Spring is a season when the grass grows and the warblers fly. How did they put it in those nature documentaries? The savannah has once again reached *that* season. Human boys are slightly better than the males of the animal kingdom in spring, but only just.
As the spring breeze brushed past, the willows by the street sprouted buds, and the "savannah" in their hearts began to stir.
After the morning exercises, Liu Kan ran to Class 1 to find Chang Ying. Chang Ying was blatantly copying Tan Junzi’s political science homework.
"Brother Chang, Brother Chang." Tan Junzi and Qin Ruanshu weren't in their seats; they had gone to get hot water. Liu Kan took the opportunity to sit in Tan Junzi’s chair. Chang Ying gave him a cool look, and Liu Kan instinctively stood up, half-leaning over Chang Ying’s shoulder, cupping his hand to whisper in his ear.
"If you have something to say, say it. Don't get all touchy-feely." Chang Ying broke out in goosebumps and shrugged his shoulder to push Liu Kan away.
Just then, Zhang Da and Luo Zihan entered the classroom. Seeing Liu Kan acting so suspiciously, they let out a "Yo!" and rushed over to start a human pyramid. Liu Kan was pressed onto Chang Ying’s back by Luo Zihan, and with a *thud*, Chang Ying was pinned face-down against the desk, unable to move.
Finally, Zhang Da even took a running start, jumping onto Luo Zihan’s back.
"You guys... damn it..." Chang Ying was at the very bottom, his voice raspy from the weight.
Zhang Da even waved at Qin Ke, telling him to jump on too: "Come on, Keke, get up here!" Qin Ke muttered "childish" under his breath, but he stood up slowly and then leaped, stacking himself at the very top.
By this point, Liu Kan had forgotten what he wanted to say. The five childish idiots were laughing and cursing from top to bottom. Chang Ying was so crushed he could barely speak; his hand, which was sticking out, clawed at the air, giving Zhang Da and Qin Ke a secret sense of vengeful satisfaction.
A month had passed since Zhang Da’s return to school. Midterms were over, and every member of the "Save Zhang Da Squad" except Qin Ruanshu had bombed them. When the scores came out, Qin Ruanshu was steadily in the top five of the grade. After entering high school, several "god-tier" students from other middle schools had joined, so Qin Ruanshu was no longer the perpetual second place, but she could at least guarantee a spot in the top five. Yu Mou was the god among gods; he remained as immovable as a mountain, still holding first place.
Strictly speaking, Qin Ruanshu wasn't very happy either. When she saw the rankings on the red bulletin board, she was in fifth place—nearly slipping out of the top five—while Yu Mou was still first. She let out a long, melancholy sigh. Tan Junzi said gloomily, "If you sigh one more time, I’m going to hit you." Qin Ruanshu looked at Tan Junzi as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately kept quiet.
Aside from Qin Ruanshu, the others from Class 1—Tan Junzi, Chang Ying, Luo Zihan, and even Zhang Da—had dropped out of the top hundred because they had spent nearly a month slacking off. Of course, "bombing" was relative; they usually ranked in the top fifty, so a rank around one hundred was quite poor for them. Naturally, it was still much better than Liu Kan’s score.
Tan Junzi couldn't handle the shock and had been working tirelessly since the midterms. Additionally, since the tenth grade hadn't been split into science and liberal arts tracks yet, they had to study nearly ten subjects, including math, physics, chemistry, history, geography, and politics. The pressure was immense.
Every day at school, aside from going to the restroom or the water room for hot water, she was practically nailed to her seat, grinding through practice problems and reading.
Just as morning exercises ended, she, Qin Ruanshu, and Mr. Li entered the classroom one after another, only to see the five boys piled on top of each other. Mr. Li slammed his textbook onto the podium and immediately roared, "What are you doing?!" Seeing Liu Kan and knowing he wasn't from his class, he roared again, "You, the one from the other class! No visiting other classrooms! Go back to where you belong!"
Liu Kan was pinned and desperate to get away, but the ones on top couldn't move fast enough. Then, a strange *CRACK* sounded from beneath them. The five-man tower collapsed instantly, and they slammed into the floor one by one with a heavy *thud*.
Chang Ying’s chair had been crushed.
Tan Junzi stood there holding her water bottle, staring at the five of them in shock. Chang Ying was at the very bottom; judging by the shape of his mouth, he was mouthing a silent "Fuck."
