Chapter 419 High School Graduation!

The last days of high school are like a journey in the desert.

In the last few days of the third review and before the college entrance examination, time has leapt across the summer solstice, the temperature in Jiangchuan City has reached its peak, the weather is extremely dry, and the heat waves are pressing inside and outside the classroom. During those days and nights, the senior high school students are sweating and burying their heads in their papers, but ahead of them, there is still a mountain of questions that seems to have no end.

At such a time, students with good grades are relatively relaxed, as they have been well prepared and have ready ammunition. Every time they take a test, they feel like they have read all the A·V in the world and have no worries.

Students with poor academic performance are mostly suffering from anxiety, tension or self-abandonment at this time. The upcoming college entrance examination is no less than a death sentence for them.

During their daily interactions, Zhang Yunqi could feel that many times, what people feared was not necessarily the upcoming exam, but the fact that a test paper might deny their entire unknown life; what they feared was not necessarily not being able to get into a good school, but the disappointment in their parents' eyes; what they feared was not necessarily graduation in midsummer July, but the fact that they would never see the person they wanted to see again.

The unknown is always what young people think is their biggest enemy.

Now, the summer solstice has arrived, and the unknown has arrived.

In this summer when everything is growing luxuriantly, time, wrapped with various emotions such as sorrow, anxiety or joy, never stops. The vigorous preparations for the college entrance examination of Jiangchuan No. 1 Middle School finally came to the last day on the eve of the Lesser Heat!
The last day of three years of high school.

The last day of ten years of hard study.

After this day, no matter what you have gained or lost, everyone must pack up and leave this school, which is the so-called graduation.

The morning classes are still going on, but the teachers of each subject no longer explain the test papers. Instead, they spend about ten minutes analyzing the required test questions and the final questions for the students, and then talk about their own tips and experiences for the college entrance examination. The remaining time is for students to study on their own.

After ten years of studying, the students were extremely restless and could hardly concentrate on their books. The whole classroom was noisy. The teachers didn't care and just sat on the podium, smiling and watching.

The last class in the morning is a self-study class.

Acting head teacher and English teacher Lorraine came into the classroom.

She repeatedly emphasized the college entrance examination process and precautions at the podium, and then distributed admission tickets.

The admission ticket at that time was not made of cards like the ones in later generations. It was just a piece of white paper with the name and admission ticket number printed in bold font. The school class seat was then confirmed based on the last digit of the number.

It was Zhang Yunqi’s first time to take the college entrance examination, and he was extremely curious. When he heard Luo Lin calling his name, he went up to get his admission ticket.

Luo Lin turned her head and said "Come on" to him before handing him the admission ticket.

Zhang Yunqi ignored Luo Lin and looked at his admission ticket first. His examination venue was at the No. 1 Middle School in the city.

This is the best draw.

The reason is not too simple. No. 1 Middle School is the best middle school in Jiangchuan City, and most of the students from Tsinghua University and North China University of Political Science and Law come from here. In addition, it is the home court, with the best environment and the most top students. It is the right place at the right time and right people.

Zhang Yunqi was in a good mood and said to Luo Lin, "Thank you for giving me free English lessons this year."

Luo Lin asked, "Who said I'll give you free tutoring?"

Zhang Yunqi smiled and said, "Then I will introduce you to a boyfriend after the college entrance examination?"

Luo Lin blushed, but luckily her voice was low and no other students heard her. Otherwise, where would her authority as the acting head teacher be?

Although, she had no dignity in front of Zhang Yunqi.

Zhang Yunqi had already turned around and went downstairs. He showed his admission ticket to Chu Jian.

When she first saw him, she felt somewhat happy because she was also assigned to No. 1 Middle School. However, when she saw that Zhang Yunqi's examination room was No. 7 in Building 1, she was not so happy because she was in Examination Room No. 5 in Jiejing Building.

The two were quite far apart.

Zhang Yunqi said: "When you finish each exam, I will go to Jiejinglou to wait for you, and then we will have dinner together."

Chu Jian was happy in her heart, but she said seriously, "You can't leave the examination room early for each exam. Check the test paper carefully after you finish it. You can only hand in the paper after the bell rings. Whoever leaves the examination room first can go to the other examination room first."

Zhang Yunqi asked: "What if we go the wrong way?"

Chu Jian shook the phone in his hand and smiled: "Here is this."

＊＊＊＊＊＊
As we were talking, half of the admission tickets had already been issued.

The students were all whispering to each other, they also hoped that they could be assigned to this school. Generally speaking, the students of No. 1 Middle School basically did not take the examinations of other schools in the city seriously, and the students in ordinary classes with poor grades thought so more often.

Chinese people, when they are not doing well, they will think that they need God to bless them. Poor students really need this luck. For them, being able to cheat is a blessing.

If I could be assigned to the same examination room as Chu Jian, who ranked first in the school, and the location was next to each other, it would definitely be a stroke of luck. Of course, even if this low-probability event could only happen in dreams, it would be good to be assigned to the examination room of my own school. Compared with other schools, the probability of top students in the examination room of No. 1 Middle School in the city must be higher.

Tian Zhuangzhuang was unlucky and was assigned to the No. 6 Middle School in the city.

Actually, his grades were okay. Although he spent his freshman and sophomore years in the game hall with Wang Xiaokai and Yang Wei, he was not as crazy as those two brothers and did not fall behind in his studies. In his senior year, under the mixed doubles of his parents, he suddenly had an epiphany and studied hard. Hey, his grades improved a lot, and if he didn't perform poorly, he should be able to get into a small second-tier university.

