Time Flows Back Twenty Years
Lin Fanghua's mind was dull and confused, she had been in a daze for several hours. From the moment she found herself sitting on the school bus with her high school classmates from twenty years ago, heading home, she was bewildered.
What's going on? Is this a dream? Didn't I already get into college, go through five years of torturous medical school, then spend six years in a military hospital, and finally transfer to a local health school as a teacher? Is it because this is my Ben Ming Nian (zodiac year) that I'm encountering such bizarre things? — One moment ago I was still surfing the internet in my room, got tired and fell asleep; the next moment I woke up and had become twenty years younger, turning back into my sixteen-year-old self during the blooming season, and was on the road back home from the county town's examination hall after just finishing the college entrance exam.
Astonishment, fear, excitement, and suspicion, Lin Fanghua didn't know what taste was in her heart. She closed her eyes again and again to calm herself down, even trying to fall asleep and wake up again, but every time she opened her eyes, the people and scenes around her were still familiar yet strange, real yet distant, like watching an old movie.
Finally, after more than four hours of bumpy mountain roads, I arrived home. Lin Fanghua's parents' work unit is a highly secretive military research institute located in the vast mountains of northern Sichuan. The institute has its own school for children of employees, from elementary to high school. However, for the college entrance exams, they have to go to the county town's examination hall. Fortunately, both the institute and the school attach great importance to the exams, so they specially arranged for a car to pick up and drop off students, and also booked a hotel in the county town to ensure that all children get enough rest and do well on the exams. Many parents took time off work to accompany their children to the exams, but they had to pay for their own transportation and accommodation. Lin Fanghua's mother, Sun Yumin, was also part of this group, but she and her family had already taken a local bus back home ahead of schedule.
When Lin Fanghua returned home, exhausted in body and mind, Sun Yumin had already prepared her favorite dishes for her. Seeing her mother, who usually suffered from motion sickness, not even resting but looking tired with a pale face, Lin Fanghua couldn't help feeling ashamed of herself back then, thinking she was too young and too immature. Throughout the entire third year of high school, under the guise of studying hard, she had been completely dependent on others, never even washing her own underwear; and when the mock exam results were not ideal, she would throw a tantrum, yelling at her mother to vent her frustrations. Ah, how unfilial she was back then! Was it really worth making such a fuss over just getting into college? It's not like she was competing for the top spot in the imperial exams! In reality, both of Lin Fanghua's parents were high-ranking intellectuals who had graduated from prestigious universities during a special period and had dedicated themselves to national defense scientific research for over twenty years. And yet, they still catered to their high school daughter's every whim. It's truly pitiful how parents sacrifice everything for their children!
Thinking of this, Lin Fanghua supported her mother to sit down and said: "Mom, are you tired? Take a rest first. I've finished my exams now, and from now on, I should take care of the household chores too. From now on, when you come back home from work, just wait for ready-to-eat meals!"
Sun Yumin looked at her daughter with a bit of surprise, seemingly not quite believing that this was the same spoiled and willful daughter who had said those words. Maybe her daughter really had grown up. She picked up her bowl and chopsticks, eating calmly while saying: "Alright, there's no rush to start working now. You still have exams in the next two days, I haven't dared ask you how they went. Aren't you always pretty accurate with your self-assessed scores during mock exams? Now that it's for real, what score do you think you got?" Her gaze at her daughter was filled with anxiety and hope.
Lin Fanghua fell silent for a moment. Although it had been twenty years, she still remembered her college entrance exam scores and the estimated score that year was also within five points of error. The college entrance examination that year was to report the volunteer after finishing the test, and the accurate estimation of the score was of great significance for reporting the volunteer. However, she still had to report the same volunteer as that year - the most famous medical university in her province, the leader of Southwest medicine, Xihua Medical University?
Raising her head to meet her mother's gaze, Lin Fanghua's heart skipped a beat, but she calmly said: "525 points, with fluctuations of no more than 5 points."
Sun Yumin's expression suddenly relaxed, and her eating movements also became lighter: "Oh, not bad, basically normal performance! Walking ordinary undergraduate is absolutely no problem, the key line has also been passed. It's just that the grasp is not too high, this volunteer must be filled carefully! Your dad is not at home on a business trip, but before, we discussed it, and it's best to report to Xihua Medical University! Moreover, last year, the vice president of Xihua Medical University brought students here for social practice, saw that our place was so hard, and promised with the leaders and your school principal that as long as the children from our place scored above the line in the college entrance examination, their school would definitely admit them! This matter may affect your review, but it was only mentioned at the parents' meeting. If you really score 525, reporting to Xihua Medical University is still the safest..."
