These past two years, yearbooks seemed to be very popular. During breaks, classmates were going in and out, looking for people.
Xin Hexue was filling out the yearbook Miao Ling had handed him when he caught a glimpse of Lu Yang walking into the classroom through the back door, his head down. He was still the same as before, with a buzz cut, his hair so short it looked like a thin layer of stubble, and two cowlicks on the top of his head. His elementary school homeroom teacher used to scold Lu Yang, calling him a stubborn brat.
Lu Yang’s seat was the last one in the corner of the classroom and against the wall. A basketball was placed between his chair and the storage cabinet.
Although Lin Oufei was sitting not far from him, when he saw Lu Yang enter, his gaze swept over coldly, then glanced toward Xin Hexue’s location, and finally just looked out the window.
Inside and outside the classroom was noisy and chaotic. Beyond the window was blue sky and white clouds. Autumn cicadas hid in the lush green leaves, chirring.
“Lu Yang?” Xin Hexue spoke up, “Where did you go during the last class…?”
His words were interrupted.
Zeng Zishi, who had just returned from the office, came forward. “Lu Yang, the homeroom teacher wants you to go to the office.”
“Oh.”
Xin Hexue saw Lu Yang stuff a form into his desk drawer. Before he could see what it was, Lu Yang left the classroom without a word.
“Did you three have a fight?” Miao Ling was perceptive and understood at a glance, “And it’s mainly between you and Lu Yang?”
Come to think of it, back then, the whole kindergarten knew that Lu Yang and Xin Hexue were the best of friends, because Lu Yang guarded Xin Hexue like he was protecting his food, so others didn’t dare to sneak around the boxing king to play with Xin Hexue.
It was precisely because of this that Miao Ling found it surprising when the original duo became the Three Musketeers.
That Lin Oufei was definitely not simple.
The skin on the back of his hand was fair and beautiful. When he held a pen, his slender knuckles stood out, the faint blue veins clearly visible.
Xin Hexue’s pen moved smoothly and freely as he filled out a page of the yearbook. His handwriting was as clear and beautiful as landscape paintings. Regarding Miao Ling’s question about whether they had a fight, he replied vaguely: “You could say that.”
He and Lu Yang actually rarely fought.
The few times it happened were when he needed quiet and was annoyed by Lu Yang pestering him, and he couldn’t help losing his temper. But before the next day, Lu Yang would be happily bouncing around as if nothing had happened, climbing up to knock on his bedroom window.
Well… Xin Hexue had also lost his temper about Lu Yang’s unconventional methods.
His way of losing his temper wasn’t very intense. Simply put, it was the cold shoulder.
Xin Hexue would deliberately ignore Lu Yang.
So sometimes, after losing his temper, he would feel a little bad, because he knew very well that Lu Yang couldn’t stand the cold shoulder.
Within three minutes of him ignoring him, Lu Yang would automatically spiral from “Xin Hexue isn’t talking to me” straight to “Xin Hexue wants to break up with me.”
He would watch him get so anxious his face turned red, scratching his ears and cheeks, circling around him and exhausting all means to reconcile with him, trying every trick to make him laugh.
Only then would the stifled anger in his chest feel swept away by a clear breeze.
Although it wasn’t good, Xin Hexue had to admit that his pleasure was indeed built upon Lu Yang’s display of distress.
So after calming down, Xin Hexue would feel that he had been too cruel.
No good friend in the world would want to see another good friend in pain.
Doing this, it was as if he was subconsciously using his own actions to influence Lu Yang’s emotions in every way.
He wanted to manipulate Lu Yang, and he didn’t even realize it himself…he actually enjoyed this feeling of manipulating the other person.
He had tried to change, but the next time he got angry, he couldn’t help but resort to the same trick again.
He had developed a habit, and it was hard to break.
Moreover, it felt like there was a demon version of him inside tempting him, asking why he should change?
Lu Yang would always stick back on like a dogskin plaster anyway, and was impossible to shake off.
Didn’t he say you are a princess?
Why should a princess care about a servant’s emotions?
Besides, if this servant is disobedient, there are thousands of other servants as backups.
Xin Hexue quickly shook his head, clearing the chaotic thoughts from his mind.
This was very bad.
Lu Yang was his most important friend, so when they had a disagreement, he should also take the initiative to find a way to resolve it.
