Chapter Forty

Starting the next day, everything seemed the same, but in reality, everything had changed.

Before the morning reading bell rang, maintaining a "safe distance" in the classroom, Xu Li, as usual, hung her schoolbag on the back of her chair, but first turned around and wiped Tan Yuze's desk as well.

The "Chu River and Han Border" that originally separated the two desks—a stack of exercise books used to separate them—was quietly moved back to Xu Li's side.

Tan Yuze entered just in time, saw her immediately, and a smile crept onto his lips, but he said nothing. He simply nudged Xu Li's chair leg with his knee as he passed by. It was very light, but enough to make Xu Li's ears turn red until the morning reading session ended.

During the break after the third period, the politics teacher went overtime, and the classroom was filled with groans. Tan Yuze took out two lychee-flavored lollipops from his pocket, put one in his mouth, and "accidentally" rolled the other to Xu Li's side.

As soon as the candy wrapper was unwrapped, the girl in the back seat reached out: "Can I have a taste?" Tan Yuze handed over the whole bag, but pulled back Xu Li's candy: "This one's taken."

The girls teased, "Oh, marking your territory?" Xu Li almost dropped the candy, but clutched the wrapper tightly—another "souvenir" after school.

On the rooftop at dusk, Xu Li really took Tan Yuze to the rooftop of their old residential complex. The lock on the rooftop door was long broken, and when they crawled inside, the sunset was painting half the sky a fiery red, and the locust blossoms looked like snow. Tan Yuze threw his schoolbag on the ground and spoke first: "I got 150 on my math mock exam, you have to take responsibility." Xu Li laughed: "How can I take responsibility?"

Tan Yuze said, "I'll do one more big problem a day, and if I get one right, I'll—" He rubbed his lower lip with the back of his hand, making his intention clear.

That day, as they finished the third problem, the sunset faded and the streetlights came on. Xu Li shoved a sheet of draft paper into Tan Yuze's arms: "I've finished the solution. I'll owe you the reward for now." Tan Yuze raised an eyebrow: "Until when?"

“I owe you…” Xu Li looked at the lights of thousands of homes lit up in the distance, “I owe you you until we can hold hands openly in a university classroom.”

During Friday evening self-study, the homeroom teacher conducted a surprise phone check. Tan Yuze's drawer suddenly started vibrating incessantly, and the teacher pulled it out—the screen saver was a picture of Xu Li's profile as she took a nap, her eyelashes casting a small shadow on the desk.

The whole class was in an uproar, and the teacher sneered, "You're pretty good at taking pictures."

Xu Li stood up abruptly: "Teacher, I asked him to take the picture." Her voice trembled, but she didn't back down an inch.

As a result, the two of them were invited to the office to write self-criticisms. In the corridor, Xu Li whispered, "Can I have the photos back?" The teacher looked up and glared at him, but then heard Tan Yuze add, "I want one too." The teacher was so angry that he increased the word count of the self-criticism from 800 to 3000.

That night, they wrote side by side in the office until ten o'clock, Xu Li's wrist aching from writing. Tan Yuze secretly drew a bunch of lychees and oranges at the end of the self-criticism, and wrote next to it:

"Given that liking you equals force majeure, prove that all future formulas will equal us."

The teacher later crossed out that line with a red pen, but the photo wasn't deleted after all—he just ordered a change to the screensaver.

The classroom before Monday morning reading was filled with a mixture of chalk dust and the musty smell of the air conditioner. The homeroom teacher, Mr. Zhou, slammed a stack of printed papers onto the podium. His gaze, like a searchlight, swept across the entire class, finally settling on Tan Yuze in the last row.

"Tan Yuze, Xu Li, come up here."

Seven words, like two nails, pinned the whole class to their seats.

The two walked onto the stage one after the other. Old Cao shoved the self-criticisms back into their hands, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger: "Read them aloud publicly, 1,500 each. Nobody can fool anyone."

The classroom was so quiet you could hear the ceiling fan creaking. Tan Yuze spoke first, his voice low but steady:

"A letter of self-criticism—to the homeroom teacher and to all classmates."

