1987 My Era

Chapter 9: Even Black and White Impermanence Can't Stop It

Before they started preschool, the two of them barely spoke to each other.

From preschool to sixth grade, the two were desk mates as well as academic rivals, taking turns to be first in the class, every time.

For seven whole years, the first place has been passed back and forth among them and has never fallen into the hands of others.

They are nicknamed the Black and White Devils.

But after entering junior high school, the gap between the two widened instantly. At this time, Yang Yingwen seemed to have a cheat code, and he was always the first in the school, both in junior high school and in high school.

What was Li Heng doing when he first entered junior high school? He was fighting and seeking revenge.

Hui County is a well-known poor county, and the people have always been tough, and the country junior high school is even worse. Because there are so many children born in this batch, the quality is uneven, and the school groups are all kinds of boys and girls, brothers and sisters, and they are domineering.

As soon as he and Zhang Zhiyong stepped into the town, they were betrayed by their elementary school playmate Liu Shuiwen.

Liu Shuiwen took advantage of his cousin being a poor student in school and often called his cousin and a group of people into the dormitory to collect protection fees.

In just one month, Li Heng and Zhang Zhiyong were robbed of their food allowance four times. Each time, all their money was taken away and they were kicked in the stomach each time.

The fifth time, because there was not enough money, everyone in their dormitory was beaten up by Liu Shuiwen and his two brothers.

After being beaten severely, Li Heng and Zhang Zhiyong, who had been patient to the limit, exploded. Not only did they gather classmates who had been bullied to fight them at school, but they also often blocked Liu Shuiwen and his brother on the road they had to take after school.

At its peak, dozens of students who had been bullied by them came to Shangwan Village and surrounded the Liu family, smashing and looting things with sticks, demanding explanations.

It was at that time that the trembling Liu Shuiwen brothers felt the fear from the bottom of their hearts. Later, under the mediation of the school teacher and the village committee, not only did they sign a letter of guarantee, but their parents were also forced to pay double the money to compensate everyone, and they would avoid them when they saw them on the road.

This may seem like a very impressive and glorious thing, but in fact it is not worth it.

Because he didn't study hard for more than a semester, Li Heng's glory days were gone and his grades plummeted.

I remember that there were 15 classes in the first grade of junior high school, with about a thousand students, and his grades ranked around 250th in the school. This was because he had a good talent for math and almost always got full marks.

Compared with the eye-catching Mathematics, English was extremely miserable. Not only had I never passed the exam, but my highest score was 53, and half of those were guessed answers. I really remember it vividly.

Seeing that Chen Zijin was always among the top 20 in the school and Yang Yingwen was firmly ranked first in the school, Li Heng was stimulated by Tian Run'e's words "Manzai, why can't you get a certificate of honor since you entered junior high school?"

When he entered the second year of junior high school, his self-esteem awakened and he decided to work hard to catch up with them.

After studying hard day and night, I am doing well in other subjects and will slowly catch up.

It’s just English, oh, it’s always difficult for him. He is like a frost-bitten eggplant that cannot tolerate any oil or salt and can never find the key to getting started.

Yang Yingwen's English was amazing. How amazing was it? She always got full marks and could talk fluently with the teacher in class, making all the teachers in the school remember her as an amazing person.

Maybe it was fate. We were both in Class 125 for the three years of junior high school and we are still classmates.

Once after an English class, Li Heng, who was confused, asked the girl humbly:

"Yingwen, what does decide to do sth mean?"

Hearing this, Yang Yingwen in the front row half turned his head and said in a mocking tone:
"Ah! Li Heng, don't you always get full marks in math even when fighting? What book do you want to read?"

After saying this ironic remark, she turned around and continued to do her own thing without telling him.

The get out of class had just ended and there were many people watching around. Li Heng, who was mercilessly ridiculed, blushed and stood with his back bent, unable to save himself for a moment.

