Chapter 39 Chapter 39 Setting my heart and my destiny is my unwavering determination...
As soon as the competition ended at the end of March, time seemed to be wound up and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
After the second round of review, the oath before the exam was put on the agenda. On a morning self-study session at the end of April, the morning light illuminated every corner of the classroom. Just as Xu Sui and the others picked up their Chinese textbooks and stood up to read, Ye Zhen came up to the podium carrying a bag of things.
"The Story of Guo Tuotuo, the Tree Planter..."
"The destruction of the six kingdoms was not due to the weakness of their armies, but to their poor fighting skills. The problem lies in..."
The voice of the recitation had barely begun to pick up when Ye Zhen interrupted it with a gesture. She said, "Sit down, sit down."
Then there was a rustling sound of clothes rubbing against each other and chairs colliding, accompanied by the sound of small conversations.
Ye Zhen's delicate brows furrowed, and she adjusted her rimless glasses. She leaned forward, her hands on her hips, and asked sternly, "What time is it now? You really have to talk, don't you? I don't think you should be bothered by this as a grown-up."
Then, as he unpacked the bag, he said, "After breakfast, hurry back to the classroom. We have the oath-taking ceremony at 8 o'clock. This is what you'll wear on your wrist."
She untied the black bag, held both sides in her hands and walked to the first seat in the first row. Xu Sui was close by and saw the red ribbon at a glance.
Tied at the wrist.
"Our class banner has been hung on the wall outside. After you take the oath, come up and write down the university you want to apply to on it." She held two large and thick watercolor pens in her hands and spoke to them in a gentle tone.
This is the tradition of No. 1 City School. Xu Sui had heard of it a long time ago. Unlike the usual hundred-day oath-taking ceremony, No. 1 City School chose to take the oath more than 30 days before the college entrance examination, and write down their target colleges on the banner. Thirty days, all in one go.
After all the ribbons were distributed, Ye Zhen suddenly smiled and took out a colorful cotton rice dumpling from the bag. She smiled, with joy but reluctance on her face.
"This year's college entrance examination coincides with the Dragon Boat Festival. I hope that all students can be admitted and have smooth sailing." As soon as the words fell, they aroused the response and shouts of their classmates.
"It has to be high school!"
"After thirty days of hard fighting, we all reached the shore."
…
In a burst of excitement, Xu Sui couldn't help but feel his heart surge. Amidst the youthful vigor and vitality of the young people, Ye Zhen hung the "zongzi" at the door.
Then he turned around and jokingly said, "You can hit this with your head when you leave through the front door."
"good--"
“It’s a must!”
"Chinese people are superstitious all their lives..." "Get lost."
**
At eight o'clock in the morning, all the senior high school students of No. 1 Middle School in the city gathered in the square between the east and west teaching buildings. In front of them was the five-star red flag. They also raised the flag here every Monday.
After a series of lengthy and complicated procedures including flag-raising, teachers reading the oath, speeches by school leaders, and speeches by teacher representatives, it was finally time for the last item - speeches by student representatives.
Class One was right next to Class Two. Xu Sui turned her head to look at Class One, vaguely expecting something, but she was standing too far in front and could not see anything at all.
The next second, a gentle female voice came from the radio - "Next, please invite Song Shiyang from Class 1, Grade 3 to speak as a student representative."
After a while, a person passed by her, and the wind blew up her bangs. She quickly reached out to hold them down. Under the gaze of about a thousand people, her tall and thin back slowly walked up the stairs. Finally, she reached the highest point, nodded to the person who handed him the microphone, and turned it up a little.
The arc at the end of his eyes was sharp, and there was a hint of indifference and solemnity in his eyes.
"Hello everyone, I'm Song Shiyang from Class 1, Grade 3. I'm very happy to speak here as a student representative."
This is his usual rhetoric, but these few words and sentences always have a different feeling when they come out of his mouth.
It must be because his voice is so beautiful, Xu Sui thought.
His tone was flat, as if he was just talking about what he had eaten this morning and what homework he had done. There was no passion or chest-beating.
So steadily, word by word, he expressed his thoughts, ambitions, and goals.
"Hengqu's four lines say that as a human being, one must establish a heart for the world, establish a destiny for the people, carry on the lost knowledge of the ancient sages, and bring peace to the world for all eternity. Only a handful of people can achieve the latter two, but establishing a heart and a destiny have always been my unwavering pursuit."
