(1)
Wednesday, for students, was always a day that left little impression.
It was neither Monday, making the next weekend feel impossibly far away, nor Friday, which brought immense excitement.
It was neither here nor there, neither front nor back, just as ordinary and unremarkable as countless people’s lives.
The large iron gate of Xiao Cheng No. 2 Middle School had just opened when students happily ran out, stepping on their long, slanting shadows.
Their day of study over, welcoming their own time.
There might be a lot of homework, but most people weren’t too worried.
The future was still far off, and the boys’ hearts were only in the present; their worries and melancholy always came and went quickly.
A big, burly boy rushed out of school with an empty backpack, threw an arm around a tall, slender, handsome boy.
Before he could fully stop, another shorter boy came running and suddenly jumped up, using his hands and feet like a monkey, sprawling onto the big boy’s back.
“Damn it! Who is it!”
“Haha, A Qiang, aren’t you going to the hospital, you bastard?”
“My cousin is free these days, he’s coming to take care of my dad, so I don’t need to go—you bastard, A Wei, you get down!”
“Hehe, then you’re coming with us to see An Jing?”
“Yeah, he didn’t come yesterday, didn’t come today either, don’t know what’s up with him—”
Fang Qiang turned to the slender boy, “Zhou Chao, can your phone check QQ? Has An Jing replied to you?”
“He said he’s fine, but it’s still better to go check on him.”
Zhou Chao, with his hands in his pockets, smiled easily.
“Brothers, gotta show some care.”
“Yeah.”
Fang Qiang slapped his forehead.
“Say, should we buy some fruit to take with us?”
“I don’t think we need to, but we can buy some.”
“Let’s buy some, it makes us look more sincere, doesn’t it?”
Sun Wei pulled out a somewhat bent cigarette from his pocket.
“Are you guys smoking?”
“Damn it, smoking right after leaving school, are you suicidal?!”
Zhou Chao yelled exaggeratedly.
“I’m out of school, those nie du (swear word, literally ‘nirvana degree’) can’t control me anymore!”
Sun Wei said with disdain, “This young master just loves to smoke! A Qiang, want one?”
“No, your cigarette smells like shit.”
“Fuck, smoke or don’t smoke, I don’t even want to offer you one!”
Many stores in small cities would secretly sell cigarettes to minors, and they were very “considerate,” allowing them to buy one by one.
The cheapest one cost only five mao (0.5 RMB).
Some people would skip snacks just to buy two cigarettes every day.
Zhou Chao pulled a clean cigarette box from his shirt pocket; even its corners were sharp, as if just bought.
“A Qiang, want a Liqun?”
“Good cigarette—no, are you really smoking?”
“Exactly, who was just saying I was suicidal?”
“Haha, seeing you smoke, I kind of want one too.”
“Have one.”
Fang Qiang nodded.
“A Wei, lighter.”
“Here!”
The three lit their cigarettes with the same lighter and took a satisfying puff.
Smoke swirled.
“Run, the duty teacher is catching smokers!”
Just then, two boys from another class rushed up.
Although they were strangers, they kindly warned them.
The three turned around and indeed saw a middle-aged male teacher with a buzz cut who had just caught a smoking student and was severely reprimanding him.
The three best friends exchanged glances and, with perfect understanding, started running wildly.
The fiery clouds in the sky churned, and the setting sun stretched their shadows long.
They were now some distance from the school, and the street in front of them began to bustle.
The canopy shopping street was a place many students frequented after school, and students often went in and out of the farmer’s house alley nearby.
Not because many people lived there, but because many illicit internet cafes were hidden there.
“The car is speeding, the car is burning, the bus is swaying~”
“Give me a cup of aphrodisiac, for a night of no sag~”
“What are you two singing?”
Zhou Chao drooped his eyelids.
“Singing crooked songs again?”
“Haha, by the way, Zhou Chao, have you heard that one?”
Sun Wei threw his cigarette butt into the gutter at his feet, smiling cheerfully as he looked at him.
“What?”
“Flying to someone else’s bed.”
“Damn, of course I’ve heard it.”
“Haha, I’ve heard it too.”
Fang Qiang’s hands were in his pockets, making the bunch of keys jingle.
“Speaking of which, maybe we should still buy some fruit?”
Zhou Chao tilted his head and glanced at the Shamate (a subculture known for flamboyant, often dyed, hairstyles) next to the alley, who had brightly colored hair.
“Let’s go this way, they seem to be having a party over there.”
Shamate doesn’t necessarily mean hooligans, but they’re often not easy to talk to.
They were currently gathered around a speaker, singing a particularly popular song among young people in somewhat off-key voices.
“Oh, brother is just a legend, oh, don’t be obsessed with brother…”
“Let’s buy some, I have five yuan.”
“I…”
Fang Qiang pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket, only putting two back.
“I have… twelve yuan here.”
“I’ll chip in twenty.”
Zhou Chao directly pulled out a twenty-yuan bill.
“Let’s buy some good fruit, he also has two sisters.”
“Oh, oh, you saw them at his birthday last time, right?”
Fang Qiang asked.
“Haha, quite pretty.”
“Damn it, you bastard, you’re not going to even let other people’s sisters off the hook, are you?”
Sun Wei deliberately pretended to be shocked and shouted.
