Chapter 034: Fifth in the City

Before Li Gang had even finished speaking, the entire academic building erupted in thunderous cheers. The first floor, and especially Class Five of the first-year students, was swept up in the excitement. For the first time in Victory Middle School’s history, a first-year student had claimed first place in their division—Yang Tian had broken the record!

“First place in the division! I can’t believe someone from our class actually got first place. Yang Tian is incredible!”

“Yeah, to win first place as a first-year… what will it be like when he’s in second or third year? And after he gets to high school, won’t he just take the whole city’s first prize?”

The students chattered excitedly, their faces full of admiration, the earlier prize winners already forgotten.

This left Sun Hui feeling dejected. He had expected to be the highest-ranked student in the entire school and to bask in the envy of his peers. But in the end, the glory still went to Yang Tian. Yang Tian was like an insurmountable mountain, blocking all the light that might have shone on him.

“Xiao Tian, congratulations! You’ve won an award—your grandfather will be so happy!” Huang Juan was delighted; she had placed in the competition, and so had Yang Tian. It was perfect.

“It’s just first place in the division,” Yang Tian replied with a slight smile. “My grandfather won’t see it. If only I could win a prize in the finals!”

There was no award ceremony for the division rounds, so there would be no television coverage—Yang Qingtang would not see this achievement.

The finals, however, would be different. The awards ceremony would be broadcast live on Binhai Culture Channel and reported in the newspapers. Yang Qingtang would definitely see that.

“Don’t worry, you’ll take a great prize in the finals too. Believe in yourself!” Huang Juan moved closer to Yang Tian with a gentle smile, her dimples appearing charmingly on her cheeks.

“I hope so,” Yang Tian said, lifting his head with a sigh. It wasn’t that he lacked confidence—having been given a second chance at life, he already had a huge head start. But his calligraphy still needed improvement, and the city was full of talented students. He doubted he could achieve a higher ranking.

There were dozens of middle schools in the eastern division, and Victory Middle School had taken four of the top ten spots—a fact that sent the entire school into celebration.

The top three in each division advanced to the finals, and Victory Middle School’s representative was Yang Tian of Class Five, first-year. From that day on, whenever Yang Tian walked across campus, he would draw crowds—some eager to glimpse the calligraphy prodigy, some to cheer him on, and some just to tease him.

But Yang Tian remained calm, for he knew he would ultimately disappoint everyone; his calligraphy would not win a high prize in the finals.

His indifference, however, was not because he feared he wouldn’t achieve a better ranking, but because this attempt to fulfill his dream seemed likely to end in failure. He would not be able to delight his grandfather, nor repair the rift in their family.

On Friday afternoon after school, as usual, Yang Tian rode his bicycle home with Huang Juan. Once they left the small town, the rural scenery unfurled on either side of the road. It was early summer in the evening—the air was fresh, the trees lush and green. In the fields nearby, rapeseed flowers bloomed, and clusters of elementary school children, red scarves around their necks, could be seen heading home, their steps innocent and carefree.

“Xiao Tian, midterms are next week. How’s your preparation going?” Huang Juan asked with a smile, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

“Pretty well,” Yang Tian replied mechanically.

“You don’t seem very happy. Are you still worried about the calligraphy competition?” Huang Juan, ever perceptive, immediately guessed what was on his mind.

“I really wish my grandfather would come home for the New Year this year,” Yang Tian confessed, his emotions a tangled mess. He had already resolved that if he didn’t win a good prize this year, he would try again next year, and keep striving for recognition in the calligraphy competition—because it was the only way to make his grandfather happy.

“I think, as long as he knows what’s in your heart, he’ll surely come,” Huang Juan said gently. Then, from her bag, she took out a white kite shaped like Black Cat Detective—a character Yang Tian loved—and held it up. “Let’s fly a kite, Xiao Tian. You ride the bike, and I’ll let it out, all right?”

Huang Juan knew that Yang Tian’s favorite cartoon character was Black Cat Detective, so she’d bought the kite especially to cheer him up.

Late spring and early summer was the best time for kite flying in the Binhai area, and on the sandbank by the river in the distance, a group of children freshly out of school was already flying their kites.

Unlike theirs, the children’s kites were all homemade. While they could get airborne, they were too heavy to fly very high.

Back in elementary school, Yang Tian had flown similar kites with Huang Juan and Yang Xueling. In those days, they longed for their kites to soar high, but they never did. Still, as children, they were easily satisfied—just getting the kite off the ground was enough to make them happy.

Now, in middle school, Huang Juan had a little pocket money and had bought a better kite, hoping to play with Yang Tian and Yang Xueling when they got home.

Seeing Yang Tian’s low spirits, she decided to take out the kite early and fly it right there on the road.

Children from the countryside were all skilled at kite flying, and with a brisk southern wind that day, Huang Juan’s kite quickly rose into the sky.

Watching Huang Juan’s delight, Yang Tian decided to shake off his dejection. He pedaled faster, and the kite soared even higher, drawing cheers and admiring glances from the children along the road, who must have been imagining how wonderful it would be if only their kites could fly as high.

“Brother, Sister Juan, you’re back? Wow, the kite is flying so high!” When they returned to Great Willow Village, Yang Xueling was already waiting beneath the big willow tree. Seeing Yang Tian and Huang Juan flying the kite as they came home, the little girl leapt up with joy, took the kite from Huang Juan, and dashed about with it, her enthusiasm undimmed by the approaching dusk.

The news that both Yang Tian and Huang Juan had placed in the city calligraphy competition quickly spread throughout Great Willow Village. The villagers once again heard the hearty laughter of Huang Biao, and Yang Bao and his wife were as delighted as newlyweds, their faces beaming with joy every day.

But Yang Tian took little comfort in the neighbors’ praise. The division prize meant little to him; only a prize in the finals would help him realize his dream. Yet he knew all too well that he would not place highly in the finals—he was facing his first failure since being reborn, his first setback on his journey to fulfill his dreams.

Sure enough, a few days after returning to school, the results of the city finals were announced: Yang Tian placed fifth in the city. Though this broke Victory Middle School’s awards record once again, and earned him a five-hundred-yuan prize, it did nothing to lift his spirits, for he knew such a result would not bring a smile to his grandfather’s face.

To make matters worse, Yang Tian’s cousin, Yang Yang—Yang Qingtang’s most favored grandson—took third place in the finals. This would only make it harder for Grandfather Yang to see Yang Tian’s effort and intentions.