“Lin Ting, get up!”
From downstairs came Li Jingqiu’s loud call.
On the second floor, Lin Ting still lay in bed, her eyelids twitching but she didn’t open them.
She pulled the blanket over her head, turned over, and went back to sleep.
Li Jingqiu, not getting any response from Lin Ting, knew her daughter was definitely being lazy again.
She said to Duan Ling, who was pushing his bike, “Could you please help Auntie go upstairs and wake Lin Ting up?”
They all lived in the same big courtyard as neighbors and had known each other for many years.
They were childhood friends and had just turned eighteen this year—same age.
But Duan Ling was two months older than Lin Ting.
They usually went to school together and looked out for each other.
“Okay.”
Duan Ling put down the bike stand and entered the house with practiced ease, then headed upstairs to the second floor.
When he reached Lin Ting’s room, he raised his hand and gently knocked on the door.
“Lin Ting, get up.”
A few minutes passed before Lin Ting’s voice came from inside, sounding as usual, “The door isn’t locked. Come in and help me pack the test papers and books on my desk into my bag. I’ll treat you to something during recess.”
Duan Ling pushed the door open and stepped inside.
He saw Lin Ting immediately.
Her long hair hung down to her waist, her sleep dress was wrinkled, the thin strap slipped off her shoulder, and the hem was flipped up to her knees, revealing her calves.
She was already sitting up but hadn’t gotten off the bed yet.
He glanced once, then shifted his gaze to the messy desk and went over to tidy up for her.
She lazily squinted at Duan Ling.
Even though he was wearing the ill-fitting North High School summer uniform, it didn’t hide his slim waist and long legs.
Lin Ting couldn’t help but think again: not everyone looks bad in school uniforms.
After a few more minutes, she finally got out of bed, went to the wardrobe, took out her uniform, went into the bathroom to change, and brushed her teeth and washed her face.
When Lin Ting came out of the bathroom, Duan Ling handed her the backpack and, looking at her face, asked, “Did you stay up late doing test papers last night?”
Lin Ting took the backpack and turned her head toward the full-length mirror to check her dark circles.
“Yeah.”
In the third year of high school, they generally didn’t have new lessons anymore.
The school used a sea of practice tests strategy—teachers spent all day going over questions, and students practiced them endlessly.
There were especially many test papers to do: at the least, a few per day; at most, over ten per day, with more than two per subject.
She headed downstairs, “Where’s Xinning?”
Duan Ling followed behind her.
“She went to buy steamed buns. She’s waiting for us at the street corner.”
Li Jingqiu saw them going downstairs and glared at Lin Ting, “You’re always sleeping in. You make Duan Ling and Xinning wait for you every day before school. Aren’t you ashamed?”
She retorted, ” Not every day. On weekends, they don’t have to wait for me to go to school.”
Li Jingqiu said, “Of course not, weekends are holidays.”
Originally, Li Jingqiu wanted to scold Lin Ting, telling her not to stay up late studying and to go to bed early, since if her health broke down, nothing else would matter.
But she was worried about delaying their schooling and decided to wait until nighttime to say anything. “You two go to school quickly.”
Lin Ting replied, “Okay,” and pushed her bike out, “Let’s go.”
Suddenly remembering she’d made dumplings, Li Jingqiu looked at Duan Ling.
“By the way, Duan Ling, Auntie made a bunch of dumplings this morning. Remember to bring Xinning over to eat them tonight.”
Duan Ling said, “Okay, Auntie Li.”
Lin Ting started pedaling but found it hard to ride.
“Why is my tire flat?”
She got off, took out a pump, and began pumping.
Then she heard air leaking and muttered, “It’s probably a blowout.”
Li Jingqiu bent down to check as well.
“What do we do now? Do you take the bus, or should I ask your dad to take you?”
She grabbed her backpack from the bike basket, swung her leg up, and sat on the back seat of Duan Ling’s bike.
“No need. Duan Ling can take me to school. I’ll push the bike to get fixed after I come back tonight.”
Lin Ting patted Duan Ling’s waist.
“Let’s go.”
The uniform was thin, and her warmth seeped through.
His body twitched slightly before he pedaled off, leaving the courtyard.
