wavenovel Chapter 88 Disheartened
Chapter 88 Disheartened
Xiao Yunqing seemed like a completely different person.
From the moment Wang Qing finished reading the results, she stopped talking.
It's not the kind of silence that comes from anger; it's the kind of quiet where something has been taken from a person, leaving only the shell, but the light inside has gone out.
In other words, some people are still alive, but they are already dead.
At dinner time, the two sat facing each other in a corner of the cafeteria.
A meal was laid out in front of Xiao Yunqing: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, braised eggplant, and a large pork chop.
She picked up her chopsticks, poked at the rice, picked up a grain of rice, put it in her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.
He picked up another one, chewed it, and swallowed it.
The food on the plate was untouched, and several holes were poked in the pork chop, from which oil seeped out, glistening.
Song Huan sat opposite her, ate a couple of bites of rice, and looked up at her.
She picked up another grain of rice, put it in her mouth, and chewed it very slowly.
Song Huan couldn't stand it anymore.
"Xiao Yunqing".
She didn't look up.
"Little Clouds".
Xiao Yunqing paused for a moment, then continued picking up rice grains with her chopsticks.
Song Huan picked up the chicken leg from the plate and put it in her bowl.
She looked down at the chicken leg for several seconds, then picked it up, took a bite, chewed it, and swallowed it.
Then they stopped eating it.
Is this a hunger strike...?
Looking at her like that, Song Huan felt a tightness in her chest.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to tease her.
I was thinking, you ate two bowls of rice when you bombed your monthly exam in your third year of junior high, how come you can't even finish one bowl this time?
I'm thinking that if Zhang Xuejuan saw you like this, she would definitely think I was bullying you at school.
I was thinking, "At worst, I'll help you review next time, and you can get back into the top ten, right?"
But when he saw her with her head down, eyelashes drooping, and a look of impending tears, he swallowed his words back.
He lowered his head and finished eating the rice on his plate.
It was already dark when the two of them came out of the cafeteria.
The streetlights were on, casting a dim yellow light on the road.
Xiao Yunqing walked ahead, her steps slow, her ponytail hanging down, not swinging as high as usual.
Song Huan followed behind, hands in his pockets, wanting to speak several times, but still unable to utter a word.
When I arrived at the classroom, there was still half an hour before evening self-study.
At this time of day, the classroom is usually as noisy as a market.
Zhao Qihang would chat with Lu Ciyuan about games in the last row, Chen Xu would look down and flip through his textbook, getting stuck after a couple of pages, the girls would huddle together and whisper, some would take a nap on their desks, and some would munch on snacks.
It's unusually quiet today.
Zhao Qihang sat in the last row, a math textbook open in front of him, turned to Chapter 3, his eyes behind his glasses intently focused on an example problem.
Lu Ciyuan stopped biting his nails, clenched his fingers into a fist and stuffed them in the drawer, with a chemistry workbook in front of him.
Chen Xu sat in the corner, head down, his tall figure huddled together, with an English textbook in front of him.
Xiao Yunqing went in, sat down in her seat, took out her physics textbook from the drawer, and turned to Chapter 3.
Song Huan sat beside her, watching her turn the pages of the book.
She turned to the first page of Chapter 3, read for a while, then turned to the second page, read for a while again, and then turned to the third page.
After reading three pages, I turned back to the first page and started reading again.
He listened to her innermost thoughts, but remained silent.
It's not the kind of quiet, peaceful silence without any distractions; it's the kind of silence that comes from a room that's been emptied out, leaving only four white walls.
What's the point of learning in this state?!
Just as he was about to speak, the front door was pushed open.
Wang Qing stood at the door, her gaze sweeping across the classroom and stopping at the third row.
"Xiao Yunqing, come out with me to my office."
After saying that, she turned and left, her high heels clicking rapidly on the floor.
Xiao Yunqing stood up, and the chair slid back a bit, scraping the floor with a sharp sound.
She stepped out of her seat, her steps light, as if she were walking on cotton.
Just as I reached the door, He Zhao walked in, head down, face pale, eyes red, and nose red.
He had just returned from the office and had been lectured by Wang Qing.
Xiao Yunqing glanced at him, feeling even more frightened. He Zhao didn't look at her, walked back to the last row, sat down, and buried his face in his arms.
Song Huan sat in her seat, watching Xiao Yunqing's figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, and cursed inwardly.
Wang Qing, are you trying to kill our little Yunduo?
Not only did they scold me in front of the whole class after I failed a test, but they also dragged me to their office and scolded me again.
He looked at the doorway and saw He Zhao still lying there, his shoulders not trembling, not like he was crying, just lying there, motionless.
Song Huan turned her gaze away and stared at the history textbook in front of her, unable to concentrate on a single word.
The office lights were on, the harsh white fluorescent light shining on everyone's faces, like a hospital corridor.
Several teachers sat in their seats grading homework, the pens scratching softly. Occasionally, someone would look up for a glance, then look down again.
Wang Qing sat in her seat with her report card spread out in front of her and a cup of tea beside her. The tea had gone cold, and the tea leaves had sunk to the bottom of the cup.