"All of you—every single one of you—go stand on the playground!" Mr. Li was so angry he was stuttering.
***
The five of them on the playground:
"Brother Chang," Liu Kan started.
"Don't talk to me today," Chang Ying said coldly.
Luo Zihan clutched his stomach. "What should I do? I'm a little hungry."
Zhang Da gave a wicked grin. "Ying-zai, did it feel good being pressed down by the boys?"
Qin Ke’s shoulders twitched. "Childish."
Zhang Da added a finishing blow: "Keke just has too much of an ego. You say it's childish, but if you're so capable, why did you jump on?"
Qin Ke: "Don't call me Keke."
The other four turned their heads simultaneously. In perfect unison: "Keke."
Then Liu Kan remembered and turned to Chang Ying. "Oh right, what I wanted to say was, since midterms are just over, I wanted to ask if you want to go on a spring outing."
Luo Zihan said, "You, and Brother Chang, a spring outing? I didn't see that coming."
"Pah, shut up. I mean, since everyone is here, let's all go out and have some fun. We'll invite Sister Tan, Qin Ruanshu, and... Yuan Guo..." Liu Kan muttered to himself, "Given that my tireless devotion has finally moved the heavens, I feel like Yuan Guo’s attitude toward me has softened lately..."
Qin Ke said mercilessly, "Am I, her brother, invisible to you?"
"Oh!" Liu Kan slapped his forehead. "Sorry, Brother. I'm serious about your Yuan Guo."
"Who’s your brother?" Qin Ke snapped.
"Hey, is it a go or not? Just for the May Day holiday. We'll go to Xian City. There's Wuling Mountain over there. We can go for a spring hike and stay overnight." Liu Kan was quite excited.
Chang Ying looked at the distant basketball hoop. "I don't care, but Tan Junzi might not go. She’s been in 'seclusion' lately for her studies."
Liu Kan had it all planned out. "Don't worry about that. I'll be responsible for convincing Qin Ruanshu. As long as Qin Ruanshu goes, Sister Tan will definitely go. And if Sister Tan goes, Yuan Guo will go."
Hearing this, Chang Ying’s face darkened slightly.
Luo Zihan laughed and said, "Kan-ge, do you even know how to talk? You should say that if Chang Ying goes, Tan Junzi will go. How could you say it's because of Qin Ruanshu?"
Liu Kan shook his head and said honestly, "That’s really not a given. Based on my years of observation, Qin Ruanshu carries no less weight in Sister Tan’s heart than Brother Chang. It’s hard to say—maybe a 40/60 split, or 50/50?"
After Liu Kan finished, he noticed that the other three, excluding Luo Zihan, all had a drop in their atmospheric pressure, though their reasons for being in a bad mood were not quite the same.
***
Tan Junzi and Qin Ruanshu’s friendship truly began in middle school.
They had known each other in elementary school, but they were just ordinary friends. Later, in middle school, Qin Ruanshu and Tan Junzi sat in front of and behind each other. Their usual interaction was mostly passing test papers from front to back.
Their middle school English teacher, Liu Li, was a fashionable and beautiful woman who wore a different outfit every day and insisted everyone call her Miss Liu. It was said her family had quite a background; her father was a high-ranking official in the Education Bureau.
A phrase Miss Liu often had on her lips was: "I only came to teach because I love the profession and my students. I really don't care for the pittance that is a teacher's salary."
To be fair, Miss Liu taught quite well. Her pronunciation was lovely, and she was forward-thinking, often showing foreign films to the students. Tan Junzi actually liked her quite a bit and would often go to her office after class or after school to ask questions.
However, she was the type of teacher with a domineering personality; her strengths and weaknesses were both very obvious. It was clear she came from a wealthy background and didn't teach for the money, which gave her a sense of entitlement. She frequently threw unreasonable tantrums. If she didn't get a response during class, she would start putting on airs, saying things like, "You should cherish a teacher like me. I should have been teaching at a university, you bunch of hicks," and so on. This led to some students liking her while others found her quite annoying. Qin Ruanshu was one of those who couldn't stand her.
Once during class, Miss Liu started making superior remarks again, so Qin Ruanshu opened her book and began doodling in the margins. Miss Liu saw this, marched over, and with a few swift *rips*, tore her English textbook apart. Then, Miss Liu pointed at Qin Ruanshu’s nose and said, "Don't think I won't scold you just because your grades are good. I'll scold the top students in the grade just the same!"
