Chapter 27

At the music station, some people were feeding pigeons, while others were taking photos with their cameras.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, Guan Nan couldn't hear anything.

Only that sentence remained in my mind

"Because I know everything and can do everything."

This is a very tricky answer.

Guan Nan once suspected that he lacked a certain level of comprehension in understanding the questions.

Subsequently, he began to question the English he had learned.

Is this how the sentence is translated?

Guan Nan remained silent once again.

"Does it sound good?" Jiang Li asked lazily.

Knowing what he was asking, Guan Nan nodded: "It sounds nice."

Was the performance good?

"Yes," Guan Nan nodded again, answering sincerely, "It looks good."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li smiled and stretched out his long legs, sitting even more lazily.

The two sat on the bench until a woman selling bread came by, and Jiang Li bought her a bag to feed the pigeons. After that, neither of them spoke, and they just watched the pigeons gradually return to their coop.

Without saying or doing anything, Guan Nan felt an indescribable sense of joy.

Until the sky changed from fiery clouds to a dull black.

Jiang Li took her home.

······

Once the holiday was over, the October monthly exams arrived as scheduled.

This month's exam broke with tradition, mixing arts and science classes. Taking the previous grade ranking as an example, all exam numbers were shuffled, and the exam room was not fixed in Mingde Building.

"Help, I'd rather go to the lab building," said the girl who had failed to change seats last time. She complained with a bitter face, "The science building has all sorts of broken tables and chairs. I'm so fed up."

“Poor Kuang,” the boy teased her, “the science building is haunted.”

The girl surnamed Kuang: "You little bastard!"

Because of the large number of students and the wide space, each examination room could not have more than twenty people. As a result, the science and technology building, the art building, and the gymnasium were all put to use.

Guan Nan, by sheer coincidence, was assigned to the art building.

She stared at the words "Art Building, 3F, Room C-2" on her admission ticket.

"Damn it!" Yu Shu clutched the still-warm exam admission ticket, his hands trembling like he had Parkinson's disease. "How did I end up in the lab building?! That place is fucking haunted!"

On the podium, the class monitor was still there. He smiled and said, "Where would a ghost come from in broad daylight? Don't scare yourself."

"······"

In other words, the laboratory building is still haunted.

Yu Shu almost broke down.

"This is terrible, really terrible," Yu Shu glanced at Guan Nan and Jiang Li's admission tickets, looking utterly hopeless. "An exam? I'm going to fail before I even finish writing a single word."

oo means dead.

"Okay, okay."

Which floor are you on for your lab?

“B,” Yu Shu said, leaning on the table and raising his hand, “Teacher, I would like to ask for leave.”

Class monitor: "Several girls in our class were assigned to the laboratory building, and they didn't say anything. You're a real man, you should stand tall and proud."

"..." Yu Shu, shameless and determined to make a shocking statement, said, "Teacher, actually, when I was born, I was a little girl."

Immediately, those who had not yet left their posts burst into laughter.

"Go away, go away," Banban waved her hand with a smile, "Stop joking around, the exam is about to start."

With a flushed face, Yu Shu grabbed his pencil case and quickly followed behind Jiang Li and Guan Nan, wailing incessantly.

"..." Guan Nan had never seen such a situation before and was somewhat at a loss.

Jiang Li remained calm and composed, as if it were commonplace.

"Why are you two still on the same floor!" Yu Shu was furious and extremely frantic. "I'm going to the haunted house! Heaven is going to kill me, Yu Shu..."

Guan Nan didn't hear what he said after that; she only remembered that sentence.

"You two live on the same floor."

After leaving Mingde Building, the three walked on Huangjue Road. Because the previous exam room assignments had been disrupted so suddenly, the road was full of students carrying their admission tickets and pencil cases.

Guan Nan's examination admission ticket was tricked into being obtained by Yu Shu with just a "glance".

"Squad leader," Yu Shu hesitated, then stammered, "How about..."

Guan Nan asked suspiciously: "?"

