Yuan Ziyi said she wants to drop out of school.
She mentioned she plans to join a modeling company for training with that bald guy, and if things go well, I might see her in a fashion magazine someday.
I wasn’t sure whether to praise her courage or call it a pipe dream, so I asked, “Did your family agree to this?”
Yuan Ziyi propped her textbook up on the desk, hiding behind it as she spoke to me, “Of course not. My mom’s counting on me to get into college and find a decent job so she can buy a house for my brother.”
Yuan Ziyi isn’t an only child; she has a younger brother who’s two years her junior. She once told me that ever since her brother was born, her parents have focused all their attention on him.
I lowered my head slightly, pretending to read the textbook, but my mind was elsewhere. I whispered to her, “If they don’t agree, how are you going to go?”
“I’ll sneak out,” Yuan Ziyi tilted her head at me and smiled, “I called that bald guy. He said I just need to pay two thousand for the training fee, and they’ll cover food and lodging once I’m there.”
…Come on, that sounds so fake.
I suspected Yuan Ziyi had lost her mind and was about to scold her when the teacher called my name, “Cheng Yueguang, who are you whispering with? Repeat what I just said.”
Huh? What did he say?
I looked up blankly, meeting Old Qin’s gaze as he stood at the podium with his arms crossed.
“Heh,” Old Qin looked at me, a glint flashing across his glasses, “You scored 103 on the weekly test and still dare to daydream in my class.”
“Considering your foot injury, I won’t make you run laps. Instead, copy the highlighted theories from the book five times tonight.”
What? Copy theories?
This was a bolt from the blue, making my already limited evening time as a poor high school student even more burdensome.
Old Qin was still watching me, so I could only nod with a pained expression.
After class, some of our classmates gathered around, expressing their sympathy.
A few girls approached Yuan Ziyi, asking her how it felt to be on TV.
Even though they were talking to Yuan Ziyi, they kept glancing at me, “You and Cheng Yueguang are amazing, being on TV. I told my mom you’re my classmates, and she didn’t believe me.”
Seeing more people about to gather around, I quickly grabbed the arm of the guy in front of me, telling him I needed to go to the restroom and asking him to help me.
“Sure.” He got up from his seat, shooing away the people blocking my desk, “Move aside, didn’t you hear he needs to go to the restroom?”
He helped me out of the classroom. Since I could only walk normally on one leg, my pace was much slower.
On the way to the restroom, he asked, “What were you whispering about with Yuan Ziyi in class? I told you to stop hanging out with her. There are so many girls in our class who want to talk to you, yet you choose the head female baboon.”
“Watch your words.” I lightly tapped his arm, a bit displeased, “Yuan Ziyi is a girl, don’t joke about her like that.”
He shouted, “I’m just joking. Why are you defending her? Aren’t we brothers? Besides, when she pinned me to the desk and beat me up, you didn’t say she was a girl.”
We bickered our way into the restroom, where we ran into a classmate.
He asked us, “Wen Chen, Yueguang, here to use the restroom?”
Wen Chen, the guy I’d been arguing with, was still upset with me, so he replied curtly, “Yeah, what else would we be here for, to steal poop?”
The classmate just laughed it off, assuming he was joking, and said he’d head back first.
I had Wen Chen help me to the urinal. My injured foot couldn’t bear much weight, so I leaned on him, struggling to stand steadily.
I lowered my head to unzip my pants, while Wen Chen continued to nag me about not hanging out with Yuan Ziyi.
“Look, no one in our class talks to her. She’s so weird, even the girls don’t like hanging out with her.”
I elbowed him, “Shut up. I’m already nervous with you next to me, and you keep talking.”
The topic successfully shifted, and Wen Chen stopped talking about Yuan Ziyi. He laughed, teasingly saying, “What are you nervous about? Want me to help you pee?”
“Get lost,” I laughed despite myself, “You’re disgusting.”
Yuan Ziyi’s talk of dropping out seemed like a passing whim. When I returned from the restroom, I wanted to advise her not to get scammed, but she was already asleep at her desk.
She slept through the entire morning. Her grades weren’t great, and the teachers didn’t pay much attention to her. They placed me next to her as part of a “complementary strengths” strategy.
Watching her sleep soundly at her desk, I couldn’t help but suspect her parents paid tuition just to rent her a bed in the classroom.
