On September 1, 2005, the Provincial No. 1 Middle School officially opened.
In late summer and early autumn, there is still lingering heat.
The sidewalks on the street were covered with lush trees. Lin Zhixia walked through the shade of the trees, chattering: "Brother, brother, you are in the second grade this semester, but you still didn't pass the competition class. Why, brother? I heard that there are very few places in the second grade competition class and the competition is very fierce. Brother was just a little bit away from passing. Do you want to accept my tutoring? I have read many competition exercise books. I can make a detailed review plan to make brother the first in the second grade. By then, the Provincial No. 1 Middle School will be the world of our Lin family!"
The brother finally turned around and looked at her: "I'm begging you, Lin Zhixia, can you be quiet? You never stop talking."
"Why should we keep quiet? Why can't we talk? We are walking on the street, not sitting in the classroom." Lin Zhixia retorted reasonably.
My brother's birthday is in January. In a few months, he will be fourteen years old. He is much taller than Lin Zhixia, so it is a bit difficult for him to talk to her.
He simply bent down, looked at Lin Zhixia, and discussed with her: "When you go to school, you can't tell others that I am your brother."
"Why?" Lin Zhixia asked seriously.
Lin Zeqiu acted dictatorially: "Why are there so many questions? There is no reason. Don't call me brother in school, just call me Lin Zeqiu."
"Lin Zeqiu," Lin Zhixia said angrily, "You and I grew up together. My parents are also your parents, so why can't I call you that in school? Just because I'm in junior high school, do we no longer mean we're brother and sister?"
Lin Zeqiu carried a schoolbag slung over one shoulder. He put his hands in his trouser pockets, and his shadow looked slender and straight. His attitude was cold and indifferent, as if he was talking to himself: "Lin Zhixia, you are ten years old, don't always pester me, I am very annoyed."
In fact, he has said "Don't bother me" many times since he was a child.
But this time, Lin Zhixia seemed to take it seriously.
"I won't look for you again," she said.
She ran towards the bus stop. Lin Zeqiu called her, but she ignored him and didn't even look back at him.
It was seven o'clock in the morning, rush hour, and the bus was packed with passengers, shoulder to shoulder. Lin Zhixia finally squeezed through the door.
Lin Zeqiu followed her into the car. She found a place to stand in the car. Lin Zeqiu held the hanging ring tightly with his left hand and held Lin Zhixia's shoulders with his right hand.
He wanted to say something, but didn't know how to start.
In a noisy and crowded carriage, private space is compressed.
There was even a classmate of Lin Zeqiu on the bus—a boy wearing glasses and carrying a square-shaped buckled schoolbag. He shouted, "Lin Zeqiu! Hey? Are you taking the bus to school today?"
Lin Zeqiu likes to ride a bicycle. However, Lin Zhixia doesn't like it. In order to take care of his sister, Lin Zeqiu can only accompany her to school by car.
He and Lin Zhixia had already fallen out. He chose not to answer any questions involving Lin Zhixia.
The boy with glasses went through great pains to squeeze next to Lin Zeqiu and asked him, "Lin Zeqiu, have you finished your summer homework?"
"I finished it a long time ago," Lin Zeqiu said nonchalantly, "I have to collect homework in the morning. If you want to copy my homework, I'm afraid it's too late."
Lin Zeqiu is the math representative in his class. Lin Zeqiu has excellent grades, a cheerful personality, and a handsome appearance. His only shortcoming is that he never allows anyone to copy his homework.
The boy with glasses got the expected answer. He raised his hand to push up his glasses and asked, "Lin Zeqiu, how was your result in the selection for the 2004 competition class last semester?"
"Not so good," Lin Zeqiu said honestly, "I didn't pass the exam."
When Lin Zeqiu was chatting with that male classmate, Lin Zhixia slipped under his arm and ran away. He immediately turned around and shouted, "Where are you going?"
"None of your business." Lin Zhixia replied.
