Chapter 15
Xiaotian's mother came late today, and Zhang Xiaotian waited at the door for a while before she saw him.
"I've been busy lately and haven't been able to take care of you." Xiaotian's mother got out of the car with her lunch box, put it in his hand and was about to leave when Zhang Xiaotian stopped her:
"Um, Mom."
Xiaotian’s mother stopped by the car door when she heard the sound.
"If you're too busy, you don't have to bring me food every day like this."
"Then I'll let you eat whatever you want outside?" Xiaotian's mother frowned, and her voice rose several degrees. "I'm not like your irresponsible father..."
"If I finish eating earlier, I can go back to the classroom to study earlier." Zhang Xiaotian said.
The atmosphere suddenly became stagnant. Zhang Xiaotian inexplicably felt a little breathless. He couldn't help but take a step back and looked down at his shoelaces.
"Mom just wants to care about you more..." Xiaotian's mother wanted to say something, but the phone in her hand vibrated twice. She looked down, then looked up and said to Zhang Xiaotian: "I'll think about it."
Zhang Xiaotian stood at the school gate, waiting for the dust to rise and fall, and opened the insulated lunch box in his hand, which was only a trace of heat inside.
He sighed, turned around and wanted to go back, but saw Lu Bai looking at him at the school gate.
"Are you going back?" Lu Bai asked him.
Going back would mean eating cold rice. Zhang Xiaotian lowered his head, closed the lid of the lunch box in his hand, and stood there without moving.
"If you're not in a hurry to go back, then come with me to the supermarket." Lu Bai walked over, hooked his arm around Zhang Xiaotian's neck, and walked towards the supermarket at the school gate. "Brother will treat you to something delicious."
Zhang Xiaotian let him lead him away until they entered the supermarket and then whispered, "I have to go back to study."
"What?" Lu Bai was stunned for a moment before reacting, "You usually learn enough, so you don't need to learn for a while."
Zhang Xiaotian didn't say anything.
"Don't be nervous. I guarantee you." Lu Bai held him in his arms as they slowly browsed the shelves. "I've seen the mock exams you did, and I can tell from our group discussions that you'll definitely be able to stay in our class."
He cares about everything and has endless worries every day.
Zhang Xiaotian followed Lu Bai's movements as he walked slowly. Lu Bai's voice vibrated in his chest, carrying his body temperature along his shoulder blades. Whenever Lu Bai lowered his head to speak, the scent of his laundry detergent would get closer to Zhang Xiaotian, smelling warm and relaxing for no reason.
"I'm not nervous." Zhang Xiaotian said suddenly.
"Tian'er, do you want to eat this...huh?" Lu Bai, who had just taken down a bag of spicy noodles, was stunned again when he heard this. "You were disconnected just now? Just connected?"
Zhang Xiaotian gave him a look as if he was a fool.
"Just be calm." Lu Bai stuffed the spicy noodles into Zhang Xiaotian's arms. "This class is no big deal. It's no different from other classes. As long as you're not just here to mess around, you can stay."
"How do you know I'm not just a lazy guy?" Zhang Xiaotian took the opportunity to put the spicy strips back on the shelf. When Lu Bai found out, he stuffed other food into his arms.
"You sit right under my nose every day, so of course I know how hard you work." Seeing that he was still trying to put the snacks back, Lu Bai quickly took him to the cashier. "Besides, you look like the kind of person who only cares about studying. Who would believe that you're just slacking off?"
Zhang Xiaotian was half-pushed and half-dragged by Lu Bai to the cashier. He wanted to pay first but failed, so he had to follow him out of the supermarket with the snacks. Lu Bai took out the shopping receipt and threw it into the trash can. He turned around and said to Zhang Xiaotian: "You have to eat more. I see that the food you eat every day is like cat food."
Zhang Xiaotian followed him and nodded. Lu Bai stared at him for a moment, then reached out and grabbed the bag of snacks, holding it for him, slowing down his pace to walk alongside him.
Zhang Xiaotian lowered his eyes to look at him and the tip of Lu Bai's shoes, his mind reflecting on Lu Bai's actions these past few days. Lu Bai seemed to be eager to make friends. Given his personality, he could even make friends with a dog at school, so his enthusiasm for him wasn't surprising. But that didn't mean he could just get used to it and accept it.
I feel a little annoyed when I think of Zhang Xiaotian.
What was Lu Bai doing? Was he trying to comfort him? Or something else? They weren't even close to him, so was he some kind of nice guy?
