novelslam Chapter 61, Part 3
Chapter 61, Part 3
It's already getting hot in the south in March.
The sun hung on the roof of the teaching building, making the whole building feel lukewarm.
The ceiling fan in the classroom spun slowly, and the dust on the blades was shaken off, drifting in the sunlight as fine dust threads.
The camphor trees outside the window have sprouted new leaves, tender green and glossy, rustling loudly in the wind.
This was the first mock exam of the second semester of the third year of junior high school, and the whole grade was on edge.
There was no one in the corridors, no one on the playground, and even the toilets were quiet.
The only sound was the scratching of the pen tip on the exam paper, like a silkworm eating mulberry leaves.
Song Huan sat by the window, where sunlight streamed in at an angle, falling warmly on the back of his hand.
He looked down at the exam paper, twirled the pen in his fingertips, put it down, wrote a line, and then twirled it again.
I did the earlier questions smoothly, I could answer the fill-in-the-blank questions at a glance, I could eliminate two multiple-choice questions and think about the remaining two, and I wrote out the steps for the calculation questions slowly but steadily.
He got a little stuck on the last big question. He read the question twice, drew a diagram on his scratch paper, stared at it for more than ten seconds, and then started writing.
Xiao Yunqing, sitting next to her, sat upright with her ponytail tied high, revealing a section of her white nape.
She writes very quickly; the pen tip dances across the paper, creating a continuous, rustling sound.
When I get stuck, I frown, then relax after a while and continue writing.
The sunlight shone on her profile, revealing fine, glistening downy hairs.
The blackboard at the back of the classroom has a countdown written on it: "97 days until the high school entrance exam." The chalk writing is corrected every day.
I just changed it this morning. They drew a little sun next to the number; I don't know who drew it.
After three days of exams, the bell rang when the last exam was over.
Someone threw down their pen, leaned back in their chair, and let out a long sigh.
Some people couldn't wait to check their answers with the person next to them; if they got it right, they laughed, and if they got it wrong, they sighed.
Some people were lying on the table, not wanting to move, with their faces buried in their arms.
Song Huan capped her pen, handed in the paper, and stood up to stretch.
His bones cracked twice. He stretched his neck and prepared to leave.
"Song Huan, come to my office for a moment."
Gao Xiao stood at the classroom door and waved to him.
Song Huan followed, glancing at Xiao Yunqing as she passed her seat.
She was packing her pencil case with her head down, not looking up.
Most of the teachers in the office have left.
Gao Xiao sat in her seat with a stack of test papers spread out in front of her, but she hadn't started grading them yet.
She watched Song Huan walk in, her gaze lingering on him for a moment.
Three years.
The boy in front of me has grown from about 1.5 meters to 1.7 meters. He's not the tallest in the class, but he stands straight and looks very energetic.
His face has matured, his eyebrows and eyes are more defined than when he was a child, and his jawline is more angular. He doesn't have the kind of face that looks handsome at first glance, but he is pleasing to the eye.
Most importantly, his grades were as stable as nails hammered into a wall; he was always first in the entire grade and never dropped out.
Gao Xiao took a piece of paper out of the drawer and handed it to him. It was an A4 sheet of paper, printed with densely packed words.
"You'll be giving the speech for the 100-day countdown rally next week."
Song Huan took it and glanced at it.
The manuscript was written in a very formal style, with phrases like "ten years to hone a sword" and "testing its edge in June," which sounded a bit inspiring, but didn't quite sound like human language.
He's used to it.
Over the past three years, he has attended countless such occasions, including speeches under the national flag, opening ceremonies, and commendation meetings. The stack of speeches he has read is thicker than textbooks.
"Understood, teacher."
Gao Xiao nodded, "Go back and prepare, don't get stuck."
Song Huan folded the manuscript in half and stuffed it into her pocket.
When I walked out of the office, there was no one left in the corridor.
The setting sun shone through the west-facing windows, bathing the entire corridor in an orange-red hue.
His shadow dragged on the ground, it was very long.
There was only one person left in the classroom.
Xiao Yunqing sat in her seat with a draft paper spread out in front of her, covered with writing and then crossed out.
She wasn't doing math problems or reading; she just sat there, staring blankly at the table.
The schoolbag was already packed and placed on the corner of the table, with the zipper closed.
Song Huan walked in and sat down next to her. "What's wrong?"
Xiao Yunqing didn't speak. She lowered her head, her ponytail hanging down, covering half of her face.
Song Huan couldn't see her expression, but she could see that her hands were on her knees, clutching her school uniform.
"Didn't you do well on the exam?" he asked.
She remained silent. After a while, she nodded slightly.
Song Huan leaned back in her chair, her tone relaxed.
"It's just a mock exam, fluctuations are normal. You scored two points higher than me in math on the last monthly exam."
Xiao Yunqing didn't respond, and the classroom was silent for a few seconds.
Then she cried, silently, tears falling and staining her school uniform, leaving dark little dots.
One drop, two drops, three drops.
She kept her head down, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Song Huan was stunned. In three years, he had never seen Xiao Yunqing cry like this.
The last time I cried was when I got my period in the first year of junior high school. I cried and said, "I'm going to die."
But that time she cried from fear, unlike now. Now she's genuinely upset.
"I'm so tired..." Her voice was very soft, with a sob in it, as if it were being squeezed out of her throat.
"I'm afraid I won't get into Jiangcheng No.1 High School."