Desperate and grasping at straws, Yu Shu smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Shall we switch?"

"Huh?" Guan Nan was a little confused when she heard this. "This is an exam."

Yu Shu: "I know."

You knew that, yet you still changed it?

Guan Nan looked somewhat confused.

"The teacher won't—" Yu Shu hadn't finished speaking.

The next second, Guan Nan felt a breeze brush against her cheek, and long, slender fingers were right in front of her.

Jiang Li said calmly, "No change."

Before she could react, her gaze followed the thin, bony figure back to look, and there was already the long, rectangular admission ticket in Jiang Li's hand.

Yu Shu was utterly desperate and went to the laboratory building alone.

"Let's go." Jiang Li turned and headed towards the art building, holding his admission ticket in his hand, walking slowly.

The two were in the same art building, and Guan Nan followed him and turned right without hesitation.

As they entered the building, Jiang Li casually turned his head and lazily said, "You don't really want to switch with him, do you?"

“…No.” Guan Nan shook his head gruffly.

Jiang Li: "They haven't said yes yet."

That tone...

Guan Nan couldn't help but reflect on herself and make sure that she didn't have such thoughts.

It could even be said that there was not the slightest wavering.

But his tone was so certain that she couldn't help but start to doubt herself, wondering if she had really ever had the urge to agree.

"Hiss—" In the moment of distraction, Jiang Li stopped walking and bumped his head on his back.

Jiang Li turned around and saw her covering her forehead. He removed her hand and said, "How can you be so clumsy?"

"..." Guan Nan said dejectedly, "I didn't know you would stop."

Don't you know?

Jiang Li, who was two steps ahead of her, said nothing, stared at her forehead for a while, and after confirming that she was alright, he looked up and patted it lightly. He said irritably, "Watch where you're going."

Guan Nan pursed her lips, feeling a little uncomfortable, and rubbed her forehead: "Why are you so hard?"

Jiang Li: "......"

What the hell is this called?!

When she looked up, Jiang Li was staring at her with his eyes down, his expression blank.

Guan Nan's heart skipped a beat, and she awkwardly pointed to the stairs, reminding him, "Jiang Li, it's time to go up."

Jiang Li handed her the admission ticket.

"Jiang Li," Guan Nan called his name after taking the gift, "Let's do it together..."

He didn't say the words "Let's go to the same university" aloud.

She paused, then said earnestly, "Keep it up."

"I understand." Jiang Li raised his eyebrows and lightly tugged at her ponytail, his posture relaxed and languid.

He seemed to be in a good mood.

Guan Nan thought for a moment, waved to him from the third floor, and turned to walk towards Room 2.

Art Room 2 on the 3rd floor is spacious, and the light pouring in makes the classroom bright and clear, even making the dried paint on the table come alive.

The moment Guan Nan finished the exam, she felt a rare moment of relaxation, resting her chin on her hand and looking out the window.

She wondered which floor Jiang Li would be on at that moment.

The fourth floor, or perhaps the fifth floor.

Before she could think any further, the bell rang on the podium, signaling the end of the exam and the time to collect the papers. Following the procedures for the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao), everyone left the classroom and closed the door.

The invigilators collected the arts and science exam papers separately, put them into file folders, and sealed them.

Guan Nan, Liu Yang, and Guo Yuhang were in the same exam room, so while waiting at the classroom door, the two of them were still talking about the questions they had just answered and comparing answers.

"Not bad, not bad," Liu Yang said, then turned to Guan Nan, who was standing next to him, and asked, "Class monitor, what was the answer to the last question about the distance between planes?"

After hearing Guan Nan's answer, Liu Yang exclaimed incredulously, "How could it be 2/3?"

Guo Yuhang: "BD includes AB. According to the distance calculation based on the plane, d equals the square root of 3/2, which is correct."

Liu Yang persisted: "So you simplified it?"

"Did those two exams this morning mess up your brain?" Guo Yuhang asked with genuine concern, but his eyes looked at him as if he were looking at someone mentally challenged.

