Late August.
When middle school starts, freshmen in the first grade of junior high school and the first grade of high school have to come to participate in military training a week in advance. Ji Huai rents a house for Ji Shishi next to the school, but she doesn't want to rent a house.
"Brother, I can stay in the dormitory."
The dormitory fee is only 100 yuan a semester, and there are no water and electricity bills. However, the house next to the school charges 500 yuan a month for a small room, and you have to pay the water and electricity bills yourself. It is too expensive.
"Where are you going on Saturday and Sunday?" Ji Huai asked.
Ji Shishi choked, thought for a while, and whispered, "I don't know if I can live in school."
"You need a quiet environment, and you can't save this money." Ji Huai did not let her go, but insisted on renting this room for her and paid the rent for half a year.
Ji Shishi could only accept it and felt very guilty. She had caused trouble to her brother again.
Before the military training, Zhang Ying bought her two bottles of sunscreen, plus some basic sets such as makeup remover oil, facial cleanser, and moisturizer.
Ji Shishi habitually refuses. She always feels that these things are very expensive. Even if the money given to her by Ji's father and Lin Anna is enough for her to finish her studies, she still feels that she should not spend it randomly.
"If you stay in the sun for a week, you will get sunburns by then. Shishi is so white, she can't get tanned." Zhang Ying said with a smile, and asked her to wear sunscreen and reapply it frequently.
"Okay." Ji Shishi responded obediently, with a grateful tone, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Military training has begun. The weather is very hot and the instructors are very strict. They have to train on the large playground for seven or eight hours every day.
The school issued two sets of uniforms and a white hat. Many girls in high school have learned how to dress up.
Ji Shishi was a little shy at first, but when it was break time, the boys would buy water, while the girls would put sunscreen on their faces and arms for fear of getting tanned. But she was too embarrassed to make up for it and always sat quietly aside. She took training seriously, and was eventually named a pacesetter and received a certificate.
Provincial cities and cities are different.
The first is the size of the school. The Provincial No. 1 Middle School is much larger than the school she attended before, with many teaching buildings and standard laboratories.
When she took her first physics class, she went to a spacious and bright laboratory. Everyone had their own seat and could operate. Seeing her classmates operating skillfully, she was actually very panicked.
She had only seen these large-scale equipment in books. Like a country girl who entered the city, she really felt the difference.
Her brother once said to her: If you work hard to go up, you can see more and better scenery. For you now, this is the only way for you now.
Ji Shishi lowered her eyes and listened hard to the teacher's explanation on the stage. Sometimes she would look distractedly at the tall buildings in the city outside the laboratory.
Wide roads, tall buildings, strong academic style, rich learning resources...
From that day on, she was like a sponge, frantically absorbing the knowledge she needed.
She must go far on her own.
Children in the city have a rich spare time life, and they can also take guitar classes, piano classes, painting classes, and basketball classes on weekends... Ji Shishi clearly understood the gap for the first time.
She knows nothing except reading. She can draw dogs into cats. She is tone-deaf and has never seen a piano with her own eyes.
Only now do I know that poor grades can be made up for by talents. Students with talents who are admitted to the same university as them are likely to be nearly a hundred points lower than them. If not, they can go abroad to get gold. It is said that the threshold is also very low.
However, it is said that it requires hundreds of thousands of support.
When she opened her eyes again and again, she once joked to her brother that the world was unfair.
She was so tired that she almost wanted to cry. There were many things she didn’t understand or know how to do.
Her brother did not refute her words, but looked at her very seriously, "Shishi, life is not a marathon."
Ji Shishi is confused, isn't she
Ever since I was a child, my teachers have also said that life is a marathon and we have to win at the end.
"It's a relay race." Ji Huai didn't say much, and then spoke again, "Your sister-in-law is going to take the exam to the capital. Then we will go to the capital."
From that day on, Ji Shishi’s goal became again: to get admitted to a university in the capital!
Life is not a marathon, it is a relay race, so start with her and keep running. Even if she cannot catch up with her classmates who are far ahead of her due to her parents, she still has the mission of her generation.
Her high school life turned into boring study again.
She was studying when others were in interest classes, and studying when others were having fun and shopping, seizing every minute to study questions. Her schedule on Saturdays and Sundays was the same as going to school. She never dared to relax, because she knew that she would never He is not a smart person, but hard work can make up for his weakness.
Winter and summer vacations are the time for her to preview the content of the next semester and review the content of the previous semester.
When she came in, the ranking of the whole school was not high. The provincial No. 1 Middle School concentrated the best students in the province. There were more than 1,300 students in the entire grade. Her ranking was in the 300th place, while the Provincial No. 1 Middle School was the same as the City No. 1 Middle School. , there are experimental classes, key classes and parallel classes.
