Chapter 22

We were all wearing the red short-sleeved shirts that the school had issued to us a few days ago.

When I first received them, I didn't think much of it and just stuffed them into my backpack, thinking that I would wash and dry my brother's bag when I got home that night.

But when they came in the afternoon, someone brought one of those thick markers and wrote their name on their clothes.

I feel it's a bit childish.

"Su Yu, write here." Qiu Jiajia pointed to the spot on my left shoulder, telling me to write carefully. I asked her why she wrote it there, and she said I was her right-hand woman...

"You know what? If you have someone you like, have them sign their name on your heart."

She gave me some advice.

"What era are we living in that we're still doing this?"

After I finished writing it for her, I didn't pay any attention to it.

"I'm going to ask Su Yu to write it for me. He said after I finish writing it, I'll ask my Chinese teacher to write it for me too..."

I wasn't eavesdropping; it was just Chen Tianmo's voice that came through.

I grabbed my clothes and ran outside, almost knocking over the books piled on the first table by the door.

"Brother... sign it for me, sign it here." I pinched up my chest area, but it was hard to tell what part it was.

"You used to come to me like this when you were little, asking me to write in your yearbook too."

My face flushed slightly as I remembered. They say you can tell what a person will be like at three years old. When I'm eighty, I'll have Su Yu write the Spring Festival couplets for me too.

He spread out my clothes, wrote my name stroke by stroke, and drew two little fish, mouth to mouth.

This made me even more embarrassed.

The autograph session lasted for more than three days on our floor. Finally, everyone's clothes were completely covered with clean clothes, and then we realized, what are we going to do about washing them?

I'm not going to wash it then.

He was wearing it when I wrote his name on it. I was standing in front of him, and he was sitting with his back straight.

I held his chest area with my hand, and he supported himself with his clothes. Then I carefully wrote my name down.

"Brother, your little red bean is ripe." I whispered devilishly in his ear.

"Do you want to eat?"

"I'll eat it as a midnight snack."

Having had an intimate relationship makes a difference, but we didn't do those things in the dorm. We were still a little embarrassed and afraid of making too much noise and disturbing others.

I checked the name and graffiti on his clothes, and after confirming that there were no unusual messages, I returned them to him.

The day we rehearsed for the graduation ceremony, the sky was overcast. We were all gloating that tomorrow would be a cool and pleasant day. I saw Su Yu, who was so thin, standing in the wind a few rows away. The wind blowing his bangs made him turn his head and saw me looking at him.

It's wonderful. For the first time, I feel that youth is so beautiful, and Su Yu in my youth is so wonderful.

I'm dying of heat.

The warmth emanating from the sun coiled around my neck like a python, and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

My mom brought us breakfast, and I held out the porridge for my brother to eat with a spoon. He ate a couple of bites and then fed me. The scene might have been a little ambiguous, but we didn't notice.

My dad said that we brothers are kind and respectful, and that the future is bright for us.

Parents sat on benches, and we placed a book on the playground. Su Yu rested his head on his mother's lap, and his mother stroked his head with one hand, fanned him with the other, and then "conjured" up some delicious food for him.

Su Yu was just like a little child back then.

After the performances and speeches by the leaders ended, we breathed a sigh of relief and got up to exercise.

The inevitable emotional segment involved asking parents to stand up and giving us hugs.

Where are Mom and Dad? They went down to the shade of a tree because they were too hot, leaving Su Yu and me on the playground.

"Now, all parents and students, please stand up..."

As soon as the head of the teaching department finished speaking, everyone stood up in a flash. Su Yu stood up and felt dizzy for three seconds before she could stand up with my help.

Your dad is burning up from the heat. Your teacher is too much of a tormentor. Your dad and I won't go over there. You two have fun by yourselves.

I bent over to see the message my mom sent.

Su Yu also bent down, and we pressed our heads together.

"They went to cool off."

"Should we leave too?"

Did your homeroom teacher say anything to you?

"Who cares?"

So Su Yu led me away from our seats and we went to a vending machine to buy two bottles of mineral water. Most people were on the playground, and we didn't know where to go.

As I walked toward the teaching building, I looked up and saw someone standing by the wall. I shook Su Yu's arm and asked him to look.

"Somewhat like... an English teacher."

"Let's go, let's go find her and get some food."

"No, Su Yu's mother? I don't think this child interacts with girls much?"

There was still one step left. Su Yu and I stopped and listened carefully to what was going on.

"Oh, really? That's good too..."

“Su Yu and his younger brother are together, and Su Yu’s grades have improved significantly during this period.”

If we had agreed on the terms, I pulled Su Yu upstairs.

The three adults greeted us when they saw us arrive.

Later, when it came to the "Leaping Over the Dragon Gate" segment, our family of four lined up. My dad was next to me, and my mom was next to Su Yu. We walked one after the other, following the people in front of us.

The first and second year high school students stood on both sides holding banners to cheer us on; some sprayed confetti, and some shook hands.

Su Yu and her mother walked ahead of us, and I heard many people saying things like "So handsome, so handsome".

Some mischievous PE students called out to Su Yu as soon as they saw him, grabbing his hand and refusing to let go. My mother was happy to see these hot-blooded young men liking her son so much, but I felt very uncomfortable.

They didn't even try to pull me up, but I stubbornly pushed them away and took Su Yu's hand, then took hers myself.

The bustling road was finally over. For the first time, I felt that this road, which I had walked for three years, was so long. When I got to the classroom, my classmates and parents were all gathered together, and my family was not separated either.

Strangely, I saw that male teacher who was previously in the public eye. Even though the matter had been resolved smoothly long ago, he looked even more haggard and distressed.

