Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 267 "Youth"

In the autumn of 2006, the sycamore leaves began to turn yellow, and the teaching building of the city's key middle school looked solemn and dignified in the morning light.

Liu Xiaoqian, carrying a faded old schoolbag, walked through the corridor and into the "elite class".

As one of the top students in her class, she not only had to cope with heavy academic pressure, but also had to endure the jealousy of some classmates and the excessively high expectations of her teachers.

These invisible pressures made her feel extremely depressed every day.

Inside the familiar classroom, the neatly arranged desks were piled high with thick exercise books, and the air was filled with the smell of ink and chalk dust.

Liu Xiaoqian is a top student in the honors class. Her father was laid off during the restructuring of state-owned enterprises and has been unable to find a suitable job. The family's livelihood depends on her mother running a small shop.

Therefore, her mother placed all her hopes on her, and every morning at five o'clock, the sound of her mother preparing breakfast could be heard from the kitchen.

Her mother would nag her every day, saying, "Only by getting into a prestigious university can you turn your life around, and only by becoming a civil servant can you have a future." Day after day, over and over again, these words seemed to be etched into her very bones.

Liu Xiaoqian sat quietly in her seat, opened her textbook, inside which was an unfinished short story, her own dream.

While there was still some time, she quietly put on her MP3 player's headphones, and the song "Youth" played in her ears, the only solace in her monotonous life.

Just then, a boy carrying a black backpack strode into the classroom. His name was Zhu Yawen, and he was a new transfer student.

Zhu Yawen was wearing a black hoodie, with a rebellious look in her eyes. A faded metal badge hung on her backpack, and she held a well-worn copy of "Dialogue Between the Past and Present" in her hand.

Since Zhu Yawen transferred here, he gradually became familiar with his classmates in the first few weeks, and would occasionally chat with the students around him during breaks.

However, his unique temperament and perspective on things made him stand out from the rest of the class.

After the monthly exam results were released, the homeroom teacher, Ms. Wang, moved the bottom ten students to the last row and made them stand very far apart from the other students.

"This is to motivate you to study," Teacher Wang's voice echoed in the classroom.

In the back row of the classroom, the last ten students silently packed up their books, their faces filled with helplessness and inferiority.

Shu Chang, a rural girl who always wore her old school uniform, lowered her head, her hair was a little messy, and her eyes were full of unease.

Her classmates often mocked her for her worn-out stationery and shabby clothes, and would even whisper about her as she passed by.

This made Shu Chang always cautious at school, and she felt very inferior.

Luo Jin, a student with athletic talent, clenched his fists. His Warrior sneakers were worn out, but they still stubbornly "stood" there.

Zhu Yawen looked at everything in front of him, then suddenly stood up. He walked to the front of the class and, in front of the whole class, tore his test paper into pieces.

"Is this what you call motivating learning?" His voice was clear and firm, and the classroom fell silent.

Looking at Zhu Yawen, Liu Xiaoqian felt a strange stirring in her heart. For the first time, she noticed the "marginal students" huddled in the back row of the classroom doing their homework—those overlooked dreams and hopes.

From then on, Liu Xiaoqian would often find herself paying attention to those underachieving students.

She would listen carefully to the conversations of the struggling students, trying to understand more of their thoughts.

This subtle attention deepened the stirrings in her heart.

The winter wind howled through the campus, but Liu Xiaoqian, under her mother's earnest expectations, continued to bury herself in her studies every day.

But the album of ancient-style poetry and songs that Zhu Yawen gave her was like a seed that quietly took root and sprouted in her heart.

After observing for a long time, Liu Xiaoqian discovered that Shu Chang would always secretly write poems on the blackboard at the back of the classroom with chalk during evening self-study sessions. Although the verses were somewhat immature, they were full of love for life and aspirations for the future.

Whenever Shu Chang finishes writing a poem, Liu Xiaoqian always finds an opportunity to talk to her during her free time after class.

They would discuss the emotions in the poems and share their insights about life.

Gradually, the two became closer and closer, becoming best friends who could talk about anything.

Luo Jin often runs on the playground, his eyes always gazing into the distance, as if his dreams and his future reside there.

However, their peaceful life was disrupted.

Luo Jin won the championship at the city-level sports meet. Just when he was overjoyed, thinking that he could get into his desired university through his sports talent, he was surprised.

The head of the teaching department told him, "Although you can get extra points for this city-level sports meet, the special recruitment policy for sports students has been canceled, so you have to go back to class to make up for the missed lessons."

Upon hearing the news, Luo Jin felt as if all his strength had been drained away. He sat listlessly in a corner of the playground for a long time.

Images of myself sweating on the training field kept flashing through my mind, and all the efforts I made for my dream seemed meaningless at that moment.

Luo Jin's eyes gradually dimmed, his clenched fists trembled slightly, and his heart was filled with despair and resentment.

Upon learning this news, Zhu Yawen seized the opportunity to launch a campaign to restore the original seating arrangement in the class.

Together with several classmates, he restored the seats of the last ten students to their normal positions.

Liu Xiaoqian anonymously published a long article titled "We Are Also a Part of Youth" on the campus forum, which quickly caused a sensation at the school.

Shu Chang also drew a giant sunflower on the outer wall of the teaching building with chalk. Its bright yellow color was particularly eye-catching in the winter campus.

The school disciplined Zhu Yawen, Liu Xiaoqian, Shu Chang, and Luo Jin for disrupting order (PS: the discipline refers to contacting their parents, not issuing a demerit).

When Liu Xiaoqian's mother learned that she had been disciplined, she was furious.

When Liu Xiaoqian returned home, her mother sternly reprimanded her, questioning why she had done such a thing, completely disregarding the family's expectations and her own future.

Liu Xiaoqian tried to explain her behavior, but her mother wouldn't listen, and a fierce argument broke out between them.

This argument left Liu Xiaoqian feeling incredibly pained and confused; she didn't know how to find a balance between her mother's expectations and her own inner feelings.

At the same time, news came that Zhu Yawen's father had been administratively detained for writing certain content that he was not allowed to write.

Zhu Yawen was originally an optimistic, cheerful, and righteous teenager, but his father's misfortune caused his world to collapse instantly.

He began to doubt and resent everything around him, and his personality became increasingly rebellious.

Upon hearing this news, the anger and resentment that had been building up in his heart could no longer be contained.

Amidst the reprimands of the head of student affairs, Zhu Yawen, as if she had lost her mind, smashed things all over the office.

The dean of students was so frightened by this sudden action that he turned pale. Other teachers and students also discussed the matter, which further intensified the conflict between the school's education system and the students.

After the winter break, Zhu Yawen transferred to another school and left.

(End of this chapter)