Fortunately, the dismissal bell finally woke her up. Yuan Ziyi rubbed her eyes and sat up, asking me what time it was.
“School’s over.”
As I packed my bag, I couldn’t help but chuckle at her face, covered in drool and desk marks.
“Here,” I pulled a tissue from my bag and handed it to her, “Wipe your drool! Aren’t your arms numb after sleeping all morning?”
Yuan Ziyi took the tissue and wiped her mouth haphazardly, giving me a silly grin.
Just then, Tang Shi walked in. His last class must have been P.E., as he was still in his sportswear, with a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.
He came over to grab my backpack, using his other hand to help me up from my seat.
Leaning on Tang Shi, I waved to Yuan Ziyi, “I’m heading home now, bye~”
“Bye.” Yuan Ziyi, still groggy from sleep, lazily waved the tissue in her hand.
Aunt Tang had caught a cold, suffering from a headache since last night, and was still at the hospital getting an IV, unable to come home to cook lunch.
With Aunt Tang away and our housekeeper having returned to her hometown two days ago, Tang Shi and I had no choice but to order takeout.
Tang Shi sat beside me, scrolling through food options on his phone. I tugged at his sleeve, saying I wanted Coke Chicken Wings.
“No,” Tang Shi refused, “I don’t want them.”
What logic is that? Just because he doesn’t want them, we won’t order? I wouldn’t have it. I reached for his phone, “But I want them! I’m injured, can’t you consider me a little?”
Tang Shi raised his hand high, keeping the phone out of my reach.
He said, “Keep whining, and I’ll hit you. Every time you want something, you take two bites and leave the rest for me. No way.”
I pouted, “But I really want them. I promise I’ll finish them this time.”
Tang Shi pinched my lips, making them look like a little duck’s beak, “Pouting again? You’ll be able to hang an oil can from your lips soon.”
I swatted his hand away, “You jerk, are you buying them or not?”
“Fine, fine, I’ll buy them.”
Being injured, Tang Shi couldn’t hit me. He grumbled as he placed the order on his phone, still scolding me, “You’re harder to please than a woman.”
Despite his complaints, after ordering the chicken wings, he asked if I wanted some pudding or cake.
Though Tang Shi often teased me, he wasn’t bad to me. Whenever we went out, he’d buy me a lollipop when he bought cigarettes at the convenience store.
I asked him to get me a Mango Pudding and a box of cream puffs, planning to bring them to school for Yuan Ziyi in the afternoon.
The delivery guy arrived quickly. Injured, I could only sit at the dining table, watching eagerly as Tang Shi set the food.
He placed the box of Coke Chicken Wings in front of me, warning that if I didn’t finish them, he’d hit me.
Of course, I couldn’t finish them. In fact, I was full after just two wings. I glanced at Tang Shi, who was focused on his meal, and nudged the box of wings toward him with my chopsticks.
“…”
Tang Shi paused, looking up at me.
I blinked, giving him a cheeky smile, “Brother, I’m full.”
“Ha,” Tang Shi dragged the box of wings in front of him, giving me a look, “I see how it is. When you need something, I’m your brother Tang Shi. When you don’t, I’m a jerk, right?”
I poured him a glass of lemon water, feigning sincerity, “How could that be? You’re always my favorite brother.”
Tang Shi snorted, not replying, reluctantly picking up a wing and placing it on his rice.
Perhaps to get back at me, he poked the wing with his chopsticks, then looked at me, “I’ll help you apply the medicinal wine later.”
No way?
I scooted my chair back, refusing, “No, I’m tired. I need to nap, or I’ll doze off in the afternoon.”
“What nap,” Tang Shi asserted his domineering nature, not allowing any argument, “Sit here and wait. I’ll get the medicinal wine from your house after I finish eating.”
Poor me, a little serf oppressed by this tyrant Tang Shi for sixteen years, wondering when I’d finally be free to sing.
Tang Shi fetched the medicinal wine from my house, pulling up a small stool to sit beside the sofa, diligently applying it for me.
I took a couple of bites of the Mango Pudding, finding it not very tasty. I scooped a big spoonful and offered it to Tang Shi.
Tang Shi, eyes lowered, opened his mouth to eat the pudding.
Once he swallowed, I scooped another spoonful for him.
