Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Chapter 123 What is your ideal?

The last day of June, Monday, was also the last day that Li Zhao and his group of elementary school students gathered together.

The release of the graduation exam results went largely unnoticed.

Li Zhao scored a perfect 300 points, which was already expected by everyone.

If someone can get full marks on more difficult exams, and the graduation exam is significantly easier, it would be news if they didn't get full marks.

Interestingly, he was the only one to get a perfect score.

Li Zhao found it difficult to analyze the reasons.

Is it true that only he is capable of getting a perfect score, or is the school trying to highlight his uniqueness?

But that doesn't matter. If he gets a perfect score, then 299 and a perfect score are practically the same.

The overall performance of Class 1, Grade 6 improved significantly. Considering that the test was relatively easy, Li Zhao had to question the validity of He Lin's praise.

It doesn't matter as long as the other students don't ask questions.

Graduation exams have a boosting effect.

What's particularly noteworthy is that three students in the class achieved a score of 299.

He Shuyao, Ma Yingying, Jiang Qi.

They were all girls.

Liu Mingyu tied for third place in the class with Chen Nian with a score of 298.

The difference between the top twenty was only 7 points. According to He Lin, "Although the test was relatively easy, the fact that everyone was able to improve their scores to this level shows that hard work is very effective."

Everyone benefited from it, so the atmosphere in the class was very good during the results announcement phase.

Reviewing the exam papers became much easier. The English exam paper was the first one to be reviewed. Huang Keyun was on stage, and her eyes never left Li Zhao.

It's far too obvious, Ms. Keyun, please restrain yourself.

It's not like we'll never see each other again.

This made Chen Nian particularly nervous. Although he felt that Teacher Huang wasn't looking at him, her gaze never left him, so he couldn't make any small movements.

I'm suffocating.

The key point is that Li Zhao openly chatted with him!

"Where did you lose the points for your 298?"

Chen Nian dared not speak.

"Don't worry about Teacher Huang, she won't blame you."

"It's on the essay."

"Oh, you've taken everything else?"

Chen Nian glanced at Li Zhao, wanting to scratch his head but restricted by Huang Keyun's gaze, so he could only twirl his pen and say, "What's the big deal about getting full marks? Even though we're tied for third, there are still five people ahead of us, right? And this test isn't difficult."

Li Zhao chuckled softly, "What, getting ambitious?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that I'm really not happy about this result." Chen Nian was unexpectedly sincere and direct. "My goal is to pass the New Taipei First Senior High School entrance exam."

Have you taken the entrance exam?

"I've done it before, last year and the year before," Chen sighed. "I don't know how to grade Chinese, my math is not good, and my English is okay. I just find the tests very difficult."

"Did you bring it?"

"Huh?" Chen Nian blankly pulled the crumpled test paper out of his backpack.

"Let me show you," Li Zhao said. "You should listen to the lesson first."

What's the point of listening to this?

Ninety percent of the time, Teacher Huang's eyes were fixed on Li Zhao, which meant she was watching Li Zhao whisper to her. But strangely, the more Li Zhao talked to Chen Nian, the happier Huang Keyun seemed.

Why is it that the static version of Li Zhao listening attentively to the lesson is less appealing than the dynamic version of him whispering?

When it was Lin Wenjuan's turn to give her feedback, Li Zhao wasn't so straightforward. Instead, he wrote down his suggestions for Chen Nian's essay on a piece of paper and handed it to him.

Chen Nian also wrote a note: Why don't you say anything to Teacher Lin?

Li Zhao replied: I didn't participate in the math competition, I owe her nothing, so I should show some respect.

Chen Nian: Is it okay to write a little note?

Li Zhao replied, "We'll talk about it tomorrow," leaving Chen Nian filled with regret.

He was very curious about Li Zhao's evaluation of his entrance exam paper. He hoped that at least a comment like "there is hope of getting into the top 50" would be encouraging.

The review session ended quickly, and the last class meeting began.

He Lin first made some routine remarks praising everyone, and then said some things that anyone could have thought of with their eyes closed, things that would just be filler if written down now.

So we'll skip that.

Now comes the part where He Lin had a sudden inspiration – talking about ideals.

The format was very free and relaxed, completely unlike the question-and-answer format that Li Zhao had imagined.

It felt more like a free discussion.

The answer has a uniquely old-fashioned feel: scientists, astronauts, doctors, teachers —

A wide variety of "professions".

It has both the nostalgic charm of 08 and the childlike nostalgia of childhood.

These answers are less a career aspiration and more pure fantasy.

Even dreams are hard to define.

In his previous life, Li Zhao had noticed this problem long ago: the so-called scientists and astronauts were not professionals at all.

Very few people in this world can do that.

Although there are always people who set goals one after another and move forward, eventually realizing their dreams.

But for the vast majority of people, the upcoming entrance exam for junior high school is enough to shatter many people's dreams completely.

If you want to be a scientist, you need a brain that stands out, not one that can't even get into the top four universities.

Don't let the story of Einstein being stupid as a child really brainwash you, kids.

