The city’s basketball tournament originally scheduled for November was repeatedly postponed due to months of bad weather.
Rain and snow fell intermittently. Sometimes, because of the harsh weather, the school team’s training had to be temporarily stopped, and the students were sent back to the classroom.
In the blink of an eye, it was December.
The week it was Xin Hexue’s turn on duty was also the week when the weather forecast issued a yellow alert for heavy rainfall.
Waking up to sleet, the world was drizzling and pattering, and snow particles were floating among the white lines of rain.
Xin Hexue closed the long black umbrella that had been dripping water all the way upstairs and leaned it against the outside classroom wall.
He rubbed his cold, stiff fingers and tugged at his gray-purple cashmere scarf, letting it hang loosely around his neck.
Because he was on duty, he had come a bit earlier; it was only a little past 6, not yet 7 o’clock.
When Xin Hexue entered the classroom, however, he found Lu Yang already sitting at his desk. Water droplets trickled across the windowpanes, and a basketball sat wetly in the corner of the classroom.
With weather like this, training was definitely impossible.
“Lu Yang?”
He called out softly.
Lu Yang, who had been sitting in the back row against the wall with his head down working on problems, suddenly realized Xin Hexue had arrived. He looked up and hurriedly pulled out his earphones, “Ah, you’re here? I was listening to the audio and didn’t notice.”
Xin Hexue looked around the classroom and found that not only was the classroom floor clean, but even the trash can behind the door had been emptied.
Lu Yang had even straightened the desks and chairs for each row.
“Um, I saw your name written on the blackboard that it’s your turn on duty today.” Lu Yang scratched the back of his head, “Anyway, I was just idle.”
Xin Hexue’s remaining tasks were simply to wipe the podium and blackboard with a damp cloth.
He stared at Lu Yang for a moment, then asked, “Are you very nervous?”
Xin Hexue was very good at sensing changes in other people’s emotions. Lu Yang was acting a bit anxious now, even using cleaning work to distract himself.
Sure enough, like a punctured balloon, Lu Yang immediately deflated and hung his head.
“Saying I’m not nervous would be a lie… We haven’t had a full training session in many days.”
The basketball team at the power plant’s affiliated middle school was never strong to begin with. The school didn’t have many students, and the team members were chosen from among the tallest of the short ones.
“Alright, take a deep breath.” Xin Hexue placed a hand on his back, guiding him, “Exhale… Inhale…”
The affiliated middle school didn’t have winter padded uniforms and didn’t strictly control what students wore in winter, as long as they kept warm.
Lu Yang only wore a navy blue nylon jacket over his autumn uniform.
Xin Hexue asked, “Aren’t you cold?”
“Not cold.” Lu Yang shook his head, instead saying in frustration, “I feel overwhelmed right now.”
It was incredible, Lu Yang could even use proper idioms now.
Xin Hexue sighed and told him to sit down.
Borrowing a chair from a nearby classmate, he sat facing Lu Yang, assuming a heart-to-heart posture.
“Lu Yang, there’s one thing I want you to be clear about.”
Perhaps sensing the seriousness in Xin Hexue’s tone, Lu Yang’s expression became solemn. He placed his hands on his knees, staring intently at the other party’s face. “Tell me.”
His long eyelashes fluttered like dragonfly wings as Xin Hexue lifted his thin eyelids.
“I don’t want you to put too much pressure on yourself. Of course, pressure within a moderate range isn’t a bad thing either.”
He said seriously: “Don’t think of things in the worst possible light. Sometimes you’re just overthinking it. Your grades have already improved a lot now. Even the worst, worst-case scenario is just that you don’t get into No.1 High School…”
“Then wouldn’t that mean that we won’t be able to study at the same high school?!”
Lu Yang’s eyes widened like copper bells.
Xin Hexue countered, “What would that change?”
Lu Yang stammered, “I…I don’t know.”
“Do you think not being in the same high school would overturn everything? That you would no longer be my best friend?” Xin Hexue laid out all the worries Lu Yang hesitated to voice.
“But we’ve known each other since kindergarten.” His eyes were like tranquil lakes, looking at Lu Yang, “We’ve known each other for ten years, that’s two-thirds of our lives.”
“You are my most important friend.”
Lu Yang stared at him blankly.
Seeing that he was listening, Xin Hexue continued, “So, three years of high school don’t mean much. It would be great if we could be in the same school, but if we’re not, it won’t change anything else. Would you stop playing with me just because you went to a different high school?”
