NH chapter 036

Chapter 36: Aspirations

After the Spring Festival, the winter vacation seemed to have hit the fast-forward button; despite being well prepared, it ended unexpectedly.

People had already stepped into school, but their souls were still at home.

As the ice and snow melted, spring gradually warmed the earth, reviving all living things. Besides the seeds that had been buried in the soil for an entire autumn and winter, finally breaking through barriers and growing green shoots with great difficulty, there was something unexplainable also warming up and growing stronger.

In the second semester of the second year of high school, in the first class, Bald Zhang held a stack of white paper, asking the class monitor to distribute it to everyone.

Upon receiving it, they found it was the college entrance examination simulation application form.

Students who didn’t want to face reality felt like the sky was falling, wailing, “I don’t want to be a senior, I don’t want the college entrance examination!”

“Are you wondering why I made you fill out this aspirational form so early?” Bald Zhang said with a smile, “The college entrance examination is like a troop of thousands crossing a single-plank bridge. Since we are going to fight, we must do it with preparation. If you still don’t know where you want to go or what you want to take in the last semester of your second year, pay attention.”

“There’s never a victory that comes out of nowhere; the premise of victory is first to establish a goal, and then fight hard for it. Don’t hurry, this form won’t be filled out just once; you will fill it out again at the end of this semester, and you’ll fill it out again in your senior year. You have at most two semesters to deliberate and think.”

“However, by the time you reach your senior year, I hope you all have a finish line you want to break through, and are no longer swayed by the scenery along the way. Every aspirational form must be filled out cautiously, because it is the direction you are guiding yourself towards; it cannot be treated lightly or half-heartedly.”

The aspirational form lay on the table; Shen Tingyu glanced at it from time to time but hesitated to write, his brow furrowed with worry.

Suddenly, his shoulder was lightly bumped; he didn’t need to guess it was Huo Ye. This action had already become a signal like little animals bumping heads between them.

Huo Ye showed him his filled-out form, his relaxed expression completely different from Shen Tingyu’s, raising an eyebrow and saying, “I filled in my first choice as National Political University. Hmph, how about that? I’m impressive, right?”

Shen Tingyu remained expressionless, looking at Huo Ye’s proud face, feeling speechless, “It’s just filling out a choice, not being admitted. What’s so impressive about it?”

“What’s wrong?” Huo Ye was completely unashamed, “You can ridicule the mayfly’s attempts to shake the tree for their lack of self-awareness, but you cannot deny their commendable courage. Although my highest score in history was only 580, what if I perform exceptionally on the college entrance exam and accidentally score 650?”

“Can you really exceed by 70 points?”

Shen Tingyu finally laughed, “Have you been to high school? The higher the score, the more difficult it becomes to move forward. It’s already good enough that you can maintain a score of 580.”

“Who are you underestimating? There’s still a year left.” Huo Ye stretched his elbows on the back of their chairs, sitting confidently. When he laughed and scolded, it sounded sweet like he was flirting: “—Damn academic genius.”

On Saturday, Huo Ye gathered his new and old friends, seriously stating in WeChat that there was a gathering he wanted everyone to attend.

He said this to Xiong Ying.

【007_Huo Ye】:

Do you have time tomorrow? If not, squeeze it in; you must come.

【AAA Eagle-like Man_Xiong Ying】:

? I have to do my homework, boss.

【007_Huo Ye】:

Bring your homework (points gun at you.jpg)

…

He said this to Zhao Jiayan.

【007_Huo Ye】:

Aren’t you tired of doing the same types of questions? Shen Tingyu’s private tutor’s question bank is open to all; tomorrow, come to #send location#, slow hands will be out.

【ZYY_Zhao Jiayan】:

Are you serious?

【ZYY_Zhao Jiayan】:

I had been asking for a long time, and he wouldn’t give it to me!

【007_Huo Ye】:

Remember to be on time (guard dog.jpg)

…

He said this to Xia Zhiyao.

【007_Huo Ye】:

Tomorrow morning at 8, in the XX private room, there will be handsome guys.

【Pull Your Bunny Tail_Xia Zhiyao】:

Are you serious?

【Pull Your Bunny Tail_Xia Zhiyao】:

What kind of disco requires you to go at 8 in the morning?

【007_Huo Ye】:

Yes, a new kind of disco, beneficial to body and mind (cat nodding.jpg)

…

The rest is omitted; following this pattern, by Sunday, when the victims on the list began to arrive at the private room, they found everyone dressed up beautifully—

Then they began to work on their assignments.

Yes, work on assignments.

What was placed on the table was not drinks or alcohol but refreshing tea and iced Americano. Shen Tingyu sat expressionlessly in the middle, with error notebooks and previous assignments on display. Zhao Jiayan was watching with great interest while banging his head in realization.

The remaining few were clearly arranged; Xiong Ying was painfully scribbling on draft paper, Zhang Li glanced at him from time to time while correcting errors, and Bai Feiyu sat crookedly, acting like an ADHD elementary student, struggling to write, and whenever he seemed distracted, Wu Zhen would slap him, making him yelp.

Wen Shiyi was relatively self-disciplined; he didn’t need someone to supervise him, just did whatever questions were assigned, and after finishing, Zhao Jiayan would check them over. Zhao Jiayan, who benefited, would gladly explain the questions to him.

When one person succeeded, everyone thrived.

