Regular classes officially began after the return from military training. Following the long break after the high school entrance exams, the students were inevitably a bit restless during the first week. By the second week, however, everything had finally settled into a routine.
That week, another case of a missing middle school girl broke in Tongcheng. She wasn't a student from No. 1 Middle School, and the police hadn't released many details, but the school took it very seriously. Every class advisor was instructed to conduct safety education. An announcement blared over the intercom: except for school team practices, class cleaning duties, boarding students, and senior makeup sessions, no junior students were allowed to remain on campus past six o'clock for any reason.
Li Wei, the advisor for Class 1, was shy but not the type of teacher to nag or drone on. He didn't give speeches with three main points and five sub-points each. He waited for everyone to listen to the broadcast in silence, then slapped his Chinese textbook onto the lectern. "Did everyone hear that clearly? You boys playing basketball—don't stay until seven or eight. You must be headed home by six, understood? I don't care if you're a boy or a girl; safety comes first."
"There isn't anyone in this class dating, is there?" Teacher Li asked out of the blue. Naturally, no one answered. Seeing the various expressions on their faces, Teacher Li gave a small chuckle. "I've been through it too. I’ve never really agreed with the term 'early love.' There’s no such thing as too early or too late, only doing the right thing at the right age. Right now, your most important task is to study—to gain knowledge while your brains are at their most flexible. I’m not saying this for any other reason; if you really want to date, I couldn't stop you even if I tried. Just remember two things: don't let it interfere with your priorities, and don't be blatant about it."
"Also, don't stay out late dating in dark corners after school. It’s not safe. You need to be responsible for yourselves and for your... little friends. Six o'clock. The broadcast said it: everyone goes home. Got it?"
"Furthermore, if any of you live in the same direction, try to walk home in groups. This is the second case already; you need to take this seriously!"
"Because it hasn't happened right next to you or to you personally, you might think this is just a report, a news story, a name, or an insignificant statistic. But in reality, once it happens to you, it becomes a living, breathing, bloody tragedy. Do not take this lightly!"
"Alright, turn to page thirteen. Today we’re starting Unit One, Lesson Two: *Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again*..."
Tan Junzi was the type of student who was exceptionally serious in class. In elementary school, teachers made everyone sit with straight backs and hands behind their chairs to prevent fidgeting. By middle and high school, teachers no longer required it, but Tan Junzi still sat bolt upright. Even her way of raising her hand to answer questions followed the standard "Ultraman beam" pose from her childhood.
Not long after the semester started, she realized her "geographical location" in the classroom was less than ideal. The atmosphere for studying was incredibly weak. It was even worse than when she sat next to Jiang Chenchen in middle school. Although Jiang Chenchen liked to pick his nose in class, hummed tuneless songs during breaks, and had questionable personal hygiene, his attitude toward studying had been quite earnest. They had sat together for three years, minding their own business, and the atmosphere had been relatively harmonious.
It wasn't like that now.
To her left was Qin Ruanshu. She loved reading all sorts of magazines and miscellaneous books in class—*Manga Party*, *Comic King*, *Naruto*, *Detective Conan*, *Harry Potter*. Qin Ruanshu had her own study method: when she wanted to study, her focus was terrifyingly efficient, like a robot; when she didn't, she relaxed completely, reading novels, chasing anime, shipping characters, and doodling.
To her right was her desk mate, Chang Ying. He almost never sat up straight in class, usually slumped over with his face turned toward Tan Junzi most of the time. You couldn't say he was sleeping, because he was actually listening. Whenever a teacher called on him to answer a question, he almost never messed up. His ability to multitask was incredible. Moreover, he never brought a pencil case. When it was time to do problems, he would rummage through the side pocket of his backpack and pull out a single sign pen without a cap. Sometimes, when the pen ran out of ink, he would just take one from Tan Junzi.
Behind her was Qin Ke. He was fine in the morning, but he spent almost every afternoon class sleeping. His self-management was highly liberal; the school schedule was a mere suggestion to him. He often spent Politics class furiously writing Math papers, or Chinese class doing English... At first, Tan Junzi wondered why the teachers didn't scold him, but she later heard from Yuan Guo that Qin Ke had entered Tongcheng No. 1 with a top-ten score on the entrance exam. Besides, Qin Ke was always working part-time; he stayed up late at night doing practice problems and reading, so he was drowsy during the day. He was a "nighttime achiever."
Diagonally behind her was Zhang Da, who was barely a normal person, except for the fact that he constantly shook the desk, swore, and muttered "fuck" under his breath while doing his worksheets. Also, Tan Junzi always felt like Zhang Da was staring at her back, which made her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.
On the other side of Qin Ke was Luo Zihan, whose mouth never stopped. He was either talking back to the teacher or eating snacks—always talking or chewing, as if he had ADHD. Once, he stuck his head into his desk to eat crispy noodles, and when the teacher called on him, his head actually got stuck...