He looked up, a faint smile forming at the corner of his lips, and spoke again: "In a few years, everyone here will undoubtedly be active in various fields of society, becoming leaders, perhaps even leaders. But I want to say, no matter what, never forget the dreams and aspirations of your youth."
"Finally, I wish you all will one day spread your wings and transform into a roc, riding the wind, breaking the waves, and soaring thousands of miles."
"My speech is over, thank you." Then he walked downstairs.
The whole audience was silent for a moment, and then broke into thunderous applause and cheers. The leaders on the stage were silent for a long time. When people reach middle age, some of their temperament and character have been smoothed out by the hardships of life and the evils of society, and have lost their edges.
The speeches in previous years were mostly official-style statements. Hearing such words was inevitably touching. In the end, I don’t know which teacher took the lead in applauding, which triggered a series of applause.
Xu Sui looked at the young man with a raised eyebrow and a smile on his lips walking towards him step by step, and an indescribable wave of emotion arose in his heart, rolling and surging.
On April 30, 2016, she was standing in the audience while the person she loved stood up and said a few words that boosted the morale of all the senior high school students and also touched her.
People often say that you should not meet someone too amazing when you are young, otherwise the rest of your life will be mediocre.
She thought, she probably, really wasn't likely to fall in love with anyone else.
After the event, each class was taken back by their head teacher to fill out their target colleges. Xu Sui went to the bathroom first, and when he came back, he saw that the students in Class 1 were already writing banners outside.
Xie Zhuoyuan and Jiang Song were standing at the back door of Class 1. Next to them was the protagonist who had just caused a commotion. He was lazily leaning against the door frame. Xie Zhuoyuan asked him, "Brother, you're my brother today. Which of the top universities in the country are you going to write about?"
The boy twitched his lips, turned his head away, and looked up somewhere. Xu Sui slowed down his pace, also waiting for his answer. After a while, when Xu Sui felt that he would be discovered if he didn't go in, the boy shrugged and said nonchalantly: "Fudan, just fill in whatever you want."
Xu Suixin paused for a second, then walked into the classroom without any expression.
"Hey, you filled it out so casually, you're so flattering." Xie Zhuoyuan pushed him and said, "Where did you get admitted?"
Song Shiyang shook his head: "I don't know, the results haven't come out yet."
"Which school did you apply to? Tsinghua or Peking University? Do you still need to wait for the result?" Xie Zhuoyuan has always been confident in his buddy's ability.
"Don't ask anymore. This guy's mouth is tighter than anyone else's. Just wait. He will tell us in July this year." Jiang Song said, putting his hand on Xie Zhuoyuan's shoulder.
Song Shiyang smiled and said nothing more. He just looked at the trees and green leaves in front of Class 1, not knowing what he was thinking.
**
In mid-May, the results of various competitions came out one after another. Xu Sui won the first prize in the biology competition and received a score discount of up to 15 points.
The students who were qualified for admission also evacuated from the school one after another. Jiang Song and the three who participated in international competitions had already left school in the morning, but Xu Sui didn't know why Song Shiyang hadn't left yet.
It was not until that night when he asked Jiang Changjia that Xu Sui learned the secret that only they knew. He had signed a contract with the school when he was in the first year of high school, to win the top scorer in the college entrance examination for the city. So even if he got a place in the direct admission, he still had to take the college entrance examination.
"Don't tell anyone else." Jiang Changjia looked around furtively and said in a low voice.
"Okay!" "Sure!"
On the last day of May, all the senior high school students took graduation photos. Almost all the girls in the class were fixing their hair, applying makeup cream on their faces, and putting on lipstick.
Xu Sui watched her deskmate and the student behind her busying around with a hint of curiosity in her eyes. As she was watching, Chen Yun suddenly ran over to her, holding a lipstick she had gotten from somewhere, showing off her neat teeth and smiling, "Xu Xiaosui, you should put on some lipstick too. Look at your pale little mouth, it doesn't look like you have any color at all."
Feeling him approaching, Xu Sui leaned back a little, and was stunned when she saw the boy's face in front of her. At this juncture, she seemed to have suddenly discovered a secret, which was the same as her deep-hidden thoughts that no one had ever known.
This made her feel bewildered, but she quickly calmed herself down. She looked up at Chen Yun's eyes and spoke clearly and seriously, "Thank you. I'm not used to using this. The college entrance exam is coming up, and I hope we can all focus."
