Rocket Class and Parallel Lines
In the spring of 2015, the magnolia in front of the teaching building had just sprouted its furry buds, and the gray-brown bracts fell to the ground.
The class list was posted on the mottled old bulletin board, with black words on it.
I struggled to squeeze into the crowd, stood on tiptoe to find my class among the densely packed names, and slid my finger down the table until I finally saw my name in the column of "Senior 2 (7)".
Two rows down is Lu Xingye.
"Class 7..." I breathed a sigh of relief.
I am in an ordinary liberal arts class. I am not the best, but not too bad either. Moreover, I have a familiar person to keep me company.
I stepped out of the crowd and saw that Lulu and Jiang Yuanzhou had also stepped out of the crowd and were standing not far away.
"Congratulations, you two, Team Rocket."
I walked over and patted Lulu and Jiang Yuanzhou on the shoulders.
Under the class list of Grade 2 (1), which ranked at the top, were two names: Xu Hanglu and Jiang Yuanzhou.
Lulu grinned, revealing her neat little white teeth. "It's a small matter, as expected."
...You are not humble at all.
Jiang Yuanzhou raised his head towards me. "What about you? Which class?"
"Class 7, with Lu Xingye." I shrugged.
"I'm not cut out for competitions anyway. Math, physics, and chemistry give me a headache. I'd better just focus on studying my liberal arts."
At this time, Lu Xingye also slowly wandered over. After hearing what I said, he said, "It's good. There are many girls in the liberal arts class, the environment is good, and I will have company when I copy homework in the future."
In return I rolled my eyes.
————
The gap between the rocket class and the regular class widened faster than expected.
First, during lunch break, we could rarely get four of us together.
The two students in the rocket class often have to attend lunch training, or simply take a nap on the desks piled with books.
Lulu began to be frequently called to the teacher's office to participate in various competition trainings.
Her desk was piled with exercise books that were twice as thick as mine, most of which had daunting names like "Olympiad Classics" and "Advanced Mathematics Tutorial".
Even during lunch break, she was buried in her homework. Even when we went to the cafeteria to eat, she acted like she was completing a task, quickly taking a few bites and then waving her hand: "You guys take your time eating, I'm going back to do my homework first."
Jiang Yuanzhou also fought hard.
But compared to Lulu's extraordinary talent as a "little science genius", he needs to think over and over again to keep up with the pace.
In comparison, the pace of liberal arts classes is much slower.
Lu Xingye was very calm about this.
"I'm not cut out for studying," he said confidently, leaning back on his chair.
He twirled a charcoal pencil in his hand. "I just hope to pass the academic exams."
Since he was in junior high school, Lu Xingye was determined to take the art exam in the future.
As I looked at the still lifes that came to life with just a few casual strokes of his pen, I couldn't help but sigh at his great talent in painting.
It seemed as if our group of people were placed on different tracks overnight.
Lulu and Jiang Yuanzhou sprinted with all their might on the most dazzling and crowded track, aiming directly for admission, and every step was on the edge of scores and rankings.
Lu Xingye stepped onto his single-plank bridge, with no distractions, and focused on moving towards a future of lines and colors.
What about me?
What kind of future do I want?
It’s both the same and different from when I mentioned “dreams” in junior high school.
The same thing is that I still don’t know where the future lies, and I haven’t found the dream that I want to work hard for. The difference is that when I look at their backs as they rush about in the sunset, I sometimes still feel confused.
But I began to accept that I was probably just an ordinary person among thousands of ordinary people.
If you don’t know what to do in the future, just do the present things well first.
Just like Jiang Yuanzhou said, “Just because you don’t know now doesn’t mean you will never know.”
At least, there is still a long way to go.
We will always find our own direction.
————
In the second semester of my senior year, the atmosphere suddenly became more tense.
The crucial provincial physics competition is approaching, which not only concerns the awards but also the admission quota.
The entire Rocket Class was under high pressure, and the ones under the greatest pressure were undoubtedly Lulu, who had the most outstanding results, and Jiang Yuanzhou, who was closely following her.
The two of them have been friends for many years, but they are also competitors who must determine who is better.
Even those of us on the periphery can feel this subtle relationship.
At noon, I went to the door of Class 1 and waited for them to go to the cafeteria together.
Before I got close, I heard a heated argument coming from inside.
Lulu spoke very quickly, her fingertips tapping hard on a line of derivation on the draft paper. Jiang Yuanzhou frowned, his voice eight octaves higher than usual, his tone sharp and refusing to give in.
The two men each held to their own opinions, their faces flushed and their tones sharp, completely lacking their usual banter.
The argument came to an abrupt end only when the two of them turned around and saw me standing at the door.
"Are you two arguing?" I looked at the stagnant air between them in some confusion.
"No." Lulu denied it immediately, but with an irritation that she couldn't hide.
She walked over quickly and put her arm around me, "Let's go, let's go eat."
She pulled me away without even looking back at Jiang Yuanzhou who was still standing there frozen.
"Hey..." I was a little dazed as she dragged me away. I turned around and saw Jiang Yuanzhou still standing alone at the desk.
"What's going on between you two?" I couldn't help but ask after sitting down in the cafeteria.
Lulu poked the potatoes on the plate and was silent for a while before speaking, "Nothing, just a little tired."
She paused, her voice lowered, "That guy Jiang Yuanzhou... he scored two points higher than me in this simulation."
She raised her head with a complicated look in her eyes, "It just... feels different." She finally whispered.
I knew she meant more than just the difficulty of studying.
The adult world believes in zero-sum games, and youthful friendships are probably often tested on the chopping block of interests.
This "difference" became more and more obvious in the days that followed.
The two were more reserved and tentative when discussing the issue.
The only admission quota stood between the two of them.
One day during the break of evening self-study, I went to the water room to get some water and caught a glimpse of Jiang Yuanzhou standing alone in the water room.
I walked over and handed him the extra bottle of yogurt in my hand.
He was stunned for a moment, took it and said, "Thank you."
"Are you tired?" I asked softly.
He pulled the corner of his mouth, "Not bad."
"You and Lulu..."
"I know," he interrupted. "We all want to win."
The words were spoken lightly, but they hit me hard.
It is frank but brutal.
There is no win-win solution to this problem.
Resources are limited and opportunities are unique. This is the first lesson that reality teaches us.
On the single-plank bridge leading to the future, they cannot stand side by side and can only become each other's opponents.
Back in Class 7, Lu Xingye was making corrections in his sketchbook.
He looked up at me and asked, "What's with that expression?"
I shook my head and said nothing. It seemed like something was different...
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