The summer vacation of 2091 passed, and they entered the third year of junior high school. The first semester was relatively peaceful, just busy. By the second semester, it felt like chaos.
Ninghu Middle School had a very fast teaching pace, especially the elite classes. The courses mandated by the Ministry of Education were generally finished before the end of the second year of junior high. The first semester of the third year was entirely dedicated to advanced, over-syllabus courses, and by the second semester, it was daily endless practice questions.
The tactic of a sea of questions, fighting until numb. The reason most students weren't nervous when entering the exam hall wasn't because they had good mindsets, but simply because it had become second nature.
Students no longer moved between classrooms for lessons. Everyone sat quietly in their classrooms, diligently studying at their desks. The subject teachers didn't come often; they were either preparing exams or grading them.
Both the junior and senior high school entrance exams used paper test papers, so daily exams and homework were also mostly paper-based. Aside from engineering subjects requiring computers and 3D printers, other aspects weren't much different from students at the beginning of the century.
Test papers were stacked high, one on top of another. Every so often, the sanitation committee would collect the old test papers and hand them over to the school's environmental department to be made into new recycled paper, which was then printed into new test papers. Everyone jokingly called this process "question transfer."
Various small objects made for engineering practicals piled up on the classroom windowsills every day, replaced weekly. Of course, the raw materials were also reused. This process was jokingly referred to as the "Exhibition Expo."
Every day, there were right and wrong answers to the questions. Incorrect questions had to be photographed with a student tablet to create an electronic collection of wrong answers. This was also daily homework. Wrong answers had to be corrected, and then those still not understood were sent to the corresponding subject teacher, or one could search for the solution process on an online learning platform, similar to the Xiaoyuan Souti and Xuebajun apps of that era.
The total score for the Southeast Province middle school exam was 820 points. Chinese Language, Mathematics, and English, which were compulsory, each had a full score of 150. Elective subjects each had a full score of 100, plus 70 points for Physical Education.
Physical Education items were also divided into two categories. Compulsory items included a 1500-meter long-distance run for boys, a 1000-meter long-distance run for girls, pull-ups for boys, sit-ups for girls, 200-meter freestyle for boys, 150-meter freestyle for girls, seated forward bend, and 100-meter sprint.
In addition to these, there were optional items: shot put, volleyball bump, rope skipping, 24-form simplified Tai Chi, 50-meter run, 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter backstroke, high jump, standing long jump, etc. Two items could be chosen.
The total score of 70 for the Physical Education exam was really valuable, so the school also attached great importance to it. There were two exercise breaks a day, totaling two hours. After evening self-study, the Class Teacher would also drive them to the sports field to exercise. Simon could no longer stroll with Su Xiangli in the night, as he was truly exhausted after exercising.
As expected, Simon's 'Old Chinese Medicine Handshake' became thoroughly popular.
Relieving fatigue, accelerating recovery, and an immediate comfortable experience—after each exercise break, familiar classmates would gather around him like cats begging for food.
There were both boys and girls. Simon, of course, treated them differently. For boys, he could use various violent methods, including bone setting, twisting their bodies like firecrackers, which always drew gasps from those around. For girls, he was very gentle, simply massaging their backs, shoulders, and necks. Under Su Xiangli's death glare, Simon was like a true gentleman. As per the old rule, he only massaged ten people at a time, first come, first served.
Another night run ended. The large sports field had only a few streetlights, not illuminating it thoroughly, so it was generally dark. But even so, a circle of familiar faces surrounded Simon.
Some had been following Xiao Lu from the beginning, running without stopping; some met him halfway and rushed to catch up; and some, after following for a while, lost energy, their legs aching, and could only watch themselves fall behind. But they were lucky enough that when they were lapped, Simon just happened to finish his run.
It was this group of people, possessing perseverance, keen eyesight, and luck, who enjoyed an extraordinary comfortable experience. Some always said that when Simon was massaging them, they wouldn't even care if their own father was being shot next to them.
...Such days passed, calm and without much change.
Counting on his fingers, there were still three months until the junior high school entrance exam and two months until the physical education assessment. In the teachers' words, it was now the sprint stage.
Simon didn't particularly like this metaphor. Although vivid, he just hated that urgent feeling of being herded. His study life was still calm and unhurried. His last mock exam ranked him first in his grade, first in the entire school, second in the entire district, and second in the entire city.
As the difficulty of the courses increased, it was impossible for Simon to get full marks in every subject.
Chinese Language, not to mention, always had a scattered six or seven points lost inexplicably. History was very painful; his analysis of historical facts often erred, leading to an average of only 98 in that subject. So, excluding Physical Education, his total score in mock exams always fluctuated around 740 points.
The top student in the entire city was from a provincial junior high school in Zhenjiang District. The school he attended was slightly inferior to Ninghu Middle School, where Simon was. Unexpectedly, this year, the perennial second-place school produced such a talent.
The Class Teacher always used the top student from the friendly school to admonish Simon, telling him to work harder, that there were always people better than him, and behind every expert was another expert, and behind every capable person was someone else to contend with.
Although Someone Lu also had moments of encountering 'other people's children,' these were minor annoyances for him, who wasn't afraid of boiling water. The only thing that worried him was that Su Xiangli was going for intensive training to prepare for her art exam. The location was a training school in Zhenjiang District, Jiangzhe City, quite far from Luoshan but quite close to her hometown, Linhai.
Except for a brief meeting during the junior high school physical education exam, he figured he wouldn't see her for two months.
Interestingly, when it came to video calls on weekends, Simon always forgot to message his family but was always mindful of Su Xiangli. He had reflected on this several times but still hadn't changed.
With the AI faust created by Simon, long-distance relationships could have daily surprises.
For example, Simon and Su Xiangli would set alarms for each other before bed, recording a message they could listen to when they woke up the next day. This was a way to bypass the 'adolescent mode' for calls. Sometimes they would set alarms for each other this way until late at night, listening to each other's messages, laughing like two Fools.
"Today is April 1, 2092. Happy Fool's Day! I checked the weather forecast on the NCAS official website. It should be 19 degrees Celsius outdoors today, and Zhenjiang District is sunny. Don't stay indoors all the time; go out and get some sun. Be careful when practicing dance. When I'm not around, you must pay attention to your health..."
Practicing ballet requires standing on pointe, with all the body's weight pressing on the toes. If practiced improperly, it's easy to get injured, and long-term accumulated injuries can even lead to deformities.
Simon was always very distressed and would massage Su Xiangli's feet.
The swan girl's toes were like ice-carved jade, treading on clear breezes and bright moons, fluttering like a beautiful butterfly among flowers, causing the solemn stag to chase frequently.
Simon remembered it clearly.
[Lu: The dense afterglow of the setting sun shone on the ground, like golden orange juice flowing. Su Su's spine and arch of her foot curved and stretched. She was vibrant, an undeniable deep infatuation, a comfortable and soothing temperature. I hold you, I am the master of love, yet I run like a drudge, gathering the sweet dew of pleasure to offer to the swan in my dreams, needing only your smile as reward.]
"Hey, do you think my hands will get athlete's foot?"
Su Xiangli lifted her leg to kick Simon's smug face, "Let your face get athlete's foot too!"
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