2005 China Annual Young Writers' Works

Author: China Young Writers' Class
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Cracking the Shell. Jiang Fangzhou, a student from Central China Normal University Affiliated High School in Wuhan, Hubei Province, said, "My mom and I sleep together." This was the greatest misfortune in Shen Qingyuan's life, and in reality, it was far more shocking than it sounded. Shen Qingyuan's father was not at home. From the very beginning, Shen Qingyuan's father had never appeared. From the very beginning of the very beginning. As a result, Shen Qingyuan had always been confused about whether it was because he and his mom slept together that his dad wasn't at home, or whether his dad wasn't at home, so he had to sleep with his mom. But he had never mentioned his dad to his mom. It was just about sleeping. They slept in the same bed. Shen Qingyuan curled up, while his mom curled up even more, pressing slightly against him, her hand resting on his stomach. What Shen Qingyuan remembered most vividly was his mom's feet. Her feet would always sneakily rub against his, using the rough, calloused skin of her heels to rub his ankles. Over the years, the two rubbing feet had become in sync as if they were part of the same body.
When the experts arrived, even the air seemed different. The classroom was messy that day, with discussions about the upcoming experts. Shen Qingyuan covered one ear with his hand while doodling randomly on a notebook. He listed the questions the experts might ask: "Do you think you are a genius?" Hmm, he decided to answer "yes," because surely many people would say "no." So, he'd say "yes." No, he should probably say "half yes, half no" instead. After writing it down, he thought to himself, "YES! I've won!"
The two experts arrived on bicycles, wobbling slightly, each carrying a briefcase into the office. Shen Qingyuan hadn't expected them to be so underwhelming, nor had he expected their tests to be so simple. The experts sat at the podium with pens and paper, while the fifty-six students formed two lines, taking turns to answer questions. Each student's interview lasted only about ten seconds. The experts' questions and the students' answers were clearly audible.
The expert asked, "What is your dream?" Most students were caught off guard and randomly grabbed answers from the air: "My dream is to become a teacher." "My dream is to become a scientist." A chubby girl tilted her head and said, "Dreams, my dream is for someone to say, 'Stay here and don't move. I'll get you something to eat. That's it.'" Then she nodded heavily. A seemingly very honest girl tilted her head and said, "My biggest dream is to have someone love me. He starts as a sunny teenager, then becomes a man with gold-rimmed glasses. He still loves me, always loves me. Hmm." A boy said, "My dream is to get married someday." A student peeked out from behind a girl who looked like a top student: "My dream is to be a genius." The students behind them made a "tsk" sound and laughed.
It was Shen Qingyuan's turn. The expert didn't even look up and said, "Hello, we are the expert team, specializing in children's psychological research. We are currently conducting a test to see how many geniuses there are among a thousand middle school students."