46. ​​I've been looking for you for a long time

"Before everyone votes, let me say a few words."

Fu Dongqing stood on the podium.

"The class monitor carries a heavy responsibility and is extremely important to a class. I hope everyone will not be impulsive or emotional when voting. Instead, consider everything carefully and choose a calm, steady, and responsible class monitor for yourselves."

After Fu Dongqing finished speaking, he was satisfied to see that the high spirits of the class chorus just now had disappeared, replaced by silence.

She has been standing on the podium for nearly twenty years. She has seen all kinds of students and all kinds of scenes. She never thought that in her lifetime she would see someone singing while running for class committee!

This was truly outrageous, even for Xiao Cheng, even if he was the top student in his grade. For a high school student, the most important thing was to be down-to-earth and take one step at a time. The most taboo thing was to go against the grain and take three steps at a time.

"Okay, everyone, after you've thought it over, start voting."

Fu Dongqing walked down from the podium.

After the votes were cast and counted, Fu Dongqing announced the results: "Excluding the three abstentions, Su Xiaoshan received 22 votes, and Xiao Cheng received 21 votes. Su Xiaoshan will be the squad leader."

As soon as Fu Dongqing finished speaking, the bell rang and the class meeting ended successfully.

After the bell rang, the classroom was silent for a while, and then it slowly became lively.

What to eat in the cafeteria later, what to do after dinner...but no one mentioned the class meeting that had just ended. It was as if to avoid suspicion, or to show that they didn't care about the election at all.

Amid the noise, Xu Wenqiang glanced to the back of the classroom and didn't see Xiao Cheng.

When going to the restaurant for dinner, Xu Wenqiang sat opposite Su Xiaoshan.

Su Xiaoshan looked up at her, and at Lin Tong beside her, "Are you not alone anymore?"

Xu Wenqiang glanced at him and asked, "Are you still alone?"

"There's no way. Someone said that only friends can eat together," said Su Xiaoshan.

While picking carrots, Xu Wenqiang said to Lin Tong, "He said you are my friend."

"I heard it." Lin Tong silently picked up the carrot that Xu Wenqiang had picked out.

Su Xiaoshan stretched out his chopsticks and put the chicken nuggets from Xu Wenqiang's plate onto his own plate. "Since we are all friends."

Xu Wenqiang quickly stuffed the last piece of chicken into her mouth and said incoherently, "I really won this time."

Su Xiaoshan paused with the chopsticks in his hand, then said "hmm".

After Xu Wenqiang finished what she wanted to say, she started to eat without saying anything more.

Lin Tong listened to their rambling conversation, completely bewildered, but tactfully refrained from asking further questions. Some friends could talk endlessly. Others, a few words were all they needed.

Su Xiaoshan ate quickly and left as soon as he finished. Lin Tong ate slowly, and Xu Wenqiang looked around while waiting for her.

There were still various ambiguous glances at her in the restaurant, but no one looked at her anymore and avoided her as if she had seen something unclean.

From a distance, she saw Chen Yang, who still had a bandage on his head. He was chatting with the people he was having dinner with, looking heartless.

Xu Wenqiang thought, it seems that as long as she is not involved, Chen Yang is actually no different from those boys who make noise in the classroom all day long.

As if he noticed someone was looking at him, he looked up. Xu Wenqiang didn't bother to hide and met Chen Yang's gaze directly.

As soon as Chen Yang saw Xu Wenqiang, his expression changed.

Xu Wenqiang thought to herself, human facial features are truly amazing. From a full smile to a ferocious look, all it takes is a thought.

Although Chen Yang's eyes were fierce, he had no intention of doing anything. After exchanging a glance with Xu Wenqiang, he looked away.

Xu Wenqiang looked around again, but didn't see Xiao Cheng.

After leaving the cafeteria, the basketball court was still the most popular place in the entire school. Everywhere was filled with people playing, watching, cheering, and frustrated...

Xiao Cheng is not among these people.

"Hey, Xu Wenqiang!" A basketball was thrown over and Xu Wenqiang caught it.

"Senior brother!" Xu Wenqiang couldn't hide her surprise when she saw Xiao Yi on the basketball court.

Xiao Yi was too lazy to correct her address and waved at her, "Come and play ball."

After playing basketball with Xu Wenqiang and Xiao Cheng last time, Xiao Yi's pride as a genius was severely damaged. Since then, he began to practice basketball hard, determined to make his basketball skills worthy of his title of genius.

Xu Wenqiang waved her hand and said, "I'm with my classmates."

Lin Tong said from the side, "Xu Wenqiang, go ahead. I want to watch you play, too."

Xu Wenqiang said, "I won't fight today. Wait for me."

She walked over and returned the ball to Xiao Yi, then asked without any expectation, "Senior brother, have you seen Xiao Cheng?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yi smiled mysteriously, "Xu Wenqiang, you really asked the right person. At this moment, I am the only one who knows where Xiao Cheng is."

Xu Wenqiang asked hurriedly, "Where is he?"

"He just went to the roof of our teaching building." Xiao Yi leaned over and whispered in Xu Wenqiang's ear.

"The roof?" Xu Wenqiang cried out. "Isn't it just that I didn't become the class monitor? Is that a big deal? Senior brother, why didn't you stop me?"

"Didn't Xiao Cheng become the class monitor?" Xiao Yi shouted even louder than Xu Wenqiang when he heard this. "Xiao Cheng has been the class monitor since the first day of school. What kind of immortal being broke up his and the class monitor's marriage that has lasted for more than ten years?"

The two turned their heads and looked at the roof of the high school teaching building, but saw no one.

"Xiao Cheng is not that weak." Xu Wenqiang said.

