My IQ has been increasing year by year.

Thursday.

It was 6:40 a.m.

The crossroads outside the No. 1 Middle School of the city.

This place is called Jianshe Road. It's usually a windy spot, and the morning breeze is a bit chilly.

Both sides of the road are lined with breakfast stalls.

People pushing tricycles and setting up plastic sheds.

Smoke rose from the iron wok used for frying dough sticks, and hot oil churned.

A group of people gathered around the plastic bucket used for making soy milk.

Chen Zhuo stood in front of a tricycle selling jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes).

He was wearing that small-sized dark blue school uniform.

The schoolbag is slung over the shoulder.

"One set, no cilantro, less chili."

Chen Zhuo said.

He took two crumpled 50-cent bills out of his pocket and put them in the metal box next to the cutting board.

The boss held a bamboo dragonfly in his hand and spread the batter on the hot iron plate, making a sizzling sound.

Crack an egg on top.

Skillfully flip it over.

"Team leader!"

A voice suddenly came from behind me.

The noise was so loud that it startled an old man who was drinking tofu pudding next to him.

Chen Zhuo did not turn around.

He looked at the eggs on the hot plate.

A chubby hand reached out and slapped it on the counter.

"Boss, two sets, please! Both with double eggs and double fruit! Extra spicy!"

Liu Kai stood next to Chen Zhuo, panting heavily.

He was dressed very neatly today.

The zipper on the school uniform was zipped all the way up.

A brand new white shirt collar was also faintly visible inside.

He was fat, and his forehead was covered in sweat as he rode his bike over.

Immediately afterwards, another hand reached out and squeezed next to Liu Kai.

"Boss, I'll have one too! And two sausages!"

Zhao Chen was holding a cup of freshly made, piping hot soy milk, blowing on it to keep warm.

Chen Zhuo turned his head to look at Zhao Chen.

"Are you having two sets too?"

"My mom insisted that I eat more."

Liu Kai wiped away his sweat.

"They said they had to make up for winning an award, but I've been drinking chicken soup at home for the past three days, and my mouth is so bland."

"Me too."

Zhao Chen slurped up a mouthful of hot soy milk.

"My mom has been stewing meat for me every day for the past two days, and now even my burps smell like meat."

"Hiss~"

A 28-inch bicycle braked beside them.

The brakes may be a bit worn out, as they are making a harsh friction sound.

Wang Yang had one leg on the ground, straddling the bicycle.

He didn't bring his schoolbag today.

He was carrying a plastic bag containing two steamed buns.

He looked at Chen Zhuo, Zhao Chen, and Liu Kai.

"You guys buy breakfast here too?"

Wang Yang pushed the cart over.

He kicked the car ladder down and brought the car to a stop.

He walked over and stood on the other side of Chen Zhuo.

The pancake vendor put the wrapped pancakes into a plastic bag and handed it to Chen Zhuo.

Chen Zhuo took it; it was a little hot to the touch.

He didn't leave.

Standing by the roadside, I tore open a corner of the plastic bag and took a bite.

The crisp winter melon makes a loud noise.

"Hey Yang, your hair looks great today."

Liu Kai stared at Wang Yang's head.

Wang Yang's hair was clearly freshly washed and had been styled with mousse; it remained perfectly still in the wind.

"nonsense."

Wang Yang scratched the back of his head a little embarrassedly.

"When I go back to school today, we'll definitely have to put up the honor roll, so I have to look pretty smart."

"Hey, Chen Zhuo! Wang Yang! Zhao Chen! Liu Kai!"

A clear shout came from across the street.

All four people turned their heads at the same time.

Across from the zebra crossing.

Nan Xiaoyun and Lin Xiao were holding hands while waiting for the traffic light.

Both girls wore high ponytails today.

Nan Xiaoyun took off her school uniform jacket and tied it around her waist.

Lin Xiao was holding two cups of soy milk with straws in her hands.

The green light is on.

Two girls ran over quickly.

Her ponytail swayed back and forth behind her head.

I stopped in front of the breakfast stall, slightly out of breath.

"What are you all doing here?"

Lin Xiao handed a cup of soy milk to Nan Xiaoyun.

"On the way."

Chen Zhuo said, biting into a pancake.

"I rode my bike here."

Wang Yang pointed to his old-fashioned bicycle.

"My mom insisted that I come here to buy pancakes."

Zhao Chen just happened to receive the two huge jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes) handed to him by the boss, one in his left hand and one in his right.

"Where are Li Hao and Zhang Wei?"

Nan Xiaoyun looked around.

"I don't know, the physics group, they probably haven't gotten up yet."

Liu Kai took a big bite of the pancake and mumbled something indistinctly.

As they were talking.

At the corner of the intersection.

Two boys walked over, their arms around each other's shoulders.

Li Hao was holding a half-eaten meat bun in his hand.

Zhang Wei was looking down and rummaging through his schoolbag.

"I forgot my test paper. The first period is physics class. Teacher Zhou is going to kill me."

Zhang Wei was sweating profusely with anxiety.

"It's okay, just copy mine," Li Hao said.

They looked up and saw five people in front of the breakfast stall.

stunned for a moment.

Then he quickened his pace and ran over.

"Goodness."

Li Hao stuffed the last bite of the steamed bun into his mouth.

