Summer in Your Name - 49

As soon as the comprehensive science exam was over and papers were handed in, a wave of cheers erupted from the first- and second-year teaching buildings.

 

They were off for a holiday.

But for the third-years, supplementary classes loomed ahead, with schedules stretching all the way to the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. There wasn’t much to be happy about.

Unlike the monthly exams, where each teacher graded their own class, final exams were graded collectively across the entire grade, so the results took longer to come out.

The teaching pace didn’t pause just for a single final exam; the gears of third-year life kept grinding forward.

Thanks to the two books Qi Xiulei brought, the class was buzzing with an unusual excitement for two whole weeks. During breaks, everyone huddled together, chatting about universities and majors.

Sheng Xia’s ears were filled with the ‘Versailles’ boasts of top students. She felt both envy and melancholy.    

In this class, the people she knew were all either safely aiming for regular key universities or vying for top-tier ones. They talked about dreams Sheng Xia didn’t dare to entertain.

The only one who didn’t join in was Hou Junqi, who was either sleeping or playing games.

Sheng Xia could only turn to Tao Zhizhi to talk. 

Tao Zhizhi was in the middle-to-upper range at No. 1 High School, with grades similar to Sheng Xia’s. She had her sights set on a regular key university in Dongzhou.  

When she heard Sheng Xia was being sent abroad, Tao Zhizhi wasn’t the least bit surprised.

“Your dad seems like he has no expectations for you, but that’s because he’s already planned everything for you.”

That's right, she was the only one with the surname Sheng. She was Sheng Mingfeng’s only child in the public eye.

If she didn’t amount to anything, where would that leave his face?

How could he possibly let her live without ambition?

She had long understood this.

“So, do you want to go?” Tao Zhizhi asked.

“No way,” Sheng Xia answered without hesitation.

Tao Zhizhi: "Why?"

Why?

Aside from her mother, Sheng Xia had her own considerations.  

Sheng Xia: “I feel like not attending university in China would be a regret. I want to spend my college years with my own people.”

She knew herself—nostalgic and slow to warm up. Studying abroad would mean facing a massive cultural barrier. She knew that many people who studied overseas often still stuck to Chinese circles, carving out their own little world and doing just fine. But Sheng Xia didn’t think she could do that. She was too sensitive to her surroundings, just like how even though both temples and churches offered quiet spaces, she felt more at ease reading in a temple than in a church.

Besides, university might be the most critical period for shaping one’s worldview. She wanted to cultivate and form hers in her own country.

 

Not that foreign schools weren’t impressive—many were. But her interests leaned more to humanities, she didn’t see much point in studying abroad.

Studying abroad wasn’t bad; it just wasn’t right for her.  

Lost in thought, Sheng Xia received a reply on her phone.

Tao Zhizhi: "Your own people? Who might that be? Zhang Shu?"

Sheng Xia: "...Chinese people!"

Tao Zhizhi: “Haha, don’t get so worked up! So what’s your plan now?”

Sheng Xia: "Prepare for both. If I get into a good university, I won’t have to go abroad.”  

Preparing for both—or rather, playing along while secretly rebelling. For seventeen years, she’d been an obedient child. This time, she wanted to make her own decision.

Tao Zhizhi: “So you’re saying you’ll play along with your dad and prepare for going abroad while still studying for the college entrance exam? That’s gonna be tough. TOEFL’s no joke!”

Sheng Xia: "En, I'm preparing."

In fact, she was already doing it.   

It was a very risky dream. But she hoped that when dawn broke, it would come true.

---

On the first Friday of supplementary classes, the final exam results come out. 

It was a huge surprise: the top spot in the grade had changed hands.

Zhang Shu, who always held onto first place like a veteran tree clinging to its roots, had dropped to 11th.  

What kind of setback was this? He’d fallen out of the top ten!  

The entire grade was in an uproar, no exaggeration, because this wasn’t just one person’s rise or fall.

The new number one had been hovering between second and fifth place before. They were from Class 12.  

The experimental class.

Since the class divisions in second year, this was the first time the experimental class had claimed the grade’s top spot.

This wasn't just one person's victory.

Class 12 happened to be right above Class 6. During evening study, Class 6 could hear the cheers and screams from Class 12 upstairs. The long-repressed students of the experimental class acted like they’d witnessed a historic turning point. They were just short of waving class flags in triumph.

Class 6 was filled with whispers, some even rolling their eyes at the floor above.

The memory of the flag-raising ceremony at the start of the semester, with all its ‘shared pride’ was still vivid. How had it come to this by the end of the semester?

 

Zhang Shu’s English and comprehensive science scores were fine, and his math score of 130 wasn’t low. But he usually scored near or at full marks, so this was just average. The biggest drag was his Chinese—his essay scored less than 30 points, unfinished, graded by the number of lines written.

If he'd scored just 45 on his essay, his total score would have tied with the new first place.  

At Zhang Shu’s level, grades weren’t just his own business. The vice-principal, grade director, Wang Wei, and Fu Jie convened a meeting, and soon enough, Zhang Shu was summoned.