He felt extremely regretful. He regretted why he didn't walk a few more steps to Class 129 on the third floor to ask Chen Zijin?
At this time, Yang Yingwen's deskmate Xiao Han curled up his lips, looked at him mischievously for a few times, and unexpectedly helped him out, teaching him the detailed structure of this sentence and giving three examples. At that moment, Xiao Han's figure was infinitely magnified in his mind, just like Guanyin Bodhisattva in the world, shining brightly and saving all living beings.

So much so that for a long time afterwards, he racked his brains but couldn't figure out why the other party would help him?
In the end he attributed it to the fact that sharks were tired of the smell of blood and occasionally showed kindness.

The reason for saying this is that Li Heng and Xiao Han didn't speak to each other throughout the entire first grade of junior high school. The two of them even had a dispute over a stool and had two fierce fights.

Unlike later times, tables, chairs and benches were extremely precious at that time, and if they were broken, the school had to pay double the price as compensation.

So everyone likes to make a mark on the stool, such as writing their own name and attributing ownership. It's a bit like a dog peeing to mark its territory.

Every time, Xiao Han would team up with her three little sisters to scold him sharply, and he would be scolded so badly that he would run away in fear with his head in his hands. He was no match for them at all.

Where was my good friend Zhang Zhiyong at that time? He was just pretending to be dumb and watching the show with a silly smile.

Afterwards, this fool raised his right fist, stuck out his neck and argued confidently: Everyone agrees that Xiao Han is the prettiest girl in our school, and I was stupid to scold her in front of you.

Xiao Han taught Li Heng seriously and carefully. Li Heng seemed to be enlightened by divine power and his Ren and Du meridians were opened up at once. His English gradually improved.

First it was passing, then 70 points, and later it stabilized at above 80 points.

Because of asking for English help, the relationship between Li Heng and Yang Yingwen reached a low point in the second year of junior high school.

Although they were sitting in the front and back rows, and she would occasionally say a few words to him accidentally, they both crossed each other off their friend list.

In other words, because he frequently caused trouble and fought in the first grade of junior high school, he became an object of great disgust to Yang Yingwen, so he was crossed out.

Starting from the second year of junior high school, Li Heng ushered in his own spring again. He caught up in all subjects and his school ranking rose rapidly.

In the last few placement tests in the third year of junior high school, he made it into the top 20 in the school and was qualified to be admitted to No. Middle School or No. Middle School.

These days, there are only 35 places available for applying to No. and No. Middle Schools at Qianzhen Middle School, which is just enough to fill up a bus.

Moreover, the examination room for these 35 students was set up in No. 100 and No. Middle School. There was a special bus to pick them up from the town, which was miles away from the county seat, and the teachers from their own school were in charge of the exam. Students from other places would not be admitted even if their scores met the requirements.

In a word, the high school entrance examination is not taken in the first or second high school examination hall, and people will not trust your real results.

It’s so awesome!
Seeing that he had really turned over a new leaf, Yang Yingwen took the initiative to talk to him several times and apologized to him. Their relationship inexplicably eased and returned to normal when he was in the first year of high school.

He once asked the ponytail girl about this matter while drunk: "Why do you do this to yourself?"

Yang Yingwen asked back: "Have you ever held a grudge against me?"

He thought about it and gave a frank answer: "I can't say I hate you, but I still feel resentful. After all, we used to have such a good relationship."

Yang Yingwen stared at the wine in the glass for a long time and said, "I don't know why I said that in a fit of anger. Maybe I was disappointed with you. You really disappointed me in the first year of junior high school."

Later, the reason why he gave up his stable job as a civil servant and went into business was because of her constant instigation.

Speaking of the name Yang Yingwen, there is an interesting story.

When her mother was pregnant with her, she dreamed that the star of literature descended to earth. After waking up, her mother was so excited that she told everyone she met that it must be a boy in her belly and that he would be a good student.

The result was obviously only half right. She was a girl, but she was extremely good at studying.

The name "Yingwen" means to pray that good dreams will come true and fulfill the meaning of Wenquxing.

(End of this chapter)