Qingteng's Mind - Middle School Era

Chapter 1393 Proud
"The list of the top 100 students in the midterm exams is out!"

Before the school bell had even finished ringing on Wednesday afternoon, shouts could be heard coming from the hallway:
What followed was a flurry of footsteps, the clatter of tables and chairs, and excited urging.

"Let's go! Let's go take a look!"

Look how much I've improved!

Will I be able to get the reward?

Tang Ji nudged Xu Renming and Zhou Yuchen at the table in front of him: "Do you want to go down and take a look?"

Xu Renming glanced at him, his face calm: "There are so many people here, how can we see anything? Let's go when we're eating."

Zhou Yuchen was surprised: "Old Xu, when did you become so calm?"

Xu Renming snorted.

Soon, the news spread from the hallway into the classroom:

"Do you know who's number one in the whole school? It's He Shiling from Class 5! Oh my god!"

"It's He Shiling from Class 5! Yi Lingfei from Class 16 is second in the whole school—twenty points short! Twenty points!"

The classroom of Class 5 suddenly fell silent as the sounds from the corridor rushed in like the wind.

All eyes turned to the southwest corner of the classroom—there was no jealousy, no bitterness, only pure envy, admiration, and a touch of pride in sharing in the glory.

Because everyone's grades are improving, and everyone is moving forward, all of which is based on the fact that the class monitor and the group leader are willing to share their learning experiences, and even shared the key points and difficulties that Zheng Yifan had compiled.

Their leader is moving even faster and has made it into the top ten of the grade. So what about the rest of them? They will only want to catch up, for themselves and for the reward of their "willingness to share".

Just as some people were about to rush out, the bell for the short study session rang, saving the day.

"Who is the other person in the top ten?" Ling Mengchu couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah, yeah, who is it?" Wang Xinyi also came over and looked past Ling Mengchu towards the back. "Could it be Xiaoyu?"

Geng Xinyu is quietly doing her homework right now.

Wang Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "I'll go see it after class."

The two suppressed their itchy curiosity and lowered their heads—though their pens were moving, their minds had already flown to the bulletin board downstairs.

When the campus broadcast came on at dusk, the list of the top 100 students was still packed with people.

Ling Mengchu pulled Wang Xiaoxiao and finally squeezed her way out of the crowd, her face beaming with an uncontainable smile—she had improved, ranking forty-ninth, her best result ever.

After walking a few steps, Ling Mengchu suddenly stopped: "I forgot to check how many people were in the top fifty of our class! Who are they?"

Wang Xiaoxiao blinked: "Uh, I only counted the number of people and forgot to look at the list."

The two men turned around, looking at the still-solid wall of people, and were hesitating whether to charge back when they suddenly heard a shout: "Wait for me!"

Wang Xinyi squeezed through the crowd, her hair disheveled, but her eyes shining like stars: "There are so many people! I'm being crushed! Did you see your names? Have you made any progress?"

Ling Mengchu and Wang Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance and tacitly swallowed back what they wanted to say.

"What's wrong? Didn't any of you look?" Wang Xinyi asked breathlessly. "I finally saw my ranking—78th! That's better than last time! If you didn't see it, we'll—"

"No need, no need!" Wang Xiaoxiao quickly waved her hand. She figured just needed to remember the number of students; Teacher Yan would definitely come and tell them during evening self-study. "Let's go back to the classroom!"

When the three returned to the classroom, they were surprised to find that He Shiling and Geng Xinyu's seats were empty.

"Didn't they both come back a long time ago?"

Guo Wenwen shook her head; when she returned, the two of them were no longer there.

Four people, looking at each other, wondering where the other two went.

Did they check the top 100 list too?!
possible!
After all, they were in the top five and first place. The four of them calmed down, spread out their homework, but didn't do it; their hearts were full of joy.

The bell for evening self-study had just rung when our usually elusive homeroom teacher, who was rarely seen, surprisingly walked into the classroom.

His radiant smile could light up the entire night: "Everyone did really well on the exam!"

I don't know who started it, but applause broke out.

After a brief pause in the applause, Li Shiping continued, "They all deserve praise for their progress. Especially noteworthy is—"

He paused deliberately, looking with satisfaction at the ears perked up below the stage, "This time, sixteen students from our class made it into the top fifty in the whole school, and thirty-six students made it into the top one hundred!"

The applause erupted again and lasted for a full two minutes.

Li Shiping waved his hand: "The other students are also good, none of them are outside the top 200." He looked at the southwest corner of the classroom, then slid over to the middle.

"What deserves the most praise is that two students in our class are in the top ten and three students are in the top fifteen—He Shiling, Geng Xinyu, and Tan Lin. I have seen everyone's progress and I am very pleased. I hope you will continue to work hard and achieve even better results."

"Teacher!" someone shouted, "How did Class 16 do on the exam?"

Li Shiping's smile deepened: "Don't always focus on others, just do your best. Every improvement you make is a victory."

He looked around the classroom. “At the school assembly on Friday, students who make significant progress will receive material rewards, while the rest will receive encouragement!”

The cheers nearly lifted the roof off.

Amidst the joyful cheers, Li Shiping walked out of the classroom with his hands behind his back and a beaming smile. The corridor lights cast a long shadow of him, his silhouette radiating contentment.

On Friday, the entire playground was bathed in the bright sunshine of early summer during the school assembly.

Principal Cao stood on the podium, his voice booming across the campus through the loudspeakers: "...Effort will surely be rewarded, and hard work will eventually bear fruit!"

There was a wave of applause.

The awards ceremony began. When the name "First Place in Grade 11, He Shiling" was announced, the area where Class 5 was located erupted in the loudest cheers.

He Shiling walked onto the stage, the sunlight casting a faint golden glow around her. As she accepted the certificate, her gaze swept across the audience—Geng Xinyu was clapping enthusiastically, Wang Xinyi jumped up and waved, and Ling Chuyang watched her quietly with a smile on his lips.

At that moment, youth seemed to take on a concrete shape:
It is the score formed by sweat, the perseverance under the desk lamp late at night, the sincere applause of classmates, the certificate shining in the sunlight, and even more so, the self who stands in the crowd and finally reaches the top.

He Shiling held up the certificate and waved it gently towards Class 5.

In the audience, Geng Xinyu suddenly remembered the notes Zheng Yifan had left behind before transferring schools. The dense handwriting, the important markings, the sticky notes tucked between the pages—"Easy to make mistakes here," "Remember this model," "Keep it up."

She ranked fifth.

She herself hadn't thought of it; perhaps, she should thank him...

"Xiaoyu, what are you thinking about? The top ten will come up on stage to receive their awards." Wang Xiaoxiao nudged Geng Xinyu, who quickly got up and walked towards the stage.

The school assembly ended just as the sun was setting.

The entire campus was bathed in golden light, and the shadows of the plane trees stretched long, weaving together a unique picture of youth.

"Let's go!" Ling Mengchu linked arms with He Shiling on one arm and pulled Geng Xinyu with the other. "Today is worth celebrating!"

"What are we celebrating?" Wang Xinyi leaned closer.

“Celebrating…” Ling Mengchu’s eyes darted around, “Celebrating the end of spring and the arrival of summer, and that we are still young!”

Laughter filled the air along the way.

Yes, they are young. The road ahead is long, there will be exams, there will be rankings, and they will continue to run—towards the next goal, the next summer, and the next shining version of themselves.

The spring breeze is proud of horseshoe disease, seeing Chang'an flowers in one day.

And their Chang'an is this sun-drenched, hopeful campus, and the group of best people in front of them who have cried and laughed together, fallen and gotten back up together.