Chapter 19
"Lu Bai is just sick." Yin Li stirred her milk tea with a straw. "Why can't you go inside and say what you want to say? Why do you have to stand at the door, leaving us staring at a table full of food without being able to eat."
"You two can eat first, Tian'er...I don't mind." Lu Bai argued with his neck stiff, and glanced at Zhang Xiaotian next to him.
"I don't mind either." Zhang Xiaotian also said.
"That won't do!" Yin Li said, "Today's meal is mainly to celebrate Xiaotian's good results!" After saying that, she quickly picked up the cup of milk tea and held it in front of several people.
"Hurry up and clink glasses. I left half of the glass unfinished. The ice has melted."
"Okay, okay, okay." Several people quickly raised their drinks, clinking glasses and clapping their words. Their chaotic toasts blended together, making it impossible to hear what anyone else was saying. Zhang Xiaotian was speechless, while the other three paused for a moment before bursting into laughter. Han Chengcheng managed to maintain some composure, but Yin Li and Lu Bai collapsed in laughter.
"How can that be? Hahaha..." Lu Bai was about to slam the table with laughter. Zhang Xiaotian quickly grabbed his hand. After being caught, Lu Bai did not struggle and just kept his wrist in Zhang Xiaotian's hand.
Zhang Xiaotian also laughed in his heart. That's right, how could these people be so uncooperative?
"What did you just say?" Yin Li straightened up after laughing enough, but when she saw Lu Bai's face, she couldn't hold it back anymore.
Lu Bai said, "Of course, congratulations to Tian'er for successfully defending the title. What did you say?"
"Defending the ring, hahaha, what the hell?" Yin Li laughed. "I was saying congratulations to Li An for getting slapped in the face! What about Cheng Cheng? What did she say?"
"I just want to say congratulations to Xiaotian for his good results." Han Chengcheng said.
Zhang Xiaotian just listened, not saying anything. Actually, he didn't say anything. This was the first time he'd ever been toasted to someone, and he had no idea what to say. Besides, he didn't think it was anything worth celebrating. He was still wondering how he'd handle it if Lu Bai asked him about it, but Lu Bai and the other two had already changed the subject.
"Lu Bai, is your project for tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?" Yin Li must have been very hungry. She picked up a piece of vegetable leaf and ate it without caring whether it was cooked or not.
"Tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow? I can't remember." Lu Bai shook his head. "Right now, my mind is full of tomorrow's poetry recitation. I don't care about the project. I won't get a good ranking."
"Are you nervous?" Han Chengcheng asked Lu Bai.
"Damn, I'm so nervous." Lu Bai hugged his head and cried.
"Bah, you're not nervous at all," Yin Li pointed out without hesitation. "He must be super excited, wishing tomorrow were here so he could wear that suit and show off."
"How could I be so superficial..." Lu Bai muttered softly, and at the end, as if imagining tomorrow's scene, he chuckled twice, "But he is indeed very handsome, let me tell you..."
Yin Li immediately showed an expression that she couldn't bear to look at it.
"Why? I won't say anything! Go eat your food!" Lu Bai had an expression that said, "I'm not going to argue with her." After a moment, he turned around and asked, "Will the class teacher come tomorrow?"
"I don't know. I think we'll do it like last year, waiting until the opening ceremony is over." Han Chengcheng sipped her milk tea. "What's wrong? We're told to bring our phones tomorrow, so what does it matter if he's here or not?"
"I'm afraid he will talk to me tomorrow." Lu Bai said this, but his eyes were fixed on the pot. He took away the meatballs under Yin Li's chopsticks before she could pick them up.
"Hiss!" Yin Li couldn't snatch it back from across the table, so she could only stare at him. "Just wait, tomorrow, even if Lao Zhang doesn't remember to look for you, I'll help him remember!"
"Have mercy! Good disciple, please spare my life!" Lu Bai quickly put in some more meatballs.
"Why does the class teacher want to see you? Didn't you do well in the exam this time?" Han Chengcheng asked.
"The overall ranking has indeed improved, but the English subject is not so good," said Yin Li.
Zhang Xiaotian remembered that he hadn't had time to check the grade leaderboard, and even his own grades had to be checked by a few of them. He lowered his head and whispered to Lu Bai, "How much did you score in English?"
"51." Lu Bai leaned close to Zhang Xiaotian's ear and answered in a lower voice. After he finished speaking, he seemed to think that his score was ridiculous and laughed muffledly twice.
51? Zhang Xiaotian was shocked. He thought that since Lu Bai had a good overall score and was among the top students in physics, he should be able to pass even if his English was poor.
"Everyone always has things they are not good at... Why are you so surprised?" Lu Bai had never seen Zhang Xiaotian with such a blank expression before, so he gently bumped him with his shoulder.
