Chapter 44 Courage and shamelessness really can...
Courage and thick skin can indeed be developed through training.
On the podium, Teacher Zhan solemnly declared that the school prohibits the setting off of fireworks and firecrackers, "You think it's exciting and fun, but what if it catches fire or explodes and hurts someone else? Can you take responsibility?"
She didn't know if she had something to hide, but she felt that Teacher Zhan glanced at her before turning around to write on the blackboard.
After a nerve-wracking class, the bell rang, and before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, Teacher Zhan asked me to come to her office.
At that moment, Fang Minzhou felt utterly hopeless.
Following Teacher Zhan into the office, Fang Minzhou almost confessed without being asked, but she hesitated to speak. In the end, Teacher Zhan simply asked her to hand out the new practice sheets and then casually asked if she had any problems with her studies recently. Fang Minzhou answered each question and felt incredulous as she closed the office door and left.
But when she learned that Wang Kan had also been called to Teacher Zhan's office to inquire about her, Fang Minzhou realized that her worries were not unfounded.
She shared her suspicions with Wang Kan on QQ, and Wang Kan replied that it was impossible; if Teacher Zhan knew that he was the one who secretly set off the fireworks, he would have been arrested long ago.
Fang Minzhou was somewhat annoyed by Wang Kan's arbitrary decision. Why didn't he think more about it?
Perhaps Ms. Zhan just didn't want anything to happen to the students in her class, so she covered it up for him. Even if Ms. Zhan didn't know, the fact that she only called the two of them into her office for a talk clearly meant she was giving them a warning. Maybe something they did caught Ms. Zhan's attention.
Wang Kan did understand Fang Minzhou's concerns, but he felt that it would require Teacher Zhan to have divine insight. If she had divine insight and still neither scolded nor punished him, it meant that this level of concern was still within the scope of the nun's tolerance and protection, and there was nothing to be afraid of.
But when Fang Minzhou told him to be careful, he could only reply: Okay.
But I really want to ask, what else can we be careful about?
The school increased patrols during evening self-study sessions, catching some lone wolves skipping class and breaking up some couples having secret rendezvous.
Privately, Zheng Yanhang said that Wang Kan had done something terrible, and Wang Kan just smiled.
"...What if you get arrested?" Zheng Yanhang asked him as well.
Wang Kan shrugged.
He hadn't initially planned to set off fireworks, but simply giving a gift and wishing him a happy birthday felt insufficient. On his eighteenth birthday, Fang Minzhou had spent the entire day with him, giving him a handmade gift, and they had even eaten longevity noodles together. He also wanted to create some special memories for Fang Minzhou's birthday.
Setting off fireworks was a sudden idea. Knowing the risks, he didn't involve Zheng Yanhang and Wu Cheng. Anyway, even if they were caught, they wouldn't be fired. On the other hand, he also had his own selfish motives; he wanted to carry out this "surprise" by himself.
That's why Fang Minzhou was able to come to him wearing a blue scarf, hide in the grove, and become his accomplice. It was so exciting; that night, she even dreamed of her in his arms, but unfortunately, she woke up quickly.
However, Wang Kan comforted himself, knowing that graduation was just around the corner. At a time when almost everyone was anxious, he was probably the one most looking forward to the college entrance exam.
Sometimes, Wang Kan felt like she was going crazy when she had this idea.
Zheng Yanhang really thought Wang Kan was going crazy. When he and Wu Cheng learned that Wang Kan was the one who set off the fireworks, their jaws almost dropped.
Other boys who date and pursue girls might offer them comfort and care, or spend lavishly, but they all make a fuss. I've never seen anyone as adventurous as Wang Kan.
“I think you…” Zheng Yanhang was at a loss for words.
He did want to leave a dramatic mark on his youth, but he was also surprised that Wang Kan really liked Fang Minzhou that much. As a friend, he felt a little uneasy for him, because, at least in his eyes, Fang Minzhou seemed perfectly calm, making Wang Kan's feelings seem one-sided. But Wu Cheng told him not to speculate, as they didn't know what had happened between the two of them in private. He thought about it and agreed, finally keeping quiet and letting Wang Kan think things through.
Wang Kan was completely baffled.
