Chapter 12
Feeling upset, Cheng Xun left the apartment. When he reached the supermarket entrance, he checked the time on his phone and saw the message from Song Qiuxuan.
He certainly didn't bring back the English unit test paper, but Cheng Xun still replied to her: Wait a moment.
Although Cheng Xun spends more time with friends from other classes at school, he is also a member of his class in the recent basketball tournament for first-year high school students organized by the school. He needs to train with the boys participating in the tournament frequently, and their relationship quickly becomes familiar.
As Cheng Xun walked into the supermarket, he logged into a newly created group chat called "Super Awesome Basketball Team." He sent a message asking who had brought back the English unit test paper and asked them to take a picture and send it to him.
After sending the message, Cheng Xun took a bucket of instant noodles from the shelf, then went around to another shelf and picked out two sausages. After paying, she slowly strolled home with the bag in her hand.
The early autumn night breeze was chilly, and Cheng Xun's short black hair was blown into a mess. His phone vibrated, and he looked down at the message. It was from a boy in the group who had taken a picture of his exam paper and sent it to him. Cheng Xun opened the photo, checked the clarity, and forwarded it to Song Qiuxuan after finding it acceptable.
The phone vibrated again quickly. Song Qiuxuan: Thank you!
Cheng Xun stared at his phone for a few seconds, a little curious about what Song Qiuxuan, who studied very hard at school, would do on weekends. So he typed on his phone with one hand and asked her: How do you usually spend your weekends?
After Song Qiuxuan saved the photos, another message popped up. She rested her chin on her hand, pondering how to kill the whole day or most of the time. If it was the whole day, it would seem too much like reporting something.
Song Qiuxuan: I'm going to the library to do my weekend homework. What about you?
She deliberately added the last two words so the conversation would continue, but she was also genuinely curious about how Cheng Xun spent his weekend.
Seeing the not-so-unexpected reply, Cheng Xun's expression seemed to become slightly melancholy. For some reason, he felt strange, as if Song Qiuxuan and Cheng Ting were the two people walking on the same path.
Cheng Xun recalled Zhang Yuyun's tired and disappointed face. She had asked him why he was becoming more and more disobedient. The reason was simple: Cheng Rongken and Zhang Yuyun were always comparing him to Cheng Ting. Whenever Cheng Xun was inferior to Cheng Ting in any way, they would criticize him, making him seem worthless and putting pressure on him by highlighting Cheng Ting's excellence.
Cheng Xun had no desire to improve himself in the oppressive family environment. He just rebelliously wanted to go against his parents' wishes. The more aggressively they wanted him to be like Cheng Ting, the more Cheng Xun wanted to break free from their control, including becoming increasingly lax in his studies.
As a result, they were extremely disappointed in Cheng Xun, and even seemed to have given up on him after his phone was confiscated in the third year of junior high school.
Cheng Xun was feeling troubled and frustrated. Should she continue like this, letting her life continue to degenerate?
After passing two streetlights in the neighborhood, Cheng Xun lowered his thick, sharp eyebrows, tightened his grip on his phone, and turned his fingertips white with force. The streetlights stretched his shadow long, and Cheng Xun looked down at his phone one last time.
Compared to Song Qiuxuan, Cheng Xun's weekends can be described as extremely unproductive. He spends most of his time immersed in games, sometimes at home, sometimes at internet cafes. If the weather isn't too hot, he will go to the outdoor basketball court with Liang Shizhe to play basketball for two or three hours.
Cheng Xun hesitated for a while over a simple question. He avoided answering, as if he hadn't seen the last two words. Instead, he asked: What is the goal of your hard work, or what is the support for you?
Cheng Xun didn't understand why he was avoiding the question as if he were deliberately trying to salvage his image. Just as he was about to enter the apartment building, he stopped and stood by the flower bed.
Perhaps the question was too absurd, Cheng Xun stared at the "typing..." message in the chat box, but five minutes later the message still hadn't been successfully edited and sent.
Song Qiuxuan suspected that she had clicked the wrong chat box. The new message she received didn't sound like Cheng Xun at all. Would he ask such an overly serious and strange question?
Did Cheng Xun contemplate the value of life at night?
Thinking this through, Song Qiuxuan typed out a long paragraph: I have many goals to strive for. My short-term goal is to achieve satisfactory results in the monthly exam after National Day, and to pass the threshold of the school's science key class in the final exam this semester, so that I can successfully enter the key class. My longer-term goal is to receive the admission letter from the university I dream of. In short, my ultimate goal is to make myself better and better.
Was it for himself? Cheng Xun stared at the long message on his phone screen, pondering silently.
He squatted down at some point, a transparent bag placed beside his feet, a cigarette butt held between his long, slender, white fingers, and wisps of white smoke swirling around him.
Song Qiuxuan: Next semester we'll be divided into arts and sciences tracks. Cheng Xun, don't you want to get into the honors class?
During this week's class meeting, the homeroom teacher mentioned the division of students into arts and science classes next semester. The teacher emphasized that the school will focus on developing the elite classes, assigning them better teachers and implementing stricter management practices, thus differentiating them from regular classes.
Song Qiuxuan's heart raced, and her palms were sweaty. She sent the message with a hint of uncertainty, wanting to know Cheng Xun's thoughts. She also hoped that Cheng Xun could enter the honors class and move in the same direction as the person she liked, which would be so delightful.
Song Qiuxuan held her phone with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. When she saw Cheng Xun's question, she was told: "I barely made it into No. 1 High School. There's no way I can get into the honors class."
Seeing Cheng Xun's self-deprecating tone, Song Qiuxuan quickly used Sun Shan's friend as an example, telling Cheng Xun about how Sun Shan worked hard to get into the honors class in his first year of high school. Song Qiuxuan knew that people need encouragement, so she also said that she believed Cheng Xun would have a great chance of getting into the honors class if he worked hard.
Cheng Xun had been rejected by others many times, and sometimes he longed for a little recognition. When he saw the message that Song Qiuxuan sent him, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
The night breeze gently swept by, stirring ripples in his heart.
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