94. The time between the two of us

Xu Wenqiang chose two small-sized houses according to Xiao Cheng's instructions.

"Housing prices are expected to rise in the future, and large apartments will be more expensive and difficult to sell. Small apartments, on the other hand, are more economical and easier to sell."

This was the conclusion Xiao Cheng came to after consulting his father. His next plan was to have Xu Wenqiang sell her house while the price was at its peak, which would be her first pot of gold.

Xu Wenqiang didn't have any ideas about the future pot of gold. She said to Xiao Cheng, I will give you half of it when the time comes.

Xiao Cheng looked at her and said, I don’t have a bucket, so I’ll put it in your bucket.

Xu Wenqiang said, when you have a bucket, remember to ask me for it.

Xiao Cheng thought to himself, even if I had a bucket, the contents of the bucket would probably have to be poured into your bucket.

The date for demolition of the farmers' market was set at the end of spring.

On the day the demolition began, Xu Wenqiang made a special trip back to the farmers' market. From afar, she watched as excavators, bulldozers, and other unnamed machines rumbled into the market one after another, and then the houses collapsed one by one.

"It's all gone just like that." said an old and familiar voice beside me.

Xu Wenqiang turned around and said, "Grandpa Li, you're here."

"Well, let me take one last look." Grandpa Li looked at the farmers' market that was turning into ruins and sighed, "Girl, if you get hurt in the future, you should go to the hospital. Grandpa can't help you anymore."

Xu Wenqiang felt uncomfortable, "Grandpa, what are your plans for the future?"

"Don't worry about me." Grandpa Li smiled, the wrinkles on his face squeezed together, "Girl, not many people can stay together forever. If we break up, we'll be apart, but at least remember the friendship we had when we were together!"

"Grandpa, even if we are not together anymore, we can just keep in touch," said Xu Wenqiang.

Grandpa Li smiled and said, "I'm almost buried, so you don't need to worry about me anymore. Instead, think about the people who eat meat and drink with you."

Xu Wenqiang knew what Grandpa Li meant, but she still said, "Grandpa Li, life is so long, and there are so many people who eat meat and drink together. If you think about them all, it will be so tiring."

Grandpa Li stared at Xu Wenqiang in a daze, then shook his head for a moment. "You're all grown up now, and you have your own ideas. It's me who's getting old."

"Grandpa, we're just drinking buddies, but don't try to get rid of me." Xu Wenqiang turned into a scoundrel. "Going to the hospital is too troublesome. If I have a headache or a fever in the future, I will still have to come to you, so you must tell me where you went."

"It's so hard to get rid of you bastards, I don't want to get myself into trouble again."

"No way, if you want to get rid of me, then I will cry in front of you."

"Stinky girl."

Grandpa Li cursed while tears welled up in his eyes.

After saying goodbye to Grandpa Li, Xu Wenqiang went to school. The midterm exams for the second semester of senior year had just ended two days ago, and the results should all be out today.

When Xu Wenqiang arrived at school and just sat down, her homeroom teacher Fu Dongqing hurried into the classroom. Everyone thought she had something to say, so they all returned to their seats.

But Fu Dongqing never went up to the podium. Instead, he walked straight to Xu Wenqiang before stopping.

Fu Dongqing's face looked very serious. The classroom gradually became quiet and everyone looked at Fu Dongqing and Xu Wenqiang.

"Xu Wenqiang."

"Teacher Fu."

Looking at Fu Dongqing's expression, Xu Wenqiang also became nervous.

Fu Dongqing looked at Xu Wenqiang steadily: "When you were admitted to Qingshi No. 1 Middle School, you were the last in your class and the last in the whole school."

"I was the last one." Xu Wenqiang admitted it, but why did he bring it up again?

"Then do you know what place you got in this midterm exam?" Fu Dongqing asked again, staring at him closely.

Xu Wenqiang laughed dryly. "Could it be that I got last place in the exam again?"

"Xu Wenqiang, how is this possible!" Lin Tong said from the side, "Then which subject's grades are not higher than mine?"

"That's impossible." Fu Dongqing's expression finally softened. "Because Xu Wenqiang, you got first place in the midterm exam."

"First in the class?" Lin Tong exclaimed.

"I am the first in the class and the first in the grade!" Fu Dongqing said one sentence after another, feeling proud and gratified.

Fu Dongqing's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, loud enough for people around to hear clearly.

"Xu Wenqiang ranked first in the grade?"

"Who got first place in the grade?"

"Xu Wenqiang!"

…

There were discussions in the class, and Xu Wenqiang looked to the back of the classroom.

"Xiao Cheng, I went from last in the exam to first in the grade."

Xiao Cheng was sitting in his seat, looking at her with a smile across the entire classroom.

"Xu Wenqiang, congratulations on getting from last place to first in the grade."

Fu Dongqing walked to the podium and knocked on the blackboard. "Everyone, please be quiet. Let's get ready for class."

When Xiao Cheng and Xu Wenqiang looked at each other from a distance, Su Xiaoshan clenched his fists.

All day, Xu Wenqiang became a moving attraction, attracting glances wherever she went. Xu Wenqiang herself understood that it was truly miraculous that she, who ranked last in the class, could achieve first place, and that it was only natural for others to be curious about her. So, she allowed everyone to stare at her without blushing or faltering. After all, this was much more comfortable than the first day of school, when everyone disliked her "smell" and kept scrutinizing her, both openly and covertly.

