Chapter 12 Even a Poor Student Wants a Spring: I Want to Get into Tsinghua University
Yin Guiying clearly saw the change in Jiang Yueming's behavior.
She suspected that the boy might have suffered some kind of trauma or something was wrong with him.
She no longer sleeps in class, no longer gets distracted, and no longer folds origami cranes and spaceships.
"This...this can't possibly be Jiang Yueming?!" Yin Guiying pushed up her heavy black-rimmed glasses, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"Teacher Yin, you're really going to stare me in the eye!" Jiang Yueming said with some dissatisfaction, slamming his pen into the test paper, leaving a mark.
Yin Guiying looked him over carefully, making sure it was indeed the irreplaceable Jiang Yueming. Could it be that the 15 points he got on the math exam last month finally stung him? Had it been too much of a blow? But this kid is usually so carefree, who could possibly hurt him like that?
"You've 'turned over a new leaf and started a new life'?" Yin Guiying's tone changed with joy.
"What kind of wording is that?" Jiang Yueming scoffed. It's ridiculous that Teacher Yin, who teaches Chinese, speaks like he's a convict.
"Oh, you little rascal, you've finally given me some peace of mind." Yin Guiying said with a relieved expression. "You should study hard now. I need to go tell Cuiqin the good news! Her 'King of Hell' has finally made up his mind to study hard!"
Jiang Yueming stared blankly at the mathematical formulas, his chin resting on his hand as he habitually looked out the window. His eyes suddenly lit up as Li Leshan passed by, and he quickly called out, "Li Leshan! Li Leshan!"
Li Leshan stood by the window, his gaze immediately falling on the mountain of test papers and workbooks piled on Jiang Yueming's desk. His brow twitched almost imperceptibly. He thought to himself that this guy had quite a lot of homework to catch up on; no wonder Teacher Yin always urged him to finish it.
Jiang Yueming is truly wronged! More wronged than Dou E! He wasn't just doing extra homework; those were all legitimate mock exam papers.
"Why did you go upstairs?" Jiang Yueming asked.
"Go to Teacher Tian's office," Li Leshan said.
Jiang Yueming said "Oh" and nodded. He then asked, "Why weren't you home last weekend?"
He didn't know how many times he had gone to Li Leshan's house, at least eight or ten times. Although Jiang Yueming always told Cuicui that he was going downstairs to find the candied hawthorn stall, such a big stall was set up in front of him, and the sound of "Candied hawthorn for sale" could be heard all the way to North Street, but Jiang Yueming seemed not to see it or hear it at all, his eyes were fixed on the room with the window closed.
Before Li Leshan could even use sign language, Yin Guiying appeared at the front door like a ghost, her eyes squinting behind her black-rimmed glasses. Jiang Yueming immediately sat up straight and quickly pointed to the front door. Li Leshan clearly saw Yin Guiying as well, so he didn't linger by the window and went straight to the office.
Cao Fan, who was also his deskmate, was already wearing glasses with a prescription of 400 degrees in fifth grade. He didn't seem to notice the low pressure in the air and was still engrossed in playing Connect Four with the student in front of him.
Originally, the role of the student sitting in front of Cao Fan should have been played by his deskmate, Jiang Yueming. In layman's terms, the one who was supposed to be fighting fiercely with Cao Fan should have been Jiang Yueming.
However, Jiang Yueming has now turned over a new leaf and started a new life. As his brothers, they certainly can't disturb him. Although Cao Fan doesn't know why he suddenly changed his gender or how long he can keep it up, he still has to maintain appearances and occasionally gives Jiang Yueming a "good luck, I believe in you" look.
"Cough cough." Jiang Yueming pretended to cough.
Cao Fan ignored him.
"Cough, cough."
Cao Fan reacted slightly.
Before Jiang Yueming could even utter his third fake cough, Yin Guiying's voice came from the podium, "Jiang Yueming, if you cough again, go outside and cough."
