The 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, a sunny day.
Today is the day to go to school to collect my report card.
Xue Yuantong did not stay in bed. As soon as Jiang Ning entered the kitchen, he saw her riding on a small stool, staring at the pot on the stove.
Aunt Gu opened the lid, steam rose up and the aroma of flour wafted out. Xue Yuantong wanted to reach out his hand but was afraid of getting burned.
"Jiang Ning, you're here." Aunt Gu greeted.
Jiang Ning nodded. This semester, he had almost all three meals a day at Xue Yuantong's house. Jiang Ning didn't eat for free. He often bought groceries, and Aunt Gu or Xue Yuantong cooked, while he was responsible for washing the dishes.
He asked, "Auntie Gu, you didn't go to work today?"
"Let's go later today." Aunt Gu said and continued cooking.
This morning's meal was relatively simple: steamed buns, stir-fried edamame with pickled vegetables and shredded pork, and rice soup with candied dates.
In the kitchen, three people sat around a small table with bowls on it. The hot steam from the bowls floated up from the bottom to Xue Yuantong's face.
In the heat, she held a hot, soft steamed bun in her hand, and with her other hand, she folded the round bun into a semicircle.
She held the cake, picked up some pickled vegetables, shredded pork and edamame, put them on the steamed bun, arranged them evenly into long strips, and then rolled them up carefully.
This way, you can eat both the dish and the steamed bun in one bite, which is really enjoyable.
Xue Yuantong looked to the left and saw that her mother had already rolled one. She looked to the right and saw Jiang Ning was eating candied dates.
"Jiang Ning, let me give you the steamed bun that I worked so hard to roll!" Xue Yuantong was very kind.
"So nice?" Jiang Ning was a little surprised. In the past, it was considered good that she didn't fight with him for meals, but today she was so generous.
He asked in confusion: "The sun rises from the west?"
"Just tell me whether you want it or not!"
"Yes." Jiang Ning took it.
"Why are you looking at me?" Xue Yuantong saw his strange look and said, "Eat quickly."
Jiang Ning took a bite and found the steamed bun chewy and delicious.
Xue Yuantong's eyes curved. Jiang Ning had received her favor, so when she got her report card, she would have an excuse to play on the computer in Jiang Ning's room.
Play with confidence!
After dinner, Jiang Ning wanted to wash the dishes, but Aunt Gu said there was hot water and she could do it, and then she urged the two to go to school.
Seeing that Aunt Gu was determined, Jiang Ning went out and pushed the cart.
He pushed the car outside. There, a young man about 18 or 19 years old, who had just returned from work outside, shouted at Jiang Ning:
"Where are you going buddy?"
"Go to school and get your transcript." Jiang Ning said.
"I thought you were on holiday." After saying that, the young man added with the tone of an experienced person:
"It's good to go to school. It has a bright future."
This was a bit difficult to respond to, so Jiang Ning didn't answer.
The young man became interested in the conversation: "If I were not too old now, I would really like to go back to school."
"It's pretty good now." Jiang Ning said.
The young man was about to speak when Xue Yuantong came out of her house and shouted:
"Jiang Ning, let's go."
"Let's go." Jiang Ning left a message and pushed the cart to find Xue Yuantong.
…
No. 4 Middle School campus.
Ma Shicheng was walking on the main road of the campus.
Ma Shicheng got up very early, but he actually didn’t know why he had to get up so early.
Maybe it was because his parents kept nagging him about his grades last night and made him unable to calm down, or maybe it was because he cared a lot about his grades, he was a student after all.
Ma Shicheng is still looking forward to the results of this final exam.
Immediately, Ma Shicheng felt that he was very stupid. He had clearly been playing around for the entire semester, and during the unified examinations, he handed in his papers early in every subject. How could he have gotten good grades
But, he always hoped for a miracle to happen.
Although he only wrote the multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, and the first three big questions in the math test, what if he got them all right
In this way, you can get more than 100 points in mathematics alone!
Or maybe, did he get full marks for his Chinese composition this time
If Longlong can create miracles, then so can he.