After dinner, when Xu Wenqiang came out of the school cafeteria, something moved her and she looked up at the roof of the high school teaching building.

"What are you looking at?" Lin Tong also raised his head and asked.

"I didn't see anything." Xu Wenqiang said.

In the first year of high school, Xiao Cheng used Xiao Yi, his "senior brother," to help Xu Wenqiang cram in Chinese and English in a classroom on the rooftop of the second-year teaching building. Sometimes, when he felt tired, he would sit on the rooftop.

Last year, Xu Wenqiang and Xiao Cheng moved to the second-year teaching building. Xiao Yi, his "senior brother," skipped his junior year and took the college entrance exam a year early, graduating as the provincial champion. Without the special treatment of "senior brother," Xu Wenqiang never went to the top-floor classroom again. However, her grades didn't require Xiao Cheng's tutoring anymore.

Later, they moved to the senior high school building, and Xu Wenqiang didn't think much about that classroom anymore. But today, she unexpectedly got the first place in the grade, and she remembered the time she and Xiao Cheng spent in that classroom again.

Xu Wenqiang was lost in thought when a basketball was thrown straight at her. She reached out and caught it reflexively.

Xu Wenqiang's movements in catching the ball were smooth and neat, attracting a few more glances from passersby.

"Xu Wenqiang, come and play basketball!" Several boys on the court greeted her enthusiastically.

"Let's not play today." Xu Wenqiang threw the ball back.

"Xu Wenqiang, play for a while. I haven't seen you play for a long time." Lin Tong said from the side.

"Lin Tong, I have to go somewhere first." Xu Wenqiang said.

Xu Wenqiang climbed to the top floor of the high school teaching building in one breath.

She walked to the familiar classroom door and found it locked. The lock was covered with dust. It was obvious that no one had been there for a long time.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the key, so she turned around and was about to leave when she almost bumped into someone's chest. Xu Wenqiang quickly took two steps back, but there was a locked door behind her, leaving her with nowhere to retreat.

"Xiao Cheng, why did you come here suddenly?" Maybe because she was frightened, Xu Wenqiang looked at Xiao Cheng's face closely, and her heartbeat became uncontrollable.

"Of course it's because you got first place in the grade." Xiao Cheng looked down at Xu Wenqiang, "Isn't that why you came here?"

"It seems we really are in sync." Xu Wenqiang said, raising her foot to move away from Xiao Cheng, but an arm suddenly appeared in front of her and stopped her. "Do you want to go in and take a look?"

Xu Wenqiang was delighted, "You have the key?"

"Of course there is." Xiao Cheng smiled.

"Where did you get the key?"

"I stole it."

"I don't believe it."

"Believe it or not."

The key was actually asked by Xiao Cheng before Xiao Yi graduated.

"What do you want this for?" Xiao Yi asked him.

"Keep it in mind and come over to take a look occasionally," said Xiao Cheng.

"How sour." Xiao Yi gave the key to Xiao Cheng.

"How are you going to explain this to the teacher?"

"Just say you lost it. The teacher will definitely have a spare one anyway."

After Xu Wenqiang and Xiao Cheng entered the classroom, they were both silent for a long time. The classroom, which had seemed neat and orderly, was now cluttered with messy desks, chairs, and various cleaning tools. It was obvious that the place had been used as a warehouse.

"Let's go back." Xiao Cheng said.

Xu Wenqiang hummed. There was no thought left for her here, but she didn't want to leave just like that.

"Xiao Cheng, I can't watch this place become a warehouse. I want to restore it to its original appearance," said Xu Wenqiang.

Xiao Cheng's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Xu Wenqiang and said, "I didn't realize you cared so much about this classroom."

Xu Wenqiang didn't want to say too much sentimentality, and only said, "After all, I've spent quite a bit of time here, and seeing it become like this, I really can't bear it."

"But even if we restore it to its original state, we can't come here every day like before. So, is there any point in tidying up this place?" Xiao Cheng asked.

"It doesn't matter if it's meaningless. I don't want any special meaning," Xu Wenqiang said. "I just want this place to be clean and tidy, so that it's worthy of the time I spent studying here."

After Xu Wenqiang finished speaking, she felt a little sentimental and said uncomfortably, "Xiao Cheng, you are not needed here, you can go back first." Anyway, he didn't seem to want to meddle in this matter at all.

"But, the 'time' you mentioned seems to include me, right?" Xiao Cheng smiled. "It should be the time when 'we studied together', right?"

With Xiao Cheng's emphasis, the originally sentimental sentence became ambiguous for some reason.

"Do you want to help?" Xu Wenqiang asked, turning her head away. She was a little afraid to look at Xiao Cheng, for she was afraid that he would notice that her face was already red.

"Of course I'll help." How could he refuse? Xiao Cheng smiled and said, "This is a time that belongs only to the two of us."

Xu Wenqiang felt that her whole body was red.

"Then let's hurry up and not delay the evening self-study. I'll start from the back." Xu Wenqiang hurriedly walked to the back of the classroom.

Xiao Cheng looked at Xu Wenqiang who was fleeing in panic and smiled with satisfaction.