Xiao Yunqing stood in front of the desk, her hands behind her back, looking nervous.
"Sit down," Wang Qing said, pointing to the chair next to her.
Xiao Yunqing sat down, but only halfway into the chair, her back ramrod straight, like she was standing at attention during military training.
Wang Qing picked up the report card and placed it in front of her. "Take a look for yourself."
Xiao Yunqing lowered her head and looked at the paper.
Her name was printed on it, and her grades for each subject were listed in a row.
Chinese, 128, Excellent. English, 131, Excellent. Math, 89, Poor. Physics, 42, Poor. Chemistry, 48, Poor. Biology, 55, Poor. History, 71, Average. Geography, 68, Average. Politics, 73, Average.
Class ranking: 21. Grade ranking: 712.
She stared at that line of numbers for a long time.
712.
There were over a thousand students in the entire grade, and she ranked 712th, which wasn't even considered average.
Her fingers curled up on her knees, her nails digging into her palms.
Wang Qing's voice came down from above, neither too loud nor too soft, and every word was clear.
"Your Chinese and English are alright; your foundation is there, you haven't lost it. But look at your other subjects. You got 89 out of 150 in math, which isn't even a passing grade. Not to mention your science subjects, you failed them all!"
"Your score ranks 21st in your class, but 712th in the grade. Do you know where 712th ranks in the entire district?"
"Where are you in the whole city? In the top two thousand? Do you know how many people in the whole city get into key universities every year? Less than two thousand. With your score, you can't even get close to a key university."
Xiao Yunqing lowered her head, her eyelashes drooping, and tears were already welling up in her eyes, shining like a layer of light on the surface of water.
Wang Qing continued speaking, her voice neither hurried nor slow, as if she were reading a report.
"You were born in Jiangcheng, a small city. The educational resources are not as good as those in the provincial capital, let alone the Pearl River Delta. Do you know what students at Yangcheng Middle School are learning? They are already learning university-level content in their first year of high school. Do you know how many practice problems students at the Affiliated High School of South China Normal University do every day? The number of practice problems they do in a month is more than you do in a whole semester."
"If you don't work hard in this small city, if you don't become an outstanding student who excels in exams, what will you have to compete with others? What will you have to offer to go out into the world?"
Xiao Yunqing's tears fell.
A drop fell onto my knee, leaving a small dark patch.
Xiao Yunqing raised the back of her hand and wiped it, another drop fell, and she wiped it again.
The movements were very light and hurried, almost frantic, as if afraid of being seen by others.
Wang Qing sat opposite her, watching her wipe away her tears. Her expression and voice remained unchanged. "There's a parent-teacher conference tomorrow. I'll have a good talk with your parents."
Xiao Yunqing's eyelashes trembled, and her voice, hoarse, squeezed out from her throat, "Okay."
Wang Qing picked up a piece of paper from the table and handed it over.
A4 paper, printed, with densely packed tables on it.
"This is the new seating chart. Go and ask them to change the seats."
Xiao Yunqing took it, her fingers trembling slightly when they touched the paper.
She turned the paper around and looked down at it.
First row, by the window, Song Huan.
My deskmate is Feng Nian.
Her gaze moved downwards, scanning line by line.
Second row, third row.
Second to last row!
Xiao Yunqing, my deskmate, Xu Heng.
Her gaze lingered on that line of text, staring at it for a long time.
Xu Heng, the boy in the back row, sleeps in class, doesn't hand in his homework, and is ranked last in the monthly exam.
She wanted to sit with him.
She was separated from Song Huan by half a classroom, five rows of desks, and more than a dozen people.
From the first row to the second to last row.
She stared at the piece of paper, her heart feeling as if it had been squeezed and shattered into pieces.
She stood up, slid her chair back slightly, and spoke very softly.
Fold the paper in half, fold it neatly, and hold it in your hand. "Teacher, I'm going out now."
Wang Qing nodded, not looking at her, and lowered her head to continue grading homework.
Xiao Yunqing turned and walked towards the door, her steps steady and her back straight.
As I reached the door, I heard a voice behind me. It was the female teacher next to me, surnamed Lin, who taught English.
"Teacher Wang, aren't you being too strict? The child is crying."
Wang Qing's voice came from behind, neither loud nor soft, "If we don't teach these little brats a lesson, they'll get all cocky."
"This is a top-tier high school; if you don't strive for excellence, you'll be committing suicide!"
Xiao Yunqing walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.
The corridor was empty, and the motion-activated lights were on, casting a pale white light on the floor.
She stood at the door for two seconds, then quickly walked to the other end of the corridor.
Walk to the corner, turn in, and enter the women's restroom.
She walked to the sink, rested her hands on the edge of the counter, and lowered her head.
Tears finally welled up and spilled onto the white tiles, leaving dark stains.
She bit her lip and remained silent.
My shoulders were shaking, one thud after another, like I was being whipped.
In the end, I still cried.
They sat at the same desk for 12 years, from kindergarten to elementary school and then to junior high school.
But all of this is about to end.
If I get third place, like Feng Nian, will I be able to sit next to him?
Xiao Yunqing felt an intense hatred for herself.
Why...did I do so badly on the test...?