strength
For a long time, Cheng Zhou didn't know how to describe his feelings for Hu Tong. Of course, he loved her—the love of family—but that kind of feeling was too gentle and peaceful, and was often overshadowed by another kind of feeling.
Reverence.
Hu Tong always had a certain energy that Cheng Zhou both respected and feared, but it was precisely this energy that gave Cheng Zhou courage and propelled him to make many decisions in his life.
Cheng Zhou also learned about science and continued to play the role of the hardworking but mediocre student in the top class, but he never complained again.
Calling Cheng Zhou a nobody might not be accurate; he has his own remarkable qualities.
He handed over his phone, but several familiar male friends would often tell him with smiles, "Old Cheng, you're on the confession wall!", "Old Cheng, someone's trying to get you back!", "Old Cheng, my junior high classmate asked me for your contact information, and I gave it to him!", and so on, one after another.
Every Christmas, Cheng Zhou always receives the most apples. Red and green apples, wrapped in cardboard boxes or cellophane, pile up on his desk and fill his drawers. Some joke that the smell of apples on Cheng Zhou's seat won't dissipate for another three days!
Faced with a flood of unfamiliar acts of kindness, Cheng Zhou felt lost. He was afraid of handling it poorly, hurting others' feelings, or causing someone to misunderstand.
So he changed his profile picture to all black, his nickname to "Study Hard," and his personal signature to "Strive for Excellence Every Day." He never posted anything on social media, and when replying to messages, he would often stall until the topic the other person brought up was no longer relevant, at which point he would casually reply, "Sorry, I just got my phone."
Some overly enthusiastic people didn't mind Cheng Zhou's cold treatment and continued to chat with him. Cheng Zhou wouldn't ignore them, but he would always steer the conversation back to studying after a few sentences, and he liked to use a smiling face, an expression that was considered a death sentence among young people.
He was like an old soul residing in a pretty face, always calm and uninteresting.
Gradually, everyone learned that the handsome guy in the rocket class was good-looking, tall, and polite, but his brain didn't seem to work very well, and he was also a bit...unsophisticated.
Perhaps he and Hu Tong became close because the other had good grades?
Regardless, Cheng Zhou was not an unknown person, but attracting attention was not what he sought. As the days passed, looking at his grades, which were only average in the elite class, Cheng Zhou grew anxious.
He wanted to repay the Hu family's kindness, support his maternal grandmother, and earn lots and lots of money. At that time, everyone felt that how much money they could earn in the future was linked to their academic performance.
Cheng Zhou started having trouble sleeping and was also dozing off in class during the day. He secretly bought a bottle of melatonin and hid it in the bookcase in the far corner of his study, covering it with his junior high school textbooks.
He felt anxious about his mediocrity, and even more ashamed of his insomnia and reliance on medication. Yes, ashamed. Even though Cheng Zhou knew it wasn't shameful, his heart was still overwhelmed by a sense of powerlessness.
Just then, the art teacher came to the advanced class to give a presentation.
This was the first time Cheng Zhou had met the legendary art teacher who always took sick leave and had other teachers substitute for him.
Study art.
Participate in art exams and college entrance exams.
Cheng Zhou was somewhat tempted. His academic performance was nothing special in the top class, but it was already considered very good among art students. Moreover, he liked art. In elementary school, he studied children's painting at the Children's Palace. Later, when he got older and his hand strength was sufficient, he studied sketching for a few years on the recommendation of his teacher.
But... Cheng Zhou remembered a girl in his contacts, a year ahead of him, who also studied art. His deliberately dull and lifeless replies suddenly resurfaced in his mind, and to sum it up...
Studying art costs a lot of money.
Cheng Zhou quickly suppressed his expectations and pretended to have no interest in the matter.
He lowered his head and aimlessly marked up his Chinese reading material, watching as a small, round droplet of ink rolled from the tip of his pen turned into thin lines.
He had no idea what the article was about.
Fortunately, the art teacher's presentation for the advanced class was somewhat perfunctory, so Cheng Zhou's agonizing performance didn't last too long.
He gazed at the teacher's retreating figure, at the open classroom door, and at the ginkgo tree planted in the center of the teaching building, its golden, fan-shaped leaves swaying gently in the wind.
He suddenly wished it would rain right now, the dense raindrops pattering on the ginkgo leaves, a soft, steady drizzle, and preferably accompanied by a rumble of thunder, enough to frighten everyone away from their studies. Then he could take this opportunity to grieve in peace.
Cheng Zhou looked away, chuckled self-deprecatingly, and resumed working on the text reading comprehension questions.
When school was over, Cheng Zhou patiently waited for Hu Tong to pack up her study materials for home, and then slowly walked home with her at a distance of about half a person's width.
The night was cool and still. Hu Tong sat by the window, turned his head to look out the window, and in the silence, said softly, "Go register, Cheng Zhou."
Cheng Zhou was startled by her words and looked at her. Hu Tong's feigned fierceness and grimacing expression was reflected on the smooth glass window, making people laugh.