Cao Fan then realized what was happening, but unfortunately, he couldn't collect the draft paper as quickly as Yin Guiying. In the end, he and the person in front of him both fell from grace and were called to the office for a lecture, receiving a "love education."
Jiang Yueming said he had done everything he could. After all, the two of them were so engrossed in their own worlds that they couldn't tear themselves away. After all, before leaving, Cao Fan had regretfully stuffed a draft paper into his hand, and when Jiang Yueming unfolded it—
Huh? If four black stones are connected in a line, we'll win immediately.
No wonder Cao Fan kept looking back as he moved, so he thoughtfully filled in a black piece's spot. Yes, perfectly and successfully helping the player in front of him win.
When Cao Fan returned, the bell had just rung to signal the end of self-study. He came in through the back door with a dejected look on his face, plopped down on a stool, and looked unhappy.
"Yin Guiying made you write a self-criticism?" Jiang Yueming, in a tone of "experienced person," very "thoughtfully" pulled out a crumpled lined paper with frayed edges from deep under the table. "It's okay, use mine. It doesn't have your name on it."
This really encroached on Jiang Yueming's area of expertise. Jiang Yueming might be unquestionable in other areas, but when it came to self-criticisms, he was quite authoritative. Over the years, he'd written at least a hundred. Not to mention self-criticisms for playing Connect Four in class, there were self-criticisms for talking in class, playing games, daydreaming, not doing homework… all sorts of self-criticisms were there. There were just too many, scattered in various corners; he had to spend time searching for them.
"Playing Gomoku in class isn't enough; you still have to write something even if you fail Chinese." Cao Fan said with a worried expression.
"What's the big deal?" Jiang Yueming didn't even lift his eyelids, and accurately pulled out another one. "I have some too."
“That’s not enough,” Cao Fan sighed. “Even if you can’t memorize the classical poems and prose, you still have to write them down.”
Jiang Yueming pulled out another one, "There's one too, every word is written in tears."
"..." Cao Fan remained silent for a while.
Jiang Yueming took out a stack of books one after another and slapped them in front of Cao Fan, just like a street vendor selling used books at the school gate. "It's okay, there's plenty, lots and lots."
Cao Fan was utterly shocked and speechless. He had considered that Jiang Yueming might have some, but he hadn't imagined that Jiang Yueming would have so many. Why would he keep so many? Was it a way of passing down a manuscript through three generations, with the manuscript still existing even after the person's death?
Jiang Yueming generously let him take it, figuring he'd have plenty of opportunities to write more later; he firmly believed he had a long road ahead of him in writing self-criticisms. For him, writing self-criticisms was routine, the kind of thing he'd do even if he didn't write one today, he'd have to write one tomorrow.
Yin Guiying brought good news during the class meeting.
The good news is that Tieta Elementary School is organizing a spring outing, although it can no longer be called spring, it's already summer. You could call it a "summer outing," but that's not the proper term. However, as soon as the news came out, the children in the class were genuinely happy; everyone smiled and discussed where they would go.
Jiang Yueming could figure it out even with a brainstorm; it was definitely the Iron Pagoda Park. Where else could they go? He could draw a map of that place with his eyes closed. Go to the river reservoir? The school wouldn't dare even if they had a hundred lives. They'd probably just play games, take a walk, and watch the geese in the pond at the Iron Pagoda Park.
This good news was just average news in Jiang Yueming's eyes. He had been to the Iron Pagoda Park countless times, having been there many times with Han Jiang since he was a child. The park wasn't exactly small, but there wasn't much to do there.
"Teacher Yin! Are we going to the Iron Pagoda Park?" Jiang Yueming's voice came from the back row.
Yin Guiying was surprised that the child guessed so accurately. She laughed and said, "Did you go to the office to eavesdrop on our teachers' conversation?"
Jiang Yueming thought to himself, "No way!"
