Let's talk about "I want to be with Li Leshan..." after Chapter 50.
Days pass like flowing water, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
2008 was an Olympic year. Lin Cuiqin told me that several of her coworkers had been trying to conceive last year, hoping their babies would be born this year. They had even decided on names: Olympic. This was comparable to when the mascots were designed in 2005, when several children around her were named "Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini."
Jiang Yueming is in the second year of junior high school. Although the college entrance examination is still a long way off, he is still worried for the younger brothers and sisters born in 2008 and those born in 2018. There are so many "Olympic babies", the college entrance examination will probably be more than just a single-plank bridge for thousands of troops.
“Okay, I’m officially changing Tian Tian’s nickname to Olympics.” Jiang Yueming joked from the side.
Lin Cuiqin chimed in, saying that although Tian Tian didn't get to be an Olympic baby, she did get to be in the year the country bid for the Olympics. Tian Tian's maternal grandfather wanted to name her "Shen Ao" (meaning "Olympic Bid"), saying that if it was a boy, it would be "Shen Ao," and if it was a girl, they would look it up in the dictionary. So they searched through the Chinese dictionary and found a very artistic name, "Yan Xi."
This year, a large fireworks display is being held at Lijiang Bridge to celebrate the Olympics. Jiang Yueming knew about it early on and insisted on taking Li Leshan to see it together.
"Auntie, Lele and I are going to watch the fireworks at Lijiang Bridge. Do you want to come?" Jiang Yueming bent down to tie her shoelaces.
"Go ahead, Tian Tian is clamoring to go see it, you take her first." Lin Cuiqin was still tying her scarf, which was actually a small square scarf she bought in Guangdong. Since coming to Shengping, she rarely bought herself clothes and jewelry.
"No!" Sweetie spoke first, before Jiang Yueming could even refuse, "He only cares about playing with Brother Lele and doesn't care about me at all."
"I didn't," Jiang Yueming retorted, sounding guilty.
"Yes!" Tian Tian tugged at Lin Cuiqin's sleeve. "I don't want to go out with my brother."
"Alright, alright," Lin Cuiqin comforted, "Yueming, you go first. We won't go up the bridge. We'll just look around in the park below. Tiantian is too young; I'm afraid she'll be scared if she hears the fireworks."
Jiang Yueming has now grown to 1.75 meters tall. Compared to his peers, especially Han Jiang, he is already half a head taller. Han Jiang is at his wit's end. He says he will try everything he can to grow taller: taking calcium supplements, playing basketball, drinking milk.
"If all else fails, I'll have to get bone lengthening surgery...!" That's exactly what Han Jiang said. Cosmetic procedures have been very popular in recent years, and while Han Jiang wasn't tempted by any of the other options, this was the only one that caught his eye.
“You don’t need to break it. If you even have this thought, your mom will break one of your legs first, saving you money.” Jiang Yueming objected. What’s the point? Is this just asking for trouble without spending money? If all else fails, just stuff two pairs of height-increasing insoles in your shoes and make sure you wear two extra sets of socks.
Han Jiang felt it was incredibly unfair. He felt that fate was playing tricks on him, or rather, doing it on purpose. Why was it that, despite eating and dressing the same things, Jiang Yueming and Li Leshan grew taller year after year, much taller than him? They didn't even eat as much as he did! He only grew one or two centimeters each year—what could that possibly do?
Li Leshan was a little shorter than him, about the height of a finger joint. Anyway, they were about the same height, and Grandma said they looked more and more alike as they grew up. Jiang Yueming thought it was a brotherly resemblance.
The fireworks started at eight o'clock sharp, and the bridge was crowded with people, bustling about. Friends, families, and couples celebrating the New Year. It was the first time Jiang Yueming had seen so many people on the bridge; it felt like the entire population of Shengping had surged up there.
"What did you say?" Jiang Yueming didn't notice Li Leshan's movements; he was standing on a rock, looking for a spot.
“I did a test yesterday, asking for the height of the Lijiang Bridge.” Li Leshan pointed to the bridge. “It’s different from my answer; I got it wrong.”
“Then the answer must be wrong.” Jiang Yueming said without hesitation. These days, all sorts of questions are being asked. Maybe he should ask Venus how tall she is tomorrow. “You know, with the printing technology at our school, they can print black even on white.”
He took Li Leshan's hand and slowly moved forward. With each step, he said, "Sisters, please make way, I'm going to find someone over there," and "Grandma, please be careful, I'll be right there." His attitude was incredibly polite. When the people in front turned around and saw Jiang Yueming's face, they automatically moved to the side.
Li Leshan followed behind him as if walking on flat ground.
"Have you never been to such a lively place before?" Jiang Yueming finally found a perfect spot, in the middle of the bridge, right in the middle of the viewing area when the fireworks were going off.
Li Leshan shook his head. He had never been there, was not used to crowds, and always felt that the word was out of place for him.
"It's alright, I'll take you next time," Jiang Yueming said. He liked excitement, fun, and running around. If he had the chance, he really wanted to travel around and see the world, but he knew he wouldn't go too far; he would always come back to Shengping.
Li Leshan stood next to him. There were people all around them, and next to them was probably a couple. The girl was muttering that she was glad she came out early, otherwise she would have been standing at the end of the bridge.
