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Chapter 38: The Tension in the Air
Time is like a child, running around with wild abandon. You watch him stumble and crawl, thinking he’s moving so slowly. But the moment you look away, he’s already disappeared.
For Gu Lu, time seemed to pass quickly when he was focused on his literary pursuits. Yet the moment he shifted his attention to preparations for something else, time slowed to a crawl.
The days slipped by, each one marked by Mr. Li’s ominous reminders: “Less than twenty days until the high school entrance exam.” The pressure in the classroom grew palpable. Even Xie Fangqi, the boisterous girl who loved roughhousing with the boys, had become quieter.
No matter how much Zhang Yudong—or any of the other boys—tried to tease her now, she would simply say, “If you pull my hair again, I’ll report you to Mr. Li.”
The top students worried about underperforming. The middle-tier students fretted that they wouldn’t make the cut at all. Xie Fangqi fell into the latter group.
In just four or five days, everyone seemed stretched taut, like bowstrings pulled to their limit.
This oppressive atmosphere was the result of both teachers’ constant emphasis and parents’ sky-high expectations. Test after test rolled out in rapid succession.
“Waaahhh—” Chen Na, the usually steady class monitor, burst into tears. She’d made a mistake on the final question of the math exam and scored only 138 points.
Her close friend Zhao Juan tried to console her, but soon found herself crying too—her empathy was just too strong.
Gu Lu struggled to understand. It wasn’t hard for him to grasp why someone might cry over an insignificant pop quiz; what baffled him was the immense psychological pressure these top students felt.
To be honest, whether in his past life or this one, Gu Lu had always been among the struggling students…
Ms. Yan, a veteran teacher with decades of experience, noticed this immediately. So during the test review session, instead of scolding the students who’d lost “easy points,” she softened her tone.
“You should’ve gotten this question right. I think it’s just the stress getting to you. Don’t put so much pressure on yourselves. As long as you perform at your usual level, the exam will be fine.” Her sharp voice softened noticeably as she spoke.
Caught up in the tense atmosphere, even Gu Lu felt a little uneasy, though he wasn’t sure why. After all, exams weren’t his battlefield.
“I’m older than Conan now, yet I’m still so easily influenced by others. Gu Lu, can’t you stay calm? Look at the others—” he thought to himself.
Wang Wenjun, Zhang Yudong, Bai Xiaohua, Chen Xue… They’d given up on their futures, hadn’t they? No, that wasn’t quite accurate.
Failing to get into high school didn’t mean the end of the road. Many of the struggling students had adopted a carefree attitude: “Let them be strong if they want; the breeze will still blow across the mountain ridges.”
Meanwhile, Gu Lu kept busy. He signed another contract with Story Digest, this time for 140 yuan per piece.
With around 30,000 words written, he earned another 4,500 yuan. At this point, the Story Digest editorial office had eleven of Gu Lu’s accepted but unpublished works on file.
Of course, Story Digest wasn’t solely dedicated to publishing his short stories. Each issue could feature at most two pieces, meaning it would take until mid-autumn to publish all of them.
For now, Gu Lu decided not to submit more. In his plan, whether it was The Little Prince or some lesser-known mystery book synthesis project, his serialized works were poised to take center stage.
“The manuscript for Chronicles of Mystery should pass soon,” Gu Lu mused, though his thoughts drifted elsewhere. “Xiaotian and Lu Lanyi from Class One… they’re probably close too. Why does this kid have to start dating right before the exam?”
Just before dismissal, Mr. Li informed Gu Lu that they’d depart for the competition on Friday.
The event was scheduled to begin at 2:30 PM on Saturday at the West Campus of Rongcheng Experimental Foreign Language School, located in Shuangliu District, near Chengdu Shuangliu Airport.
Mr. Li believed traveling immediately before the competition might tire Gu Lu out, so they’d arrive a day early to rest.
“…” After carefully choosing his words, Gu Lu finally said, “Won’t arriving a day early cost you too much, Mr. Li?”
Though Gu Lu had only been in this world for a little over a month, both the memories of his previous self and his recent experiences showed that Mr. Li had always taken good care of him.
“Don’t worry, the school will cover the expenses,” Mr. Li reassured him. “You’re representing the school in this competition. Naturally, the costs will be handled by the school.”
So it was a freebie. Gu Lu relaxed.
As school let out, Zhao Juan and Chen Na wanted to announce something, but Gu Lu was already gone.
Back home, he stuffed the hole in the couch with bedding and flopped down onto it.
There was no shortage of cotton padding in Gu Lu’s house. Back when his father used to invite drinking buddies over to “rest,” piles of cotton had been prepared for guests. Now, Gu Lu repurposed them for comfort.
He opened his phone to chat with his younger sister, Gu Jiayu, whose screen name was written in alien-like script: [C#i+v@lry_Que3n (Chivalry Queen)].
[Chivalry Queen: I’ve never been to Chengdu! I heard you can see baby pandas at the panda base.]
[Chivalry Queen: Big Brother, are you really going to participate in the Ye Shengtao Cup?]
Gu Lu had recently saved a screenshot of his sister’s quirky username to his cloud storage while logged into his QQ account at Fat Boss’s place. He thought it would be hilarious to send it to her once she grew up.
[Orange Chief: Of course.]
[Chivalry Queen: Big Brother, you’re amazing!]
Excited by the confirmation, Gu Jiayu rushed to tell their mother.
Their mother’s reaction? A cold sneer. Yes, a sneer—Gu Jiayu saw it clearly.
“It’s true! Brother is amazing—one of the best students in Sichuan Province and Chongqing!” Gu Jiayu quickly added.
“What’s this Ye Shengtao Cup nonsense? Will participating in it help with the high school exam?” Their mother shot back with a barrage of questions.
Gu Jiayu didn’t know if it would help, but she hesitated. “But…”
“No buts. Go get your homework,” her mother ordered.
“Okay…” Gu Jiayu muttered, dejected.
“What’s the point of these weird competitions anyway?” Her mother scoffed.
The exchange brought to mind a quote from Isabel Nee Yeh-su, slightly adapted: “When a mother stops loving her child, everything becomes wrong—his crying is wrong, his silence is wrong, his very existence is wrong, and even his death is wrong.”
After checking Gu Jiayu’s homework and washing the family’s dirty laundry, their mother finally called their father.
The first call went unanswered. Frowning, she assumed he was out drinking with his rowdy friends again.
On the third attempt, someone finally picked up.
“Hello? What is it?” came a slurred voice.
“How’s Gu Lu doing lately?” she asked coldly.
The familiar icy tone snapped him back to reality. “He’s fine. Everything’s fine.”
“Did you hear that Gu Lu won the Ye Shengtao Writing Competition?” she pressed.
“Yes, yes, the Ye Taozi competition—I know everything, Ya Ya…”
She hung up without hesitation. Drunken ramblings about “Ya Ya” held no interest for her. She’d heard enough apologies and pleas for forgiveness over the years.
Hearing that Gu Lu was doing well, she stopped caring.
Sometimes, the excuses we make for ourselves are perfect, at least to our own ears.
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