Chapter 2 Junior High School

  Early in the morning, when it was still a little light, a large number of students were already on their way to school. In rural areas, transportation is not as developed as in cities, and most people ride bicycles for long distances, but there is one exception.

  Xiang Xiao Tian was running on the road with a full stomach of complaints, his footsteps light and even. From young to old, it has always been like this, from kindergarten to now, more than ten years have passed. His parents teach in the city, and his grandfather is not convenient, so he can only walk by himself. However, Xiang Xiao Tian has always been a bit dazed since childhood, and no one knows what's on his mind. He often bumps into electric poles and falls into ditches while walking to school, resulting in him being late for class and missing meals. But according to the rules, students are not allowed to ride bicycles before fourth grade, so he came up with a method that is both annoying and effective: running.

  At first, it was still difficult to adapt, but at least when running, he couldn't think wildly. He was very satisfied, but later on, running became more and more smooth, more and more natural, and in a blink of an eye, nearly ten years had passed. As expected, later on, he also got used to being distracted while running, which made him feel depressed, because every time he woke up, it was accompanied by the sound of scolding, either almost crashing into others or being crashed into. Cycling is fine, but for cars, one can only pray for good luck.

  Xiao Tian entered the classroom and saw that almost everyone was already there, except for a few who thought learning was useless and were probably still sleeping in bed. Those with a slightly better conscience were frantically memorizing their books under the good morning light.

  Looking at these national flowers who think even greeting is a waste of time, Xiao Tian shook his head and walked towards his seat. Although he himself was also classified as a "learning scumbag". But there's one thing that sets him apart from them: he always believed that learning is never useless, knowledge can only be useful or not useful, but it's absolutely not useless!

  This is also one of the reasons why he was forced to get up early every day and struggle with these "flowers"! Although I hate those inexplicable troubles, I like a lazy and free life, but sometimes thinking about it, I really don't want to become what my mother said, becoming a passerby. So I also want to overcome the habit of being distracted as soon as possible and do something meaningful, but unfortunately, I couldn't overcome it. More importantly, what is considered a meaningful thing?

  "Good morning, Xiao Tian!" It was a sweet-voiced girl who wasn't particularly beautiful but very delicate-looking. She and Xiao Tian had been together since childhood, even sitting at the same desk from first grade to now, doing almost everything in sync except for walking to and from school.

  "Hey, Xiaonan! Grandma said to come home for dinner today. Yesterday, Dad and the others came back from Dragon Boat Festival, and Mom made a lot of dishes that we didn't finish eating, so there's still a lot left over. We looked for you everywhere yesterday but couldn't find you, where did you go?" asked Xiaotian as he sat down to tidy up his desk while asking sideways.

  Qi Xiaonan had lost both parents at a young age, and her grandparents had passed away early. Her mother had died in childbirth when she was born. Her father had carried her on his back to school on her first day of primary school because their family couldn't afford a bike. However, he had been in such a hurry that he hadn't noticed the road and was hit by a van coming from the side. In the moment before the impact, it seemed like an instinctive reaction for him to throw Qi Xiaonan out, who landed squarely on Xiaotian, who was looking up at the school's nameplate in a daze.

  From then on, Qi Xiaonan grew up eating at the expense of others. His tuition was partially funded by the school and partially by the villagers. It's strange to say that Qi Xiaonan's home, including the courtyard and rooms, were spotless, and he also had excellent cooking skills, but it's unknown who taught him. He could make a few vegetable leaves into a big bowl of rice for Xiao Tian to eat. As the saying goes, "Poor children grow up early!" Of course, Xiao Tian thought this was strange because he told Qi Xiaonan more than once that if they swapped positions, he would have starved to death long ago. Even if he could go to Qi's house every day to freeload, he would still get dirty.