"That's true." Xiao Yi agreed.

After the shock, Xu Wenqiang roughly told Xiao Yi about the process of Xiao Cheng's failure to be elected as class monitor. After listening, Xiao Yi sighed and said, "I haven't heard Xiao Cheng sing for a long time. You guys are really lucky."

Xu Wenqiang didn't say anything. He recalled how during military training, he'd said he was tone-deaf. But after he sang the line "I know my future isn't a dream," someone in the classroom started crying.

"Xu Wenqiang, let me tell you, if he sings to a girl, he must be targeting her." Xiao Yi looked at Xu Wenqiang and said with ulterior motives.

Xu Wenqiang thought Xiao Yi was talking nonsense and asked him what was going on with the roof.

Xiao Yi said that because he is a genius, he needs a separate place to study, so the school arranged a small classroom for him on the top floor of the teaching building. In addition to the small classroom, he also asked for the key to the stairwell leading to the roof.

"Actually, it was Xiao Cheng who asked me to get the key to the stairwell," Xiao Yi said. "The first time he came to the small classroom to look for me, he set his sights on that rooftop."

Xu Wenqiang glanced at the roof of the high school teaching building and returned to the classroom with Lin Tong.

Xiao Yi held the basketball, looked at Xu Wenqiang's back, shook his head and sighed, "This is youth!"

After returning to the classroom, Xu Wenqiang first finished the English test paper that she had not finished in the morning. After putting this matter to rest, she went directly to the second grade teaching building.

She was sure that Xiao Cheng would not throw himself into a rage just because he didn't become class monitor. But she was not sure if Xiao Cheng would hide away and pretend to be sad just because he didn't become class monitor.

Xu Wenqiang climbed all the way to the top floor of the Grade 12 teaching building and found the small classroom Xiao Yi had mentioned. The classroom door was locked, so Xu Wenqiang climbed up another flight of stairs and saw the door leading to the roof.

The door was ajar, and through the crack a soft singing voice seemed to float out.

Xu Wenqiang pushed open the door, and the combined wind pressure from inside and outside caused all the wind outside to rush towards her. By the time she reached the roof from the stairwell, the wind had dissipated.

The rooftop was empty, save for Xiao Cheng, who sat alone among a few scattered chairs. Wearing a blue shirt, he stood beneath a blue sky embracing the orange sunset glow, his earphones plugged in, practically blending into the sky.

"This is a great place." Xu Wenqiang sighed.

Xiao Cheng was startled and looked up to see Xu Wenqiang suddenly appear not far away. The wind blew her medium-length hair into a mess, and she casually brushed it away, revealing her fair face.

Xiao Cheng took off his headphones and waved to Xu Wenqiang.

Xu Wenqiang walked over, found a chair and sat down.

I don't know when these chairs were discarded here. Some are missing legs, and some have peeling paint. When they are piled together, they have a kind of dilapidated beauty.

"Did you run into Xiao Yi?" Xiao Cheng asked. Only Xiao Yi and he knew about this.

"Yes, he said you were here." Xu Wenqiang looked up at the quiet sky and said. Xiao Cheng probably chose this roof because he liked the sky.

"Have you looked for me?" Xiao Cheng asked again. If she hadn't asked, Xiao Yi probably wouldn't have told her about the roof.

"Yeah, I've been looking for you for a long time~" Xu Wenqiang drawled, "From the classroom to the cafeteria, from the cafeteria to the basketball court, and finally from the basketball court to here."

A gust of wind blew by, like a heart that suddenly started beating wildly.

Xiao Cheng calmed down and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Didn't you fail to be elected as the class monitor? Let me comfort you, although I don't know if you need comfort." Xu Wenqiang said.

Xiao Cheng looked at Xu Wenqiang, and his mind, which had just calmed down, became confused again.

He was disappointed that he didn't become the monitor, but he wasn't lost. He came to the roof only because he felt a little uneasy after singing.

I originally wanted to come here to calm down, but Xu Wenqiang made me even more upset.

"Who would directly offer comfort?"

“The method is not important, what matters is the intention.”

"Of course the thought is important. But in this situation, shouldn't you just stay with me quietly without saying a word?"

"Eh, that's too corny." Xu Wenqiang showed a look of disgust at first, but then said, "If you want to do that, I can do it too."

Xiao Cheng glanced at the very reluctant Xu Wenqiang and immediately said, "Forget it, let's leave it at that."

"Next time, I will definitely comfort you in a cheesy way." Xu Wenqiang promised.

Xiao Cheng raised his hand and flicked Xu Wenqiang's forehead. "Next time? You just want me to be sad, don't you?"

Xu Wenqiang laughed and said, "You know I'm not good at Chinese, so please bear with me if I say something harsh. As long as you understand my feelings, that's all."

"Fortunately, I'm good at Chinese. I understand your intentions."

"I'm glad you understand."

Even on the roof, the sounds of chasing and playing on campus, the cheers on the sports field, and the occasional scolding from a loud-mouthed teacher...all these sounds can still be vaguely heard, but as if separated by a barrier, very far away from them.

"Would you like to listen to music?" Xiao Cheng handed Xu Wenqiang a pair of headphones.

"Listen." Xu Wenqiang took the earphones and put them in her ears. "Whose song is this?"

Xiao Cheng pressed the button on his Walkman, "Stefanie Sun."

In Stefanie Sun's "Straight Forward", Xu Wenqiang nodded along with the rhythm.

Xiao Cheng smiled and put on his headphones.

Each person has an earphone and listens to the same song, which is a bit like quietly accompanying each other.

However, Xiao Cheng suddenly remembered something, a very important thing.

"Xu Wenqiang, did you choose me with your vote?"