Qin Ruanshu was just a child, after all. Being scolded while a teacher pointed at her nose, she did well just to hold back her tears, supported only by her pride. Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall, gritting her teeth as she stared down at her empty desk.
Later, Miss Liu continued the lesson, telling everyone to turn to Lesson 3. Qin Ruanshu had no book and just sat there blankly. Tan Junzi couldn't bear to watch and poked Qin Ruanshu’s back. When Qin Ruanshu turned around, Tan Junzi turned her textbook sideways so they could share it.
But for some reason—likely because her anger hadn't subsided and she wanted to give Qin Ruanshu the cold shoulder—Tan Junzi’s act of sharing her book annoyed Miss Liu once again.
This time, Miss Liu called Tan Junzi to stand up with a sarcastic tone.
"What’s this? Playing the hero? Making me look like the villain?" Miss Liu rushed over and tore Tan Junzi’s textbook apart as well.
Tan Junzi stood motionless. She was actually scared witless. She and Qin Ruanshu weren't even best friends back then; she had lent her the book simply because she couldn't stand Miss Liu using her status as a teacher to humiliate a student.
Now that Miss Liu had torn her book too, the stubborn side of Tan Junzi’s personality was instantly triggered.
She took a few breaths to steady her tears, stared at the white wall above the blackboard, and said forcefully:
"Teachers are not saints; teachers can make mistakes too. It was wrong of Qin Ruanshu to doodle while you were speaking. You could have criticized her or made her stand as punishment, but tearing her book was wrong of you!"
"No matter what, tearing a book is wrong! I think you should apologize to me and Qin Ruanshu! Taking your anger out on students is not what a good teacher should do!"
No one had ever spoken to her like that before. Miss Liu was nearly driven mad with rage, shouting so hard that spit flew: "You... go stand outside the classroom!"
Tan Junzi’s hands were shaking with anger, but she didn't dare move, because if she did, her balance would break and the tears would fall. At that moment, Qin Ruanshu stood up abruptly, took Tan Junzi’s hand, and marched out of the classroom door with her head held high.
***
From then on, the two became closer and closer, eventually becoming each other's best friends.
What happened later felt somewhat surreal to Tan Junzi. When they graduated from middle school, Miss Liu specifically sought her out privately.
At the time, Tan Junzi and Qin Ruanshu were walking down the hallway arm-in-arm when they ran into Miss Liu. Miss Liu called out to Tan Junzi.
"Still mad at your teacher?" Miss Liu had the smile of an elder looking at a junior as she took Tan Junzi’s hand.
After the book-tearing incident in seventh grade, Miss Liu never apologized and continued to put on airs like a princess in class. The stubborn streak in Tan Junzi’s nature had been provoked, and she had essentially been in a cold war with Miss Liu for three years.
How does a student have a cold war with a teacher? She would give the necessary greetings and answer questions when called upon in class. But she just stopped raising her hand frequently or going to ask questions after class like she used to.
After so long—nearly three years—Miss Liu’s initiative to make amends made Tan Junzi feel a bit embarrassed. She was the type who yielded to persuasion but not to coercion; once the other party softened, she began to reflect on her own faults.
So, Tan Junzi whispered, "No."
"You child, you're the first of your kind I've seen in all my years of teaching." Miss Liu smiled brightly and put her arm around Tan Junzi. "Three years have flown by, and you're about to graduate. Let's have a hug, okay?"
In the hallway, Miss Liu hugged the awkward Tan Junzi.
The hug lasted a long time, and Miss Liu patted Tan Junzi’s back repeatedly.
Miss Liu never actually said "I'm sorry," but Tan Junzi knew that for Miss Liu, this was already a very solemn apology.
Later, Miss Liu also took Qin Ruanshu’s hand, placed it together with Tan Junzi’s, and pretended to be annoyed. "Every time I see you two so close you might as well be the same person, it makes my teeth itch with envy."
Then she smiled softly. "You must cherish each other. Friendships from your student days are truly beautiful."
"Seeing you two always reminds me of why I started teaching in the first place."
However, when Tan Junzi later browsed the school forum, she found that "Miss Liu of the Middle School Division" was still a hot topic. Apparently, she hadn't changed; her temper was as explosive as ever.
***
Since apologizing for the haunted house incident, Qin Ke had realized a fundamental truth:
Smoothing over awkwardness relies on two things: time and playing dumb. He was quite good at the latter.