Ji Shishi's class is a key class, and there are ten such key classes in the entire grade.
Chen Sheng was in the class next to hers, ranking more than fifty places behind her.
After the first intermediate exam, Chen Sheng maintained his original level, while Ji Shishi improved by more than fifty.
In fact, Chen Sheng is the kind of smart person who may be born to study. He doesn't need to work hard to get a pretty good score. Ji Shishi is different. She is a very hard-working person, almost all the time. All was spent on studying, studying to the extreme.
This ranking made Chen Sheng feel a sense of crisis. He stopped talking about shoes and games with the buddies he had just met in the dormitory. He used to go out to play games over the wall, but now he is more serious.
When the final exam came, Ji Shishi once again advanced by twenty-two places, and Chen Sheng also made progress, advancing by more than forty places. The further forward, the harder it becomes.
This improvement actually did not attract much attention from the teacher. It is normal for rankings to fluctuate during the last semester of high school.
Ji Shishi really came into the teacher's attention in the next semester, when she returned from the winter vacation and took the exam to separate arts and science classes in her first year of high school.
Ji Shishi, who had been reviewing all vacation, improved by 105 points in this exam and ranked 111th in the entire grade. Such rapid progress surprised the teacher in the class.
After the liberal arts and sciences are divided into classes, the top fifty students in the liberal arts and sciences will be selected to form a class. This class is called the "experimental class". The experimental class's class location is different from other classes. It is located on the top floor of the tallest building in the entire school. , apart from the laboratory, there are only these two experimental classes.
The people in this class are competing for the top colleges at home and abroad. Each of their goals is to go to the top universities, and they are among the group of people who have the best chance of getting admitted.
It is a pity that Ji Shishi did not enter the experimental class this time, and fell behind by just one place.
She was very sad that day. She wanted to cry but couldn't. She felt very depressed and uncomfortable. She didn't go back to the classroom until close to six o'clock.
Because today is Friday, most of the students in the dormitory have also gone back, so she is walking on the school road alone.
"Aren't you going back?"
Hearing the sound, she turned her head and saw Chen Sheng walking towards her with a backpack on his back and a bag in his hand, probably going home.
She was not a talkative person. Since entering high school, she had not spoken to Chen Sheng except for a chance encounter before.
"Monitor." She shook her head, still used to calling him that.
Chen Sheng was a little embarrassed, "I saw this ranking, you are very high, I feel ashamed."
In fact, he doesn't have much desire to compete. He just wants to get into a key university and play games and basketball. He used to be the first and didn't think too much about it. Now he feels like he's being crushed.
Hearing what he said, Ji Shishi was not very happy, but rather depressed, "...I want to enter the experimental class."
For this goal, she dared not relax even a day during the holiday.
Chen Sheng was suddenly choked. He didn't know what expression to put on his face. After a while, he said, "There will be a chance next time, but you are just a little bit close. The number of people in the experimental class is not fixed. They can't pass the exam." The first fifty will be kicked out.”
I said this to Ji Shishi, and also to myself. When she goes to the experimental class, she won't be able to see her anymore. No, he has to go to the experimental class too!
As soon as this idea came up, he was shocked.
"Thank you." Ji Shishi was comforted.
Chen Sheng followed her and said casually, "I go back every week, but why haven't I met you on the high-speed rail?"
"I'm not going back, I'll live there." Ji Shishi pointed to a house outside the school wall, which was rented specifically to students.
"No wonder." Chen Sheng smiled.
Ji Shishi said nothing.
Walking all the way to the school gate, Chen Sheng looked at her from the corner of his eye from time to time. Compared to junior high school, she seemed a bit taller and paler
Her hair quality is also very good, right? It looks smooth, does it feel the same? Chen Sheng suddenly felt a little itchy and shrank the hand on his side, feeling ashamed of the dirty thoughts in his heart.
It was strange, but I couldn't help but look over there from the corner of my eye, and pursed my lips, feeling a little dry.
Ji Shishi didn't notice anything strange about him all the way to the door. She had been distracted, worrying about the few questions she shouldn't have done wrong in the last exam. It would be better if she was more serious.
After leaving the school gate, she used to turn right alone and then go back to the rental house. Halfway through, she remembered that there was Chen Sheng beside her. She stopped, turned around and waved to him, saying softly, "Bye, monitor, and be careful on the road."
After saying that, he turned around and left again.
Chen Sheng thought she was cute and cute. For the first time, he felt his heart pounding. His ears felt hot and his face felt hot.
The young man's subtle emotions quietly rose.
Back home.
Chen's mother cooked a table of food and specially bought two large river shrimps, which were caught and sold by nearby villagers. These two were the only ones available, and the price was not cheap.
