(1)
The impact made her dizzy, seeing stars, almost making An Jing think she was about to meet Grandma Huang.
—Grandma Huang was a big yellow dog her grandpa used to own.
“Ugh… hiss… my head…”
“Who is it? Can’t you look where you’re going!”
A somewhat aggressive female voice rang out, the resonance in her chest making An Jing’s head vibrate along.
She rubbed her forehead and shakily got up.
Looking closely, she realized she had just crashed into Zhang Qiqi.
And she hadn’t hit her back; it was a solid hit to the chest.
“Ah… I accidentally ran too fast.”
Even though it was her fault, An Jing wasn’t really inclined to apologize to her.
But the other party was unforgiving. After standing up, she put her hands on her hips, “You hit me so hard, how are you going to compensate me?”
“I want compensation too! Why is your chest so hard? Did you train it?”
A few classmates sitting nearby couldn’t help but snicker.
Zhang Qiqi glared at her fiercely, gritting her teeth, “An—Jing—Are you tired of living?!”
“Hmph, you wait.”
“Afraid of you? Come at me if you dare.”
An Jing bared her teeth, putting on a defiant look.
Unfortunately, her current height was completely insufficient, forcing her to look up at Zhang Qiqi, which immediately cost her a lot of her intimidating presence.
This phrase was often used when boys and girls bickered, mainly because when boys said it, they wouldn’t lose out in any way, but would instead manage to infuriate the girl into embarrassment and anger.
“Then I’ll have to call a boy over.”
“You motherf—”
However, who was Zhang Qiqi?
An Jing was immediately humiliated in return.
Adding to that, she remembered her awkward situation in the boys’ restroom just now, and her face instantly flushed with anger.
“Idiot! Nasty woman! Ptooey!”
“Hmph, I won’t stoop to your level, young lady.”
Zhang Qiqi lifted her chin, let out a soft snort, brushed off dust from her clothes, walked past An Jing, brushing her shoulder, and then just as she was about to step out of the classroom door, she unexpectedly gave An Jing’s bottom a hard pat.
“Hehe, little girl, wash up and wait for me in bed!”
“Damn it!”
An Jing, feeling like she’d been teased like a girl, instantly got goosebumps.
With a disgusted look, she walked back to her seat and sat down, only to see Zhu Ying looking at her with a slight frown.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine… just bumped a bit.”
“Th-that… how are your feet? They w-weren’t fully recovered…”
Wang Xinru asked worriedly.
“Ah… that… holy crap…”
An Jing had originally wanted to casually say “I’m fine,” but unexpectedly, once her body relaxed, a tearing pain immediately shot through her right foot.
Perhaps it was just the pain-relieving effect of adrenaline earlier…
Her adorable little face instantly contorted, her waist bent like a shrimp, unable to straighten for a long time.
“Let’s go to the infirmary…”
Zhu Ying said softly.
“No!”
An Jing took a deep breath, looked up, and then saw Wang Xinru’s “bitter gourd” face very close, almost touching hers.
“Holy crap, what are you doing? You startled me…”
“Want me to… rub it?”
“No, no… boys and girls shouldn’t touch each other!”
“Then do you want me to rub it?”
Sun Wei had, unknowingly, approached.
“Get lost!”
An Jing quickly raised two middle fingers.
***
(2)
Noon at the small city’s Second Middle School included a long lunch break.
Even for the third-year junior high students, this was the case.
Students either buried themselves in tall stacks of books and test papers for a nap, or they gathered to chat, or read novels, doing their own things.
Of course, many also played on their phones.
—Although the school rules prohibited bringing phones, the enforcement wasn’t strict, so practically everyone carried one.
Fang Qiang, who usually played basketball at noon, was sitting silently in his seat today.
It was obvious at a glance that he was preoccupied with worries.
The back of the classroom during lunchtime was very noisy.
Since the seating arrangement had changed, everyone’s gathering spot had become near Zhou Chao—because he sat in the corner by the back door, and if the back door was closed, that small area was the most suitable place for chatting.
An Jing rested her chin on her hand and glanced at Fang Qiang again—he sat in the last row of the second large group.
Although not far from Zhou Chao, his area seemed much quieter.
She sighed and got up to walk towards him.
Although she didn’t particularly want to listen, the boys around Zhou Chao were talking so loudly that every word seemed to jump into her ears.
“Zhou Chao, did you get another new girlfriend?”
“Didn’t change.”
“Then I heard you broke up? Honestly, that second-year junior high sister was pretty hot.”
“Broke up, haven’t found a new one, how can that be considered changing?”
“Damn it, anyway, it won’t be long before another girl appears.”
“You guys, this world is too strange. Zhou Chao, this guy, is ‘famous,’ how come girls still want to be his girlfriend?”
“That’s my charm, understand?”
“Damn!”
An Jing walked up to Fang Qiang and patted his back, “Hey, in a bad mood today?”
