Chapter 34 Every time there's an event, it's always...
Whenever there's an event, classmates "enthusiastically" upload photos and videos to the school's online forum.
For this arts festival, I don't know who took a group photo of each class singing together, created an album, and uploaded them all at once.
In front of the reflective backdrop, four rows of uniform blue and white short-sleeved school uniforms, from high to low, make each photo look exactly the same at first glance.
Some of the photos were a bit blurry, and Fang Minzhou flipped through them one by one for quite a while before finally finding her class's. Most of her classmates were staring straight ahead with their mouths open, including her, looking very serious. It was impossible to tell whether they were singing live or lip-syncing. Fang Minzhou felt like laughing, while Wang Kan behind her had her eyes downcast, as if she were watching her.
In front of the computer screen, she clenched her fists and rested them on her cheeks.
Fang Minzhou is a lurker, occasionally browsing the forum but never posting. Some IDs, however, are very active, revealing their identities between the lines, such as Zheng Yanhang.
She recognized him because during the New Year's holiday, someone posted a question asking who played the Prince Charming in the Grade 11 Class 8 play at the welcome party, and an ID with the character "Hang" tagged another English ID.
Fang Minzhou clicked into the homepage of the English ID at that time and saw that the latter mainly followed forums related to games and sports. When he saw it again this time, he clicked on it and found that there was another one with the lowest title, "Jiangcheng University".
Fang Min was taken aback. She hadn't paid attention to Jiangcheng University's online forum. Her feelings were a bit complicated, and she started searching for Jiangcheng University's admission scores from previous years.
Although she was reluctant to admit it, she herself was in dire straits, and Wang Kan's chances were extremely slim.
But...maybe.
While everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves online, the pressure of the midterm exams silently replaced the energy of the arts festival after returning to school on Monday. Meanwhile, the seniors were about to take their second mock exam. With the college entrance exam fast approaching, it meant that this year's juniors would soon be entering their senior year. The temperature was rising daily, and the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense.
The school has designated a separate area for the senior students, with the teaching building, canteen, and dormitory right next to each other, making their lives even more monotonous. However, the food in the canteen is very good, and from time to time, students from the first and second years of high school sneak in to enjoy a treat.
That day, Fang Minzhou returned to the classroom after dinner and overheard some classmates discussing how the senior students weren't allowed to eat in the cafeteria. Apparently, some senior students had complained to the teachers that if they arrived at the cafeteria late, the food they wanted had already been taken by the juniors and sophomores.
"How could that be? It's not everyone, and you can go there earlier on your own."
"But how can I tell who's a freshman and who's a sophomore? Do I have to look at my student ID?"
"I don't know either, it seems... I really can tell."
It's probably a difference in their mental outlook.
Fang Minzhou thought about it. If she were in her shoes, tired from studying and wanting to grab a bite at the cafeteria, only to see her younger classmates chatting and relaxing, she'd probably feel resentful too. Ultimately, it's a matter of unequal treatment within the school. Why can't the quality of the cafeteria food for first and second-year students be improved as well?
Evening self-study hadn't started yet, and the conversation had already turned to the fear of senior year. They chatted jokingly, as if they were laughing, but actually, they both tacitly understood that what they were really afraid of wasn't senior year itself, but the college entrance exam.
Fang Minzhou hesitated whether to put on her headphones. She wasn't a saint; she couldn't remain calm while listening to others' anxieties. She had fallen out of the top twenty in the last monthly exam, but that was still within the normal range—at least she had improved compared to last semester. She tried to stay calm, hoping to maintain a ranking within the top thirty this time.
Looking ahead, Sun Tong stood tall, without headphones, his pen never pausing, reminding Fang Minzhou of the inspiring story of a great man who could study even in a vegetable market.
At this moment, Wang Kan returned, pulled out a chair, sat down casually, took out a box of chewing gum, and handed it to Fang Minzhou.
The chewing gum made a soft clattering sound as it collided with the plastic box. After Fang Minzhou took one, Wang Kan took two and popped them into her mouth. She immediately pulled out her test paper, as if she was very concerned about studying.
After tasting the sweet strawberry flavor, Fang Minzhou took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
If Wang Kan was serious at the end of last semester, then this time her exam preparation was full of passion, with no sighs or complaints, only the excitement of coming up with answers.
Seeing him frantically doing practice problems, Fang Minzhou suspected he was just cramming, but after checking a few with her, she found he actually knew the answers. He'd also stopped asking her pointless questions lately, and even discussed problems with her on their bike ride home. This made Fang Minzhou feel gratified and subtly encouraged.
I never imagined that there would be a day when she and Wang Kan would encourage each other.
In the end, Wang Kan's ranking only improved by five places compared to the last monthly exam. So far, her best result was the exam at the beginning of the semester. Fang Minzhou ranked third in her class and twenty-second in her grade, which met her expectations.
After finishing her tutoring class around 3 p.m. on Saturday, Fang Minzhou didn't go home immediately. She told her parents she was going to the library to study, but in reality... it was pretty much what she was doing: helping Wang Kan review the midterm exams at the McDonald's near the library.
Previously, Wang Kan had tried to comfort her, and she had tried to persuade him, but their responses were completely irrelevant, and they even argued. When the scores came out this time, Fang Minzhou was initially worried that Wang Kan would give up on himself or wallow in self-pity, but his emotions were more stable than she had imagined, and he seemed to be getting stronger despite the setbacks.
Although Fang Minzhou was happy that Wang Kan was taking his studies seriously, she also felt cruel when she saw him become happy or sad because of his grades. Wang Kan could have been free from this worry; it was her influence on him, and Fang Minzhou didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.
