As the New Year approached, the smell of fireworks and daily life from frying, stir-frying, steaming, and deep-frying in the tube-shaped buildings grew increasingly thick and lively. Even more unavoidable was the gunpowder smell of children playing with friction firecrackers in the streets and alleys.
Some naughty kid had lit a “ground mouse,” which scurried around with colored sparks chasing people. Early in the morning, you could hear adults noisily scolding their kids.
Every household was busy cleaning their homes. Water sloshed in buckets and basins, used to wipe windows and doors before washing the rags, turning the whole bucket of water murky. Bamboo poles were tied with old brooms, thrusting at the corridor ceilings with loud bangs, stirring down cobwebs and dust from the corners.
After mopping the floor with soapy water, the ceramic floor tiles were shimmering with watery light, dotted with fine white foam. Zhuang Tongguang went to the shower room to wash the mop.
The stubborn stains on the window glass wouldn’t come clean. Zhu Cuifeng, cracking red melon seeds, offered a secret recipe, “Use white wine to wipe it! Add some toothpaste too. It can clean all kitchen grease and lime scale on faucets!”
“Our windows were wiped so clean they’re sparkling. Hexue, don’t stand up there wiping, it’s so high and dangerous.” Zhu Cuifeng said, while directing, “Lu Yang, you go.”
Xin Zhiying poured two cups of tea for the visiting Zhu Cuifeng and Lu Guoxing and hurriedly tried to dissuade: “No need, no need, how can we trouble Lu Yang to come to our place to wipe windows? Lu Yang, sit down, there’s a fruit plate on the table.”
Zhu Cuifeng quickly said, “Sister Xin, this kid Lu Yang is good. He’s really handy and works efficiently, so it’s fine, he will wipe your windows until they look new.”
She told Xin Zhiying not to be so polite, “Sister Xin, I truly respect you and call you ‘sister’ from the bottom of my heart. If it weren’t for your Hexue, ha, could Lu Yang have gotten into No.1 High School? I truly wouldn’t have dared to dream of it even if our ancestral tombs were giving off blue smoke.”
“That’s really because Lu Yang worked hard himself.” Xin Zhiying smiled and said.
Zhu Cuifeng shook her head, “Him? He only scored three hundred points in the final exam of the second semester of second year. If it weren’t for Hexue tutoring him, could he have scored 520 in the high school entrance exam? Even if I visited every temple in the city, he’d just be a dumb fool.”
“…Mom, can you stop? Save me some face.”
A young man’s voice interrupted the small talk.
In just a year, Lu Yang’s height had broken the 185 cm mark and was still trending upward.
His thick, dark eyebrows radiated youthful sharpness. He wore a navy blue hooded sweatshirt with a denim jacket over it, seemingly completely unaffected by the cold air, instead radiating heat.
Lu Yang said, “Xin Hexue, come down quickly, I’ll wipe them.”
He reached out a hand to steady him, effectively acting as a human handrail, allowing Xin Hexue to step down steadily from the stool.
Unlike Lu Yang’s wheat-colored skin from training daily under the sun, Xin Hexue’s outdoor activity since starting high school was almost limited to biking to and from school. His P.E. classes usually involved playing badminton indoors, so his complexion remained fair, snow-white and dazzling.
His dark bangs fell over his forehead, a small black mole resting quietly at the corner of his eye.
Xin Hexue handed the rag to Lu Yang and went to wash his hands.
Zhu Cuifeng was still chatting with Xin Zhiying, “You see, children grow up and it’s different; they care about face outside, and can’t be criticized. Back when he got into trouble every day and I was called to the office every other day to be criticized by his teachers, he didn’t care if his mother needed to save face.”
“Sister Xin, I really envy you.” Overwhelmed with emotion, Zhu Cuifeng set down her cup and grasped Xin Zhiying’s hand, “You have two kids who don’t need worrying about. Both got into No.1 High School, and Hexue was even the Lingzhou City top scorer. I feel like it was just yesterday when the banner was hung at the entrance of the residential compound in July. Just helping pull that banner made me glow with pride.”
When the results were posted in July, Lu Guoxing and Zhu Cuifeng were both sweating for Lu Yang, as the preferences were filled out before the high school entrance exam.
Lu Yang already had his track and field awards, and had passed No.1 High School’s internal selection test. So according to the school’s rules, he would be admitted with a hundred points below that year’s cutoff score. Lu Yang had boldly filled No.1 High School as his first choice. If he didn’t get in, he faced the risk of failing placement.
