Quick Travel System: Age Strategy

"The dragon should hide in the clouds, and you should hide in your heart." - Shen Congwen, "A Scene Under the Moon"

When I was in school, I often heard people mention you: Zhou Zhiqing ranked first in the exam, Zhou Zhiqing ranked first in the math competition, Zhou Zhiqing ranked first in speech, Zhou Zhiqing ranked first in sports...

Your name filled my entire youth with a domineering aura. I learned from the people in my class talking about you that you were a senior in the third year of high school.

This aroused great curiosity in me as I had just entered school. I wanted to see what this magical person looked like.

During the break after the first class, I sneaked to the senior floor.

Find your class, squat down, and look around from the corner.

I was originally wondering which one of you was your real self, but to my surprise, you weren't among the people I looked at.

You suddenly appeared from behind me, patted me on the shoulder, and asked me, "Which class are you from?!"

I was so flustered that I lied without thinking: "I... I'm in this class!"

You said: "I am also in this class, how come I have never seen you before, you are lying."

You immediately pointed out the loopholes in my lies.

I was so scared that I quickly said, "I'm here to look for Zhou Zhiqing."

"Looking for me? What do you want from me?"

When you said this, my face blushed and I mustered up the courage to look up at you, thinking to myself that your reputation is well-deserved, the number one in the school has a different temperament.

Under your increasingly sharp gaze, I made the excuse that I was asking you for an autograph on behalf of a classmate and asked if I could leave an autograph.

You nodded and looked at me, saying that I had no pen or paper in my hand. You went into the classroom, found a piece of paper, took a pen, wrote your name on it and handed it to me.

I held the paper in my hand, feeling a little nervous, and didn't dare to look at you. I said thank you hurriedly and left the senior floor.

From now on, in the corner where you can't see, I will be watching you silently.

Your figure has lived in my heart since the moment you gave me the paper.

Maybe in your eyes this is just a trivial matter, but in my heart you are the protagonist of my three years of high school.

———The serious dividing line————

A year has passed and graduation from high school is approaching.

You took the college entrance examination, and I, who was in the first year of high school, also got three days of vacation because of this college entrance examination.

I have been waiting at the school gate for the past three days. I am sure you are taking the exam inside because there is only one high school in Ningcheng.

Those taking the college entrance examination have no other choice but to take it here.

I'm standing outside in the scorching summer sun just to silently cheer you on.

I know you may not even know my name, but that doesn’t matter. I hope you can get into college since you have been working so hard.

It was not until noon that I saw you walk out of the examination room, and then leave the school and disappear from my sight.

I stood behind the tree and looked at your back from afar. When I saw you walking away, I left too.

I came to accompany you day after day, and now the college entrance examination has come to an end, which means I can no longer see you in school.

On the last day, when I left, I couldn’t bear to look at your figure, and silently recited your name in my heart.

"Zhou Zhiqing...I must see you again."

……

In order to see you again, I also started studying seriously.

Learning is not something that can be achieved overnight. Even if I work hard and don’t study hard, I still can’t reach the standard of being admitted to a university, let alone a junior college.

Two years later, I failed the college entrance examination.

My family arranged for me to work in a towel factory, where I became a small clerk in the trade union.

There is very little to do every day, and no one will say anything to me if I do nothing all day.

Days like this make me less and less motivated, and I often feel lonely.

My colleagues around me ignored me. They have been forming small groups since I came in and have no intention of paying any attention to me who came in through the back door.

I lived in the towel factory for two years. I also wondered where you went to college, what the college environment was like, and whether you would meet a girl you liked.

I feel sad when I think that you might have a girl you like.

I count the days every day to calculate when you will graduate. As the days go by, I calculate that the day of your graduation has arrived.

I have been waiting for you in Ningcheng for a long time, wondering whether you will come back here or settle down in the city where you go to school?

I also asked around behind the scenes with classmates who had talked about you in school before.

There was no useful news.

Just when I was about to feel disappointed, you came back and visited the towel factory where I worked.

When I heard the union leaders praising you endlessly, I realized that you had done a lot of remarkable things in college.

This time when you come back, the towel factory offers you a very generous salary, as if they want to keep you.

This also coincides with my opinion. I also want you to stay in the towel factory. My daily hope and silent wish are useful. I hope you can stay in the towel factory and become the factory director's secretary.

……

Although I am very happy to work in the same factory with you, I feel depressed when I can't see you every day.

I'm not in the mood to go to work.

My colleagues started to talk to me in a nice way and told me that the factory was going to hold an anniversary celebration and needed the union to send someone to help, and asked me to help.

It was obvious that this was a tough job and no one wanted to do it.

I agreed. I knew you were in charge of the factory anniversary celebration and you would definitely be there so that I could see you.

At the anniversary celebration, I successfully saw you, and I also saw that you were busy passing out sodas with your hands and were sweating all over.

During the whole event, I got to know Aunt Chunhua, and also indirectly and formally got to know you.

I am so happy to have the honor of eating at the same table with you. Seeing Aunt Chunhua pushing the unfinished food to Qian Dalong, I also learned to push it over. I wanted to see if you would take over.

The result was as expected, you rejected me politely.

But when you helped me carry things from behind me, the spark of hope was rekindled in me and I did not give up liking you.

……

Later, I kept walking closer to you and finally saw my shadow in your eyes.

We successfully got together not long after Aunt Chunhua got married.

To me, Aunt Chunhua is not just a caring and gentle sister, she and Qian Dalong are also supporters of my love.

If it weren't for their indirect help, I might not have been brave enough to step out of my secret crush and dare to say openly that I like you.

When Aunt Chunhua and Qian Dalong gave birth to a boy, it was time for Zhou Zhiqing and I to get married.

Mom and Aunt Chunhua put beautiful makeup on me, put on a pretty wedding dress, and I married you.

You took my hand and led me back to our future home.

From then on, I became Mrs. Zhou and put a perfect end to my youth.