She hoped it would be a good thing.
The teacher had already explained the test papers in class, and Wang Kan had also summarized them herself. Fang Minzhou was just giving Wang Kan some advice from her perspective. Even so, it still took more than an hour to analyze the entire test paper.
Wang Kan listened to her obediently throughout, though he occasionally made small movements: for example, he would rest his chin on the table as if he was tired of listening, and she would tap the table and glare at him before he would lazily sit up straight; or he would deliberately dip fries in a sundae, and she would scold him for being disgusting, but he would still laugh and let her try it too.
Finally, Fang Minzhou still intended to say something nice: "Actually, if you can improve by five places in each exam, there are still about ten exams left until the college entrance exam, and you can get into the top fifty."
Wang Kan paused for a moment, then said, "Fang Minzhou, you're quite humorous these days."
Fang Minzhou: "..."
"I'm serious, I'm complimenting you, why are you making that face?" Wang Kan said. "Okay, I know, don't worry, I'm full of energy right now, as long as you don't dislike me."
Fang Minzhou was stunned. "Me...?"
...They dislike you.
Wang Kan laughed as he ate his fries, amused by the amusement. His laughter only subsided when Fang Minzhou got up to go to the restroom.
He was actually disgusted with himself; he had studied so hard and yet still managed to get such a terrible grade.
The main point is that he didn't just study superficially for the past two weeks.
Fang Minzhou said he was right last time. At this score range, he could no longer expect to overtake others' years of hard work with just a few weeks of cramming. So he spent the entire winter break reviewing. He felt that he was in good shape during his studies, but he kept losing points here and there during exams. He only had a stroke of luck in the first exam of the semester, and his score dropped in the monthly exam. He didn't do well in the midterm exam either, so he had no excuses.
Even if you're in the top 50, you can't even get close to Jiangda.
Now, he's beginning to understand how Fang Minzhou felt when he thought he'd bombed the midterm exam last semester. He was so arrogant back then, and Fang Minzhou was so impressive, steadily improving—so impressive that he's starting to fear the gap between them will widen until Fang Minzhou can no longer see him. He hasn't told Fang Minzhou that he actually only wants to get into the top 50 this semester. What will happen when he's in his senior year? He'll be halfway to his death.
But when Fang Minzhou returned, he was nonchalant again, boasting without thinking, and pretending to be number one in the grade next time, which made Fang Minzhou roll his eyes at him. But he felt comfortable because he could tell that Wang Kan who was complaining and worried about his grades was probably not the Wang Kan that Fang Minzhou wanted to see.
“I’m also planning to enroll in a tutoring class,” he said.
After confirming that Wang Kan was serious, Fang Minzhou nodded.
Sure enough, once someone wants to learn, you can't stop them. She thought that she could catch up on the lessons she missed by studying on her own, and with Wang Kan's current level, she could enroll in an advanced class. These days, those who don't need tutoring are still a minority.
Can I come with you?
"No." Fang Minzhou refused decisively.
Wang Kan shrugged.
He was just asking casually, but he had already anticipated that Fang Minzhou wouldn't agree.
Wang Kan later went to a tutor's house, which happened to be very close to Fang Minzhou's tutoring class. He kept pestering her, and after much deliberation, Fang Minzhou finally agreed that they could meet at McDonald's or the library to study together for a while after class every Saturday afternoon.
The tutor Wang Kan found was a retired teacher from the provincial capital, with extensive experience and connections. He had a limited number of students he could tutor, let alone someone like Wang Kan who wanted to join midway through his studies. Wang Kan didn't hide anything from Fang Minzhou, saying directly that his parents had arranged it through connections. He shared his class notes and practice sheets with Fang Minzhou, who was somewhat surprised, but Wang Kan didn't seem to mind.
It's impossible not to be tempted by a renowned teacher's lesson plan, but... his tuition is definitely very expensive, plus the test papers from top high schools can be sold in bulk. Fang Minzhou can afford this kind of class, yet she can't. She feels like she's getting a bargain. She wants to ask Wang Kan how much the tuition is, but no matter how she asks, she feels a little awkward.
Fang Minzhou had no choice but to stop.
In any case, she couldn't complain about having gained an advantage; she could only study each question thoroughly and make sure Wang Kan had mastered them as well.
She told her parents she was going to the library to study, and they didn't suspect a thing. They even gave her extra pocket money so she could buy something to eat if she got hungry or thirsty.
"Don't eat KFC or McDonald's, especially Coke, it's bad for your health. Bread and biscuits are okay," Mom emphasized. "But don't eat too much, just enough to fill your stomach, so you don't come home hungry at night."
Fang Minzhou, feeling guilty, agreed.
As spring transitioned into summer, the weather was unpredictable, and Fang Minzhou's mood fluctuated as well. Sometimes she felt guilty for being too happy with Wang Kan, and after feeling guilty, she felt wronged because she felt that she had only talked to Wang Kan about studying.
Just as Fang Minzhou realized she was caught in this vicious cycle, another monthly exam came around in the blink of an eye. This time, both she and Wang Kan had made progress, and her psychological pressure instantly eased a lot.
It's strange and unfair that I feel pressured to be in a relationship even though I'm not.
She remembered asking Yuan Yue why she was afraid yet still wanted to date Shen Luming. Yuan Yue, her hands cupping her blushing face, said shyly and sweetly, "Because I like him... If you like someone, you'll want to be with them, right?"
So, it's because she doesn't like Wang Kan enough? When the first thought in Fang Minzhou was no, she felt like she was really doomed.
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