At 7:50, a small boat gradually appeared in the middle of the river. It was probably requisitioned from a nearby dock. The fireworks were placed on the boat and then launched high into the sky, with the bridge being a safe zone.
A countdown slowly began in the crowd, and amidst the noise and voices, the numbers sounded exceptionally clear.
The moment the count reached one, the fireworks exploded in the air with a loud "bang." This level of extravagance was only seen when celebrating the bridge's opening in 1996. Jiang Yueming was only two years old then, and he didn't get to see it. He thought he'd never have the chance again, but now, more than ten years later, he saw it again.
It's ingrained in the Chinese psyche: making a wish upon seeing a shooting star, a candle, a sky lantern, or even fireworks. They don't even care if it comes true; after all, few of Jiang Yueming's birthday wishes came true. Perhaps his wishes weren't sincere, but he practically knelt down to make them. A burst of cheers filled the air: "This year I'll be rich!", "This year I'll find love!", "This year..."
At this moment, Jiang Yueming felt her heart also boiling with emotion.
"I want to take the entrance exam for Shishi High School! I want to study with Li Leshan!" Jiang Yueming shouted as well.
His wish was a breath of fresh air among all the others. The young couple next to him heard what he shouted and kept looking over. This reminded him of when he first decided to get into the top high school; if he had aimed for Tsinghua University back then, he should be aiming for an Ivy League school now.
"I will study hard." Jiang Yueming looked into Li Leshan's bright eyes. "I will listen attentively in class, do my homework well, memorize more, and do more practice problems..."
"Don't you think I'm daydreaming?" Jiang Yueming asked somewhat embarrassedly, his words tinged with self-deprecation. "You think I'm delusional? Actually, I don't like studying either, but I want to study with you."
Jiang Yueming didn't like studying at all. There was a time when he longed to start working right after graduating from junior high, even though there were very few jobs available for minors, and he dared not accept any. But he could start as an apprentice and open a barbershop. He saw so many examples around him, and Jiang Yueming thought they were living quite well.
But he also knew he couldn't study with Li Leshan forever. Leaving aside high school, what about university? Li Leshan could get into Beijing, Nanjing, Tokyo, or some other prestigious university… that was still possible. He could attend a junior college nearby, that would be fine too.
But going to a junior college seemed pointless. By the time he went to college, Tian Tian would be in the first year of junior high. Lin Cuiqin wanted to buy a house in the city so that Tian Tian could attend a school there. Lin Cuiqin hadn't told him, probably because she was afraid Jiang Yueming would feel uncomfortable, but he knew she had overheard him inquiring about housing prices in the city.
His aunt has already taken care of him too much. Jiang Yueming can't just think of himself; he can't be so selfish. He can't let his aunt take care of him for the rest of his life.
When he grows up a little more, and a little more, he'll be able to turn around and help his aunt.
"I probably won't get in..." Jiang Yueming muttered to himself. There were a thousand students in the whole grade, and Shishi High School only admitted the top two hundred. If you couldn't get into the top two hundred, you didn't even have a chance of passing the cutoff score. That was the reality, and that was the gap between Jiang Yueming and them.
Li Leshan looked at him, the fireworks reflected in Jiang Yueming's eyes, flashing, but he knew that Jiang Yueming had no time to pay attention to the fireworks in front of him at this moment.
Learning is a huge mountain weighing on students' shoulders. After crossing one mountain, there is another one. Among them, the college entrance examination is the biggest and heaviest.
Jiang Yueming never imagined that someone as carefree as herself would one day feel lost and uncertain about crossing this mountain.
“If we don’t understand math, we ask; if we don’t understand English, we memorize it,” Li Leshan patted Jiang Yueming’s shoulder, gesturing for him to look at him. “With me here, I can teach you anything you don’t understand.”
But I'm too stupid. Jiang Yueming thought to himself, he could memorize a text once, twice, three times, but he still couldn't memorize it. He could only solve the first part of a math problem after doing one, two, three attempts. If he needed to "start early" to succeed, Jiang Yueming felt he needed to start ten years earlier. He would have had to start learning math and memorizing English from birth…
Jiang Yueming stared at Li Leshan for a while, sensing the atmosphere had become somewhat heavy. Even if it was the high school entrance exam, there was still a year to go. Besides, this wasn't the kind of occasion to exhaust oneself worrying about the future.
He put his arm around Li Leshan's shoulder, pointed to the most dazzling firework in the sky, changed the subject, and shouted, "Lele, what did you wish for?!"
Li Leshan stood close to him, his gaze shifting from Jiang Yueming's face to the night sky.
"Don't tell me now, let's calculate later whether the wish has come true!" Jiang Yueming shouted.
Li Leshan made a wish upon the dimmest cluster of fireworks. He felt that this cluster was where the fewest people should make their wishes, and if they could hear it, the chances of it coming true would be higher.
Actually, he didn't believe in this. Li Leshan didn't tell Jiang Yueming, and he probably never would. Because he had prayed very sincerely, to everything he could, asking for everything he had, but perhaps his wish was too great to be fulfilled.
Okay. He silently said to himself, "I promise."
We'll check later to see if our wish has come true.
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Author's Note: This is so inspiring! I want to travel back to junior high and take the entrance exam for a top high school too! [droopy-eared rabbit head]
There's a ranking this week, see you tomorrow! [Okay]
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