Those things that happened in those years

Chapter 82 Going Their Separate Ways

Time flies, and the day for the township middle school to post its results has arrived in the blink of an eye.

As dawn broke, groups of students began to appear on the village paths. They had all changed into clean and tidy clothes and were walking in small groups, their faces filled with trepidation and anticipation as they headed towards the village middle school, eager to see if they had made the list.

Back then, the job allocation system was still in place. For rural children, as long as they could pass the entrance exam for a teacher training school or a vocational school, it was equivalent to having a "secure job." They could not only have a stable and respectable job, but also settle down in the city, completely escape the countryside, and get rid of the fate of "facing the loess soil with their backs to the sky."

This heavy temptation left every candidate on edge, eagerly anticipating the answer while fearing an unsatisfactory result.

Jun Ge and Hong Bo arrived at the village entrance early and waited for a while but Hong Liguo didn't appear. So the two of them started making noise and headed towards Hong Liguo's house.

"Where is Xiao Guo now? Why is he still nowhere to be seen?" Brother Jun's voice was loud and clear, and could be heard from a great distance.

Fa Zi stood not far away. Ever since he and Hong Liguo had a falling out over the gang war, the two had never crossed paths again.

Hearing Jun Ge and Hong Bo clamoring to go find Hong Liguo, he hesitated for a moment—after all, the two hadn't resolved their differences yet, and he was afraid of an awkward meeting. But under the persuasion of Jun Ge and Yan Bin, he gritted his teeth and followed them.

Hong Liguo was sitting on a stone stool outside his house, unconsciously stroking two pebbles with a patina in his hands.

He knew his grades all too well. He hadn't focused on his studies at all during the second semester of his final year of junior high. He would daydream in class and wander around aimlessly after class. He couldn't answer many questions on the exams. Going to check the results would be pointless; he had no chance of passing. So, from the very beginning, he had no intention of going to the rural middle school.

"Xiao Guo, how come you still have time to play with stones at home? The school is releasing the results today, come with us to see the list!" Brother Jun shouted as soon as he entered the door.

Hong Liguo looked up at them and shook his head: "I'm not going. It's pointless. I definitely won't pass the exam."

Jun patted him on the shoulder: "Hey, so what if you don't pass the exam? You're not going to go watch? I know I have no chance, but I'm just killing time anyway, might as well go see what's going on! Don't you care about yourself? Don't you care about your Wang Yuxin?"

Jun's words suddenly reminded Hong Liguo, who thought: That's right! It's certain that I won't pass the exam, but what about Wang Yuxin? I can't not go and see if Wang Yuxin passed!

Then another thought crossed my mind: Wang Yuxin has always been a good student and very hardworking; it's only a matter of time before she gets in! Sigh! What will I do if she really gets in? She'll be assigned a job after graduation, and she can even get a city residency permit…

For the first time, Hong Liguo felt the distance between Wang Yuxin and himself.

Fa Zi stood at the back of the crowd, his gaze fixed on Hong Liguo, but he didn't say a word.

Hong Liguo also looked at Fa Zi, his best friend and most trusted person who had been his deskmate for many years, going to and from school together, playing and having fun together, and who had secretly acted as a messenger for him and Wang Yuxin for more than a year. Now, Fa Zi was standing there like a stranger, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

He insisted again, "I really don't want to go. I know I won't pass the exam, and going will only cause me more trouble."

At this moment, Fa Zi took two steps forward, his cheeks slightly flushed, and his tone, though a little unnatural, was very sincere: "Xiao Guo, let's go take a look together! Just think of it as a stroll. Of the few of us, who can be absolutely certain they'll pass the exam?"

Seeing that Fa Zi had taken the initiative to speak to him, Hong Liguo felt a surge of excitement, and a smile immediately appeared on his face as he nodded: "Alright then! Let's go take a look."

