Lu Jiu handed the water cup to Gong Huo and casually asked, "Are middle schools really competitive these days?"
Gong Huo held the cup and nodded mechanically.
Lu Jiu continued, "Let me ask a personal question, do you really have a girl you like? Don't worry, I definitely won't tell anyone."
Gong Huo shook his head, but after hesitating for a moment, he nodded.
Lu Jiu laughed, "Is she pretty?"
Gong Huo's eyes started to light up, "Very pretty!"
Lu Jiu smiled, "How are her grades?"
"Third in the class." Gong Huo said with a hint of pride in his words, as if those grades were his own.
Lu Jiu asked again, "What about you?"
The light in Gong Huo's eyes dimmed suddenly, "Thirty-something in the class."
Lu Jiu said, "What was the best rank you've achieved in the class?"
Gong Huo said, "Ninth, but that was only in the first year of middle school. I haven't been in the top ten since the second year."
Lu Jiu laughed, "At that time, you were really confident, right? Felt like you had a lot of confidence talking to that girl?"
Gong Huo nodded, "We often discussed math problems together. She's much smarter than I am. She would understand many problems after just reading them once, and I kept making the same mistakes."
Lu Jiu asked, "What about now?"
Gong Huo looked dejected, "In the third year, everyone is focused on studying, and after changing seats, we didn't discuss problems anymore. Teachers don't allow us to leave our seats during breaks, so... I'm actually too embarrassed to talk to her now because her grades are so good."
Lu Jiu said, "Third in the class, so getting into Jianghan High School should be no problem, right? Which high school do you think you can get into with your grades?"
Gong Huo said, "If I perform exceptionally well, I can try for Garden High School. Under normal circumstances, I can only get into Experimental High School. If I don't do well, I'd have to go to vocational school."
Lu Jiu said, "So, as things stand now, the only time you have left to see her is this half year in the third year, right?"
Gong Huo understood this in his heart, but hearing it pointed out by Lu Jiu still left him a bit dazed.
He had thought about changing, but no matter how hard he tried in studying, nothing seemed to stick, and his grades remained stagnant. What could he do?
Seeing Gong Huo deep in thought, Lu Jiu smiled and said, "Have you thought about sprinting in this final half-year? You might be able to get into Jianghan High School."
Instinctively, Gong Huo shook his head, "It's impossible, even getting into the top ten in the class would be tough."
Lu Jiu laughed, "Why not give it a shot? If you pass, it's a big win; if not, you don't lose anything."
Gong Huo, disheartened, said, "It's too late now, and I can't seem to learn anything. It's useless."
Lu Jiu placed a hand on Gong Huo's shoulder, "Saying this to a senior who was in the top ten constantly at Jianghan High School makes me a bit unhappy."
Huh?
Gong Huo looked at Lu Jiu in surprise.
"You graduated from Jianghan High School?"
Lu Jiu said, "Back in the day, I was three points away from being the top scorer in the liberal arts in the college entrance exam. But my science was also okay; in the high school entrance exam out of 750, I scored 713."
Gong Huo looked at him as if he was a legend, "Awesome!"
Lu Jiu smiled, "I can't guarantee you'll definitely get into Jianghan High School, but I can help you come up with a study method that suits you. Studying is really about the methods. Whoever has more efficient methods and can accurately grasp the key points can score high. Simply put, you have to work hard but also learn to be smart. If you're willing to work, then I can help with the smart part!"
Gong Huo's eyes were full of gratitude, but the enthusiasm Lu Jiu just ignited in him was quickly extinguished by himself, "But now I forget everything really fast. There are some mistakes I've made several times, but I still get them wrong when I do them again."
Lu Jiu smiled, "That's where I, as a doctor, come in to help you. The reason your memory is declining and your concentration is decreasing is because you've done too many things that drain your energy and harm your body. In traditional Chinese medicine, there's a saying that the liver stores the soul, the heart stores the spirit, the spleen stores the intention, the lungs store the po, and the kidney stores the will. Staying up late to watch that kind of stuff damages your liver first, and after watching, it's hard to control your spirit, which leads to doing things that drain your energy, thereby harming both your heart and kidneys."
"When the liver is hurt, the soul becomes unsettled; when the heart is hurt, the spirit wanders, thinking about this and that, with an unsteady mind, manifesting as lack of focus and difficulty in settling the mind. When the kidneys are hurt, the will becomes weak, memory declines, and there's a sense of depression and lack of interest in challenging tasks. If you don't control it, your body will enter a vicious cycle. It first damages your mental and emotional activities, making you like fragmented, simple things that directly trigger your desires. Continuing this will deplete your righteous qi, and what starts as chest pain is your organs warning you not to continue. If you don't listen, your health will worsen, eventually leading to incurable diseases."
"Our internal organs are quite empathetic. If your lifestyle aligns with their functions and nurtures them, they give you positive feedback, to the point where you're unaware of their presence as they maximize their effort to keep your body running and fend off diseases. But if your lifestyle harms them, and after all their warnings, you ignore them, they will retaliate. At that point, it won't just be pain!"
"I say this to make you understand one thing: starting to make changes now is definitely not too late. It's only too late when you give up before you've even started. Think about that girl, your parents, and yourself. Do you really want to give up when you can still try?"