Chapter 483 I'll Wait for You Ahead

"Pan Di, how are your studies recently?"

After some pleasantries, Shen Pan Di and Chen Lu simply brought their bowls over to join them. Old Master Chen, Chen Lu's grandfather and the owner of this noodle shop, upon hearing that they were his granddaughter's friends, directly brought over a plate of cold dishes and a large plate of Beijing-style braised offal with pancakes.

"It's going okay. I've already started attending second-year university courses. Although I can't graduate early, finishing the material sooner means I'll have a better grasp of the exams when the time comes."

"My classmates at school are all incredibly capable. I used to feel like I could always get first place without any difficulty, but coming here, I've realized there are plenty of people smarter and more talented than me."

"Even with my early studies, I still can't guarantee I'll be first. Chen Lu knows, a girl in our neighboring dorm gets perfect scores in every subject. I don't know how her brain works."

Listening to Shen Pan Di's complaints, Chen Yang, being academically challenged, felt unsure how to respond.

At a place like Tsinghua, there were simply too many academic elites. Those who could study here were either the top scorers from their provinces or their cities and counties; in short, they were the cream of the crop.

Shen Pan Di was considered an academic powerhouse herself, but it wasn't impossible for there to be individuals even more outstanding than her. Chen Yang wasn't privy to the specifics.

However, from Shen Pan Di's tone, it seemed that apart from the girl next door who consistently scored a perfect hundred in every subject, she didn't really regard others highly.

And yet, she was still studying ahead. The competition was fierce, truly fierce. The lives of these academic achievers were something else; it was the 1980s, and they were already engaging in such intense competition.

"Teacher Chen, you mustn't listen to Pan Di Jie spouting nonsense. In our department, her comprehensive ranking is either first or second. She and Ye Juan often alternate between those positions."

"We 'study slugs' haven't even opened our mouths, and they're getting perfect scores or only losing one or two points. And even then, they're studying ahead. How are we supposed to survive?"

Hearing Shen Pan Di's words, Chen Lu felt somewhat speechless. Looking at the girl's resigned expression, Chen Yang could understand.

In any school, there's always a group of people. You might be celebrating your improvement from a 59 to a 65 on a test, only to hear them sighing beside you.

You'd approach them, assuming they'd failed, ready to offer comfort, only to open their test paper and see...

Damn it, they scored 99, and they're still complaining, saying, "Ah, it's all my fault for playing at home instead of studying more. If I'd done one more practice problem, maybe I wouldn't have gotten this question wrong."

Then, holding your own test paper with a score of 65, you'd find it hard to smile.

People's joys and sorrows are never the same. Chen Lu felt that if she could score a 90, she'd be grinning from ear to ear.

"Chen Lu, you don't need to be discouraged. There will always be some people in the school who get first or second place, but as long as you're not at the very bottom, it's fine. Not everyone can be first or second."

Chen Yu, seeing the girl with the same surname as her, offered a rare word of comfort. After all, the girl's grandfather had generously scooped a large spoonful of braised meat into her bowl. Meat was not cheap in those days, so she felt indebted.

"Uh."

Chen Lu had only intended to vent, but hearing Chen Yu's words, she felt as if a stone had lodged itself in her throat.

"Lu Zi, it's okay. In our class, you're not the last one. There's still Yan Ping."

Shen Pan Di looked at the slightly dejected Chen Lu and quickly tried to comfort her. Chen Yu didn't know the situation, but she had to look out for her roommate.

In reality, Chen Lu had a very earnest attitude towards her studies, but with exams, it was quite normal to have an off day.

Hearing Shen Pan Di's comfort, Chen Lu felt her heart ache even more.

Second to last, wasn't that still considered last? But she didn't want to be last either.

"Ahem, student Chen Lu, academic performance isn't the most important thing. You are among the earliest batches of university students in the era of reform and opening up. What you need is all-round development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor."

"You need to possess the correct outlook on life and values, be able to learn the knowledge and skills taught by the school, cultivate a healthy physique, good moral character and aesthetic taste, and love labor. These are all aspects that require balanced development."

"Studying isn't everything. It's okay if your studies are a bit lacking; just excel in other areas."

"Not to mention anything else, but you come here during the holidays to help your grandfather, and I see you work quickly and diligently. Your interpersonal skills and ability to handle matters are far superior to most people."

"These are your strengths. You only see Shen Pan Di's excellent academic performance, but when it comes to making bread or dumplings, she can't compare to you!"

Only those who struggled academically could understand the pain of struggling academically. Academics like Shen Pan Di and Chen Yu would never be able to comprehend it.

"Teacher Chen, you're amazing! After hearing you say that, I feel a bit embarrassed. So, I do have some strengths."

Chen Lu felt a little better after hearing Chen Yang's words, at least knowing she wasn't completely useless.

"Lu Zi, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry."

"Student Chen Lu, I'm sorry, I..."

Shen Pan Di and Chen Yu were both intelligent and sharp. As soon as Chen Yang spoke, they realized that their unintentional words might have hurt Chen Lu.

They immediately wanted to apologize, but Chen Lu waved her hand, appearing unbothered.

"Pan Di, Xiao Yu, it's alright. I'm well aware of my own situation."

"If my grandparents weren't from Beijing, and my father and mother weren't born in Beijing, I probably wouldn't have gotten into Tsinghua. However, where I was born isn't something I could decide."

"Even though I'm at the bottom of the class, I wasn't too bad during the exam at the time."

"If I can't compete with you, then I won't. I'll just work hard myself and strive for improvement each time."

"Don't worry, I'm fine with it. I just want to hone my writing skills and see if I can get into a newspaper office. What I want most is to see my articles published in a newspaper."

Chen Lu spoke with a certain灑脫 (carefree and unconventional) air, which Chen Yang found quite commendable.

After this period, in the 1990s, the status of literature was quite high. This era also produced a number of writers with excellent literary achievements.

Having experienced the hardships of this era, the times had imbued their writings with a unique emotional depth, making them more relatable to readers.

Furthermore, putting aside other factors, newspapers were highly sought-after positions for the next twenty years, offering good benefits and high salaries with little work.

Had it not been for the rapid development of electronic products and the overwhelming proliferation of mobile devices that provided information, novels, and even video in more advanced forms, the newspaper, an entity that had accompanied human development for centuries, would have gradually kept pace with the times.

Newspapers could have continued to flourish for a very, very long time. Of course, these were things unimaginable to people at the time. Chen Yang was looking back from the future.