Liang Xinchong
In fact, Liang Xinchong's idea of working hard had already quietly taken root long before Li Mo's stomach pain incident.
That was after the last seating arrangement change, when Li Mo was assigned to sit next to Chen You.
Yuehai Middle School uses academic performance to assign seats.
Unfortunately, Li Mo was second in the class, and he was last.
Liang Xinchong couldn't quite explain the subtle discomfort he felt.
He watched Li Mo and Chen You huddle together discussing the problem, and watched Chen You, who was always shy and introverted with his head down, slowly raise his head in front of Li Mo, and even occasionally show a very faint smile...
Li Mo's attitude towards Chen You seemed quite different from her attitude towards him. She was more patient with Chen You, or rather, she was quite nice to everyone else, but when she spoke to him, her tone always carried a hint of distance.
It felt like something had gently stung his heart; it didn't hurt, but it was itchy, with a strange, bittersweet feeling.
He belatedly realized that it might have been envy.
She envied Chen You for being able to sit next to her as a matter of course, and for being able to interact with her legitimately because of the "assistance policy".
Aside from finding topics to talk about through comic books and Walkmans, and shamelessly following behind her on her bicycle, he couldn't seem to find a more legitimate or closer reason to spend every day with her.
That day, Liang Xinchong, bored out of his mind, reread the detailed rules of the "elite student helping struggling student" policy, which he had complained about countless times. He looked over and over the line on the policy: "...In principle, students will be paired up one-on-one according to their academic ranking. Those who show significant improvement in their ranking in the next major exam will receive corresponding rewards..."
If he weren't last place, if he could have moved up just one place... wouldn't it be possible for him to become her deskmate?
Once the idea took hold, it grew wildly in his mind like weeds.
For the first time, he felt genuine anxiety and dissatisfaction with his appalling grades.
He needed a reason, a reason that she couldn't refuse, a long-term and stable reason for "tutoring".
Just as he was racking his brains, struggling with how to make this request naturally without seeming abrupt, that morning in the infirmary, Li Mo's pale face and huddled figure gave him an excellent opportunity.
"You teach me how to do math problems, and I'll bring you food."
Look, what a fair deal!
He paid for her meal, and she contributed her knowledge.
He solved her breakfast problem, and she improved his grades, although he wasn't sure if he could surpass Chen You next time.
Although Chen You was second to last in the class, his score was still significantly higher than Chen You's.
But one day, he will be sitting at the same table as Li Mo.
The determination to go from last place to second-to-last inexplicably ignited within him. When Lin Shusen heard Liang Xinchong tell him that he wanted to get second place in the next exam, he gave a very sharp evaluation and mocked him: "What's the difference between last and second-to-last? I don't know what you're so motivated by."
But the next second, Lin Shusen's smile vanished.
He keenly discerned the reason behind Liang Xinchong's sudden surge of ambition.
People like Liang Xinchong come from exceptionally privileged backgrounds. As long as they don't break the law or commit crimes, they don't have to worry about the rest of their lives. Even if they are truly incompetent and can't get into a good university in China, they can be sent abroad to get a degree in no time.
There must be a reason why Liang Xinchong suddenly changed.
Lin Shusen guessed that it might be because of Li Mo.
Sure enough, the next second, Liang Xinchong said it very frankly: "As long as you move up one place, you can sit with Li Mo."
Lin Shusen thought to himself, "Just as I thought."
He said, "Then good luck."
When he said this, he actually wanted to force a smile at Liang Xinchong, but he found that he couldn't manage to smile at all.
Lin Shusen remembered asking Liang Xinchong a long time ago, "You also like Li Mo?"
He answered yes without hesitation.
At that moment, Liang Xinchong seemed to realize something and asked him in return, "You don't like Li Mo too, do you?"
Lin Shusen immediately denied it: "How could that be?"
But how could it not be possible?
Lin Shusen dared to say that more than half of the students in the class liked Li Mo.
Falling in love with a girl can make one feel inferior; he didn't even have the courage to admit that he liked Li Mo.
He was not as outstanding as Liang Xinchong.
So he didn't have the courage to get close to her at all.
-
It is extremely rare for Liang Xinchong to suddenly transform into a diligent and studious student.
His change even alarmed the Liang family.
Ms. Zhou Man, Liang Xinchong's mother, was the first to notice something was wrong.
Her son, who used to never get out of bed until noon on weekends, has recently started getting up early every weekend, sitting at his desk writing and drawing, and reciting things like "force analysis" and "periodic table of elements" under his breath.
When she brought in the milk, she could even see him frowning, engrossed in a book called "Five Years of College Entrance Examination and Three Years of Simulation."
Zhou Man instantly showed an expression as if she had been struck by lightning.
She strongly suspected that Liang Xinchong might be possessed by a ghost.
"Old Liang, Old Liang!" Zhou Man whispered excitedly, pulling her husband Liang Zhiyuan to the study door and pointing at the figure inside. "Look, the sun has risen in the west! Your son... he's actually studying! Is he still my biological son?!"
Liang Zhiyuan adjusted his glasses and looked at his son's back, which was noticeably straighter, with a look of surprise on his face.
His son was smart from a young age, but his mind was not on studying at all. In the past, he had tried all sorts of methods to get him to look at books more, but the coercion and bribery had little effect.
How come you suddenly had a breakthrough after being frustrated in the second semester of your junior year of high school?
During dinner, Zhou Man couldn't help but subtly ask, "Chongchong, have you been studying very hard lately? You should remember to balance work and rest."
She even suspected that her son might have suffered some kind of trauma at school.
Liang Xinchong was engrossed in eating, pondering a math problem he hadn't fully grasped. Hearing this, he didn't even look up: "Hmm, not bad. Dad, Mom, I'm finished eating. You two take your time." With that, he put down his chopsticks and went back to his study.
Zhou Man and Liang Zhiyuan looked at each other, both seeing the same shock and relief in each other's eyes.
But more than anything, it was unbelievable.
"It seems that getting him into the top class at Yuehai High School did have some effect after all?" Liang Zhiyuan said hesitantly.
“Definitely,” Zhou Man immediately affirmed, her face beaming with undisguised joy. “The environment shapes people. Being around those good students, Chongchong has also learned to strive for improvement!”
They would never have imagined that the biggest motivation for their son to "turn over a new leaf" was not the influence of a prestigious school atmosphere, but the transfer student sitting next to him across the aisle in the classroom, with a ponytail and a Jiangnan accent.
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