He returned the yearbook to Miao Ling, who suddenly asked, “Xin Hexue, you’ll probably list No.1 as your first choice, right? Hmm… given your grades.”
They would fill out their school preferences about a month before the high school entrance exam.
Xin Hexue nodded, “My big brother goes there, so…”
“I see.” Miao Ling shook the yearbook in her hand, “Thanks, then I’ll head back now.”
The preparatory bell had already rung. Because they were in different classes in junior high, Miao Ling had come to find him during the break. The teacher would arrive in the classroom soon.
“Goodbye,” Xin Hexue said.
However, Lu Yang didn’t return for the entire class, and Xin Hexue didn’t see him during the lunch break.
He went home for lunch at noon and heard that both of Lu Yang’s parents had gone to the school.
Didn’t Uncle Lu have to work today?
He felt a little puzzled.
Zhuang Ping and Lu Guoxing had been leaving early and returning late recently. Because it was the same schedule as the usual day shift at the factory, everything at home seemed peaceful, so Xin Hexue didn’t know what was happening.
Having spent the previous period studying at home, it wasn’t until he walked out onto the street that he realized there were more adults out during the day.
Auntie Lin was off today due to a schedule change and happened to be home. When he went to find Lin Oufei, Auntie Lin came out of the kitchen carrying dishes. Seeing Xin Hexue didn’t have his tail following him, she asked, “Why isn’t Lu Yang with you? Aren’t you three the closest? Both of Lu Yang’s parents have lost their jobs recently, and there’s been arguing at their house every two or three days. You should pay more attention to his mood.”
Xin Hexue came back to his senses, remembering that Zhuang Ping and Lu Guoxing often came back at the same time, buying alcohol at the convenience store. Thinking about it now, they were probably leaving early and returning late looking for jobs, and the progress wasn’t going well.
To confirm, he asked, “Auntie Lin, has my uncle also been laid off?”
Auntie Lin looked troubled, hesitating as she said, “Sister Xin originally told me not to tell you… but the factory laid off a large number of people all at once, the surrounding environment has changed, and I guessed we couldn’t hide it from you for long. I told Sister Xin that you’re not too young anymore, you should all know a bit about the family’s financial situation.”
Xin Hexue understood Xin Zhiying’s thinking. His aunt didn’t want him to be distracted by other matters. They treated his older brother the same way; the year Zhuang Tongguang was in his third year of junior high, family troubles, big or small, were never brought to the dinner table.
In their family, only one person was unemployed, and his aunt still had a stable job at the hospital. But in Lu Yang’s family, both parents were out of work. The pressure was imaginable.
This was something no one would have imagined before. Just a few years ago, everyone was sighing that state-owned factories were “iron rice bowls.” Xin Hexue knew many of his classmates were thinking of going to technical school if they couldn’t get into high school.
After all, the factory’s previous policies favored employees’ children, allowing them to take over their parents’ jobs after graduation.
Xin Hexue originally thought topics related to adults, work, and income were still far in the future for him, but now he found they were right at his doorstep.
A scene suddenly emerged in his mind…
Under the scorching summer sun, Lu Yang, who had failed the high school entrance exam, was pedaling a rundown tricycle under the blazing sun, holding a loudspeaker: “Recycling scrap copper and iron, old books and newspapers, liquor bottles…Maotai bottles, one-fifty each…”
After a whole day of traveling the streets and alleys, he finally gathered a cartload of small junk, only to be made fun of by the evil Su Zhuang, who suddenly charged out and called him a country bumpkin. Su Zhuang threw a soda can right at Lu Yang’s forehead, laughing with his hands on his hips, “Hehehe!”
Lu Yang painstakingly scraped together two yuan, and holding his precious possession, rushed over to him excitedly.
His wheat-colored skin was tanned pitch black by the sun, and he was grinning widely with big teeth, “Xin Hexue, it’s a three color ice cream! Eat it quickly.”
Xin Hexue shuddered all over and suddenly struggled awake from the dream.
‘Thank goodness, it was just a dream. No evil Su Zhuang.’
But there was a Lu Yang in precarious circumstances.
Xin Hexue put on his backpack and took a few paper bills and coins for the bus from his bedroom drawer.
Before changing shoes and leaving, he went back and combed his hair in front of the mirror where it had stuck up from sleeping.
