(1)
The afternoon consisted of four consecutive periods of self-study. Although it was only one afternoon, it gave An Jing an inexplicable feeling that the world was about to end.
The classroom was already a mess. In Class Four next door, even before the final period was half over, many people were already in the hallway with their backpacks, waiting to go home. It seemed Class Five wasn’t the only class without a teacher.
“Whoooo — ooh — !”
“Hahaha!”
“Whoo-hoo — !!”
One might have thought they were at a monkey exhibit; otherwise, why would people keep making those strange, senseless cries?
A whole afternoon of self-study had turned most students into a disorganized mess. Never mind reviewing on their own; even getting them to settle down and do something they wanted was nearly impossible — or perhaps this rowdy, shouting carnival was exactly what they ‘wanted to do.’
The suppression of their daily lives was being released at this moment, and the more intense the suppression, the more violent the release.
Indeed, in this final period, the noisiest wasn’t Class Five, but Junior Three Class 1 on another floor… Sun Wei, who had slipped out to the hallway at some point, patted Fang Qiang’s shoulder hard through the window. “A-Qiang, A-Qiang, get your ass over here! Someone in Class 1 is fighting!”
“A fight in Class 1?”
“Yeah, a few girls are tearing at each other’s hair!”
“What the hell is the point of that?”
“It’s way more interesting than men fighting. They’re even ripping clothes!”
“They’re fighting that hard in Class 1?”
Zhou Chao turned back with a chuckle. “A-Qiang, don’t think that just because girls have good grades, they’re all good little girls.”
“That’s a rarity.”
And so, the last half of the self-study period turned into a crowd gathered by the railing to watch the girls from Class 1 fight. It wasn’t just Class Five watching; other classes were too. Conflicts even broke out among those watching, leading to more fights.
They continued this chaos until the bell rang, and people immediately took off running with their bags.
An Jing, who had also gone out to watch the excitement, looked back at the teacherless classroom, feeling a bit dazed for a moment. It was rare to have a final period end without a teacher announcing their dismissal. Perhaps many years later, she would still occasionally recall this noisy afternoon.
“Xiao Jing, let’s head home too.”
“It’s raining again.” An Jing listened to the light pitter-patter of rain hitting the eaves and leaves. “It feels like it’s been dark outside since the second period this afternoon.”
“Looks like we won’t see the sunset today.”
“Yeah.”
Zhu Ying emptied her pockets and pulled out the last gummy, hesitantly tearing open the package. “Xiao Jing, half each?”
“No… just eat it yourself.”
“It’s corn flavored. I’ll take a bite, and the rest is yours?”
“No, I hate corn gummies the most…”
“Hmph!” Zhu Ying gave a light snort and tossed the remaining corn gummy into her mouth. She chewed loudly, making *smack smack* sounds as if trying to tempt An Jing on purpose.
“Are you an elementary schooler?”
“It’s delicious! You’re missing out!”
“I’ve never seen a corn gummy that actually tasted good…”
(2)
In the dark curtain of rain, the entire school was in an uproar. It seemed that not just Junior Three, but many Junior Two classes were also having self-study. The crowds were all mixed together. Regardless of grade, everyone was dismissed at the same time, and students rushed out of the school as if competing to see who could run faster.
An Jing was chatting with Zhu Ying about the math problems they had just finished. As they walked out of the school gates, she saw a familiar sedan parked in the rain.
The engine was still running, and the headlights cast two beams of pale yellow light. The dark lines of rain became visible there, like dashed lines in an origami book.
‘Usually, next to such lines, there would be the five big characters “Cut along this line.”‘
Although there were streetlights, the street still felt dim. The glass looked pitch black, with only translucent beads of water slowly sliding down the windows. The car body vibrated slightly, and puffs of white vapor drifted from the exhaust pipe, only to be swallowed by the rain and mist before they could travel far.
‘That’s Sister Huihui’s car.’ An Jing glanced at the license plate with some confusion and walked to the window near the driver’s seat.
The window rolled down slowly, revealing Yu Minghui’s face, which carried a hint of sorrow. “Xiao Jing.”
“Sister Huihui, why are you here to pick me up today? Is it because of the rain?”
“No.” Yu Minghui shook her head. “Eldest Uncle passed away. We’re keeping vigil tonight, and the cremation is tomorrow.”
“Huh? When did this happen?”
“He was pronounced dead early yesterday morning.” Yu Minghui frowned slightly. “I only found out today as well.”
“What about Sister Fei?”
“Feifei has to go too. One person from every family must attend. You are going as the representative for your household.”
“Oh…” An Jing nodded blankly, then looked at Zhu Ying, who was standing beside her holding an umbrella. “Xiao Ying, do you want to get in? Sister Huihui can drop you off at your door on the way.”
“It might not be on the way.”
“Is it on the way, Sister Huihui?”
“It is.”
“Coming?”
“Um — maybe not? Since it’s such an important matter, I’ll just walk back myself.”
An Jing licked her teeth and suddenly grabbed Zhu Ying’s wrist. “Just get in if I tell you to. It’s on the way, and neither Sister Huihui nor I mind!”
“Yeah, the rain is getting heavier. You’ll get wet even with an umbrella. Hurry and get in.”
