My deskmate is named Yuan Ziyi. She told me that the year she was born, her mom was obsessed with Jin Yong’s martial arts dramas. Despite the protests of her dad, grandpa, grandma, and other relatives, she insisted on giving her this name.
In "The Young Flying Fox," Yuan Ziyi is described as "wearing a purple dress, her beauty and charm undiminished by her slightly dark skin." But my deskmate, aside from having very dark skin, doesn’t resemble the beautiful Ziyi sister at all.
She’s not pretty, and she’s not good at studying either.
Because she wasn’t good at studying, the teacher arranged for her to sit next to me, saying that classmates should help each other.
As a result, Yuan Ziyi was too chatty. After becoming her deskmate, my grades dropped in the first monthly exam, falling from third to fourth in the class.
I blamed my lower grades on Yuan Ziyi, accusing her of always distracting me and preventing me from paying attention in class.
"No, no, no, Cheng Yueguang."
Yuan Ziyi hid a small mirror behind her textbook, counting her sparse eyelashes in the reflection. While I kept an eye on the teacher, I listened to her say, "I found out for you. There’s a new transfer student in our grade, and he took first place in this exam. So you can’t blame me for dropping a rank; it’s because that transfer student is too outstanding."
She finished counting her eyelashes, fiddled with her hair, put away the small mirror, and laid her textbook flat on the desk. She glanced at me, "How do I look?"
The teacher was starting to notice us, so I quickly sat up straight and whispered, "Not great."
Yuan Ziyi was darker than Tang Shi, taller than me, with broad shoulders, and because of her large mouth, she had been nicknamed "Mother Baboon."
Although Yuan Ziyi didn’t have the delicate beauty of the women in martial arts dramas, she had a bold and straightforward air about her. She never got secretly upset about her nickname. I once saw her pin a boy who called her "Mother Baboon" against the blackboard, forcing him to apologize and to call her "Auntie" whenever he saw her in the future.
Auntie Yuan was tough on boys but treated me very well.
Her family ran a craft shop, and sometimes she would bring me small ceramic trinkets, like little ceramic rabbits or monkeys.
Our relationship grew closer because of her one-sided gift-giving. Before long, we became good friends. She would check for the teacher while I sneaked a look at comics during study hall, and I would keep an eye out for the principal making rounds while she checked her mirror in class.
After class, Yuan Ziyi hooked her arm around my neck, saying she had something good to show me.
Curious, I leaned over to her backpack and saw two small, square foil packages inside, looking a bit like the disposable gloves you get at hot pot restaurants.
"What is this?" I picked one up to take a closer look, but Yuan Ziyi quickly pressed down on my hand.
She said, "It’s for you. Play with it secretly, and don’t let anyone see."
"Alright," I said, slipping the little item into my uniform pocket, "Thanks. I’ll bring you a lollipop this afternoon."
At noon, Tang Shi was waiting for me outside the classroom. Everyone was curious about this handsome upperclassman, and I noticed a few girls gathered at the back door, whispering about Tang Shi.
I packed my bag, said goodbye to Yuan Ziyi, and slowly walked out of the classroom with my backpack, "Let’s go."
Tang Shi looked at me with disdain, "Why are you dawdling?"
He was taller than me and took bigger strides. Following behind him, I rolled my eyes, thinking if he was so impatient, he shouldn’t wait for me. I didn’t even want to walk with him.
The gift from Yuan Ziyi was still in my uniform pocket. I reached in, grabbing the little package and giving it a gentle squeeze, then a rub.
I felt something smooth inside, with a soft ring on the outside. What on earth was it? I really wanted to take it out and open it right then.
"Cheng Yueguang," Tang Shi suddenly stopped in front of me, turning to look at my right hand in my pocket, "What’s in your pocket?"
I quickly clenched the item in my hand, looking at him warily, "Nothing."
"There’s definitely something," Tang Shi walked up to me, his school jacket draped over his shoulder, wearing a white T-shirt with ‘BOY’ on it. His height and long legs made him quite imposing as he stood in front of me. He blocked my path and reached out, "Let me see."
I took two steps back, shaking my head.
Tang Shi stepped forward again, "Cheng Yueguang, are you rebelling? I’ll say it one more time, take it out."
"I’m not giving it to you."
I was getting a bit annoyed with him, "If you keep this up, I won’t walk home with you anymore."
"Tsk," Tang Shi frowned. I guessed he was considering whether to hit me, but he held back, placing his hand on my head and pretending to be a good brother, "Fine, if you don’t want to show me, then forget it. Let’s go."
Fine, let’s go. I kept my hand tightly in my pocket, ready for him to try something at any moment.
Tang Shi seemed to lose interest in what was in my pocket. He put one hand in his pants pocket and the other on my shoulder, affectionately calling me by my nickname, "Yueguang, come have lunch at my place today. My mom made dumplings."
My parents were often busy and sometimes didn’t come home for lunch, leaving just me and the housekeeper. Tang Shi would sometimes come over to eat, but more often, I was alone at home.
I agreed to have lunch at Tang Shi’s house. He smiled and leaned in to whisper, "Help me with an English test this afternoon."
Of course! I knew he wasn’t being nice for no reason. So that’s what he was after!
I gave him a shove, "Can’t you do it yourself?"
"It’s for your own good," Tang Shi said confidently, "Your grades have been slipping, you know."
He had to bring up grades. Anyone would be upset about dropping in rank. I stopped and glared at Tang Shi, "Can you not talk about it?"
Tang Shi stared at me for a moment, then suddenly laughed, "Why are you so touchy? Fine, I won’t say anything. Otherwise, someone might go crying to my mom again."
