Chapter 42: The tense senior year
He Shu chatted with Zhao Qishui for a while and told him about his aunt.
Zhao Qishui understood immediately after hearing this: "Are you blaming your grandpa and his family for not taking care of you before?"
He Shu shook his head: "I just feel that if they had come when my mother was sick, my mother might not have died so early..."
"Hey, how can I explain this? They must have their own difficulties, right? I think your aunt really cares about you. Your grandfather is still alive. How can a father know that his daughter is not doing well and not care about her?"
"This kind of thing may only be solved by talking face to face."
It is difficult for a judge to judge family affairs, and Zhao Qishui could not guess the reason. However, He Shu still has relatives, which is a good thing.
After the two finished chatting, they washed up and went to bed.
Zhao Qishui told He Shu not to think too much about it. He Shu also felt that Uncle Zhao was right. If he had the chance in the future, he would ask him in person.
…
Life in the third year of high school is hard and tiring, and there is no freedom at all.
Every day I go back and forth between the three points: doing exercises in the classroom, eating in the cafeteria, and resting in the dormitory.
From 5:30 to 11:00 pm, it keeps repeating.
Moreover, since I entered the third year of high school, I no longer have a weekend off. I only have a holiday once every half a month.
The pressure can be imagined, and many students have developed negative emotions.
It seems that since the third year of high school, there are no more good times in school, and all that is left is boredom.
He Shu was fine. He had been putting pressure on himself before, and by the time he reached senior year, he was able to fully commit himself to it because he understood very early on that the college entrance examination was his only way out, and the more effort he put in that year, the more he would gain.
He Shu will not be affected by some students who are not interested in studying.
Invisibly, He Shu isolated himself. No matter what others did, he just studied hard, ignoring everything else, not watching or listening.
Xia Miao was completely influenced by He Shu. Seeing how hard he worked, she also forced herself to learn and memorize.
I feel dizzy from doing so many exercises every day, and I’m afraid I’ll fall behind.
In He Shu's heart, what he fights for is grades, while on Xia Miao's side, what she fights for is to be able to stand with He Shu.
However, Xia Miao’s efforts did not have a significant effect. She forced herself to study every day, but her grades did not improve much after two consecutive exams.
Therefore, Xia Miao felt tired for the first time and began to doubt whether she could really keep up with He Shu?
The two met again in the cafeteria. As usual, they got their meals and sat together. Xia Miao didn't chatter as much as she used to.
He just picked at the plate in silence, with no appetite at all.
After He Shu finished his meal, he checked the time and asked, "What's your question?"
"Ah?" Xia Miao thought He Shu would eat hurriedly and leave in a hurry like before.
"Are you having problems with your studies?"
Xia Miao nodded. It was rare that He Shu was willing to talk to her, so she told He Shu about her troubles.
I practice questions every day until I feel sick, but there is no progress and I can’t remember much.
"He Shu, have I become stupid?"
He Shu looked at Xia Miao's face, which was a little thinner than before, and the faint dark circles under her eyes caused by lack of sleep, and thought for a moment.
"Tell me how you learned it?"
Of course He Shu was happy that Xia Miao was willing to listen, so he told her about his daily schedule.
He Shu listened carefully and pointed out several points after listening: "It is right to make a plan for yourself. You must make good use of your study time. Don't just learn what others learn. Find your own weaknesses and learn them."
"Don't set rigid tasks. For example, if your English is not good, don't just review it. Be more specific and do a few English reading passages every day."
"Also... when you're doing exercises, first check whether you have mastered all the knowledge points in this module. If you don't know the content in the textbook, what's the point of doing exercises? Can you understand it?"
He Shu talked a lot, mostly about his own learning methods, and told Xia Miao not to memorize things by rote, but to learn what suits her.
Tell her that excessive study will only lead to boredom, and teach her how to set specific goals for herself, treat each goal as a challenge, and start small...
Xia Miao's eyes were full of admiration, and there were stars in them. He Shu was really excellent...
After chatting for a while, He Shu looked at the time again and told her to try changing her learning method first. If she found that there was no obvious progress after a period of time, she could change it again. Then he hurried away.
Xia Miao nodded repeatedly, and felt much more happy and relaxed as she watched He Shu leave.
…
What Zhao Qishui talks about most with others now is his senior year in high school and the college entrance examination.
He treated He Shu as his own child, caring about his academic performance, and even more so his mental and physical health.
Every time He Shu had a day off, Zhao Qishui would leave the car wash, go home early to clean up the place, and then prepare a delicious meal.
He heard that high school seniors were under a lot of pressure and were exhausted enough at school, so how could he ask He Shu to work when he came back?
But if he didn't clean it up in advance, He Shu would definitely clean it up himself given his personality.
After living together for such a long time, Zhao Qishui discovered that He Shu was not a germaphobe and that the place he lived in had to be kept spotless.
Fortunately, the kid doesn't have an attack while working, otherwise he wouldn't be able to stay in the car wash.
Zhao Qishui always provided him with delicious food and drinks, and during meals he would ask him if he had any worries and whether he was under a lot of pressure from studying.
He learned these from some experienced people, who said that one should chat with children as much as possible.
If the child feels stressed or has an aversion to studying, he should be guided in time.
Zhao Qishui was a little worried that his cultural level was too low. What if He Shuzhen asked him about study and he didn't understand?
"Uncle Zhao, I'm doing well in school. My grades haven't dropped, and I don't feel any pressure."
Zhao Qishui nodded seriously. When He Shu finished speaking, he was still a little unresponsive: "That's all?"
"Yeah." He Shu was also a little confused. What did Uncle Zhao want to hear?
Zhao Qishui scratched his head: "So you really like studying and don't feel any pressure? Don't you have anything that makes you unhappy?"
"Something that makes you unhappy?" He Shu thought about it carefully and realized that there was nothing wrong.
Seeing him shaking his head, Zhao Qishui asked again: "What do you want? Do you need anything?"
"Yes, Uncle Zhao, shall I go with you to the car dealership to wash the car tomorrow?"
"What nonsense! Why are you still washing cars at such a critical moment? We have enough people now, so we don't need you."
He Shu smiled and said, "Reading books every day makes my brain tired. I want to exercise."
"You don't have to work for the activities. Tomorrow I'll call your brother Xiao Dong to take you to the gym."
Zhao Qishui's attitude impressed He Shu a little: "Uncle Zhao, are you happy for Brother Dong to go to the gym?"
"Hey, what can I do if I'm not happy? He's obsessed with it, you don't know. I don't even know how to explain it to his parents."
"Uncle Zhao, actually Brother Dong's is just a hobby. It didn't stop him from repairing cars. It's good to have a hobby of your own."
Zhao Qishui shook his head in disapproval: "His hobby, how much does it cost? He secretly bought a lot of fitness equipment."
At this point, Zhao Qishui sighed: "He Shu, Xiaodong is different from you. His family is from the countryside and their conditions are not good. His parents are counting on him to succeed, but now he doesn't save a penny."
"He's not young anymore. He needs to consider getting married and taking care of his parents in the future."
"As for hobbies, people have to have the conditions to be qualified to talk about hobbies."