Lin Zhixia tied her hair into a ponytail, wearing a white cotton short-sleeved shirt and light blue denim shorts. When she went out this morning, she happily told her brother that she was a junior high school student. But now, she didn't want to talk to Lin Zeqiu at all.
The boy with glasses noticed Lin Zhixia and couldn't help asking, "Who is she? Which class is she from?"
"She's from the first grade," Lin Zeqiu was very secretive, "She's a girl from the first grade competition class."
Her brother actually described her as "a junior high school girl in the competition class"! This description made Lin Zhixia's anger grow. She didn't know why her brother suddenly rejected her so much and even denied their blood relationship.
Since her brother has declared war on her, Lin Zhixia will not surrender easily, nor will she beg for mercy easily.
She immediately turned around and greeted them: "Hello, seniors. I am a freshman in the first grade competition class this year."
Lin Zeqiu's facial expression changed. He raised his eyebrows, his jaw slightly tightened, and his eyes drifted out the car window.
The bus was moving smoothly, and the scenery outside the window kept changing. The trees on the roadside quickly receded, and Lin Zeqiu looked into the distance and saw the landmark building of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School.
The radio on the train began to announce the station: "Hello, passengers, this is the Provincial No. 1 Middle School, the station has arrived..."
Lin Zeqiu was stunned for a moment, then turned to look for Lin Zhixia. But she had already run away. She mixed in with a group of junior high school and high school students, and walked with them to the gate of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School.
Lin Zeqiu did not chase after her.
He stood still at the bus stop. After a while, he took a step forward.
Lin Zhixia was walking in the huge campus with her schoolbag on her back. She was assigned to the Grade 17 class, and Jiang Yubai and Duan Qiyan were her classmates. Before the start of school, the head teacher assigned them summer homework and said that on the first day of school, they would be assigned seats, set rules, and establish class style.
Lin Zhixia had a vague feeling of foreboding.
She groped her way to the door of Grade 17 and peeked in. There were more than a dozen students in the class, and they were either whispering or reading silently. It was completely different from the lively and crazy Grade 4 Class 1.
Jiang Yubai sat at the corner of the last row. The seat next to him was still empty. Lin Zhixia was afraid that someone would snatch it from her, so she rushed into the classroom and occupied that seat in a flash.
"Good morning." Jiang Yubai said to her.
Lin Zhixia was very happy: "Good morning! Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang Yubai!"
Jiang Yubai responded as usual: "Lin Lin Lin Lin Zhi Xia."
Lin Zhixia put down her schoolbag and took out a notebook as thick as a brick. The cover was wrapped with a beautiful cross bow and a red strawberry greeting card was sandwiched in it. She held the notebook in both hands and handed it to Jiang Yubai solemnly: "This is for you. Happy birthday, Jiang Yubai."
Jiang Yubai's birthday is August 31st.
Lin Zhixia spent the entire summer vacation recording in this notebook. She summarized the common test questions in junior high school mathematics and physics competitions, made the catalog and page numbers by hand, and also added some relevant content for high school Olympic competitions. Her thinking is clear, her logic is rigorous, and her problem-solving methods are concise, quick, and representative.
Jiang Yubai had just turned a page when he noticed Lin Zhixia's solid foundation and... her dedicated help to her good friends.
Then, Jiang Yubai opened the red strawberry greeting card. The inside of the card was also printed with strawberries, which showed how deeply Lin Zhixia was obsessed with strawberries.
She wrote on the card with a red ballpoint pen: Jiang Yubai, happy tenth birthday to you! We have known each other for a year without realizing it. Before you transferred to Experimental Primary School, I often went to play with others after class, but few people took the initiative to play with me. After you transferred here, my recess games and activity classes became more colorful. The "Exploring the Universe" series of comics brought me a lot of happiness, and I also understood what a good friend forever is. Jiang Yubai, I hope you are healthy and happy, and your studies go well. May you have good luck every day, and may everything you expect in the future develop in the best direction. May our friendship last forever - Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia has a beautiful handwriting. She often uses a very neat handwriting, which shows her sincerity on a birthday card.