"What are you thinking about?" Lu Bai asked when he saw that he had not said anything.
"I was wondering if you treat every new student who transfers into your class like this." Zhang Xiaotian kicked the stones on the roadside with his toes.
"No." Lu Bai followed his example and kicked a stone on the roadside. "I only care because you're my deskmate."
"So you treat Jiang Yan like this too?"
"Jiang Yan? You gave him face and asked me to buy him snacks?" Lu Bai was incredulous. He wanted to punch Zhang Xiaotian, and his fist was about to hit him, but when he saw his physique, he withdrew 70% of his strength. "You are different from Jiang Yan."
He's just a nice guy who always finds trouble for himself. Zhang Xiaotian stopped talking and followed him back to the classroom.
After that day, things between Zhang Xiaotian and his mother were strained. His mother, as usual, was meticulous, but Zhang Xiaotian felt his attitude wasn't good that day, and he felt a bit guilty when he faced her. He figured he'd already spent her money, so he shouldn't burden her with other matters, at least not over her studies. Perhaps it was the psychological pressure that made his mind wander when he was studying, and his mind was so chaotic that he didn't even hear Lu Bai calling him.
"Tian'er, Tian'er?" Lu Bai's voice scared Zhang Xiaotian.
"Why have you been so absent-minded lately?" Lu Bai asked him. "You've almost stared through this page."
"fine."
Zhang Xiaotian noticed, without Lu Bai's reminder, that the closer the exam got, the less focused he became. He'd occasionally become distracted and Lu Bai had to call him back to his senses. This wasn't going to work. Zhang Xiaotian gathered himself, waved to Lu Bai to indicate he was fine, and picked up his pen to write another question.
"Well," Lu Bai nudged him from under the table, "Do you want to listen to music?"
Zhang Xiaotian turned to look at him: "Why did you bring your phone?"
"What's wrong with me bringing it?" Lu Bai handed over a Bluetooth headset. "As long as we don't get discovered, that's all that matters."
Zhang Xiaotian hesitated for a moment, then took the headphones and put them on.
"I found some background music for the poetry recitation. Let me give it to you." Lu Bai tapped on his phone, and a passionate piece of music came out of his headphones.
"How's it going? Not bad, right?" Lu Bai proudly clicked the pen twice. "When I put it on the podium, it will definitely feel great."
Zhang Xiaotian smiled muffledly.
After the song was over, Zhang Xiaotian wanted to return the headphones to Lu Bai, but Lu Bai refused.
"Listen for a while longer, just consider it company." Lu Bai said, and Zhang Xiaotian put his headphones back on. A quiet, old song played in the headphones, sounding familiar, but he couldn't remember the name. Too distracted to focus on the questions anyway, Zhang Xiaotian simply leaned his head against the music and listened intently. Lu Bai had been planning to read for a while, but when he saw Zhang Xiaotian put down his pen, he dropped his own, mimicking Zhang Xiaotian's gesture and looking at him with his chin in his hand. When their gazes met, it was unclear who broke down first, turning away and laughing silently.
"Keep your voice down and be gentle." Zhang Xiaotian finally calmed down. He turned around and saw Lu Bai still lying on the table and laughing, so he quickly patted him.
"I can't help it." Lu Bai smiled brightly, "I want to laugh when I see you."
"Who told you to imitate me?" Zhang Xiaotian took off his headphones and handed them to Lu Bai. "I don't want to listen anymore. Here you go."
"Listen for a while longer." Lu Bai put his hands behind his back, "Listen to one more song."
Seeing that Lu Bai didn't answer, Zhang Xiaotian put the headphones on the table and said, "School will be over soon."
"Okay." Lu Bai picked up the headphones from the table and put them directly on his ears.
After listening to two songs, Zhang Xiaotian felt that his efficiency had improved, so he finished the remaining questions in one go. He looked up at the time and saw that there were still two minutes before school was over. Zhang Xiaotian looked at the schedule for tomorrow, picked out a few books and put them in his bag, then sat at the table to prepare for school. His eyes swept to the side and saw Lu Bai struggling with a problem as if he had suddenly become excited, so he watched him for a while longer. Lu Bai spun the pen on his fingertips very quickly, stroking his forehead with his other hand, and occasionally writing a few strokes on the calculation paper. Then, as if something was suddenly enlightened, he pounced on the table and wrote furiously. Zhang Xiaotian watched him concentrate on writing, and suddenly thought that if he could successfully stay in Class 1 this time, it would mean that he would still be Lu Bai's deskmate.