"Damn it..." Liu Yang still had an uncertain answer: "What about the first question of the fourth major question?"

“0,” Guo Yuhang said.

Liu Yang's face went blank. He turned to Guan Nan for an answer: "Isn't it 1?"

"Even if it equals 4, it can't equal 1," Guo Yuhang didn't want to discourage him. "How did you calculate that? Are you out of your mind?"

Liu Yang: "Class monitor, can I borrow your draft paper in a bit?"

"The teacher took them away." Guan Nan pointed to the classroom, where only the pencil case remained on the desk; everything else was sealed.

Liu Yang ran his fingers through his hair: "I'm fucking insane!"

"······"

Guan Nan pursed her lips, and it did seem a little bit, but she didn't dare to say it.

After cleaning up the mess, the two tried to invite Guan Nan to have dinner together, but Guan Nan politely declined. The students dispersed quickly, and the art building was soon almost empty.

The corridors and floors were empty. Students who came out of the building put their arms around each other's shoulders, debating what to eat while comparing their answers.

For reasons unknown, Guan Nan boldly and dawdled up to the fifth floor. Perhaps for the students' convenience, the piano classroom door was left unlocked.

She is usually very cautious, but this time she broke into the piano room, which was especially outrageous.

Guan Nan lowered her eyes, her hand touching the piano, her fingertips trembling slightly.

The piano room has windows on all four sides, making it bright and airy.

Guan Nan slowly sat down on the piano bench, adjusted the pedals, and gently stroked the black and white piano surface with her fingers. She had imagined more than once what it would be like to sit at the piano again someday.

At this moment, the answer is obvious; they are like the most familiar strangers.

She gritted her teeth and tried to connect with it, to form a relationship.

—Fantaisie-Impromptu

That's wrong.

Wrong again.

After several attempts, it seemed as if I was forever stuck on those few rhythms, unable to get out or get in.

······

Wrong again?

She seems a bit off again.

At first, you'll be clumsy, but you'll find the right feel and eventually master it with both hands.

Her hand speed is fine for eight-to-six running, so why does she always have problems with the keys when she slows down?

"Who is this? They just finished their exams and are already playing the piano." Yu Shu and Jiang Li, who had finished putting their things away in the classroom, walked towards Huangjue Road and heard the sound of a piano drifting over as they passed the art building.

Jiang Li paused, raised his eyebrows and looked towards the art building, his brows slightly furrowed.

This vicious cycle of making one mistake after another...

There will be no one else.

"You go first, I'm going to get something." Jiang Li said to Yu Shu, not moving any further.

“What?” Yu said, “Where are you? I’ll come with you.”

Jiang Li refused decisively: "No need."

Seeing him walk towards the art building without looking back, Yu Shu didn't think much of it, since his exam room was in the art building.

Few people are active in the art building during this mealtime.

Therefore, Guan Nan felt very reassured while playing.

But as she restored the piano room to its original state, dejectedly left the classroom, and turned to walk downstairs, she bumped into Jiang Li, who was stopped on the third floor. His movements were neither up nor down.

"I need to get something," Jiang Li explained first. "I just arrived."

Guan Nan was on high alert, afraid that someone would discover something. After hearing his words, she could only stammer an "Oh," and then said guiltily, "I also forgot something."

"Really?" Jiang Li said casually. "That's quite a coincidence."

This "skill" is quite meaningful.

Guan Nan remained silent for a moment, clutching her pencil case tightly. Still somewhat wary, she couldn't help but ask, "Did you hear anything just now?"

"What's that sound?" Jiang Li lifted his eyelids and glanced at her casually.

His eyes seemed to indicate that he didn't understand what she was saying.

Seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it, Guan Nan quickly shook her head: "It's nothing."

Jiang Li gave an "Oh," but showed no intention of letting her off the hook, asking in a drawn-out and ambiguous tone, "What should I hear?"

"······"

"Don't worry," Jiang Li said lazily, noticing her caution, "the art building isn't haunted."