Lu Yang shook his head like a rattle drum, “No, I’d still come find you every day. Anyway, we live so close.”
Didn’t that make sense now?
Xin Hexue relaxed his expression, “So, relax a little. If you’re too nervous, you won’t be able to perform at your normal level during the competition either.”
“Okay, okay, okay, relax, relax.” Lu Yang suddenly asked blankly and foolishly, “Xin Hexue, don’t you think this classroom is really hot…”
His heart was beating so fast too.
‘Xin Hexue said, I am his most important friend.’
Lu Yang’s eyes widened. He pressed his wildly beating heart, the heat rushing straight to the top of his head, like a pressure cooker releasing steam and spurting out scorching air.
“YES!!!” Lu Yang jumped up on the spot, pulling back a fist, “Come on, Lu-Xiao-Yang!”
Xin Hexue: “…”
This didn’t seem to be the excited effect he was aiming for.
………
In the second week of December, the weather finally improved, with warm winter sunshine and clear skies.
But things seemed to take a turn for the worse on this bright day.
The city basketball competition in mid-December was held on a weekend, and Xin Hexue and Lin Oufei went to watch.
During the game, Cai Shu, a player in the affiliated middle school team that was originally in the lead, went for a layup. The opposing player jumped vertically to block, and the two accidentally collided mid-air. When Cai Shu fell to the ground, his body landed with a heavy, dull thud. He cried out in pain, clutching his burning, painful ankle.
He had sprained it upon landing.
The substitute sent up by the affiliated middle school wasn’t skilled enough. Plus, as Lin Oufei said, their school’s team was too nervous. The score was unsurprisingly caught up in the second half.
The outlook for the remaining games wasn’t optimistic either.
Xin Hexue could tell Lu Yang had tried his best, but unfortunately, the affiliated middle school team still missed out on a team ranking.
He had already thought about how to comfort the distraught Lu Yang.
But just before reaching home, Lu Yang rallied himself, “Actually, there’s still one more chance. After all, basketball is a team sport, and team rankings carry significant weight in special recruitment admissions. The teacher said if it really doesn’t work out, I can go for track and field individually. He already signed me up for the municipal sports meet as a backup plan.”
“In short, just watch.” Lu Yang said confidently, “I’ll show you the strength of Xin Hexue’s most important friend!”
The municipal sports meet Lu Yang mentioned was, due to venue conflicts, finally officially scheduled for the end of December.
It was precisely on the last day of the year, just before the New Year’s Day holiday.
Because classes were scheduled that day, plus there was a minor math test, Xin Hexue couldn’t ask for leave to watch Lu Yang’s competition.
Tomorrow was New Year’s Day. The last period before the holiday had no class scheduled. Like previous Fridays, school ended at 3:30 PM.
Xin Hexue slowly packed his schoolbag, folding the holiday homework and placing it inside.
Lin Oufei had to go to the provincial capital with his mother, so he left right after school to catch the bus, probably returning tomorrow. They weren’t walking home together.
It was a sunny day. The afternoon sun was still bright, its rays passing through the uncurtained glass and shining into the classroom.
The homework and test papers assigned to Lu Yang were all scattered in a mess on his desk. Xin Hexue sorted them pile by pile, then looked down into the desk to see if any homework was left behind.
While pulling out the Chinese workbook, he accidentally brought out a kraft paper-covered notebook that fell to the floor.
His motion to pick it up paused mid-air, then he crouched down.
—Today Xin Hexue praised me for having endless ox-like strength. He was probably complimenting me, right? Although he didn’t seem very happy about it?
—Cai Shu came back from the city and said that Baxy ice cream is really delicious. Save up money. Xin Hexue will know after tasting it whether it’s good or not.
—No need to save up. Mom cut off my allowance and decided to sell her unwanted son to the scrap station for recycling. I’m very sad. I feel like when I was born, what got cut off along with the umbilical cord wasn’t just my intelligence, but also the mother-son bond between me and Madam Zhu.
—But Xin Hexue praised me today for using the idiom correctly, and shared milk candies with me. I’m happy again. I felt like singing, but Xin Hexue said if I dared disturb his ears, he’d beat me up. Forget it, won’t sing. I’ll hum in my heart.
—I had a fight with Xin Hexue outside the office. It’s all Lin Oufei’s fault. Why can he go to No.1 High School with Xin Hexue? I get pissed off just seeing him. I hate all smart people!!! (Except for Xin Hexue, the smartest person in the entire universe).