“A little, yeah.”
Fang Qiang forced an ugly smile.
“Things at home aren’t great. To take care of my dad, my mom quit her house-cleaning job, and the family needs money everywhere… My mom’s not in great health either. After my dad gets better, she might even need a hospital checkup. Sigh, but everything costs money.”
Although An Jing grew up in a small city, both her parents had good jobs in the provincial capital.
While they didn’t give her pocket money, she certainly wouldn’t lack for basic living expenses, and it was even less likely that she’d have to worry about the family’s finances.
“Oh… But you can’t really do anything, you’re still in school.”
She lightly hopped up and sat directly on Fang Qiang’s desk, her legs swinging gently, looking out at the corridor through the window.
“Yeah, there’s nothing I can do. I’m thinking, maybe I should go work after junior high graduation.”
“Huh? Go to work after junior high? No way, it’s already 2009. By next year, the millennium era will be over. In this day and age, how can you not study?”
“Who says? Plenty of big bosses are uneducated.”
“Before was before, now is now. Back then, everyone was uneducated, and there were more opportunities. But now, you definitely have to study, even if you go to a vocational school, right? Otherwise, it’s hard to find a job with just a junior high diploma.”
“Sigh, that’s why I’m… so hesitant.”
Fang Qiang sighed.
“I regret not studying hard. If I could get into a regular high school, I’d be at peace, but you know, going to those vocational high schools and technical colleges is useless except for getting a diploma, and it wastes three years. And if I’m already ‘mixing around’ [not studying seriously], I’d definitely have to go to a junior college too, even the worst kind… The worse the junior college, the more expensive it is.”
“My family doesn’t have money to begin with, and I’m not good at studying. Instead of wasting money, wouldn’t it be better to earn some back?”
An Jing patted his head, remaining silent for a long moment.
Honestly, she didn’t have a definitive answer for this kind of situation either.
She even found it hard to imagine that Fang Qiang, still only in junior high, was already considering facing the realities of society.
He wasn’t even an adult yet.
“Hmm… This is your life. Only you can decide.”
“Sigh, I know.”
“Or you could work for two years, then join the army when you’re an adult? If you join the army, not having an education shouldn’t be a problem, right? And I heard there are military academies in the army where they pay you, and you get money when you leave, and they even help you find a job!”
“Ah… the army, huh? I heard it’s quite tough, but it’s a path, I guess.”
Fang Qiang glanced at An Jing, then suddenly smiled.
“I don’t know why, but I always feel like you look both familiar and unfamiliar.”
“Ah… ah? Wh-What’s wrong? Why say that?”
“I don’t know, it just feels like you look very different from before. Uh… maybe my memory from elementary school is clearer. Back then, you weren’t so… um… delicate-looking.”
“Yes… yes, I’ve changed quite a bit.”
An Jing gave a dry laugh.
“Actually, I found it quite strange today. By rights, everyone should be used to it by now, but I didn’t expect so many people to be so surprised by you.”
“Well, there are always people from other classes who don’t know me.”
“But we’ve been studying for almost three years now, they should all recognize you.”
Fang Qiang’s words made An Jing nervous, but fortunately, he was someone who didn’t like to overthink, so he just said a few casual words and didn’t delve deeper.
“Right, An Jing, what are you planning for the future?”
“Me? I don’t know… I’ll definitely go to high school first, then get into a university, preferably a bachelor’s degree, and after that… not sure yet, I’ll figure it out after university.”
“What kind of job do you want after graduating from university?”
“That’s too far away. I don’t have any ideas yet.”
“Geez, life just passes by in a flash.”
“What are you talking about? You sound like you’ve aged all of a sudden.”
“It kind of feels that way.”
“Oh, come on, you’re just an underage kid!”
“Says you, like you’re older than me.”
“Of course, I’m much older than you!”
An Jing lifted her chin, feigning pride.
Fang Qiang twitched his lips, “Forget it, we’re too old for that kind of comparison.”
“Last year, you insisted on comparing yourself to me.”
“Last year was last year, this year is this year. Now, I’ve—I’m not that childish anymore.”
“If growing up means becoming more and more boring, then growing up is quite meaningless.”
An Jing suddenly sighed with emotion, jumping off the desk, “No, I have to go to the restroom…”
“You haven’t gone all morning, have you?”
***
(3)
The corridor during lunchtime was very lively.
Every floor except the fifth had many students, making the restrooms unusable.
No matter which boys’ restroom she went to, she would definitely attract a lot of stares.
An Jing could only go to the fifth floor.
There were no classes here; it was a place for students to have experimental lessons.
During lunchtime, it was naturally empty.
The corridor, which had felt crowded downstairs, now felt quite spacious.
She quickly walked to the restroom door, and then she heard… strange sounds coming from the girls’ restroom next door.
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Strange sounds..? 🤨