“Hmm,” as if she had finally found a suitable excuse, Guan Nan scratched her hair at her temple and said sullenly, “I was just saying what I wanted to talk about.”

Jiang Li smiled and said with a hint of amusement, "Right?"

A few seconds later, he asked, "Are you afraid of ghosts?"

Guan Nan stubbornly replied, "I'm not afraid."

"Aren't you afraid?" Jiang Li asked with a half-smile.

"..." This smile reminded Guan Nan of the day they went to buy liangxia (a type of cold dessert). He seemed to sense her nervousness and reached out to cover her eyes. Thinking of this, Guan Nan quietly said, "A little."

Jiang Li teased her, "Just a little?"

"Hmm..." Guan Nan thought for a moment, "Then, a little more."

Hearing this, Jiang Li chuckled softly and said slowly, "Mm."

The two went downstairs together and left the art building.

"Aren't you afraid?" Guan Nan asked, seeing his relaxed expression. After hesitating for a moment, she couldn't help but ask.

"What?" Jiang Li said, "A ghost?"

Guan Nan nodded.

Jiang Li: "I'm scared."

Before Guan Nan could speak, he put one hand in his pocket and grinned nonchalantly, "Isn't this what I'm waiting for you to protect me?"

"Huh?" Guan Nan almost couldn't keep up the conversation.

"What," Jiang Li stepped onto the bridge, giving her a disdainful look, "you don't want to?"

"······"

"Tsk," Jiang Li said, "You have no conscience."

Guan Nan wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction, "How come I'm heartless again?"

Are we deskmates?

Not knowing why he suddenly gave an irrelevant answer, Guan Nan still obediently replied, "Yes."

Are we friends?

"yes."

Are we good friends?

"······yes."

Jiang Li: "Then why are you unwilling?"

Under the blazing sun, the playground was filled with noise, and the sticky, stuffy feeling dissipated with a single breath.

Only Jiang Li stayed by her side, but each step he took on the bridge made a loud thud, which made her heart burn.

“But,” Guan Nan hesitated for a long time before finally managing to say, “I’m scared too.”

"What should we do then?"

Guan Nan pursed her lips, her expression serious: "Let's run faster."

"Um?"

"Run faster," Guan Nan said, "run a little faster and it won't be able to catch up with us."

Who told you that?

"Me, Mom."

There was a two-second silence. Jiang Li's casual demeanor vanished, replaced by a more serious expression: "Right, run faster, and it won't be able to catch up. So—"

So what?

He paused for a long time, and Guan Nan looked up at his sharp jawline and slightly protruding Adam's apple.

While he was stunned, he heard him say:

"But I'm here."

"So I'd rather protect you."

I'd rather protect you.

I'm here.

I will protect you.

At that moment, Guan Nan felt dizzy and her heart was burning.

In a heart that had gradually become indifferent and even unmoved by the most cherished "Daddy's here" and "Daddy protects my sweetheart," it was repeatedly thrown and chased by others, yet remained steadfast and confident.

Those feelings of security that had been missing for many years seemed to be reborn in that instant.

They walked in silence for a long time.

At the school gate, Guan Nan happened to run into Qi Yang, who was packing food to take back to school. Guan Nan instinctively distanced herself from Jiang Li.

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow without showing any emotion, not wanting to make things difficult for her, and left the school gate first.

“600,” Qi Yang took out his pocket and handed her the cash that his part-time boss had transferred to him. “Count it.”

This settlement covers the last few days' wages. The mascot costume part-time fee was 200 yuan that day, and the waitress fee was 180 yuan per day for the next two days. He clearly gave too much, but Guan Nan didn't accept it: "It's not that much, it's 560."

Qi Yang smiled calmly: "We don't talk about these things between us."

“You can’t do this,” Guan Nan insisted, not being ambiguous about a single penny. “You’ve already helped me a lot with the part-time job, Brother Qi Yang, you can’t do this.”

Unable to persuade her otherwise, Qi Yang ultimately gave her 560.