On July 10th, the school posted the scores. Just after the three kids left home together to return to school, the phone rang at Xin Zhiying’s workplace.
Lingzhou Power Plant Affiliated Middle School had produced a city top scorer, an unprecedented first. The principal’s interview directly made it into the Lingzhou Evening News.
Xin Hexue didn’t give an interview. His score was close to what he had estimated: 649. He lost some points on the Chinese and English essays, and some on the political subjective questions. The rest, math, physics, and chemistry, were all perfect scores.
He went to school mainly to check Lu Yang’s score, which was exactly 520. No.1 High School’s admission cutoff was announced as 600. By the standard of a hundred-point reduction, he had exceeded it by a full twenty points. He was very satisfied with Lu Yang.
This year’s high school entrance exam was definitely a fruitful one for the affiliated middle school. The city top scorer was here, and a total of four students were admitted to No.1 High School: besides Xin Hexue and Lin Oufei, who were ranked in the city for their academic scores, there was Lu Yang via the sports specialty student track, and also Miao Ling, who had exceeded the cutoff by five points. She had also mustered her courage and filled No.1 as her first choice.
The principal enthusiastically gave another interview.
Xin Hexue got annoyed with the constant calls coming to the house and unplugged the phone line, going with his brother to their grandmother’s for the summer.
Lu Yang took the train with Zhu Cuifeng to Hong City for a family reunion.
Lu Guoxing went to work in Hong City, a coastal city, with a few fellow townsmen before the start of Lu Yang’s third semester of junior high. Private factories and enterprises were sprouting up like bamboo shoots after rain in that area. With his education and work experience, those factories could afford an engineer’s salary, and his monthly income was double what he had earned at the state-owned factory.
As the New Year approached, Lu Guoxing returned to Lingzhou fully loaded with gains, coming to their good neighbors’ home laden with gifts.
They had originally intended to visit the Lin family too, but upon arriving, they heard from Xin Zhiying that Lin Oufei and his mother had gone back to his grandparents’ home in the provincial capital for the New Year. This was a first. In previous years, the Lin family had been just the mother and son during the New Year, so their two families, worried the Lin family would feel lonely, always gathered together for the New Year. The children were happy, and the adults would have meals and drinks together, which was lively and warm.
They had never seen Lin Oufei’s father or relatives from that side. They thought Lin’s mother was a single parent raising a child after a divorce, with no contact with the grandparents.
While catching up with Zhuang Ping, Lu Guoxing suddenly had a thought and asked, “Do you want to come to Hong City with me after the New Year to look for work?”
Despite the enthusiastic offer, Zhuang Ping still refused. He was the same as before, driving a taxi in the city. Xin Zhiying worked at the hospital and was sometimes too busy to manage the household. Driving a taxi offered flexible hours. Unlike the Lu family, the Zhuang family had two children in high school, which was a crucial time. Zhuang Ping needed to prioritize the family.
The two families had been close for so many years, and they had endless things to talk about. In the afternoon, they planned to fry glutinous rice cakes, make fermented rice, and wrap egg dumplings together. Xin Zhiying gave Zhuang Tongguang money to go to the city with his brother to buy new clothes and pick up a few New Year goods on the way back.
Seeing Xin Hexue and Zhuang Tongguang about to go out, Lu Yang grew anxious. He finished wiping the windows in three strokes, jumped down, and followed, “Mom, I’m going with them! I won’t be back for lunch!”
Lu Yang ran to Xin Hexue’s side, “Are your hands cold?”
He grabbed the hand exposed outside the down jacket and stuffed it into his sweatshirt pocket.
Xin Hexue touched something. It had a texture like kraft-paper, like an envelope. He looked up at Lu Yang in confusion.
Lu Yang grinned, “I brought my little treasury. I’ll treat you to lunch later.”
Zhuang Tongguang, who had walked a step ahead of them, turned around and stared intently at Lu Yang’s hand holding Xin Hexue’s for a long time.
Lu Yang, who was completely oblivious, was still adding happily: “And Brother Tongguang, eating together.”
………
When they got on the bus, there were no seats left, so they stood, swaying and jolting all the way into the city.
Vendors on the street were walking through the city holding bunches of hydrogen balloons. It was close to the New Year holiday, and adults and children filled the streets, shoulder to shoulder, creating a bustling and lively atmosphere.
As they passed the square heading for the traffic lights, some kids on the street suddenly set off fire crackers, which almost hit Xin Hexue’s feet.
