Chapter 22: No One to Help Me Reach the Clouds (Part I)

Sunlight streamed down through the thick clouds, casting pillars of light that made the distant mountains look like fantastical palaces. To the side of the podium stood a row of students. In his previous life, Lin Cheng had never looked down at the dense crowd of students below from this angle during a flag-raising ceremony.

Yesterday, his homeroom teacher, Wang Lixin, had specifically called to remind him to get a haircut. Lin Cheng felt a thrill of excitement; Su Xiang was right beside him. She was wearing a white school shirt and light blue jeans. Her cascading ponytail shimmered in the sunlight, swaying gently in the breeze.

Principal Huang Yi strode to the microphone, held up his speech, and announced in a resonant voice, "Respected teachers, dear students, taking advantage of this sacred moment of our flag-raising ceremony, the school will honor the 'Three-Good Students' from the last semester and invite our top-performing senior students to share their experiences..."

The students below were curious at first, but their interest was quickly worn down by the long-winded speech, and they began to whisper among themselves. When the beautiful head of the broadcasting station, Xu Xinxin, stepped up to the podium, the solemn flag-raising address officially began!

"When the war cry of the King of Chu, unwilling to accept defeat, echoed by the Wujiang River! Who remembers his grand ambition that 'Chu shall surely destroy Qin'? When the smoke and gunfire of the Yellow Sea dissipated..."

Lin Cheng was stunned. This was the essay he had written for his recent exam! Had it been turned into the flag-raising address?

"...Heroes, from some point on, have ceased to represent just one person, one glorious achievement, or one great success. It has become a spirit—a national, almost faith-like spirit that leads the development of the era..."

After the student finished speaking, the senior grade director, Fan Yingnan, stepped up to say, "The speech just now was the excellent essay 'Sparks Fly, the Heroic Heart Burns' from our recent senior exams. The school will select the best works to participate in the 'Language Newspaper' Cup National Essay Competition. We hope students from the first and second years will participate actively..."

The school leadership of Wuzhou Middle School certainly put effort into creating more opportunities for their students: the "Language Newspaper" Cup and the "Ye Shengtao" Cup were prestigious national essay competitions. Winning a national gold medal could provide extra points for the college entrance exam, or even be a huge boost for recommendations!

The wind made the national flag snap loudly. The quality of the school uniforms was admittedly poor; the white shirts were quite thin. The boys didn't care much, but the girls... if they broke a sweat or got wet, one could see the undergarments they wore beneath. Su Xiang usually wore a white T-shirt underneath hers.

Seeing Su Xiang shivering slightly, Lin Cheng asked in a low voice, "Are you cold?"

Su Xiang nodded.

Lin Cheng added, "I have no idea when this will end!"

Speaking "secretly" in front of everyone caused the "model students" beside him to widen their eyes. Lin Cheng continued his chatter: "Here, let's switch spots. I'll stand in front of you?"

Lin Cheng stepped back, bringing Su Xiang closer to the model student on her right. He squeezed to her left, close enough that he could catch the faint, delicate fragrance of the girl.

Su Xiang’s pretty face remained impassive, but inwardly she grumbled about "Lin Junjie" causing trouble in such a situation. This scene was clearly visible from below the podium... Was he trying to block the wind for Su Xiang? What an idiot! The boys, especially those from Su Xiang’s class, cursed the "sycophant Lin Junjie" in their hearts. Zhuang Sijing pouted as well, thinking, "He really has no shame!"

...

"Next, we invite Su Xiang from Grade 12, Class 3, to speak on behalf of the students."

As Su Xiang stepped onto the stage, the entire venue went silent. She was confident and poised, seemingly surrounded by a natural glow that made it impossible to look away.

"Dear classmates, comrades-in-arms, ten years of hard study, three years of bitter labor..."

Su Xiang’s voice was melodic, like tinkling jade, flowing into hearts like a mountain spring. With her fresh, elegant temperament and gentle smile, her speech gradually resonated with everyone.

This wasn't affectation. Everyone only gets one youth, and Su Xiang’s speech was filled with nostalgia for their time in middle school, as well as a yearning for a bright future. Furthermore, she was the embodiment of the perfect girl in every boy's dreams.

After Su Xiang finished, the senior grade director, Fan Yingnan, stepped onto the stage, adjusted his glasses, and said, "The difficulty of this senior exam was on the higher side, but students should not be discouraged... Of course, there are also students with very strong psychological fortitude who remain calm and composed when facing major exams, achieving results beyond their usual standards... For example, Lin Cheng from Grade 12, Class 3."