—I got the special talent student application form from the P.E. teacher to fill out. Just the time it took to go to the office, how come Xin Hexue didn’t come to class in the afternoon?? It’s all my fault. If I’d known, I would have apologized in the morning!
—I haven’t seen him all afternoon. It’s been ten hours since I last talked to Xin Hexue! I feel so sad so sad so sad so sad so sad so sad…
It seemed to be a sporadic diary, not written daily, with intermittent dates.
The content on this page ended. Xin Hexue didn’t turn the page. He put the diary back among the books in the desk, only taking the sorted homework from various subjects and putting it in his own backpack to take away.
The last day of the year.
Because of the three-day New Year’s Day holiday ahead, everyone walking on the street was beaming with joy.
Xin Hexue did his homework at the table and chairs below the tube-shaped building.
If it were summer, this place would be full of people bringing down wicker and bamboo chairs to enjoy the cool breeze. Adults would sit and chat, children would play wildly nearby, not only passing the time but also saving on fan and AC electricity bills.
But it was winter now. The leaves on the trees were almost all gone, making it seem somewhat desolate.
He had just finished an English test paper when the sun began to set. As he looked up, he saw a few children chasing each other and playing with a ball on the road, their giggling laughter echoing.
Xin Hexue felt that this scene was a bit like when they were kids.
When did they grow up?
They were no longer children. So when would they become adults?
Xin Hexue put the English test paper back into his bag.
He took out a highlighter and the colored cardstock he had bought at the stationery store on his way back. Using a ruler, he drew a square and slowly cut it out with scissors.
As the sunset painted the sky crimson, stars of light lit up in the tube-shaped buildings, and the smell of cooking floated from the wide-open windows.
The children’s ball came back, and they played in the middle of the wide road. Behind them, an adult returning home late rang his bicycle bell, but before he could even speak, someone even more anxious than him shouted, “Make way, make way!”
Xin Hexue stood up, anticipating the result, “How was it?”
Like a triumphant knight, Lu Yang rushed back with a glowing face, took the gold medal from his chest, and hung it around Xin Hexue’s neck.
“First place?” Xin Hexue asked happily.
Lu Yang nodded heavily, excitedly lifted Xin Hexue up and spun him around, “Ahhhh! I did it, I did it!”
The world spun, and his heart beat fast, pounding loudly.
He soon realized that this vigorous, powerful heartbeat came from Lu Yang’s chest. In the winter night, the boy’s body temperature was warm, like a furnace.
Lu Yang was too excited. Only when Xin Hexue pounded his back saying he was getting dizzy did he put Xin Hexue down, still looking very reluctant.
After staring at the medal for a while, Xin Hexue confirmed, “It’s true, first place.”
Lu Yang said proudly, “For me, it was practically nothing.”
There was no need to mention how close the second place had been…practically biting at his heels.
However, Lu Yang truly believed he hadn’t run his absolute best. The only time he had run his fastest and performed his best was when he carried Xin Hexue on his back from the affiliated elementary school to the factory hospital.
That race had no referee counting seconds, and there were no opponents to compete against, but that wind-racing, lightning-speeding experience was something Lu Yang hoped he would never experience again.
Fortunately, the doctor said Xin Hexue’s heart condition was only mild to moderate pulmonary valve stenosis, and as long as he did not engage in strenuous or extreme exercises, it wouldn’t affect his daily activities.
“I ran into my dad on the way. He said to celebrate, he’s going to buy two roast geese after work.” Lu Yang invited eagerly, “Your family should come to my place for dinner tonight!”
Xin Hexue nodded, “Okay, I’ll go back and tell Auntie.”
He lowered his eyelashes, “And also… Here’s a reward.”
A piece of cardstock was placed in Lu Yang’s palm. Colorful marker pens had drawn little cats and dogs, and the big words read…
[Make-Up Coupon]
Holder: Lu Yang.
Promisor: Xin Hexue.
Validity: Unlimited.
“In the future, if we quarrel and give each other the cold shoulder, even if it’s so serious we stop interacting, you can choose to use this.” Xin Hexue said, “This is your get-out-of-jail-free card.”
Lu Yang looked up blankly.
In the distance, someone was setting off fireworks on New Year’s Eve. They whistled straight up into the night sky and exploded with a bang.
“The new year has arrived, Xin Hexue.”