Actually, we weren’t that keen to thrive; it was the chickens and dogs that wanted to.

Xia Zhiyao opened the door flamboyantly, looked at the bizarre scene inside, and her smile froze for a few seconds before she wanted to step back out.

“Stop.” Huo Ye said.

He beckoned, smiling meaningfully, “Zhi Zhi, come here.”

Xia Zhiyao had no choice but to stand there, filled with resentment, and cried out in despair, “Huo, Seven! I knew a gathering at 8 in the morning wouldn’t be anything good, but I trusted you and even wore my disposable lenses!”

“Don’t throw them away. We’re almost in senior year; what are you still tossing them for?”

Holding back her anger, Xia Zhiyao stomped in, throwing her bag on the sofa, giving up and saying, “I didn’t bring anything.”

“You don’t need to bring anything; we have everything here.”

Huo Ye pointed, and Xia Zhiyao’s eyes darkened. There were clearly books and workbooks, even the “Wusan” among them.

“Zhi Zhi, didn’t you say you wanted to study design?” Huo Ye said earnestly, “Remember when you just started your first year; you said you wanted to go to an art university in the future? You draw so well; wouldn’t it be a pity not to go to the best art university in the country? There are still 500 days until the college entrance examination; it’s not too late to raise your cultural scores. Don’t give up.”

Xia Zhiyao: “… Can you stop talking like the old class monitor?”

Huo Ye lazily replied with an “Oh.”

In a teasing manner.

But this piece of advice did indeed strike a chord with Xia Zhiyao, even though she had heard the exact same words no less than ten times from her parents, family friends, and class teachers, never having taken them to heart.

Back in her first year, Xia Zhiyao could score close to five hundred, but in the following semester she began to slide down gradually, and now she had reached a point where scoring four hundred was nearly impossible.

The less one studies, the less one wants to study. There were many like her in Class 18, so slacking off had become justified.

Xia Zhiyao thought she and the others in Class 18 were beyond saving—until the second-year class division, when Huo Ye managed to get out.

So when the notion of “impossible” was shattered, it felt as if everything that had previously seemed insurmountable could readily be overturned, thus making Huo Ye’s identical words more persuasive than anyone else’s.

The visible wavering of her expression was caught by Xiong Ying and Bai Feiyu, who exchanged sympathetic glances and thought: Another one has fallen for his charm.

With Huo Ye’s persuasive vocal talents, even a child with autism could be lured out, making him a leader in any sales venture.

Thus, from the second semester of the second year, every Saturday and Sunday, they would make time to “gather,” working in pairs for guidance, discussing good study materials, and leaving the questions for the end for collective discussion.

At first, it was indeed a tangled mess; it was hard to know where to start. To teach a struggling student about trigonometric functions, you had to begin with the most basic function relationships and guiding formulas, which often gave Class A a headache.

However, after two or three months, slowly, Xiong Ying and the others transitioned from being pushed into learning to being able to study independently, and even began to understand analogies; Zhao Jiayan was so touched he was sliding everywhere, while Zhang Li and Wu Zhen embraced each other in tears, bursting with achievement and nearly wanting to pop champagne.

By the end of May, the midterm exam results reflected that, because of their group’s mountain-scaling progress, the average score of Class 18 had risen significantly. When the report cards were released, it astonished everyone in the school.

Unbelievably, Xiong Ying, a once illiterate, had passed!

At some unknown point, the tense and anxious student life finally arrived belatedly, and in this atmosphere, even the laziest donkey began to pick up on others’ cues, and started to join in the grind.

Bai Feiyu took Huo Ye’s words as gospel, imitating his tone to promote the spirit of the dark horse, “Struggling student? That’s not a problem! It means you have great room for improvement, and that’s what it’s all about.”

The members of Class 18 fluctuated between lounging around and standing tall, repeatedly doing sit-ups. However, after several cycles, they finally managed to at least develop some abs. With results came motivation, and even the most stubborn procrastinators began to waver; in class, they closed their eyes no longer to sleep, and if they couldn’t solve the problems, they sought others to teach them.

They all shared an inexplicable, yet clear feeling: the college entrance examination, like a stone wall that pressed from both sides, was really coming.

Time flew by, and as the end of the semester approached, the second chapter of the aspirational form was distributed. Everyone filled in their dream schools, and Bald Zhang was very pleased, allowing them to leave school early.

That day, Huo Ye returned home as usual but found the downstairs entrance guard was broken again. The main door swung open, slamming in the wind.

The downstairs door had long been aging, needing repairs several times a year without improvement; it either needed to be replaced or waited until it was beyond use. But the landlord was reluctant to spend the money, insisting it only be replaced once it was unusable.

Residents came and went, no one paid attention, allowing the door to bang, since it didn’t bother their own business.

Huo Ye looked at the door for a while, then closed it properly before turning and walking upstairs. Reaching the corner on the second floor, he heard a woman’s crying from above, vaguely calling, “You are creating karma… What use is moving houses again and again, as long as you can’t quit? Those people will still come knocking… How did you break your left little finger? Don’t you remember? The child is about to take the college entrance examination; what are you going to do now—”

“Shut up! Damn woman, what are you crying for? Do I need your advice on how to do my business? I’ve said I know my limits!”

“…” The weeping quieted down, becoming intermittent.

Huo Ye tightened his grip on his backpack strap, then continued up the stairs, until he saw his home in disarray.

Just like back then.