95. The word "naive" is an insult.
After evening self-study, Xu Wenqiang was packing her schoolbag when Su Xiaoshan came over and said, "Xu Wenqiang, let's go together."
Xu Wenqiang glanced at Su Xiaoshan and said, "Okay."
When she and Su Xiaoshan both lived in the Qingshi Farmer's Market, Su Xiaoshan never walked home with her. Now that the Qingshi Farmer's Market has disappeared, Su Xiaoshan wants to go with her, but she doesn't know if he has something important to say.
However, Su Xiaoshan didn't say a word until the two of them walked out of the school.
Xu Wenqiang looked back from time to time. Behind her, she saw people going home in groups of three or four, but she didn't see Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng said that he did not get the first place in the grade in the mid-term exam, and his mother had a quarrel with him, so he did not want to go home these days and wanted to "stay" at Xu Wenqiang's house for a few days.
This wasn't Xiao Cheng's first time staying with Xu Wenqiang. Because Xu Wenqiang only rented one bedroom, Xiao Cheng's bedroom was reserved for him. Sometimes, Xiao Cheng would come to stay with Xu Wenqiang for irresistible reasons like "arguing with his mom" or "fighting with his dad."
Xu Wenqiang could vaguely guess what Xiao Cheng was thinking about by "staying with her," but she didn't bother to dwell on it. She simply treated it as a shared apartment with Xiao Cheng, determined to wait until after the college entrance exam to sort things out. Furthermore, Xiao Cheng's "staying with her" was always done during bad weather or when the family was supposed to be together, which was too much for Xu Wenqiang, who was alone.
However, today was calm and peaceful, and it wasn't a special day. I wondered if Xiao Cheng suddenly wanted to "stay" there...
"Xu Wenqiang, what are you thinking about?"
Su Xiaoshan, who had been silent all the time, suddenly spoke because the smile on Xu Wenqiang's face was really annoying.
"Nothing." He put away the smile on his face and asked Su Xiaoshan, "Why did you suddenly think of going with me?"
"Because we haven't talked much since you moved." Su Xiaoshan seemed to have thought of a reason long ago, and he gave an answer as soon as Xu Wenqiang asked.
"We don't talk much anyway." Xu Wenqiang didn't think this was a good excuse. "Su Xiaoshan, do you have something to say to me?"
Su Xiaoshan was silent for a while, then said, "I didn't expect you to get first place in the grade."
"To be honest, I didn't expect that," Xu Wenqiang said, "but one result doesn't mean anything."
"No, this time is enough to show that you are above me."
"Su Xiaoshan, you think too highly of me."
"Xu Wenqiang, how could I not think highly of you?" Su Xiaoshan sighed. "For three years, we've taken countless exams, big and small, and I've never once beaten Xiao Cheng, but you did it with ease. Furthermore, you went from last in the class to first in the grade. Tell me, how could I not think highly of you?"
…
Xu Wenqiang didn't know what to say for a moment. It turned out that she had ranked first in the grade and had offended Su Xiaoshan.
It was really ridiculous. Coincidentally, the two of them stopped at a traffic light, and Xu Wenqiang decided to say something.
"Su Xiaoshan, no matter who gets first place in the grade, I still say the same thing: the results of one exam don't mean anything. No, it should be that all exam results mean nothing, even the final college entrance examination."
Xu Wenqiang wasn't sure what she was going to say at first, but as she spoke, she couldn't stop.
"Think about it, after the college entrance exam, we won't be taking any more exams. Without the test scores, how can you still judge who is better than whom?"
"After the college entrance exam, we're only teenagers. Think about the future; we still have to live for a dozen or even several dozen years. That's decades, such a long time. Who knows what we'll experience and what we'll become? Maybe you'll become a high-ranking government official, Xiao Cheng will become an entrepreneur, and I'll become a social elite. Do you think it's still clear who's above whom, and who's more powerful than whom?"
After Xu Wenqiang finished speaking, she wanted to applaud herself.
She looked at Su Xiaoshan and felt that even if he didn't applaud her, he should at least praise her.
