It was already late at night on the 18th, but it was still quiet in Room 502. The Three Musketeers were still fast asleep in their beds.
After three years of intense study and three days of intense exams, all three of them felt a little drained, so they went to bed early last night. The hard part was that, even though they hadn't set an alarm, their biological clocks woke them up at 6am on time.
After sleeping all night, they finally had some energy to check their answers. However, after checking for a while, Xiao Zhijie lost interest. In particular, yesterday's math was estimated to have hit more than 90% of the people. 'If you can't even pass, why bother?' After saying that, he turned his head and went back to sleep.
He was quite good at maths, but this year's exam had dealt him a merciless blow in the area where he was best.
'A bit of sleep is good. Everyone's probably pretty angry these days,' said Wang Changning, yawning as he headed back to his room.
Although he was prepared to repeat the year, it was definitely not true to say that he wasn't disappointed when he saw the results.
Feng Yiping was more confident. Except for mathematics, which was too difficult and for which he felt he didn't have enough time, so he hurriedly finished answering the questions without checking his answers, he performed normally in the other five subjects. Of course, at this time, it was best not to say anything like this that sounded a little boastful.
It was good to be able to sleep in, and for both them and Feng Yiping, whether they repeated the year or went to high school after the summer vacation, it was still not time to really relax, and the top ten exams were just a short break.
When Feng Yiping opened his eyes again, he looked at the clock and saw that it was already past 11 o'clock. He hadn't had the blessing of sleeping in, and not only had he not felt more awake, he felt dizzy all over.
'Hey, wake up, lazybones!' he said, knocking on the door while brushing his teeth.
The three of them ate lunch in a hurry with puffy eyes, and Feng Yiping suggested, 'Should we go to school to check our answers and estimate our scores?'
By this time, the teachers who had returned from invigilation would have finished marking the students' exam papers.
'I don't want to go. The results will be out in a few days anyway,' Xiao Zhijie said lazily.
'That's true. It's so hot. Let's go to the river and find a place to bathe!' Wang Changning suggested.
'Forget it. We'd still have to go to school, and I'd rather just keep sleeping,' Xiao Zhijie said, yawning again. He still looked exhausted.
In the afternoon, Feng Yiping would never sleep again. He happened to be thinking about making money. Over the past year or so, he hadn't had much time to do that.
He had a not-quite-mature idea: Could he consider being a pioneer of the 'fresh and clean' school? No, the word pioneer seemed inauspicious. Better to be a trailblazer.
He was familiar with the subject matter of fresh and clean. Before rebirth, under the banner of fresh and clean, there had been a lot of film and television and literary works that made people consume their youth again, and there had been many people who had gained both fame and fortune.
The only thing he has to consider now is whether the time is ripe, so that he doesn't become a forerunner.
The majority of the current domestic consumers came of age during the movement of going to the countryside, and they are not expected to accept works with such themes. Children of the 1980s like him are not sure about their spending power.
If we wait until 2000, there will undoubtedly be more consumers, but it will be a bit late by then.
From now on, by the time he graduates from high school, in 1998, seven universities across the country will jointly launch a new concept composition competition, and then bring out a group of post-80s writers. At that time, there will be much more works that can attract the younger generation than there are now.
He is not without some confidence in doing so now. If he had written such a work a few years ago, it would probably have been ignored. No one was well off then, and no one had any spare money or such refined tastes.
Things are different now. Not to mention the rapid development of the city, even in their small town, there is now a bakery and a breakfast shop on the street. It's not that everyone is busier than before and has no time to steam buns and make breakfast. It's just that life has gotten better and many people are too lazy to do it.
When some of the country folk can afford to buy breakfast outside, it is estimated that the pocket money of the city kids is enough for them to buy a book.
Yes, he is not going to submit his articles to magazines, he is going to publish a book.
Of course, there is the consideration of making money, but on the other hand, he also has some other ideas.
Although his grades were not ideal when he studied advanced mathematics and solid geometry, high schools now have a science and arts stream, so what is there to worry about when he chooses the arts stream in his second year of high school?
