(1)
April 1st, 2010.
Thursday, a day that doesn’t really evoke much feeling.
It’s not like Monday, which reminds you there are still five long days to endure, inevitably making you feel a bit of pain and suffering.
Nor is it like Wednesday, where a glimmer of anticipation arises as you look forward to the arrival of the holidays.
Of course, it’s even less like Friday—when there are two fewer classes, school ends early, and your thoughts drift into the blue sky along with the clouds.
But since today is April 1st, everything feels just a little bit different.
No one knows when it started, but students have gotten into the habit of celebrating April Fool’s Day by playing all kinds of mischievous pranks.
On this day, you can’t trust others too easily, because you never know who might be messing with you.
Maybe it’s precisely because this day gives people the audacity to lie with conviction, it also emboldens some to treat the truth like a joke—for example, confessions.
And so, on some year’s April Fool’s Day, it somehow turned into a kind of Valentine’s Day that was even more suited for confessing.
Especially in the third year of middle school, April Fool’s Day felt unique—graduation looming, many didn’t want to leave with regrets, and so they took this opportunity to indulge in what little remained of their youth.
“An Jing, your shoelace is undone!” Zhang Qiqi called out teasingly.
“Idiot.” An Jing rolled her eyes so hard they nearly hit the ceiling—she usually tied her laces in double knots to avoid them coming loose, and sometimes even when Yu Minghui helped her wash her shoes, she was too lazy to untie them. Let alone in daily life; they never came undone.
“Xiao Ying, your An Jing’s cursing again!”
“She should~” Zhu Ying covered her mouth and laughed. “You tricked me this morning, Qiqi! Said the homeroom teacher wanted to see me in her office, but when I went, she said she never called me—but still made me run errands. Hmph!”
“It’s April Fool’s Day~ If you don’t play a little prank, it’s too boring.” “Qiqi, you’ve got a grain of rice on your lip.” Wang Xinru suddenly whispered.
“Huh? Where?”
“Screw you…”
Whoa, even Xiao Ru is lying now!
“You’re the one who said it, today’s April Fool’s Day.” An Jing propped up her chin and spoke up for Wang Xinru. “I hate April Fool’s Day, it makes it impossible for people to trust each other.” “Look on the bright side, at least it’s just one day.” “Yeah, if every day were April Fool’s Day…”
“Then it wouldn’t be April Fool’s Day anymore, there’d probably be a holiday called Honesty Day!”
“That would be such a gloomy festival…” An Jing smacked her lips.
“An Jing, want to go downstairs for a coffee?” Zhou Chao lightly blocked the golden sunlight streaming in from the window and asked with a faint smile.
“Nope, it’s probably just another April Fool’s Day prank.” “Come on, it’s real.”
“I’m too lazy to move, unless you bring me a can.” “Fine, fine.”
“It’s not a prank?”
“Nonsense, would Dog Bro mess with you?”
“Xiao Jing.” Zhu Ying gently patted An Jing’s shoulder. “The weather’s so nice today, perfect for a walk during lunch break, don’t you think?”
“Won’t it be really hot outside?”
“It’s still spring even if it’s hot, get up already!” “Aah, I’m so sleepy, don’t want to move…”
A breezy, sunny spring day is definitely the kind of season that makes people drowsy.
And whether you’re in the classroom or on the Playground, as long as there’s somewhere to sit, it seems just right for a nap. Especially when the sun’s shining on your face, that wave of sleepiness just about takes over every thought in your brain.
Downstairs, by the vending machine, there was a line—not too long, not too short. Every lunch break, this spot became bustling.
“Damn, Qiang, you buying that many drinks? You can’t possibly finish them. Even if you won the lottery, this is too much!” Zhou Chao hopped down the steps three at a time, gave Fang Qiang a light punch on the back, and teased him with a grin.
“They’re not all for me, I’m running errands for others.” Fang Qiang, arms full with seven or eight bottles, bumped Zhou Chao with his elbow. “I get fifty cents extra per drink.”
“That’s two or three yuan right there.” An Jing clicked her tongue. “There’s your drink money for today.” “Yeah, haha, it’s just a bit of effort anyway.” “You sure?” Zhou Chao shook his head. “All that just for a few coins?” “Hey, money’s money. Save where you can, earn where you can, enjoy when you should.”
“Haha, Qiang, maybe you’re cut out for business.” “Only one way to find out… I’ll head upstairs first.”
“Come down for a walk later, get some fresh air! The weather’s awesome!” Zhou Chao shouted after Fang Qiang as he dashed up the stairs.
“Sure!”
“What do you want to drink?” “I’ll buy my own!”
“Dog Bro’s treating!”
“Sprite!”
“OK.” Zhou Chao nodded, then turned to An Jing and Zhu Ying. “You two want coffee?”
“I don’t want anything hot.”
“I want hot coffee~” Zhu Ying made no attempt at politeness.
“What about Wei?”
“Just tried calling him, no clue where he ran off to.” Zhou Chao spread his hands.
“Maybe he went to play table tennis.”
