Chapter 14

The midterm exams arrived as scheduled.

On the Wednesday after the exams, students mostly spent their time in self-study, while each subject teacher hurriedly graded the tests and handed the results to the students.

Wen Xiangyi, unsurprisingly, remained firmly in first place.

Song Cheng, also unsurprisingly, was called to the office by the homeroom teacher.

“With these grades, are you still planning to switch to academic courses?”

In Old Li’s eyes, Song Cheng was essentially ruining her future.

“I’ve spoken with Teacher Xu on the phone. With your grades, you can definitely get into a good school as an athlete. If you give up now, all the previous awards you earned will be for nothing, and all the hardship you endured will be wasted. Think it over again. If you’re sure, have your parents talk to me at this week’s parent-teacher meeting.”

Song Cheng replied, “No one will come to the parent-teacher meeting.”

Old Li paused mid-cap on his pen. Oh, that’s right.

Every parent-teacher meeting, Song Cheng’s seat was always empty. He had called her home before, and they were polite, saying they couldn’t make it this time but promised they’d come next time. However, they never did.

The girl in front of him seemed to have gotten used to it. She thoughtfully offered, “Should I have them give you a call?”

Old Li could only say, “Fine. As long as your family doesn’t object.”

As she left the office, it was mealtime. The teaching building was already empty. Passing by the cafeteria, Song Cheng glanced inside but didn’t want to deal with the rush, so she turned and headed to the small convenience store to buy something.

Someone called her name from behind: “Song Cheng.”

Song Cheng turned around. It was her deskmate He Nianyao and two of her good friends.

They had just come from the cafeteria. Wen Xiangyi, afraid of the cold, was zipping up her jacket. Her slightly lowered chin hid her delicate features, but passersby couldn’t help sneaking glances at her.

Every time after major exams or competitions, Wen Xiangyi’s aura would suddenly shine even brighter, making her even more attention-grabbing.

He Nianyao asked, “What did Old Li say to you?”

At this time of day, being called to the office was definitely related to midterm scores. Song Cheng’s grades were pretty disastrous this time. He Nianyao and her friends had been discussing it over lunch, and when they saw Song Cheng leaving, they couldn’t help calling her over.

Song Cheng replied, “He told me to think it through.”

Qin Li scratched her head, “That doesn’t sound like something Old Li would say.”

Wen Xiangyi glanced at Song Cheng and smiled, “You’ve made up your mind.”

Song Cheng shrugged, “Did you think I was joking all this time?”

Sometimes, or rather most of the time, Song Cheng was very stubborn. Once she made up her mind about something, no external force could easily change it, and she had incredible resolve in carrying it out.

She didn’t speak much, but her determination quietly spread out like a tree’s shadow—silent but always there, following closely.

He Nianyao and Qin Li both fell silent. No matter what, they couldn’t bring themselves to discourage her at this moment.

Song Cheng walked away, and He Nianyao said, “Even though she only passed two subjects, I still admire her.”

Qin Li added, “You could say that it’s precisely because she barely passed anything yet still dares to give up sports that I admire her even more. What do you think, Wenwen?”

Both of them looked at Wen Xiangyi.

Wen Xiangyi nonchalantly replied, “That’s something only an athlete would do.”

The two of them: “…”

It didn’t sound like she was complimenting Song Cheng!

Kind-hearted Qin Li and He Nianyao couldn’t bear to ask any further.

The crisp autumn sunlight shone down. After last week’s cold snap, the leaves had started turning red. The trees mixed with various shades of red, yellow, and green, and the filtered light seemed more vibrant and bright.

Wen Xiangyi cast a glance toward the small convenience store.

Song Cheng came out with instant noodles in her hands, heading to the sports field all by herself.

She suddenly felt like her earlier response to Qin Li wasn’t accurate enough.

She should have said, That’s something only Song Cheng would do.

It seemed a bit foolish, clumsy even, but it carried an unyielding courage and determination to forge ahead.

Day after day of dull, repetitive practice was the only path to athletic excellence, and it was something Song Cheng excelled at. Why couldn’t she apply the same to studying?

The sports field was quiet and empty at noon, with hardly anyone around.

Song Cheng’s life in Class 5 of the third year was a blur in her memory, but the sports field remained vividly clear, even after ten years. She couldn’t pinpoint which moments from those grueling training days had been etched into her mind, making it impossible to forget.

One of them surely involved scarfing down a cup of instant noodles in two or three minutes while hidden in the corner, then diving into her daily training.

Today was no different.

The instant noodles tasted amazing.

From now on, Wen Xiangyi wouldn’t be able to stop her from eating instant noodles anymore!

Song Cheng found yet another perk of being reborn—the pain of seeing her grades had somewhat lessened.

The scores nearly gave her a heart attack. Knowing you’re doing poorly and actually seeing how poorly are two completely different things. Even though she understood the reasons behind her grades, she still couldn’t help feeling a bit discouraged.

After finishing the last bite of her noodles in a few quick slurps, Song Cheng didn’t even glance in the direction of her dorm. She headed towards the teaching building, full of energy.

There were still mistakes in her workbook that she hadn’t figured out yet, and noon was the perfect time to work on them.

After the midterm exams, the honor roll for each subject was posted on the white wall next to the blackboard. In Class 5, the honor roll was dominated by the school’s top scorer, leaving them in both pain and joy.

During classes, they reviewed the exam papers, with everyone busily flipping through their sheets. The lessons seemed to pass by quickly.

This week after the exams, there was also a seating rearrangement.

In addition to the usual rotation, Old Li specifically called out a few students to switch seats. Song Cheng, who usually had a permanent spot, was suddenly moved forward. Wen Xiangyi rotated back as usual, He Nianyao was moved to another group, and Song Cheng’s new deskmate was Duan Jia. Now, Song Cheng sat directly behind Wen Xiangyi.

While the seat change left Song Cheng outwardly calm, she felt an indescribable sense of peace within, like a small animal settling into a new home. As she got comfortable in her seat, Old Li was rambling on at the front of the classroom, but she found herself staring absentmindedly at Wen Xiangyi’s back.

Wen Xiangyi turned around to pass something to Duan Jia, catching a glimpse of Song Cheng and waving a hand in front of her face to bring her back to reality.

Song Cheng snapped out of it.

The evening sunlight flowed in from behind Wen Xiangyi, casting a soft glow on her hair. Her smile felt like pleasant weather:  

“You’re daydreaming a little too obviously.”

Song Cheng shifted and, turning her head, noticed the vice-principal staring in through the window.

“…”

She quickly grabbed her pen, pretending to be busy, but in reality, she was using her arm to shield her doodling.

Two eyes, a nose, a dot for a mouth, and long hair…

Amidst Old Li’s slow, droning voice, she heard Wen Xiangyi’s faint laughter.

“?”

Hmph.

Song Cheng mischievously wrote “wll” on top of the doodled figure’s head.

Let Wen Xiangyi laugh.