Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When you were in school, was there anyone as ordinary as me in your class?

My grades were mediocre, and my looks were plain.

I was introverted, socially awkward, and didn’t have a single talent worth mentioning.

I wasn’t even supposed to get into No. 1 High School.

But that year, they opened a branch campus and expanded enrollment, so the cutoff score was more than ten points lower than usual.

I slipped in right on the edge.

My mother stared at the admission notice and kept sighing.

“Your older sister is starting university next year, and your younger brother will be taking the high school entrance exam soon…”

My sister had great grades; she was my parents’ pride.

My brother was the son; he was my parents’ root.

And me…

I was like when you go to the market to buy a few pounds of good pork belly, and the vendor always tosses in a couple ounces of pork neck no one wants.

That was me-the unwanted throw-in.

It was pouring that day. Indoors felt like someone had draped a sheet of plastic over everything-airless and unbearably humid.

They looked at me without saying a word, waiting for me to give up on my own.

My only close friend, Shen Jiayi, came knocking like a whirlwind and pushed the door open. “I heard you got in too! We can go to high school together-this is amazing!”

Unlike me, Jiayi was pretty, smart, a girl who seemed to shine.

If we hadn’t lived in the same building and grown up together, I probably wouldn’t have been able to become friends with her.

I grabbed her hand, like I could draw strength from her, and said slowly, word by word, “Dad, Mom, I want to keep studying.”

That whole summer, I worked my fingers to the bone helping my parents knead dough, fold buns, and steam buns.

My sister was frantically taking extra classes to prepare for her final year. My brother ran wild with his friends every day, taking his allowance to sketchy internet cafes.

The night before school started, Mom counted the money in her hand three times, then said reluctantly, “We’re fair to all three kids. Since you want to go, then go.”

But Mom…

If the scales in your heart weren’t already tilted, why did you need to emphasize it like that?

Jiayi and I ended up in the same class.

So did the top student in the grade, Shen Dongye.

Jiayi quickly made lots of new friends, and she took me along to the girls’ hangouts.

They’d sling arms around my shoulders like we were close.

They called me Li Linlin, Zhou Linlin…

Sometimes I’d correct them: “My name is Li Linlin.”

They’d act terribly sorry-then still get it wrong next time.

It wasn’t a big deal. I was used to it.

Fifteen or sixteen was the age when your heart couldn’t help but flutter.

Shen Dongye was tall, handsome, had great grades, played basketball well, and even sang nicely.

Every possible buff stacked on him. He got all the attention.

After class, girls would crowd by the windows, chattering nonstop-really, it was just to watch him.

But I felt nothing.

Other than being dragged into socializing by Jiayi, I spent my time reading and grinding through practice problems.

Back then, I didn’t have dreams. Studying was more like an instinct.

Until that one PE class.