"In a meeting?"

Eight people.

Eight students from the No. 1 Middle School of the city participated in the provincial science competition.

At this intersection at 6:45 a.m. on Thursday.

We've got them all.

There was no prior agreement.

It's just because there are only a few main roads in this school district.

It's just because the breakfast stalls at this intersection are the cheapest.

It's simply because they all ended their three-day holiday on the same day and returned to this road to school.

Chen Zhu swallowed the last bite of the pancake.

Crumple the plastic bag into a ball and throw it into the trash can on the side of the road.

He clapped his hands.

He looked at the seven students in the second and third years of junior high school.

"Let's go."

He said.

Wang Yang pushed his bicycle at the front.

Liu Kai ate his second jianbing guozi as he walked.

Zhao Chen walked beside Liu Kai, holding a glass of soy milk and chewing on a grilled sausage.

Li Hao and Zhang Wei were discussing last night's Serie A match.

Nan Xiaoyun and Lin Xiao walked behind, whispering about which brand of shampoo smelled good.

Chen Zhuo walked in the middle.

They walked along the pedestrian walkway on Jianshe Road.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the roadside trees, casting dappled patterns of light on the concrete ground.

More and more students are wearing the school uniform of No. 1 Middle School on the street.

In large groups.

Most people didn't notice this team of eight.

This is just an ordinary group of students during the morning rush hour.

Four boys and two girls.

There was a slightly shorter-looking boy sandwiched in the middle.

It's 500 meters from the school's main gate.

The stationery store on the roadside has opened.

The boss was using a long bamboo pole to push the roller shutter door upwards.

Wang Yang slowed his pace.

He pushed the cart, his palms starting to sweat.

He turned his head and glanced at Chen Zhuo walking beside him.

Chen Zhuo stood with his hands in his school uniform pockets, looking at the road ahead with a calm expression.

"Team leader," Wang Yang called out softly.

"Um?"

Are you nervous?

"I'm not nervous."

"I'm nervous." Wang Yang swallowed.

His gaze swept past the crowd in front of him, and he could already vaguely see the large iron gate of the No. 1 Middle School.

"I'm nervous too."

Liu Kai wrapped the half-eaten pancake in a plastic bag and stuffed it into the side pocket of his backpack.

He hastily wiped the oil off his lips with the back of his hand.

She tugged at the collar of the new shirt she had specially worn for today.

Zhao Chen crushed the empty soy milk cup and tossed it far into the roadside trash can, then rubbed the sweat from his palms.

Nan Xiaoyun and Lin Xiao behind them also fell silent.

Li Hao and Zhang Wei from the physics group stopped their discussion about soccer.

They are all students in the second and third years of junior high school.

I spent almost two or three years at the No. 1 High School in the city.

They knew all too well what a first prize in the province meant at this school.

That's something that can be directly included in official documents and commended at school-wide assemblies.

What's more, all of them won awards this time.

What's more, among them is a student who scored full marks in two subjects and ranked first in the province.

There are still 300 meters to the school gate.

The crowds began to thicken.

Students pushing bicycles formed a long line.

A sudden commotion broke out ahead.

Several eighth-grade students on bicycles stopped a few dozen meters outside the school gate.

They did not go inside.

Instead, he stood on one foot, tilted his head back, and looked in the direction of the school gate.

Wang Yang stood on tiptoe.

He saw it.

Directly above the school gate.

Between two large pillars.

They were pulling a huge, brand-new red banner with yellow lettering.

It's a bit far away, so I can't see the words on it clearly.

But that bright red color, in the morning sunlight, was as red as fire.

"Hang up."

Wang Yang tightened his grip on the bicycle handlebars.

"The banner is down."

Liu Kai took a deep breath.

His plump body was held ramrod straight.

They continued walking.

There are still 200 meters to the school gate.

A large crowd had gathered in front of the notice board on the left side of the wall.

Usually, the notices of disciplinary violations or the cafeteria menus are posted there.

Nowadays.

There was a huge red paper pasted there.

The red paper stretched from the top of the notice board all the way to the bottom edge of the glass window.

There were many students gathered there.

Three layers inside and three layers outside.

The person in front is reading, and the person in the back is listening.

"Warmest congratulations to all eight students of our school for winning awards in the provincial science Olympiad."

A clear, crisp female voice came from the crowd.

"First Prize in Mathematics, Wang Yang."

"Second Prize in Mathematics: Nan Xiaoyun and Lin Xiao."

"Third prize in mathematics: Zhao Chen, Liu Kai."

"Second Prize in Physics: Li Hao and Zhang Wei."

A low gasp of surprise came from the crowd.

"Holy crap, everyone won awards? Those top students from classes one, two, and three all got awards?"

"Wang Yang actually got the provincial first prize? This kid isn't usually this good at math."

"Old Zhou must be ecstatic to have won two provincial second prizes in physics too."

Wang Yang heard his name called.

Their steps came to a complete stop.

He felt his heartbeat was very loud.

It felt like someone was drumming inside my chest.

The seven people in front of them all stopped.

They were standing less than 20 meters away from the notice board.

I stared blankly at the red sign.

Looking at the group of classmates gathered in front of the sign, discussing their names.

A strong sense of unreality enveloped them.