In the autumn of his third year in junior high school, Zhou Xubai scored 32 points on the math test. As he stood up and failed, he saw Qiu Tingwan, who was number one in grade, looking back at him - as calm as looking at the fallen leaves outside the window. That is the distance between 119 points and 32 points, which is the distance that he has to catch up with throughout his youth.
He thought that glance was the beginning. Later I learned that that was the only time in his youth that he was seen by her.
In three years, from the bottom to the top nine, from the second middle school to the ideal university, everyone said, "Zhou Xubai made a counterattack." Only he knew that every time he made progress, he was thinking: "Will she notice this time?"
She noticed. When she graduated, she said: "Zhou Xubai, you are the most improved person I have ever seen." He waited for three years for an objective evaluation.
Many years later at a class reunion, someone mentioned that time: "Zhou Xubai, do you like Qiu Tingwan?" He smiled and shook his head: "Who doesn't like being number one in grade?"
It snowed when the show ended, like the first snow in the third grade of junior high school. He received a text message from an unknown number: "Actually, I know." There was no signature, but he knew who it was.
He replied: "I know you know."
Then delete the number.
Some like it to be grand as a celebration, but silent. Some pursuits are as long as an expedition, but they have nothing to do with the end point. This is a story about dignity, growth, and self-proof. Secret love is just a carrier. The truth is: what we spend our entire youth chasing is actually the self that longs to shine.
Purpose: Maintain the dignity of running in the face of a seemingly hopeless gap. Even if you cannot catch up with the light, you must be your own light.