However, at this moment, Zoe Young's envy of Tina Young had already surpassed that of 《Seasons of Youth》. Tina Young wasn't required by the teachers of Class One to study Olympiad math, her household registration guaranteed that she could at least get into No. 8 Middle School, and she didn't need to take the entrance exam. I don't know Olympiad math, and I've never studied English either. Zoe Young lowered her head, flipping through the Olympiad math textbook in her hands, looking at the table of contents: “Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage Problem,” “Tree Planting Problem,” “Summation Problem,” “Multiple Difference Problem”... She was defeated by the dense writing, not knowing where to start. In the room, only the quartz clock hanging on the wall made a ticking sound. Zoe Young was so conflicted that even her forehead was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. What should I do... Sixth grade is about to start, there’s still the final exam, and I have to practice piano for the level nine exam—what am I going to do? Closing her eyes, she saw again that short Ryan Johnson squinting at her, and the gentle breeze that passed by when the red-eyed Andrew Lane walked past her with his head down. Why am I so stupid? Zoe Young slid off the big chair, squatted on the floor, and the tears from her earlier attempt to run away from home now rolled down her cheeks in big drops. She hugged herself tightly with her arms, suddenly feeling utterly hopeless. The anxious emptiness in her heart still hadn’t eased; she was still afraid—afraid that tomorrow at school, Mr. Hughes would scold her because of what happened to Ryan Johnson tonight, afraid that Andrew Lane would be punished because of her, afraid that the The Johnson Family would cause trouble for her mom, afraid that she wouldn’t be able to learn Olympiad math and wouldn’t get into a good middle school, afraid...

Somehow, her thoughts drifted to that moment in first grade when she stood on stage, holding a trophy and smiling at Andrew Lane's dad’s camera. She remembered the flash reflecting a dazzlingly bright future in her eyes, so brilliant, but no one had ever told her that no matter how bright the light, you still can’t hold onto it.

The way she was now was fundamentally no different from when she was little and scolded by Mr. Hughes as “so stupid, good for nothing.” Zoe Young clutched the bedsheet and, like a normal fifth grader, cried her heart out.

She just didn’t dare make a sound.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before she finally cried herself out, grabbed a towel to wipe her face, sniffled, stood up, and looked at the math book lying quietly under the desk lamp, then slowly closed her eyes.

The Xiangbei team always exploded only when pushed to the brink. Imitating glasses-wearing Glenn Morgan, Zoe Young softly said to herself, “The game is only just beginning.”

Even if there are only five minutes left, as long as the protagonist’s cosmos explodes, everything before doesn’t matter. The game is only just beginning. Only at this moment did Zoe Young understand what Alan Carter meant when he said that life is far more cruel and exciting than cartoons. The opponent Zoe Young faced was like a giant octopus with seven or eight arms, but she wasn’t afraid. With high spirits, Zoe Young's little face turned red, the opening song of 《Slam Dunker》 echoing in her ears, she gripped her Winnie the Bear mechanical pencil tightly and turned to the page on the “Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage” problem. Ten minutes later.

Zoe Young was still squatting on the floor, crying. She forgot that even the sweet little girls in cartoons couldn’t do math problems, Saint Seiya didn’t study math, and David Sakurai was the king of failing classes.

Why can’t I understand it? She crawled back to the desk and told herself, I’m just too anxious, that’s all. If I take it slow, I’ll definitely find the enemy’s weakness!

...Ten minutes later. The enemy was flawless.

Zoe Young let her hands fall helplessly. For the first time, she realized that there are things in this world that make you feel even more powerless than not knowing who your father is. Its name is Olympiad math.

I won’t get into a good middle school, won’t get into a good high school, won’t get into college... For the first time, Zoe Young felt the cruelty of reality so close, close enough to see the suckers on the octopus’s legs.

Under the pale light, Zoe Young hugged a brand new Olympiad math textbook, silently wondering if living on was really meaningful.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Her grandma’s voice answering the phone sounded from the living room. After a minute, Zoe heard a knock at the door. “Zoe, the call is for you.”

Zoe Young quickly wiped the tears from her face, opened the door, and ran to the living room. “Hello?”

“Zoe? It’s Alan Carter.” Suddenly, Zoe felt a cool spring well up in her heart.