He knocked on the door of Lin Oufei’s house next door in the corridor. After Lin Oufei came to open the door, he said, “This afternoon, please tell the homeroom teacher for me that I’m not feeling well and need to ask for leave.”
Without waiting for Lin Oufei to ask for details, he went downstairs and left.
It was the first day of school; there was no formal content to cover, mainly just collecting new books.
The homeroom teacher knew he had a congenital heart condition, and combined with his usual image as a good student, an occasional small lie wasn’t a big problem.
Xin Hexue got on the bus going to the city center.
………
No.1 Middle School ended classes at 5:30 PM. Zhuang Tongguang rode his bike fast, but it was already 6 PM by the time he got home.
The sun was setting in the west. He parked his bicycle under the awning downstairs and locked it.
While going upstairs, he bumped into Lin Oufei who was coming downstairs. Lin Oufei told him that Xin Hexue hadn’t attended classes in the afternoon, had asked for leave to go to the city, and asked if Xin Hexue had gone to No.1 Middle School to look for him.
Zhuang Tongguang’s expression changed, and he said nervously, “He didn’t come to find me. Did he go home?”
Lin Oufei nodded, holding change to buy salt, “He came back a little after five, but he didn’t come to find me.”
Zhuang Tongguang: “I understand, I’ll go check on him.”
Xin Zhiying had already returned from work and was busy in the kitchen. Zhuang Tongguang put down his backpack and went to help, but she pushed her son away, “It’s fine, go do your homework.”
When Zhuang Tongguang mentioned Xin Hexue, Xin Zhiying said, “He said he went to the city to buy books this afternoon, probably review guides. Why?”
Neither of the brothers was troublesome, so Xin Zhiying didn’t worry about this, only reminding Xin Hexue to pay attention to traffic safety when going out.
“Nothing.”
Zhuang Tongguang washed his hands and then washed a plate of fruit.
“Xiao Xue.”
He held the fruit plate in one hand, the other gripping the doorknob.
He turned it. It didn’t move. He applied more force, and the lock cylinder made a clicking sound.
Xin Hexue’s bedroom door was locked.
Zhuang Tongguang froze for a moment, “…Xiao Xue?”
He heard the sound of a drawer being abruptly pushed shut from behind the door.
The door opened from the inside, just enough for a person to slip through. A dark-haired head tilted to the side and peeked out, “Big Brother? What’s wrong?”
The window behind was open, letting in the evening breeze, and showing a blue-pink sky.
His heart sank like the setting sun.
Zhuang Tongguang’s voice was hoarse, “Is there someone in your room? Can’t I come in?”
Xin Hexue sounded puzzled: “No.”
He pulled the door open completely. The room only had Xin Hexue in it, and there really was no one else.
“I was just studying.”
Zhuang Tongguang placed the fruit plate on the desk and closed both windows, “Mosquitoes will get in.”
“It’s okay, I have the mosquito repellent liquid on.”
Xin Hexue pointed to the outlet on the wall.
“That’s good.”
Zhuang Tongguang replied, but his hands closed the windows tightly. He turned around, his gaze sweeping over Xin Hexue’s desk, which had a few textbooks piled on it.
Besides those, there were two books he hadn’t seen before.
“How to Help the Hyperactive Child,” “Attention Deficit Disorder: A Family Guide.”
“Huh?” Zhuang Tongguang approached, “Why are you getting interested in these all of a sudden?”
Xin Hexue made up an excuse: “I want to be a psychologist in the future.”
Dreams during adolescence were always changing; it was normal for them to fluctuate.
Xin Hexue pushed Zhuang Tongguang out, “Big Brother, you should go do your homework. I see you have a lot of high school homework.”
Facing the closed door again, Zhuang Tongguang looked down, heavy-hearted.
Did his younger brother now have secrets he couldn’t share with him?
There was a barrier of a locked door between them.
………
After finishing dinner and taking a bath in the evening, Xin Hexue returned to his bedroom. After previewing the next day’s material, he opened the books he had bought after visiting several bookstores that day.
But then, a tapping sound came from outside.
Xin Hexue put the book back in the drawer again, realizing the sound was coming from the window at the back of his room.
He reopened the window, and in climbed Lu Yang, who had several mosquito bites on his hands and feet.
Xin Hexue tossed the cooling ointment to him, which Lu Yang hurriedly caught.