But why work as hard as he did in junior high when he could relax? In junior high, there was no choice. In high school, there were many guaranteed offers for university, such as the lucky winners of the first few New Concept Composition Contests, many of whom were admitted without examination to prestigious universities in China. If he could really make a name for himself, wouldn't that be possible as well?
With such a wishful thinking, Feng Yiping calmed down and began to write the groundbreaking work of the new school of literature.
That night, Feng Yiping had a dream in which goddesses from all walks of life chased after him, crying and shouting, 'Feng Yiping, recommend me to be the heroine in the movie adaptation of your novel!'
When he woke up, his saliva had wet a large part of the pillowcase.
Xiao Zhijie and Wang Changning still couldn't muster the energy to talk much these days. They would get up at eight or nine in the morning, sleep after lunch, go downstairs at two or three o'clock to pick up a watermelon and eat it, before cycling to the Hope Primary School to play basketball before dinner.
Feng Yiping was also reluctant to give up hope. The results had not yet been announced, so no one knew what to expect.
On the afternoon of the 24th, Wang Changning was cooking in the kitchen while Feng Yiping was playing chess with Xiao Zhijie. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and they could hear Wang Yumin shouting, 'Feng Yiping!'
Why was Teacher Wang here?
They were both wearing shorts and bare chests, and they hurriedly went inside to get dressed when they heard the noise.
Not only had Teacher Wang Yumin come, but Teacher Zhu had followed along.
'The results are out, and you're the number one student in the county and tied for second in the city! Haha!' Wang Yumin took his hand as soon as they met, happier than he was. 'Hmph, there weren't as many teachers grading the exams this time, so I won't be crushed by the one from the county again!'
Number one in the county and tied for second in the city means that he'll definitely get into the city's No. 1 middle school, and incidentally, help Liangjiahe Middle School achieve a breakthrough. This is her class!
No wonder she was so happy. Not only would her students have a bright future, she would also be sure to receive various bonuses and honours.
Upon hearing the news, Xiao Zhijie and Wang Changning immediately cheered for Feng Yiping, while both looked hopefully at Wang Yumin, expecting her to announce more good news.
'I also looked up your scores. Xiao Zhijie is 468, and Wang Changning, you are 465, which is not bad either.' When they heard this, Wang Changning was fine, but Xiao Zhijie sat straight on the sofa in front of the two teachers.
Although they still didn't know the admission line of County No. 1 Middle School this year, judging from its previous average admission score, it was definitely hopeless if it was less than 500 points.
'Sit down,' Wang Yumin told Wang Changning to sit down as well. 'Your results are really not bad, and you can be considered to have performed normally. If you study hard for another year, I believe you, there is definitely no problem.'
Feng Yiping couldn't say these words now, but Wang Yumin's words were very appropriate.
After Wang Yumin left, Xiao Zhijie and Wang Changning were still very quiet. Feng Yiping understood their mood and got up to go to the kitchen to stir-fry some food.
Just as he finished stir-frying one dish, Wang Changning walked in, 'I'll do it, it's my turn today.'
Feng Yiping walked into the living room and saw Xiao Zhijie looking at him with a smile, 'Is everything okay?'
Xiao Zhijie ran over and put his arms around his neck. 'It's no big deal. You did well, you got first in the county. Tell me, what are you treating us to?'
'Whatever you want, I'll do it, okay?'
'That's more like it,' Xiao Zhijie let go of him.
'Hey,' Feng Yiping looked him square in the eye, 'with another year's hard work, you'll definitely get over 500 points. I believe in you.'
'Pfft, it's just another year's hard work and 20-odd extra points. I know you can do it,' Xiao Zhijie said with a smile, 'Sorry, we were a bit upset and a bit of a dampener just now, but you don't need to worry for us, we are really happy for you. Let's go, go call your parents to tell them the good news first.'
Wang Changning walked out of the kitchen with a dish, 'Exactly, they must be waiting anxiously too.'