Chen Guoguo had been giving me small gifts for a week straight. Sometimes it was a small bag of milk candies, other times an apple tied with a ribbon.
Wen Chen, who sat in front of me, would always tease, asking if I was about to start dating Chen Guoguo.
I unwrapped the milk candies and shared a handful with him, telling him to stop talking nonsense.
The first class in the afternoon was PE. Wen Chen popped a candy into his mouth and asked if I wanted to change clothes now.
My ankle had healed, so I no longer had the privilege of staying in the classroom during PE. I had to grab my sportswear and head to the gym with him.
“Cheng Yueguang, Wen Chen, can you hurry up!”
A few girls ahead of us were laughing and playing, turning around to call us over. Their youthful figures wrapped in school uniforms looked fresh and lovely, even the arcs of their swinging ponytails exuded joy.
Wen Chen was cautious about my foot. Despite my assurances that it was fine, he still held me back from jumping around recklessly.
The two o’clock sun was still glaring. Wen Chen squinted at the girls and waved, “You go ahead, I’ll walk slower with Cheng Yueguang.”
“Alright.” The girls pushed each other playfully as they left, sneaking a glance at Wen Chen before they went.
I glanced at Wen Chen, feeling a bit proud. Our Wen Chen was quite the charmer.
Wen Chen was quite handsome. His family was in the fashion business, and his mother was the editor of a fashion magazine, so he always had a keen sense of style. Whether it was his hairstyle or outfit, he was never out of date. I even saw him with an earring in his left ear after school once.
I asked him then if getting his ear pierced hurt.
At that time, Wen Chen had just moved to sit in front of me, and we weren’t very familiar yet. He had a bit of a cheeky personality, glanced at me, and said that good boys like me shouldn’t ask such things.
Later, when we got to know each other better, Wen Chen told me it didn’t hurt, just felt like an ant bite.
“But,” Wen Chen looked at me, pointing at my chest, “I saw in my mom’s magazine that some people get pierced here. That must hurt.”
I looked down to check, confused, and asked him, “Where exactly?”
Wen Chen smirked mischievously and suddenly pinched the small cherry on my chest, “Right here!”
“Ah!!!!”
He startled me so much I got goosebumps all over, like a maiden being teased. I grabbed my pencil case and chased him halfway down the corridor.
The summer in the Southern Region was hot and humid.
I hadn’t attended PE for nearly a week, and my locker hadn’t been aired out. When I opened it, I found my sportswear had gone moldy.
I shook out the white T-shirt, staring dumbfounded at the spots of mold.
Wen Chen came over after changing, wearing our school’s standard sports uniform: a white T-shirt and light blue shorts. He had added a headband, his hair tousled stylishly, looking sunny and handsome.
“Wen Chen,” I showed him my clothes with a distressed face, “what should I do?”
“What happened?”
Wen Chen glanced at my clothes and burst out laughing, “Wow, how did it get moldy?”
He looked at me, “What about the shorts?”
“The shorts are fine…” Our shorts had a waterproof coating, so they were okay with a wipe.
Wen Chen tossed my T-shirt back to me, telling me to wash it tonight, “Just change into the shorts, I’ll get you my spare top.”
“Okay…”
I sat on the bench to change into my shorts, knee pads on. Wen Chen rummaged through his locker for a while and handed me a T-shirt.
With my back to him, I took off my school shirt. The time in the changing room had left me sticky with sweat, especially my back, where the shirt clung to me.
I took off the shirt and set it aside. Wen Chen walked past and wiped my back, remarking, “You go out a lot, yet you’re still so pale.”
Not understanding, I put on his T-shirt. Wen Chen was a bit taller, so the shirt was a size bigger and I tucked it into my waistband.
After tidying up, I took a sunscreen from my locker and tossed it to him, “Here, use this.”
“Tsk tsk,” Wen Chen opened the cap and squeezed a generous amount into his palm, tilting his head back to apply it to his neck, “so delicate.”
Though he teased me, he didn’t hold back on using my sunscreen.
After changing, we headed to the gym to gather. The teacher hadn’t arrived yet, and classmates were chatting in small groups.
I noticed Yuan Ziyi sitting alone under the basketball hoop, slightly hunched with her arms wrapped around herself.
“Yuan Ziyi,” I quickly walked over and crouched in front of her, asking softly, “are you feeling unwell?”
