Ming and Jay are two students in Class 3B at Donghua Junior High School. They sit next to each other and have been best friends since the first grade. But they also love to compare everything—who is taller, who is stronger, and most of all, who is faster.
Every Tuesday after school, they race from their classroom to the school gate. Ming always arrives first. He is faster than Jay by about ten seconds. "I am faster than you again!" Ming says with a big smile. Jay shakes his head and laughs. "OK, you are faster than me at running. But wait until the math test on Friday."
Jay is right. When it comes to math, Jay is much better than Ming. He always gets higher scores on every test. This week, Jay gets ninety points, but Ming only gets seventy. "Your score is much higher than mine," Ming says sadly. "You also study harder than I do." Jay smiles and says, "Come to my house after school. I can help you."
They also notice other differences. Jay is taller than Ming by three centimeters. But Ming is stronger than Jay. In PE class, Ming can run longer distances and lift heavier things. They are both good, just in different ways.
Ming and Jay learn an important lesson from their friendly competition. Being faster or stronger is not the most important thing. What really matters is learning from each other. Ming helps Jay practice running every week, and Jay teaches Ming math every evening. Together, they get better every day, and their friendship grows stronger too.