Afterwards, Fa Zi, Jun Ge, Yan Bin, Hong Bo, and Hong Liguo, a group of five, each got on their bicycles and rode along the dirt roads in the countryside towards the township middle school.

The group chatted and laughed along the way, reminiscing about past anecdotes and speculating about the future, but the atmosphere was ultimately not as pure and enthusiastic as it was on their first day of junior high school.

What's even more disheartening is that one of the original "Six Musketeers" is now missing – Na Jie was sent away by Zhang Qiaoyun's parents after the incident, and there has been no news of him since. Even his sister has been asking around but hasn't received any information about him. Nobody knows where he went or how he is doing now.

Mentioning Jay's matter caused the smiles on the brothers' faces to fade, and they inevitably felt a sense of oppression. There was no more laughter and chatter along the way, only the "crunching" sound of bicycles rolling over the road.

When they arrived at the township middle school, the campus was already packed with people. The students who had arrived earlier were gathered around the east wall of the ninth-grade classroom, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks to look at the list of successful candidates. The sounds of discussion, exclamations of surprise, and regrets mingled together, creating a lively yet tense atmosphere.

The school's large list was made of an extra-large sheet of red paper, on which the names of the examinees and their scores in each subject were neatly written with a brush. It was then pasted firmly onto the outside of the east wall of the ninth-grade classroom for the students to see.

The red paper stood out vividly in the sunlight, yet it also felt like an invisible boulder weighing on everyone's heart.

The group of brothers pushed through the crowd and squeezed to the front to look up.

The list is clearly divided into four parts: the first part is the top list, which lists the names of students who were admitted to teacher training colleges and their scores in each subject of the entrance examination.

At that time, there was a severe shortage of teachers in rural areas. Many teachers in schools were privately hired teachers who had not graduated from junior high school. When Hong Liguo was in elementary school, he had a teacher surnamed Ren. When he was halfway through a lesson, he got stuck and told the students, "Wait a moment. I'll go to the office and discuss it with other teachers. I'll come back to the lesson after I've figured it out." This shows how weak the teaching staff was at that time.

Therefore, local governments regard teacher training as a top priority, and teacher training colleges are therefore listed as the most important, with only the best candidates being admitted.

The second list consists of students whose grades are slightly lower than those of top students. These students cannot get into teacher training colleges, but they can enter various vocational secondary schools. Their names are listed in order, followed by their scores in each subject of the high school entrance examination. After graduation, they can also be assigned jobs and obtain urban household registration.

The third list consists of students with slightly above-average grades. Although they can be admitted to regular vocational schools, they can only go through the self-funded route. These schools are mostly vocational schools or agricultural and pastoral schools. They are not guaranteed job placement after graduation. They can also choose to enter vocational high schools for further study. In a sense, this list is also considered to be a list of students who failed the college entrance exam. Few students would go to schools that do not guarantee job placement, but as long as they are willing to spend money, they have the opportunity to continue their studies, which is slightly better than the fourth list.

The fourth list, at the very end, consists of the students who failed the exam due to their worst grades. They make up almost half of all the junior high school students taking the exam. They have no other schools to attend except for repeating a year and taking the exam again. Most of them can only go home to farm.

Fa Zi, Hong Liguo, and the others first looked at the top list and soon saw that Qiao Shuang from their class was ranked at the top, having successfully passed the entrance exam for the teacher training college.

When Hong Liguo saw that Qiao Shuang had passed the exam, he was initially delighted and genuinely happy for her. However, he then felt a pang of sadness and a strange mix of emotions arose within him. He even selfishly thought, "It would be better if she hadn't passed."

Continuing to read, he saw his deskmate Cui Zhiguo, who had also made it to the top of the list! Hong Liguo couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Damn it! That bastard actually made it."

Cui Zhiguo usually liked to flirt with girls, never paid attention in class, and often secretly went out to play ball. His grades were always mediocre, and no one expected him to be able to get to the top of the list, which made Hong Liguo feel very unbalanced.

