As their classmates finally came to their senses, they rushed to pull the two apart, shouting “Let go! Let go!” The two struggling girls were finally separated. The girl with the pear-blossom hairstyle was furious, her hair disheveled, as she struggled to kick at Feng Ning while cursing, “Are you sick? I called Meng Taoyu out, what’s it to you?”
Feng Ning, being held back, cursed back without hesitation, “I’m sick? Do you have any shame? Bullying a young girl every day, can you even sleep at night, you nasty witch! Do you know what Criminal Law Article 234 is? Just try touching Meng Taoyu again!”
As others described it, Feng Ning was like a female hero at that moment, a modern-day Hua Mulan1, swinging her sword on the battlefield, forcing the enemy into retreat. Her words were so fierce that the pear-blossom haired girl stood there with her neck stiff, mouth open but unable to say anything, as if she had been slapped across the face. Even those who came to break up the fight were stunned by Feng Ning’s verbal abilities.
The chaos finally ended when a teacher arrived. The pear-blossom haired girl barely contained her anger, glaring fiercely at Feng Ning, and left with a threat, “Fine, I’ll remember you. We’ll see about this.”
During the scuffle, Feng Ning had inevitably been kicked a few times. She looked down, brushing off the dust from her clothes, and unhurriedly raised her index finger to her lips, making a contemptuous “Shh” at the retreating girl.
The teacher took their position at the podium, and the crowd quickly dispersed, everyone returning to their seats. Meng Taoyu was nearly crying below, “I’m sorry, now you’ve been dragged into this too.”
Feng Ning was completely relaxed and clicked her tongue after hearing this, “Are you starting again? Let me tell you, if I don’t want to be dragged into something, nobody can drag me in. Since I chose to help you, I’m not afraid of getting involved!”
She pursed her lips and tapped Jiang Wen’s back with her pen, “Thanks for just now.”
He didn’t even turn around.
Teacher Qi De graded papers assembly-line style, so the results came out quickly. The day the rankings were released, even the Iron Lady’s usually stern face couldn’t hide her joy. She stood at the classroom door, looking around as the class quickly fell silent.
“I’ve noticed our class’s study atmosphere is quite poor. Just passing by other classes, everyone was studying during breaks, hardly anyone running around. Look at yourselves. The laziness in high school will have to be paid back later.”
After the long lecture ended, the Iron Lady coughed once, “By the way, I have good news to share with everyone. There are twenty-three classes in our grade. In this preliminary test’s honor roll, our class has over thirty students, and among the top five in the grade, three are from our class – Yang Wan in fifth place, Jiang Wen in second place, and in first place — Feng Ning.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the class’s attention immediately focused on someone in the back row who looked listless and apparently hadn’t been paying attention.
The sudden applause startled the drowsy Feng Ning. She looked around confused and asked Meng Taoyu in a low voice, “What happened?”
Meng Taoyu was excited, whispering, “Teacher said you’re first in our grade!”
“Oh, oh.” Feng Ning responded lazily, still drowsy and lacking energy.
Meng Taoyu nudged her, “Aren’t you excited?”
“I’m used to it already.”
“Feng Ning?? Is this for real? Didn’t see that coming!” Zhao Binlin could hardly believe it, turning his head to say: “Holy shit, this is incredible. It can’t be someone with the same name, right?”
Feng Ning wrinkled her nose and tilted her head, “Oh right.” Her voice was puzzled, just loud enough for those in front to hear, “Who was second place again?”
The person in question showed no reaction, ignoring her. Zhao Binlin, seeing Jiang Wen at a loss for the first time, laughed so hard he almost got a stitch, “Feng Ning, you’re pretty amazing. My brother Wen got pushed down by you, how does that feel?”
“Tsk, so I was on top of his head? It was okay I guess.” After feigning surprise, Feng Ning used that tone that made people want to kick her, “Keep trying, Classmate Jiang, so you won’t hate me later.”
Zhao Binlin asked, “Huh, why would he hate you?”
Feng Ning grinned mischievously, “Because he’ll be second place forever! You don’t know how much the second-place student in my middle school hated me.”
After a pause, she clapped and sighed, “Speaking of which, I want to especially thank a certain classmate for their encouragement. He told me that rather than thinking about unnecessary things, I should focus on studying. Though bluntly put, the logic is sound. Let’s both keep working hard!”
Jiang Wen was publicly humiliated but couldn’t react. His thin face alternated between ashen and pale, before a flush rose to his cheeks. He was so angry he couldn’t recover for a long time.
On Monday during the flag-raising ceremony, Shuang Yao came to find Feng Ning and gave her payment for copying notes, “That person in our class found out you got first place, and they’ve been carrying your notes around studying them all day, it’s hilarious.”
Feng Ning happily pocketed the money, “Ah, money is so nice, I wish someone would write notes for me too.”
Shuang Yao said, “He’s quite satisfied, from now on you can just photocopy your notes when you’re done, same price.”
As they walked downstairs talking, in the blink of an eye, Feng Ning disappeared.
Shuang Yao stopped and rolled her eyes at the person fixing their hair and clothes in front of the etiquette mirror, saying impatiently, “Sister, you don’t need to be this intensely narcissistic.”
