Rebirth Must Be Happy

Song Zhiyu has entered the second semester of her second year of high school. From a macro perspective, this means that her high school career has entered the second half. When chatting with classmates after class, it is also clear that everyone is starting to "prepare for a rainy day" and worry about the college entrance examination next year, which will officially begin to loom over their heads after this year's college entrance examination.

But this doesn't change the fact that everyone still feels time is passing very slowly, because it still progresses in units of "one class period".

During a conversation with Xu Jinhuan, he mentioned an unverified theory: a person's perception of time is directly proportional to their level of intellectual maturity.

In other words, the more mature a person is, the faster time seems to pass, while children feel that time passes very slowly.

Song Zhiyu had shared this topic in a group chat. She and Chen Xingruo disagreed with the statement, while Chen Xingzhu and Xie Wanqing agreed. Chen Xingzhu even offered an explanation:
"The more mature a person is, the harder it is for them to truly concentrate and enjoy the little things. The unit of measurement might be something significant, or a day, a week, a month, or even a year. In the world of a less mature person, the unit of measurement might be a trivial matter that seems boring to a mature person. Therefore, time is broken down into smaller units, so it feels slow."

Song Zhiyu refuted Chen Xingzhu's arguments in the group chat. Some of her arguments were based on logical reasoning she had carefully considered, while others were simply rebuttals for the sake of rebutting. Chen Xingzhu expressed understanding for her words and was very tolerant, which made Song Zhiyu increasingly dissatisfied with Chen Xingzhu.

She felt that Chen Xingzhu might have seen through the reason for her agitated rebuttal—her classmates all felt that time was passing very slowly, but Song Zhiyu believed that, at least among her classmates, no one was more eager for the college entrance examination to arrive than she was.

In other words, no one felt time moved slower than her.

According to Xu Jinhuan's theory, that means she is the least mature person.

Song Zhiyu didn't think so. She felt that her eagerness showed her maturity. She wanted to finish high school as soon as possible so that she could mature earlier and start her life "grown up" earlier.

With this expectation, every minute feels like torture now. But unlike when she was a child, she can't go to bed early just because she wants the day to end soon, because she still has homework to do.

Fortunately, over time, she gradually figured out some tricks that were unique to her: such as focusing on studying!

When you're immersed in a sea of ​​questions, time seems to slow down, just like during an exam. To some extent, this can be similar to going to bed earlier when you were a child.

Furthermore, the relationship between the two had indeed made progress during the winter break, which was undoubtedly a comfort to her, but it also brought new problems:
She found that she wasn't only happy and sweet about it; she also developed some self-doubt: sometimes she questioned her decision and wondered if it was the right one.

At least rationally speaking, this behavior is not smart, and it also goes against some of the socially accepted "requirements" and "standards" for girls.

To put it simply, it's like this: "A girl who just started her second year of high school is with a boy, who is also her nominal cousin..."

This is a fact, and if this fact is told to others, then almost all of those people will have a negative impression of this girl.

This isn't just a domestic phenomenon; it's not even a marker of a good girl's worth, even across the ocean.

This self-doubt further evolved into the self-doubt that "Chen Xingzhu and Xie Wanqing are more determined than me," which caused her to be in a bad mood for a long time.

She is now very famous at school. According to the students' jokes during their free time, looking back at the past ten years of the No. 1 High School, probably only Chen Xingzhu, who just graduated, can surpass her in both fame and popularity.

But it's not because she's prettier, it's just because Chen Xingzhu is more aloof.

This is another strange thing. She's clearly friendlier to her classmates, yet Chen Xingzhu's aloof and arrogant image is much more talked about. She complained about this to Xu Jinhuan, and Xu Jinhuan's explanation was very simple:
Human nature is inherently base!
However, given the relatively high level of attention she receives, her mood will also affect the moods of many others, such as when someone tries to strike up a conversation with her, when she receives a love letter, when someone adds her on QQ or WeChat, or when someone deliberately tries to talk to her in a group chat...

In the past, Song Zhiyu would consider the other party's feelings as appropriate, so as not to embarrass them too much.

Now, her greatest act of kindness is to ignore it.

As for how those boys felt, she couldn't be bothered to think about it.

"Time, time, hurry up, let me grow up quickly!"

"I would give anything for my... uh!"

After the Qingming Festival, the weather began to warm up. Because she had made plans with Xu Jinhuan before her afternoon nap to go to Beijing for the May Day holiday, she was finally in a good mood and hummed a song as she walked into the teaching building. In the middle of the song, she got stuck on the lyrics of "Father" and didn't know how to change the line "I would give anything to keep you young forever".

She didn't pay any attention and continued humming a tune as she walked into the classroom and sat down in her seat.

She was in a good mood and slept well. Her nap lasted a little longer than usual. There were less than twenty minutes left before the afternoon bell rang. The classroom was full of students; some were doing their homework, some were sleeping, and some were playing on their phones.

Her arrival attracted the attention of a few boys, but they only glanced at her before continuing with their own business.

After all, a semester had passed since the second year of high school was reassigned to different classes, and everyone had long accepted being in the same class as this beautiful school beauty. Those who would still pay attention to her openly or secretly were mostly people who had some thoughts in their hearts.

Song Zhiyu naturally didn't care about the other person. After sitting down, she first picked up her phone, put it on silent, and then put it in the drawer.

This action caught the attention of her deskmate next to her—her new deskmate was named Zhou Shiyu, who came from a nearby rural area and was not well-off. She lived at school and only had 400 yuan a month for living expenses.
Nowadays, there are significantly more smartphones in schools, and most students carry their own phones. However, Zhou Shiyu still doesn't have her own phone. Therefore, while she admires Song Zhiyu's iPhone 5S, she also feels a sense of awe and sensitivity towards it.

For example, when Song Zhiyu noticed her curiosity, she would offer her her phone to try it out. However, since they became deskmates during the midterm exam last semester, Zhou Shiyu had refused twice. Song Zhiyu found this strange but didn't want to pursue the matter further.

She had a good relationship with Zhou Shiyu, but that was all. In her opinion, Zhou Shiyu's personality was really unpleasant: he was introverted and pretentious, making communication with him extremely difficult.

Compared to her deskmate, Huang Lina, who sits in the back row because she is too tall, is Song Zhiyu's "best friend". Even Li Yunxue from the next class seems much more pleasing to the eye.

But none of that matters. All she has to do is study hard, finish her midterms, and then go to Beijing to have a few days of fun.

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'It's not just about having fun with him, it's about having fun with him!'

As Song Zhiyu took out the practice problems from the drawer, she silently vowed to herself, her anticipation growing stronger. (End of Chapter)