"Thank you," Jiang Yubai put the greeting card into his notebook, "Thank you very much, Lin Zhixia."
Lin Zhixia said generously: "You're welcome!"
Jiang Yubai slowly turned the pages. The dense handwriting and clear and standardized graphics shocked him. He almost forgot the word "competitor" and only asked, "Lin Zhixia, how long have you been writing?"
"Take some time every day for the entire summer vacation. You know, making up questions is more difficult than solving them." Lin Zhixia clasped his hands.
The summer vacation lasts for more than two months.
This notebook accompanied her through the long summer.
She also told Jiang Yubai: "I went to the provincial library and found the answers to the junior high school competition exercises. I wrote a complete set of examples and question type summaries in a relatively simple way. The essence of an exam is a sampling survey. As long as you prepare according to the index, no matter how the test setter tests you, you will definitely get a high score."
"I learned it." Jiang Yubai nodded.
"Yeah!" Lin Zhixia also nodded.
Logically speaking, this precious notebook is like a treasure book in a martial arts novel. Jiang Yubai got it without any effort, so he should be very excited and happy. However, in reality, Jiang Yubai felt a little regretful. If he could get a higher score in the entrance examination for the competition class, maybe Lin Zhixia would not have to spend the entire summer to fill in the gaps for him.
"Didn't you go out to play during the summer vacation?" Jiang Yubai looked at her.
"No," Lin Zhixia said honestly, "Mom and Dad both have to look after the store, so they won't take my brother and me out to play during the summer vacation. The temperature is very high this summer, and I feel a little hot at home..."
However, Lin Zhixia has a good way to cool down.
She would put the ice packs in the freezer overnight, and then take them out the next day and pile them in a plastic basin. Then, she would place the basin on a small stool and blow an electric fan at it. She would sit in the cool breeze and calmly read, draw, and play games.
Jiang Yubai couldn't imagine Lin Zhixia's summer vacation life. This summer, Jiang Yubai went to Changbai Mountain with his parents for vacation. He skied, rode horses, and learned shooting in the resort.
He opened his schoolbag and took out an exquisite gift box.
"Dried blueberries are a specialty of Changbai Mountain," he introduced.
"Is this for me?" Lin Zhixia asked him.
"Who else can I give it to if not you?" Jiang Yubai stuffed the gift box into her hands.
Lin Zhixia hesitated: "But I have accepted a lot of things from you. Jiang Yubai, I don't think this is a good idea."
"This is a return gift," Jiang Yubai argued, "You gave me a greeting card and a notebook, and I gave you dried blueberries. It's a normal exchange of favors."
As Jiang Yubai spoke, he put all the notebooks, greeting cards and ribbons into his schoolbag.
Suddenly, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door of Grade 17 Class.
The head teacher, Mr. Zhang, rushed to the door in a hurry.
Teacher Zhang is about 30 years old, holding a thick lesson plan under his arm. He is tall and thin, wearing silver-framed glasses. He quickly jumped onto the podium and said, "Hello, students. I am the head teacher of the seventh grade class. My name is Zhang Lixiong. I will get to know every student in the class as soon as possible and remember your names and appearances."
Duan Qiyan, who was sitting in the front row, led the applause.
Zhang Lixiong raised his hand to suppress the applause. He continued to introduce himself, "I have taught two competition classes, and each class has achieved very good results. There are two competition classes in our grade, in addition to Class 17, there is also Class 18. Class 18 is our brother class, but you must remember that brothers are also divided into close and distant ones. Your usual monthly exams, midterm exams, joint exams and competition results will be compared with Class 18. Everyone should not only pay attention to study, but also pay attention to venting emotions in time and not putting too much pressure on yourself. The fact that you can sit here, sit in Class 17, and listen to me speak, means that you are a good student picked out of a hundred. Remember?"
The whole class answered in unison: "Remember!"
