(1)
The lights came on in the empty classroom, making the world outside—drenched by the rain—seem even darker.
An Jing squinted slightly, took the homework from her bag and stuffed it into the desk drawer, then hung her bag on the back of the chair.
“Isn’t it a bit too bright in here?”
“It’s just that it’s really dark outside right now, isn’t it?”
“Will the sun come out today?”
“Who knows.”
Standing by the door, Zhu Ying clicked the other half of the switch with a snap, turning off the front lights and turning on the ones in the back rows instead.
“How about now?”
“It’s a little dimmer, much more comfortable.”
An Jing untied the knot on the plastic bag, laid out some already useless old test papers on the desk as a mat, then took out the foam lunchbox that had started to get a bit greasy, and set it on top.
Just as she was about to open the lid, the yellow rubber band suddenly snapped with a pop, stinging her finger hard.
“Ah!”
“What happened?”
“The rubber band broke all of a sudden. Such poor quality…”
“Come to think of it, lately the foam lunchboxes for takeout rarely use rubber bands anymore.”
“Did the price of rubber bands go up too? And if they use them, they’re the really bad ones now?”
“Who knows. Actually, there aren’t that many places using foam lunchboxes anymore, right? All this talk about being environmentally friendly these years—aren’t they telling everyone to use less foam? Most places use paper lunchboxes now, or those plastic ones with snap-on lids.”
“So in the end, just like with plastic bags, they start charging extra for them.”
“Yeah, one yuan just for the takeout box.”
“Even though foam lunchboxes have a lot of inconveniences—”
An Jing looked down at the steaming stir-fried rice noodles, snapped apart the pair of disposable chopsticks with a crack, “I still like the free ones better.”
***
(2)
“Isn’t this just how things are lately—”
Zhu Ying twisted off the soy milk cap, then sat down slowly next to An Jing.
“Anything related to protecting the environment, you always have to pay extra.”
“So is it really for the environment, or just for making money…”
“Why not make money while saving the environment at the same time?”
“Does it really protect the environment, though?”
“Then they just use it as an excuse to make even more money while they’re at it!”
An Jing burst out laughing, her mouth open as if she wanted to tease back, but the words slipped her mind.
So she simply bowed her head, grabbed a huge clump of stir-fried noodles with her chopsticks, and stuffed them into her not-so-big cherry mouth, cheeks puffed out as she chewed with all her might.
Within three seconds, her eyes went wide and she started pounding her chest, making muffled “ah ah” sounds with her mouth still full.
Zhu Ying propped her chin in her hand, exasperated, and shoved her own half-empty soy milk toward An Jing’s mouth.
“Why eat such a big bite? Can’t you just take your time and chew properly?”
“Phew… it’s so dry!”
An Jing struggled to swallow the noodles and patted her chest, exhaling a long breath.
“That’s why I don’t usually eat stir-fried noodles!” “Xiao Jing usually only likes fried noodles.”
“Yeah, and when I was little I used to eat stir-fried noodles all the time, but now I hardly ever want them.”
An Jing mixed the noodles in the foam box with her chopsticks.
“Didn’t you ever get tired of stuff you ate all the time as a kid?”
“Did I?”
Zhu Ying poked the table with her chopsticks, making the thin plastic bag on top slip down.
“The things I liked when I was little, I still like now.”
“You don’t get sick of them?”
“How could I get sick of them so easily?”
She blinked her big eyes, fringed with long lashes.
“I’ve told you so many times, I’m very—loyal!”
“…Then why are you stealing my pork fillet instead of eating from your own bowl?”
“Xiao Jing’s is mine too, what’s the difference! I’ll just give you some of my stir-fried noodles, no big deal.”
“I couldn’t eat that much anyway…”
***
(3)
The mist-like rain hit the classroom windows like fine sand in the wind.
Outside, the world was still pitch black, not even the faint glow of the streetlights visible.
An Jing popped the last greasy slice of sausage from the bottom of the foam box into her mouth, then squeezed every last drop of soy milk from the bag, licking her lips, still unsatisfied.
“What, not full yet?”
“I feel like I could still eat more.”
An Jing cleared her throat.
“Every time before breakfast I think I can’t eat a thing, but after I eat, I always feel like I’m still not full.”
“Here, I still have some left, want it?”
Zhu Ying pointed at the last clump of noodles she’d just stuffed in her mouth, her eyes sparkling mischievously.
“Ew—full of your saliva, no way.”
An Jing pretended to gag, but still sneaked a glance at the noodles in Zhu Ying’s mouth.
“Ah—let me feed you—”
“I’m not eating noodles covered in your spit! That’s disgusting!”