Tian Zhuangzhuang was very unhappy about being assigned to the No. 6 Middle School in the city, but there was nothing he could do.

After the admission tickets were distributed, the classroom was noisy.

A few happy and a few sad.

Thinking that I will graduate soon, I feel even more depressed.

Luo Lin patted the podium to quiet the noisy students, then said with a smile: "We will not have lectures or review in the rest of this class. Students, please close your textbooks and test papers, and we will write from memory."

A classmate asked: "What do you write down?"

Luo Lin said, "Write down the names of all the classmates." After a pause, she added, "Including those who have left us."

For some reason, the classroom suddenly became completely quiet.

******
After school at noon, we eat in the cafeteria.

Zhang Yunqi, Chu Jian, Tian Zhuangzhuang and a few other good classmates went to eat together.

After what happened some time ago, and the college entrance examination, the food in the school cafeteria has improved and upgraded, but the taste is still the same. Of course, Zhang Yunqi and a few others came just for that taste.

After all, in a few hours, they would have to pack up their belongings and leave. This would most likely be their last meal in the school cafeteria.

After dinner, Zhang Yunqi and Chu Jian took a walk in the campus, looking at the scenery along the way.

In fact, compared to when I first came here three years ago, the school has not changed much, or everything has changed quietly and imperceptibly. In Zhang Yunqi's eyes, it is probably just that the exterior walls of the former Soviet-style teaching buildings have been eroded by time and are no longer recognizable. The brick walls of the dormitories have been completely occupied by ivy and moss. The camphor trees on both sides of the campus paths are blooming green in the summer. The younger students on the basketball court are sweating profusely, and the laughter of the younger students with their skirts swaying in the wind is still cheerful.

In fact, nothing has changed.

This was the midsummer of Jiangchuan No. 1995 Middle School in 1992, and it was also the midsummer of Jiangchuan No. Middle School in . It was just that people came and people left.

When she first met him, she was reminded of Yu Xin's "Fu on the Dead Tree": "In the past I planted willows, which swayed in the south of the Han River. Now I see them withering, and I feel sad by the river. If trees are like this, how can people bear it?"

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There are classes in the afternoon.

The last afternoon of study in high school.

Everyone's mind is no longer on studying.

The students of Class 156 packed up their books, textbooks and test papers, took out their yearbooks and postcards, and left messages for each other.

For Zhang Yunqi, this commemorative method full of the sense of time is simple. He flipped through a lot of yearbooks and read a lot of messages. Most of the messages were naive, some were secretive, some were bold confessions, and of course, there were also some very wise ones.

Zhang Yunqi saw this message in Lin Xueqing's yearbook: "After today and the exams, this class will basically never be together again in this life. Remember the good things and forget the bad things. They are all important to us."

The message belongs to Anonymous.

But the anonymous message is really nice.

Zhang Yunqi and Chu Jian were the people who received the most requests to leave messages.

Zhang Yunqi took a pen and wrote carefully. All the messages he left to all his classmates were exactly the same 11 words: "From today on, eat well, drink well, and sleep well."

Some classmates said that Zhang Yunqi was perfunctory.

Zhang Yunqi could only smile bitterly.

He smiled and asked Chu Jian: "Why don't you leave a message for me in the yearbook?"

Chu Jian thought for a moment and said, "I don't want you to leave a message."

Zhang Yunqi was curious and asked, "Why?"

Chu Jian whispered: "Seeing you eat well, drink well and sleep well, I can eat well, drink well and sleep well."

＊＊＊＊＊＊
Time moves forward in the restlessness of impending separation.

Outside the corridor, some students were tearing up books and making airplanes, some were shouting "Good luck on the college entrance examination!" and some were shouting "Li Xiaoman, I love you!"
At that time, the school radio was playing "My Deskmate" released by Gao Xiaosong in 1994:
Will you remember tomorrow?

The diary you wrote yesterday

Will you still miss me tomorrow?
You used to cry the most
The teachers have forgotten
You who can’t guess the problem

I also accidentally flipped through the photos
I just remembered you at the same table

……

On the floor of Class 156 of the First Teaching Building, many students began to cut up their test papers in the excitement of youth. They scattered the cut test papers down from the teaching building frantically. In an instant, the whole sky was covered with white pieces of paper, and each piece of snow represented three years of youth.

Although the students outside were making a lot of noise, Zhang Yunqi stayed in his seat and talked to Chu Jian.

Just now, Zhang Yunqi heard an animal outside confessing his love to Li Xiaoman. Fortunately, it was not their first meeting, otherwise he would have to go out with an 18-meter-long machete.

As he was chatting with Chu Jian, Zhang Yunqi suddenly felt that the corridor outside the classroom had become quiet.

He turned his head and then was stunned.

In the corridor where the crowd automatically made way, their old class teacher, Wang Mingzhen, slowly walked over.

His sparse hair had turned completely white, as if he had not recovered from a serious illness. His wrinkled face was pale and ugly, and he coughed from time to time. He walked with difficulty, leaning on a crutch and supported by his English teacher Lorraine, as he walked through the crowd step by step, into Class 156, and towards the three-foot podium where he had stood for forty years.

Zhang Yunqi just looked at the old man. Without saying a word, he stood up from his seat. Chu Jian stood up, Tian Zhuangzhuang stood up, and Yu Qingqing stood up...

All the students in Class 156 walked in and stood, silently looking at the old man on the podium who covered his mouth and coughed heavily again.

After a long time, when the coughing stopped, the old man raised his head, panting. His cloudy eyes swept over every young face in the classroom and said, "This is your last class, and it is also the last time I stand on the podium. You read the books again, and I will look at you again."

******
(End of this chapter)