That summer, Lin Zhixia thought getting into a top high school was the beginning of her dreams.
Later, she realized it was the first lesson in “being ordinary.”
From an outstanding middle school student to an “average student” in high school,
she was stuck in an awkward position, with unreachable top students ahead and parents hoping she would make them proud behind her.
“Zhixia, if you just work a little harder, you can definitely catch up!”
Her teacher's expectations became a tightening spell she couldn't shake off as she sat at her desk late at night.
“Why can't you be more like the neighbor's kid?”
Her mother's reproach left her squirming at the dinner table.
“Lin Zhixia, about this problem... Thank you.”
And the boy named Shen Juan was the one secret she couldn't bring herself to voice in the chaos of her youth.
Three years, more than a thousand days and nights.
There were endless practice books for the college entrance exam, tears from fights and reconciliations with her best friend,
the bittersweet ache of a crush that went nowhere, and the same ordinary numbers on her report card despite all her hard work.
When the bell rang to mark the end of the final college entrance exam,
she capped her pen. She felt no swordsman’s pride at sheathing his blade, only a numb sort of calm.
It wasn't until one afternoon in college that she opened the diary gathering dust...
Inside were brittle yellow ginkgo leaves, a crumpled exam admission ticket, and little notes passed around the classroom.
In that moment, every regret, joy, grievance, and act of perseverance came rushing back.
It turned out that a spectacular youth was never a requirement.
A tribute to the most ordinary, yet utterly unique, three years of high school.