Soon, they reached the street corner.
Duan Xinning carefully hung her breakfast in plastic bags on the handlebars.
Seeing them on the same bike, she looked confused.
“Ting Ting, why is my brother giving you a ride? Where’s your bike?”
Lin Ting said, “Flat tire.”
“Want me to give you a ride?” Xinning gestured for her to sit on the back of her bike.
Lin Ting stretched out her hand and flicked Xinning’s nose.
“With your strength, you’re tired just riding your own bike, let alone giving me a ride.”
Actually, Lin Ting could have ridden Xinning’s bike to give her a lift, but she was too lazy and wanted Duan Ling to do it so she could save energy and maybe get in a few more practice tests at school.
Xinning didn’t push the matter.
“I just bought you soy milk and fried dough sticks.”
Lin Ting gave her a thumbs-up.
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at school.
Duan Xinning took down the breakfast bags and shared them with Lin Ting and Duan Ling, who were in the same class, though she was in a different one.
“I have something to do at noon, so I won’t eat in the cafeteria with you.”
Lunch break was short.
All students stayed on campus to eat in the cafeteria, then went back to class to nap for half an hour.
Lin Ting took a bite of a fried dough stick and lowered her head.
“Want me to get your lunch?”
Xinning’s earlobes flushed red, and her eyes darted nervously.
“No need, I can handle it myself.”
Then she slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked toward the classroom building.
“Don’t you think Xinning is acting a little strange today?” Lin Ting watched Xinning walk away and nudged Duan Ling’s side with her elbow.
It wasn’t that she liked touching his waist—it was just the height difference made her habitually push or pat his waist when she had something to say.
Duan Ling’s hands at his sides twitched slightly as he calmly replied, “Yeah, a bit.”
Just then, the bell for class sounded unexpectedly, and Lin Ting had to suppress her questions and pulled Duan Ling back to the classroom.
They were not only in the same class but also sat next to each other.
Morning study was loosely supervised.
She sat hunched over her seat, using Duan Ling, who sat on the aisle, as a shield, secretly sipping the still-warm soy milk.
A boy came over to their desk and said, “Class president, the homeroom teacher wants you to go to the office to get the results from our mock exam.”
Duan Ling said he knew and waited for Lin Ting to finish her soy milk before getting up to go to the office at a leisurely pace.
When he came back, she snatched the results and looked at her ranking—first place.
But next to her name was Duan Ling’s.
Their total scores were tied for first, so their names were lined up side by side like a marriage certificate.
The students behind them glanced casually at the results, unsurprised.
They’d grown up together and had long held the first and second places in their grade, sometimes tied for first.
This was well known in the class and the entire senior year, since everyone paid attention to the top ranks.
Lin Ting finished reading the results and smiled with satisfaction.
As long as she wasn’t ranked lower than Duan Ling, she was happy.
She hummed happily, “I’m done, here you go.”
Duan Ling passed the paper back for the next person to see, and his peripheral vision caught the corner of Lin Ting’s smiling mouth.
“Are you happy?”
She tilted her head and admitted frankly, “Yeah, I like to be ahead of you.”
He turned to her, “Ahead of me?”
Lin Ting raised an eyebrow, “Right.”
Duan Ling seemed thoughtful but said nothing further.
He took a physics test paper from under the desk and started working on it.
For third-year science students, morning study had become a formality because they’d mostly memorized what they needed to know.
Instead, they reviewed by looking at questions and doing exercises.
Lin Ting wasn’t doing test papers at the moment.
Before the teacher arrived, she chatted with the student in front of her about gossip.
She liked to do test papers at night and relax during the day.
The student in front said, “Two boys transferred from the neighboring class. They’re quite good-looking.”
Only strong students dared to transfer in their senior year, because they had to adapt to a new school’s teaching style.
If they couldn’t, their grades would drop quickly.
She admired the courage of senior transfer students.
Halfway through, the student glanced at Lin Ting and then at Duan Ling, teasing with a smile, “But they’re not as good-looking as your Duan Ling.”
That wasn’t a lie.
Duan Ling’s temperament and looks were unique in their school.