Zhuang Tongguang’s face darkened. He was about to step forward when Xin Hexue pulled him back.
Xin Hexue said calmly, “Just watch.”
Like a dog off the leash, Lu Yang, who was beside them, rushed forward and started arguing with the two kids. He was tall and sturdy, with fierce eyes and a menacing look. The two kids were no match for him.
Seeing the two kids’ red faces and bulging necks, about to cry, Xin Hexue said, “Alright, Lu Yang, come back.”
Lu Yang turned around, his expression changing instantly as he grinned cheekily and ran back to Xin Hexue’s side. “I was just reasoning with them.”
[Where did these brats come from, daring to set off fireworks near Xin Hexue? I’ll beat your butts into eight pieces!]
Ignoring the strange auditory hallucination, Xin Hexue raised an eyebrow at Zhuang Tongguang.
Zhuang Tongguang was indeed reassured; this showed there were many benefits to Lu Yang getting into No.1 High School.
He would be a senior in the second semester come spring, then take the college entrance exam and go to university in another city. Lin Oufei and Lu Yang were both at No.1 High School, and in the same class as Xin Hexue. He wasn’t worried about something like Xin Hexue being bullied by other kids, like back in kindergarten, happening again.
When passing by a newsstand, Lu Yang said he wanted to see if they had the latest issue of “Comic Friends.”
The metal walls of the newsstand were crammed with a dazzling array of book and magazine covers, layered upon each other like a spilled palette. Xin Hexue found a publication with a familiar-sounding name from one of the several shelves.
He had just picked it up from the shelf when Zhuang Tongguang pressed it back.
Under Xin Hexue’s gaze, Zhuang Tongguang struggled for a long time before stammering, “This one…is not good. It’s not suitable for you.”
“But doesn’t it say ‘Teen Boys and Girls’ on it?” Xin Hexue curved his eyes. “It looks like it’s for our age group.”
Zhuang Tongguang lowered his gaze, lips pressed into a straight line. After a while, he said, “The dean confiscated a lot of these magazines.”
Xin Hexue: “So…?”
Zhuang Tongguang: “They’re bad for studying. Reading them leads to puppy love.”
Probably realizing how weak the reason sounded, Zhuang Tongguang fell silent after speaking.
“Are officials allowed to set fires while common people are forbidden even to light lamps?” Xin Hexue laid his cards on the table. “I already know you used to read them.”
“You hid the magazines in the corner of the bookshelf. Auntie found them while cleaning.”
To avoid Zhuang Tongguang thinking he had sneaked into his room to rummage, Xin Hexue explained.
Zhuang Tongguang opened his mouth, but couldn’t find words to refute.
This time Xin Hexue took the magazine off the shelf without obstruction. He casually flipped through a few pages; at most, it contained stories of youthful admiration, nothing outrageous. It was not as explicit as the scenes from prime-time TV dramas at 8 PM.
Whenever Xin Zhiying watched TV dramas, and Xin Hexue came out to the living room to get water, the two adults on TV would be kissing so intensely it seemed like flowers were blooming. He always had to pretend not to see, not to understand, get a cup of water, and shuffle back sideways to his bedroom.
Is dating really that interesting?
Or is it just because kissing and hugging cause the secretion of dopamine and endorphins?
Other students also came to look for books and magazines. “Do you have the latest issue of ‘Science Fiction World’?”
The newsstand owner said, “Yes, yes, I’ll find it for you.”
Xin Hexue had bought several issues of Science Fiction World, never missing one.
Seeing Xin Hexue’s attention diverted, Zhuang Tongguang breathed a sigh of relief.
The publication he was holding felt somewhat hot to the touch.
It really wasn’t as serious as he made it sound, that reading it would lead to puppy love.
It was just that, by pure coincidence, Zhuang Tongguang happened to read an article inside during the time of his first wet dream. It was just a diary entry from a girl’s perspective about youthful feelings of love and a secret crush, nothing particularly novel. The reason Zhuang Tongguang noticed it was because the male character described was fair-skinned and slender, liked Black Cat Sheriff, and had good grades.
He just thought of Xin Hexue.
When he woke up that morning, Zhuang Tongguang remembered that he only dreamed of a pair of beautiful eyes like obsidian.
Coincidentally… there was a small mole at the outer corner of the left eye.
He exhaled, his breath forming a white mist in the cold air, his calm gaze sweeping towards Xin Hexue.
Lu Yang beside him said excitedly, “Xin Hexue, look, they have ‘Slam Dunk’ here!”