The atmosphere gradually settled down.

"Next, we invite Lin Cheng to share his experience on how to adjust one's mindset for exams and rapidly improve academic performance..."

Perhaps thinking this was Lin Cheng's first time on stage and wanting to ensure the students paid attention, he added, "Lin Cheng scored 656 this time. He leaped from 310th place in the grade to 10th!"

"Whoa~"

They had seen people improve by dozens of spots, but breaking into the top tier of the school was quite astonishing! The formerly scattered applause suddenly became enthusiastic.

Thus, under the gaze of school leaders, teachers, and students, Lin Cheng walked to the microphone with steady steps.

"Hello everyone, I am Lin Cheng from Grade 12, Class 3."

The young man bowed slightly, as if offering a tribute to his own youth.

...

Lin Yueyue was lost in thought for a long time, thinking, "Has he always been this handsome?" Zhou Luoyao bit her delicate, moist red lip, lost in deep thought. Then, she suddenly asked the person next to her, Xiao Rongbo, "Why didn't he bring a speech draft?"

...

"That’s right, why is he speaking without a draft?" Not only had Zhou Luoyao noticed, but Xiao Rongbo and their homeroom teacher, Wang Lixin, had noticed too.

"Oh no!" Wang Lixin said immediately. "This scatterbrain, did he get so nervous he forgot his speech?"

"What?" The grade director, Fan Yingnan, grew anxious. "Then what do we do! The school leaders are watching. Send someone to deliver his draft to him."

"I don't even know where he put it," Wang Lixin felt a headache coming on.

Fan Yingnan: "..."

Top students never look back at explosions—Lin Cheng hadn't forgotten; he hadn't brought one at all! As a future elite, one must speak without a script! If you cannot compose prose on the spot, you must be fully prepared in advance!

After introducing himself, Lin Cheng habitually tapped the microphone, producing a "pop, pop, pop" sound. He calmly adjusted the microphone to the most suitable height, then scanned the playground with composure.

"Respected leaders, distinguished guests... *ahem*... students, hello everyone!"

At this point, Lin Cheng paused involuntarily. Why was there no applause? Fine, this was a high school, not an industry conference...

Lin Cheng continued, "I am honored to be standing here to share my study experiences with you all."

"My grades were always average or below. I once sought answers everywhere, but I couldn't change my situation until one day, I read an article that essentially said: Do not assume the world is fair."

"The idea that sheep and camels each have their own strengths is a lie—a sheep will never be able to eat the leaves on a tree, but a camel will always find a way to reach the grass behind a fence..."

"Just as Hall said: 'An ounce of heredity is worth a ton of education.'"

"Some people will do better than you even while they are just playing around!"

"After reading that, I felt even worse, and I doubted myself even more..."

Hall’s words were piercing; they struck deep at the pain points of most students. The whispers in the crowd gradually died down.

"I used to think that failing to reach my goal was because I wasn't working hard enough; but when I put in every ounce of effort, I realized: perhaps my talent was the limiting factor."

"The college entrance exam requires some degree of talent. As a selection system, let's set aside the idea that everyone has their own strengths—perhaps those who aren't good at studying are more gifted in art or sports."

"One day, I was playing 'Fight the Landlord' (cards) with some people, and there was a Professor Hu nearby."

"Seeing that I was playing terribly, he instructed me: 'If you break the 7s and 10s, you won't have a sequence. The cards that haven't appeared yet might be bombs. Remember all the cards above 10...'"

"I suddenly felt as if I had glimpsed something."

"That is technique!!!"

"I threw down my cards and ran."

"Professor Hu was stunned, thinking he had spoken out of turn."

"Actually, at that moment, I suddenly understood that technique is about tracing the root of a problem. I had lacked technique and planning in my studies."

"I began to study desperately, researching, and searching for breakthroughs. During that time, I was like someone possessed."

"Sure enough, those concepts I didn't understand before—as long as I studied them a few times, I could find the patterns and methods."

"It gave me an indescribable pleasure. I kept picking up books from different subjects to read, as if I had grasped the truths of the world..."

By the time he said this, the teachers and students below were no longer calm!

"What? He got into the top ten by playing cards?"

"No wonder he could hang off the fence when skipping class; he's too unreliable."

Some even began to chuckle...