A few days later, the results of the middle school entrance exam came out. As expected, neither I nor my friend, Fatso, got accepted into the top high schools in the city.

To be honest, my grades were not bad overall, except for English. Those strange English letters, they knew me but I didn't know them.

I don't understand why. With China's 5,000 years of history and profound Chinese culture, many people don't even fully understand their mother tongue and yet they go and learn "ABC" in the name of international integration.

I'm not against learning English, but I really don't understand why it is a required subject. I think it should be an elective course. For people like us who don't have dreams of going abroad, learning this stuff is useless for a lifetime.

As we all know, English exams are mostly multiple-choice questions, but we can't understand the questions. What do we do then?

So we have come up with several ways to answer the multiple-choice questions. Usually, there are two common methods.

One method is to crumple four pieces of paper into balls, write A, B, C, D on each of them, and draw lots. If you draw A, you choose A. If you draw B, you choose B. Each exam feels like a sacrifice, attracting strange looks from the teacher.

The other method is relatively simpler. We write A, B, C, D on the north, south, east, and west sides of the desk respectively, and then spin a pen. Whichever letter the pen points to, that's the answer to the multiple-choice question. We call this method the "Lucky Wheel".

In fact, no matter which method we use, it all comes down to luck, just like flipping a coin.

But my luck is particularly bad. The Lucky Wheel only gives me a score of around 40 in English. Fatso is overjoyed and mocks me, saying, "Have you touched poop with your hands? Why are you so unlucky?"

You see, out of the total score of 150 for English, I only scored around 40. I haven't even scratched the surface of this subject.

But even so, my score is still enough to get into the high school in the county town. I can easily beat those kids like Long Shaoye, Juan Mao, and Hao Feiji.

Fatso also got accepted into the high school in the county town and was very happy. He said he would receive a bonus when he goes back.

Fatso's family doesn't have high expectations for him. As long as he can get into high school, they don't care whether it's the high school in the county or the high school in the city.

But I'm different. Because I have always had excellent academic performance since I was young, my dad is not demanding, but my mom is. She has high expectations for my academic performance and hopes that I can go to the high school in the city to get out of the mountains.

My mom often tells me that they have no way out. They have been poor in the mountain valley for a lifetime, so she especially hopes that I can get out of the mountains and not suffer here. For us rural children, perhaps studying really is the only shortcut to get out of the mountains.

Stolen novel; please report.

But I think this time I definitely disappointed my mom again.

After receiving the report card and saying goodbye to my classmates, I walked back home listlessly.

Before leaving, Zhang Yuxin distributed graduation photos to the whole class. We were smiling foolishly in the photos.

Youth is like a train, some people arrive at their destination, while others continue to move forward.

Behind my graduation photo, Zhang Yuxin left me a sentence: "May you wander half your life and still return as a youth!"

Although I don't fully understand the meaning of this sentence, a strange feeling welled up in my heart.

As for Zhang Yuxin, all I can say is, maybe we'll meet again someday!

On the way back, Fatso and I were complete opposites. I drooped my head, with a black face, while Fatso hopped and skipped beside me, even singing a song, "Waited for a long time, finally waited for today, dreamed for a long time, finally realized the dream..."

When I returned home, my mom couldn't wait to ask about my middle school entrance exam results.

I forced a smile and said, "It's alright, I got into the high school in the county town with ease!"

Just as my mom was about to be happy, she suddenly paused and said, "What did you say? The high school in the county town? Didn't I tell you to aim for the top high school in the city? What's there to be happy about getting into the high school in the county town? Look at your grades, English... 49 points? Do you call that doing well?"

My mom got angry and started looking for a broom, ready to hit me.

My dad happened to come back from outside and asked what was going on.

My mom, hands on hips, angrily said, "This kid performed terribly in the middle school entrance exam, can only go to the high school in the county town!"

But unexpectedly, my dad didn't join my mom in scolding me. Instead, he praised happily, "My son is amazing, being able to get into high school so easily!"

My mom was furious and shouted at my dad, "Are you out of your mind? Getting into the high school in the county town also counts as amazing?"

My dad smiled and said, "As long as he can get into high school, it's enough. It doesn't matter if it's in the city or the county. He's already much better than me. I wanted to go to school too, but I couldn't even get into high school, so I had to go back home and work on the farm!"

The atmosphere at dinner was somewhat heavy. My mom had a gloomy face, while my dad seemed happy, drinking his wine happily.

My mom snatched the wine glass from my dad's hand and scolded, "Drink, drink, all you know is drinking!"

My dad slapped his thigh and said, "Hey, why be so angry? Yang Cheng is almost sixteen years old. He should decide his own life. Whether he wants to study, work, or learn a trade, it's his own choice! Actually, I think if he doesn't want to study, it's not a bad idea to follow Ku Cripple and wander around. You can earn quite a bit of money each year..."

Before my dad finished speaking, my mom coldly interrupted, "You have no ambition! Such a young age and not studying, what wandering around? Running around can be done in the future. Now that he's sixteen or seventeen, he must study. Let it be the county middle school. We'll fill out the application form later!"

I nodded, hastily ate a few bites of food, and didn't bother to listen to my parents arguing. I quietly slipped out of the yard and went to find Fatso to play.

When I arrived at Fatso's doorstep, I saw that his house was decorated with lights and colors. Several tables were set up in the yard, inviting many relatives and friends to celebrate Fatso's acceptance into the county high school.

Fatso sat in the middle, wearing a small red flower on his chest, holding his report card, with a radiant smile on his face.

His parents were also ecstatic, as if their son had been accepted into Tsinghua University or Peking University.

I felt depressed. Both Fatso and I got accepted into the county high school, so why is there such a big difference in treatment?

Listening to the joyous atmosphere at Fatso's house, I ultimately didn't go in. I returned home alone and fell into a deep sleep under the covers.

Liu Qingqing slipped into the bed, her body cold, calming down my restless heart.

Liu Qingqing asked me if I was still upset about the middle school entrance exam.

I nodded.

Liu Qingqing comforted me, "Let everything take its course, no need to force it!"

I rested my head on Liu Qingqing's chest and soon fell into a dream. Anyway, things have come to this point, and I'm too lazy to think too much.