“Get lost! What do you mean by ‘my Duan Ling’?” Lin Ting said, but she was used to people teasing her and Duan Ling, so she didn’t take it seriously.
“How were their grades before transferring here?”
Duan Ling seemed not to hear and quietly blinked while doing his test paper.
The student thought for a moment and replied, “That one named Xie Qinghe has decent grades; he’s a humanities student. The other, Jin Anazi, is average and a sports student. Don’t worry, they won’t beat you.”
Lin Ting wanted to ask more, but Duan Ling gently tapped her desk a few times.
“Where’s your physics test paper? The one given out yesterday.”
She turned her face, “What’s up?”
He pointed his pen at the test paper.
“There’s a question I’m unsure about and want to see how you did it.”
Lin Ting’s attention shifted.
She opened the file holding the papers, took out the physics test paper, and leaned over.
“Which question?”
As she leaned closer, her hair brushed into Duan Ling’s nose.
His hand holding the pen tightened slightly.
“This one.”
The student in front silently turned around.
Lin Ting said, “Oh, this question. I’m not too sure either. I tried two methods last night and got different answers.”
Duan Ling’s gaze landed on her eyes.
Sunlight streamed through the window, and their shadows slowly overlapped.
During recess, Lin Ting took Duan Ling to the convenience store to fulfill her promise to treat him.
“What do you want?”
Duan Ling chose a cheap drink.
Lin Ting grabbed two bottles of the same drink—one for herself and one to bring back to Duan Xinning in Class Six via a detour to the classroom.
When she got to Class Six, she saw a boy sitting next to Duan Xinning.
‘Had she changed deskmates?’ Lin Ting remembered Xinning’s deskmate was a girl.
Just as she was about to go in and give Xinning the drink, the boy’s hand under the desk held Duan Xinning’s hand.
Xinning whispered something softly but didn’t push the boy away.
She just blushed slightly.
Their fingers were tightly entwined.
Lin Ting thought, ‘That clearly isn’t just a pure deskmate relationship. They’re probably dating.’
She withdrew her leg and looked up at Duan Ling, lowering her voice, “Your sister is dating.”
He responded calmly, “And?”
“She didn’t even tell me.”
Lin Ting stomped off in a huff, deciding not to give Xinning the drink.
She wanted to see when Xinning would take the initiative to tell her.
***
At 5:30 p.m., after the bell rang, the teacher delayed letting them leave for ten minutes.
Lin Ting caught a ride home with Duan Ling again, just like in the morning.
The weather was hot.
The first thing she did when she got home was throw down her backpack, go upstairs, undress, and shower.
After the shower, she felt refreshed.
“Lin Ting, why do you go straight upstairs as soon as you get home? I’ve cooked dumplings. Come downstairs and eat.” Li Jingqiu shouted again from downstairs, loud enough for the whole courtyard to hear.
“Duan Ling and Xinning are here, waiting for you.”
Lin Ting was hungry too, so she hurried downstairs, sat in the empty spot between them, and grabbed a dumpling.
“Washed up,” she said.
Li Jingqiu rapped her hand hard on Lin Ting’s hand.
“Aren’t your hands dirty? Why don’t you use chopsticks?”
Lin Ting took the chopsticks and gobbled several dumplings.
“Duan Ling, tonight I’m coming over to do the new math test papers.”
If they encountered difficult problems, they could discuss them and also enjoy the air conditioning.
Her house had air conditioning only in her room, and that air conditioner broke yesterday and hadn’t been fixed yet.
Although she could go to Duan Xinning’s room, she couldn’t discuss difficult problems there—math was Xinning’s weak subject.
Duan Ling ate leisurely and, after swallowing, answered simply, “Okay.”
They treated dumplings as dinner.
After eating, Lin Ting took the test papers to Duan Ling’s room, lying on his bed, doing problems while enjoying the air conditioning.
Duan Ling was slower at eating, so the room was empty except for her when she started.
Lin Ting got so absorbed she thought it was her own room.
She reached inside her short-sleeve shirt, unclipped the tight bra, and tossed it onto the nearby blanket, instantly feeling much more comfortable.
Duan Ling pushed the door open.
She was wearing shorts and a thin white T-shirt, with the outline of her nipples clearly visible on her chest.