  Qī Xiǎo Nán replied, "I went to Aunt Wang's place yesterday. They're building a house and many workers stayed for dinner. There weren't enough people, so I went to help out early in the morning. Eh! Xiǎo Tiān, there are only a few days left before the exam. Which high school do you plan on attending?"

  "Where can I decide? But I don't want to be too far away from home! How about you?"

  Qī Xiǎo Nán gave him a sweet smile and said: "Wherever you go, I'll go too. I'm better at studying than you are, so keeping up with you won't be a problem!"

  "Stop it, you have a bright future ahead of you, don't end up like me, with 20 hours of blankness in my head every day and the remaining 4 hours spent dreaming. Actually, I've already thought this through for you, high school doesn't matter, whether it's a key school or not, there's no difference. I just don't believe that all students from Tsinghua and Peking University are from key schools? As long as you have the heart, you can even get into Harvard through self-study! So what's important is university, the tuition fees are quite expensive, if you listen to my advice, go to my dad's university, your parents can help you with extra tutoring there, and your chances of getting a scholarship will be higher, and the pressure will be less. That way, you won't have to work part-time jobs and divide your attention!"

  "Alright! I'll listen to you!" Qi Xiaonan replied nonchalantly.

  "Hah! You agreed so quickly!" Xiaotian's face was expressionless as he responded. He thought to himself, "Can't stand this single-celled guy!"

  "Silly!" Qiao Xianan said angrily, pouting her mouth and making a face at Xiaotian before lowering her head to read.

  "Hey, Xiaonan! What do you think if I join the army? Am I suitable for it?" Xiang Xiaotian had already tidied up his desk and placed an open language textbook on it, but his gaze was fixed on the electric fan on the ceiling beam, staring at Qiao Xiaonan without even blinking.

  "Huh? Why did you suddenly think of asking this, how old are you anyway, even if you wanted to go, you can't!" Qi Xiaonan put down her book and asked in surprise.

  "I don't know either, maybe it's because of Grandpa, you also know his situation, we grew up listening to his stories from childhood. But you also understand me, I want to be a big tycoon, haha! Spend money like dirt, hire a bunch of nannies, even have someone squeeze toothpaste for me! Haha!" Thinking of this, he looked at Little Tian with an unusual glint in his eyes, very spirited, and chuckled a few times.

  Qiao Xianan glared at him and retorted: "Grandfather, I know that, but he has been fighting for so many years! Does he still want you to go?"

  Xiang Xiao Tian tilted his head, thought for a moment and said: "I really don't know, he didn't tell me directly, I just feel that he has this idea, but I'm afraid, what if he really told me. Would I give up my own dreams to listen to him?"

  Qī Xiǎo Nán replied seriously: "If Grandpa really told you, I hope you go. We are still young and have many opportunities to fulfill our wishes, but it's different for Grandpa and his generation. I think he now wants you to inherit his ideas rather than help him complete his unfulfilled wishes. It feels like a kind of entrustment, a kind of inheritance."

  "Alright, I admit you make some sense and have convinced me a bit. But with my personality, if I were to stay there for a few days, wouldn't I get into trouble? And with my small build, I can only run so much, what about hand-to-hand combat? Wouldn't I get beaten up badly? Plus, I often zone out, what if during a critical moment on the battlefield, I get distracted and run away? Even if I don't get shot, wouldn't they send me back to the military department in shame? How humiliating! And also..."

  Qī Xiǎo Nán disdainfully interrupted the concerns of Xiǎo Tiān, saying: "Stop it, stop it. You're thinking too much, what if Grandpa doesn't let you go? Can't you still continue to chase your tycoon dreams? I think you should first get past this hurdle in front of you."

  "Ah! That's right, that's right! Not getting into high school would be the real embarrassment. I'd better hit the books for now." Still feeling shaken and distracted, Xiao Tian was suddenly called back to reality by Qi Xiaonan's words, realizing what the current situation was all about. He then began to bow his head and start studying.

  And so began an ordinary day for the first year of junior high school.