(1)
Unable to hear the alarm, An Jing found it somewhat difficult to get up.
If it hadn’t been for Yu Mingfei shaking her awake that morning, she truly didn’t know how long she would have slept.
This was probably the silent world many insomniacs envied—there was absolutely no noise to wake them up in the middle of the night.
But as always, everything had two sides: the good and the bad.
An Jing rubbed her sleepy eyes groggily and gently brushed her small hand over the large bouquet of lilies resting on the desk.
Although a whole night had passed, they still looked fresh and bright, exuding an elegant and subtle fragrance.
Her first Women’s Day as a girl had already passed, but the road ahead was still long, and An Jing feared she could no longer turn back into a boy.
This bouquet seemed to be telling her to live well as a girl now, to stop dwelling on the past.
But how could she not dwell on it?
After all, she had been a boy for fifteen or sixteen years; many things were not so easy to change.
An Jing sighed silently and staggered out of her room, heading into the washroom.
The cracks on the mirror seemed to have multiplied, fragmenting her beautiful face into pieces.
She leaned in closer and poked her cheek, making a cute puffed-cheek expression—no matter how you looked at it, she was a perfect, beautiful girl.
Though both she and Zhu Ying shared a cute style, if you looked closely, there was still a difference.
An Jing appeared purer and more innocent, while Zhu Ying carried a sly, little fox-like cunning.
After carefully washing her face, An Jing put on her school uniform and sat at the dining table.
A bowl of plain congee was already served on the table.
The TV played silent morning news while Yu Minghui yawned and complained about something—probably work-related.
Today’s breakfast was a little different from usual: stir-fried shrimp and lightly fried wild vegetables, with a small dish of salt and pepper for dipping.
But An Jing preferred eating it plain, especially the shrimp, which had a faint sweetness to it.
“Today is the physical education entrance exam. Work hard, but don’t push yourself too far,” Yu Minghui wrote on the writing board after breakfast.
An Jing sighed again, helplessly nodding.
She was taking the boys’ physical education entrance exam, and honestly, with this body, she felt truly unprepared…
Not to mention the 1000-meter run, even doing three pull-ups now would be a miracle.
In most places, boys could choose between shot put or pull-ups, but the small city’s Education Bureau was stubbornly insisting all boys must do pull-ups, with no alternative events allowed.
At least girls could choose between sit-ups and standing long jump!
Yu Mingfei, who had been frowning earlier, suddenly smiled and mimed throwing a ball, probably recalling some amusing memory from her own PE exam.
An Jing remembered her saying before that back then, the PE exam didn’t give extra points—just pass or fail.
There were so many events: high jump, long jump, jump rope, basketball, soccer, volleyball… even swimming.
Each school had its own standards, but you had to pass several events or you wouldn’t get your diploma.
Times were progressing, so why were the options decreasing?
Shouldn’t education be tailored to individuals?
Not every boy was good at pull-ups…
Thinking this, An Jing hastily swallowed the last spoonful of congee, stood up, grabbed her backpack from the floor, and stretched lazily.
Yu Minghui smiled and nodded at her, and she raised her arm to wave softly.
Yu Mingfei, sitting by the door, laughed and gave her a playful pat on the butt, as if performing some strange ritual of encouragement.
An Jing rolled her eyes, bent down to slip on the freshly cleaned sneakers she was going to wear today, stood by the door, stomped her foot hard, and then slammed the door behind her.
She decided to jog to school this morning as a warm-up before the exam.
***
(2)
At the familiar crossroads, Zhu Ying stood beside her bicycle, glancing back.
When she saw An Jing’s figure, a bright smile spread across her face, and she excitedly waved.
When An Jing got closer, Zhu Ying patted the bicycle’s rear seat hard, signaling for her to get on.
An Jing hesitated for a moment, then remembered that spring was truly here.
Even early mornings were no longer bone-chilling cold, so Zhu Ying could naturally keep riding her bike to school.
She obediently straddled the bike and grabbed the rear handle tightly, but Zhu Ying playfully twined her arm around An Jing’s waist.
A few seconds later, the bike wobbled and set off.
It had been a while since they rode, so it was a bit awkward at first but soon steadied, letting the gentle breeze carry a reassuring fragrance.
Looking down, the ground rapidly moved backward, making the speed feel fast.
Looking up, the rows of roadside trees slowly receded, creating a sense of slowness.
Spring had arrived.
