(1)
April 9, 2010, Friday.
As the early morning sunlight first reached into the classroom, the door was pushed open. A breeze began to swirl through the room, sweeping away the drifting dust.
Today was the day the midterm results were released, as well as the day for the parent-teacher meeting. An Jing wasn’t particularly worried about it; not only was she not afraid of failing, but she also wasn’t concerned about being scolded for other things.
After all, the one coming to the meeting was her elder cousin, Yu Minghui, who had always been a gentle and reasonable person.
To be honest, when An Jing was younger, she always felt that if she were to marry a wife in the future, it would have to be someone like Yu Minghui — virtuous, kind, and possessed of her own firm boundaries, never easily swayed by the opinions of others.
“Yo, you came by yourself today?” Zhou Chao pressed a can of hot coffee against An Jing’s cheek, then sat down with a faint smile in the seat across the narrow aisle — that was Wang Xinru’s seat.
“Xiao Ying has to take an exam today. She said if she passes, she can get recommended for admission to a few specific schools in the provincial capital.”
“Recommended admission? Her grades must be really good, then.”
“Not exactly. It seems like that thing isn’t open to ordinary people. Only a few people with connections can get those spots.”
“Ha, it must be nice having someone in the family working for the government. Why didn’t you go, kid?”
“I don’t have a spot.”
“Your dad didn’t fight for one for you?”
An Jing’s expression turned exceptionally awkward. “Maybe I just don’t need an exam to get a spot…”
“Whoa, talk about connections. Then again, your dad’s rank is higher than Zhu Ying’s dad’s, right?”
“Well… if I can test in on my own, I’d rather do that.” An Jing scratched her cheek lightly. “Getting in through connections makes me feel like I can’t hold my head up high.”
“What does it matter? If you don’t say anything, no one will know. Even if they did, they’d only respect you more.”
“If they’re going to respect someone, it’s my dad. What does it have to do with me? By the way, what about you? Are you going straight to the provincial capital for the exams when the time comes?”
“I’ll finish the high school entrance exams first. If my score is good enough, I can take the school’s entrance exam directly. If you don’t use your connections, your process will probably be about the same as mine.”
“Oh, right. Does that mean we can go to the same school?”
“Haha, that’s not for certain. It depends on how your dad arranges things.”
“True… the provincial capital is so big, after all.” An Jing sighed. “But at least we’ll be in the same city then, so we’ll have more chances to see each other. The others, though, I’m not so sure.”
“Every graduation is a step toward growing up, and every step toward growing up requires a separation.” Zhou Chao patted An Jing’s shoulder gently. “Just get used to it. That’s life.”
“You talk like you’ve been through it so many times.” An Jing curled her lip. “I just hope the relationships between us old friends don’t fade away…”
“Some things are unavoidable, but you, me, A-Qiang, and well, probably Wangwang too — the four of us will always be friends. No matter how long we go without talking, we’ll always feel like old friends at first sight.”
“Is that how you use ‘old friends at first sight’?” An Jing propped up her chin and yawned, covering her small mouth with her fingers. “But at least if we go to the provincial capital, you and Xiao Ying will still be there.”
“Stop making it sound like I’m your girlfriend too, alright?” Zhou Chao teased, poking An Jing’s forehead. “By the way, are you free after school today?”
“I think so. Xiao Ying went to T-City for her exam, so she probably won’t be home until 6:00 or 7:00 PM.”
“Good. Come with me to the mountain today.”
An Jing froze for a moment, then suddenly realized. “Oh — you mean it’s that day again?”
“Yeah.”
“Have you actually forgotten her or not?”
“There’s no need to intentionally forget. This is also a reminder for me.” Zhou Chao smiled and patted An Jing’s shoulder. “Then it’s settled. Accompany me this afternoon.”
“I get it… to commemorate the dead you.” An Jing threw up her hands. “I feel like you still care a lot.”
“Care, my ass,” Zhou Chao laughed and cursed. “I only care about myself.”
“Like I’d believe that.” An Jing wore a ‘don’t act like I don’t know you’ expression. She picked up the hot coffee that had been pressed against her face and pulled the tab with a *click*. “Are you going to drink alcohol again this time?”
“No. What do you want to eat later? It’s my treat.”
“We’ll talk after school.”
(2)
The Friday noon sunlight was so warm it made one feel that nothing in the world was anything less than beautiful.
Since turning into a girl, An Jing felt that she was becoming increasingly prone to laziness. Normally, she would go play basketball at noon, but now, if Zhu Ying didn’t call her downstairs for a walk, she probably wouldn’t even want to leave the classroom.
“An-An has been so sleepy lately.” Wang Xinru held a cup of willow leaf tea and took a small sip. “Aren’t you going out to get some sun in such nice weather?”
“I’ll nap for a bit, then do homework during the indoor nap time.” An Jing squinted her eyes sleepily. “How is Wangwang? Is your cold all better?”
“I still have a bit of a cough…”
“It’ll pass in a few days. Are you attending the parent-teacher meeting tonight?”
“Ms. Ye said she would give the materials directly to me after school, so I don’t have to attend.”