Tang Shi lightly tapped my ankle, looking up at me, “You’re not eating?”
“You’ve worked so hard,” I said sweetly, “I want you to have it.”
I’ve always been good at sweet-talking, and Tang Shi often called me a little flatterer, yet he fell for it more than anyone else.
Aunt Tang returned from the hospital after her IV, and I asked if she’d eaten.
She handed me a candied strawberry, saying she’d eaten outside, then asked if Tang Shi and I had eaten well, and added, “Did your brother bully you?”
“No,” I pulled the candied strawberry from the bag, offering the top one to Aunt Tang, “Have a bite, Auntie.”
Tang Shi came out of the bathroom, shaking water off his hands, checked the time, and told Aunt Tang to go upstairs and rest.
“No need,” Aunt Tang brushed her hair back, her fair hand covered with a medical bandage. She said, “I’ll sit downstairs for a bit and then take you both to school.”
Tang Shi frowned, his tone impatient, “I told you to rest, so rest. You managed to catch a cold at home all day. Don’t worry about us. I’ll take him to school on my bike.”
That’s just his bad temper, talking rudely to everyone. Aunt Tang and I exchanged a helpless glance, and she reminded Tang Shi a couple more times before heading upstairs when she saw he was genuinely impatient.
When we were in elementary school, Tang Shi often took me on his bike, and a few times he even got mad at me for being too heavy. I never thought I’d have the chance to sit on his bike’s back seat now that I’m in high school.
The street outside our house is lined with plane trees. Tang Shi rode under their shade, and I held onto his waist with one hand, eating the candied strawberry with the other.
Tang Shi’s clothes smelled fresh from laundry detergent, and the breeze carried it all to my nose. I took a deep breath, thinking how pleasant Tang Shi was without the sweat.
The back of his T-shirt puffed up in the wind, and I pressed it down with my hand.
“What are you doing,” Tang Shi rang the bike bell, telling me to sit still. As we approached a red light, Tang Shi braked with a screech, turning to look at me, “Cheng Yueguang, you fatso, have you gained weight again? I’m exhausted carrying you.”
Fatso, who are you calling fat???
“Watch your mouth,” Tang Shi’s such a jerk. I punched him, “I’m not fat. If you can’t carry me, it’s because you’re out of shape.”
When we got to school, I found a girl with a high ponytail sitting at my desk, chatting and laughing with Wen Chen.
Tang Shi walked into the classroom with me. When he saw the girl, his expression soured, and he asked, “What are you doing here?”
It seemed they knew each other, and seeing her in a Junior Year uniform, I looked at her a bit more.
The girl noticed me looking and smiled, nodding at me, “Cheng Yueguang, I’m Chen Guoguo from Junior Year.”
So this was Chen Guoguo. Remembering Qi Le saying she liked me, though I wasn’t sure if it was true, I embarrassingly blushed and clung to Tang Shi’s shirt, greeting her, “Ah, hello… We, we take classes at the Youth Palace together.”
“Yes,” Chen Guoguo smiled. She was really pretty, with big eyes and fair skin. She said, “I heard you got hurt, so I came to check on you. Is it serious?”
“Of course it’s serious. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be called an injury.”
Before I could respond, Tang Shi spoke in a chilly tone, “You’re quite something, knowing he’s injured and still occupying his seat.”
…
Tang Shi, you clueless pig, I’m willing to stand!
I almost jumped up to assure Chen Guoguo I was fine, but she had already stood up from my seat, her face flushed, “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” I stood there like an idiot, watching her as Tang Shi pushed me into my seat.
After settling me in, Tang Shi was about to leave. Before he did, he kicked the leg of the desk next to Chen Guoguo, “Class is about to start. Are you leaving?”
Chen Guoguo seemed a bit taken aback, nodding along, “Oh, oh, I’m leaving. Bye, Cheng Yueguang~”
“Hey,” as soon as they left, Wen Chen started winking at me, “Check your desk. Chen Guoguo left you something.”
I opened my desk as he suggested, pulling out a small pink box.
Amid the teasing from the surrounding classmates, I opened the box to find several cards with writing on them and some beautifully wrapped candies, clearly filled with a girl’s romantic and sweet thoughts.
“Oh—” Wen Chen led the charge, and the boys around started teasing again. I quickly closed the lid.
Why is it like this… My ears turned red once more.