On the morning of the third day, everyone woke up early to catch the bus back to Tongcheng.
The boys walked ahead, carrying the bags. Liu Kan and Yuan Guo bickered and shoved each other awkwardly as they went. Meanwhile, Tan Junzi was practically draped over Qin Ruanshu, the two of them trailing far behind the rest.
As they passed the riverbank, Tan Junzi leaned down to pick up a flat, round pebble. She held it silently against her chest for a few seconds, as if making a wish. Then, turning her body sideways, she flicked the stone toward the center of the river, trying to skip it.
"If it skips more than three times, then Ruanshu won't have to go to England," Tan Junzi declared.
With a *plop*, the stone landed far out in the water, sinking without a single splash, let alone a skip.
Tan Junzi’s face fell. She repeatedly cried out, "That one didn't count! It doesn't count! I’m doing it again!" She bent over to carefully select another stone.
Qin Ruanshu burst out laughing. She followed suit, picking up an oval pebble and tossing it casually into the river.
"If it skips more than three times, then I’ll beat Yu Mou in the finals!" Qin Ruanshu shouted.
The stone skipped across the surface six times before finally sinking into the river. "Yes!!!" Qin Ruanshu jumped up by the riverbank, waving her arms in triumph.
The group ahead stopped and looked back, seeing the two girls throwing stones into the river one after another.
Every stone Tan Junzi picked looked like a champion—round and flat—but none of them would skip.
Soon, everyone started picking up stones to skip them across the water.
Chang Ying picked up a random stone, weighed it in his hand, and made a few practice motions to find the right angle before letting it fly.
The stone was like a graceful water bird, lightly tapping the surface multiple times, nearly reaching the middle of the river before it finally came to a halt and sank.
Tan Junzi immediately claimed Chang Ying’s throw as her own, overjoyed. "It skipped more than three times! Ruanshu doesn't have to go~!"
Chang Ying smiled helplessly. In a voice only the two of them could hear, he said, "That won't do. I made my own wish on that one."
"I just told that stone that if it skipped more than three times, I’d be with Junzi for a lifetime."
The river breeze billowed the boy's clothes and ruffled his hair. The youth in white stood by the river with a faint smile, one hand tucked in his pocket. He looked fresh and relaxed, but his eyes were sincere and steady. Tan Junzi was momentarily dazed by the sight of him.
***
On the bus back to the city, Qin Ruanshu was still immersed in the omen the skipping stone had given her. She desperately wanted to win a decisive victory before leaving for England. From middle school through the first year of high school, she had never once beaten Yu Mou in a major exam, and it rankled. It had become an obsession.
Zhang Da couldn't help but throw cold water on her. "Seriously, Qin Ruanshu, knowing Yu Mou as I do, it’s pretty much impossible for you to take first place."
"I’m just telling the truth. Yu Mou and I grew up together. He’s the kind of 'Study God' who is both incredibly brilliant and extremely hardworking," Zhang Da added.
Liu Kan nodded in agreement. "True. I’m not that close with Yu Mou, but we were in the same class in elementary school. My god, I’ve never seen anyone so self-disciplined. And his mindset is rock-solid. How do they put it? He has the 'aura of a king.' Qin Ruanshu, you’re smart, but when smart people face off, it comes down to diligence. So, you tell me—are you diligent enough?"
Qin Ruanshu’s face visibly puffed up with anger like a pufferfish.
Even Yuan Guo couldn't stand it anymore. Although her first reaction upon hearing Ruanshu was going to England had been to hug Tan Junzi and shout, "Now Junzi belongs to me!", she still felt the need to defend her friend.
"Psh, nothing is impossible," Yuan Guo argued. "I say, Ruanshu, you work hard and show them what's what during the finals!"
Tan Junzi nodded. "Exactly. The exams haven't even happened yet and you guys are already being so negative. Ruanshu, do your best!"
Sensing the need for self-preservation, Liu Kan stopped talking and merely curled his lip.
Zhang Da shook his head. "Seriously. If you don't believe me, let's bet on it."
"Fine! A bet it is!" Tan Junzi suddenly stood up on the bus. Just then, the driver took a sharp turn; she lost her balance and landed right on Chang Ying’s lap.
Chang Ying steadied her by the waist and placed her back into her seat securely.
Tan Junzi’s face flushed. Her train of thought was interrupted, and she began to stammer, "Uh, where were we? The bet. What are the stakes?"
Yuan Guo was eating a lollipop. Hearing this, she swirled the candy in her mouth and came up with an idea. She held up the lollipop. "I have a proposal!"
"I propose that if Qin Ruanshu takes first place in the grade and beats Yu Mou, you boys have to wear skirts to school on the last day before the holidays and listen to the Head of Grade's speech!"
