Chapter 7: Life Perspectives 论人生

Encountering someone with whom she can open her heart and discuss life is a serendipitous event, not something she can actively seek. Throughout her career, she had only met one such person.

能让自己敞开心扉和对方去讨论人生的这类人是可遇不可求的，在她的职场生活中，她只遇到了一个。

In reality, the two pursued entirely different majors, and their paths in life were not expected to cross. Moreover, given Gu Xiang's aloof and solitary personality, most people wouldn't catch her attention.

其实这两人所学的专业没有共同点，本该人生是没有交集的，再加上顾湘清高孤高的性格，一般人入不了她的眼。

However, she was interested in his title of being a top student and wanted to know more.

只是学霸这个标签吸引了她的注意，所以才有了进一步的了解。

"A top student? How good are your grades?"

“学霸?成绩有多好？”

"Before junior high, I studied diligently according to the school curriculum and objectives, ranking in the top three or five in many subjects. But later, due to my parents' arrangements, I attended a Secondary normal school with an equivalent education level to high school. After that, I didn't study as diligently. While at Secondary normal school, I learned about many renowned education experts and scholars from overseas and began understanding the differences between foreign and local education systems. I also realized the issues with our school education."

“初中以前我按学校的课程、教学目标来学习，很多科目都是年级前三、前五。

但是后来因为父母的安排，去读了自己不想读的中等师范；高中同等学历。之后就没那么用心读书了。

当然我读中等师范期间也在课本上知道了很多国外知名的教育专家学者，同时自己也慢慢了解了国外的教育和我们的不同。我也明白了学校教育存在的问题。”

"Secondary normal school? After 1999, those kinds of vocational schools lost their charm. It was challenging to get in before 1999, more challenging than getting into high school. Did you just happen to fall during that transition period? There was no such phenomenon anymore in our school days. Everyone was aiming for high school and college entrance exams."

“中等师范？1999年后中职中专就不行了，不过1999年前很难考，比考高中还难。你该不会正好踩在那个点上吧？我们那个时候就没有这种现象了，都是冲着中考高考而去的。”

"It was indeed tough to get in at that time. Only about twenty to thirty students from our county were admitted to the Secondary normal school, and only after they were filled did they consider other vocational schools. High school was the last option. Later, I attended senior high and took the university entrance exam. I ranked among the top thirty in the county during the high school exam. After graduation, I worked at a commercial bank for about two years. Then I resigned and worked in finance at an Western Group private company for a while. Eventually, my parents asked me to return home to take the teaching qualification exam. They suggested that even if I passed, I could hire someone to teach while I continued working outside. So, I came back and took the exam. I ranked first in the most competitive high school and ended up staying in my hometown. I taught for a year, and my original qualification was for a math teacher. In just one semester, I improved a class's Chinese scores from the bottom three in the county to the top three."

“那个时候确实难考，考上中等师范也是一个县才二三十个，中等师范录取完了才轮到其他中专中技，最后才是高中。随后，我读了高三，参加大学入学考试。在参加高考考试中，我名列全县前三十名前列。大学毕业考进工商银行工作约两年，后辞职去私企西方集团做财务一段时间，最后父母又喊我回家参加招教考试。说考过了找个人代理上课自己仍然去外面上班，我就回来了。一考竞争最激烈的中学我也是第一。结果就留在老家了，教书一年，我本是数学教师资格证。我一学期把一个班语文成绩从全县倒数前三提高到顺数前三。”