May 14, 1984.

It was a hot and humid evening, and there were students playing basketball on the school playground, as well as people learning baseball and American football.

The female cheerleaders are practicing, white crop tops and red pleated skirts attract the attention of many men, who gather not far away, pointing and smiling to discuss who is the best-looking, these beautiful girls full of youthful vitality are always the most popular presence among boys in the school.

In the small white four-story building, a young face was revealed by the window on the third floor, with a soft beard on his lips, not very old, he was looking at the cheerleaders downstairs who were busy rehearsing, and the name "Leon Su" was written on the school badge on his chest, which translated into Chinese is "Leon Su".

In fact, his name is Su Mu, and on the first day of the first grade, the teacher asked the Chinese students to come up with an English name, probably because the teacher wanted to make it easier to remember the students in the class, and the Chinese name seemed strange to them.

Su Mu also doesn't remember why he chose Leon at the time, and now he thinks Jones or Anderson or something like that sounds better, but this name has been with him for nine years, and he has long been used to it, except for his family, most of the teachers and classmates at the school call him Leon.

From the perspective of the Chinese, Su Mu can be called a little handsome, at least his facial features look very comfortable, but this is Los Angeles, USA, so when he usually walks on the road, those female cheerleaders who are very popular in the school will not look at him much, and every native Chinese American has long been accustomed to this kind of thing.

Chinese with good grades will only be perceived by them as nerdy, boring, and rigid existence, and those with poor grades have a lower sense of existence, and men with excellent physical fitness in schools are more popular, while yellow people have suffered in this regard.

There are black or white people who have Chinese girls, but Chinese men are rarely able to have a relationship with white, black, or Mexican girls, in addition to not looking at each other well, there are differences in living habits is also one of the reasons.

Of course, there are always exceptions to everything, and there are a very small number of Chinese who can soak in white girls, and they generally don't talk for long.

Chinese students have their own small circle in school, and the reason why they are isolated by the "invisible barrier" is not only their own living habits, but also ubiquitous...... Racism.

In the sixties, Mr. Martin Luther King Jr. awakened the desire of blacks to pursue rights, which made their status in society greatly improved, and the Chinese who were restricted by many "Chinese Exclusion Acts" are now even lower than blacks in the United States, and are almost marginalized.

The social situation is also present in schools.

A black man said, I am black and I am proud, this is no problem, and a white man said, I am white and I am proud, this becomes racial discrimination, all kinds of problems show that in this country, the population will be divided into clear hierarchies, very sad is that the vast majority of Chinese are at the bottom, and rarely fight for their own interests, always think that more is better than less, so they are bullied even more.

All in all, the Chinese in this era are not having a good time in the United States, and they have not had a good time before, and there is no hope for the future......

Su Mu's family was not wealthy, but after all, the only boy of the third generation went to a fairly so-so public middle school near Chinatown.

This public junior high school is called Castellal, there are many famous junior high schools in the United States, which definitely do not contain the name "Castellal", private secondary schools with relatively high teaching standards, and the tuition threshold is also very high, even if it is an ordinary private middle school, it is not something that Su Mu's family can afford.

At the moment, there are more than 50 students sitting in the same classroom as Su Mu, there are blacks, Mexicans, and many yellow faces, among the yellow people, there are not only Chinese, but also Japanese, Korean, and most importantly, Chinese, because this neighborhood is close to Chinatown, and there are many Chinese families living in it.

If you don't know in advance, it's hard to imagine that this is a middle school in Los Angeles, USA, because there are so few white students in the school, so few that almost one-tenth of them, and white families with a little money don't allow their children to go to such a poor school, so that many white parents would rather move out than have their children assigned here to delay their future.

Schools with too many students of color are considered by the vast majority of white people today to be "non-trash schools", which is what a white student said on the school bus at the beginning, and Su Mu heard it when he was twelve years old.

In the days that followed, he found that the children of wealthy Chinatown residents generally do not come to Castellar Public School, such as Su Mu's best friend Du Zhong, whose father worked as a counter manager at Citibank, so Du Zhong entered a very beautiful private school for junior high school after finishing elementary school.

The white student who abused the school on the school bus at the beginning, and never knew that he said a word when he said goodbye to Castellar, made Su Mu experience the unfairness of society for the first time, and began to look at the world in another light, and gradually became mature from a child who thought that glass beads were more precious.

The injustices witnessed in daily life have made the 16-year-old Su Mu continue to mature, walking on the road to a Western restaurant where he was questioned by the police, denied compensation by the insurance company, and denied entry to Chinese people......

I hold my breath in my heart, but unfortunately I can't do anything, and I am always confused when I am young.

Ms. Susie, a physics teacher, has gray hair, always wears black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, and looks a little mean, and is one of the most annoying teachers in the school, and some students privately call her "guinea pig" because of her two large front teeth.

At this time, Ms. Susie passed by Su Mu, saw that he was in a daze, and knocked on the table with her hand to remind: "I know you have learned, but you haven't finished class yet, and you don't plan to take next month's SSAT?" ”

The tone is quite gentle, she was a student of Ms. Susie when she first came to elementary school, she studies well, is willing to participate in activities, has a gentle personality, and likes to read, these are all things that Susie likes to see, since she didn't make a mistake, she naturally won't lose her temper with Su Mu for no reason.

The SSAT is called the "Secondary School Admission Test", which is divided into low and high levels, and students can use their scores to go to better private schools, if the family conditions allow him to pay about $10,000 a year in tuition, Su Mu naturally wants to go to other schools, but for his family, this is undoubtedly a lot of money, it is not easy to maintain a life, and he does not want to increase the burden on his parents.

So he found an excuse, shook his head with a smile on his face, and said to Ms. Susie: "This school is closer to home, and I think you teach very well, I don't plan to transfer schools, thank you for your kindness, Ms. Susie." ”

What is the quality of teaching in the school, Susie, who is a teacher, knows better that most of the students who go to school in this school are not in good family conditions, and vaguely guessed something, and said in a low voice: "I think you can score more than 2200 points, and if you have good grades in school, you can apply for a scholarship." ”

"Those private schools aren't for charity, Ms. Susie. ”

After Su Mu finished speaking, he felt that it was not appropriate to veto other people's kindness in this way, and then added: "There are people who study better than me, I may not be able to get it, it will be very difficult at that time, even here, I am sure that I will be admitted to a good university, thank you again." ”

Ms. Susie wanted to say something more, the bell rang just after class, and many students who were immersed in reading suddenly raised their heads, regardless of the teacher's presence, stood up to pack up their things and prepare for the end of school, the bell interrupted what she wanted to say, and sighed with a little regret, I have seen many outstanding students over the years, and many of them have also lost their superior educational opportunities because of their families.

An excellent high school is very important, in addition to the level of teaching, the people you come into contact with, and the environment you are influenced by will be different, after all, you still say: "I advise you to think about it carefully, your parents will definitely support you, and I will still keep that recommendation letter for you, hoping to come to me to pick it up." ”

Su Mu smiled and nodded, not taking it to heart at the moment.

The whole family only earns about $20,000 a year, which is far lower than the per capita income standard of about $18,000 per person in society.

People are poor and short of breath, Su Mu's grades are very good, and he is also very smart, but sometimes he has to think about other aspects.

......