“Mm.” She hugged the receiver tightly. “Zoe, can your parents bring you to the Provincial Second Hospital?” Alan Carter's voice sounded as if it was coming from a vast, empty place, very far away. “Why?”

“Mr. Green, I’m afraid, won’t make it.”

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5. Good People

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After asking her grandma, Zoe Young ran to the door of Lily Young's room, wanting to ask her second uncle to take her to the Provincial Second Hospital. As she reached the door, she vaguely heard a hushed argument inside. “Whenever I try to discipline the child, you always stop me, but you don’t teach her yourself. You’re out drinking with your buddies all day. I don’t stop you from drinking, but other people drink for business, to make money for their families. And you? This kid is getting more and more like your family, stubborn as a mule, daydreaming all day and never doing anything proper, always reading these useless things, all about love and romance. Do you want to just watch her fail to get into college and end up like her aunt?!”

When Zoe Young heard the words “her aunt,” she stepped back a few paces from the door, staring at the doorknob in shame and anger. After a long time, she still ran back to her own room.

Tina Young had gone out to eat with her parents, and Zoe Young had no other options. Anxious to get to the hospital to see Mr. Green, she didn’t disturb her grandma, who was watching TV in the living room. She quietly put on her coat, took a hundred yuan bill from the drawer and stuffed it in her pocket, opened the door, and slipped out.

For the first time, Zoe Young sat in the back seat of a taxi by herself, her mind replaying news stories about robberies and murders from the evening paper. Her hand gripped the door handle tightly, ready to jump out at any moment.

Or... or if this fierce-looking, bearded driver really was a bad guy, and she managed to subdue him... would she become a model Young Pioneer like that brave citizen in the newspaper, and get recommended to the Affiliated School of the Normal University? Zoe Young suddenly got excited. Bad guy uncle, help me out!

She was still daydreaming at the window when a sudden brake made her crash into the back of the front seat. “We’re here.” The bearded uncle was brief and to the point. Zoe Young's beautiful fantasy was shattered against the seat. She straightened up and opened the car door. “Little girl, pay up!” Zoe Young froze mid-exit, nervously clutching her pocket, the hundred yuan bill burning at her waist. “I... you... I didn’t bring much money...” Zoe Young and the uncle stared at each other for a few seconds, then the uncle suddenly burst out laughing. “You didn’t bring much, I don’t need much! Ten yuan, I’ll round off the change for you. You can’t ride for free, can you? Who’s the real robber here?” Zoe Young's face turned bright red, steam almost coming out of her head. She handed over the hundred yuan, and under the orange light in the car, the uncle quickly checked if it was real, then gave her ninety yuan in change.

The wild thoughts and false alarm just now helped Zoe Young shake off her gloomy mood from Olympiad math, but as soon as she stepped through the doors of the Provincial Second Hospital, the smell of disinfectant and the pale lights plunged her into another kind of confusion.

Mr. Green wasn’t going to make it. A simple and cruel fact. Human emotions are like April weather, changing in an instant. Zoe Young had never been so close to death before, but as if by the most basic human instinct, just thinking of the word “death” made her tears flow. Following the nurse’s directions, she ran up to the fifth floor and arrived at the ICU hallway. Even in this situation, Zoe Young was still lost in her thoughts. She felt it was disrespectful to Grandpa Green, but she couldn’t help it. In her mind, sometimes it was a group of doctors in white coats coming out of the emergency room, taking off their masks and saying, “We’ve done all we can.” Other times, it was all the students gathered around the hospital bed, crying, while Mr. Green slowly and painfully gave his last words, lovingly patting their heads...

Very soon, Zoe Young realized that TV dramas are all big liars.

Outside the ICU, it wasn’t desolate or quiet at all, nor was there a tense atmosphere, not even a group of students standing together crying.

There was only Alan Carter, standing there in a white shirt, like an angel at the end of the world. “Zoe? You came by yourself?” Zoe Young, out of breath, braced her hands on her knees, too tired to speak, just nodding. “It’s not safe to be out so late. I’ll call your family.” As Alan Carter spoke, he took out a black, rather large cell phone and dialed a number. Zoe Young had seen a similar phone in her mom’s hand and had played Snake on it.

“Yes, don’t worry. She probably just got anxious and ran out by herself, but she’s safe. Don’t worry, I’ll take her home. If you’re worried, you can call my number anytime. Yes, my name is Alan Carter, my number is 139××××××××...”