Thinking about these things, Ma Shicheng gradually regained his confidence. Although he had been addicted to playing games for an entire semester, his junior high school foundation was still there. Even if he didn't study much, he could at least rank in the middle of the class, right
He didn't perform well last time and ranked in the bottom ten in the class. Ma Shicheng is absolutely confident that this time his ranking will definitely be better than last time.
Last time he was fifth from the bottom, but now with Wu Xiaoqi and Song Sheng, who was discharged from the hospital not long ago, there are two of them at the bottom. As long as he keeps his grades the same, he will definitely climb to seventh from the bottom.
Moreover, if Ma Shicheng thought about it carefully, he felt that he might have done well in the final exam that day.
Ma Shicheng kept cheering himself up and encouraging himself with various reasons, and gradually, he almost believed it.
Ma Shicheng walked confidently all the way to the front of the teaching building.
He saw a dozen or so students gathered in the square in front of the teaching building.
Ma Shicheng often stays up late playing games on his phone, but he has a good foundation and has never suffered from myopia.
He noticed at a glance that the display board was standing upright on the ground and slightly tilted. There were two big red flowers on the edge of the display board, which made it look very festive.
There are many white forms on the page.
That was the report card display board. During the first monthly exam, the school also announced the results to all students in this way.
Ma Shicheng clenched his fists, his legs trembled with nervousness. He took a deep breath, and the acne on his forehead bloomed again.
He is the invincible Ma Ge!
It’s just a small achievement, no big deal!
He held his head high and strode to the display board.
He had a strong aura and came with great force, so the two female classmates next to him couldn't help but make room for him.
Ma Shicheng stood in front of the display board, like a king inspecting his territory.
He skipped the grade ranking table and went straight to the class ranking table where Class Eight was located.
"This time, let me see which one I am!"
Ma Shicheng has a great ambition and a great cause in mind.
He raised his head and scanned from top to bottom. The first place in Class 8 was Xue Yuantong, and the second place was Jiang Ning.
After only looking at the two names, Ma Shicheng stopped and thought:
'Looking for my name from the front to the back means that my ranking will continue to decline, and the disappointment will grow;
And looking for my name from the back to the front means that my ranking will get closer and closer, and the surprises will get bigger and bigger. '
'The wisdom of life should be counted from the back to the front!'
Ma Shicheng felt that he had understood. He shifted his gaze to the bottom of the Class 8 report card with a warm smile on his face.
His gaze followed that direction, his eyes were bright and filled with a captivating light, like the majestic king of beasts.
Just this glance made Ma Shicheng stunned for a moment, then he looked again, and a buzzing sound suddenly appeared in his mind:
"What's going on? I'm the last one?"
'I am the last in Class 8!'
'Impossible, absolutely impossible!'
'Where are Wu Xiaoqi and Song Sheng?'
'Are they playing me?'
Ma Shicheng perked up again and counted from the bottom to the top. His eyes swept across most of the form and finally found Song Sheng, who was ranked ninth in the class.
Afterwards, Ma Shicheng found Wu Xiaoqi in third position.
What the hell
Why do they rank so high
Isn’t the one who only plays basketball and never attends classes, and the other one who was hospitalized for several months
Ma Shicheng couldn't believe it, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
But this is the fact, he can only accept it, the last one is the last one.
Ma Shicheng stood there in a daze, the bright light in his eyes gradually dimming.
His standing still figure was like the quietly standing achievement display board.
One person and one board, standing opposite each other in silence, like a couple whose relationship has broken down and are in a cold war.
As time went by, more and more students came to check their grades. Ma Shicheng's position was very conspicuous, blocking other people's view. Someone urged him:
"Classmate, you should have finished reading, could you please let me go?"
Ma Shicheng moved aside silently.
Afterwards, other students occupied the area in front of the results display board again, and students who wanted to see their results gathered there like a tide.
Ma Shicheng was pushed away, and he moved outside again, and finally, he moved outside the crowd.
He looked at the crowd, at the expressions on their faces, the liveliness, joy, ostentation, confidence; none of that had anything to do with him. He seemed like an outsider.
Ma Shicheng was clearly standing under the light, but he was covered in darkness.
I was sixteen that year, standing in front of the report card like a minion.