Chapter 1 part 1
At Hongxi No. 3 High School, the results of the second mock exam had just been released, and the homeroom teachers of every class began summoning students one by one for a chat.
For the top students, it was naturally a time for gentle encouragement.
For those whose grades were less than ideal, however, the approach had to be more varied.
Gao Xi, the homeroom teacher of Class 3, Grade 12, found herself constantly switching gears emotionally.
To the student with uneven grades, she offered gentle consolation: “You know your own weak subjects, and that shows you have a clear understanding of yourself. How about this? For the subjects you’re struggling with, let’s go back to the textbooks and focus on the basics.”
To the class clown who loved to goof off, she put on a stern face and scolded: “Is this the time to be resting? This is the time to work hard! There are only a few days left. If you don’t fight for it now, when will you?!”
And to the student who always fell just short, she frowned and sighed: “You are very smart. As long as you put in a little more effort, you can definitely reach the next level. Let’s adjust your mindset and put all your focus into this. Even if you only improve by a few points, that’s enough to leave a playground full of people behind you…”
Gao Xi spoke until her mouth was dry. But, being a Grade 12 homeroom teacher, she had no choice. She took a sip of tea and told the student she had just finished with to call the next one in.
Fortunately, she was experienced. No matter what kind of student walked in, she had a script ready for them, which saved her some mental energy.
“Report.”
The next student arrived.
Gao Xi held the thermos cup that seemed to be standard issue for every homeroom teacher, looked at the student standing at the door, and sighed inwardly.
She had spoken too soon.
For this student, she really didn’t know what script to use.
“Shizhen, come in.”
The boy, whose school uniform was washed immaculately clean, walked forward obediently. He lowered his head and spoke timidly:
“Teacher, Zhang Chuan said you called for me.”
Gao Xi organized her words. “It’s nothing serious, just a routine chat. Shizhen, come, sit down.”
She pulled the boy over to sit—a privilege other students didn’t get.
Watching him sit down, Gao Xi opened her mouth but didn’t know where to start. Her wealth of experience seemed completely useless at this moment.
“Well… you’ve seen your mock exam results. Objectively speaking, the outcome really isn’t too ideal…”
The boy, who had kept his head lowered, looked up nervously at these words. His dark, bright eyes revealed his helplessness. He glanced at Gao Xi, then lowered his head again in shame, his hands twisting together nervously.
“I’m sorry, Teacher. I failed again.”
He was actually quite handsome, with delicate features. His eyes, in particular, were dark and shining, always looking at people with an earnest intensity. One look and you knew: this was a very obedient, well-behaved child.
But that was exactly the problem.
Luo Shizhen was obedient. Whether it was paying attention in class or doing homework, he was the one who studied diligently and completed everything. He respected his teachers from the bottom of his heart and always executed school rules earnestly. If told to read, he read; if told to copy text, he copied. He was absolutely the kind of obedient student every teacher would love.
But his grades were terrible.
Gao Xi sighed. “It’s not your fault. Teacher knows you’ve already worked very hard.”
For slacking top students, she could demand they be more serious. For students whose minds weren’t on their grades, she could criticize them severely.
But for a student like Luo Shizhen, what could she say?
Ask him to work harder? He was already the hardest-working student in the class.
Ask him to change his study methods?
Teachers of every subject had banded together and tried countless methods with him.
Mr. Ma, the math teacher, had even taken him home for private tutoring for over a month, and Luo Shizhen had cooperated fully.
But it was no use. Luo Shizhen’s grades simply wouldn’t go up.
He would forget what he was taught almost immediately. To explain a single question, one had to repeat it over and over before he could understand—and sometimes, he simply couldn’t understand at all.
If Luo Shizhen were lazy, that would be one thing. But he worked hard. He desperately wanted to learn. He woke up earlier than the chickens and slept later than the dogs. Even among the Grade 12 students fighting for their futures, his level of effort stood out.
To work hard but achieve nothing—this was the cruelest thing in the world.
And what was even crueler was that Shizhen’s only family was his grandmother. Two months ago, she had passed away.
Shizhen had become an orphan.
Gao Xi couldn’t even discuss this with his family; she could only speak to him directly.
“Shizhen…” Gao Xi tried to make her voice as gentle as possible. “You’ve already repeated your senior year twice. If your score in the official college entrance exam remains like this, to be honest, you definitely won’t get into university.”
Luo Shizhen, whose head was already lowered, dipped it even lower.
He wasn’t short, but his frame was slightly thin. With his head down, he looked like he had shrunk a size.
Like a puppy caught in the rain with nowhere to hide.
Gao Xi felt a pang of conscience. She closed her eyes, unable to bear saying what came next.
She looked pleadingly at Mr. Ma at the adjacent desk, signaling with her eyes for him to speak.
Mr. Ma clutched his thermos, silently turned his back, and pretended not to exist.
Gao Xi: “…”
Enduring the sting of her conscience, she slowly continued, “Teacher knows you want to go to college, but we also have to consider the future, don’t we? Looking at your current grades, even if you repeat another year, the difficulty of getting a good score will still be quite high…”
Luo Shizhen let out a muffled mnn. “I know, Teacher. I’m stupid. Even if I repeat again, I won’t get into college.”
He was indeed very depressed. His grandmother had really hoped he could get into university, and Luo Shizhen had tried so hard—he wished he could live inside his textbooks.
But no matter how hard he tried, the words in the books recognized him, but he didn’t recognize them. Even the top student in the grade, tutoring him day and night, hadn’t been able to make Luo Shizhen understand.
Originally, he studied hard for his grandmother. Now that she was gone, even if he didn’t get into college, she probably wouldn’t be sad anymore.
Encouraged by the teacher, Luo Shizhen lifted his head and earnestly stated his next plan.
“If I don’t get in this year, I won’t repeat. My Fifth Uncle from my Great-Aunt’s side said he could take me to work at a construction site. I’m strong. If I work hard, I can make five or six thousand a month.”
He was actually a bit lost about going to a construction site, but since Fifth Uncle was willing to take him, Luo Shizhen felt it would be okay.
“You can’t just do manual labor at a construction site; you need to learn a skill.”
Seeing that Luo Shizhen seemed to have accepted that he couldn’t continue school, Gao Xi breathed a sigh of relief. She opened her drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper.
“Here, Shizhen, look. Life isn’t just about going to college. These are some technical trades the teachers summarized for you, as well as some better vocational schools in Hongxi. Look here, we can learn auto repair, or cooking. Don’t you like eating good food? We can become a chef…”
Mr. Ma stopped playing dead and turned around to join the discussion. Most of the other teachers in the large office who didn’t have class came over to join the bustle, earnestly analyzing which technical college would be best for Luo Shizhen.
For a student like Luo Shizhen—who greeted teachers obediently every time he saw them, never caused trouble, and listened attentively in every class—even if he was a bit slow, everyone hoped he would have a good life.
Luo Shizhen had previously focused entirely on studying and had never noticed that technical colleges were divided into so many types. Hearing the teachers’ analysis, he suddenly felt like a new world had opened up.
His mind had always been slow. Before, he lived according to his grandmother’s arrangements. After she passed, his slow wits couldn’t think of much else besides following his Fifth Uncle to do manual labor. He didn’t know what else he could do.
But the teachers had pointed out a path for him. Luo Shizhen realized that even without college, he could live a stable life with a salary.
Although he couldn’t be a good student, he could be a good chef.
When Luo Shizhen left the office, his mood had shifted from nervous confusion and depression to excitement.
“Thank you, Mr. Gao. Thank you, Mr. Ma. Thank you, Mr. Miao. Thank you, Mr. Wang…”
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