“Fine, wow — Xiao Jing, what are you doing? Dragging me in all of a sudden. I can walk by myself!”
“I was just afraid you’d say ‘forget it’ again.”
“What, you don’t want me to walk back alone?”
“I just didn’t want to see you being stubborn for no reason,” An Jing said while pursing her lips.
“What do you mean stubborn for no reason? I just didn’t want to trouble anyone else.”
“I’m not ‘anyone else,’ and Sister Huihui doesn’t treat you like a stranger either.” An Jing rested her chin in her hand and looked out the window, intentionally avoiding eye contact with Zhu Ying, who had rested her chin on An Jing’s shoulder. “Why act so distant?”
Zhu Ying was stunned for a moment and was about to argue, but then she smiled brightly and pressed her face against An Jing’s back. “Xiao Jing might be a bit dense, but she’s always very kind.”
“A dense person can’t be kind…”
“How is that impossible?”
“Is it possible?”
“It is.”
“Ugh.”
(3)
After Zhu Ying got out of the car, the atmosphere inside suddenly turned cold. The highway was pitch black, and the two beams of light from the car were like blunt daggers, unable to pierce the boundless darkness.
“How did Eldest Uncle…” An Jing asked in a low voice, hesitating.
Yu Minghui kept her hands on the steering wheel. Every strand of her hair was as stiff as iron wire, not moving in the slightest. “Lung disease — a chronic issue.”
“Oh.”
The short journey was filled with a long silence until they picked up Yu Mingfei, who had just finished work. As soon as she opened the door and sat down, she brought a lively energy with her, making the stagnant air active again.
“Whew, this rain is freezing me to death! I should have worn more layers!”
“Uh… it was a bit cold this afternoon.” An Jing turned her head to look at Yu Mingfei, who was wearing flesh-colored stockings, high heels, and professional women’s attire. “Are you busy today, Sister Fei?”
“Dead quiet. No customers.”
“Then it’s quite relaxed.”
“Relaxed is one thing, but that means no money. Besides, I don’t even know if I can meet this month’s performance targets — they keep increasing them every month. It’s annoying me to death.”
“If it’s really that bad, just change jobs.”
“Easy for you to say. Changing jobs is a huge hassle.” Yu Mingfei grumbled and started listing examples of the difficulties of switching jobs, but she suddenly stopped at a traffic light and asked abruptly, “Huihui, are my parents coming back?”
“Your parents aren’t coming.”
“Figures. They’ve been busy with business lately, and they had some unpleasantness with Eldest Uncle before.” Yu Mingfei shrugged. “He’s dead, and they’re still holding a grudge.”
“They’re just busy. Don’t overthink it.” Yu Minghui glanced at Yu Mingfei’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Twelfth Uncle and Aunt didn’t come either.”
The so-called Twelfth Uncle was actually An Jing’s father.
“That’s different. He’s been busy campaigning for Bureau Director lately, so it’s normal for him to be tied up…” Yu Mingfei pursed her lips. “So, Eldest Uncle didn’t pull through this time after all?”
“Yeah.”
“Pneumoconiosis…”
“How did Eldest Uncle get pneumoconiosis anyway?” An Jing was a bit confused.
“You didn’t know, Xiao Jing?” Yu Mingfei leaned back hard against the seat, adjusting herself into a more comfortable position. “Back in Eldest Uncle’s era, many people went to work in quarries to dig stones when they were only 16 or 17 — not mining, just simply digging and excavating stones.”
“With their hands?”
“Yes, digging bit by bit with their hands. Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle did it too, but they only did it for a few years before the quarry closed. Eldest Uncle, however, did it for 10 or so years. Protection wasn’t good back then, and he inhaled a lot of stone dust — so he contracted pneumoconiosis when he was very young, and it got worse every year…”
“Ah. Were they forced to go dig stones? Why didn’t they refuse back then?”
“When Eldest Uncle was young, there weren’t many jobs. Although digging stones didn’t pay much at the time, it was much better than most people who were constantly going hungry.”
“So that’s how it was…”
“I heard my dad almost went to the quarry too, but it closed just as he was about to go.” Yu Mingfei chuckled and flicked An Jing’s forehead. “In our area, we didn’t have much back then except mountains and stones. It wasn’t like other places where you could make money through other means.”
“Was it that poor back then?”
“Of course it was. Even having enough to eat was a problem. Besides, Eldest Uncle didn’t just have to support himself back then; he had to help support all those younger brothers and sisters. That’s why I say, my dad is clearly free but won’t come — he really has no conscience — “
“Back then, Eldest Uncle came home once a month. Every time, he brought back lots of rice and flour, and sometimes meat — my dad told me that.”
“That’s exactly it.”
“Then my dad should have come as well.”
“Your dad is different. It must be because he’s in a critical period…”
“One person from each family is enough. You two shouldn’t overthink it — after all, everyone has plenty of reasons not to come and many things to keep them busy.” Yu Minghui tapped the steering wheel lightly with her finger, as if playing along with the rhythmic clicking of the turn signal.
The green light turned on amidst the sudden silence, and the car followed the turn of the steering wheel to the left…