Although Chen Sheng was reluctant to leave and went to the provincial capital, Chen's father and Chen's mother were proud in their hearts. They would cook a big meal every week when they came back, for fear of wronging their son.
Chen Sheng looked at the meal on the table and suddenly thought of Ji Shishi.
She rents a house alone in the provincial capital. Doesn't that mean there is no one to cook for her
"This exam was good." Father Chen heard about his results and said with a smile, "I have made a lot of progress."
It was in a provincial capital, and there were many top students everywhere. Even if I improved by dozens of places, it was a big deal.
"Dad, I want to rent a house outside the school." Chen Sheng said suddenly while eating.
"That won't work. How unsafe would it be to live outside the school?" Chen's mother rejected it without even thinking about it.
"The electricity in the dormitory was cut off at 11 o'clock, and there was no hot water in the shower. I couldn't continue studying." Chen Sheng had already found an excuse. "It's a waste of time to come back on Saturdays and Sundays. I can just rent a house and stay there to study." "
Hearing this, instead of seriously considering it, the Chen couple looked at him seriously, "Son, tell us honestly, did you do something bad when you went to school?"
"Are you still obsessed with playing games?"
Chen Sheng: "..."
"Why haven't I seen you study so hard before?" Father Chen expressed doubt.
"I used to be number one, so what else do I need to learn? Now I'm ranked among the hundreds." Chen Sheng said with a reluctance to admit defeat in his tone, "I want to be serious."
This reason barely convinced the Chen couple, and they discussed, "Who will cook for you when you go out? How about asking your grandma to accompany you to study? Anyway, your grandma is fine at home, so you should accompany her."
"Don't, it puts too much pressure on me. I'm such an adult, I can do it alone." Chen Sheng shied away and stayed with him to study, but please spare him.
Finally, with his persuasion, the Chens and his wife went to the provincial capital with him the next day to look for a house.
Chen Sheng led them to the house rented by Ji Shishi.
"We have no house to rent here," said a young woman.
Chen Sheng's heart skipped a beat.
"How about we rent somewhere else?" Mother Chen was quite satisfied with this building. It was close to the school and it was a newly built building. She also felt it was a pity.
Chen Sheng began to lose interest.
"Excuse me." Father Chen thanked him.
Just when she was about to walk out the door, Ji Shishi came down from upstairs. She was not wearing a school uniform today. She was wearing a white dress. She looked pure and clean. She was also carrying a bag of garbage in her hand. She was also startled when she saw the three of them. Startled.
Later, she called Chen Father and Chen Mother. She had never taught her, but they were both teachers, so she called her teacher.
"Squad leader, do you want to rent a house?" Ji Shishi asked.
Chen Sheng didn't reply to her, and he hadn't recovered yet. He thought she was really pretty.
"That's right, little girl, you live here? It's a pity that there is no house here." Father Chen was still very impressed by Ji Shishi. He and his son were admitted to the provincial No. 1 Middle School together, and their scores were higher than his own son.
"Didn't Uncle Xu say that the uncle across from my room doesn't want to rent?" Ji Shishi hesitated and looked at the landlord aside.
"I haven't heard of it. I'll call and ask." The landlady called the steward.
The lease of the house opposite had not expired, but I really didn't want to rent it anymore and couldn't return it, so I had to endure it. When I heard that someone was going to move in and was willing to pay the rent, I quickly decided to move out.
Chen Sheng moved in and lived opposite Ji Shishi. His room was larger and he could see the school playground from the room.
The Chen couple wanted to invite Ji Shishi to have a meal with them, and their attitude was quite enthusiastic. As teachers, they liked children who studied well.
The more you look at it, the better it becomes.
Ji Shishi was not used to being in contact with others and shyly refused.
Chen Sheng didn't speak the whole time. In fact, he didn't know what to say. He was a little disappointed that she wouldn't go, but thinking about it, she wouldn't go either.
"How is that child studying now?" Mother Chen was curious.
"I don't know." Chen Sheng shook his head, "I don't know."
"They are all from the same class. At least you should pay attention to them and make an appointment when you come back to have a companion." Mother Chen warned him.
Chen Sheng responded perfunctorily, lowering his head while eating, as if he didn't care, but his eyes were shining, and he was absent-mindedly eating.
He moved out of the dormitory with joy and stayed opposite. Now he had more opportunities to meet, but he didn't expect that Ji Shishi wouldn't go out.
It seems like you can cook and eat in your room? There was no one to be seen on Saturday and Sunday.
Even though he lived across the street, he couldn't touch her. In the end, he observed her school and departure times and concluded the pattern: she liked to go out at the same time in the morning, noon and evening, but she got up earlier and read in her room.
