"Alright, let's invite Chen Bing from Class 1, Grade 9 to come up and speak."
After the sparse applause subsided, my heart finally settled down.
It wasn't me.
After thinking for a moment, Wang Xu saw a tall, handsome man, over 1.8 meters tall, wearing a light-colored shirt, with a slender build and a cultured air, walk onto the platform. He was the kind of guy who would stand out in a crowd.
He is Chen Bing...
Wang Xu believed that among the more than 1,000 students at Baishi No. 1 Middle School, from the elderly men boiling water in the boiler room to the young first-year students, almost everyone would recognize him.
Putting aside his appearance and family background, his achievements over the past three years alone are enough to draw attention to him.
Almost every time after the midterm and final exams, the teachers would bring up each other's grades in class and discuss them.
In previous years, the student with the best exam results at Baishi No.1 Middle School would usually rank between tenth and thirtieth in the county, which was already quite remarkable for a rural high school.
Over the years, whenever a student has ranked among the top five in the county in any exam, the school would put up a big banner at the school gate, as if they wanted everyone to know that the top students at Baishi No. 1 Middle School were very strong.
In previous years, this kind of thing was rare. But since my class enrolled three years ago, it has become commonplace.
The banner hanging at the school gate doesn't even need to be taken down. It reads, "Congratulations to our student Chen Bing for achieving the highest score in the county in the mid-term (final) exams of the 20xx-20xx academic year." This line of text has remained almost unchanged for the past three years; only a few numbers need to be altered.
In addition, the teachers often praised Chen Bing in class, and he could be seen speaking on stage at some large events, so Wang Xu had long been familiar with him and would occasionally see him at school.
What impressed him most was that his boyfriend had a very beautiful girlfriend. From the beginning of the first year of junior high school, the two of them spent all their time together, making him so envious that he wanted to grind his teeth in envy.
During the New Year's Eve party this year, he was initially happy to be able to go home because of the power outage, but suddenly he saw Class 1 of Grade 9 still having their party from his dormitory balcony. Out of boredom and curiosity, he went over to take a look.
He stood in the cold wind, tiptoeing, looking through the window at Class 1's classroom.
Chen Bing was playing a beautiful piece of music, surrounded by the entire class, with some kind of musical instrument in her hand. Everyone in the classroom was completely silent, all their attention focused on her.
At that moment, he felt like a mouse spying on other people's happiness, feeling inferior and unhappy.
If that person is only good at academics, if that person only has a youthful face while also being good at academics, if that person only happens to have a beautiful girlfriend because of their face, if that person only happens to have many talents, if that person is admired and envied by others because of these things...
In his reflections, Wang Xu felt like a supporting character in life, a destined passerby NPC, a background figure.
His past, his future, he himself seemed meaningless. His purpose in living to this day was simply to intersect with that shining person, even just once, in a fleeting moment.
It seems that this is the entire meaning of his life.
But clearly, he is also a living, breathing human being.
He was a living, breathing human being, yet he could only live a mundane life, mediocre and ordinary, listening to others' dazzling stories—stories he was destined never to possess, stories so perfect they were filled with regret.
After a moment of unease, Wang Xu listened to the speech of this successful man on stage, his feelings a mix of emotions.
"Hello everyone, I am Chen Bing from Class 1, Grade 9. I am honored to speak here on behalf of all the students in the school today."
There were only polite opening remarks, nothing much to say, and then he heard Chen Bing begin to speak.
He only heard a short, literary passage at the beginning. Although he didn't understand its meaning, he felt that the rhythm was very good. In the few places where he could understand the meaning, he thought to himself, "Awesome!"
That's all there is to it; it just sounds good. Aside from admiring it, I felt nothing.
Teachers probably like things that are about saving face.
After inwardly scoffing at Chen Bing's ingratiating speech, Wang Xu immediately heard him utter a few more words of inspirational platitudes.
"...During the exam preparation process, when you are under so much pressure that you feel like you're about to collapse, don't easily tell others, and don't feel wronged. In this world, no one can truly understand the hardships you've experienced, nor can anyone truly comprehend the bitterness you've endured."
In the quiet of the night, take your heart out, mend it yourself, and then wake up refreshed and full of confidence. You need to try to calm down and do what you should be doing.
On an abandoned table, I saw this message left by alumni: 'A dream is the perseverance to pick up a pen at dawn, the unwavering decision to throw off the covers and the sobering feeling of being splashed with cold water, the awe-inspiring sight of the sunrise at six o'clock and the radiance of your notes.'
Studying and living these days is tough, but a great turning point is born from within. Amidst the hardship and suffering, please don't forget that there's always a ray of sunshine in the world that can fill my myriad dreams…
As soon as he finished speaking, the students sitting in the front row cheered and applauded.
Clearly, these students who were diligently preparing for the exam found Chen Bing's words very helpful. His words accurately reflected their own arduous and painstaking preparation, instantly giving them a sense of relief.
Among them, some unfamiliar famous lines, such as "There is always a breeze in the world to fill my forty-eight thousand dreams," inspired many people to write them down on their desks as their future motto.
The school teacher who had been standing by, filming the speech on her phone in preparation for posting it on a short video platform, was also very happy, thinking that posting this speech online might make it a minor hit. She just hoped that Chen Bing would utter some more memorable quotes in her subsequent speeches.
Compared to the lively atmosphere in the front row, the students in the back seemed rather uninterested. The arduous preparation for exams, the perseverance in picking up a pen, or the many dreams they held were clearly irrelevant to them.
In the final stage of junior high school, all they did was indulge themselves more.
Because in many people's minds, vocational high school is already their inevitable destination, and the high school entrance exam is just a formality.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com