The Crossroads of the Parallel Class

In the autumn of 2013, the asphalt on the County No. 1 High School track softened under the scorching sun. Zhou Hengjie, Wang Chongbing, and Xu Aizhong were three boys assigned to parallel classes. They became friends after being made to stand in a row as punishment during military training. One college entrance exam sent the three who had walked side by side for three years down completely different paths. One came to his senses, squeezed across the single-plank bridge into university, and stumbled through the challenges of growing up in a wider world. One failed to get what he wanted, returned to his hometown with regrets, and took up his father’s responsibilities. One entered the business world early and experienced the warmth and coldness of human nature firsthand. Years later, when the three met again, their beer glasses clinked, and all they heard were the sounds of shattered dreams. No one could return to that summer when they were sixteen. No one could live through those three years of high school again. Time is the fairest thing in the world, and the cruelest, too. The corners you cut now will come back to haunt you many times over in the years ahead; the hardships you endure today will one day light the road before you.