My mom took out the snacks and food that she had put under my table and gave them to me and Su Yu. The aroma of the food immediately attracted a lot of people. When my parents brought back fruit from the sink, they saw Qiu Jiajia stuffing a pig's trotter into her mouth.

"Hello, Auntie!"

My mom looked at Qiu Jiajia and liked her more and more. She then put several boxes of food in front of her. Su Yu and I were sitting facing each other. I glanced at him and felt that he was observing us as if he were an outsider.

After things calmed down, we resumed our studies and classes.

My parents took those two pieces of clothing home. They smelled strongly of sweat, but Su Yu's sweat was pleasant, and mine... mine didn't smell bad either.

Another boring and tedious period of studying passed by. One day, I saw an embroidered rice dumpling hanging at the entrance of our classroom.

Then, that morning, all the students jumped up and tried to lift the rice dumpling.

Su noticed it when she came to find me.

"That's great, our homeroom teacher never does these things."

"That's because I trust you."

"Forget it..."

I could tell that Su Yu also wanted to "take a bite" of the zongzi, but since it wasn't his class, he just looked at it.

That night I ordered six different kinds of small rice dumplings, and a few days later I picked them up at the school gate.

When I declined Su Yu's invitation to go out for dinner and instead went to pick up a package at the door, Su Yu said that I wasn't taking good care of my health, that the college entrance exam was coming up soon and I still wasn't eating.

When I returned, the classroom was empty. I opened the package, and the six small zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) shimmered under the incandescent light.

I pulled out the red string I had bought separately. I thought the one that came with it in the buyer's show looked too cheap, so I asked Qiu Jiajia to choose one for me. She's an experienced "weaver" and knows a lot about these things.

I skipped dinner a few more times to learn how to braid this little red thread from Qiu Jiajia.

I paid her an extra cup of black milk tea as tuition, and I finally learned how to make it!

Teacher Qiu taught me diligently, and even though she said several times that my brain and tofu pudding were reversed, she never gave up on me.

She collected the waste, and when I asked her why she didn't throw it away, she said, "Wait, it's more useful than me."

I've finally strung every little rice dumpling with the red string I braided myself; now all that's missing is a suitable time and place.

Given that I had already declined Su Yu's dinner invitation for almost a week, I dressed up for the occasion, being so meticulous that I washed my school uniform until it smelled nice and wasn't damp with sweat.

As soon as the bell rang, before the teacher had left, I rushed out to wait for my brother at the classroom door.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes.

A group of people had gathered outside, waiting for their friends. Inside and outside, it was like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, cruelly separated by the Queen Mother of the West, gazing at each other through a window.

Oh, Su Yu isn't in this; it's just me watching him.

Their class's "Queen Mother" announced the end of get out of class, and Su Yu lingered, seemingly doing nothing. After everyone left, I went in to find him.

"Let's go eat, bro."

"You suddenly remembered you wanted to eat today? You don't want me to bring you steamed buns anymore?"

I coaxed and tricked him into taking it to the cafeteria. He noticed my pockets were bulging and asked me what it was.

"I can't show it to you now."

"Fine, I won't watch it anymore."

"Hey, hey, this is for you."

"...But I'm not ready yet."

"Are you going to propose to me here?"

"Do you want me to propose? Then I'll get ready!"

"..."

"roll."

After dinner, I took him to the iron gate behind the small playground, which was the perfect place to escape after evening self-study and have a good time. But today, I wanted to use it for something more meaningful.

Su Yu followed me "trekking through mountains and rivers" through the overgrown weeds, and his constant scratching proved that his ankles and calves had been invaded by mosquitoes.

I told him to turn his back, and that I had to turn around first. Su Yuzhen thought I was going to propose to him.

"Alright, ta-da!"

“Look up, bro.” I pointed to my head.

"Holy crap, what is this?"

"Hey zongzi, brother, you should try some too."

I helped Su Yu to the door. There were no shiny tiles that the students on duty had cleaned, and when we jumped over, there was no blackboard or desk. Only weeds and wildflowers were scattered around, as if welcoming Su Yu.

He stood still, looked up at the sky, then at me, then grabbed my arm, jumped up, and bumped into the six little rice dumplings I had tied to him.

A breeze blew by, and the little plants behind me rustled.

"Look, everyone is cheering for you."

"Where did you learn to speak so eloquently?"

"I'll know how when I see you, bro."

We held hands and took the rice dumpling down. He held the little rice dumpling I bought in his hands as if it were a precious treasure.

"This rope is so delicate, was it a gift from the store?"

"Hmph, of course not."

"You bought it separately? You're really generous."

No, not exactly.

"You tore down the one outside your classroom?"

"……no."

"Oh, did you get one of the girls in your class to write it?"

"Brother, don't worry about this."

He picked one up to look at it, and then, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at it, he looked at the others.

My calves, beneath my dark blue trousers, were already covered in bites from greedy mosquitoes. They must be very itchy. I squatted down, and Su Yu, not understanding what was happening, stopped too. I gently scratched that area with my fingernail.

"I should have chosen a more respectable place."

I complained that I hadn't done a good job, and Su Yu squatted down and held my hand.

"What you give me is the best."

Seeing that no one was around, he gave me a very light kiss on the cheek.

When we got back to the classroom, we were chatting outside and didn't go in. That's when Su Yu realized that every single rice dumpling had his subject on it.

He picked out a few of my weakest subjects and stuffed them into my pocket, then kept the rest with him.

This must be the most "adult-like" thing I've ever done for Su Yu. The joy and emotion in his eyes were genuine, and I felt incredibly proud standing there watching.

The tension of the college entrance examination was dispelled by the laughter of the students. The sunset was still so beautiful, but I couldn't take a picture with my phone. Su Yu made a picture frame with her hand.

"Click".

"Look how good it is!"