Grade Director’s Office.  

In the grade director’s office, Zhang Shu stood at the door, overhearing the vice-principal questioning Wang Wei: “Besides academics, you need to manage students’ lives and mindsets too. It directly affects their performance. Isn’t this your specialty, Teacher Wang?”  

Wang Wei nodded repeatedly. "Yes, of course. Yes, yes."

Zhang Shu locked eyes with Fu Jie, who looked innocent. Both shared a helpless glance.

Zhang Shu was baffled. He didn’t take first place in the finals, and suddenly he was a problem student with issues in his life and mindset?

“Report,” he said coolly, cutting off the grade director’s next remark.  

The grade director turned around. "Come in."

Zhang Shu sat on the other side of the conference table, his expression neutral.

The grade director went on a long tangent, circling through ‘school leadership’s concern’ for at least five rounds.Zhang Shu listened patiently, waiting until he was done before saying, “Mm, thank you, teachers.”

Politeness and arrogance seemed to coexist effortlessly in him.

Wang Wei kept shooting him looks.

“So, Zhang Shu, why do you think you didn’t do well this time?” the grade director asked.  

Zhang Shu replied, “Didn’t do well? This score’s enough for Heqing or Haiyan University. I'd say I did pretty well."

He said it so matter-of-factly. Wang Wei recalled Zhang Shu’s frequent line: “As long as the score’s enough, isn’t that enough?” He sighed inwardly.

The brainwashing didn't work after all!

The grade director and vice principal were speechless.

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

“Your potential is far greater than this! You’re our school’s candidate for provincial top scorer!” the grade director urged earnestly.

Zhang Shu replied, “There are probably others in our school who could take that spot.”  

In other words, he doesn't care about being the top scorer? 

This...

The vice principal, who’d climbed the ranks from grade director, had done countless counseling sessions but had never heard logic like this. At this level, what student didn’t want to aim for the top?

The grade director shot Wang Wei another look, his eyes clearly saying: Look at what 'good' student you've taught.

The vice principal changed tack. “What’s going on with your Chinese?”

Zhang Shu glanced at Fu Jie, who was staring at him sternly, her expression screaming, ‘If you dare blame me, you’re dead’. Zhang Shu wanted to laugh but held it in and answered truthfully, “I fell asleep.”  

Everyone: …  

Wang Wei said sharply, "Didn't you know you were taking an exam? Fell asleep?"

Fu Jie asked, “Were you feeling unwell that day?”  

Zhang Shu: “No.”  

"Then were you in a bad mood? If there’s anything going on at home or in your personal life, you can tell the school so we can help.”  

Zhang Shu: “No, I was pretty happy… actually no.”  

He paused, then smiled, "Very happy.”

Everyone: …

Looking at the four bewildered adults, Zhang Shu suddenly found it all pointless. Why bother explaining himself here? Waste of time.

So he compromised, taking a step back. “I’ll be more careful next time and won’t fall asleep. But score fluctuations are unavoidable. Even if I don’t sleep, I could still not do well.”

Everyone, again: …

This was the first time the grade director had had a counseling go sideways like this. Not only did he have no power over the student, he was almost led astray by this student.  

Seeing this, Wang Wei quickly smoothed things over. “I’ll work on his mindset some more. Zhang Shu’s usually steady; maybe something really did come up time. His other subjects were stable, and Chinese isn’t an issue with Teacher Fu’s teaching. This won’t happen again.”

"Right, Zhang Shu?"

Zhang Shu thought, Not bad, Old Wang. Knows whose side to take. He nodded. “Right.”  

The grade director went on with more instructions, even tossing out a threat to ‘change classes’. Wang Wei assured repeatedly, and the meeting finally ended.  

Outside the grade director’s office, Wang Wei’s face darkened. “Get over here!”

Zhang Shu looked up at the sky.

With no one else in the office, Wang Wei, hands on hips, fumed. “Tell me, are you having premature love?"

Zhang Shu said candidly, “Does a crush count?”  

Wang Wei's eyes widened. "You're actually admitting it? Listen to me, just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you can slack off. At this stage, don’t you know what you should be doing? Don’t give me that ‘my grades are my own business’ nonsense. If...if there really is something between you and that girl, your grades won't just affect you alone, do you understand?!"

Zhang Shu looked at the fuming Wang Wei, then raised an eyebrow after a long pause. “Teacher Wang, you're really impressing me today!"

Wang Wei: …

The Affiliated High School wasn’t too strict about cracking down on premature relationships—as long as grades weren’t affected, most teachers turned a blind eye. But for someone like Zhang Shu, they couldn't just let things go unsupervised.

Zhang Shu knew this. In fact, the moment he put his head down during the exam, he’d thought about it.

“Old Wang, Teacher Wang?”

Wang Wei flinched. Whenever this kid got serious and called him by his title, it was never good news.

