That Year's Exam Hall: Farewell, Boy

My childhood friend loves making bets. This time, he made another bold declaration in front of everyone:

“Cheng Shu is a bookworm and an idiot. There's no way she'll score higher than me on the mock exam.”

“If I lose, I'll carry her schoolbag for three months and come running whenever she calls.”

Everyone around us laughed and egged him on.

But Cheng Shu wasn't me.

She was our class's sweet, well-behaved top student.

While everyone else was busy cramming for the final push, she took the initiative to ask to sit with Zhou Liu and help him study.

My desk mate couldn't help leaning over to ask me:

“He's obviously using losing the bet as an excuse to cling to Cheng Shu in plain sight!”

“Everyone else is doing whatever it takes to get into a top university, but you're still deliberately holding back your scores, even if it means sacrificing your own future to go to an ordinary college with him.”

This time, though, I gently shook my head.

“No.”

No matter how wonderful a childhood friend is, my future matters more.