Zhou Xiu stroked the wooden bookshelf. The grain was clearly visible. Its surface was coated with a layer of paint and felt smooth and shiny.
Zhou Xiu's eyes fell on the 1.8-meter-long bed in the bedroom. She would not fall off even if she turned over several times on it.
A big and warm bed.
When they were in Xiushui Village, they did not have their own room. The three of them were squeezed into a small room, and Zhou Xiu slept on a small bed one meter wide every day. When Zhou Xiu was a child, she would lie on her bed in the winter with a blanket covering her. Her legs were numb from the cold, but she would curl up in her parents’ arms and feel warm to her bones.
Now that it’s cold, there’s heating and a warm, thin down quilt, so Zhou Xiu will never suffer from the cold again.
Zhou Xiu likes this new home very much, likes this sunny balcony, likes this bookshelf that Zhou Cheng spent a lot of time and effort to communicate with and made especially for her, and likes this big and spacious bed that will not fall to the floor even if she turns over several times.
What she likes more is that her parents work hard and use their own hands to create a bright future for the family.
Taking advantage of Saturday, Zhou Cheng moved all his belongings to the new house in one go.
In Zhou Xiu's hometown, there is an unwritten rule when moving into a new house. The host must prepare a housewarming banquet and invite relatives and friends to drink.
But for Zhou Cheng and his people, inviting relatives is impossible. Zhou Cheng already had a plan in mind. He planned to set up three or two tables at home and invite some good friends and fellow villagers to have a meal together.
On Sunday, Zhou Cheng got up early in the morning and busied himself with preparing for the banquet for the new family.
Zhou Xiu also got up early, washed up, had breakfast, and went to school with her schoolbag to attend the competition class.
Although Zhou Xiu had already eaten a bowl of rice noodles, Liu Mei still put the minced meat pancake and eggs into Zhou Xiu's schoolbag and reminded her: "Remember to eat during breaks. Eat more so you can grow taller."
Zhou Xiu has actually grown almost as tall as her mother. Liu Mei is less than 1.6 meters tall, but she is already half a head taller than her mother.
Zhou Xiu carried her schoolbag and got on the electric scooter. Liu Mei took her to school.
Another math class.
There was a test in the math class on the weekend, and Lao Wang distributed the test papers to the students.
Zhou Xiu received the test paper and glanced through the questions. She found them very difficult as soon as she finished reading them.
Zhou Xiu took out a water-based pen, but was slow to put pen to paper. His normally smooth train of thought was unexpectedly blocked.
After handing out the test papers, Lao Wang said to the students, "Each of you must take this test paper seriously. For students in the Rocket and Winner classes, the scores of this test will be included in the final exam GPA."
Several students from key classes: "..."
Lao Wang's words were really effective. As soon as he finished speaking, a slight commotion of complaints was heard in the classroom. The laughing expressions on the students' faces disappeared and their expressions became serious.
They wrote the test paper with the mentality of facing a real exam. The only sound in the classroom was the rustling of pen tips against test papers.
An hour later, Zhou Xiu used up a piece of draft paper for the first time, and she raised her hand to signal Lao Wang to give her another one.
Many people looked up in surprise and looked at Zhou Xiu.
Zhou Xiu, who almost never used draft paper before, actually used two sheets of draft paper for the first time?
Zhang Qi also looked up at Zhou Xiu in surprise. He looked through the test paper. Although the questions were very difficult, they were not so difficult that Zhou Xiu would spend two sheets of draft paper.
100 minutes passed, Xu Haobo handed in his paper, Xie Cheng handed in his paper, Xi Shaoyuan handed in his paper, Qi Yaguang handed in his paper, and other students handed in their papers one after another...
The students who handed in their papers early had varying results. Lao Wang would correct each paper he received. When the exam was about to end, Zhou Xiu was still writing. She used an eraser to erase the auxiliary lines, revised a few places, and finally handed in the paper.
Lao Wang took the test paper, looked at her, and was the last one to correct her paper.
It was already a long time before school was over, but the students still hadn't left the classroom in order to wait for Mr. Wang to announce the grades.
Old Wang reported the scores one by one with an expressionless face: Xie Cheng 132 points, Xi Shaoyuan 143 points, Xu Haobo 101 points, Qi Yaguang 125 points...
The test paper is a simulation paper for League 2 test, with a full score of 180 points.
He paused for a moment until he read out Zhou Xiu's score, then read out in a calm voice: "Zhou Xiu scored 84 points."
The students were suddenly in an uproar. What, Zhou Xiu only got 84 points?
It is normal that Xu Haobo failed, but it is unacceptable that even Zhou Xiu failed.
The students in the math class looked at Zhou Xiu with surprise in their eyes.
Everyone was whispering in private, "What happened to Zhou Xiu?"
"This exam wasn't too difficult, was it? How come I only got this low a score?"
"I'm afraid she hasn't had time to study math during this period."
Just think about it, Zhou Xiu got first place in biology, and getting first place requires spending a lot of time studying.
At this point, everyone thought of the two frivolous words Zhou Xiu said under the flag-raising platform on Monday. She had two things to prove.
Looking back now, the frivolity at that time was just the frivolity of youth.
"I heard that Zhou Xiu gave up the biology competition. What a pity. It's not easy to win a gold medal in mathematics."
Upon hearing this, Qi Yaguang tried hard to correct him, "No, Zhou Xiu has been studying mathematics."
Even during the national biology competition, she did not bring any biology materials to review, only math and English.
"Let's wait and see what happens."
When Zhou Xiu went up to get the test paper, Lao Wang faced her calmly.
Lao Wang calmly handed the test paper to Zhou Xiu. A bright red "84" was written next to the score column. This score was rare for Zhou Xiu.
