That morning, during the second exam, Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong handed in their papers early again in the final half hour.
Chen Qian, seated at the very back of No. 1 Exam Room, watched their retreating figures with a complicated expression.
During the break after the previous exam, Chen Qian had spent ages laying groundwork and explaining a pile of theories just to analyze badminton. Yet once they got on the court, Jiang Ning had settled him with a few shots.
Remembering that humiliating scene, Chen Qian was filled with endless regret.
If only I'd been a little faster at mental calculations back then?
As long as I calculate fast enough, I can predict where the shuttlecock will land.
Then, with one strike, pierce through the stars!
He would defeat Jiang Ning, reap countless honors, and make everyone look at him with admiration as they shouted Chen Qian's name.
He would shake all of No.4 Middle School.
That was how he felt.
But life always had its regrets and remorse. Chen Qian thought of Yang Sheng's teasing, Bai Yuxia and Dong Qingfeng's strange looks, Jiang Ning's indifference, and Xue Yuantong's unconcern.
He thought of how passersby had not taken him seriously, of the towering school buildings, of the sun hanging high in the sky...
All his failures came down to one thing: he was not fast enough.
He, Chen Qian, was absolutely not a man of that caliber! If I, Chen Qian, make a move, even the sun and moon shall lose their light.
Chen Qian stared at his test paper, then suddenly began writing furiously. Since he had lost to Jiang Ning in badminton, it did not matter. He would regain the confidence he had lost in other fields.
For example, academics.
This time, he absolutely would not