(1)
Standing on the field and looking back at the school building, An Jing immediately caught sight of the huge glass window that replaced the rear blackboard in Class Five’s third-year classroom.
Inside were gifts from the students.
“It’s already April,” An Jing suddenly sighed.
Looking from outside in, the glass window looked even bluer than the sky. A few white clouds were reflected on its surface, as if they were gifts for the classroom.
“There’s a little more than two months left,” Zhou Chao replied.
“After Graduation, let’s come back every year to visit!” An Jing finished the coffee she held in her hands in one gulp, suddenly perking up. “Let’s have a reunion every year and see how everyone’s doing!”
“What’s the point?”
“Why wouldn’t it be meaningful?”
“By then, you just want to commemorate your three years of junior high, but you have to realize… once time has passed, it’s gone. Even if we gather again, a lot of people won’t be the same as before. If we’re really going to meet up, just our close group of friends is enough,” Zhou Chao answered.
“Zhou Chao, you always talk like an adult. What’s with the fake maturity?”
“I’m just making a comparison. Haven’t we graduated from elementary school before? Back then, lots of people said they’d meet up again, but what happened later?”
“Elementary school was different, we were still kids then.”
“When you get a bit older, you’ll feel like junior high was pretty childish too.” “Tch…!”
On such a nice day, there were more people on the field than usual.
Let alone the few benches, even the flower beds were packed. Some boys were even sitting on the horizontal bars, not even caring how uncomfortable that must be…
A few Pigeons from nearby farms landed on the eaves, swaggering about. Even when students approached, they didn’t flap their wings. Judging by their plump, round shapes, it was obvious these fellows ate very well.
“Doesn’t it feel like the school’s lunch break is especially long?”
“It does! When I’m at home, the time from eleven to one just flies by.”
“It’s because we have less break time that we learn to cherish it,” Zhou Chao said, hands stuffed into his pockets. “Heh. It’s like being in a relationship—when you date less, you actually treasure it more.”
“Hey——” Just as the three were chatting, a loud shout came from behind. Fang Qiang, the big guy, had gotten taller again lately, and bulkier too. Among these junior high kids, most of whom hadn’t even reached 1.7 meters, he ran like a little giant.
“Here you are.”
“Damn, I thought you were waiting for me at the vending machine!”
“Haha, we didn’t know when you’d show up, so we just took a stroll. Here!” Zhou Chao tossed over a can of Snow Sprite. “Your Snow Sprite!”
Fang Qiang caught it without hesitation, yanked the pull tab, and gulped down two big mouthfuls: “Hah—it’s damn hot today!”
Zhou Chao smiled, “Yeah, it’s getting hotter, and the Boston ivy’s getting greener.”
“Uh…” Fang Qiang glanced at the equally green Snow Sprite, then said, expression odd, “When I went up just now, I saw someone going into our classroom looking for Wang Wang.”
“Looking for her?” An Jing looked a bit confused.
But Zhou Chao reacted quickly, “A confession?”
“Yep.”
“You know him?”
“Nope.” Fang Qiang spread his hands. “And another troublesome thing—Awei asked me to help him give a love letter to the last student in Class Four…”
“The Class Four class monitor? That’s our classmate from first year, right?”
“Yeah, he said I’m more familiar with her… Damn, it’s so annoying.”
“Haha… just let him deliver it himself.”
“Want to help deliver it for me later?”
“You sure? My reputation in Class Four isn’t great,” Zhou Chao shook his head, “I’ve got two ex-girlfriends in there. They’d definitely talk bad about me.”
“Tsk, then how about An Jing…?”
“No way, don’t keep making Xiao Jing help with this stuff. You agreed to do it, so you do it yourself.” “Uh… I don’t mind. If Awei actually succeeds, that’s great, but I bet there’s no chance.” “Whatever, I’ll deliver it for him later. It’s not my love letter, so why would I feel awkward?” Fang Qiang spat into the grass beside him. “There sure are a lot of people confessing today.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s kind of funny. Do these people really think they’ll succeed? Even if they get together, they’ll just break up after Graduation—what’s the point?”
“Haha, these direct confessions with no real relationship development are the purest,” Zhou Chao said.
“Pure?”
“Purely wanting to satisfy their own desires—what could be more simple?”
“What do you say when a girl confesses to a boy?”
“Ah Qiang, you must be an idiot if you think girls don’t have desires too!”
Zhu Ying’s cheeks turned red, and she suddenly glanced at An Jing, who blinked in confusion, suddenly feeling like the milky scent on Zhu Ying had grown even stronger…
(2)
Wang Xinru’s social circle was very small, and unless necessary, she rarely left the classroom.
Most of the time, she stayed at her seat alone, either doing homework or doodling on her scratchpad.
Sometimes she’d read novels, or chat with An Jing, who’d recently switched seats and now sat just across a narrow aisle—of course, she never forgot to include Zhu Ying in their conversations.