If Fang Qiang hadn’t invited him, Sun Wei usually wouldn’t play basketball—he just wasn’t tall enough, and even if people didn’t laugh at him, the experience was never much fun.
So if he went to the Playground alone, it was usually to play table tennis. The good thing about it is, as long as you have an opponent, you can start a game. Even with no opponent, you can just hit the ball against a wall. No special venue required, just a Table Tennis Table will do.
And there was never a shortage of Table Tennis Tables at Xiaocheng No. 2 Middle School. Not only was there a dedicated classroom on the first floor, but also several outdoor tables at the Playground’s edge—enough to satisfy even the most enthusiastic players.
Sometimes you could even spot teachers, or even the vice-principal. The older they were, the better they played—especially that short old vice-principal, whose table tennis was lightning fast, making you sweat buckets after just a few rallies.
“Let him be.” Zhou Chao pressed a few buttons, the vending machine whirred mechanically, and then the drinks clunked down from above.
An Jing took the canned coffee Zhou Chao handed over, popped it open, and took just a small sip. “The sun’s blazing, but this room-temperature coffee is still icy cold…”
“How about it, Xiao Jing? Wanna trade for my hot coffee?” “Then what’ll you drink?”
“I’ll drink whatever’s left on your lips.”
“Ew!” An Jing guarded her coffee warily. “Never mind, I’ll stick with the cold one…”
Drinks in hand, the three squeezed out of the crowd, walking across the mosaic-brick ground toward the Playground, where a rubber track circled around.
All around, students were shouting loudly, and plenty were still pulling April Fool’s Day pranks.
“I’m telling you, your Class Leader said he likes you—told me to pass it on.”
“No way, for real?”
“Hahaha—of course not, just kidding!”
“Damn!!”
“Hey—! Math Class Representative, Dog Bro says he likes you!”
“Don’t spout bullshit, damn it!”
“What’s wrong with you guys, always making these dumb jokes.” “It’s April Fool’s Day, don’t you have any sense of humor?”
“Nutcases.”
“Dog Bro, maybe find someone else to like.” “You little—…”
“Most April Fool’s jokes are about romance, aren’t they?” An Jing took another big sip of coffee—the sun was scorching her back, but the coffee was ice-cold. The collision of the two sensations in her body made her shudder.
But it wasn’t uncomfortable. On the contrary, she actually found it rather exhilarating…
“April Fool’s Day? Haha, I think it’s more like Valentine’s Day,” Zhou Chao laughed loudly. “But you know, it’s not just confessions—some people break up on April Fool’s Day, too.” “I know, you’re just the kind of guy who’s done that.”
“Really? Spill it, did the girl not flip out on you?”
“No, she thought Zhou Chao was just joking at the time, but the next day she found out he’d already switched girlfriends.”
“Ew—!!!” Zhu Ying yanked An Jing’s arm, pulling her aside. “Xiao Jing, you must never learn from a scumbag!”
“Haha, it’s just that she always threatened to break up with me, so I granted her wish.” “Girls do get insecure sometimes, so she’s not entirely in the wrong, but you shouldn’t have…” “I believe in being decisive. I’m not the type to talk about breaking up every day but never actually do it,” Zhou Chao said lightly, making Zhu Ying feel he was a little unfamiliar.
An Jing, however, looked like she was used to it. “Xiao Ying, that’s just how he is, don’t get mad…” “Haha, but I’m not talking about everyone. At least, I wish all true love the best.” Zhou Chao patted Yi’s shoulder earnestly. “You two had better—”
“No need for you to say it, Xiao Jing and I will absolutely be together for life! Not even the gods can separate us!”
“That’s the best. Really great.”
“Looking at it this way, you seem a bit pitiful. Haven’t you ever met someone who truly loved you?” “Someone like me… maybe I’ll never be truly loved.”
“Don’t be so pessimistic.”
“Yeah, Zhou Chao, sometimes you have to put your heart on the line first.”
“Forget it.” Zhou Chao smiled and shook his head. “I don’t have much heart left to give; I don’t want to just waste it.”
“You can’t just let one girl turn you into this.” Zhu Ying put her hands on her hips. “If, say, your best buddy—like, for example, Sun Wei—betrayed you, would you never trust any other friend again?”
“Ahem, thank goodness Ah Wei isn’t here…” An Jing gave a dry cough, awkwardly scratching her cheek.
“Nope.”
“So is he not good enough as a friend? What if it were Xiao Jing?”
“Hey hey, don’t go making those kinds of hypotheticals.”
“Haha, I’d definitely trust her. If she ever ‘betrayed’ me, it’d be because, as her brother, I did something wrong—not because she was at fault—same goes for Ah Qiang.”
“Ew—goosebumps! What about you, Xiao Jing?”
“Huh? Me? I don’t… I, uh…” An Jing looked up at the sky, pretending to admire the scenery. “Actually, I find it kinda touching.”
“So gay!”
Zhou Chao drooped his eyelids. “That’s brotherhood, you know.”
“Exactly…”