7 Chapter 7
◎My First Meeting with Xu Shen◎
Any gossip in the grade spreads incredibly fast. Just this morning, Gao Qiang had come to see Shi Ziqian, and during the afternoon break, Zhan Xinyue overheard several people huddled together in the front row of the classroom, vividly describing the scene in the corridor yesterday.
"Didn't you see the expression on Gao Qiang's face when he was talking to Shi Ziqian? He was so kind and gentle, he probably even ironed out the wrinkles on his face before leaving. And his voice, it was so soothing and gentle, like a gentle breeze and a soft rain..."
"Alright, where did you get so many idioms from? Get to the point. What did he say to Shi Ziqian?"
"What's the rush? I was just about to start." The person who spoke stood up straight and, imitating Gao Qiang, put his hands behind his back. "I didn't hear the part during the morning exercises. It was probably just some small talk and polite exchanges, trying to get on people's good side. I only heard the part after the exercises, so I'll tell you about it."
Before speaking, he cautiously glanced at the back of the classroom. Shi Ziqian, the central figure in the conversation, was propping his head up and looking at the worksheets on the table, paying no attention to them at all. Only then did he feel at ease to imitate Gao Qiang's performance.
"Xiao Shi, the arts festival gala is coming up soon, and we're planning to invite Mr. Shi to attend the performance and also to inspect the school's various programs. We're thinking of inviting two students as student representatives to accompany him, firstly to showcase the spirit of our students, and secondly to explain the school's teaching philosophy and regulations. I think, Xiao Shi, if you'd like to be one of the student representatives, that would be perfect..." He had a knack for languages; he not only mimicked Gao Qiang's gestures and expressions perfectly, but he even imitated Gao Qiang's tone of voice flawlessly.
"Tsk, why is Gao Qiang so obsequious? Isn't he obviously trying to curry favor with the school board?" Someone in the crowd couldn't stand his worldly behavior.
“You don’t understand. This isn’t just about currying favor; it’s a kind of wisdom.” A boy stroked his imaginary beard, looking thoughtful. “Look, when the school board member comes to visit, he directly has the board member’s son explain things. This gives the board member face while also making it difficult for the board member to find fault with the school’s daily operations. After all, it’s his own son explaining, so he won’t be too harsh.”
With that brief explanation, everyone immediately understood: "No wonder he can become the vice principal; he's got some skills." They couldn't help but tease him, "You're quite the know-it-all, kid. Is your dad some kind of government official?"
"That's one way to put it."
"Really? What's your dad's job?"
"...Do parents count?"
After a few people laughed awkwardly for a while, the topic finally circled back to itself.
"What did Ziqian say in the end?"
"Shi Ziqian? Don't you know this young master's temper? He won't even give face to the principal, let alone Gao Qiang, the vice principal." The person who spoke held up a finger and waved it, waiting for everyone's eyes to turn to him and wait for him to continue, before saying, "Shi Ziqian only replied with three words, 'I'm not going,' and left Gao Qiang behind."
"Tsk, just as I expected."
"I really want to see Gao Qiang's expression back then; it must have been quite a sight."
"Gao Qiang might not show any expression, at most he'd lash out at us bystanders..."
There's rarely any fun in class, so today was unusually lively. Just as they were about to continue chatting, English teacher Xu Ying walked in. Seeing a group of students gathered at the back of the classroom, she slammed her worksheet on the teacher's desk: "Didn't you hear the preparatory bell? Go back to your seats!"
The excitement finally subsided, and Zhan Xinyue, head down, walked back to her seat. Only a few words echoed in her mind: the arts festival is about to begin…
Her acquaintance with Xu Shen began at this art festival.
This was a very important turning point for her. She originally thought it was the starting point of her relationship with Xu Shen, but now, looking back, it was just the beginning of all the mistakes.
The school prides itself on the all-round development of its students in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor, so the arts festival, as an opportunity to showcase their talents, is naturally highly valued. At that time, the student council needed to put on an opening dance, but they didn't have enough performers, so they forcibly pulled people from various classes to make up the numbers. Zhan Xinyue was one of the unlucky ones.
She had never studied dance and was slow to learn the moves, so she practiced very hard. Every time everyone else left, she would stay behind to practice alone.
The afternoon she met him, Zhan Xinyue was repeatedly practicing a pose in front of the mirror when she suddenly heard a knock on the door. She turned around and saw a boy leaning against the door looking at her.
"Hey, the arts festival is still a while away, you don't need to practice like this, neglecting your sleep and meals." The boy raised his eyebrows, and the corners of his mouth were curled up as he spoke, as if he were smiling.
That scene formed her first impression of Xu Shen—he always seemed to be smiling, no matter the situation.
At that moment, Zhan Xinyue felt he looked somewhat familiar, recalling that he seemed to be in the student council and had appeared once on the first day of rehearsals. Unsure of the meaning behind his cryptic remark, she cautiously asked, "Is there something you need?"
He seemed to keenly sense her wariness and straightened up a bit: "Don't be nervous, it was just a joke. I'm here to make sure the sound equipment in these classrooms is turned off. We check every time you finish using the classrooms. I didn't want to interrupt you because you were so focused, but..." He pointed to the clock on the back wall, "...you'll miss your evening class in a little while."
Zhan Xinyue quickly glanced at the time and was surprised to find that she had been so engrossed in her practice that she had almost missed her mealtime.