Before we knew it, it was time for the final exams. The rankings fluctuated a lot this time, but Wang Kan managed to get 40th place. Fang Minzhou also did well, but Wang Kan knew she was not satisfied. She had mentioned to him that she wanted to be in the top ten.
School ended at 2 p.m. on the day of departure. Fang Minzhou's parents had to go to work, so she was finally able to go home by herself. Wang Kan certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity. He treated her to milk tea, and then the two of them walked slowly under the tree-lined path where the leaves didn't fall even in winter, with the warm sunshine covering the earth.
Fang Minzhou listened to Wang Kan tell corny jokes while drinking milk tea. She glanced at him, and he looked at her cautiously, as if trying to gauge her reaction.
Fang Minzhou then realized that Wang Kan had misunderstood. He probably thought she was in a bad mood, but actually... she was alright, just a little disappointed. After all, she hadn't made it into the top ten again, and the final exam was more important than the monthly exam. She tore up some questions and filled in others in her error notebook, but there were still some questions she couldn't answer. However, at least her ranking was higher than her monthly exam ranking.
Exams can really numb you, but your mindset seems to have become more stable. Although this stability is probably due to your scores, when Fang Minzhou thinks back to how she used to be in her first and second years of high school, when she could barely eat after a bad exam, it feels like a distant memory, making her feel small and unfamiliar, and it makes her heartbroken.
She thought that if she were to fall out of the top 50 or even the top 100 again, she wouldn't and shouldn't panic so much, because just as Teacher Zhan said back then, since what she saw when she looked back was her own efforts and progress, she had to have confidence in herself.
"Actually, you and Duan Shi are only nine points apart, just two or three multiple-choice questions," Wang Kan blurted out.
Fang Minzhou shook his head, "It's not just a difference of two or three multiple-choice questions."
“I meant to say…” Wang Kan became nervous.
Fang Minzhou suddenly smiled, no longer pretending to be serious: "I know, I'm fine."
"……Really?"
"real."
She just wanted Wang Kan to pay attention to every single point difference.
Seeing Fang Minzhou smiling, Wang Kan couldn't help but jump for joy in front of her. He felt that, given the current situation, he still had a chance to get into Jiangda University. He had previously thought that he would be stuck in the top 50 of his class for the rest of his life.
Fang Minzhou didn't want to talk about the point deduction he received for reciting classical Chinese poems, saying, "There's one word..."
"What?"
"Gradual cultivation and sudden enlightenment."
"……What?"
"..." Fang Min explained the four characters one by one, "This idiom means that all your achievements come from your gradual accumulation."
Seeing Wang Kan lost in thought and silent, Fang Minzhou hesitated, "...Do you think I'm undermining your confidence?"
"No." Wang Kan looked at her, as if to examine her closely, and then laughed heartily, "I think you're acknowledging my efforts."
The sun was warm, and the milk tea warmed her hands. Fang Minzhou's face flushed, but her gaze no longer darted away. She admitted, "...Yes, that's what I meant."
The winter break for senior high school students is very short, less than two weeks. They have to return to school before the Lantern Festival. On the day of the Lantern Festival, however, they were allowed to leave school one evening self-study session early, and the cafeteria provided free glutinous rice balls. Ouyang Qian jokingly called this a sign of the school's humanistic care.
Days passed, papers piled up, and after the 100-day countdown rally, an inspirational banner appeared on the blackboard at the back of each classroom, and a countdown calendar for the college entrance examination appeared on the bulletin board next to the blackboard, with big red numbers. Fang Minzhou didn't know who was in charge of this calendar, but every day when she arrived at the classroom, the calendar had already been turned to a new page.
A countdown board was also set up on the first floor of the senior high school building. Fang Minzhou heard from Yuan Yue that the dormitory supervisor was also updating the date on the small blackboard at the entrance of the girls' dormitory. "The supervisor is a very nice person and will write some encouraging words on it."
However, just a few days later, Teacher Zhan ordered the class committee to take down the banner and calendar for Class 7.
"That's enough of a formality. Anyway, you can see it everywhere now, so let's not put so much pressure on our classroom. Let's just pretend that the college entrance exam never happened." Teacher Zhan paused here, "It's not that we really don't want to pretend that the college entrance exam never happened. We need to be motivated. Let's do something small."
The whole class laughed.