Zhang Da had absolute faith in Yu Mou. He sucked his teeth and said with a bit of a rogueish air, "Fine. Who's afraid of who?"
Qin Ke, who had been leaning against the window with his arms crossed, pretending to nap, opened his eyes. "This has nothing to do with me. I wasn't part of the discussion."
Yuan Guo shook his shoulder. "No way! Brother, you have to join in too, otherwise it’s no fun! It’s settled. You, Liu Kan, Zhang Da, Chang Ying, and add Luo Zihan from your class. Aren't you all best buds? Best buds are grasshoppers on the same string!"
Zhang Da pulled out his phone and dialed Luo Zihan immediately. When the call connected, he spoke over the noise of the bus. "Hey, there's a bet..."
"I haven't even told you what it is and you're already agreeing? Fine. Here's the deal: if Qin Ruanshu takes first place and beats Yu Mou, we have to wear skirts... Yeah, the last day before the break. Isn't there a grade-wide assembly? We’ll wear the school uniform skirts to the auditorium..."
Zhang Da paused and asked Yuan Guo, "Luo Zihan wants to know what happens if you girls lose?"
Yuan Guo poked Tan Junzi. "Think of something. What do we do if we lose?"
Tan Junzi rubbed her chin. "If we lose... we’ll... we’ll do five laps of frog jumps around the track while singing the *Calabash Brothers* theme song."
Yuan Guo frowned. "Isn't that a bit too harsh on ourselves?"
Qin Ruanshu made a bold executive decision. "That’s the one! Have some faith in me! I was just coasting before. Just watch—I won't sleep a wink for the rest of the semester if that's what it takes to get first!"
"Good! We believe in you!" Tan Junzi slammed her hand down on her thigh in excitement, but ended up hitting Chang Ying’s leg instead.
***
In truth, in terms of hobbies and personality, Tan Junzi and Qin Ruanshu were completely mismatched.
When they studied literature in middle school, Qin Ruanshu’s favorite poets were Li Yu and Yan Jidao, while Tan Junzi loved Li Bai and Su Shi.
In the margins of her textbook, Qin Ruanshu would write: *"How much sorrow can one person bear? Just like a river of spring water flowing east."*
Tan Junzi, meanwhile, was obsessed with drawing boxing shorts and sunglasses on the portrait of Li Bai, adding a speech bubble: *"Killing a man every ten steps, leaving no trace for a thousand miles."*
When they read magazines like *Boys & Girls*, Tan Junzi liked horror manga and personality tests, while Qin Ruanshu preferred the "Girlhood Secrets" confession columns. For a while, the magazine serialized Junji Ito’s *Hanging Balloons*. Tan Junzi found it brilliant and rushed to show it to Qin Ruanshu, who ended up pinching Junzi’s thigh for three days straight out of terror.
Qin Ruanshu’s favorite novel was *Silent Separation*. She had read it countless times, rolling around on her bed each time, begging the heavens to grant her a man like He Yichen. Tan Junzi, on the other hand, would tie a towel around her shoulders like a cape and charge around the house pretending to be a female general of the Yang Clan.
Tan Junzi was once forced by Qin Ruanshu to read *Silent Separation*. After finishing it, she remarked, "Wow, the female lead leaves for years and the male lead just waits for her? That only happens in novels." An enraged Qin Ruanshu threw the towel over Junzi's head and gave her a playful beating, shouting, "That’s devotion! That’s being faithful! You’re such a mood killer! If you don't get it, don't talk nonsense!"
Before they even studied *Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again* in middle school, Qin Ruanshu could already recite the modern poem by heart. Simply because the poem contained the line: *"Quietness is my farewell music."* This phrase was carved into every eraser Qin Ruanshu ever used.
At the same time, Tan Junzi’s erasers were carved with a compass: *"A speck of noble spirit."* And on the back: *"A thousand miles of pleasant wind."*
Yet, despite being so different, they became best friends. They bickered and played every day, yet remained inseparable. They argued over trivial matters but encouraged and supported each other through the big things, accompanying one another through their youth.
Qin Ruanshu envied how Tan Junzi never gained weight no matter how much she ate, her long and straight legs, her popularity, her ability to run the 800-meter dash in under three minutes, and her lack of hesitation or retreat. Tan Junzi envied Qin Ruanshu’s brilliant mind, how she never had to worry about her studies, how she could do anything with ease, and her incredibly fair skin that never seemed to tan... Qin Ruanshu would never become Tan Junzi, and Tan Junzi would never become Qin Ruanshu, but there was no jealousy between them.