Cause: I set my classmate Xu Li's profile picture from lunch break as my phone's screen saver without permission, and failed to turn it off before morning reading, causing a negative impact. There are three errors:

First, it violated the school rule that "mobile phones are prohibited in the teaching area";

Second, it infringes on the student's portrait rights;

Third, it wastes the whole class's morning reading time.

Thanks to my teacher's guidance, I have come to a profound realization: liking something isn't about loud slogans, but about quiet, companionable growth. From now on, I will change my screensaver to "21 days until the college entrance exam," and translate my liking into scores, letting my grades speak for themselves…

When the word "like" was read, someone in the class couldn't help but burst out laughing. Old Zhou didn't glare at the audience, but just raised his hand to signal them to continue.

When it was Xu Li's turn, she gripped the edge of the paper, her knuckles turning white. Her voice was softer than Tan Yuze's, but it grew steadyer with each reading:

"Letter of Self-Criticism"

To the homeroom teacher and all classmates.

Cause: I failed to stop Tan Yuze from taking and disseminating my image, and at the time of the incident, I was whispering with his deskmate, thus encouraging this unhealthy trend. My mistakes were twofold:

First, blurring the lines between public and private, bringing personal emotions into public areas;

Second, the other party was not reminded to abide by school rules in a timely manner.

After being educated by my teacher, I realized that true friendship between deskmates should involve mutual encouragement and progress. From now on, I will supervise him to ensure his phone is kept by his parents, and I will also supervise myself—maintaining my position as the top student in the grade until the college entrance examination, as compensation for the time wasted by the rest of the class…”

Upon reading this, the class finally erupted in a low murmur. Old Cao tapped on the podium: "Quiet! A self-criticism isn't a speech contest."

After they finished reading, they bowed to the audience and then to Old Zhou. Old Zhou took their self-criticisms away, his tone still calm: "They were read with sincerity. But they weren't long enough—each of you write another 500 words of reflection and hand them in before school ends. Now go back to your seats, and continue with morning reading."

As he stepped down from the stage, Tan Yuze said in a voice only Xu Li could hear, "My 500-word statement says 'Supervisor: Xu Li'."

Xu Li didn't reply, but as she passed the edge of the podium, she lightly touched the back of Tan Yuze's hand with her fingertips, and then quickly separated them.

Back in their seats, the class resumed reading aloud, the English words flooding in like a tidal wave. But the girl in the front row noticed something—Tan Yuze's notebook was open, and the first page read:

"Interest: Read aloud once, already repaid."

The remaining debt will be settled in full on the day I reach adulthood.

On Xu Li's draft paper, there was an extra line of small print, as if she had already given her 500-word reflection a title:

"Reflection: How to legally continue to like him in front of everyone."

In May, the eighth mock exam concluded.

The leaderboard was packed with people, and Xu Li was in first place.

In the crowd, Tan Yuze deliberately spoke loudly: "Teacher Xu, your teaching methods are excellent!" Xu Li laughed and punched him on the shoulder.

That day after school, instead of taking the last bus, they rode their bikes to the newly built cross-river bridge. One by one, the bridge lights came on, and the wind ruffled their school uniform jackets—the very jackets with "XL" written on them, now bearing a line of black pen writing on the cuffs:

“tyzaixldaoyongyuan.”

Tan Yuze turned the jar around and engraved three new letters on the bottom with a key: TX.

He said, "Let's get married when it rusts, okay?"

Xu Li nodded and hooked her little finger with his: "On our wedding day, do you dare to come back to the classroom with me and post that self-criticism on the back blackboard?"

Tan Yuze laughed: "Sure. But we'll have to pay the reward first—"

Before the words were even finished, a burst of fireworks rose from the river, marking the closing show of the amusement park in the distance. The light and shadow fell on their faces, like a premature coming-of-age ceremony.

Xu Li stood on tiptoe and, amidst the deafening explosion, kissed Tan Yuze for the third time.

Beneath the fireworks, no one heard them, yet they spoke louder than any declaration.

The fireworks display on the bridge spanning the river consisted of twelve shots. When the last shot ended, the river surface was reflected as a shimmering red ribbon before quickly fading into darkness.