Yuan Ziyi looked down at the rubber floor, shaking her head, “I’m fine, you go play with them.”
“Cheng Yueguang!” The Sports Committee member approached with a ball alongside Wen Chen, “Let’s play basketball!”
Wen Chen punched him on the shoulder, “Play what? His foot just healed, didn’t you know?”
“Alright, alright… no playing then.” The committee member shrugged, glancing at Yuan Ziyi under the hoop, “Hey, maybe you should move. I don’t want the ball to hit you later.”
Something about his words seemed to upset Yuan Ziyi. Her ears turned red, and she sat still, lowering her head further, her dark ponytail sliding down her back onto her shoulders.
She didn’t respond, leaving the committee member looking awkward as he glanced at me crouching on the ground.
Wen Chen, who never liked Yuan Ziyi, spoke more harshly, “Didn’t you hear? If the ball hits you later, you’ll—”
Before the committee member and I could stop him, Yuan Ziyi suddenly stood up and ran off with her head down.
The committee member and I both gave Wen Chen reproachful looks, and Wen Chen glared back, “What? I was just trying to help by not letting her sit under the hoop.”
“Couldn’t you have said it nicely?” I stood up, “She’s a girl, after all. Think about your tone just now.”
Wen Chen was about to retort, but the committee member blocked him with an arm, “Alright, alright. Cheng Yueguang, come with me for a second.”
He handed the basketball to Wen Chen and pulled me aside, whispering a few words in my ear.
After hearing him out, I opened my mouth slightly, looking at him with a troubled expression.
The committee member nudged me lightly in the waist, half-joking, half-serious, “A man should be responsible. I can’t handle this, so you go. You’re the class president, after all.”
……
I held his gaze for a moment, gritted my teeth, and walked over to the group of girls chatting nearby.
Blushing, I asked the girls in our class to lend Yuan Ziyi some sanitary napkins. They exchanged glances, and after a while, one girl said, “Ah, Wang Xin took the day off today, probably because of that. I’ll go ask her.”
“Okay.”
Having to ask for something so awkward made me wish I could dig a hole in the rubber floor and crawl in. I smiled sheepishly at the girls, “Thanks, I’ll treat you to bubble tea after class.”
As class was about to end, I told the committee member to skip calling my and Wen Chen’s names, then dragged Wen Chen to the convenience store to buy bubble tea.
Wen Chen asked why I was buying bubble tea, and I didn’t know how to explain, given his dislike for Yuan Ziyi.
After buying bubble tea for the two girls, I also got a cup of hot milk and asked Wen Chen if he wanted anything.
Wen Chen grabbed a bottle of cold cola and a can of Wangzai, handed his IC card to the cashier, and pointed to the items in my hand, “Put it all together.”
“Oh, no need, I’ll pay.”
“It’s fine,” Wen Chen leaned against the freezer, tossing the cold cola up and down, “don’t be so formal with me.”
I asked Wen Chen to deliver the bubble tea to the girls, while I returned to my seat with the hot milk and Wangzai.
Yuan Ziyi was daydreaming at her desk. I placed the hot milk on her desk and gently pushed it toward her, “Have some of this.”
Yuan Ziyi murmured a response, looked at the milk, and suddenly wiped her eyes with her arm.
She buried her face in her arms, her voice muffled, “Cheng Yueguang, thank you.”
If the committee member hadn’t noticed the stain on the back of Yuan Ziyi’s pants, I wouldn’t have known she was on her period. He also mentioned that Yuan Ziyi didn’t seem particularly close with the girls in class, so she might not be able to borrow sanitary napkins, and asked me to help her out.
That’s how the scene at the gym unfolded.
I still felt embarrassed, stammering that she didn’t need to thank me, then urged her to drink the hot milk before it cooled.
Yuan Ziyi finally sat up, holding the hot milk and giving me a grateful look before taking a sip.
Seeing her drink the milk, I breathed a sigh of relief and opened the Wangzai Wen Chen had given me, taking a sip.
Wen Chen returned after distributing the bubble tea, probably having asked the girls about the situation. Seeing me give the hot milk to Yuan Ziyi, he was annoyed and pinched my cheeks, “Cheng Yueguang, you’re really testing me.”
I squinted at him, puzzled, “Who are you?”
Wen Chen was baffled, “What do you mean, who am I? Don’t you recognize me? What’s going on?”