“Oh, she’s actually quite easy to talk to.” An Jing stretched her arms, lightly touching the podium barrier right in front of her. “School ends early today. Are you going straight home or going to work?”
“I probably won’t be working lately… Resting is more important. Are you going somewhere this afternoon, An-An?”
“I’m accompanying that massive idiot Zhou Chao to do something only a fool would do.” An Jing replaced a piece of chalk that had fallen from the podium. “You know about it, right? Uh… maybe you’re not clear? He used to have a childhood sweetheart. They were a couple since kindergarten, through primary school, and they even went to the same middle school. They almost ended up in the same class, but then… someone snatched her away.”
“So that’s why… Xiao Ai didn’t end up with Zhou Chao, and there are rumors that he changes girlfriends frequently.” Wang Xinru exhaled a soft breath. “At first, I thought Zhou Chao had dumped Xiao Ai… then I thought they might have broken up on good terms.”
“Good terms? Well, who knows? Anyway, he cried very hard back then.”
“Had Xiao Ai… already been with her new boyfriend for a while at that time?”
“For at least 2 months.”
“Hmm… She… actually did something like that.”
“Yeah. They hadn’t even been apart for long, and they still went home together after school every day.”
“What happened next? Did she transfer schools?”
“No, she’s still here, just on a different floor. If you don’t actively look for her, you won’t see her.” An Jing used her fingers to push back the hair that the wind had blown across her eyes. “If you see her, just pretend you didn’t. If you try to say hello, you might be the one who ends up embarrassed.”
“I see…” Wang Xinru sighed softly, then smiled gently. “I used to play with her quite often.”
“Actually, you only became close with her in fourth grade, right?”
“Yeah.”
“How did you meet?”
“…She took me along to play when you weren’t around.”
“Oh… thinking back now, it’s really quite incredible.”
“Right? We all thought they would grow old together and get married.”
“Uh…” An Jing looked into Wang Xinru’s dark eyes, but the latter smiled calmly and didn’t look away.
“Did you do the math homework?”
“I’ll do it in a bit… let me sleep for a while…” An Jing turned her head away, then picked up a pen and started writing something on a piece of paper, *rustle, rustle*.
A moment later, a note was handed over.
Wang Xinru looked at the note, which had been folded into a small square, but without even reading it, she stood up and threw it into the trash can.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“You didn’t read it?”
“No.”
“Ah… you threw it away without reading it?”
“It’s probably just some gloomy words anyway. I don’t want to see them.”
“Hey, now…”
“I might be going abroad with my father after middle school graduation. You don’t have to worry—”
“I wasn’t talking about that… Uh, are you really going abroad?”
“It’s very likely.”
“Then won’t we… not be able to see each other again? Last time was for several years, but after this, it might be over 10 years?”
“It might even be for a lifetime.”
“…If you’re over there…” An Jing swallowed. “I hope you can…”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“Alright, alright.” It was An Jing’s first time seeing such a forceful side of Wang Xinru. She knit her brows slightly, unsure of what emotion was swirling in her heart.
“If I go abroad, maybe I’ll send you some things.” Seeing An Jing look nervous, Wang Xinru’s expression softened again — compared to a smile, perhaps this bitter face was more suited for making stern expressions.
“Letters? Photos? Local specialties or something?”
“Possibly all of those… If there’s something An-An likes, I’ll send it to you.”
“Then I’ll send you whatever you want from here.”
“Is it a deal?”
“Yeah, it’s a deal.”
(3)
Friday’s dismissal came very early.
Sometimes it came so early that one barely had time to react before the cleanup crew had already started their duties.
“Make sure everything is cleaned properly today! Don’t slack off! Thunder Tiger, are you painting with that mop? Can you be a bit more serious?”
“You woman, you’re so annoying.”
“How come you aren’t annoyed when you’re copying my homework?”
“Cough… fine, fine, fine…!!”
“Zhou Chao, let’s go play games!” Sun Wei called out from the doorway.
“Not today. I have things to do.”
“Damn, it’s finally Friday! What about A-Qiang?”
“I’m going to work.”
“You guys are so damn busy. It’s finally Friday, my mom finally isn’t home today, and I finally have the chance to cut loose… damn it…”
“You can just go play by yourself,” An Jing joked, enjoying his misfortune.
“Playing by myself is boring as hell! Of course I need friends there!”
“Sun Wei —” A student suddenly ran over from the hallway. “The math teacher wants you to go to the office for tutoring.”
“Are you kidding me?!”
“Good luck, brother. Looks like you can’t even go play games by yourself now.” Zhou Chao patted his shoulder cheerfully. “I hope you can get home before dark.”
“Can’t you say something nice!”
“I’m off,” Fang Qiang said, waving his hand.
“I’m going to wait for Wangwang. She went to the head teacher’s office to get some things.”
“Alright, I’ll head out first then.”
“I’m going to the gate to buy ice cream. There’s probably a line right now. An Jing, what flavor do you want?”
“Strawberry.”
“Wangwang will probably still want blueberry.” Zhou Chao nodded. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
“Okay…”