After the Spring Equinox, the weather gradually warmed up, and Fang Minzhou was happiest because the days were finally getting light earlier again. Before, she would wake up in the dark to go to school, sit in the classroom all day, and then it would be pitch black again when school ended, with only her test papers showing. Now, she could go out into the sunlight and felt like she had already survived the dark night.
After dinner that day, when Fang Minzhou returned to the classroom, he noticed that Yin Mengran seemed to be staring blankly at her test paper.
She returned to school this semester and reportedly did well in the entrance exams for art colleges. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, she should be able to attend a top media university. Her grades were already quite good, which made many people envious. Although she wasn't on the same level as those who were guaranteed admission, she had one foot in the door of her dream school.
But suddenly, Fang Minzhou saw two huge tears fall from Yin Mengran's eyes.
Fang Minzhou was startled, and Yin Mengran was also taken aback. She hurriedly wiped her face. Before Fang Minzhou could pretend she hadn't seen anything, their eyes met, and Yin Mengran blushed.
They weren't very close. During the time they sat at the same table, they would occasionally share snacks, and Yin Mengran would sometimes ask her questions. But now, Fang Minzhou realized that she wasn't as carefree as everyone thought.
Everyone was struggling to swim.
Yin Mengran smiled sheepishly at Fang Minzhou and awkwardly explained, "I don't know what happened, tears just suddenly started falling. Maybe my eyes were too sore."
Fang Minzhou nodded, took a tissue and wiped the tears from her test paper. The wet paper was from a math problem where she had only done the subtraction and hadn't yet developed her thought process.
“This question is quite difficult,” Fang Minzhou said.
Yin Mengran paused, glanced at Fang Minzhou, and said, "...Well, I haven't decided how to write it yet."
“We can just take the second derivative.” Fang Minzhou picked up a pen and naturally began to work out the derivation on his notebook.
Yin Mengran sniffed, glanced at Fang Minzhou, then looked away and began to listen attentively. Once she understood, she whispered "thank you," to which Fang Minzhou replied, "You're welcome."
As the two gradually became familiar with each other, Yin Mengran became more talkative. Before long, Fang Minzhou and Ouyang Qian knew exactly what had happened during her art exam.
When the mock exam results came out, Fang Minzhou ranked 12th in her class, Yin Mengran far exceeded the planned undergraduate admission line, and Wang Kan ranked 36th in her class.
A rumor suddenly started circulating in the class: Fang Minzhou was very lucky for her deskmates; anyone who sat next to her would get good grades.
When Fang Minzhou heard the rumor, she found it absurd. With the big exam approaching, even the most materialistic person starts to believe in metaphysics. Of course, everyone was just joking, but Fang Minzhou explained seriously: whether it was Wang Kan or Yin Mengran, their good grades were the result of their own hard work and had nothing to do with her.
She felt that this statement was disrespectful to them.
The other two agreed, but Yin Mengran's only complaint was that she didn't score as high as Wang Kan.
“Actually, at the beginning of my junior year, my grades were better than Wang Kan’s,” Yin Mengran said. “Really.”
Fang Minzhou: "I know."
At the beginning of the second year of high school, more than half of the students in the class had better grades than Wang Kan.
Despite her explanations, Fang Minzhou still received many more questions from classmates, and she would help answer them all.
Ouyang Qian was afraid that she was embarrassed to refuse others, so she said, "Don't let it affect your own studies."
"No," Fang Minzhou said with a chuckle. "But the questions people ask me are quite difficult. Actually, I think we don't need to write about overly difficult questions anymore."
Ouyang Qian laughed along, then suddenly fell silent, looking at Fang Minzhou: "I think..."
But she didn't finish her sentence, so Fang Minzhou pressed her for an answer: "What?"
"Never mind, I'd better not say anything."
Fang Minzhou raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead and speak. It's nothing."
“I think…” Ouyang Qian said slowly, “You will definitely do well in the college entrance examination, but I’m afraid that saying it will put more pressure on you.”
Fang Min was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "No, isn't this a blessing? You'll definitely do well on the exam too."
Ouyang Qian nodded happily.
Explaining problems to others is a very effective learning method. Although Fang Minzhou had discussed problems with Jin Baihao and Ouyang Qian before, it was mainly to check the answers. She truly practiced this method and felt that it was useful during the time she tutored Wang Kan.