The wind, carrying moisture, brushed against their faces, and their lips tasted salty from the hasty kiss. Tan Yuze gently touched Xu Li's lips with his fingertip, his voice carried on the wind: "On our wedding day, I'm going to collect all the rewards at once."

Xu Li didn't respond. Instead, she raised her hand and tossed the empty soda can with the words engraved on it into the night sky—the can drew an arc and fell into the river with a very soft "plop".

Why throw it away?

"Let it go to the future and wait for us." Xu Li clapped her hands. "So you won't always be thinking about the debt."

A few days later.

On a Friday in the last month or so of the second semester of senior year, as soon as the bell rang for evening self-study, the entire teaching building seemed to have been disconnected from the power supply, and suddenly half of it went dark.

Xu Li stuffed the last stack of test papers into her bag, then glanced diagonally across the classroom—Tan Yuze was no longer in his seat. Her phone vibrated; it displayed only three words:

"The usual place."

The "old spot" refers to the grove of trees in the southeast corner of the playground. It used to be an abandoned nursery, but after spring rains, the vegetation grew wildly, and few people visited after evening self-study. Xu Li avoided the security guard's flashlight beam, jogging along the broken bricks and wild grass. The moon had just risen, its light falling like shards of silver through the leaves, creating a luminous path beneath his feet.

The first scent in the woods was the lingering fragrance of locust blossoms, followed by the sound of the wind. The wind rustled the leaves, making Xu Li's heart burn. Tan Yuze leaned against an old locust tree, his school uniform jacket off, leaving him in only a short-sleeved shirt. The moonlight accentuated the sharp shadow on his collarbone. He heard footsteps, looked up, but before his smile could fully bloom, Xu Li pounced on him, making him take a half-step back.

"Why are you running?" Tan Yuze caught him, his voice low and hoarse, as if afraid of disturbing the night.

"I was afraid you'd be waiting too long." Xu Li's breathing was still rapid from running all the way, and her bangs were stuck to her skin with sweat.

Tan Yuze reached out and brushed his hair aside, his fingertips sliding down to behind his ear where there was a small brown mole—he had once written in his self-criticism, "without permission, I had presumptuously fantasized," and now he could finally rightfully place a kiss on him.

Xu Li shuddered at the slight coolness and looked up to meet Tan Yuze's gaze. The two stared at each other for half a second, as if they had simultaneously pressed the fast forward button: Tan Yuze gripped the back of his neck, Xu Li grabbed his collar, and the shadows of the trees above them swayed violently.

The moment their lips touched, the wind stopped, the chirping of insects ceased, and only their heartbeats resonated through the thin fabric of their school uniforms.

It was a kiss that carried the scent of night dew. It started lightly and deepened, teeth brushing against lips, the metallic taste of blood mingling with the coolness of citrus toothpaste, like some kind of coming-of-age ritual.

Xu Li leaned against the rough tree trunk, the rough bark digging into his shoulder blades, but it made him feel Tan Yuze's palm even more clearly—hot and trembling slightly. The trembling traveled all the way to Xu Li's fingertips, so he hooked his knuckles around the other's fingers, their ten fingers interlocked, as if locking their heartbeats together.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of the playground's iron gate slamming shut came from afar, and the security guard's flashlight swept across the distance. The two stopped simultaneously, foreheads touching, their breathing ragged. Tan Yuze ran his thumb across Xu Li's lower lip, which was red from being kissed, and said in a hoarse voice, "Your coming-of-age ceremony is coming up soon. What gift do you want, Xiao Lizi?"

Xu Li smiled, her chest heaving, and whispered, "What gift do you want to give me?"

Tan Yuze turned his head and placed a very light kiss on her earlobe, like stamping a seal: "After you finish the last exam, come here—to complete the whole set."

The night breeze began to flow again, and the locust blossoms fell silently, landing on the back of their clasped hands like a silver timer.

The countdown clock for the college entrance examination flashed red at the top of the teaching building:

There are 27 days left until the college entrance examination.

The warmth of their clasped hands had already reached the longest second of summer.

Finally, they kissed again. The kiss was so hot that she dared not get close, but he was Tan Yuze, the Tan Yuze who was the best to her.