragement was mostly genuine, she suddenly felt a surge of confidence. This excitement lasted until she reached the classroom door. She thought to herself, "What a naive person I am."
"Yan Shu, what's this?" a classmate sitting in the front row asked, pointing to the paper in her hand.
"Notice of the Parents' Meeting."
"No way!" A chorus of screams erupted in the classroom. "Another parent-teacher conference!"
"The chances of survival are slim."
"Yan Shu, we hate you."
Yan Shu didn't know how many glasses of water she had drunk tonight. Although she already knew her grades, the news from the parent-teacher meeting was still very important to her.
As soon as she heard the door open, she rushed over: "Dad, Mom."
"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Dad asked as he took off his shoes.
"I'm going to sleep." Yan Shu glanced at their expressions; nothing seemed amiss. "I'm going to sleep."
"Wait, Xiaoshu," her mother suddenly called out, "Your teacher said you want to go to a top-tier high school."
"Mm." Yan Shu nodded.
Are you confident?
"I don't know." Yan Shu lowered her head. She really didn't know her own level, so how could she say whether she had confidence or not? Although her teacher said she could do it, it was mostly encouragement.
"If you want to, you need to have confidence. Our kids aren't stupid; they just need to try their best."
Yan Shu looked up, and her mother was smiling at her.
"Dad believes in you too. But don't ruin your health. Go to sleep."
"Mmm." Yan Shu nodded with a smile. What could be more important than the encouragement of her family? She went back to her room and fell asleep immediately. The bed was warm; her mother had even taken it out to air it today, and it smelled of sunshine. She felt so happy.
The next morning, Xiao Wei saw Yan Shu's idiotic smile from the previous day: "Can you stop putting on that smiling face first thing in the morning?" It made me furious.
"Oh." Yan Shu quickly straightened up, but she was genuinely happy. "Xiao Wei got first place again, that's amazing!"
"Really?" Xiao Wei didn't react much. "Maybe it's not enough."
"What's not enough?" Yan Shu asked, puzzled. The teacher had used Xiao Wei as a role model at yesterday's parent-teacher meeting!
"Ignore that exam machine," Yang Sen's voice suddenly broke in. Xiao Wei glared at him.
He just followed along aimlessly: "Xiao Shu, I'll come to your house to study on Sunday. Mu Yang and I have already agreed."
"What?" When did this happen? How come she didn't know?
"Because your mom's cooking is delicious."
"An animal that only thinks with its stomach." Xiao Wei pulled Yan Shu and walked towards the school.
Ah, Yan Shu smiled and walked forward. The warm autumn sun shone down, and there were Xiao Wei and Yang Sen. This was a wonderful day!
June isn't very hot, so students who have finished their exams have even less reason to stay home and enjoy the electric fan.
Yan Shu looked at the electric fan in front of her, thinking to herself. Turning around, she saw a talisman hanging on the wall, which she had obtained on the first day of the Lunar New Year from a temple in this small town that was said to be very efficacious.
"I want to get into a top university." That's what she wished for before the Buddha. When asked what she wished for, Mu Yang just smiled but wouldn't tell her.
His parents had already finished their prayers and were waiting outside the hall. Every year on the first day of the lunar new year, both families would come here to pay their respects. Mu Yang's mother was still as kind as ever, while his father was always so serious, with a cold face.
"Xiao Shu." Mom opened the door and came in. "I heard the school released the results. Do you want to go check?"
"I..." Yan Shu shook her head, "Let's just forget about it. The acceptance letter will be sent in a few days. There's no rush." Call her an ostrich if you want, let her deceive herself for a few more days.
"Go take a look. Hurry up." Mom handed Yan Shu a hat. "Go quickly. Put on the hat. Don't get sunburned."
Yan Shu had no choice but to put on her hat and leave the house.
She walked very slowly on the road. She really didn't want to go to school. The June sun beat down directly on the earth, as if there was nowhere to hide. What's coming will come eventually, she thought.
The sound of a basketball being dribbled came from the basketball court. She looked over. Yang Sen was playing basketball there.
Whatever.
A person was sitting under the shade of a tree not far away. She squinted her eyes. It was Xiao Wei!
That's a bit strange, usually these two... But Xiao Wei wouldn't go to see them, just like Mu Yang. She even heard Mu Yang playing the zither this morning.
She thought she should keep walking forward, and finally, the lively atmosphere and the crowded people told her: she had arrived.
In places like this, there are always more parents than students!
But when she looked up, she realized she really didn't want to go in.
"Why don't you come closer and take a look?" Hearing the voice, she quickly turned around, and Mu Yang was standing behind her.
Mu Yang looked at her stunned expression with amusement: "I came to see the list." He took Yan Shu's hand. "Let's go. Let's go look for it."
"I..." Yan Shu stopped, "I don't dare to look." Although it was a little embarrassing to say, it was the truth; she really had no confidence.
Are you afraid I'll fail the exam?
"Huh? How could that be?"
"Since it's not, let's take a look." Mu Yang pulled her through the crowd. "What number are you?"
"2101."
"2101, 2101, 2101..." The two people looked from one row to another, but there was nothing, nothing, nothing, still nothing... Only the last two rows were left.
Good heavens, I really can't bear to watch. The second-to-last row, nothing.
Is there no hope left?
"I've got it!" Mu Yang exclaimed.
"Where? Where?" Yan Shu excitedly searched the list.
"Here." Mu Yang pointed to the second-to-last one in the last row.
"2101!"
"Wow, really!" Yan Shu jumped up excitedly. "I passed the exam! I really passed!"
Mu Yang smiled and led Yan Shu out of the crowd: "I told you you could do it. Trust me." He looked into Yan Shu's eyes, which were bright and full of spirit.
"Xiao Shu?"