Song Huan opened her mouth, but no words came out.
He heard her inner voice, a jumbled mess, like dandelions scattered by the wind.
[His grades are so good, he's always number one.]
What if I don't get into Jiangcheng No. 1 High School?
[What if I can't go to the same school as him?]
Song Huan sat there, watching her.
Watching her tears fall drop by drop, watching her shoulders tremble.
He suddenly remembered that on many nights over the past three years, Xu Wan had hinted to him more than once that when she was resting, the light in Xiao Yunqing's room would still be on, until midnight, one o'clock, or sometimes two o'clock.
Xu Wan initially thought she was reading a novel or playing a game, but later realized she was doing practice problems.
He reached out and placed his hand on her head.
Gently, like placing a leaf.
Xiao Yunqing flinched, but didn't dodge.
"Xiao Yunqing." His voice was very soft. "Listen to me."
She didn't look up.
"Your grades have always been excellent. You've never fallen out of the top ten in your grade. You've always exceeded the cutoff score for Jiangcheng No. 1 High School by more than twenty points."
He paused for a moment, then said, "You think I don't know you're doing practice problems until 1 a.m. every night? Your mom told my mom that you've lost weight, and that sometimes you just fall asleep at your desk while doing practice problems."
Xiao Yunqing's shoulders trembled even more violently.
Song Huan slid her hand down from her head, patted her shoulder, and said firmly, "No matter how you do on the exam, I'll apply to the same school as you."
She suddenly raised her head, her eyes and nose were red, her face was covered in tears, and her eyelashes were wet and clumped together.
She looked at him, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.
"Really," he said, his tone flat. "Wherever you go, I'll go. If you get into the top high school, I'll go with you. If you get into the second-best, I'll go with you. If you don't get into high school..."
He thought for a moment, "I'll work with you. You can be the factory's most beautiful girl, and I'll be the most handsome guy in the factory."
Xiao Yunqing chuckled briefly, then suppressed it, tears still streaming down her face.
She raised the back of her hand and wiped it, then wiped it again. After wiping, she sniffed.
"Who wants to work with you?" The voice was hoarse, but the lips were upturned.
Song Huan laughed, "Then you should focus on your exam and stop overthinking."
Xiao Yunqing didn't speak, but lowered her head and buried her face in her arms.
After lying there for a while, a muffled sound leaked from between his arms, "Mmm."
The setting sun shone through the window, casting long shadows of the two people against the opposite wall, close together.
The ceiling fan was still turning, slowly, and the dust on the blades floated in the sunlight.
A few people were playing football on the playground in the distance, their shouts were too faint to hear clearly.
There weren't many people at KFC at this time; only a few tables were scattered around.
Song Huan returned with a plate containing two hamburgers, a serving of fries, two Cokes, and a strawberry sundae.
Xiao Yunqing was already sitting by the window, her face still bearing traces of crying, her eyes a little swollen, but she looked much better.
He sat down and pushed the sundae in front of her.
Xiao Yunqing picked up a small spoon, scooped out a mouthful, put it in her mouth, chewed it, and squinted her eyes. "Delicious."
She scooped out another spoonful and held it up to him. "Do you want some?"
Song Huan glanced once more at the ever-present, faint tooth mark on the spoon. "I won't eat it."
Xiao Yunqing snorted and withdrew her hand to continue eating.
She likes to dip her fries in sundaes, a mix of sweet and salty, which Song Huan finds strange.
But she ate with great relish, one piece after another, her cheeks bulging.
She suddenly stopped eating. "Song Huan."
"Um?"
"Is what you just said true?"
Song Huan was drinking cola when she put down her cup.
"What?"
Xiao Yunqing lowered her head, stirring the fries in the ketchup until it turned into a red mess. "It's just... wherever I go, you go."
Song Huan looked at her.
She didn't look up, but her ears turned red.
"Really," he said.
Xiao Yunqing's lips curled up slightly, but she quickly suppressed it and scooped up another mouthful of sundae and stuffed it into her mouth.
The setting sun shone through the window, casting a bright glow on her face.
She finished her sundae, drank half a glass of cola, leaned back in her chair, and let out a long sigh.
"Let's go." She stood up and slung her backpack over her shoulder.
The two walked out of KFC before it got dark.
The setting sun hung on the rooftops, turning the entire street orange-red.
Xiao Yunqing walked ahead, her steps slow, her ponytail swaying back and forth.
Song Huan followed behind, hands in his pockets.
When she reached the intersection, she suddenly stopped and turned around.
The setting sun shone on her face, making her eyes bright. "Song Huan."
"Um?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to call you." After saying that, Xiao Yunqing mischievously ran off.
Song Huan smiled and silently followed behind.
Xiao Yunqing turned and walked forward, her ponytail swinging.
After walking a few steps, she turned back and glanced at him again.
He smiled, turned around, and continued walking.
Song Huan followed and walked beside her.
He remembered the first day of school three years ago, on this very road, she walked ahead and he followed behind.
She turned around and said, "Hurry up, we're going to be late," while he walked slowly with his hands in his pockets.
At that time, she was a few centimeters taller than him.
He is now half a head taller than her, and can see the whorl of hair on the top of her head when he looks down.
The only thing that hasn't changed is the girl next to me, whose eyes crinkle into crescent moons with laughter.
Just like three years ago, on the first day of school, when I stood at the school gate and looked back at him...