Lin Zhixia said quietly: "Hey, Teacher Zhang is very thoughtful. He advises students to vent their emotions and not to feel stressed."
The question Jiang Yubai is most concerned about is: "Will he arrange the seats?"
Jiang Yubai's voice was a little loud, and the students in the front row heard it, as did Teacher Zhang.
In the brightly lit classroom, desks and chairs were neatly arranged, and the blackboard was bright and reflective. Teacher Zhang took a step forward, and his shadow fell on the blackboard. He said to the whole class: "When I first became a class teacher, parents often called me and asked me to move their children to a certain position. There are 36 people in our class. How can we arrange the seats in the most fair way? I came up with a solution."
After saying that, Teacher Zhang took out a report card.
"This is the score sheet for the placement test for our Grade 7 (17) class." Teacher Zhang stretched out a finger and flicked the paper.
Lin Zhixia had already guessed what Teacher Zhang was going to do. She nervously grabbed the desk with both hands and made a wish in her heart: I must sit at the same table with Jiang Yubai.
Teacher Zhang continued, "All of you go out and stand outside the classroom. I will call you in one by one according to your ranking on the report card. When you enter the classroom, choose your seat and deskmate according to your own preferences! As long as you can rank among the top, you can sit wherever you want! The scores you get in the exam are the most fair judging standard."
Jiang Yubai frowned slightly.
He ranks ninth in the class... His seat is a bit on the line.
Lin Zhixia was indignant: "Teacher Zhang just said that everyone should not feel pressured, but he takes grades so seriously, how can students not feel pressured?"
Oh, it's hard for her. Jiang Yubai thought, she actually stood in the perspective of ordinary students and considered things like "study pressure" for them.
Following Teacher Zhang's order, all the students in Grade 17 Class 1 picked up their schoolbags and walked out of the classroom.
Today the sky was clear and cloudless, but the U-shaped teaching building cut the sky into a square. Lin Zhixia leaned against the railing and looked up at the sky. The head teacher called out loudly, "First place, Lin Zhixia, go in and choose a good seat."
Lin Zhixia chose the position she had just left.
She also put her schoolbag on the seat next to her to reserve a seat for Jiang Yubai.
The head teacher, Mr. Zhang, continued to read: "Second place, Shen Fuxuan! Third place, Duan Qiyan..."
Duan Qiyan stepped into the classroom. He was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and carrying a black schoolbag. He walked towards Lin Zhixia without hesitation. He gently tapped Lin Zhixia's desk and said to her, "Stand up and make way. I want to sit next to you."
Lin Zhixia hugged her schoolbag tightly and looked at him warily.
"I won't let you," she said bluntly, "I don't want to sit at the same table with you."
Duan Qiyan's face was very awkward. He spread out his five fingers, and his slender finger bones pressed against the table. He slightly lowered his body and whispered, "Hey, I had a disagreement with you, and I didn't know you that day. Now you are my deskmate, and we are a strong team. Your classmate named Jiang Yubai is six places lower than me, and you still want to be his deskmate?"
"I don't care about the ranking." Lin Zhixia replied.
What's more, in her eyes, there is no difference between Duan Qiyan and Jiang Yubai's academic performance.
The entrance exam for the competition class consists of two written tests and one interview. The difficulty of the second written test was extremely high, reaching the level of the high school Olympic mathematics competition, and strictly tested the students' psychological quality. Most of the students failed the test, and Duan Qiyan was no exception.
Lin Zhixia thinks that Duan Qiyan shouldn't laugh at Jiang Yubai, and shouldn't try to sit at the same table with her.
She said, "By the way, Duan Qiyan, you made a bet with Jiang Yubai, do you remember? You have to call him Teacher Jiang, you can't go back on your word."
Duan Qiyan remembered the bet. That cruel agreement was like a brand that could not be erased from his mind, haunting him for the entire summer vacation and forcing him to come to Lin Zhixia to negotiate peace.
