(1)
May 31, 2010, Monday.
The evening is one of the most enjoyable times of day for students.
Of course, that only applies to the students of Small City No.2 Middle School who get to leave school normally.
Oh, right, and that doesn’t include An Jing today.
Because today she was kept after school to help grade test papers. She was joined by two other students who ranked in the top three of their class.
And of course, they were old acquaintances… One was class president Zhang Qiqi, and the other was vice monitor Zhou Chao.
Although Zhu Ying wasn’t one of the ones singled out, she voluntarily stayed behind as well. When An Jing saw Wen Ye’s sly smile, she strongly suspected it was intentional.
After all, whether Wen Ye kept her or Zhu Ying, in the end, the two of them would leave together and head home.
Zhu Ying’s grades weren’t at the top of the entire grade, but they were good enough in Class Five. She had managed to place in the top ten of the class during the last midterm exam, so grading test papers for subjects she was good at was no problem at all.
Outside the window, the evening glow gradually sank. Wen Ye, who had finally finished grading all the test papers in her hands, stretched lazily.
“The homework assigned over the weekend was way too much. I’m exhausted from grading it all.”
“You know it’s too much, Wen…”
“Since the Zhong Kao is coming up, I still have to make sure you all take it seriously. Otherwise, wouldn’t there be no pressure at all?” Wen Ye lightly chuckled and patted An Jing on the head. “So, have you finished grading the test papers for the other subjects?”
Although she was only an English teacher, everyone was grading assignments for all subjects. Each one came with a standard answer key provided by the respective subject teacher. It was essentially just grunt work—just check against the answers.
Of course, in the process, seeing all kinds of bizarre answers provided some amusing entertainment.
The most laughter came from the physics and chemistry test papers. When it came to the application questions, all sorts of wild and imaginative solutions appeared.
And of course, there was no shortage of students who had copied homework—after all, when they were told today to hand in their weekend assignments, it caught many off guard.
They hadn’t collected homework in a long time, so everyone had gotten a bit slack. Many had been sure there would be no collection, so they simply didn’t do it.
Zhu Ying was one of them. Having not copied homework in a long time, she had experienced firsthand the feeling of her hand almost falling off this morning.
“Teacher Wenwen, what was it like during the Zhong Kao?” Zhu Ying propped her chin on her hand and asked curiously.
“The Zhong Kao? That’s way too long ago. I don’t even remember what it felt like.” Wen Ye shook her head. “At our last class reunion, we barely recognized each other.”
“Ha, Wen holds class reunions? Did you organize them?” Zhou Chao chuckled.
“I didn’t organize them, but I attended them—not just junior high, high school, and university reunions, but even an elementary school reunion two years ago. Tsk tsk.”
“Elementary school…? Do you actually remember anyone?”
“I don’t remember at all! It was pretty awkward. At that reunion, even when we talked about elementary school stuff, we could only recall fragments. It’s way too far in the past.”
“That’s normal,” Zhou Chao nodded. “My memories of my elementary school classmates are already pretty vague.”
“Then which class reunion does Teacher Wen think was the best… or rather, the most touching?” Zhu Ying asked again.
An Jing jumped in: “I think it must be university, since that’s the last school you attend.”
“Nope, the most touching… probably high school. People generally still remember things from that time, and the feelings were pretty sincere back then.”
“So, does Wen hold high school reunions every year?”
“No, the most recent one was five years ago. I probably won’t have any more from now on. Everyone has long since gone their separate ways to different places.” Wen Ye gently shook her head and pressed down on An Jing’s head. “Alright, alright, don’t ask so many questions. You have to experience these life milestones for yourselves! Now hurry home! If you don’t leave soon, it’ll be dark!”
(2)
The days are getting longer. If it were spring or winter, the sky would already be pitch black, the streetlights would have lit up long ago, and the roads would be filled with glaring car headlights.
But now, the sky hasn’t completely darkened. In the distance, the evening glow, already lower than the streetlights, slanted its rays across the earth, painting the low walls with a faint orange-red hue.
The four of them stood at the school gate, their shadows stretched long, intertwining with the swaying tree shadows.
Usually, when school let out, there would be vendors selling snacks from three-wheeled carts at the gate. But now it was too late. The students had all dispersed, and there were hardly any people left on campus. Most of the snack carts had already moved elsewhere for the night market. Only one roasted sausage stand remained, probably planning to sell its last few items and then pack up.
“Boss, four sausages, fry the skin crispy.” Zhou Chao, familiar with the prices, tossed a five-yuan bill into the plastic bowl used for change. “Two without spicy, two with spicy.”
“Put some sweet bean paste on mine!” An Jing didn’t hesitate when she was with Zhou Chao, and she knew for sure one of them was for her.
