Chapter 14
Xiaoshuang struggled to get up and saw that the mosquito net on the bed next to her had been pulled up and the quilt had been folded up.
Xiao Shuanghao: "You are really hardworking."
Wang Jiazhi worked especially hard for the final exams. Although she had worked hard the previous year, she still hadn't quite adjusted to her freshman year and fell just short of the scholarship.
She was full of confidence and worked very hard this semester. Even if she got third place, it would be fine as more money would always be good.
I started preparing diligently a month in advance, waking up at 5 a.m. every day to study. The library didn't open until 8 a.m., and the earliest classrooms opened were at 5 a.m. Sometimes I had to wait at the door with my books in my arms for a while, waiting for the janitor to open it.
The lights in the dormitory were turned off at ten o'clock, but there was still a faint light in the corridor, so she could use a flashlight to study in the corridor. Of course, she was not the only one there, there were other people in the corridor, but she was always the last one to go back.
It's not that Xiaoshuang isn't hardworking, but she has very high requirements for sleep. She can't stay up late or get up early. But inspired by Wang Jiazhi, she also tried to read by lamplight that night.
Although the hallways weren't completely full, there were still quite a few people studying at night, most of them in the medical department. Some simply sat on benches, books spread out on their laps, flashlights in one hand, pages in the other. Some set up low tables, propped up with large flashlights or candles. Those without tables used high stools instead. Wang Jiazhi used a high chair with a candle on it. Flashlights also require batteries, requiring replacements after just two nights.
Xiaoshuang, after half an hour, felt sleepy and drooped her head. She packed up and went back to sleep. Beside Wang Jiazhi, a large cup of strong tea and a thermos were almost empty. Before each night's reading, she always filled a thermos with boiling water, and always drank the entire bottle to stay awake. She filled the cup with water and drank most of it in one gulp.
After one o'clock, there were only a few people left in the corridor. Later, it was just her and another girl. The girl seemed to want to compete with her to see who could last the longest.
It was almost three o'clock, and she was too sleepy to bear it anymore, so she went back to sleep. The girl was still there. She pulled down the mosquito net, lay down, and fell asleep immediately.
There have been no classes for the past half month, and Wang Jiazhi has been working so hard that she forgets to eat and sleep. She goes to the classroom to study at five o'clock, eats the dry food and water she brings with her at noon and in the evening, and returns to the dormitory before ten o'clock to wash and get water, and then reads in the corridor at night.
The final exams had already begun, and the corridors had been packed for days. After midnight, the crowds gradually thinned out. A female medical student, her hair loose and dressed in pale pink pajamas, sat on a yellow and white mattress with a calico cat print on it. She had an anatomical atlas spread out across her lap, one hand cradling a white, fluffy bunny stuffed animal and the other holding a skull, meticulously examining each bone. Under the dim light, she didn't seem scary, only adorable, the kind of earnest adorable she was.
There were two lights on in the corridor, and in the dim light, there were clusters of flashlights or candles emitting still dim light.
The shadows of people reflected on the wall resembled ancient caves. People lived in the caves, building fires to keep warm in the cold winter, and the flames reflected on the rock walls. The modern shadows resembled the most primitive murals painted on the rock walls, and in the flickering firelight, the murals seemed to come alive.
Wang Jiazhi thought of Gauguin's paintings, that primal wildness. Hazy in sleep, the people before her were blurry, a sense of lost time.
She didn't know when she was the only one left in the corridor. She looked up and saw a shadow on the opposite wall that looked like him.
Her heart trembled.
There was no one across the street, but a lot of tables, chairs and books were left in the corridor and had not been put away. I don't know how they got there, but they looked like human shadows on the wall.
She saw him, twenty years old, sitting across from her, reading in the dim light. The light reflected in his clear eyes was like a yellow flame. He was handsome and even had a touch of innocence.
Only through sheer effort and the sifting of time can one reach a position of power and influence. But one wrong step can seal the fate of one's life, with no turning back. Their fame is but a fleeting moment, a thousand mountains and snowy winds. Back then, they faced far more than just a thousand mountains and snowy winds.
"Didn't he fight for his country and his people when he was young?" she thought to herself.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but even though no one was around, she didn't dare shed them and quickly wiped them away with her sleeve. When she opened her eyes again, there was nothing there but an empty corridor filled with books.
She was sad for a long, long time.
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