Exam “God“

These days, even "gods" have become cheap. Tell me, what can you buy with 1.88 yuan? Back in the day, maybe you could buy a pack of "Hademen" cigarettes, and smoke your loneliness away. But now, this money can buy you a "god" – an exam "god".

It was in the newspaper, some "exam artifact", with 600,000 units already sold. I rubbed my blurry eyes, thinking I had misread. 600,000! What kind of concept is that? How many children must be desperately relying on this thing, trying to get ahead in the exam hall?

What does this "god" look like? I haven't seen it, and I don't want to. Using my toes to think, it's nothing more than some cheat sheets, earphones, and the like. If you ask me, this isn't a "god" at all! It's a "ghost"! It's bewitched the children's hearts, so they don't study proper books, but learn all sorts of crooked ways.

I remember when I was a child, there weren't any of these messy things. A copy of The Analects of Confucius, a copy of Mencius, memorized thoroughly, and when writing essays, they were fairly smooth. Although I couldn't become a top scholar or second-place winner, I could still be proud of myself and worthy of my teacher's teachings.

But now? Times have changed. Children don't compete on knowledge, they compete on whose "god" is more effective. In the exam hall, it's a battle of wits, like secret agents meeting. The invigilators are also tired, each one like Sun Wukong, with fiery eyes and golden pupils, just afraid that the students will play tricks.

Why is this happening? I'm thinking, this is probably not just a problem with the children, nor is it a problem with the teachers, but a problem with this world.

This world is putting too much pressure on people. Everyone wants to get ahead, everyone wants to climb up. But there are only so many "ladders", and even if you break your head, you may not be able to get on. Therefore, some people think of "taking shortcuts". This "exam artifact" is the "stepping stone" on that "shortcut".

But can you stand firmly on this "stepping stone"? I don't think so. Can those who get ahead by relying on this thing feel at ease? Even if you manage to get a diploma, so what? If you don't have the goods inside, you'll be exposed sooner or later.

Mr. Lu Xun said, "Save the children." But now, it's probably not easy to save these "children". This world is like a big dye vat, dyeing everything. The children are soaking in this dye vat, how can they not "change color"?

The more popular these "exam artifacts" become, the more uncomfortable I feel. This is not a "god"! This is a "demon"! It's a "demon" that pushes children into the fire pit!

But what can be done? I'm just an old man, and I can only complain here. This world will probably continue to be chaotic. It's just a pity for those children who have lost their way in this chaotic world.

I light a cigarette, and in the curling smoke, I seem to see those children, holding "exam artifacts", standing at the entrance of the exam hall with a blank expression. In their eyes, there is no longer a thirst for knowledge, only anxiety and unease about the future. This "god" is ultimately unreliable. The only one you can truly rely on is yourself.