Chapter 9

At six in the morning, the sun had yet to rise, and the scorching heat of the previous day had completely dissipated. This was the coolest time of the day in the height of summer. The insects that had chirped all night outside the window seemed to be taking a break, as there was no sound. The murmurs and grinding of teeth had ceased, and even the loud snores could be ignored... In short, this was the time when Feng Yiping slept the soundest.

Good times never last long, and the sweetest dreams came to an abrupt end with the ringing of the third bell.

The dormitory was soon filled with noise as students urged each other to get up, make their beds, and then carry basins filled with towels, toothpaste, and toothbrushes to the canteen to wash up and use the toilet.

Feng Yiping really wanted to stay in bed, but since it was the first day, he didn't want to leave a bad impression on his classmates, especially those sharing his room. So, he mustered his strength, tidied up his bed with Xiao Zhijie, and then walked to the canteen in a daze.

There was only one water trough with about ten faucets. He squeezed in, filled a basin with water, and walked to the pond to brush his teeth and wash his face.

On the other side of the pond, in the third-grade classroom, some students were blowing out candles and coming out to wash up. This was a tradition; in the third grade, some students would stay in the classroom to study after evening self-study and wake up early in the morning to study again.

The school did not encourage this behavior, so the classrooms were not lit; only candles were allowed. However, the school did not oppose it either; no matter how late they stayed or how early they got up, no teacher would force them to leave the classroom.

At around 6:15, the students gathered in groups on the playground. The three first-grade classes were the most enthusiastic, almost all present. The three homeroom teachers stood in front of the lines, counted the students, and were quite satisfied. The two third-grade classes were also good, but the two second-grade classes were the most sluggish.

At 6:15, the principal and other leaders stood on the stage, and the duty teacher, along with a few student council members, counted the actual number of students in each class.

At this time, the vice-principal came down from the dormitory, followed by four students with their heads hanging low. He didn't bring them over but made them stand in a row at the edge of the playground. He then put his hands on his hips, pointed at the large group, and began to scold them as he walked back and forth.

After the count was complete, the leaders didn't speak. Everyone knew that if they spoke, it would delay the start of the morning run, and the traffic on the road would increase, making it inconvenient.

Starting from the rightmost third-grade class, each class followed in sequence, turned right, and marched out of the school gate, running south along the road.

The homeroom teachers stood by their classes, and a physical education teacher blew a whistle, running back and forth. Soon, the students' footsteps became synchronized.

The group didn't run fast. After about two miles, they turned at a bend near a small village, ran back to the school, and completed a total of about 3 kilometers. A few girls fell behind and were accompanied by the PE teacher, who ran slowly behind them.

After running back to the school, they gathered again, and the principal gave a speech, welcoming the new students and encouraging everyone to cherish time and study hard. Then the vice-principal praised most of the students and criticized the four who were standing in punishment.

After the assembly, there were a few minutes left before 7:00, when morning self-study began.

At 7:45, morning self-study ended, and breakfast time began at 8:10, followed by the start of classes. In the morning, there were four classes, with a ten-minute break between each. During the break after the second class, they gathered on the playground again and did the seventh set of radio calisthenics, led by the PE teacher.

After lunch, from 12:00 to 13:30, was nap time. Then there were four more classes until 17:30, followed by dinner at 18:15. Evening self-study began at 18:15 and lasted two hours, with a 15-minute break in between, ending at 20:30. Lights out and bedtime were at 21:30.

This routine was repeated every day, monotonous and tight.

Later, when Feng Yiping faced setbacks and disappointments, he often thought, "If I were still in school, it would be so much better! I just need to study hard and don't have to deal with the complicated and headache-inducing people and things."

But when he really returned to the past, to school, and sat at his desk to study, he remembered the good things about entering society. Yes, entering society brought various pressures, but at least he could sleep in!

People are always like this.

When we are young, we envy our older siblings who carry schoolbags to school; when we start school, we envy the older students who live on campus and don't have to commute; when we are in the higher grades and live on campus, we envy those who have jobs; when we start working, we envy those who have families; and after we have families...

In the end, when we become the objects we once envied, we often miss the days of the past.

If we were still children, playing with mud with our friends, how simple and happy it would be; if we were still in school, studying every day, how easy and happy it would be; if we were still single, with no one to worry about, how carefree and comfortable it would be; if we were...

Most people are like this.

When we are at home, we yearn for the excitement of other places; when we are in other places, we miss the warmth of home. When we are young, we long to grow up quickly; but when we grow up, we miss the innocent and carefree days of our youth.

Feng Yiping's head hurt, and he rubbed his temples. It was nap time, and he claimed he wasn't sleepy, but in reality, he couldn't bear the symphony of sounds in the dormitory and couldn't fall asleep in just an hour and a half.

A few other students were also in the classroom, including Huang Jingping from the next room, who was reading Chinese. Feng Yiping compared the new textbooks he got from Wen Hong with the old ones he borrowed from Feng Haitao and found that the changes were minor. After a quick overview, he felt that the difficulty was not high.

There were nine subjects in total: Chinese, Math, English, Physics, Chemistry, Politics, History, Geography, and Botany.

Feng Yiping's grades were good, especially in the humanities. His scores in Chinese, English, and Moral Education were rarely below 90, and in Moral Education, the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions had fixed answers. For the essay questions, as long as he hit the key points, he could get full marks, so he often scored over 95.

As for History, Geography, and Botany, these three subjects were still tested in the first year but became electives in the second year. These subjects mainly relied on memorization, which was not a problem for him with his excellent memory.

His physics was always good. In junior high, he represented the school in the Physics Olympiad every year. He not only mastered the knowledge in the book but could also create challenging questions to test his classmates, earning the praise of his teachers. Unfortunately, during the high school entrance exam, he made an unforgivable mistake and missed the last 15-point question, resulting in a score below 80, which surprised everyone.

On the contrary, chemistry, which most people considered easier than physics, was not his strong suit. Strictly speaking, it was bad. He rarely scored above 80. Wang Yumin had analyzed the reasons with him several times: "With your excellent memory, there's no reason you should do poorly in chemistry. When I studied, I found chemistry the easiest. Just memorize what you need to, and after the reaction, the total amount of elements on both sides is equal. Balance them, and you should do well. Why do you do poorly?" He couldn't explain it, but perhaps he just didn't like it.

The subject that truly held him back was math. In the first year, his math was still good, and in the second year, it was manageable. But in the third year, it became very challenging, especially geometry. During the high school entrance exam, the math questions were the hardest in years, and he only scored 50 points, which was a shock to everyone.

However, now, the math in the first year of junior high, with its simple algebra and equations, was easy for him.

He even thought that if he didn't consider the mid-term exams each semester, he could do what he wanted during regular classes and study intensively a month before the final exams, looking at his classmates' notes. His grades should not be worse than before. He even considered skipping directly to the third year.

However, such a move would certainly attract attention. Although it would save two years and some tuition, he wasn't sure he could get into the county high school. Additionally, he would be separated from Xiao Zhijie and Wang Changning, and they might not have the same close friendship. It seemed the benefits didn't outweigh the costs.

The schedule for the first year of junior high was very tight, and the pace was fast. The school's tradition was to complete all three years of junior high curriculum by the end of the second year, and the entire third year was for comprehensive review. The teachers had to keep up with the pace, so each class was packed with content, and most students felt a lot of pressure. Especially in the science subjects, which were cumulative, if you didn't understand one lesson, the next would be even harder, and it was difficult to keep up with the teacher.

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