Lin Fanghua smiled slightly, and indeed history repeated itself.
The children of this institute, under the influence of their parents, have always emphasized science over liberal arts. For years, they have all reported to be majoring in science-related fields such as physics, electronics, mechanics, and telecommunications. It's not just that there are few students majoring in humanities like Chinese literature or history geography, but even those who report to the normal university's mathematics department or physics department are relatively rare. However, I myself did not inherit my parents' genes for science and math, instead emphasizing liberal arts from a young age. My high school grades were completely pulled up by my scores in language-related subjects like Chinese, English, and biology. As for why I didn't choose to take the liberal arts exam? That's because this is just an institute-affiliated school, unlike those key middle schools in the local area that have a complete college entrance examination system. The school's third-year high school students weren't even divided into science or liberal arts tracks. It wasn't until several years later, after several institutes moved out of the mountain valley and merged to form the new Science City Middle School, that they finally established a science and liberal arts division system, and only then did many more liberal arts students emerge from among the institute's children.
It turns out that my parents fully considered their own characteristics at the time and chose a major called science, but actually with strong liberal arts colors - medicine (after all, there are many things to memorize in medical school). They also chose the most secure school as their first choice. At the time, I was admitted to Xihua Medical University under the promise of the vice president, although my score was only a few points higher than the lowest admission line of the school. If it weren't for me, the actual admission line of the school should be more than 20 points higher. So, it can be said that I was very lucky to have entered the prestigious Xihua Medical University in my previous life.
Unfortunately, I was too young and inexperienced back then. Due to starting school early, my elementary education was only five years long, so when I entered university, I was only 16 and a half years old, much younger than most of my classmates who were 17. Moreover, from a young age, I only knew how to obediently listen to my parents and teachers, study hard, but didn't know why I was studying or what the purpose of learning was. When I got to university, everything relied on self-study and self-mastery, which made me very unadapted. Without others' supervision and guidance, I suddenly didn't know how to learn anymore. Furthermore, the first two years of medical school were spent learning dry basic knowledge, which made me, who preferred literature over science, feel extremely bored. I even had to retake two exams in organic chemistry and biochemistry. The heavy academic burden of medical school completely made me lose interest in medicine. In the end, those five university years were basically just passed by coasting through. Every time finals came around, relying on my good memory, I would cram all night and memorize thick medical books within a few days, barely passing each exam. But after it was all over, I would forget almost everything again.
In this way, having learned almost nothing, I inevitably stumbled and struggled in my work at the hospital. Although I gradually felt the joy of treating patients and helping others in my work, and began to develop an interest in medicine, it was already too late. Due to my arbitrary and immature behavior, I offended the leadership of the troop hospital, and eventually left the army due to feeling stifled and disheartened. I ended up at a third-rate health school as a teacher. Not only was my career unsuccessful, but my emotions were also a failure. My husband, whom I had been married to for 7 years, ultimately divorced me due to our long-distance separation. Twenty years later, I am left alone, and can be said to have led a life of failure and loss.
Lin Fanghua's heart began to stir with excitement as she quietly thought about her "past life" experience. Was it because her own failed life made the heavens look down on her, giving herself another chance to start over, that time flowed backwards by twenty years, bringing herself back to this critical period after the college entrance exam before filling out the volunteer form? If so, how could she disappoint the heavens' kindness, and must grasp the opportunity well, making this life fulfilling and no longer regretful. Although in her past life she didn't like studying medicine at first, but having been involved with it for twenty years is her greatest asset in starting anew! With the foundation laid by her past life experience, this life's medical career will not be so disappointing!
Thinking of this, Lin Fanghua interrupted her mother's nagging words: "Mom, just apply to the Clinical Medicine Department of Xihua Medical University! You can rest assured that I will become a good doctor in the future!"
Sun Yumin found that her introverted and shy daughter, who was speaking these words, had a confident glow in her eyes. That glow illuminated her daughter's plain face, adding some brightness to it. Our family has a young lady growing up!