The two people opposite started laughing again.
"What are you laughing at! What's so funny? I obviously got one point higher than last time!" Lu Bai pretended to be angry and knocked the table with his drink bottle. "Wait until you two get higher scores than me before laughing!" After saying that, he turned around and found that Zhang Xiaotian also had a smile on his face.
"My deskmate! Even you laugh at me!" He laughed after saying that.
"51, hahahaha, just one point higher. If the class teacher doesn't come to you, who else will he come to?" Yin Li patted Han Chengcheng's shoulder. "He'll be scolded to death by the class teacher tomorrow, hahaha!"
"No one cares about you!" Lu Bai stuffed a piece of beef into his mouth and almost choked. He laughed twice while coughing.
"Lu Bai from our class, he just has a good brain, but he doesn't need it!" Yin Li suddenly sat up straight, pinching the milk tea in her hand with two fingers. Her tone changed as she spoke, as if she was imitating someone. "I don't know what he's thinking about all day. That brain is rented, so why don't you use it?"
This time, not only Lu Bai, but even Han Chengcheng laughed and clapped his hands.
Zhang Xiaotian guessed Yin Li was imitating a teacher, but his time in the class was too brief to have the pleasure of witnessing the teacher's tone when he said these words. He also laughed a few times, then lowered his head to eat.
Yin Li and Lu Bai continued to imitate the class teacher, while Han Chengcheng listened with a smile. Suddenly, she noticed Zhang Xiaotian, who was eating his food diagonally across from her. She glanced at the table and called out to Zhang Xiaotian:
"Um, Xiaotian?" She picked up the tissue box on the table, "Do you want some tissues?"
This question also attracted the attention of the other two. Zhang Xiaotian was startled by being called out of the blue, but after thinking about it, he realized that it was indeed necessary, so he nodded. Just as he was about to thank him, he suddenly realized that he didn't actually know the other person's name.
In fact, up to now, he could only count the names of the students in Class 1 on one hand, and he only knew Yin Li's name after hearing Lu Bai tell it to him.
Even though someone just congratulated me on doing well in the exam...
Zhang Xiaotian's thank you was stuck in his throat, and he was too embarrassed to take the tissue.
"Xiaotian, just call me Han Cheng like Lu Bai does." Han Chengcheng seemed to understand what he was thinking. "Everyone in the class calls me that."
"Oh, really!" Yin Li said, "Your name is Han Chengcheng, but I'm the only one in the class who calls you Chengcheng."
"What's the matter?" Lu Bai asked.
"I can understand calling him Han Cheng. After all, you see, Han Chengcheng, the last two characters are the same but simplified. What about Li Yuxin? Why do we call him Li Yu?" asked Yinli.
"I don't know. Maybe there are too many two-character names in the class, and since three-character names are too troublesome, we simplified them all for you."
"Then why don't you simplify it, Xiaotian?"
Lu Bai frowned: "How could my Tian'er be fooled like this! Besides, think about it, does it sound good?"
Just calling the first two characters of the name...that's it...
Zhang Xiaotian suddenly felt that it was okay for Lu Bai to call him Tian'er.
"Oh my, that's Li Yu, that sounds better." Yin Li rolled her eyes. "Still 'my Tian'er'. Chengcheng, I'll call you 'my Cheng'er' from now on, okay?"
"Please don't!" Han Chengcheng hurriedly picked up some food for her. Yin Li ate the food, saying, "Isn't the meat cheesy? Oh my god..." She even shuddered deliberately after saying that, making Lu Bai so angry that he took away all the meatballs from her side. Han Chengcheng followed suit and laughed. After the two of them had enough fun, she asked Zhang Xiaotian:
"Xiaotian, what did your good friends from Class 4 call you?"
Zhang Xiaotian was a little embarrassed.
He had a vague feeling that Han Chengcheng was intentionally throwing him topics so that Lu Bai and Yin Li wouldn't be the only ones talking during the meal. However, he didn't have any classmates in Class 4 who were as familiar with him as Lu Bai, which probably caught Han Chengcheng off guard.
After all, it's common to be outgoing, but it's rare to find someone like Lu Bai.
But this question clearly piqued Lu Bai's interest. His eyes were so intense that he didn't even bother grabbing the meatballs, waiting for Zhang Xiaotian's next words. Zhang Xiaotian gritted his teeth and said, "Just... call me by my name or something."
"Just calling by name?" Lu Bai asked, "Nothing special?"
"Tsk." Lu Bai snorted twice more and turned back to eat. Zhang Xiaotian seemed to detect a hint of pride in these words, but he couldn't figure out where it came from. Fortunately, Yin Li started talking about something else, and the topic ended hastily.
