You're amazing!

Hu Tong has been very worried lately.

Although she scored over 200 points above the cutoff for admission to a top high school, received a large red envelope from her family, and had a summer vacation without homework where she could indulge in fun, she was still extremely unhappy.

Because her best friend Miaomiao didn't get into a top high school!

The two girls took their first separation since they met very seriously, holding hands and talking in various corners of the neighborhood all day long. Hu Tong showed Miao Wei her college admission notice and threatened to tear up the thing that "broke them apart".

Miao Wei hurriedly pressed her hand down, urging, "You'll need it for the report!"

"Sigh, that's all it's good for, damn it." Hu Tong rolled up the admission notice and put it into his large pocket, lovingly touching the smooth cover.

"Let me show you." Miao Wei lifted her trouser leg, revealing the scabbed wound. She pouted, her complaint tinged with a hint of boasting. "I didn't get into a top high school, and my dad whipped me with a belt, but I didn't utter a sound."

"Why did he hit you?!" Hu Tong was so angry that she immediately tried to drag her away to reason with her.

Miao Wei hugged her arm, lowered her eyes and said, "He deserves it. My grandma also said he deserves it. It's all because I didn't study hard. You can just curse him out to me in private to vent your anger. If you curse him to his face, you won't get free ice cream anymore."

“I have money!” Hu Tong poked her forehead. “From now on, I’ll buy everything from the convenience store at the entrance of the community. That’ll drive your dad crazy.”

The two of them started cursing at Miao's father again.

Hu Tong said he spent all his time drinking and watching TV and was too ashamed to discipline Miao Wei. Miao Wei nodded in agreement and lowered her voice to tell Hu Tong about her father's other bad habits.

They criticized Miao's father from head to toe, vented their anger, and finally came to the conclusion that the two of them were unlucky.

Throughout the summer vacation, all the topics Hu Tong and Miao Wei discussed could be summarized in one common conclusion: their lives were miserable. When the conversation got heated, the two could even hug each other and cry for a while, before going to Miao's supermarket together to get some snacks to soothe their wounded hearts.

This grand, melodramatic drama came to an end when Grandma Miao Wei confiscated more than ten romance novels.

Hu Tong hadn't even had two days of normal and enjoyable summer vacation before military training began.

Cheng Zhou returned the day before the report to Chongqing High School.

His middle school entrance exam scores made it difficult for him to get into the elite class that Hu Tong was in. Fortunately, the class teacher of this year's elite class was Hu Jiale's high school classmate.

Hu Jiale used some connections to get Cheng Zhou's student into the advanced class, while his grades remained in the originally planned regular class, making everyone happy.

Cheng Zhou returned carrying with him the immense gratitude of Old Madam Cheng.

As summer vacation passed, Cheng Zhou, like a bamboo shoot growing taller, had shot up remarkably. The tall, thin man, carrying a huge woven bag on his back and two open cloth bags filled with live chickens, walked slowly towards them, reminding Hu Tong of an animated film—

Howl's Moving Castle

Cheng Zhou is like that frail castle that looks like it could fall apart at any moment.

However, this "castle" that Hu Tong found quite amusing was surprisingly popular at Chongqing High School.

Hu Tong stared at the photos on the school's confession wall and the comments under the post, completely baffled.

It was a candid photo taken at the school gate. Cheng Zhou was wearing camouflage clothing and a matching hat, squeezed among a group of little green figures whose faces were blurred, with a blank expression.

Is there anything special about this?

Why was Cheng Zhou singled out, while the top student next to him who scored 253 points above the cutoff was censored?

Hu Tong was utterly baffled that someone would waste their afternoon nap time hiding under the covers, frowning, squinting, scrolling through their phone screen, and quietly reading out the comments.

"Hey, does P1 have a boyfriend?"

Someone replied to this comment: "It's hard to be single when you're this handsome."

Hu Tong clicked his tongue. Whether he's handsome or not is another matter. How does this person know that Cheng Zhou played chess with her father the day before yesterday and won against a potential partner?

"His neck is so long, it's as long as the rest of my life, like a heart."

Hu Tong scratched his head, feeling that saying that was a bit unlucky, and replied in a friendly manner: "Not as good as the geese in the village."

Half a minute later, Hu Tong received a question mark.

"I came from Heqing Middle School (P1), my classmates can attest to that, I'm a super nice and handsome guy!"

Hu Tong put his knowledge to good use and replied to his junior high school classmate with a question mark: ? You used to tell me that he was so quiet you couldn't even fart, which was infuriating.

This time, Hu Tong received a long string of periods, as well as private messages attacking him.

The student angrily retorted: "You didn't help me before, and now you're going to publicly reveal my painful unrequited love story!"

Hu Tong: Who do you have a crush on? Cheng Zhou? Wow, can I tell Miao Miao this juicy gossip?!

The student: ...

The world is quiet.

Hu Tong checked the time, politely said good afternoon to his junior high school classmate, turned off his phone, and fell into a deep sleep.

When Hu Tong woke up, her junior high school classmates hadn't replied to her messages, so she thoughtfully reminded them: "Don't oversleep."

Filled with worry for her old classmate and confusion about the world, she changed into her military training camouflage uniform and boarded the bus to the high school with her classmate with the long neck.

Hu Tong sat in his seat and looked up at Cheng Zhou, who was holding onto the handrail with one hand.

Perhaps it was the angle, but looking at the white stripe extending from the green camouflage uniform and the prominent, rock-like Adam's apple, she actually felt a sense of endlessness.