The last place on the top list was also from their class, named Li Haiying, that usually quiet and introverted girl, who actually succeeded in this battle, she was really incredibly lucky.

What puzzled Hong Liguo was why Wang Yuxin's name wasn't on the list. He thought he had missed it because he had read it too quickly, so he carefully read it again from beginning to end. Apart from Qiao Shuang, Cui Zhiguo, and Li Haiying, no one else from his class was on the list.

Undeterred, he checked again carefully, but still couldn't find Wang Yuxin's name.

Hong Liguo quickly shifted his attention to the second list, which had significantly more names than the first. He and Fa Zi checked the names one by one, afraid of missing any detail. However, after looking at them twice, they still couldn't find Wang Yuxin's name. In fact, not a single person from their class made it onto the second list, and Fa Zi also failed to make the list.

Seeing this, Hong Liguo felt a strange sense of relief—he didn't want the distance between himself and Wang Yuxin to grow too far, as that would make him feel inferior.

Since Wang Yuxin failed both exams, maybe they can enter society together, get married, live a simple life of farming and weaving, and have a few more children... Thinking of this, Hong Liguo couldn't help but secretly smile.

Fa Zi's face had already begun to darken. He knew in his heart that if he didn't make it onto the second list, there was basically no hope for him in this year's high school entrance exam.

Given his family's circumstances, even if he passed the third-highest exam, they wouldn't have the money to pay for his self-funded education. It seems that his only future path is to go back to farming.

When the two of them looked at the third list at the same time, their hearts almost simultaneously skipped a beat—the top of the third list was Wang Yuxin! She was only one point away from the last place on the second list! That one point difference caused her to miss the opportunity for guaranteed job placement, and she would either have to repeat a year, study at her own expense, or enter the workforce.

Hong Liguo was both glad that Wang Yuxin did not get into the teacher training college and felt sorry for her. According to the rules, even if Wang Yuxin did not get into the top list, she should have been in the second list without any doubt. How could she have fallen to the third list?

Looking further down, Fa Zi's name was ranked seventh on the third list, five points behind the last place on the second list. Five points, no more, no less, but enough to completely change Fa Zi's fate. His eyes instantly welled up with tears. Rather than being ranked in such an awkward position, it would be better to just drop out of the list altogether.

Yu Deshui from their class ranked fifteenth on the third list. Several other students were also ranked on the third list, but they were all quite low on it.

Hong Liguo, Jun Ge, Hong Bo, and Yan Bin were all absent from the list, clearly indicating they were all on the elimination list for the fourth category.

After reading the third list, the group had no interest in looking at the fourth list. Instead, they were quite at peace with themselves—this result was expected, so there was no sadness, no worry, and no regret. Since they had known all along, they could face it with a smile.

After seeing the list, Hong Liguo immediately wanted to find Wang Yuxin and offer her some comfort, but he searched for a long time in the crowd and couldn't find her.

Just then, he saw Cui Zhiguo, beaming with pride, showing off to a group of classmates. His thin, bony face was all smiles, and his smugness made Hong Liguo furious. If it weren't for the promise he had made at the police station not to cause any more trouble, he would have rushed over and punched him twice—so what if he passed the exam? What's so great about that!

While comforting the dejected Fa Zi, Hong Liguo and Jun Ge asked their classmates if Wang Yuxin had arrived.

Soon, a classmate who knew the situation told them, "Wang Yuxin arrived early and cried her eyes out when she saw that she had failed the exam. She couldn't believe she had failed and went to the office to check her scores."

Upon hearing this news, Hong Liguo's heart tightened, and he quickly ran towards the office.

Midway through, he ran into Gao Xiuying, a classmate. Gao Xiuying stopped him and said, "Don't go to the office. Yu Xin is crying in the back of the first-year classroom, and Qiao Shuang and the others are with her."

