I especially love and cherish Chapter 97.
Students from Lincheng No.1 Middle School took the college entrance examination at their own school examination center.
In order to prepare the examination venue, the school gave the students two days off in advance.
During the last class in the afternoon, Mr. Fan stood on the podium, organizing the students to pack up their belongings, clean the classroom, and give a final pep talk before the college entrance examination.
Old Fan said with a serious face, "For the next two days, don't slack off at home. Continue to maintain the same routine as at school. Get up when you should, do your morning reading when you should, and do your self-study when you should. Keep everything as usual, understand?"
"Understood," came a few scattered replies from below the podium.
Looking at the group of children below the stage, Lao Fan's expression softened, and his voice became gentler.
"But don't be too stressed. Don't do those difficult or obscure problems anymore. Don't dwell on the problems you don't understand. Just go back to the basics, read the book, and flip through your error notebook. Don't exhaust yourself by staying up late at night. Getting enough rest is the most important thing."
The last "ah" sounded strangely like an old woman's voice to Jiang Wan.
But it wasn't funny, and she couldn't laugh.
Old Fan's expression was gentle, with a slight smile that even brought out the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. "You're about to be free. You must hold on in this final moment. Unlike me, after sending off this graduating class, I have to start all over again to teach the first year of high school."
Lao Fan is a senior backbone teacher at the school. He has been a homeroom teacher for almost every class, and the number of graduates he has taught is like a flowing stream.
Zhang Chi cheekily chimed in, "Teacher Fan, are we the worst class of students you've ever taught?"
Many people in the class chuckled softly.
Jiang Wan couldn't help but laugh. In many classes in the past, teachers from different subjects had said the same thing, with different expressions and tones, but with the same rhetoric.
Not a single word is different.
Old Fan stood on the podium, looked at Zhang Chi, raised his finger and pointed at him, "You really are..."
Everyone thought Lao Fan was going to criticize Zhang Chi, but unexpectedly, the next second, Lao Fan changed his tone and said, "That's not right."
Old Fan withdrew his hand, placed both hands on the podium, and slowly glanced at the students below the podium. "You are the best class of students I have ever taught."
Zhang Chi was stunned, his mouth agape for a long time.
Everyone else was stunned as well.
Someone started sobbing softly, and soon after, muffled sobs echoed throughout the classroom.
Jiang Wan cupped her face in her hands, her fingertips lifting the corners of her eyes, and blinked hard to stop the tears welling up in her eyes from falling.
"Hey, I'm praising you guys, why are you crying?" Old Fan clapped his hands with a smile. "Alright, stop crying, it's not like you'll never see me again. When you go back to school for your exams the day after tomorrow, I'll be wearing red and waiting for you at the school gate."
Amidst the sobs from the audience, a few chuckles broke the silence; everyone was caught in a chaotic mix of crying and laughing.
Old Fan didn't stop them, nor did he emphasize classroom discipline again; he just quietly watched the students.
After a while, the voices gradually subsided, and Lao Fan spoke softly: "I've already told everyone about the precautions for the college entrance examination many times. I won't go into details about ID cards, exam number barcodes, 2B pencils, 0.5mm black pens, etc."
"Finally, I'd like to share a few words from my heart with you."
All the students sat up straight, raised their heads, and listened attentively to what Lao Fan was about to say.
"Over the past three years, many people, including myself, have said similar things to you, that the college entrance examination is a watershed moment in life; doing well is like a carp leaping over the dragon gate. All these years of hard work studying are for this final battle, but actually..."
"Actually, what I want to say is no. The college entrance examination is not a watershed moment in life, nor is it a verdict that determines your fate. If you do well, of course it's good, but if you don't do well, it's okay. There are still so many choices in the future."
"Life is an experience, and it's best when all kinds of flowers bloom. I believe that you will all shine in your respective fields in the future."
"At that time, no one will remember what score they got on the college entrance exam; they will only remember the time they spent with the people around them during high school."
Jiang Wan could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down her face.
Perhaps the others sitting in this classroom cannot fully understand what Lao Fan is saying.
But she can; she understands perfectly and empathizes deeply.
People often fail to appreciate the beauty of youth when they are enjoying it. Only many years later, when they look back, do they realize how much time they wasted during those wonderful years.
How lucky she is to have experienced it all again.
A tissue was handed to her. Jiang Wan turned her head, her eyes blurry with tears, and looked into Zhou Chong's eyes. "Zhou Chong, do you know?"
"What?" Zhou Chong asked.
"I especially love and cherish... this time I spent with you."
After saying that, Jiang Wan took the tissue and slowly wiped the tears from her face.
Just as she was wiping away her tears with her head down, she heard a deep and gentle voice beside her.
"Me too."
Jiang Wan's tears flowed even more freely.
She held out her hand to him, "Give me another tissue."
-
After school, Jiang Wan and Zhou Chong walked home together.
Jiang Wan still felt a little embarrassed when she recalled how she cried and kept asking Zhou Chong for tissues.
After all, I'm already twenty-eight years old, and this isn't my first time taking the college entrance exam, yet I still cried so much.
In contrast, Zhou Chong's emotions were frighteningly stable.
Even though he was the eighteen-year-old boy, he just pursed his lips tightly, and his eyes didn't even redden.
Jiang Wan couldn't help but sigh.
The composure, calmness, and self-control that would later characterize President Zhou were already evident in the young Zhou, who was only eighteen years old at the time.
The two parted ways downstairs at Jiang Wan's house.
Are you nervous?
"fine."
Upon hearing Zhou Chong's answer, Jiang Wan suddenly felt that this scene seemed familiar.
After thinking for a while, she remembered that before the mock exam last semester, Zhou Chong had also helped her carry her things and walked her home.
She was just making conversation, and she was genuinely nervous, but Zhou Chong's response remained the same.
She suddenly chuckled softly, and Zhou Chong seemed to have guessed something from her reaction.
So, he looked into Jiang Wan's eyes and asked, "Would you like me to study with you tomorrow or the day after?"
Jiang Wan thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No need, we'll see each other during the college entrance exam."
During the New Year's Day holiday before the mock exam, she wanted to spend more time with Zhou Chong, and she did need his help at that time.
But now, I have to walk this final stretch of the road by myself.
During the college entrance examination, she and he met at the top.
Zhou Chong smiled slightly, "Okay."
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