"Sorry, I'm leaving now," she replied, quickly packing her things and heading to turn off the stereo.
"I'll close it. You can go now, the cafeteria will be closing soon," the boy said.
"Alright." Zhan Xinyue hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Then I'll have to trouble you."
Sure enough, when I arrived at the cafeteria, most of the windows were closed, except for the bread stall which was still lit up, and there were only two loaves of bread left.
She bought a piece of bread and swiped her card. Just as she was about to leave, the curtain at the back door of the cafeteria was lifted again, and a cool breeze blew in.
The boy I had only met recently strode in with his head down, his steps hurried.
It turned out he hadn't had time to eat yet.
Remembering what the other person had said, she guessed that she had been delaying them and wasting their time, and a feeling of guilt welled up inside her. She paused, turned around, and pressed her meal card on the card reader again, and there was another "beep" sound.
"Student, you've already swiped your card," the auntie reminded her.
Zhan Xinyue nodded. "Auntie, I'll treat the boy behind me to some. If he comes over to buy bread, please just give it to him."
I didn't see him again for a long time after that.
She then continued to practice alone for a while after everyone else had finished practicing, and only left when there was no one left in the art building.
Until that day, before she left, she glanced back unintentionally at the corner of the stairwell and suddenly saw the boy from that day turn out of the next classroom and walk into the classroom where she had just practiced.
She had barely left when he arrived, clearly having been waiting for her to leave from next door.
She remembered what he had said that day: "We will come to check every time you finish using the classroom."
Sure enough, he soon came out of the classroom, locked the door, and prepared to leave. Before he could walk over, Zhan Xinyue quickly left.
She appreciated his kindness, but didn't want to cause any more trouble for others.
From that day on, she never stayed behind to practice alone again. After rehearsing with everyone, she would leave and then practice a little more before going to bed at night.
Originally, the two had no further connection, but one day not long after, she ran into him again in the stairwell.
As they walked towards each other, their eyes met, and she smiled politely at him.
Then, they passed each other.
After hesitating for two seconds, he suddenly turned around, took a few steps to catch up, and blocked her way.
Zhan Xinyue was stopped in her tracks by him and looked at him, puzzled.
Backlit, she couldn't see his expression clearly, but she heard his voice ask, "Hey classmate, I haven't seen you practicing dance lately."
"I went, but I didn't stay for extra practice," she answered truthfully. "What happened?"
"oh……"
"Is there something you need?" Zhan Xinyue asked, puzzled.
He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, "Okay, it's nothing. Actually, I wanted to ask, what's your name?"
Zhan Xinyue was a little confused by his sudden question and cautiously remained silent.
"I've always wanted to ask you this, but I was always too embarrassed. I thought I'd ask you next time, but I never expected to never see you again."
Perhaps seeing the confused expression on Zhan Xinyue's face, he quickly added, "Excuse me, was I being a bit presumptuous?"
“No, I just…” She hesitated, looking him over, unsure how to put her words into words.
He ruffled his hair again. "It's okay if you don't tell me. I think we'll meet again."
He turned and left, but after walking down a few steps, he suddenly turned back, his eyes crinkling with a smile: "Oh, right, I forgot to mention, my name is Xu Shen. Also, thank you for the bread; I hope I'll have the chance to treat you to it again someday."
...
Years have passed, but the memory of meeting him remains as clear as yesterday, which makes it all the more ironic.
Xu Ying's voice rang out from the podium, interrupting her thoughts: "Everyone, continue with the test papers we handed out last class. Except for the essay, you should finish all the other questions in this class. We'll check the answers ten minutes before the end of get out of class."
The test paper we handed out in the last class? She snapped out of her reverie, momentarily bewildered.
Zhan Xinyue naturally couldn't remember what test paper she had done in the last class. She bent down and rummaged through the bottom cabinet for a while. The various textbooks and study materials in the bottom cabinet were neatly arranged, but she took them out one by one and checked them. She didn't see a single English test paper, let alone the one Xu Ying had mentioned.
After Xu Ying finished speaking, the classroom was filled with the quiet sound of people doing their problems. The only thing that stood out was the sound of her rummaging through drawers, which made Xu Ying glance at her several times.
She was a little impatient, so she simply pulled all the books out of the bottom cabinet and buried her head in her books, flipping through them one by one.
No, still no.
Where exactly would she put the test paper... Zhan Xinyue had no clue, but unwilling to give up, she decided to flip through it again.
Two soft knocks came from the corner of the table.
Looking up, she saw Shi Ziqian tap the corner of the table to her left with his finger. He didn't look in her direction; his profile remained as cold as ever. He tapped lightly and then withdrew his hand, continuing to work on his problems.
She quickly deciphered the meaning behind his actions, realizing that she must have been making too much noise and disturbing him.
So he quickly softened his movements.
Distracted like this, she lost her spirit and stopped struggling. She just sat there blankly, lost in thought.
Xu Ying looked over again. She avoided her gaze, and as she lowered her eyes, her gaze suddenly fell on the corner of the table, near Shi Ziqian's side, where a rather large stack of books was piled up. She had too many things, and the bottom cabinet couldn't hold them all, so some study materials were placed on the table. She had been so focused on looking down and searching that she had forgotten about this pile of things.
There was a transparent storage bag on top of the stack of books. She opened it and found neatly arranged English test papers inside, with the top one still unfinished.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief and unfolded the test paper.
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