“I might really not recognize you,” I showed him the Wangzai in my hand, “because I just drank ‘Forget-You’ milk.”
Wen Chen realized I was teasing him and laughed, pulling at my face, “Daring to take advantage of me, are you asking for it?”
After school, I went to the restroom and returned to find Chen Guoguo holding a box at our classroom door, talking to Wen Chen.
Chen Guoguo’s profile was also quite pretty, with a light blue bow on her ponytail. The evening sunlight cast an orange-red hue on her, like a collage in warm tones.
Wen Chen said a few more words to her, and she furrowed her brow slightly, asking something softly before peeking into our classroom.
What’s going on?
I glanced into the classroom through the window, seeing only a few classmates packing their bags and the bustling duty students, nothing out of the ordinary.
Wen Chen noticed I was back and greeted me, “You sure took your time in the restroom.”
He paused, muttering to himself, “But I guess being too quick isn’t good for a guy either.”
His mouth was always running, not caring that Chen Guoguo was right there. I glared at him and went into the classroom to pack my bag.
Chen Guoguo followed me in, taking a careful look at Yuan Ziyi, who was daydreaming at her desk.
Later, I often thought that if I had noticed something was off with Chen Guoguo sooner, things might have been different. But at that time, I was too caught up in the inexplicable whims of a teenage boy to pay attention to why Chen Guoguo was observing Yuan Ziyi so closely.
I took out a box of expensive chocolates from my bag and handed it to Chen Guoguo. Wen Chen and I had bought it during a trip to the pedestrian street, perfect for gifting a girl.
I pressed my lips together, feeling a bit shy, “This is for you.”
“Thank you,” Chen Guoguo accepted the chocolates and placed the box she was holding into my hands, “this is yours.”
After my foot healed, Tang Shi resumed his daily basketball team training in the afternoons, so he no longer walked home with me.
Wen Chen and I escorted Chen Guoguo to the school gate. Wen Chen asked if I wanted to stroll around the pedestrian street with him later.
“Sure, but I need to stop by the basketball court first.”
During my injury, Tang Shi had picked me up and dropped me off so many times. Now that my foot was better, I couldn’t just leave him hanging.
We bought a pack of cold water at the convenience store, each carrying one side as we headed to the basketball court.
The court was lively in the evening, the sky a wash of orange-red. Boys in jerseys were sweating it out on the court, while a few girls stood on the sidelines, waiting to give water to their favorite players.
Wen Chen and I delivered the water to the court’s edge, and he called the girls over to take some.
In high school, every grade had a few well-known boys or girls, and Wen Chen was one of them. He was handsome, with a roguish smile. The girls exchanged glances, nudging each other as they approached.
I stood quietly by, watching Wen Chen distribute the water. I noticed that the girls’ ponytails were adorned with bows similar to Chen Guoguo’s, just in different colors.
Perhaps noticing my gaze on the bows, one girl playfully smiled and flicked the bow on her ponytail, “Cheng Yueguang, do you like it?”
Caught staring, I quickly hid behind Wen Chen, nodding, “Yes, it’s nice.”
They laughed, their voices melodious, especially their laughter, like clear bells that could ring far and wide.
Someone said, “Tang Shi, your brother is so innocent.”
Hearing Tang Shi’s name, I realized he was coming over. He had just come off the court, his short hair wet, skin flushed, breathing heavily.
He pushed past the girls to grab a bottle of cold water from the ground.
I quickly stopped him, handing him the sports drink I had, “Drink this.”
Tang Shi was really thirsty. He took the drink, twisted it open, and downed it in one go. The bottle was soon empty. He wiped his sweat with his arm, flicked my forehead, and tossed the empty bottle at me, “Throw it away later.”
I nodded, holding the bottle, “Shall we head out now?”
The girls sighed in disappointment, asking if we wouldn’t stay a bit longer.
Qi Le also came over from behind Tang Shi, and one of the girls offered him her water.
“Thanks.” Qi Le took the water, but instead of drinking it, he poured it over his head. Steam rose from his head, showing just how hot he was.
“It’s so hot.” Qi Le lifted his shirt, revealing a bit of his lean waist. He looked at Wen Chen and me, asking if we wanted to play basketball.
I shook my head, “No, we’re leaving now.”
Seeing the girls’ large bows, I thought of the always dull Yuan Ziyi and decided I should buy her one at the pedestrian street later.