I’m not a tattletale, and I didn’t cry. Tang Shi was so annoying. I didn’t want to talk to him, so I quickened my pace with my backpack.
Auntie had indeed made dumplings for lunch. I first told the housekeeper I wouldn’t be eating at home, then dropped my backpack and ran to Tang Shi’s house to change shoes.
They had a pair of slippers Auntie had bought just for me, white with pom-poms on top.
"Yueguang, you’re here," Auntie said, coming out of the kitchen with a plate, "Wash your hands quickly, it’s time to eat."
I changed my shoes and went to the kitchen to wash my hands. After washing, I helped Auntie carry a plate, "Auntie, let me help you."
"Alright," Auntie handed me a plate of colorful dumplings, "This plate is mostly for your brother, be careful not to burn yourself."
I carried the dumplings out of the kitchen. Tang Shi was sitting at the dining table playing on his phone, the sounds of fighting coming from it. I was itching to see what he was doing.
Tang Shi was playing a popular 5v5 competitive mobile game. I often heard the boys in our class discussing the characters during breaks. I really wanted to play, but I didn’t have a phone.
I deliberately chose the seat next to Tang Shi, pushing his dumplings closer to him, "Brother, it’s time to eat."
"Mm," Tang Shi was absorbed in his phone, too busy to pay attention to me, "You go ahead and eat."
The game kept playing various kill sound effects. I bit my chopsticks, watching Tang Shi’s phone longingly.
Auntie came out of the kitchen with a plate of fried meatballs. Seeing Tang Shi on his phone, she told him to eat first.
Tang Shi agreed but didn’t take his eyes off the screen, "I’ll eat after this round, just a moment."
Auntie couldn’t do anything about it and just told me, "Yueguang, let’s eat first."
I really wanted to play on a phone too. I tore my eyes away from Tang Shi’s phone and looked down at the dumplings on my plate.
Auntie had added vegetable juice to the dough when making the dumpling skins, so they were colorful.
I didn’t like fish, and the purple-skinned ones were squid dumplings. I pushed the two on my plate over to Tang Shi’s.
Tang Shi finally finished his game and put away his phone to eat.
There was only one plate of small meatballs on the table, which Auntie placed between us.
Tang Shi had a big appetite and was quick to grab the meatballs, one after another, and soon half the plate was gone.
If this continued, the whole plate would end up in his stomach. I got anxious and started grabbing meatballs too. Maybe food snatched tastes better; I unknowingly stuffed three or four meatballs into my mouth. But one of them was a juicy meatball, and when I bit into it, the hot juice squirted into my mouth.
I yelped in pain, covering my mouth.
Tang Shi noticed my reaction, stopped his assault on the meatballs, and turned to pinch my cheek, "Cheng Yueguang, how long has it been since your mom fed you meat? It’s just a plate of meatballs, is it worth it?"
My mouth was full of meatballs, too hard to chew and impossible to swallow, so I could only look at him and mumble.
Tang Shi looked exasperated, pried my mouth open, and used his finger to scoop out the saliva-covered meatballs into his palm.
He tossed the meatballs into the trash, wiped his hands with a napkin, and scolded me, "Look at you, I’ll give you the rest of the meatballs. I won’t eat them, okay?"
I stuck out my tongue at him, showing him the blister.
"Look at you," Tang Shi said, finishing wiping his hands and crumpling the napkin into a ball to throw it in the trash. His fingers were long, and he used a bit of force to tap my head, "Annoying!"
Auntie scolded him, "How can you talk to your brother like that? Yueguang, rinse your mouth with cold water first. I’ll get you some ice."
Auntie brought some ice, and I whimpered pitifully with my tongue out. Tang Shi fed me a piece of ice, telling me to hold it in my mouth for a while.
I moved the ice around with my tongue and mumbled to him, "Can I skip the test this afternoon?"
After lunch, I wanted to go home and nap, but Tang Shi wrapped his arm around mine, not letting me leave, "Why go back? Just sleep here."
Auntie didn’t know Tang Shi wanted me to stay to help with his test. She brought over a plate of cut fruit, placing it on the table with a smile, "Yes, Yueguang, stay here for your nap. Keep Tang Shi company."
Keep him company? We’re not little girls.
Reluctantly, I followed Tang Shi to his room. His room was on the second floor, with large windows. On sunny afternoons, you had to draw the curtains, or the sunlight would be too harsh to rest.
Tang Shi entered the room and drew the curtains, leaving only a small window in the shade. He went to his desk and patted the seat, beckoning me over, "Come."
I took off my school jacket and hung it on the coat rack, pouting as I walked over to sit down. Tang Shi pulled a crumpled test paper from his backpack, "Do it well. There’s a reward if you finish."
A reward? I suspiciously unfolded the crumpled paper and asked, "Are you going to let me play on your phone?"
Tang Shi didn’t answer me. I turned to look at him and suddenly realized his intention, shouting, "What are you doing!"
He had sneaked over to the coat rack and was reaching into my pocket. Yuan Ziyi’s gift was still in there!
Seeing Tang Shi pull the little foil package from my pocket, I panicked and pushed my chair away to grab it back.
Tang Shi was taller than me and easily held the item out of my reach.
He glanced at the item in his hand, then squinted at me, "Who gave this to you? What are you doing with it?"
"None of your business!" I raised my fist and hit him twice, "Give it back to me!"
"No."
Tang Shi held the item from Yuan Ziyi in one hand and grabbed my wrist with the other, tossing it into his pants pocket right in front of me, "Confiscated."
I wanted to curse him, but Tang Shi noticed my intention and covered my mouth before I could speak, dragging me to the desk with his superior strength, "Hurry up and do the test. No nap until you finish."