Sometimes, when she looked at Wang Kan, she felt as if she were looking at her first student.
Wang Kan would still occasionally come to ask her questions, but recently, she had been explaining problems to Yin Mengran.
Once, Wang Kan stayed right next to her, listening intently, while Yin Mengran acted as if she didn't even see him, asking one question after another. Fang Minzhou winked at Wang Kan, but Wang Kan ignored her, until Yin Mengran, busy with calculations, looked up as if sensing something.
Fang Minzhou was afraid that Yin Mengran would notice something was amiss, but she seemed oblivious. Instead, she asked her what to write next, but Yin Mengran still didn't know.
That night, Fang Minzhou received a message from Wang Kan, who said that Yin Mengran was provoking him.
Fang Minzhou responded with a question mark.
Wang Kan: Do you remember what day it is today?
Fang Minzhou had another question in her mind.
I checked the date, April 3rd. What day is it?
The second mock exam is coming up soon?
In a flash, she remembered that rainy night a year ago when the boy solemnly took out his phone and typed, "...April 3rd, 10:23 pm. Let me write it down. See, this way you'll remember."
Fang Minzhou's heart skipped a beat. She opened the window. The rain had stopped for a while, and the air was filled with the damp scent of grass and trees. April 3rd of this year was about to pass again.
She was embarrassed, but also a little amused. She wanted to reply "I remember," but instead honestly said: "I forgot, but I remember now."
Wang Kan: You even said I would forget.
Wang Kan: You don't care at all.
Fang Minzhou only vaguely replied: I remember afterwards.
Wang Kan sent a pinky promise emoji.
Shortly after the second mock exam, the Zhangcheng Junior High School Entrance Examination for Physical Education was held, and No. 1 Middle School was one of the test centers.
Standing on the corridor and looking out, you can see the playground bustling with activity, and a few boys and girls wandering around, probably having finished their exams and curiously looking around the campus.
For senior high school students, every second counts. But on this sunny and warm spring day during break, many students leaned against the railings, enjoying the breeze and chatting. They reminisced about their junior high school days, reminisced about their glorious past, and even had a bit of an "Ah Q" mentality: at least they didn't have to run 800 meters and 1000 meters for the college entrance exam.
"Where did you take your physical education exam for the high school entrance exam?" Ouyang Qian asked Fang Minzhou.
“It’s at No. 1 Middle School,” Fang Minzhou said. “And you?”
“Second Middle School,” Ouyang Qian said.
“I’m also from No. 2 Middle School.” Zheng Yanhang suddenly moved closer to Ouyang Qian.
Wang Kan, who was with him, naturally stood to Fang Minzhou's left and casually pulled Wu Cheng, who was about to walk by, over to lie down with him.
Fang Minzhou felt a burning sensation on the side of her body closest to Wang Kan, but she continued to stare at the playground as if nothing was wrong. Wang Kan didn't say anything either. Of the group, only Ouyang Qian and Zheng Yanhang tried to strike up a conversation to make it seem like their group wasn't strange.
The school bell rang, and everyone walked towards the classroom. Fang Minzhou turned around and her gaze met Wang Kan's, who was still lingering there. Then she quickly looked away. One of them linked arms with her friend, while the other stayed where she was and touched her neck.
They gently confirmed each other's presence with a single glance.
A gentle spring breeze caressed their faces, and the faint sounds of children cheering could be heard in the distance. The voices grew louder as the first and second-year high school students looked up and shouted "Victory in the college entrance examination!" The corridors were packed with students who cheered and threw paper airplanes made from their exam papers.
In this situation, Fang Minzhou couldn't continue reading even if she wanted to. So she tore off a piece of scrap paper, and just as she folded it, Wang Kan ran past her seat, holding a paper airplane. The classroom was empty; even Sun Tong was nowhere to be seen. Fang Minzhou couldn't help but chuckle, got up, and followed Wang Kan. The crowd was noisy, and no one paid them any attention.
Two paper airplanes took off from the second floor, joining the flotilla of planes to the sound of singing, and soon disappeared into the night. No one knew whose plane flew further.
A wave of humid heat swept over her, and the bell rang loudly. Fang Minzhou put down her pen and walked out of the examination room, where the shimmering summer waters unfolded before her.
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