Watching him making such a fuss every day, maybe we could have dinner together someday. Zhang Xiaotian thought about it carefully and felt that it was a good idea.
"Xiaotian! Here!"
He arrived at the school gate, but his mother was nowhere to be seen. He waited for a while, but still no one showed up. Zhang Xiaotian had been planning to walk back when he heard someone calling him. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a familiar-looking woman sitting in a car a few steps away. She seemed to be his mother's subordinate.
Zhang Xiaotian walked over, and the woman got out of the car and opened the door for him: "Your mother asked me to pick you up. The company is busy today, so I have to go back quickly after I drop you off."
"Thank you." Zhang Xiaotian sat in the back seat and said after the woman sat back in the driver's seat.
"Why are you being polite to your Aunt Wang?" Aunt Wang laughed heartily and drove away from the school. When he got home, the house was pitch black. Zhang Xiaotian raised his hand to touch the switch on the wall, but he found it after a long time. The light was turned on, and the light made the living room, which was originally sparsely furnished, look even more empty. This was the house his parents lived in before their divorce. It is now under his mother's name. Zhang Xiaotian has lived here since he was born until he entered the third grade of elementary school. Zhang Xiaotian did not stay in the living room for long. He picked up the clothes he left on the sofa in the morning, turned off the living room light and went back to his room, intending to take out the book he brought back to read. As soon as he opened it, the mobile phone placed beside him vibrated twice.
Zhang Xiaotian picked it up and saw that it was a friend request with the note:...your dear model classmate?
Zhang Xiaotian couldn't help but laugh. He clicked "pass" and put his phone aside, then started studying again. It wasn't until he finished a section that his phone started notifying him of new messages.
My deskmate, I can’t find my math test paper. Can you please check if it’s with you?
He sent another "Are you there?" emoticon.
Zhang Xiaotian rummaged through his schoolbag and replied: No.
Lu Bai should be next to his phone at this moment, and he replied quickly: It may have been left at school, you have to lend it to me to copy tomorrow.
Zhang Xiaotian replied with an "hmm", and saw another "bowing" from the other side. He didn't say anything else and continued to study the next subject.
At half past ten, when Zhang Xiaotian went to the living room to drink water, Xiaotian's mother finally returned home and collapsed on the sofa as soon as she entered the house. Zhang Xiaotian wanted to go back to his room directly, but after thinking for a moment, he walked back and poured another glass of water and placed it on the coffee table next to the sofa.
"You didn't wait too long at the school gate tonight, did you?" Mom sat up and took a sip from her water cup.
"No, Auntie Wang is very punctual." Zhang Xiaotian stood by with his eyes lowered, waiting for her to finish her water and then took the cup away. Just as he walked to the sink, he heard his mother say again: "I've thought about your request not to bring food to you during the day."
Zhang Xiaotian looked back at her, waiting for her to finish speaking.
"You're old enough now. I believe you won't neglect your health." Mom paused and added, "You can go out to eat. You're not allowed to bring cell phones to school. I'll leave you some cash every month."
"Okay." Zhang Xiaotian nodded, washed the cup and put it away, and was about to go back to his room when his mother called him back:
"But, Xiaotian," Mom tapped her fingers on the glass coffee table twice, "You know, I didn't care about you before because I thought your dad would treat you well. Now I don't bring you food anymore because you told me that you could finish eating early so you could go back to class and study earlier, so I agreed to your request. I respect your personal opinions very much and always put you first, so you can't treat me the same way you treat your dad."
Zhang Xiaotian was stunned: "What..."
"Mom knows I was wrong before, but I'm trying my best to make it up to you! Your current learning resources and living environment are better than before, aren't they? But you just can't get close to me. You hurt my heart so much!" Mom looked tired and annoyed, and she frowned hard. "I'm not asking you to be grateful, but you should at least put on a good face. If you can't even get along with me now, how can I be confident taking you there in the future?"
Zhang Xiaotian looked at his mother steadily.
Where to take her? Her home over there?
If I were to live there, what would be the difference between that and living at my dad's house.
"You know I came here just to take you away." Mom continued, "I'm old and in poor health, so I can't have any more children. You're my only child, and I'll have to rely on you to support me in the future..."
The phone rang suddenly. Mom picked it up, looked at it, waved to Zhang Xiaotian, got up and walked to the balcony to answer the phone.
Zhang Xiaotian watched his mother answer the phone on the balcony and turned back to the room.
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