An Jing’s name literally means “quiet,” but his personality is anything but—he’s not quiet at all.
“Oh come on, can’t you even make that shot from so close?!”
“Give me the ball! I’ll do it!”
“Watch my three-pointer! Ha! It’s in!”
“Do you understand the value of being the top three-point shooter in this small city?!”
An Jing’s good buddy, a guy significantly taller than him, rolled his eyes at him, “You two, playing basketball by ourselves, do you really need to be like this?”
“Playing basketball needs passion, don’t you get it?”
An Jing tossed the ball to him, looking bored, “Fang Qiang, it’s really no fun playing with you.”
“Who called me out here anyway? Early in the morning, I was sleeping so well!”
Fang Qiang grumbled, casually throwing the basketball against the backboard, only for it to bounce back with a clang.
An Jing quickly dodged to the side, laughing and scolding, “Damn it, are you trying to murder me?”
“Who told you to just stand there like an idiot?”
“Tsk, it’s boring, there’s no passion at all playing with you.”
“How can two people get passionate?”
Fang Qiang sat down directly under the hoop.
“If anything, it’s weird for two people to come out and play. Are you that bored?”
“Brother isn’t playing ball, he’s playing loneliness,” An Jing pouted.
“What do you know?”
“Alright, stop playing ball. Go buy some soy sauce instead.”
“My family buys bottled soy sauce. What era is this, still ‘buying soy sauce’?”
An Jing answered feigning seriousness, then suddenly chuckled, nudging Fang Qiang with his arm, “Hey, I’m telling you, how are things going between you and Zhu Ying?”
“What do you mean ‘how are things’?”
“You two are deskmates now, haven’t there been any further developments?”
“Damn it, what developments could there be? We’re in the third year of junior high, studying every day, okay?”
“Stop being awkward. You, studying? Do you think I’d believe that?”
“Even if something happened, what then? After graduation, we might not be in the same high school. We’d break up anyway.”
“I despise you. Such a good opportunity, and you’re not seizing it. What if you two do get into the same high school?”
“You and her getting into the same one is more likely. Me? Forget about it!”
“Have some ambition, will you?!”
“What ambition?”
Fang Qiang was very clear about his own situation.
“It’d be good enough if I could get into the worst high school…”
An Jing patted his shoulder, shaking his head with a helpless smile.
“Speaking of which, you’ve been acting weird lately.”
“What about me?”
“Your skin’s gotten lighter, your face looks a bit rounder, and I always feel like—are you getting shorter?”
An Jing was so annoyed he laughed.
“Can a person get shorter?”
“That’s why it’s weird.”
“I’ve gotten fairer because I’ve basically been in the classroom all through the third year of junior high, haven’t been out much. As for getting rounder… that’s because I got fat, okay?!” “True, I’ve gained quite a bit too.”
An Jing squinted at Fang Qiang, about to tease him, but then suddenly his brows furrowed, and he doubled over, clutching his stomach like a shrimp.
“De…!”
“Hey, are you alright, man?”
Fang Qiang anxiously patted his back.
“How is it? Is it serious?”
“I’m fine… maybe I ate something bad this morning…”
“What have you been eating for breakfast lately? I feel like your stomach always hurts.”
“Maybe my sister’s breakfasts are too bizarre…”
An Jing took a deep breath, finally getting some relief from the abdominal pain.
“You don’t know how crazy her breakfasts are. Like egg pancakes with chrysanthemums, juice squeezed from mint and oranges, tea-leaf eggs… ugh.”
***
“You have my sympathy, brother.”
Fang Qiang patted his shoulder.
“My condolences to you.”
“But I’ve also been feeling a bit unwell lately. Always feeling weak and sleepy, can’t sleep at night, and my heart feels like it’s beating really fast.”
“Perhaps it’s because the middle school entrance exam is approaching, so you’re getting nervous?”
“Nah, the exam is still six months away. If I’m going to be nervous, it should be next year, right?”
“Time flies though!”
“Stop talking like an adult, will you?”
An Jing rolled his eyes.
“Oh, don’t be in such a bad mood. How about coming over to my place?”
“What for?”
“Heh heh… I’ll show you some really X-rated stuff.”
“Tsk, I’ve already seen enough of that.”
“Really?”
“Don’t underestimate me!”
An Jing glanced around the empty basketball court and lowered his voice.
“There’s a video store near my house that sells them. I’ll take you next time.”
“Damn, why didn’t you tell me about such a good thing sooner?”
“Ahem! I only found out this summer!”
“How about we just go today?!”
“Are you that desperate…? They’re cracking down hard lately, you can’t buy them there.”
An Jing started making excuses again.
—In reality, he hadn’t actually seen any of that stuff; all his bragging was just to avoid appearing too ‘innocent’.
“Nonsense, if I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t be so desperate.”
“It’s clearly your fault for not seizing the opportunity.”
“Let’s talk about it after high school…”
Fang Qiang rubbed his eyes.
“Sigh, girls are great. Who doesn’t like girls? It must be so comfortable to cuddle with one to sleep. To be honest, I’ve been a bit distracted in class lately.”
“Because of Zhu Ying?”
“…Cough! She always wears very loose clothes lately, and when she bends over, she tends to reveal something, and then I can’t help but imagine her… without clothes, and then…”
“Oh, I get it. No wonder you spend so long in the bathroom during every PE class.”
“Cough, cough!!”
“Even if she takes off her school uniform jacket, isn’t it still a school uniform underneath?”
“What do you know? It’s the school uniform that makes it exciting.”
An Jing scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed: “I have to admit, that’s true…”
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go buy some discs!”
Fang Qiang slapped An Jing’s back hard.
“Wait, are we not playing then? I told you they’re cracking down lately, there’s nothing for sale.”
“What’s the point of two people playing?”
Fang Qiang rubbed his nose with his index finger, ungracefully flicking a booger away.
“Who said good discs have to be those kind of discs? Good movies or TV shows work too!”
“Alright, alright, if we’re not playing, can you stop hitting me? It hurts like hell.”
“Does it hurt that much? I was very gentle.”
“Gentle, my foot.”
An Jing swatted away his large, hairy hand.
“Don’t you know how strong you are, kid?”
“Heh heh… Oh right, what time is it now?”
“Check it yourself.”
An Jing simply stretched out his arm, letting him look at the digital watch on his wrist.
The screen of this digital watch was large; it could not only display the time but also the year and date in the top left and top right corners, respectively.
—It cost a hefty fifty yuan and An Jing bought it from the small shop at the school gate.
“Two thousand nine, October thirty-first, nine thirty-nine…”
“Do you have to read out the beginning part too?”
“Heh heh… I just wanted to look at your hand a bit longer. Don’t you think you’re a bit too pale, kid? Sigh, if only you didn’t have hairy hands…”
“Damn it, are you a pervert?”
An Jing quickly pulled his hand back.
“Go look at your deskmate; you’ve got a beautiful girl sitting next to you, but you don’t look at her, you prefer looking at men…”
“You can’t just hug a beautiful girl, but you can hug men however you want,” Fang Qiang said, putting his arm around An Jing’s shoulder.
An Jing drooped his eyelids: “I seriously suspect you’re gay…”
“Hehehe…”
“Your laugh is disgusting!”
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