Courir partout et jouer des rôles mineurs

Chapitre 80

She popped the bright red strawberry from the fork into her mouth; it was sweet and sour. Lin simply hummed in response to his question. Fortunately, even without her saying anything, Changsheng understood.

"You don't even plan to get a PhD, so what are you working so hard for?" He couldn't understand.

She's always been different from them, and everyone's noticed over the years. He just can't understand why, if she really is a child prodigy as outsiders said in elementary school, she still works so hard. And since she clearly doesn't care about the title of child prodigy, why does she work even harder?

The two rows of bookshelves in the study stretched all the way to the ceiling, and now there wasn't even a space left for a single book. If you randomly picked up a book and flipped through it, you could find the marks she had made.

While others were basking in the joy of getting into middle school, she had already previewed the entire junior high curriculum; while others were still arguing with their parents over a few dollars of pocket money, her savings account already had more than five zeros (an illusion, far more); while others were reciting "The sky is vast, the fields are boundless, the wind blows the grass low, revealing cattle and sheep," she could tell everyone about the customs and lifestyle of the ancient Khitan people without hesitation. She persisted in practicing calligraphy day after day for years. What was she striving for with all this hard work?

Ji Yunwen sat five seats away, seemingly casually solving a math problem, but his ears were secretly perked up as he listened to the conversation in front of him. In his mind, he was asking Li Changsheng, "Yeah, what are you after?"

Shang Lin frowned, puzzled. "Didn't you get used to me? You were always so calm and composed no matter what I did. Why did you suddenly have an epileptic seizure?"

Li Changsheng stared at her stubbornly, demanding an answer.

After thinking about it, yes, I've always worked very hard. What is it that I want to do that makes me work so hard?

Thinking about it again, I realized something was wrong. I don't feel tired, and I never feel tired.

Making money? I wish I could become the richest person in the world, and live happily ever after with my little fortune.

I am a student, so of course I need to study.

Reading is good for the mind and body. I don't gamble, smoke, or visit prostitutes. My only hobbies are reading and saving money.

I started practicing calligraphy to set an example for Qiu Xialin, and later, I persisted and it became a habit.

She was deep in thought, her pencil scribbling aimlessly on the paper; Li Changsheng next to her blinked, waiting for an answer; five seats away, Ji Yunwen was also waiting for her reply, secretly guessing what she would say.

As the pencil moved across the snow-white exercise paper, the rough outline of Mocha Cat gradually appeared. When the adorable cartoon image of Mocha Cat, resting its chin on its hand and blinking its big eyes, was fully formed on the paper, Shang Lin realized the answer. He looked up at Li Changsheng intently:

"Why do you insist on getting up early every day to practice your skills? Do you really want to become a chivalrous knight-errant who can leap over rooftops and right wrongs?"

Li Changsheng was stunned. He stammered, "I'm just..." He was used to it.

Fortunately, she hadn't expected an answer; she was just asking casually. She then replied, "Laughing, crying, recovering, playing, eating and drinking—that's all there is to life. Doing what I can within my capabilities is just a habit of mine."

Changsheng stared at her blankly, as if he sensed something, yet it was all in a hazy, indistinct way.

She chuckled. Oh dear, this topic has gotten so far that it's escalated to a philosophical level, and it's really hard to understand.

I waved my hand and said, "Alright, alright, stop dawdling with me. Give the lunchbox back to Qiu Xialin, and tell him not to think I didn't know he skipped class to go out and play. He's trying to bribe me with strawberries, no way!"

Chang Sheng sheepishly took his lunchbox and went to Class 9.

Shang Lin lowered his head and continued doing his exercises.

If I can't figure it out, I won't think about it. Eating, drinking, having fun, life is wonderful. Since I don't feel tired, then it must be right. Life only becomes tiring when you have to find a reason.

The conversation started strangely and ended just as abruptly. Years later, recalling that day, Shanglin asked Li Changsheng what he wanted to know. Changsheng hesitated for a long time before finally revealing that Qiu Xialin had teased him for not being as close to Yin Yeyao on a deeper level, saying that they had no common topics except for eating, sleeping, and studying. He had thought about this for a long time before coming up with this topic, trying to bridge the gap, but...

She lay on the edge of the bed, laughing so hard she rolled around, oblivious to Changsheng's ferocious expression.