Just as she was about to leave, Guan Nan heard him say, "I've noticed you've changed a lot lately."

"ah?"

"You've made friends, brought people home, and even made requests. I'm happy for you, even though I don't know why."

"······"

Qi Yang put the money in his pocket and said calmly, "You weren't like this before. Haven't you noticed? You always seem to have a lot on your mind. You keep all the grievances and bullying to yourself, never telling anyone. You're always worried about troubling others, afraid of owing them anything, not knowing how to repay them, not knowing how to get along with people, afraid that you might accidentally upset them. You always think over what you're going to say, and after thinking about it for a long time, you feel that saying it will upset the other person, so you simply make yourself suffer and unhappy. Anyway, you're unhappy, so a little more or less doesn't matter..."

“You shouldn’t learn from them,” Qi Yang said. “You should get into Fuling.”

Guan Nan listened to him quietly, but even after Qi Yang finished speaking, she didn't know how to respond.

Sitting in the classroom, she couldn't even remember how she met Jiang Li face to face, what they said, or what they ate. Her mind was completely muddled.

She kept asking herself in her mind, "What were you like before?"

The timidity, cowardice, and cautious humility that had accompanied her for years had not actually disappeared. After two days of peace, they surged back into her heart with a gust of wind.

What is there to learn from someone like her?

What is there to miss?

But she didn't want to rot in the mud.

She also wanted to...

Until someone called out to her: "Class monitor, it's your turn to clean the office today, along with Jiang Li."

Seeing that Guan Nan didn't react, Yu Shu's deskmate called her several times and told her that the student on duty reminded her that she hadn't finished cleaning up the mess she was punished with last time.

Guan Nan only then woke up, her expression still somewhat unpleasant. "Oh, okay."

When she looked up again, Jiang Li was holding two rags in his hands, standing on the podium and looking straight at her.

Their eyes met unexpectedly.

Then, thinking back to what was just said.

She instinctively moved away.

······

In the office, the two men were holding rags.

After a holiday without cleaning, the floor and tabletops were covered with a light layer of dust, requiring several wipes. I wonder if the person who was punished earlier slacked off; the stacks of books and the cabinets above were covered with a thick layer of dust with just a sweep.

Guan Nan remained silent, wiped the rag clean again, and was about to step onto the stool.

Seeing this, Jiang Li patted her, signaling her to move aside, and then took a long stride over.

Dust had accumulated on top, and several brand-new forms were pressed down on it. Jiang Li glanced down at Guan Nan, who was wiping the other side of the desk, and then he bent down and flipped through them lightly.

Then, he paused, his gaze fixed on the "Application Form for National Family Economic Difficulty for Regular Senior High School Students".

Name: Guan Nan; Family size: 2

Reason for application: Single parent, family has no stable income, I am a student, and my mother has a level 2 mental disability.

Jiang Li stared at the form for a long time, and suddenly the image of "Kangning Mental Rehabilitation Hospital" flashed through her mind. She looked helpless and desperate, as if she had lost all hope for the future.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he remained silent.

"You two are cleaning today." Banban came in with a stack of test papers and saw Jiang Li standing on the chair. She instructed, "Slow down. It's okay if you don't wipe it clean. Just don't let him fall."

Jiang Li recovered without making a sound and replied, "Okay."

"Jiang Li, you've been doing well lately," the teacher said, filling his thermos with water and praising him with a smile. "You don't fight, you don't sleep in class, you hand in your homework on time, and other teachers say you're paying attention in class and have a very good attitude towards learning. Keep it up!"

Jiang Li responded without batting an eye.

Just then, other teachers gradually returned after finishing their meals, carrying bags of exam papers they had retrieved from the academic affairs office.

When the math teacher saw Guan Nan in the office, he quickly said, "Guan Nan, tonight's self-study session is my turn. You stay and help me grade the papers."

Lin Zhaozhao hasn't needed tutoring lately, so it shouldn't matter if she goes home a little later. Guan Nan thought for two seconds and agreed:

"OK."