After the parent-teacher meeting, with the consent of her parents and teacher, Jiang Yumo no longer had to stay for evening self-study until the art exam. Every afternoon after school, Father and Mother took turns driving her to her dance teacher’s place for class. The schedule was tight, to say the least. Before this, Jiang Yumo had actually anticipated that it would be tough, but it was only when she had to shuttle between school and the dance studio every day that she realized the meaning of her brother’s words.
In this world, perhaps there truly is no easy path.
Jiang Yumo no longer had to deliberately lose weight. She ate three meals a day without restraint, and within less than a month, she had lost several kilograms from her original weight.
Time passed quickly, and before she knew it, November had arrived.
And Duan Ye’s birthday was also approaching.
On this day, Jiang Yumo, who was drenched in sweat, sat gasping for breath in the dance studio and took a quick glance at her phone.
Aside from Yan Qing, who slacked off during evening self-study, there was also a message from Traveler.
Traveler : [I happened to hear classmates talking that the registration deadline for the art exam today.]
Jiang Yumo wiped away her sweat replied : [Yes, it ended at 8 p.m. on the 10th. I’ve already registered, and the official exam will be in January.]
Traveler : [Then do your best, but can your body handle it?]
Jiang Yumo pursed her lips.
She felt that she was truly not someone who could endure hardship.
After realizing this, she could also accept the ending in the original work. This world is originally fair, right? She couldn’t endure any hardships and her grades were not outstanding either. In the end, she would definitely just belong to the ordinary.
These days have been really tiring, but she couldn’t say it out loud.
She couldn’t tell her parents because, in fact, they unconditionally supported every decision she made.
She couldn’t tell her friends, and especially not Duan Ye.
Because this was her own choice.
Isn’t there a saying? Even if it’s a chosen path, you have to walk it through, even if you’re crying.
She would feel anxious, not knowing whether her decision was right or wrong, and she didn’t know what she would do if she didn’t pass the art exam or perform as well as in the original work during the college entrance exam. Knowing the future is really not good at all! She didn’t understand how to digest negative emotions, so she could only occasionally talk to some online friends she didn’t know, who didn’t know her either. This way, she wouldn’t have any burden.
Jiang Yumo : [😭]
Jiang Yumo : [Even if I can’t bear it, I must persevere!]
After venting some emotional garbage, she decisively shifted the topic to the other person : [What about you? Have your emotions eased a bit recently?]
She only came to know that the pressure on top students was no less than that on the students with poor grades.
The students with poor grades were anxious about not being able to get into a slightly better university.
As for the top students, they were anxious about whether they could achieve even higher scores.
Traveler : [It’s alright, both my parents and the school hope that I can become the top scorer in our province.]
Traveler : [Actually, it’s also because of my poor mental quality. Have I told you before? I have a relative who, due to a failure in the college entrance examination and couldn’t enter his dream university. In the end, he couldn’t bear the pressure. Over the years, he has become somewhat confused. I’m quite afraid of ending up like him.”
Jiang Yumo : [Well… maybe because I’m not a top student. I think the college entrance examination is important, but it doesn’t determine a person’s entire life. Don’t be so nervous. If it really doesn’t work out, you can go online and see what kind of jobs graduates end up doing and whether they are happy now. It should ease your anxiety. Maybe my parents and teachers don’t have such high expectations of me, so sometimes I comfort myself by thinking that even if I don’t achieve great success in the future, it’s okay. I can definitely find a job to support myself, earn a salary, and buy the things I want to eat and drink.]
Jiang Yumo : [I don’t know if I’ve comforted you, but I feel that you can aspire to become a better person and work towards it. However, at the same time, you also need to accept the possibility that you may just be an ordinary person in the future.]
Traveler : [Thank you.]
Everyone has some thoughts in their hearts that they can’t express to the people close to them, but they feel no psychological pressure when talking to strangers.
Perhaps this is why social networking media on the internet are becoming more and more developed and popular.
Every year, the education sector is concerned about the mental health of third year students of high school.
Starting two years ago, Fifth High specially set up a counseling room and hired professional psychology teachers. But every year, there is news from high school students in various provinces across the country who can’t bear the pressure. The government leaders also attach great importance to this. As the saying goes, instructions are given from above. When the leaders of Fifth High received the instructions to reduce the burden on students, they held a meeting for discussion. Finally, the leaders of Fifth High and First High reached an agreement to continue the friendship from two years ago and organize a friendly basketball match between the two schools this time!
After hearing this, the third year students couldn’t help but privately complain, “The school is really… What does a basketball game have to do with us? If they really want to reduce our burden, they should just give us two days off, or even just one day!”
The school administration doesn’t hear or consider the students’ complaints.
The homeroom teacher of Class 10 came out of the meeting room with a bright expression on his face.
Although their class average is not high, at times like this, they have to rely on the students from Class 10 to shine, right?
He called the class monitor and asked him to bring Duan Ye and Zhou Ji to him.
From early October to November, Duan Ye and Zhou Ji would play basketball almost every two to three days. Now, seeing the two of them playing on the court doesn’t surprise anyone. However, despite that, they were talking on the court but never off the court, just like before. It’s just that the posts on the school’s online forum about when they would fight or who is the school boss are becoming fewer and fewer each day.