Life was uneventful. She would take a trip to the provincial capital company on weekends and holidays, and when she got home, she could promptly handle the issues raised by the vegetable company. The minor matters were handled by professionals, and she only needed to keep an eye on the big picture.

While she was living a carefree and easy life, unaware of how many years had passed, Chen Zhaodi was suffering terribly, each day feeling like an eternity.

Although Ye Ruru didn't openly discuss her conflict with Zhaodi, she would occasionally sabotage her with underhanded tactics. She would deliberately bump into her during morning exercises, spread rumors in the dormitory that Chen Zhaodi, despite her seemingly proper demeanor, was two-timing and liked this man and that woman. When leaving for morning exercises, she and Zhang Ran would deliberately arrive at the door early, then give Zhaodi a hard shoulder bump and casually apologize. Everyone in the class knew that Ye Ruru was deliberately messing with her; they either looked at her with pity or covered their mouths and laughed.

Zhao Di felt wronged, but she stubbornly refused to tell anyone. At first, she would talk to Liang Meihua about it, but later she wouldn't even tell Liang Meihua.

After entering the second year of junior high school, everyone's studies became significantly more demanding than in the first year. With heavy workloads and numerous assignments, no one had extra time to take care of outsiders. Shang Lin, who used to live off-campus, became a day student. She had to study and also take care of the business of two companies, so she didn't even notice the tricks Ye Ruru and Zhang Ran were playing right under her nose.

She had no trouble with Chinese and English; her Chinese score consistently ranked first in the entire grade, unchallenged by anyone. The fruits of her childhood reading were now fully displayed: solid foundational knowledge, profound writing skills, and beautiful regular script. After every major exam, her essays were circulated as model texts among several classes. Without her consent, her Chinese teacher submitted several of her essays to a provincial junior high school essay collection competition, and two of them were selected, causing a sensation at the school.

After her rebirth, she consciously strengthened her English learning, and now she can pass not only the junior high school level but also the college level six. The effect of practicing with the radio is definitely much better than Chinese-style English pronunciation, and leading the reading in class is basically her job.

History, politics, and geography are primarily based on memorization. Shanglin's studies were quite diverse, encompassing a lot of knowledge beyond the textbooks. During exams, she inevitably rambled on about topics outside the curriculum. Several teachers had a love-hate relationship with her; they were hesitant to give her low marks, but her answers always seemed plausible. After learning her lesson a few times, Shanglin focused on memorizing the textbook content and restrained herself from writing too much nonsense during exams.

Mathematics, physics, and chemistry are the subjects she spends the most time on. Once she thoroughly understands the content in the textbooks, doing supplementary materials becomes much easier, since the knowledge points are limited and the underlying principles remain the same. However, to ensure she ranks at the top of her class, she needs to do more challenging problems in addition to having a solid foundation.

Starting from the first year of junior high school, she made knowledge cards, recording formulas, words, and important knowledge points of each subject, making it easy to carry and memorize them.

These key pieces were lent to Qiu Xialin and Li Changsheng, who were each instructed to copy them. Xialin grumbled that the factory had a photocopier, and why waste time on a task that could be completed in a minute.

The response was a slap on the forehead. Can photocopying and copying achieve the same effect?

Ji Yunwen borrowed the key points that Changsheng had compiled from her, admired her beautiful handwriting, and learned that she had been practicing calligraphy since she was a child, which deepened his opinion of her.

However, Qiu Shanglin also has a weakness that everyone in the grade knows: he is a sports idiot.

She's physically strong; she can even run the 800 meters in first place among girls. But she's completely lost when it comes to other sports. High jump, long jump, basketball, volleyball—these are all her weaknesses.

Li Changsheng trained her a lot for this. There was a time when Qiu Shanglin's volleyball test results were terrible. Changsheng couldn't stand it, so he dragged her to practice every afternoon until her wrists were swollen. She only managed to escape the fate of being last in the rankings. (Note: The second to last student had a fever on the day of the test and did not perform well.)

Fortunately, the physical education exam score is not included in the total score, otherwise she definitely would not have gotten first place.

The PE teachers all knew she was terrible at sports, but they still loved to tease her. They would often arrange for her to play in a basketball game or a group long jump, waiting with a smile to see her embarrass herself.

On Wednesday afternoon, the first period was PE. The students in Class 1 lined up on the playground and ran four laps under the guidance of the PE representative, then returned to their starting point to wait for the PE teacher to assign activities. Usually, after running 800 meters, they were dismissed for free time. The boys would organize to play basketball or soccer, while the girls would either play volleyball or simply gather under the trees to chat.