"Take the test paper home and reflect on it carefully. Come to my office when you are free on Monday and I will review the test paper for you."
Before he left, he did not forget to ask Zhou Xiu how she felt, "You just saw others handing in their papers early, how do you feel?"
He said to Zhou Xiu earnestly: "Zhou Xiu, since I met you, you have been doing very well and have never failed."
Zhou Xiu understood what the teacher meant, "I understand."
How could she not have experienced the feeling of failure?
Zhou Xiu's fevered head was gradually cooled down by the wind.
She picked up her test paper and glanced through it, and accidentally saw Xi Shaoyuan's score of 143, and the questions were exactly the same as hers.
Zhou Xiu couldn't help but stop. Only at this moment did she truly feel the taste of failure. She packed her bag and left the school.
After Zhou Xiu left, Xie Cheng heard the discussion in the class and took a look at the draft paper that Zhou Xiu had placed on the podium.
The calculations on Zhou Xiu's draft paper were unfamiliar, and the graphics and auxiliary lines had nothing to do with the content of this exam.
Zhang Qi took Zhou Xiu's draft paper, took a look at it, and sneered: "It turns out that the topic Zhou Xiu wrote is completely different from ours."
"I don't know what Lao Wang is thinking."
He picked up Xi Shaoyuan's draft paper and was suddenly stunned. He took a look at Xi Shaoyuan's test paper and found that the graphics and steps miraculously matched Zhou Xiu's.
When Zhang Qi saw this test paper, he finally understood why Zhou Xiu handed in the paper at the last minute. The difficulty of this test paper was beyond Zhang Qi's imagination.
This is not the difficulty that a league question should have.
Imagine the test Zhou Xiu just took, watching classmates hand in their papers early one after another. I guess her mentality must have collapsed after the test.
What surprised Zhang Qi was that Yuan Shao actually scored 143 points, while Zhou Xiu only scored 84 points!
Zhou Xiu and Xi Shaoyuan were the two most special students in the class. One was diligent and the other was proud. They had a smooth journey and gained both fame and honor. The other is lazy and unmotivated. It turns out that Lao Wang seemed to like them very much on the surface, but he was secretly bullying them in private.
Zhang Qi stared at the test paper for a long time. The image of Xi Shaoyuan in junior high school appeared in front of him, and he felt that this score was so natural.
Zhang Qi stuffed the test paper into his schoolbag.
…
Zhou Xiu did see Xi Shaoyuan's test paper. After returning home, she took out the cold lasagna and eggs from her schoolbag and ate them. For the first time in her life, she doubted whether she was suitable for studying mathematics.
System: [Young man, don’t you want to use your life to prove that you like mathematics? 】
[Are you going to back down after facing this little difficulty?] It’s not that you’re not good enough——】
The reference you chose is too powerful.
The system thought of Xi Shaoyuan and sighed silently.
Zhou Xiu turned her pen and rewrote the test paper she had written in class. This time, her thoughts were much clearer. After she finished writing, she asked Lao Wang for the answers again to correct them, and her score reached 120 points.
After correcting the test paper, Zhou Xiu understood what Lao Wang wanted to express.
Zhou Xiu was able to quickly stand out in Yude Middle School and City C, not because she was so outstanding, but simply because it was just a small place. As Zhou Xiu moves beyond the province, into the country and into the world, he will encounter more talented opponents.
Zhou Xiu recalled that Gu Mingxi always teased and encouraged her, but never competed with her in mathematics.
In the "Intellectual Confrontation" competition, Gu Mingxi gave up in anger before he had the chance to show his strength.
The only time Du Heng lost to Zhou Xiu was because Zhou Xiu had played Tetris with a missing screen before.
Xi Shaoyuan had never competed with her.
After Zhou Xiu finished the test paper, she opened the Amazon store and placed an order for several books. After placing the order, she put down the book in her hand and went to help Zhou Cheng.
…
In the evening, the friends Zhou Cheng invited arrived as scheduled.
Those who came to Zhou's house for the wedding banquet included co-workers who had worked with Zhou Cheng at the construction site, friends Zhou Cheng met when he was setting up a noodle stall on the street, former neighbors, and the boss who often took care of his business...
Friends at every stage have witnessed Zhou Cheng’s growth during that period.
Zhou Cheng's co-workers at the construction site were the most surprised. "Wow, it's been less than a year, and you've already bought a house?"
It is true that one should look at others with new eyes after three days of absence. The most profound impression Zhou Cheng had on his co-workers was that he was so stingy that he felt bad even spending two dollars on a scratch card, and there was also the time he made an operation error at the construction site and nearly lost his leg.
A friend Zhou Cheng met when he was setting up a snack stand retorted unhappily: "Acheng and his wife are very hardworking and have good cooking skills, so why can't they buy a house?"
He said to Zhou Cheng: "You really shouldn't have let others have your noodle stall. After you left, many people missed the noodles you made. They all asked me where you went."
Customers who often ate at Zhou's restaurant agreed with a smile: "The boss's restaurant business is good, it's more than enough to buy a house, I'm afraid it won't be a problem to buy a villa in the future!"
Zhou Cheng is as studious as his daughter. In his free time, he takes classes to research new dishes. He is diligent and hardworking, and has good cooking skills. Why should he worry about not making money?
Zhou Cheng was so embarrassed by the compliments that he poured wine for everyone with a smile, "Thank you, thank you everyone!"
Everyone gathered together, toasting each other, and the clear white wine reflected Zhou Cheng's happy smiling face.
Zhou Xiu stared at her father's happy smile, and the depression she felt during the day had long since disappeared. The "taste of failure" in Lao Wang's mouth is no longer important. Nothing is more worth remembering than this moment.
It is a great blessing to meet so many warm people in this city.
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