"What are you registering for?" Cheng Zhou secretly pinched his palm, pretending not to understand what she was saying.
Hu Tong suddenly turned her head back and glared at him, "Studying art, huh!"
"..." Cheng Zhou lowered his eyes slightly to look at her. The car interior was dimly lit, and her light brown eyes, which were usually like a handful of honey, were now extremely deep, but Cheng Zhou still felt a hint of sweetness.
He looked away, his tone deliberately cold, "I don't want to study art."
"What are you pretending for? Don't make me look down on you." Hu Tong pouted. "You know how to find a solution when you can't sleep, but when it comes to a crucial moment, you can't think straight again?"
Cheng Zhou's heart sank, and he asked with wide eyes, "How did you know!"
Now, it was Hu Tong's turn to feel guilty.
She touched her nose, her tone less forceful as she retorted, "What? You're the only one who gets to feel pressured! I still need to occasionally look back at my glorious achievements from junior high to encourage myself, okay..."
Finding Cheng Zhou's melatonin in the bookshelf was purely accidental. But seeing his pitiful, evasive manner, Hu Tong, unusually, acted like a "high EQ" person and kept his secret. After all... she had also been looking for comfort in the bookshelf where her junior high school study materials were kept!
The strong-willed Hu Tong is unwilling to admit that he also has moments of vulnerability when he reminisces about the past.
The announcement of the bus arrival at the station saved Hu Tong from her embarrassment. She jumped up and saw that Cheng Zhou, who was sitting on the outer side of the bus, was not moving and seemed to be watching her make a fool of herself and begging her to beg for mercy.
Hu Tong grabbed the handrail and leaped off his seat like a monkey, earning a shout of anger from the driver, "Don't fool around on the bus!"
The two got out of the car somewhat disheveled.
Cheng Zhou watched Hu Tong stride ahead, her pale face, illuminated by the streetlights, gradually regaining some color. He quickened his pace to catch up and nudged her arm.
"I... will discuss it with Grandma and Aunt Lele."
"What's there to discuss? Just promise you'll study hard!" Hu Tong rolled her eyes. "My mom is very rich. It's not like you'll starve if I send you to study art, you idiot."
The streetlights cast long shadows of the two figures, with specks of dust swirling in the white light. Cheng Zhou slightly raised his hand, unsure whether to gather the dust or to let his shadow grasp the other's hand. He whispered, "But I'm too embarrassed—"
"Sorry?" Hu Tong interrupted him, narrowing her eyes warily. "What's there to be sorry about? Are you planning not to pay me back?"
"No!" Cheng Zhou hurriedly hid his hands behind his back. "I'll pay you back!"
Hu Tong looked at him with a hint of disbelief, then nodded slightly. "You still need to settle all the tutoring fees I've paid over the years, do you hear me!"
Cheng Zhou subconsciously touched his burning ears and responded softly, "Mmm."
And so, inspired by Hu Tong, Cheng Zhou became an art student, living a life of hardship, spending his days in the classroom, his evenings in the art studio, and his nights rushing to finish his homework and practicing sketching.
Although life was tough, Cheng Zhou felt sweetness in his heart. He was also gathering his strength, which was wrapped in that gentle, water-like emotion, growing stronger day by day.
With that same drive, Hu Tong jumped from the top twenty in the entire grade to the top fifteen, then the top ten, then the top five... and finally took turns being number one in the grade with two other top students who came up from the main campus.
Hu Tong not only focused intensely on her own studies, but also on those around her, saying that she felt ashamed if her friends' grades were poor. When Miao Wei came to visit her during her monthly break, she was forced to undergo special training in summing sequences.
Subtraction with misalignment, addition in reverse order, partial fractions intersecting, grouped summation... Haha, Miao Wei didn't understand any of that summation stuff; she just wanted to beg Hu Tong for mercy.
“If Cheng Zhou can do this, there’s no reason you can’t, Miao Miao.” Hu Tong couldn’t stand her self-deprecating words and poked Miao Wei’s face with her finger.
Miao Wei rubbed her forehead and muttered, "He's one of your soldiers, I'm not."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhou, a soldier who had been silently working on the problem, nodded slightly.
He was indeed a soldier led by Hu Tong.
Every day, before dawn, before Cheng Zhou's alarm clock went off, the next room would already be filled with the clattering of alarms. Hu Tong would wash up, change clothes, and comb his hair, and on his way to the study, he would casually knock twice on Cheng Zhou's bedroom door before getting up.
Strangely enough, every time Cheng Zhou opened his eyes, the hour hand on the alarm clock was pointing exactly to six.
The slender second hand kept turning, shimmering with a faint silver light, ticking away. Cheng Zhou looked at the clock and felt as if a fine drizzle was falling on his heart, cool and refreshing, instantly dispelling his sleepiness.
One day, Cheng Zhou couldn't help but ask Hu Tong what time his alarm clock was set.
"I didn't set an alarm," Hu Tong grinned, patting his chest proudly. "My body is the clock!"
Well, Cheng Zhou was completely convinced by her now.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