The PE teacher, a short man, stood at the front of the line with a smile: "Today we're having a basketball game with Class 9."

Both Class 1 and Class 9 have physical education classes.

The boys erupted in cheers, and there was a constant stream of people signing up.

The PE teacher didn't reply, just smiled and waited for them to quiet down on their own. He glanced slowly in the direction of the girls and said something that made Qiu Shanglin want to vomit blood: "Boys, don't even think about it. Girls play basketball."

The girls collectively lamented, while the boys were eager to compete, even more excited than if it were their own game.

Qiu Shanglin's heart skipped a beat, and he knew something was wrong. He regretted not listening to Liang Meihua and going to the infirmary to get a sick leave certificate proving that he was unable to engage in strenuous activity due to his period.

Just as she feared, the short boy spotted her perfectly despite her attempts to avoid the PE teacher's gaze. His eyes gleamed with ill intent: "Qiu Shanglin, I see you're wearing sneakers today. Want to practice on the court?"

The boys burst into laughter. Class 9, some distance away, also laughed at the same time, seemingly after their PE teacher said something, and then all turned to look in the direction of Class 1. Shang Lin clearly saw Qiu Xia Lin give her a "good luck" look.

She wanted nothing more than to grab the PE teacher and beat him up. All I did was sneak back to the classroom during your class, why the endless retaliation?

Girls playing basketball, to put it nicely, is called playing a game; to put it bluntly, it's just girls fighting!

They pull hair, scratch hands, and kick people—the more vicious and insidious the attack, the more chaotic the scene would be than a brawl between middle-aged women at the market.

The PE teacher ignored all of that and solemnly directed the boys to bring out the scoreboard, arranged for someone to explain the rules, and even devised tactics, making it seem quite serious.

Qiu Shanglin plays guard, although she has no idea what a guard is supposed to do.

Ye Ruru and Zhang Ran are both considered athletic champions and are key players in the grade-level basketball games against the upper grades, so they naturally have to play, along with two other tall girls.

The four of them stood in a row, all tall and strong. Class 9 naturally also selected tall and strong girls to participate, which made Qiu Shanglin look even shorter and weaker. Xia Lin and Chang Sheng stood outside the field and whispered, "I didn't realize my sister was so delicate."

This caused the people who heard it to burst into laughter.

Two classes in the high school were also having physical education class. It was rare to see girls playing a game, so they all gathered around, whispering and asking the students in another class why they had gotten a 'dwarf' to play.

The students didn't expose her, laughing and saying it was because she was very capable. The older students, feeling deceived, all wanted to see just how strong the 'dwarf' really was.

Violence

Most of the students at No. 5 Middle School came from rural areas. To reduce the burden on students, only two sets of school uniforms were made: one for summer and one for winter. It was stipulated that school uniforms must be worn during class time, and students could wear casual clothes on weekends. The school uniforms could be washed and worn again the following week. In the early 1990s, jeans were considered outlandish clothing, so don't expect school uniforms to be stylish or well-tailored. At most, the only difference was the color.

The old high school uniform was dark blue, and wearing it made one look old-fashioned. Shang Lin privately commented that it looked just like a funeral shroud.

The junior high school uniforms were changed to sky blue, with two white stripes on the arms and pockets, which students privately called the "blue sky and white cloud uniforms." Regardless of whether you were fat or thin, everyone wore a size up, aiming to make them baggy and unflattering. The pants were cuffed at the ankles, and with the baggy legs, from a distance, they looked like little blue lanterns swaying back and forth on campus.

Girls who love beauty are naturally unwilling to accept this, so they secretly do some little tricks. They tighten their waists, flare out their pants legs, and try their best to show off their beautiful curves.

Shanglin disliked that the trousers with the cuffs made his shoes look particularly big, so he secretly loosened the trousers.

12-year-old Qiu Shanglin is 1.53 meters tall and weighs 33 kg. She is considered tall among her peers and has a slender build. However, when placed among the deliberately chosen tall people, she appears even shorter and thinner.

The rumor about dwarfism spread from the upper grades to the junior high school. Li Changsheng heard it and glanced sideways at a boy in the senior high school. The boy was laughing and insulting someone. Li Changsheng was startled and glared back defiantly. He was about to curse when his friend pulled him back and whispered a few words to him, pretending to watch the game.