If he stuck a little, he could almost touch her.
"Hello, monitor." When she saw him, she would always say hello first, her tone flat, as if she had completed some kind of task.
Walking on the street, she would not take the initiative to talk. When she got to the street where the school was selling soy milk, she would go up and buy a cup of soy milk, usually black bean soy milk.
No wonder the hair is so black and shiny.
She would politely ask Chen Sheng if he wanted to drink it. He actually hated soy milk, but he still nodded from time to time.
When he arrived at the classroom, Ji Shishi would wave to him, say goodbye and then walk back to the classroom.
Anyway, it was just like following the procedure, without any expression. Her eyes seemed to only be reading, and nothing else could attract her attention.
The more Chen Sheng observed and got closer to her, the more interesting she became.
Ji Shishi has a strong system for doing things and has her own set of procedures. When and when to do something, it is all fixed.
If you want to interfere with other things and deprive her of her time, it is equivalent to a crime.
The two of them walked together during class and went back together after class. They spent more time together and had more topics to talk about.
Although Ji Shishi doesn't talk much, the words she occasionally says are quite funny. If you talk to her about studying, she will talk more.
Chen Sheng felt very relaxed every time he walked back with her, and unknowingly, he began to look forward to that short period of time.
Just when he was happy, he suddenly couldn't touch her.
No matter whether it was early or late, he never met her at the stairs. Once, he had to wait until class, and he never saw her.
For a week in a row, he didn't meet her, and even when he came back, he didn't see anyone.
The more he thought about it, the more something was wrong. He would wait for her downstairs at night.
Ji Shishi came back half an hour later than usual. Seeing that he was still a little guilty, she quickly called out, "Monitor."
"Where have you been?" Chen Sheng turned into a question. He was stunned and quickly explained, "It's quite late now. I came down to buy dinner."
"Me too, I'm going to have dinner."
She didn't know how to lie, and she made many little tricks when lying. Chen Sheng could tell at a glance, and he felt uncomfortable in his heart. He said bluntly, "I haven't seen you in the past few days."
"Ah? I left earlier." She explained hurriedly, and squeezed out a smile, "It's just, it's hard to meet her."
"Are you avoiding me?" Chen Sheng stared at her and asked.
"No, why should I hide from you? No." Ji Shishi said and walked into the building, "What can I hide from you? The final exam is coming soon. Have you reviewed it, monitor?"
"You have to ask yourself why I'm hiding from you." Chen Sheng ignored her question and followed her behind.
He has been a person who gets whatever he wants since he was a child. He has been a top student valued by his teachers since he was a child. He never gets what he wants. He doesn't know his feelings for Ji Shishi. Anyway, he is very uncomfortable. , very unhappy, inexplicably unhappy.
Ji Shishi lowered her head and walked up.
"Explain." Chen Sheng looked at her silently, scratching his heart. How could someone torture someone like this? He doesn't even know what he did wrong
When she arrived at the door, Ji Shishi opened the door and looked at him with a troubled face. She said in a small tone, "... It's not good for us to walk together often. Some people may misunderstand. Learning is important."
"sorry."
After she finished speaking, she closed the door with a bang.
Chen Sheng froze in place, thinking for a long time before he figured out, was someone gossiping about them? Also, what the hell is sorry
From then on, Chen Sheng occasionally met her on the road, and Ji Shishi either avoided him or walked very fast to keep distance from him. If she couldn't distance herself, she would start trotting with a look of worry on her face.
Anyway, get rid of him before entering school.
Chen Sheng looked at her like this and deliberately approached her at first. He saw her face anxious and guilty, as if she was being bullied by him, shrinking her head and neck. In the end, he was not willing to embarrass her and took the initiative to pull away. distance.
The result of this was that Ji Shishi felt guilty towards him, and she would still say hello to him if he met him in the corridor.
Chen Sheng analyzed the pros and cons and decisively chose to take the initiative to distance himself from her. Even if he met her at the school gate, he would take the initiative to distance himself. The more exaggerated the better, Ji Shishi, the little white rabbit, felt more and more guilty. He always felt that he had to take care of these things for his own selfish desires.
So, in order to reduce the guilt in my heart, I changed from saying hello to him in the corridor to giving him one or two fruits that I bought myself.
What goes around comes around.
Chen Sheng also bought her fruits for himself, but when he bought cantaloupes, he bought them whole.
Ji Shishi would sometimes look at the cantaloupe he brought with a puzzled look on her face.
"I bought two!" he said.
"Why don't you buy one?" She still didn't understand. "You can cut it up so you can't finish it."
"Cheap!"
"..." Ji Shishi took the big cantaloupe with difficulty, not understanding the squad leader's behavior.