She was slowly finding her old self again—not so withdrawn, though still not terribly talkative. After all, she was never someone who could chatter with others all day.
“An An.” She turned around, wanting to show An Jing the Sparrow she’d just drawn in her notebook, but saw two empty seats. Only then did she remember that An Jing, Zhu Ying, and Zhou Chao had all gone downstairs.
In that moment, the sunlight felt dazzling, and the classroom seemed unusually empty—everyone must have gone to enjoy the beautiful spring day.
She hesitated, glanced at the door, but didn’t leave. Instead, she wandered slowly to the back window, leaned on the sill, bathed in sunlight, and listened to the lively bustle from the field.
“Who are you looking for?”
“Uh… Class Five’s… Wang Xinru…”
“Looking for Wang Wang? Hey—Wang Wang! Someone’s looking for you!” Fang Qiang shouted.
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Hello, Wang Xinru!” It was a boy in round glasses. He looked bookish and shy, but he spoke with surprising brightness. Though still a little embarrassed, at least he didn’t freeze up. “I’ve seen you a few times in the hallway before. I’m from Class Four, and I… I… I like you! You—”
Wang Xinru blinked, then shook her head lightly. “Sorry…”
“Ha, haha… just an April Fool’s joke!” The boy instantly lost all courage and bolted.
Fang Qiang glanced back and clicked his tongue. “April Fool’s joke? That’s a pretty lame excuse.” Standing at the door, just about to tease Wang Xinru before leaving, he felt someone tap his shoulder.
“Are you from Class Five?”
“Yeah.”
“You know Wang Xinru?”
“I do.”
“Cough, she’s the busty one, right?” “Damn.”
“Uh, so, um, can you help me deliver this? It’s… a Confession Letter.”
“You do it yourself.”
“Please…”
“She probably won’t say yes.” “But what if she does?”
“Hey—don’t run! Seriously.” Fang Qiang shrugged, speechless. “How can anyone think confessing to a stranger will work right away? They’re nuts.”
“What?”
“Confession Letter.” Fang Qiang placed the pink envelope on Wang Xinru’s desk. “Read it yourself, I’m heading downstairs!”
“Okay…!”
Wang Xinru walked back to her seat, glanced at the pink letter, and shook her head helplessly.
She didn’t open it, just stuffed it into her desk drawer.
As Fang Qiang’s footsteps faded from the hallway, hurried steps came from the other direction.
A fresh-faced boy clung to the doorframe, calling softly, “Wang Xinru—Wang Xinru—”
“Yang Lingfei?”
“Can you come out to the hallway for a minute?”
“Sure.” She nodded lightly, glanced at her own chest, and zipped up her uniform a bit higher.
The few girls still in the classroom looked at her curiously, then ducked their heads together to whisper.
“Who’s that boy? He’s so handsome.”
“Yeah, and so cute. His face is so fair—looks soft.” “Is he here to confess, too?”
“Can’t be, right?”
“Wow… she’s so lucky, even though she’s not that pretty.”
“Actually, she’s not bad?”
“She looks like she’s always sulking—not cute.”
“But other than the sullen look, everything else is beautiful…”
Yang Lingfei led Wang Xinru to the far end of the hallway, out of sight from the classroom—unless someone stuck their head out. He leaned against the railing, smiling shyly. “Wang Xinru, can I call you Xiao Ru?”
“Uh… Are you free after school on Friday? My friend bought two movie tickets, but he doesn’t want them anymore, so he gave them to me…”
Wang Xinru didn’t blush or look shy. Her calm eyes seemed to see right through Yang Lingfei, making him unable to meet her gaze.
She had a faint smile, and suddenly lifted her chin, leaning against the railing.
“You actually didn’t say yes—haha, I thought my prank was going to work!”
“…Yang Lingfei, do you like me?”
“Ah? Uh!!”
“You know, you’re a really gentle guy, a real gentleman, and really handsome… lots of girls must like you?”
“Not really…” He scratched his head, embarrassed. “Those people just like my looks, that’s all.”
“If you want to say you like my personality, well—I’ve got to warn you, I actually don’t have any depth. I’m a pretty superficial girl.”
“Don’t say that, you’re definitely not that kind of person.”
“I mean it.”
“…I don’t believe you.”
“Me… I might never fall in love with anyone again, you know?”
“Well, I—I wasn’t really confessing or anything. Just kidding, just a prank… If you’re mad, I’ll really buy tickets and take you to the movies.”
“Thank you, but Graduation is coming.” Wang Xinru lifted her face even higher. “I don’t want to make too many memories that will make it hard to leave. Otherwise, I might not want to leave this city at all.”
No response.
When she turned around, Yang Lingfei was already gone.
And from the other end of the hallway, a familiar figure appeared—it was An Jing, chatting with others as she walked toward the classroom.
She saw Wang Xinru leaning on the railing and waved with a smile.
“Is pure desire also pure love?” Wang Xinru laughed self-deprecatingly, mumbling to herself.