“What’s the problem? Anything in my mouth couldn’t possibly be gross anymore!” “Huh? What kind of logic is that?”
An Jing stared wide-eyed.
“Because the saliva of a beautiful girl can make anything in the world taste delicious.”
“—You should try being a lawyer. You talk even more nonsense than the ones on TV.”
“Nonsense? It’s clearly the truth!”
“Sure, sure, that’s what every lawyer says when defending their clients.”
“Tch~ fine, if you don’t want it, you don’t want it.” Zhu Ying chewed her noodles and swallowed the last bite.
“What time is it now? Doesn’t look like it’s getting any lighter outside.”
“Hmm—it’s almost five forty.”
“Time is crawling today.”
An Jing checked her phone too.
“It always feels like days are longer when I get up really early.”
Zhu Ying stared for two seconds, then looked at her like she was an idiot.
“Well, you woke up so early, so of course you’re awake for longer than usual!”
“That’s not true. If I sleep late, I’m awake longer too.”
An Jing stabbed the disposable chopsticks into the foam box.
“But even when I stay up late, the day still goes by fast.”
“That’s true, half an hour in the morning feels longer than two hours at night.”
“Oh~! I get it!”
An Jing’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“A day isn’t really just twenty-four hours. Like, a half hour in the morning is actually like two hours at night! If you add it up, a day should really be thirty-six hours…”
“Pff, that’s not right! If you just stay in bed and sleep in, time flies by fast.”
“So time only moves slowly when you’re paying attention to it!”
An Jing clapped her hands excitedly.
“So really, time doesn’t exist at all! It only exists when we think it does!”
“That makes no sense, you know.”
Zhu Ying pinched An Jing’s cheek.
“Why not say the whole world only exists because you do, and if you feel like it doesn’t, then it just doesn’t exist?”
“So—when is it going to get light?”
“Maybe it already is, just that it’s still raining.”
“Let’s just take another nap…”
“Wanna use my lap as a pillow?”
Zhu Ying patted her thigh.
“Here, softer and warmer than the desk, right?”
An Jing meant to say no.
But somehow her body just moved on its own.
By the time she realized, her head was already resting on Zhu Ying’s lap.
—Sure enough, soft and warm.
***
(4)
It seemed like the sky had brightened, but everything was still pitch black.
The rain didn’t want to stop.
A sparrow, feathers all damp, perched on the window ledge, leisurely grooming itself with its black beak.
An Jing’s chest rose and fell in steady breaths.
She seemed to have slept for a long time, but when Zhu Ying checked her phone, only ten minutes had passed.
—She’d already opened the text version of QQ Farm several times, but there were no crops ready to harvest, and none of her friends had anything to steal.
Maybe everyone else was still asleep.
“Oh, right…”
Zhu Ying suddenly thought of something, picked up An Jing’s phone from the drawer, and opened her QQ Farm.
“Mm, mm… better plant all the most valuable crops, Xiao Jing’s level is so low, she can hardly buy any seeds…”
After planting new crops for An Jing, Zhu Ying put the phone back down.
Time still crawled.
Who knew when the next student would arrive in the classroom?
The whole school was shrouded in a silent haze of rain.
Bored out of her mind, Zhu Ying opened her phone and played Snake for less than half a minute before shutting it off.
As for the Box-pushing Game and Puzzle Game, she didn’t even have the urge to open them.
“So boring…”
She yawned, propped her chin with her slender fingers, and poked An Jing’s cheek lightly.
“Might as well wake Xiao Jing up to chat. Hey, Xiao Jing?”
An Jing slept like a housecat that had been wild all night and only just made it home before dawn—completely unresponsive to Zhu Ying’s voice, fast asleep.
Even when Zhu Ying lifted her head and placed it on the desk, An Jing didn’t show the slightest sign of waking.
“Sleeping like the dead, Xiao Jing?”
Zhu Ying sighed, hands on hips, and let out a soft breath.
“Might as well wander the halls—never seen the whole teaching building so dark before…”
She stretched, then stretched again for good measure, only stopping when her joints gave a little pop, finally standing up from her chair with a look of relief.
Even though she’d only sat there for half an hour, it felt like half a day—Zhu Ying felt her whole body had gone a bit stiff.
“Xiao Jing, I’m going for a walk, okay? Wanna come? Still no reaction, huh—”
Zhu Ying shook her head gently and fixed her already neat bangs in her reflection on the window glass.
Outside, the drizzle tapped silently on the glass.
The sky still showed no sign of brightening.
Zhu Ying turned the doorknob, gently pushed the classroom door open, but no damp wind greeted her.
By the door, An Jing leaned against the wall, letting the moonlight spill over her face, yawning uncontrollably.
“Did you have a nightmare or something…”