What a motley crew.
*
Before school let out, while everyone was packing their bags, the physics teacher rushed in to hand out a freshly printed, still-warm worksheet. The study monitor added "one worksheet" to the physics homework list in the corner of the blackboard, prompting a collective groan from the class.
Tan Junzi had already packed her bag, but she sat back down to record the homework in her notebook. She folded the worksheet, needing to tear it in half, but she couldn't find her ruler.
At the back door, Liu Kan was already bouncing a basketball and tapping on the glass to hurry Chang Ying. Tan Junzi tugged on the hem of Chang Ying's school jacket. "Hey, let me borrow your ruler. I need to tear this paper."
Chang Ying dropped his backpack onto the desk and pulled a broken ruler from an inner pocket. It was so worn that the markings were gone, and the cartoon image of Momotaro was missing half its face.
Tan Junzi took the broken ruler. It was pitifully short, less than eight centimeters long. It looked familiar. As she tore the paper, she remarked, "Hey, I had a Momotaro ruler just like this when I was little."
Chang Ying signaled to Liu Kan outside to go grab a court first, then turned back. "This *is* yours."
Tan Junzi froze for a long moment. Then she remembered.
During a final exam in elementary school, Chang Ying hadn't brought his pencil case. She had lent him a pencil, half an eraser, and half a ruler.
She had cut the eraser with the ruler. She had snapped the ruler in half right down the middle, nearly hitting herself in the face.
"You still have it?" Tan Junzi asked in disbelief.
"Yeah." Chang Ying seemed a bit distracted. He tapped the desk with his finger. "Put it back in my bag when you're done." Then, bracing his hands on the desk, he vaulted over the chair and headed out the back door.
Qin Ruanshu glanced toward the school gate, stood up, and shouldered her bag. "My dad's here to pick me up. I'm heading out, bye~"
Tan Junzi said, "Bye. If I get stuck on the physics problems tonight, I'll call you."
Zhang Da stood up as well and looked at Tan Junzi, who was diligently writing "Call Qin Ruanshu at 8:00 for help with hard problems" in her notebook. He smirked slightly. Then he nudged Qin Ke with his elbow. "You playing today?" He leaned past Qin Ke and shouted to Luo Zihan, "Let's go, let's go, stop dawdling."
Qin Ke leaned against the back wall and replied, "Not today. My group has cleaning duty."
Zhang Da swung his bag over his shoulder and left the classroom. Luo Zihan dumped the rest of the potato chips into his mouth, dusted off his hands, and followed him out. "See ya, Brother Qin."
The friendship between boys was a mysterious thing. Only a few days into the semester, the students who had promoted from the middle school and those who had tested in from outside were already thick as thieves. They might not even know each other's names well, yet they had already been playing ball together for days.
Furthermore, there were rarely any obvious cliques among the boys. For instance, Chang Ying and Liu Kan weren't really the same type of people as Zhang Da and Luo Zihan, but they were friendly enough on the surface. There were no deep grudges, and no need to avoid each other. Especially when playing ball, they were incredibly united; because they had to compete with other classes for a hoop, the group with more people could hold the court. Everyone had a tacit understanding regarding that.
Moreover, even if they liked the same girl, it rarely resulted in actual fistfights in reality. They were still students, still quite innocent; no matter how young or impulsive, they wouldn't make things that ugly. At most, there would be some subtle competition—like a hard block or a screen during a basketball game.
Qin Ke's backpack was extremely flat, almost like a prop; he finished his worksheets and homework during class. When the boys invited him to play, he usually only played for half an hour before leaving for his part-time job.
Today, he had his bag packed but sat still. He called out to Tan Junzi, "Sanitation Monitor, what do I need to do?"
Tan Junzi finished recording her homework and tucked the worksheet into her bag. She absentmindedly put the ruler into her own bag as well. Turning around, she said, "You're responsible for the first row and wiping the blackboard."
Then Tan Junzi stood up and clapped her hands, assigning cleaning tasks to their group. As the sanitation monitor, she had to stay an hour late every day to turn off the lights, take out the trash, check everyone's work, and wait for the grade-level health teacher to inspect the room. Chang Ying would usually time his return to the classroom so they could head home together. Either she would take both their bags to the playground to find him, or he would come back to the room to wait for her.
After everyone finished their assigned rows and left, only Qin Ke remained, wiping the blackboard stroke by stroke. Tan Junzi knew he had to go to the martial arts gym to look after the place, so wanting him to leave early, she helped him rinse the rag and change the water. Once she saw the blackboard had been wiped three times and was streak-free, she went to the corner to tie up the trash bags.
Qin Ke stood behind her, leaning against the lectern.
"What else can I help with?" Qin Ke asked.
"If you're in a hurry, you can go. It's basically done." Tan Junzi tied the bag and lifted it.