Just then Jiang Changjia called her from outside, and Xu Sui whispered, "Thank you, sorry," and then walked out.
Leaving Chen Yun in a daze, he slowly lowered his head and smiled bitterly with helplessness.
That day, Jiang Changjia tied Xu Sui into a high ponytail. Unlike the usual low ponytail that gave people a gentle and quiet feeling, the high ponytail made Xu Sui look more confident and dazzling.
"Does it really look good?" Xu Sui looked in the mirror and said worriedly. They were standing in the corridor, surrounded by many people who were also dressing up, trying to leave a beautiful photo of their youth.
"Of course! Are you doubting my judgment?" Jiang Changjia made a groundhog sound. "If you don't believe me, I'll get someone to ask you."
"Hey!" Xu Sui didn't have time to stop her. She casually pulled a passerby to the side and said in a very arrogant tone without even looking at her: "Come, take a look at this girl with a high ponytail. Is she pretty?"
"Jiang Changjia, what are you crazy about?" The boy's cold voice exploded in their ears. The two girls were shocked and looked up.
Caught a great guy.
Song Shiyang paused as his eyes passed over Xu Sui. The boy next to him laughed and said, "Jiang Changjia, did you catch Brother Yang on purpose?"
"roll!"
"Well enough."
The two voices fell at the same time, and everyone was stunned. Jiang Changjia nodded quickly: "Yes! My craftsmanship!"
Xu Sui could no longer hear what they were saying. All he could think about was his words, "It's OK."
Well enough.
The ears turned a little red.
That day she applied some makeup-free cream, tied her hair into a high ponytail, and put a small pink clip in her bangs.
After taking the group photo, there was free time. Jiang Changjia, Xie Zhuoyuan, Zhang Wenjun and others shouted that they wanted to take photos, and Zhou Shi and Xu Zhiyao also ran over from their class.
When Xu Sui was pulled out by Jiang Changjia, several people were already there, including Jiang Song and Song Shiyang, who had been away from school for a long time, a total of seven people.
They took a group photo at the junction of Class 1 and Class 2 classrooms. Everyone in the photo was smiling youthfully, and that moment was frozen in the photo paper.
Those were their most glorious years.
Youth is carefree and fearless, with the purest heart and the most innocent dreams.
When the hot wind blows from the mountain city, all the worries are blown away, leaving only the beauty.
She later put that photo in her diary, hidden in the years, and only time will tell.
It rained a lot in early June, but on the day of the college entrance examination, the weather cleared up.
The boarding students still lived in the school during the college entrance examination. Xu Sui did not apply to go home. She only called her grandparents the night before the exam. She nodded repeatedly as she listened to the old people's instructions.
On the first day, I took the Chinese and math exams. I was a little nervous on the first exam because I was unfamiliar with the subjects and not used to them, but as the exam went on, I became more natural and the time went by a little faster.
On the day off, her uncle came to pull the quilt over her. Shu Siyun held a bouquet of flowers, and her aunt was beside her, asking her questions. From time to time, she would ask Xu Sui: "Was the Chinese test difficult? How was the math? I heard that the last question in physics was super difficult."
Shu Siyun was also impatient when asked, and frowned and shouted: "Mom!"
Xu Sui just kept smiling and didn't say anything.
When she finally returned to the classroom to get her things, there were not many people there. There were many day students in City No. 1, and most of them had packed up their things a few days before the college entrance examination. She slowly walked to her seat, followed by her uncle.
"Is that it, Renren?" He asked, pushing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Looking at the classroom, he couldn't help but sigh: "Time flies. It seems like I just sent you and Siyun to City No. 1 yesterday."
Xu Sui felt a little sad when he heard this. Thinking of the days and nights of struggle, his emotions surged up and then subsided. He replied, "Yes, time is the most elusive thing."
The bookcase was a bit heavy, and when two people were carrying it down the stairs, one of them lost his balance and it almost fell over. A strong hand lifted the edge of the box and straightened it.
"Be careful." said the boy.
"Thank you, male classmate." My uncle hurriedly thanked him.
He didn't know why he hadn't left at this time, so he went back. The moment his eyes met Xu Sui's, he hurriedly thanked him.
"It's okay, it's easy." He helped them move the book boxes to the first floor and then went back upstairs.
Xu Sui stared at his back in a daze for a while, and only came back to her senses when her uncle called her.
"Let's go home."
"Um."
But they never thought that it would be the last time they saw each other in the years that followed.
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