Zhu Ying wasn’t wearing thick clothes anymore, and the thin school jacket transmitted a warm touch to An Jing’s small hand, even letting her feel Zhu Ying’s heartbeat.
It was a vigorous life force, full of vitality.
The blooming spring flowers and fresh new buds made An Jing feel for the first time in her heart: “Youth is truly wonderful.”
Thinking that she was still only in her teens and full of hope for the future, walking amidst the lush spring scenery, she felt lucky to have at least decades more to live.
Not to mention, she was holding the girl she only dared to be with in her dreams…
***
(3)
Because of the physical education entrance exam, there were no classes today.
The seventh and eighth graders were holding their textbooks under teachers’ supervision, while the ninth graders were running around and fooling around in the classroom.
It seemed the closer the high school entrance exam approached, the more unruly these ninth graders became.
Perhaps pressure needed a vent.
Otherwise, the pressure would crush them before the exam even arrived.
Those who still appeared to be studying seriously might be the ones who would find it hardest to cope with pressure later on.
An Jing was daydreaming with her chin in her hands when Zhu Ying’s finger gently poked at her mouth and slipped in a round, soft candy.
It was cola-flavored.
Turning back, An Jing saw Zhu Ying holding a bag of red candies, handing them out—she gave a few to Zhang Qiqi, placed two in Wang Xinru’s palm, and distributed more to other girls asking for some.
Sun Wei joined in the fun, but before Zhu Ying could react, Fang Qiang gave him a fake kick, sending him aside.
Sun Wei fought back, lunging at Fang Qiang’s rear with a “thousand-year attack.”
This caused the two of them to chase each other out of the classroom.
Zhou Chao approached, shaking his head helplessly and slid a note onto An Jing’s desk: “I’ll run with you in the long-distance race. I’ll lead the pace.”
An Jing blinked and pouted, took her writing board out of her bag, thought for a moment, and wrote back, “Be careful you don’t fail yourself?”
Zhou Chao gave a thumbs-up to himself and smiled, shaking his head.
Having someone lead the pace during the long-distance run could actually improve results quite a bit; those who might fail could pass, and those barely passing could even get full marks.
An Jing didn’t keep being polite.
She took a deep breath and nodded firmly.
***
(4)
Ninth graders were probably the least organized and disciplined group; a large noisy crowd headed toward the bus parked at the door, with an atmosphere resembling a field trip.
The physical education exam was not at the city’s Second Middle School but at the First Middle School on the other side of the small city, mainly because their playground was bigger—a lap was 400 meters, so running 1000 meters only required two laps and a bit more.
Though said to be on the other side of the city, the small city wasn’t that big, so the bus ride didn’t take long.
The First Middle School sat halfway up the hill, relatively isolated from the world. Unlike the Second Middle School, most of its students were boarders, only getting one break a month.
Hence, many students jokingly said that going to First Middle School was like going to prison.
But because of strict management, First Middle School students all performed well academically, even able to compete with T City’s First Middle School.
The students lined up sparsely behind Fang Qiang, who held up the class sign, walking up the long slope.
However, some students didn’t follow discipline—for example, the one who called himself Hu Ge, who took two buddies down to the breakfast shop at the foot of the mountain to buy buns, not afraid of vomiting later after intense exercise.
Usually gentle, the Director of Discipline looked especially stern today, waving his hands to chase back those who weren’t walking with the group, urging them to return immediately.
Besides Second Middle School, other junior high schools also came to take the exam today.
Among the crowd, An Jing even spotted a few vaguely familiar faces—seemed like her elementary school classmates.
But the changes from elementary to junior high were so great that the faint resemblance made people hesitant to confirm identities.
Still, some exchanged glances to test recognition, and once certain, excitedly approached each other.
Though only three years had passed since elementary school, their joyful greetings were like meeting after thirty years.
But if it really were thirty years—or even just ten years—such sincere enthusiasm might not remain.
In her silent world, An Jing’s thoughts wandered.
Suddenly, someone gently hooked her arm and slipped a cola-flavored hard candy into her mouth.
No need to look; she knew it had to be Zhu Ying.
But why were all the candies cola-flavored today?
Could it be that the little shop was having a sale on cola-flavored products?
An Jing shot Zhu Ying a sidelong glance and saw she was holding an unopened bottle of cola.
She wanted to tease, “Is today Cola Day?” but was too lazy to take out her writing board from the bag, so just raised an eyebrow in mockery.
Zhu Ying misunderstood and stuffed even more cola candies into An Jing’s mouth.