Duan Qiyan thought that if he and Lin Zhixia were deskmates for a while and learned some experience, he would be able to make up for his previous shame. He lowered his attitude: "You are not a slacker, Lin Zhixia, you study very hard, right? You study late into the night, right? I understand you, Lin Zhixia, we are the same kind of people."
"No," Lin Zhixia said, "You are not."
She stood up, walked around him, and ran to the other group.
The head teacher has already called out: "Ninth place, Jiang Yubai."
Jiang Yubai walked into the classroom with his schoolbag slung over his shoulder. He and Lin Zhixia sat together in the last row of the first group, successfully maintaining a stable deskmate relationship. Jiang Yubai also glanced at Duan Qiyan. The two boys' eyes met, and the atmosphere became tense.
Teacher Zhang, the head teacher, stood at the front of the classroom and announced: "Students, you must remember that after each midterm exam, I will read the score sheet again and let you choose your seats freely. If you want to sit in a good position and pick a good deskmate, it’s useless to ask me or your parents. You can only rely on yourself! This is the style of our Class 17!"
Teacher Zhang's original intention was to encourage students to work hard and get higher scores.
However, another idea popped up in Lin Zhixia's little head. She said excitedly: "Jiang Yubai, Jiang Yubai, I can try to get a ranking close to yours. For example, I can get eighth place, so that we can go to the classroom together! Next time I make a few more mistakes in the exam, we will be almost the same."
Jiang Yubai was deeply shrouded by the long-lost sense of humiliation brought by his competitors. As expected, he should not relax and fly to Changbai Mountain for a vacation for two whole months. Skiing, skating, horseback riding, and shooting were all fun, but he needed to create more value in his life.
A few minutes ago, Jiang Yubai stood at the door, watching Duan Qiyan approach Lin Zhixia, and suddenly realized a truth - the competition class is a place that emphasizes strength. The class status and honor are determined by strength.
He set a small goal for himself - to surpass Duan Qiyan.
On the podium, the head teacher, Mr. Zhang, was still announcing the list of class leaders. His method of selecting class leaders was also very simple, that is, to rank them according to their grades. The first place, Lin Zhixia, was the class monitor, the second place, Shen Fuxuan, was the math class representative... and so on, Jiang Yubai became the history class representative.
After all this, the 45-minute class was over.
Teacher Zhang looked at the whole class and said with satisfaction: "Okay, our first class meeting ends here. In the next class, I will correct the math test papers for the competition class selection exam. The first test paper is very simple, all routine questions, and the second set is more difficult. Let's go through it in detail... Our class textbooks have not arrived yet. Tomorrow morning, class monitor Lin Zhixia, you take a few boys to the printing room to pick up the textbooks. Don't forget."
Lin Zhixia nodded immediately.
Teacher Zhang grabbed the lesson plan and strode out of the classroom.
More than 30 students in the class were active in various groups, introducing themselves to each other. Soon, a few brave students came to Lin Zhixia and asked tentatively: "Are you Lin Zhixia? The one with the highest test score in the class?"
"It's me." Lin Zhixia admitted.
Another male classmate asked Jiang Yubai in a coy manner: "You... came to school this morning, and I saw your car..."
"Aston Martin." Lin Zhixia answered for him.
Jiang Yubai corrected her: "Today is a Land Rover off-road trip."
Although these two students, one rich and one strong, who skipped a grade, sat in the most remote corner, they inevitably attracted the attention of the whole class.
Even Shen Fuxuan stood behind Jiang Yubai's seat.
Shen Fuxuan ranked second in the class in terms of total score, and he was also fair-skinned and handsome. But he was a thorough busybody. He shouted, hoping that the world would not be in chaos: "Duan Qiyan! The number one god of war in the Normal School Attached Primary School! You lost to Lin Zhixia, you have to bow and call Teacher Jiang on the podium! Duan Qiyan, you made a bet with Jiang Yubai in front of the door of the lecture hall. You all forgot, but I didn't."