Hong Liguo then learned that Wang Yuxin had arrived at the township middle school early that morning to wait for the results with many other early-arriving students.

When the list was posted, she looked at it with great anticipation, but she couldn't find her name on either the first or second list, and her heart clenched with anxiety.

When she saw that she was at the top of the third list, tears immediately streamed down her face like beads from a broken string—a difference of just one point meant missing out on her dream job and city residency, something that would be hard for anyone to accept.

Wang Libo, Qiao Shuang, the Su sisters, and other classmates gathered around to comfort her, telling her not to be sad and that she could always retake the exam the following year. But Wang Yuxin refused to believe she had failed, thinking the academic affairs office must have made a mistake. She insisted on going to the office to check, so Qiao Shuang and the others had to go with her. That's why they weren't there when Hong Liguo and the others arrived.

Following Gao Xiuying's directions, Hong Liguo quickly arrived at the back of the first-year classroom and saw Wang Yuxin squatting in the corner, sobbing. Qiao Shuang and the others surrounded her, comforting her in whispers.

Hong Liguo slowed his pace and walked over quietly. Just as he was about to say a few words of comfort, Qiao Shuang, who had been keeping a close eye on her surroundings, suddenly looked up. Upon seeing him, she immediately frowned and shouted at him, "How dare you show your face! Do you know that Yu Xin's failure in this exam is all your fault! If you hadn't been fooling around with people every day, distracting Yu Xin and making her worry, how could she have failed with her grades? It's one thing for you to be lazy and self-destructive, but why do you have to harm her? Do you know how much Yu Xin longs to get into her ideal school, how much she wants that job and city residency!"

Qiao Shuang's words were like a thunderclap, instantly silencing the surroundings.

Several other classmates chimed in, "That's right, it's all your fault! If you hadn't affected Wang Yuxin, she would have at least gotten second place!"

Hong Liguo opened his mouth, but swallowed back the words of comfort that were about to come out.

He knew in his heart that what Qiao Shuang said was true.

Given Wang Yuxin's usual grades, it was indeed impossible for her to only rank third. Her failure this time was largely due to her insistence on participating in the guild war last time—that incident not only made her anxious and fearful but also seriously interfered with her study, which naturally affected her exam results.

He stood there blankly, looking at Wang Yuxin who was crying her heart out, not knowing what to say for a moment, his heart filled with guilt and self-blame.

At this moment, Wang Yuxin suddenly raised her head, her bloodshot eyes fixed on Hong Liguo. She abruptly stood up and roared at him angrily, "It's all your fault! It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, how could I have failed the exam? My job, my city residency, everything I have, you've ruined it all! Waaah..."

She cried her heart out, every word she uttered like a knife stabbing into Hong Liguo's heart.

Hong Liguo stood there, speechless for a long time.

He wanted to explain, to apologize, but seeing Wang Yuxin's pained expression, all the words stuck in his throat.

He thought to himself: Perhaps, it really was I who ruined her bright future.

After a long while, he slowly retreated step by step until his figure completely disappeared from Wang Yuxin's sight, disappearing around the corner behind the first-year classroom.

At that time, none of them could have imagined that this separation would last for a full twenty years.

It was only then that Hong Liguo learned that Wang Yuxin had not been discouraged after failing the college entrance exam. Instead, her father sent her to a vocational high school for further studies, and she finally achieved her dream of getting a decent job and living the city life she had always longed for.

When they met again, they smiled at each other, and all the memories of the past came flooding back...

She said, "I'm so familiar with this poem. It's from a long time ago, from the past... Thinking back to those days, I was young and impetuous. Thinking back to now, I'm content with the status quo. Life—just like that, I slowly grow old."

He said, "Although I don't like the outcome of getting old, I like the process of growing old slowly..."

Thus, those youthful feelings, regrets, and resentments have all become blurred and distant under the erosion of time, leaving only a soft sigh echoing in the long river of time, drifting away with the wind...

(End of the book)