"It's just us here. Stop with the stern face.” Zhang Shu said earnestly. "Tying someone to the top spot isn't realistic. I got first place because I have the ability, but it’s not my obligation. I've never promised anyone I’d always be first. Grades aren't set in stone, nor is ranking. All I can promise is to be responsible for myself, for the present, and for the future—not for scores or rankings.”

Wang Wei looked at Zhang Shu, his thick brows knitting tightly together.

“I’m not slacking off just because I’m smart. At this stage, I know exactly what I should be doing,” Zhang Shu said, echoing Wang Wei’s words before adding, “Isn’t it good to get a taste of the ups and downs early? I’m staying calm, so you should too, how about it?"

Wang Wei felt like he was the one being brainwashed.

Wang Wei found himself reluctantly accepting that Zhang Shu might not always be first.

[Tying someone to the top spot isn’t realistic.] 

Wang Wei mulled over that sentence, looking at the seventeen-year-old in front of him with a complicated expression.

At that age, if he was in Zhang Shu’s shoes at the top of the grade, could he handle it as calmly as this young man does?

Probably not.  

He hadn’t been teaching long, but he’d seen plenty of students crumble after a single setback. Especially those who fell from the top—it was hard to get past that physiological hurdle.

Yes, reality was no one could stay at the top forever. Everyone had to taste falling at some point.

“You two…” Wang Wei could barely get the words out. “What were you doing the night before the exam?”

Zhang Shu: “You’re asking about that too?”

Wang Wei's face turned serious. "Couldn’t it wait until after the exam? If I hadn’t seen Sheng Xia’s big improvement this time, I’d be grabbing a whip to deal with you!”

Zhang Shu responded earnestly, "I understand. I have a sense of proportion. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to win back both the glory and pride for you in the first mock exam.”

“If there’s nothing else, I'm off. Thanks, Old Wang!”

Wang Wei was still mad, yelling at Zhang Shu’s back, “Win what back for me? What’s it got to do with me? Are you studying for me or for yourself?”

Oh, so now his studies are finally his own business.

Zhang Shu turned around with a grin. "Whatever you say. I'm going to smooth things over with Teacher Fu!"

His casual nap had put a smudge on Fu Jie’s reputation.

Teaching is really hard, Wang Wei sighed.

---

Sheng Xia had climbed to 29th in the class, a rocket-like leap.  

Aside from math, where she scored 119, her other subjects hadn’t improved drastically, but together, they’d pushed her up. Based on the simulated cutoffs, she now stood nearly 20 points above the first-tier university line.

When she first received her score slip, she double-checked her student ID several times, hardly believing it was hers.

But her joy didn't last long. As the chatter around her grew, she learned that Zhang Shu had suffered a major setback.

Because of his Chinese score.

Sheng Xia didn’t need to guess—he’d fallen asleep and left the essay unfinished.

Was he too tired from staying up late? And if so, wasn’t that because of her?

The sentence ‘Premature love affects your grades’ popped up in Sheng Xia's mind again. 

“Sheng Xia, Teacher Fu’s looking for you.”

She was lost in thought when a shout came from the back door.

Sheng Xia’s heart skipped.  

Before she could even move, the classroom was already buzzing with whispers.

The night before the exam, Zhang Shu and Sheng Xia had ‘run off’ together in front of everyone. Now, with this major setback, the two of them are probably gonna be under scrutiny.

“Will their parents get called in?”

“But Sheng Xia improved a lot!”  

"Of course! Didn’t you see how Zhang Shu practically tutored her one-on-one.”    

“I’m jealous. What’s up with Zhang Shu though?”  

“Who knows…”  

Sheng Xia nervously made her way upstairs, but as she reached Fu Jie’s office, she ran into Zhang Shu coming out the door.

She became even more nervous.  

Zhang Shu, seeing her, looked surprised, then put on a mock-wounded expression and stopped her. “Worried about me?”  

Sheng Xia: …Well, she was a little worried, but…  

"No, Teacher Fu called me..."

Zhang Shu raised an eyebrow. Had he just embarrassed himself?

Sheng Xia had only answered casually, but when she saw his slightly hurt expression and thinking about the reason for his ‘setback’, she added with concern, "Your Chinese exam...why didn’t you hold out a bit longer?”

He'd already written over twenty lines; couldn’t he have pushed through?

"I couldn't go on," Zhang Shu said naturally, with a hint of self-reproach in his voice. “I was so tired my soul was practically leaving my body. I was afraid if I kept writing, the paper would just be full of my thoughts of you.”

Sheng Xia's ears turned red, her heart pounding wildly.

Can't he speak properly?

She lowered her head, her voice so soft she could barely hear it herself, "That won't do... Then, then don't think about me anymore."

Oh God! she’d just scolded him for not speaking properly, and now what was she saying?  

The moment the words left her mouth, she felt embarrassed.

Sure enough, Zhang Shu chuckled. "No way, that's harder than getting first place.”

Sheng Xia: …

Fu Jie, who’d come looking for Sheng Xia but ended up eavesdropping by the door with a full-on auntie smile: …

Enough, stop tormenting this poor auntie’s heart.  

---

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