Feng Ning adjusted her ponytail, unconcerned, “Being beautiful isn’t easy, I need to look in the mirror to cheer myself up.” She raised her chin and struck a pose, “How do I look? Am I pretty?”
Shuang Yao shook her head, “Pretty, absolutely gorgeous, you’re a national treasure.”
Today happened to be Class 9’s turn to speak at the flag-raising ceremony, which was Qi De High School’s traditional procedure. It was basically having a representative from each class go up to the flagpole and read those inspirational, flowery essays meant to encourage students.
The Iron Lady unsurprisingly chose Feng Ning.
The morning wind carried a hint of coolness as she picked up the microphone and tested it with two “hello”s, “Can everyone hear me?”
Laughter rippled through the crowd below.
A teacher behind her frowned and reminded her, “Be serious.”
Another teacher noticed something was wrong and asked quietly, “Where’s her speech?”
“Hello everyone, before my speech, let me introduce myself. I’m Feng Ning from Class 9, the ‘Feng’ from ‘meeting too late to cherish,’ and the ‘Ning’ from ‘disturbing the peace.’ Actually, I didn’t write a speech for today because such formalities are a waste of time and meaningless. Hardly anyone listens seriously anyway, so I’ll just improvise.”
Immediately, discussions broke out around her. The Iron Lady’s face changed color as she stood below. Many people who didn’t understand the situation looked up, waiting to see how this show would unfold.
Under countless mocking gazes, Feng Ning put away her casual expression and said seriously: “I’ve been thinking about the value of existence lately, without success, so I started looking for answers in philosophical readings. Marx’s theory of interests made me realize that interest is humanity’s only driving force. This raises another question: if the pursuit of interests can explain human behavior, then what meaning is there in the phrase ‘meaning of life’? Is the so-called meaning of life just the pursuit of interests?”
She threw herself completely into the speech, “In fact, if someone thinks they have noble character and that life’s meaning is to dedicate themselves to pleasing others, they must have been influenced by Confucius’s teachings.” Feng Ning said angrily, “That’s exactly what the ruling class wants to impose on everyone for stability, it’s the influence of traditional moral concepts on them, it’s bullying honest people!”
These words caused an uproar.
“If I may say so without offense, I think dedication itself is a way for kind people to gain spiritual benefits. Because in dedicating yourself, you’re essentially enjoying the pleasure produced by your own spirit. As Nietzsche said, you love love itself, not the object of love.”
The previously noisy grounds gradually quieted down as everyone watched her. Feng Ning spoke faster and more incisively: “Most people, including those present, muddle through life never knowing what they want, what they love, or what they should persist in. Since human nature is to seek profit and avoid harm, to please oneself, to be driven by interests throughout life, why do warriors, soldiers, doctors, and scientists exist in the world? So what I really want to say today, which is also the key point I’ve analyzed: beyond the grand scheme, the only way for the strong to embody life’s meaning is — faith.”
Feng Ning in her plain school uniform gave a first impression of beauty, strikingly gorgeous. But now, with a presence completely at odds with her appearance, she was delivering a magnificent lecture at the flag-raising platform, speaking about principles without a script, boldly and freely expressing her views on life. The crowd below was in chaos, with both applause and sighs, while she maintained her composure throughout.
The Iron Lady held back the disciplinary director who wanted to interrupt Feng Ning’s speech, feeling both angry and proud — this was her student.
This brilliant and uninhibited speech had quite an impact on many people. Some admired her, some were curious, some were dazzled.
While others were discussing among themselves, Jiang Wen only stared at Feng Ning.
He stood in the crowd, his chest empty.
Her spirited face fell completely into his eyes. She was so radiant, proud, and free. It seemed everything was up to her, as if the world naturally revolved around her, and everything had to be captivated by her.
Before he realized it, he had already begun to surrender to her.
After the flag-raising ceremony disbanded.
“That was just too amazing, never seen such a cool girl.” All the way back, Xi Gaoyuan kept recalling the event with both amazement and excitement.
“Remember? She’s the one who talked to me about the value of existence.” Zhao Binlin grinned, showing off to those around him, “And she’s the one who got first place in our grade!”
Others chimed in agreement while Jiang Wen walked alongside them in silence.
Ji Chiyang from Class 4 looked extremely interested, “Her name’s Feng Ning, right? Can someone help me find out if she has a boyfriend?”
Xi Gaoyuan smiled slyly, “What do you mean?”
“If she doesn’t have one, I’m going to ask for her contact info.”
“Damn, you haven’t even broken up with your current one and you’re already thinking about the next? What a player!”
Ji Chiyang made a hissing sound, “I have a feeling this time I’ve met true love.”
A voice interrupted, cold and irritated: “Don’t get any ideas about her.”
Ji Chiyang hadn’t had time to react, making a surprised sound.
“I said, don’t get any ideas about her.” Under their surprised gazes, Jiang Wen looked at him and repeated.
- A popular figure in Chinese folklore, and a synonym for ‘heroine’ in China. The story she’s featured in is about a young woman who disguises herself as a man to take her father’s place in the army. ↩︎
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