He crossed his arms and looked at Lu Yang with some dissatisfaction, “Why are you climbing through the window again?”
The other party kept his head down, applying the ointment to the swollen mosquito bites while mumbling, “I was afraid you wouldn’t let me in the door. But if I climb the window, I can pretend to be pitiful. If you didn’t open the window for me, I’d pretend I was about to fall.”
Xin Hexue snorted coldly.
“Xin Hexue, don’t ignore me.” Lu Yang looked up, separation anxiety written all over his face, “I’m sorry I fought with you this morning. I lost control of my emotions at the time.”
“Are you mad at me? Do you hate me now? Is that why you didn’t come to school this afternoon?”
He asked rapidly.
Xin Hexue sat down on the edge of the bed, “Don’t overthink it. I don’t hate you.”
Lu Yang climbed up the pole. He pulled over a chair and sat next to Xin Hexue. “It’s good that you don’t hate me.”
Then he took a box of ice cream out of his wide pants pocket.
Xin Hexue’s eyelids twitched.
Sure enough, he heard Lu Yang say, “I bought you three colored ice cream. Eat it quickly! It’ll melt soon.”
Xin Hexue: “…”
Maybe because of that dream at noon, he now had a negative impression of three colored ice cream.
“Lu Yang, when you grow up, you can’t just buy me the two-yuan ice cream.” Xin Hexue thought for a moment and said, “I want to eat the really expensive kind of ice cream.”
“How expensive?”
Lu Yang recalled that the most expensive ice cream at the factory was three colored ice cream. But he heard from Lin Oufei that outside, there was one called Magnum that cost five yuan, and another called Baxy ice cream that was a full six yuan…enough to buy three colored ice creams!
“More expensive than all of those,” Xin Hexue said.
He went back to the living room to get spoons, giving one to Lu Yang. “Let’s eat together.”
Three colored ice cream, like its name suggests, had three colors, each a different flavor.
While Xin Hexue was still scooping the chocolate flavor, Lu Yang scooped a line across all three flavors at once, and Xin Hexue slapped his hand.
“You have to eat in the order of chocolate, strawberry, then vanilla.”
The ice cream princess sternly stopped this mix-and-match approach.
Lu Yang nodded obediently, “Oh.”
The bittersweet taste of chocolate melted in his mouth, and he spoke up, “Xin Hexue.”
Xin Hexue: “Hmm?”
“This morning, I skipped class and went to get the special talent application form from the P.E. teacher.” Lu Yang kept his head down, his voice gradually becoming firm, “I don’t know if I can make it, but I want to work hard to catch up to you. I want to go to the same high school as you.”
Xin Hexue chuckled softly.
His smile was really beautiful. His cheeks were white with a hint of pink, and his face under the bright light was completely free of shadows, his long eyelashes framing the eyes that shimmered like water.
“Okay.”
Xin Hexue opened the drawer and took out the fruits of his afternoon’s work.
“I asked my big brother. He said the student in his class who got in through sports specialty had their high school entrance score lowered by a hundred points for admission. So, with a full score of 660 and last year’s cutoff at 590, you need to score 490.”
“You’re doing great already. You have 360 points now.”
“You only need to improve 22 points per subject.”
He handed a cassette tape to Lu Yang. It was a blank tape when Xin Hexue bought it from the store at 2 PM this afternoon.
Now, a sticky note was attached to the end of the tape, reading “For Lu Yang Only – Strictly No Sharing.”
“I recorded the 800 most frequently used vocabulary words in the high school entrance exam. It includes pronunciation, spelling, definitions, and example sentences.” Xin Hexue said.
This was inspired by the student reciting words on the road.
Lu Yang knew the meanings of those words because Xin Hexue had recited them before when he substituted for the English class representative during morning reading.
Xin Hexue thought this method might work.
He was very proactive and efficient. After buying the books and the blank tape, he spent the afternoon recording.
Lu Yang looked up at Xin Hexue in a daze.
For a moment, it seemed as if Xin Hexue was glowing. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the light, trying to keep them open as wide as possible.
The outline of the angel standing under the light was pure white and dazzling. Xin Hexue said with a smile on his lips, “You have to study seriously and complete the tasks I assign you.”
“From now on, I’m not your good friend. Begging for mercy and acting pitiful are completely useless, because I am now the devil.”