“Hehe, but getting involved with them wouldn’t be bad either, right?”
“Damn it, can you have some bottom line as a person?!”
“Damn it, you, a heartbreaker, talking about bottom lines to me, you have the nerve! Didn’t you dump that person last time, and when she came looking for you, you said you were tired of playing?”
“Isn’t that just being honest?”
“You call that a bottom line?”
“Lying to her about not being tired of playing, that’s having no bottom line.”
“Your bottom line is really fucking amazing.”
“Hahaha, jealous? Want me to teach you how to pick up girls?”
Sun Wei unhesitatingly gave him the middle finger, “If I were as handsome as you, would I fucking need you to teach me?”
The three boys playfully walked onto the street where the canopy shopping street was located.
This street wasn’t only lively inside; there were also many other popular small shops alongside it.
Being the oldest city center in the small city, many people were more accustomed to coming here to buy things.
Moreover, there was a wider variety of goods here, and they were good quality and cheap.
***
(2)
It wasn’t watermelon season anymore.
Even in a small city that produced a lot of watermelons, they were still very expensive.
The fruit store was packed with people.
The boss and his wife were busy weighing and taking money, with no time to attend to customers.
“What should we buy?”
Sun Wei didn’t have much experience in this area.
“Usually for gifts, it’s bananas and apples. If you want something more expensive, then ginseng fruit or dragon fruit, something like that.”
Fang Qiang’s father had broken his leg recently and was in the hospital, which had given him some new insights. \
Then let’s buy bananas and apples. Oranges are quite cheap too, let’s get some of those, and… should we buy a bouquet of flowers?”
Zhou Chao mumbled, stroking his chin.
“Hey, classmate, what can I get you?”
The boss, having just finished with one customer, greeted them warmly.
Of course, he wasn’t just greeting the three of them, but also the customers behind them.
Having to talk to several people at once, he looked quite busy.
“Boss, is it expensive to have a bouquet wrapped here?”
“Depends on what kind of flowers you want. For cheap ones, you can get them for twenty or thirty.”
“That expensive?”
“Haha, that’s already cheap. If you just want to wrap a single stem, it’s at least ten yuan.”
“What do you think?”
Zhou Chao looked at Sun Wei and Fang Qiang.
“Maybe we should just buy fruit? We only have thirty-seven yuan in total.”
“Exactly, flowers aren’t edible. Zhou Chao, you’ve probably given too many gifts to girls, An Jing isn’t a girl, what does he need flowers for?”
“Visiting someone who’s ill, shouldn’t there always be a flower?”
Zhou Chao shrugged, then his eyes suddenly lit up.
“Oh, I’ve got it! Boss, how much are your wrapping paper and plastic paper?”
“Kraft paper is two yuan a sheet, plastic paper is five mao. Flower foam, that water-absorbing sponge, is three yuan each. Prices are clearly marked, alright!”
“So, can I just buy one sheet of kraft paper and one sheet of plastic paper separately?”
“Buy separately? It’s not impossible… But what would you use it for?”
“It’s nothing, I have my uses.”
“Okay, sure.”
The boss quickly agreed, then raised his head and shouted, “Hey—don’t pick at those grapes, or they’ll all fall apart!”
“Why are you buying this?”
Sun Wei asked, puzzled.
“We can go pick a few flowers in the wild and wrap them up! I know how to wrap flowers, trust me!”
“Can you really?”
Fang Qiang looked suspicious.
“Trust your brother to handle things.”
So, the three bought some oranges, apples, and bananas, along with the kraft paper and plastic paper, and even asked the boss for an extra colored ribbon for tying flowers.
“Let’s take the small path, there aren’t many flowers on the main road.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Zhou Chao, got any more cigarettes? Give me one.”
“Damn it, didn’t you just smoke?”
“I smoked my own, I haven’t had yours yet!”
“Quick, quick, if you’re my brother, give me one!”
“Take it yourself!”
****
(3)
Although winter had arrived, it wasn’t yet deep winter.
Some trees hadn’t shed all their leaves, and the grass on the ground hadn’t completely withered.
Even though November was already cold, there were still many fresh flowers blooming in the mountains and fields at this time.
“Zhou Chao, where are you going?!”
“Up the mountain!”
“Damn it, that far.”
Sun Wei felt a bit lazy.
“What are you afraid of? It’s not dark yet.”
“This is a tea mountain.”
Fang Qiang nodded.
“Oh, I get it, you want to pick camellias?”
“Yeah, camellias are so pretty! But it’s not just camellias, there are other flowers too. Anyway, let’s go see! You two, hurry up!”
“Coming!”
“Are we really going up?”
“Nonsense! If you’re brothers, hurry up and come!”
“Damn, coming!”
Sun Wei spat on the ground.
“Is there a path up there?”
“People grow tea here, do you think there’s no path?”
“A Wei, stop talking nonsense, hurry up.”
Fang Qiang, who was already heading up, turned back to urge him.
“If you had chipped in more money, we wouldn’t have to climb. It’s your problem.”
“Damn it, this is the money I planned to use for internet today, okay? I don’t have any more, or I won’t have anything to do this week.”
“Come on, come on!”
Zhou Chao, who was at the very top, shouted excitedly.
“I see orchids!”