But Su Xiaoshan didn't react at all. After a while, he whispered, "Xu Wenqiang, after going through so much, you're still so naive. How could you think that after the college entrance examination, it would be impossible to determine who was better?"
Xu Wenqiang's heart sank. The word "naive" was an insult.
"Xiao Cheng's grandfather is from the military, his uncle is a judge, his father is a real estate tycoon, and my parents sell vegetables at the farmers' market, and your mother sells fish at the farmers' market. In terms of family background, do you think we are comparable to him?"
"In terms of family background," Xu Wenqiang sighed, then said, "There's really no comparison between us and Xiao Cheng."
Su Xiaoshan sneered, "You said that after the college entrance examination, there will be no more exams, and there will be no way to judge who is better. This statement is really wrong. Before the college entrance examination, the only thing that can judge our superiority is the test scores. These test scores are the fairest and cleanest way of judging in the world. So if you can beat Xiao Cheng, I will admit that you are better than me. And after the college entrance examination——"
Su Xiaoshan stopped and looked up at the bottomless night sky.
Xu Wenqiang also looked up at the sky. She had grown up in a farmers' market, had seen all kinds of people, and understood the inequalities in society. So even before Su Xiaoshan finished speaking, she already understood.
After the college entrance examination, there is no fairness or equality anymore.”
"After the college entrance exam, there are no more test papers. People like Xiao Cheng can rely on their family background, their parents' connections, and other social resources, but you and I can only rely on ourselves. So, I don't know if Xiao Cheng can become an entrepreneur, but for people like you and me who came from farmers' markets, becoming a high-ranking government official or a social elite is just a fantasy."
…
"so what?"
After Su Xiaoshan finished speaking, Xu Wenqiang asked.
Su Xiaoshan looked at Xu Wenqiang beside him, the young companion who was gradually drifting away from him.
"So, Xu Wenqiang, no matter how you and Xiao Cheng are now, once you leave this campus, he will definitely move on to higher positions, and you can only watch him drift further and further away. Your final outcome will not last long, but simply part ways."
After evening study, it was already late at night. There were few cars on the road, mostly students walking in groups of two or three. But this companionship was only temporary; at every intersection, someone would say goodbye to their companions and go their separate ways.
So, what's the point of being together forever? Everyone is just temporarily together, and in the end, everyone will go their separate ways. Xiao Cheng will take his own path, while she will take her own path.
So, Xu Wenqiang nodded and said, "Su Xiaoshan, what you said does make sense."
"Where does that make sense?"
Someone suddenly spoke from behind, which scared Xu Wenqiang.
"Xiao Cheng? Why are you here?" Su Xiaoshan asked with a frown.
Xiao Cheng smiled and glanced at Xu Wenqiang and Su Xiaoshan. "What the squad leader said is true. I also took this road home. Is there anything wrong with me being here?"
"There's nothing wrong with it. It's just that it's a bit inappropriate for you to suddenly speak behind us." Su Xiaoshan's attitude was still polite, but his words were not so polite.
Xiao Cheng chuckled, "I just saw a classmate, so I followed him to say hello. I didn't think there was anything inappropriate."
"There's nothing inappropriate about greeting someone, but there are appropriate and inappropriate ways to greet them."
"The squad leader said, how should I greet you appropriately?"
"Whether it's appropriate or not is not something I can say for sure; it still depends on personal understanding."
…
Xu Wenqiang's scalp tightened as she listened to Su Xiaoshan and Xiao Cheng's back-and-forth conversation. She could only force her way in, "Xiao Cheng, where's Gao Zhe?"
The two men then stopped.
"Gao Zhe went to his grandmother's house." Xiao Cheng replied to Xu Wenqiang.
"Oh." Xu Wenqiang didn't really want to know what Gao Zhe was thinking, so she didn't continue.
The three of them were speechless for a moment.
After a while, they came to another intersection, and Su Xiaoshan said, "I'm going to turn left."
"Then see you tomorrow." Xu Wenqiang said.
"See you tomorrow, squad leader." Xiao Cheng also said.
Su Xiaoshan didn't leave immediately. He said to Xu Wenqiang, "I haven't finished what I'm going to say, but you should know what I'm going to say."
Xu Wenqiang hummed, then said, "I know."
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