The bus moved slowly forward, and everything inside seemed to float on water, swaying gently. Hu Tong looked at Cheng Zhou as if he were standing on a deck gazing at the sun slowly rising on the horizon.

"It's so white it's blinding," Hu Tong thought irritably, wrinkling her nose as she said, "Cheng Zhou, who told you to have such a long neck? Cut off a section for me."

She also wanted to be featured on the confession wall.

Why can't she be on the confession wall!

Cheng Zhou suddenly lowered his head, his gaze, filled with surprise and fear, fixed on Hu Tong.

A pale pink blush spread from his neck upwards, turning a deep red that looked as if it were about to bleed by the time it reached his earlobes. Cheng Zhou looked at Hu Tong's upturned face, his furrowed brows, his sharp eyes, and the fine wrinkles on the bridge of his nose, and felt his mind go completely blank.

Seeing his dazed and dumbfounded appearance, Hu Tong became inexplicably angry. Ignoring the fact that she had spoken first, she scolded, "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a beautiful woman before?"

Cheng Zhou's thoughts were pulled back by the angry curse, the crisp scent of gardenias in the air, the alcohol smell of sunscreen, and the slightly sour and salty smell of sweat. He slowly shifted his gaze, repaying evil with kindness, "Your neck is also very long."

"Tch, you don't need to say it." Hu Tong retorted, then turned to look out the window. She sat up straight, chin held high, as if deliberately showing off her long neck to everyone on the bus.

Cheng Zhou lowered his head and smiled cautiously.

It was September, and the sun was blazing. A line of fresh, green-clad boys poured into the playground, only to be wilted and look miserable in no time.

The instructors' roars echoed through the sky, startling a few yellow-browed warblers in the trees, but failing to rouse the new students' spirits.

Cheng Zhou was fair-skinned, which made the beads of sweat on his cheeks appear even brighter than those on others. He was eye-catching, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"You boy in the fourth row, fifth column!" The instructor of the advanced class was a man of medium height. He shouted through a megaphone, "Can't you lift your leg? Your marching is like a sissy's!"

The instructor's words were laced with anger, and no one dared to laugh. This silence made Cheng Zhou even more embarrassed.

The stares of others stung his face, and his body felt like it was being baked by the heat rising from the track. He couldn't muster any strength in his limbs and was trembling uncontrollably.

At this moment, a clear voice broke the silence, like pickled cowpeas thrown into mushy porridge, crisp, sour, and particularly refreshing.

"Reporting, Instructor!"

The instructor's gaze followed the sound and found the girl standing at the end of the first row. She had an oval face, and even after being in the sun for most of the afternoon, her lips were still a healthy, glossy red. She was pretty, but her eyes were sharp as knives.

"explain!"

Hu Tong straightened his back, raised his head, and shouted, "You used the wrong words! You can't use 'sissy' to insult the boys in the fourth and fifth rows!"

Despite not being very tall, his voice was louder than the loudspeaker of the instructor from the next class, making the two instructors exchange a smile.

"Why are you angry when I scolded him?" the instructor asked with a smile, and a few bolder students took the opportunity to shout "Oh!"

Cheng Zhou suddenly no longer felt the scorching heat. Thanks to Hu Tong's protection, he felt as if he were soaking in hot water, warm and comfortable.

He looked at the back of Hu Tong's head, feeling both happy and somewhat worried that she would be punished.

Hu Tong answered without looking at him: "Because neither your mother nor my mother did anything wrong. If you really can't find a word to curse a boy, just curse him as a 'daddy cannon'."

The crowd burst into laughter instantly.

Cheng Zhou lowered his eyes, feeling as if an arrow had pierced his heart, sending a chill down his spine. He had been deluding himself.

The instructor cleared his throat: "Daddy Cannon, who's ever heard of that?"

Hu Tong answered loudly, "Me!"

The instructor, intending to tease the girl, waved his hand and said, "Leaving you aside, is anyone else here?"

Apart from deliberately suppressed laughter, no one else answered.

"I."

Cheng Zhou responded softly.

The instructor's smile froze on his face.

Cheng Zhou raised his eyes, his dark pupils like unyielding ink. He spoke with a hint of determination in his calm tone: "I am Daddy Cannon, the instructor."

The last murmur of laughter in the crowd dissipated amidst this unwavering resolve, leaving only the incessant chirping of cicadas from the treetops not far away.

"Not ashamed, but proud!" the instructor scolded, making Cheng Zhou do two frog jumps around the playground.

Cheng Zhou stepped out of the group, and just when everyone thought the matter was over, Hu Tong jumped out again.

"No!" she said. "Isn't Cheng Zhou just confirming what you said? What did he do wrong? If he did nothing wrong, he shouldn't be punished!"

The instructor looked at Hu Tong with annoyance. "There's only one thing you need to do, and that is to obey orders!"

“Orders can be right or wrong, and that’s the truth no matter how you look at it,” Hu Tong said, his neck stiff and his tone aggressive. “If you think we’re wrong, we’ll ask the head instructor, and if the head instructor can’t do it, we’ll ask the principal, and if the principal can’t do it, we’ll go to the Education Bureau. We’ll get an answer eventually!”

The instructor was so angry he laughed: "You're amazing, you're amazing!"

Hu Tong stamped his foot, assumed a standing at ease posture, and raised his chin high. "Reporting, Instructor, I also think I'm amazing!"