"I'm not in a hurry. It's still early." Qin Ke reached for the bag. "Give it to me, I'll throw it out."
Just as he was about to take it, Tan Junzi suddenly jumped, giving him a start.
"Ah—!" Tan Junzi leaped onto the step of the lectern, pointing at the floor. "A gecko!"
Qin Ke looked down where she was pointing. A small gecko was scurrying from under the trash can and up the wall.
He instinctively reached out with the broom handle to catch it, but Tan Junzi stopped him. "What are you doing?" In an instant, the gecko slipped through a crack in the window and vanished.
Qin Ke laughed. "I thought you were afraid of geckos. Why did you stop me?"
"I'm not afraid. It was just sudden—something moved fast and I didn't see what it was at first." Tan Junzi snatched the broom from him and tucked it into the corner. Qin Ke, meanwhile, crouched down by the trash can.
Tan Junzi leaned over. "What are you looking at?"
She saw a segment of a gecko's tail. In its stress response, the tail had broken off.
"It'll grow a new one, right?" Tan Junzi asked, half-bent over toward Qin Ke.
Qin Ke nodded. He picked up a piece of chalk to poke at the tail. "Look, it's still moving."
The tail was suddenly flicked toward Tan Junzi's feet. She let out a yelp and jumped away. Then, a mix of fear and curiosity made her crane her neck to look. Seeing that the tail wasn't moving at all and had only moved because he poked it, she said crossly, "It's not moving! You just pushed it."
Qin Ke picked up the tail and dangled it in front of her. Tan Junzi took another step back. He tossed the tail into the trash bag and stood up with a half-smile. "I thought you weren't afraid."
Just then, Tan Junzi looked toward the door. Chang Ying was standing there. Qin Ke slung his bag over one shoulder and grabbed the trash bag with his other hand. "I'm heading out. I'll take the trash."
Then he added casually, "Qianniu was asking me when you're coming back to the gym." He didn't say this directly to Tan Junzi, but rather half-directed it at Chang Ying.
Tan Junzi was stunned for a moment before replying offhandedly, "I'll go this weekend."
"Okay," Qin Ke acknowledged. He brushed past Chang Ying at the door and left the classroom.
*
Chang Ying pushed his bicycle, walking side-by-side with Tan Junzi out of the school gates. The evening food stalls were already setting up for business.
As Tan Junzi prepared to hop onto the back seat, Chang Ying suddenly said, "Tan Junzi, do you want to sit in the front?" He pointed to the crossbar of the mountain bike.
"I don't. It's so uncomfortable," Tan Junzi said, shaking her head.
She had a vague feeling that Chang Ying had been acting a bit strange since a moment ago. Usually, when they passed the barbecue stalls, he would ask if she wanted grilled cold noodles, but today he hadn't said a word.
"I'm tired today. If you sit in the front, it'll save me some effort." Chang Ying's expression was blank.
"Wait, does it make a difference?" Tan Junzi had just sat on the back seat but hopped down again.
"It makes a difference." Chang Ying nodded. He was already straddling the bike, his long legs propping it up. He reached out with one arm, pulled Tan Junzi toward him, and with a single lift, hoisted her onto the crossbar.
"It's so hard." Tan Junzi sat sideways, her hands gripping the center of the handlebars.
"Just bear with it." Before she could get steady, Chang Ying kicked off and began to pedal. The boy leaned forward, his arms on either side of her, as if he were embracing her.
His face was right there, but Chang Ying looked straight ahead with singular focus, his lips pressed into a thin line. He looked very serious. Tan Junzi rarely saw this side of him—a Chang Ying who didn't smile, a Chang Ying with something on his mind.
For some reason, Tan Junzi felt a bit guilty. This version of Chang Ying was beyond her understanding. So, she also turned her head forward, watching the road. A light breeze brushed against her face. Chang Ying didn't speak; he simply rested his chin gently on top of her head. Tan Junzi's entire body stiffened.
Sensing the girl's rigidity in his arms, Chang Ying softened his voice. "I'm really a bit tired from playing ball. Let me lean on you for a bit, okay?"
"Oh," Tan Junzi said. Then, though she wasn't sure why she was saying it, she added an explanation: "Qin Ke works part-time at the martial arts gym. He has a lot of jobs. I'm not actually that close to him."
"Oh," Chang Ying said, mimicking her tone.
"Oh," Tan Junzi replied, mimicking him back.
And so, they "oh-ed" back and forth the whole way. After dozens of "ohs," they both burst into laughter at the same time. Tan Junzi's laughter echoed through the alleyway.
When they reached the entrance of her apartment complex, Chang Ying lifted her down with one arm. Tan Junzi rubbed her backside. "That was way too uncomfortable!"
Chang Ying patted her head and helped steady the backpack on her shoulders. His voice was like a late summer breeze. "Then you'd better sit in the back from now on."
***