Most primary school students don't know what a "career" means, nor do they understand what an ideal is—or rather, the ideals they possess are actually fragile desires.

What are your ideals?

"I want to be a scientist."

This is simply finding a universally accepted, positive term and applying it to oneself.

Li Zhao felt he was looking at all this from a mature and detached perspective, yet he felt a little reluctant.

Because when people say these words, they are full of confidence and hope.

This positive expression touched Li Zhao.

Even Cai Chao, amidst the encouragement of his classmates, revealed his dream: to become a football player.

Then he received a round of applause—although everyone who spoke of their ideals would be applauded, Cai Chao still sat down shyly.

They look very happy.

He Shuyao's answer was "writer," while Chen Nian's was "big boss," which made everyone laugh for a while.

As more and more people spoke, everyone's attention gradually focused on Li Zhao.

Because he hasn't spoken yet.

Those who were willing to talk about their ideals have basically done so, and the teachers naturally don't force those who aren't so keen to talk about it. So, it's time for the main character to make his appearance.

He Lin looked at Li Zhao and said, "I told Li Zhao before that I would like him to come up on stage and talk to everyone about his ideals. We welcome Li Zhao."

A round of enthusiastic applause broke out, with Chen Nian applauding the most enthusiastically.

Li Zhao walked onto the podium and immediately met more than sixty pairs of bright eyes.

It's strange. In my past life, when I presented projects, there were thousands of people in the audience. Why am I still a little nervous with so few people here?

Because—when I was presenting the project, the audience didn't have such sincere looks in their eyes as they do today.

Everyone is really looking forward to Li Zhao's speech.

Li Zhao felt even more pressured when he thought about what he was going to say.

We need to carefully consider the wording. There are quite a few classmates who idolize him now. If misunderstandings or blind following occur, it will be a case of good intentions gone wrong.

"It looks so formal." That was Li Zhao's first comment.

The audience burst into laughter.

That's just how elementary school students are; they'll laugh at anything you say.

"Teacher He told me to just chat casually, and I didn't prepare any script, so I'll just share some of my thoughts with everyone."

They all blinked and nodded.

Li Zhao glanced at He Shuyao, who was staring intently, motionless.

"We've all talked a lot about ideals just now. Actually, this isn't the first time we've discussed this topic. It's appeared in previous essays as well, and everyone's answers were varied, but they were all very beautiful words."

Are you all curious about my dream?

"Curious!" Chen Nian shouted, and the whole class stirred up for a while, enthusiastically telling Li to find the answer.

"If my answer is, I'm not quite sure, I wonder what everyone will think."

The whole class fell silent.

Chen Nian looked completely bewildered.

"Some students might think, 'Oh, Li Zhao is just pretending again. He clearly has good grades and was specially admitted to New Taipei First Senior High School, yet he's still saying he doesn't know what his ideal is,'" Li Zhao said. "But, if one day you find yourself running very fast but not knowing where you're running to, it's very painful."

The classroom was unusually quiet.

Everyone was listening attentively. Li Zhao paused for a moment and continued, "We are still elementary school students. The word 'ideal' is still very easy to understand. We can look forward to all sorts of wonderful professions. But—you can think of your own parents and ask them what their ideals were when they were young."

He Shuyao was stunned.

"We're still young, we don't need to think about making money. Even if we don't study hard in elementary school, we can still go to junior high. But it won't be like that in the future. Children have their own joys, and adults have their own helplessness," Li Zhao said. "Everyone has probably heard their parents say, 'Study hard now, get into a good junior high, then high school, university, find a good job, get married, have children, and become like our parents.'"

He Lin was stunned. She hadn't expected Li Zhao to say that, and she even wanted to stop him.

"There may be nothing wrong with that, but it shouldn't be everyone's only choice. An ideal shouldn't just be a job or an achievement, but also a way of life. I think it would be great if everyone could have clear answers to these four questions."

He Lin was relieved.

"What kind of person do you want to be? How do you want to live your life? What do you hope to leave behind when you leave this world? And—whether you are happy or not."

"Back to my ideals. I hope that in this life I can do what I want to do, instead of being pushed around by other people's expectations. I hope to cherish the people I should cherish. I hope that when I get old, I will feel that my life is worth remembering and that I am happy."

"Students, no matter which junior high school you get into, how you spend your student years, what career you pursue, or who you form a family with—I hope that you, including myself, can remember that life is not an exam, and there are no standard answers."

"Living for yourself is a difficult but worthwhile thing." Li Zhao took a deep breath. "I hope that ten years from now, twenty years from now, or even longer from now, when we meet again, you, including me, can all say, 'I'm doing quite well.' It's not about comparing cars, houses, or savings; it's not about whether you're doing better than others."

Everyone listened attentively, but they were still somewhat confused. Some of them were quite moved, their expressions showing deep emotion.

"I hope I can say that I have found the life I wanted, and I have not let myself down."

After Li Zhao finished speaking, he turned around and wanted to tell He Lin to continue hosting the class meeting, but he never expected that the homeroom teacher would burst into tears.