Behind the martial arts hall, there was a community ping-pong table. It was in disrepair, and the net in the middle even had a hole. But the kids from the hall often went there to play during breaks. Once, Tan Junzi was playing against Qian Niu. Neither of them was very good, yet they were as tense as if they were at the Olympics. One claimed to be Zhang Yining, the other Wang Nan.
Qin Ke observed from the side for a while and realized they were playing "kindergarten ping-pong" without even a hint of spin.
Halfway through, Qian Niu was called away by the Master for something and handed the paddle to Qin Ke. Qin Ke weighed the paddle and stood opposite Tan Junzi. She was clearly uncomfortable and didn't want to play with him.
"Not many people can return my serves." Qin Ke said this one sentence casually, and Tan Junzi cast aside her reservations to meet the challenge.
Seeing the young girl’s serious face as she crouched slightly, ready to receive the ball, Qin Ke found it amusing. With a slight flick of his wrist, he hit a ball with just a tiny bit of spin. Tan Junzi treated it like a formidable enemy; as soon as she hit it, intending to smash it back, the ball flew off course exactly as Qin Ke had predicted.
"Hey!" Tan Junzi saw the strange trajectory and was both amazed and frustrated. "Again, again! I can catch it."
Then, Tan Junzi spent nearly half an hour just trying to return that serve, each time under the illusion that she was *just* about to get it.
On the last try, Tan Junzi finally managed to hit it back, but the ball got stuck in the hole in the net. She gritted her teeth in frustration. "That counts, right? It counts!"
"What are you thinking? Of course it doesn't count," Qin Ke laughed.
"It counts, it counts! Count it as a return!" Tan Junzi argued, resorting to being a sore loser.
"It doesn't. Alright, that's enough for today. I'm done." Qin Ke placed the paddle on the table and ignored Tan Junzi’s protests, leaving her behind to stomp her feet. "One more time, just once! I'll definitely get it this time!"
Qin Ke thought to himself that Tan Junzi was really easy to fool. Teasing her was like teasing a child. He changed the direction of the spin on every serve, and she never even noticed, always thinking she was just on the verge of succeeding.
***
The trip to Wuling Mountain was finally set.
When Liu Kan went to ask Qin Ruanshu, she agreed very readily, followed by Tan Junzi and Yuan Guo. Luo Zihan didn't go because his grandmother had scheduled him to have his wisdom teeth pulled during the May Day holiday.
Xian City was right next to Tong City, nestled against mountains and a river. In recent years, it had vigorously promoted tourism, and its economy was developing rapidly.
Wuling Mountain was actually a hyped-up tourist spot. It was originally just a small hill, but after a wealthy man leased it, he had it built up artificially. Then a resort was built around it, which spurred the growth of local guesthouses.
Taking a bus from Tong City, it took about three hours to reach Wuling Mountain. Liu Kan had booked a nearby guesthouse rather than staying inside the resort. However, the guesthouse environment was nice, there were many local snacks nearby, and it was right by the river with a beautiful view.
On the first day of the holiday, they agreed to meet at seven o'clock. As soon as she sat on the bus, Tan Junzi pulled a physics paper out of her backpack. The bus was swaying, so she only did the multiple-choice questions. Liu Kan was shocked. "No way, Sister Tan. You won't even relax on a trip? You're working so hard."
Then Liu Kan’s head was pushed down by Chang Ying. "Be quiet, let her do the problems..."
Tan Junzi nodded, giving Chang Ying a very appreciative look. However, Chang Ying hadn't finished his sentence. He continued slowly, "...Because if Tan Junzi doesn't win a Nobel Prize later, it'll be all your fault, Liu Kan."
Tan Junzi’s face fell, knowing Chang Ying was teasing her. She instinctively started to put the paper back into her bag, but Chang Ying laughed and reached out to press down on the paper. "I was wrong. Please, continue."
The bus swayed, and Chang Ying’s hand missed the paper, pressing down on Tan Junzi’s hand instead. His fingers were long, almost completely covering hers.
Tan Junzi froze. She felt that Chang Ying’s palm was warm, with a hint of dampness.
In that instant, Chang Ying immediately withdrew his hand. His expression didn't change, but as he pulled back, he unconsciously touched his ear. It was burning hot.
One looked out the window, the other looked toward the aisle, both turning their heads away at the same time.
***
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A Gentleman is Open-minded, While a Petty Person Sighs | Chapter 24 | A Spring Outing Begins | Novela.app | Novela.app