Cao Fan gave him a thumbs up, "You guessed right. But I haven't been to the Eiffel Tower Park yet."
"No way! You should check our school's name. Iron Pagoda Elementary School! Iron Pagoda Park is right next door!" Jiang Yueming exclaimed in surprise, wondering if he and Han Jiang were the only ones who had been there so many times.
"Can we take the sightseeing bus?" Jiang Yueming persisted, refusing to give up. The deposit alone would be several tens of yuan; if they could take it, he would admit the school was indeed very generous.
Upon hearing this, all the students became excited.
"Why take a car?" Yin Guiying nipped his idea in the bud. "Just walk, it's good exercise!"
"Is it just our class going, or is the whole grade going?"
"The whole grade," Yin Guiying said. She gave some instructions and precautions. The spring outing was on Friday afternoon. After it was over, everyone would gather at the school gate to count heads before going home.
Jiang Yueming was delighted to hear the phrase "the entire grade." Did that mean Li Leshan would be going too?! He'd been to the Iron Pagoda Park many times, but this was the first time he'd gone with Li Leshan. This finally made him feel that this otherwise ordinary news was indeed good news.
After school, the students flocked out, and Jiang Yueming was one of them. This time, his schoolbag wasn't empty; it was packed with things like test papers, textbooks, and practice problems. He was completely different from the Jiang Yueming of the past; his schoolbag was as heavy as if it contained two pounds of iron.
"Li Leshan!" Jiang Yueming, familiar with the place, leaned against the windowsill and whispered his name.
Teacher Tian was still assigning the last homework assignment. He glanced ahead discreetly and was stunned.
Four or five lines of homework, no wonder it's a good class. Two lines of homework a day is enough to annoy Jiang Yueming.
"Do you know about the spring outing?" Jiang Yueming asked.
Li Leshan nodded.
“Great, we can go together.” Jiang Yueming said, striking a pose of expertise, “I’ve been there at least eight or ten times, I’ll be your tour guide.”
"Teacher Tian said we can't switch classes," Li Leshan said in sign language.
"It's alright, I'll switch classes with you," Jiang Yueming said with a smile. He would just tell Yin Guiying that he was going to study with Li Leshan. Would Yin Guiying disagree? She would be more than happy to leave on her own.
"Li Leshan, where do you plan to go to school in the future?" Jiang Yueming adjusted her schoolbag and asked casually. For some reason, it felt heavier than before.
Li Leshan glanced at him, his gaze calm yet profound, and asked in return, "And you?"
Jiang Yueming was more embarrassed than ever before; his ears turned red. The words "I want to get into No. 1 High School" sounded like a bottom-of-the-class student saying "I want to get into Tsinghua University" coming out of his mouth. He was now filled with regret for the "carefree, academically challenged" image he had cultivated in Li Leshan's mind. Even a "late bloomer" image would have been better!
"I want to get into Tsinghua University!" Jiang Yueming cried out silently.
He hesitated for a long time before speaking, stammering as if he had just learned to speak: "...Do you think I can get into the middle school...?"
Seeing his embarrassed yet earnest expression, Li Leshan's lips suddenly curved into a clear smile.
Jiang Yueming's face turned completely red, burning up to his neck. He glanced cautiously at Li Leshan, thinking, "Was what he said really that funny? This...this...have you ever heard the story of the Ugly Duckling? Even a bad student...a bad student wants their spring!"
Seeing his flushed face and hurt look, Li Leshan immediately realized that he had misunderstood, and quickly waved his hand, urgently explaining in sign language: "I didn't mean to mock you."
"What does that mean?" Jiang Yueming asked.
Li Leshan thought for a moment and then used sign language to tell him, "I was thinking, so that's why Teacher Yin said you've changed."
"What's wrong with Guan Yin Guiying?" Jiang Yueming asked, suddenly remembering that Cao Fan had been scolded for half an hour while playing Gomoku, while he, Jiang Yueming, had been praised for half an hour... Li Leshan was also in the office at the time, so he had overheard it.