“Got it! These are already fried, just need to heat them up.” The owner responded quickly and busied himself with his work.
“I want spicy.” “I know.” Zhou Chao smiled and glanced sideways at Zhang Qiqi. “You like spicy food, right?”
“You remember pretty clearly, huh?”
“Didn’t have to try to remember.”
“For Zhou Chao, that’s practically instinct. Otherwise, how could he remember all the preferences of his many different girlfriends…”
“Ha, I’ll take that as a compliment, okay?”
“It was already a compliment. I couldn’t do it.”
“Hmph… you want to do that?” Zhu Ying snorted softly and wrapped one arm around An Jing’s.
“Hey… it’s too hot…”
“Suffer!”
“Ha ha—” Zhou Chao looked back with a hint of envy. “I hope you two get to be in the same class in high school too.”
“Same class isn’t enough—same desk!”
“That’s too greedy, don’t you think?” An Jing tilted her head to look at Zhu Ying.
“People need dreams! Otherwise, what’s the difference between them and a salted fish?”
“High school teachers won’t be as easygoing as Wen, you know…”
“Here, sausages are ready. This one has sweet bean paste.”
“Ah, that one’s mine!”
(3)
The four of them walked slowly together, and the streetlights lit up one by one with their footsteps.
“Zhou Chao, not rushing home today?”
“Yeah, need to buy something from the shopping street.”
“What good stuff?”
“Nothing much, just some CDs. I installed a CD player on my bike, so now I can listen to music while riding my motorcycle.”
“No way, that kind of good stuff?”
“Ha ha, took a lot of work to modify.”
“Did you take one off a car and install it?”
“How could that fit! It’s a motorcycle-specific one.” Zhou Chao draped his arm over An Jing’s shoulder. “What songs do you want to listen to next time we go for a ride?”
“Initial D!”
“Knew you’d ask for that…”
“Speaking of which, your high school senior girlfriend is about to take the Gao Kao, right?” Zhang Qiqi, who was walking beside them with her hands behind her back, playing a shadow-stomping game, suddenly looked up and smiled.
“Yeah, she said she got early admission, but… doesn’t seem like it.”
“Oh~ so she’ll be going off to university soon.”
“Heh… yeah.”
“Doesn’t seem too worried?” Zhang Qiqi asked with feigned curiosity—but in reality, she probably had a good idea what Zhou Chao was thinking.
“What’s there to worry about? Some things, you see coming.”
“Thinking about breaking up before you even start dating… sometimes I feel kind of sorry for you.”
“Yeah, I’m pitiful like that. So, when I break up, maybe you can take over?” Zhou Chao joked.
“Sure.” Zhang Qiqi’s answer was actually surprising. “But you have to pass my test first.”
“Ooh, there’s a test?”
“Of course.”
“What test?” An Jing leaned in curiously, but was pulled back by Zhu Ying.
“Well, that’s a secret!”
“Pretty mysterious.”
“So, are you looking forward to it?”
“Ha, sounds interesting.” Zhou Chao laughed heartily. Zhang Qiqi also smirked with a hint of triumph.
An Jing lowered her voice: “Both of them are weirder than the other. Dating is like playing a game to them.”
“Sometimes I really feel like Qiqi is someone who’s been through a lot too… but actually, it seems like she’s never been in a relationship.”
“Someone who’s never been in love dating someone who’s been in love countless times, yet she’s the one with the psychological advantage…”
“I bet Qiqi can rein Zhou Chao in!”
“I think they’d be better off staying friends. Such good friends breaking up after a relationship and never talking again would be such a waste…”
“Yeah, right…”
“What are you two whispering about? Gossiping behind our backs?” Zhang Qiqi bit her sausage with her mouth and used her free hand to press down on both their heads. “Spill it! What bad things were you saying about me just now?”
“Nothing, Qiqi~”
“I’m saying that you two should just stay good friends. That way, you can keep your good relationship forever.”
“Me and him?”
“Me and her?”
Zhou Chao and Zhang Qiqi said in unison:
“Good relationship?”
Then they looked at each other and couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
“Such great chemistry. You really do have a good relationship, don’t you, Xiao Jing?”
“Yeah… Zhou Chao, you find girlfriends fast enough anyway. Save a little room for genuine friendship.”
“Ha, why do you make it sound like we’re about to start dating?”
“Tch, you’re definitely going to break up anyway…” An Jing pouted.
“Zhou Chao, you’re always getting new girlfriends. Why not try a boyfriend for a change?” Zhu Ying puckered her lips and teased.
“Boyfriend? Sure, An Jing, how about you be my boyfriend?”
“Get lost!!! Has the fox spirit finally shown its tail and is coming for Xiao Jing?!”
“Whoa—! Don’t hug so tight, I can’t breathe—”
“Ha ha ha…”
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