Qin Ruanshu said that since Tan Junzi had Chang Ying and Yuan Guo, it wouldn't matter if she left. Tan Junzi didn't agree with that at all.
No one can replace anyone else. New people come and old people go, but the old ones are forever unique. The happiness they shared over those three years was something no one else could provide.
***
During the second half of the semester, Qin Ruanshu felt she had never worked harder in her entire life.
One day after school, she took her practice problems to ask a teacher for help. The teacher was so flattered that he even poured her a cup of tea.
The competition among the top ten in the grade was essentially a battle of the gods. Seeing Qin Ruanshu working so hard, Tan Junzi couldn't really help with the academics, so she acted as a loyal sidekick, pouring water and massaging Ruanshu’s legs. Every time Tan Junzi played the servant, Luo Zihan would smirk disdainfully. The boys who knew Yu Mou all secretly felt that Qin Ruanshu was on a fool's errand. Who could knock Yu Mou off his pedestal? Only God knew.
Chang Ying wasn't actually worried about having to wear a skirt. He was worried that if the girls lost, Tan Junzi would be upset.
After they returned to school and resumed their normal lives, he felt his treatment was even worse than before. Likely due to a guilty conscience, Tan Junzi would now glare at him even when he was just normally eating dinner or watching TV at the Tan house. As soon as Tan Zhengqi wasn't around, she would kick him, as if he had done something shameful.
Heaven be his witness, he was being perfectly well-behaved. Aside from the occasional hug in the hallway, or holding hands under the dinner table, or... this "underground work" was making him feel quite stifled.
But every time he resolved to "rise up in rebellion" and demand better treatment, he would see Tan Junzi acting as skittish as a quail at school and at home, and his heart would immediately soften. That was just how she was—bold in appearance, but timid at heart. So in the end, he mostly just teased her and didn't make any substantial changes.
***
On the day the final exam results were posted, even the person involved, Qin Ruanshu, wasn't as nervous as Tan Junzi and the others. Of course, their nervousness stemmed from different reasons.
The boys' nervousness was a sort of suppressed excitement. They could film the girls doing frog jumps and post it on the school forum; it would be a total sensation.
Tan Junzi and Yuan Guo were nervous because... well, to be honest, they also thought it was unlikely for Ruanshu to win. After all, Yu Mou was practically a glitch in the system.
The three girls stood hand-in-hand before the red rankings board. Tan Junzi looked at the very top first. The first character was "Qin." She nearly fainted with joy and was about to jump up and down.
Then she looked at the full name.
Qin Ke.
??????
Qin Ke.
???????
She looked further down. Second place: Qin Ruanshu.
"Uh, am I seeing things? What do you guys see?" Tan Junzi rubbed her eyes and pointed at the red board on the wall. For a moment, she thought she had forgotten how to read.
"You're not seeing things. First place is my brother, second is Ruanshu..." Yuan Guo said through gritted teeth. The lollipop in her mouth cracked as she bit down on it, as if it were Qin Ke’s skull.
Qin Ruanshu’s face showed the precursors of a total breakdown. Her lips trembled. "Someone... get me a ventilator..."
The three girls gradually stiffened into statues before the red board. The crowd surged around them, but the three of them remained as motionless as mountains.
"Why don't I see Yu Mou?" Tan Junzi looked further down the list. The red board displayed the top fifty, but Yu Mou’s name wasn't among them. How could the Great God not even make the top fifty? This was bizarre.
Yuan Guo searched again. "Confirmed. Not there."
Qin Ruanshu searched as well. "Confirmed. Not there."
The three of them looked at each other. "So... does this count as a win or a loss?"
***
After school, Zhang Da brought news regarding Yu Mou.
"I never would have guessed it. I texted him, but he didn't reply. I asked his classmates, and they said that during the math exam, he suddenly rushed out of the room. He missed the entire exam, so he got a zero for that subject."
Everyone: "..."
Zhang Da reached a conclusion. "So, you girls lost. Qin Ruanshu didn't get first. Get ready for the frog jumps."
Qin Ruanshu gritted her teeth and grabbed Tan Junzi’s hand. "Wait just a minute!"
"If I remember correctly, our bet was: I get first, *comma*, and beat Yu Mou. As it stands, I *did* beat Yu Mou. So we didn't lose. You guys lost. Get your dresses ready." Qin Ruanshu began to nitpick the wording.
"You can't say that. You also didn't get first place," Luo Zihan argued back.
...
In the end, neither side would admit the other had won, but neither was willing to let it go. Finally, with a "mutually assured destruction" mindset, they reached an agreement:
Everyone lost. No one won.
So, bring it on, boys! On the last day before the holidays, the No. 1 High School F5 would wear dresses; the three girls would do frog jumps around the track while singing.
***