"Then what do you think..." Jiang Yueming was about to muster up the courage to continue asking.
“Three hundred points,” Li Leshan gestured.
"What?" Jiang Yueming was dumbfounded.
“You need to improve by 300 points.” Li Leshan’s expression was so calm that it felt like he was only asking for 30 points.
"What?"
He needs to improve by 300 points?! Jiang Yueming misunderstood Han Jiang; it would take him twenty horses to bring him back.
Jiang Yueming felt that even two pounds of iron in his bag wouldn't be enough.
He suddenly felt as if a tall mountain had appeared before him, with Li Leshan standing on its summit, and himself standing on...
Standing in the pit.
Ever since sharing his goal of "getting into Tsinghua University" with Li Leshan, the two of them have been studying together after school without prior arrangement or tacit agreement. Jiang Yueming goes to Li Leshan's house more often than he goes to his own home. After finishing the homework assigned by the teacher every day, he can still squeeze out time to do two sets of extra practice problems.
Li Leshan was grading his papers. He didn't even know that he had done these questions hundreds of years ago. They were midterm mock exam questions from the Experimental Primary School, and he still remembered the answers.
He picked up the red fountain pen with a slightly cracked cap and began scribbling rapidly on Jiang Yueming's paper. Multiple-choice questions, a few quick strokes; fill-in-the-blank questions, a quick glance; as for the large blank sections at the end... he could basically skip them. In less than three minutes, the paper was finished being graded.
This speed wasn't because Li Leshan was being perfunctory; it was simply because Jiang Yueming's writing was too limited.
"How did it go? Did you get 50 points?" Jiang Yueming came over expectantly, clearly still at a vaguely optimistic level regarding his own self-assessment.
Li Leshan shook his head.
"Well, you should have at least 40 points, right?" Jiang Yueming continued to ask.
Li Leshan shook his head.
“39?” Jiang Yueming said.
Seeing Li Leshan shake his head again, Jiang Yueming was heartbroken. She picked up the test paper and saw the number "36" written on it.
"Damn it!" Jiang Yueming cried out in his heart. He really wanted to fight math to the death.
Li Leshan was much calmer than him. It would be strange if Jiang Yueming could actually do seventy or eighty. He glanced at the boy who was lying on the desk "on the verge of death" and began to write down the test points and common mistakes on the test paper.
Because he couldn't explain things verbally, and Jiang Yueming's sign language skills were still at a basic level, limited to "hello," "thank you," and "wait for me after school," Li Leshan had to write down each word to explain where he went wrong and how to think about it. Often, after analyzing a test paper, Li Leshan would have written several times more words than Jiang Yueming had written while answering the questions.
Every time Jiang Yueming looked at the exam paper filled with neat handwriting, she felt a mix of emotions.
These kinds of exam papers filled Jiang Yueming's entire youth.
From the intense preparation in sixth grade, through three years of junior high, and then three years of senior high, the higher the grade, the more numerous and denser the handwriting on the test papers became. Even long after they had both left school, Jiang Yueming could still jokingly tease Li Leshan: "It's a good thing we both chose science in high school. If I had chosen humanities, with the energy you put into analyzing things for me, I would have definitely developed tenosynovitis."
Jiang Yueming always remembered Li Leshan's calm and somewhat matter-of-fact answer. Even after he entered society and was far removed from that student life of wearing a blue and white school uniform and wailing over a score of 36, he never forgot those words.
What Li Leshan said at the time was...
A note from the author:
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It's so hot outside, but writing feels so refreshing (closes eyes).
I racked my brains and angrily changed the title and description of the article. Let's see how it goes. I hope everyone understands. [Pleading emoji]
If it's not good, I'll definitely slink back to it!
If it goes well, I'm planning to go and book another cute cover... but I also really love this cover TT
Okay, let's continue tomorrow.
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