The meal was lively and lively. When the four of them separated at the door of the hot pot restaurant, Yin Li and Lu Bai made a bet, betting whether the class teacher would talk to Lu Bai before or after the opening ceremony. Yin Li bet that the class teacher would tell Lu Bai about this matter as soon as he saw him tomorrow. Lu Bai thought that the class teacher was already used to his grades and would not be in such a hurry to talk to him. The two agreed that whoever lost would buy the other a week's worth of water, and they even forced Han Chengcheng and Zhang Xiaotian to be witnesses before they settled down. Until Zhang Xiaotian left with Lu Bai, the lively conversation between Yin Li and Lu Bai was still in his head.
Lu Bai seemed to be still unsatisfied. He took a few steps forward and asked Zhang Xiaotian, "Are we going home directly?"
I don't want to go home, ......
Zhang Xiaotian could practically see the words in Lu Bai's eyes. But he had only told his mother he was going to eat; if he went anywhere else, there was no guarantee he'd be home. But if he had just told her he was going home...
But I also feel a little reluctant.
"Then, let's go to the supermarket?" Zhang Xiaotian said tentatively.
"Okay."
Lu Bai almost had the words "That's it?" written on his face, but the timing was really not right, so he didn't offer any other suggestions.
"Then walk towards your house and I'll take you straight home."
Perhaps because they had talked too much at the dinner table, Lu Bai didn't initiate the conversation as usual. Zhang Xiaotian remained silent, his mind revolving around the scene of the meal. Suddenly, he remembered what Lu Bai had said to him before the meal.
Lu Bai seemed to be facing him when he spoke, his eyes fixed on him.
"I really admire you, really..."
Oh my god! Zhang Xiaotian suddenly felt a little embarrassed, oh no, he was extremely embarrassed! He could even feel his face flushing, burning all the way down from the top of his head. He glanced at Lu Bai next to him and found that he was unconscious. He immediately felt that he was overthinking it.
"Tian'er, did you see that Labrador that just ran past?" Lu Bai asked Zhang Xiaotian to look back as well. "That dog is really fat!"
"I see." You look like a dog.
Zhang Xiaotian's residence wasn't too far from school, and coincidentally, Lu Bai's home was also in that direction. Since moving here, he'd been picked up and dropped off at school. This was Zhang Xiaotian's first time walking home. Lu Bai, upon learning of this, insisted on showing him the scenery and reminiscing about his childhood memories. Zhang Xiaotian thought it unnecessary, but he couldn't resist, and followed him through several narrow alleys.
This area, once the city's most prosperous, now has a sense of decline. Coupled with inflated housing prices, the architecture here presents a blend of old and new. The trendy, avant-garde shops along the street contrast sharply with the old school district across the street, which has yet to be renovated. The slowly falling night casts a drowsy, tired air over both. The two of them wandered through the still-unrenovated alleys, feeling as if they were walking through the veins of this old city. Even someone as prim and proper as Zhang Xiaotian could sense a subtle sense of freshness and romance.
"I grew up in this area, and I used to always come here to play." Lu Bai walked with Zhang Xiaotian quite fast. Occasionally, when they passed an intersection, they would see the small shops across the street that looked out of place, and they would feel like they had discovered a gap in time and space. "These shops now moved in later. They weren't like this before." Lu Bai pointed out as he walked. "There used to be everything in this area, gold shops, clothing stores, and my mom knew the owners of every one of them. My mom always asked me to take her kids out to play, but she didn't want to because they were younger than me. She would just pretend to play hide-and-seek with them, have them hide, and then sneak away."
"Have you never been caught?" Zhang Xiaotian asked him.
"Of course not. Later, as time went by and the other kids weren't stupid anymore, they stopped playing with me." Lu Bai said this with a smile, "Humph, who wants to play with those little brats?"
The two walked around the neighborhood and finally found a rusty swing. They looked at the metal swing together, but neither of them sat on it first.
"Is this also your childhood memory? Why don't you show it to me?" Zhang Xiaotian asked.
Lu Bai was surprised: "Damn, this swing hasn't been taken down yet? It's been so many years..."
Zhang Xiaotian was also surprised: "No way, you'll only know if it's been demolished when you pass by this area on your way home?"
"I don't take this road home. I always take the main road with street lights outside the community." Lu Bai tried to push the swing with his hand, and the swing made a teeth-grinding sound when it moved.
"You don't want to go home, so why do you take me on a detour?" Zhang Xiaotian raised his eyebrows and looked at him.
"What?" Lu Bai raised an eyebrow in reply, "Besides, how can we relive our childhood memories without taking a detour?"
"Okay." Zhang Xiaotian sighed.
The alley was like a maze. Zhang Xiaotian almost got dizzy and tired, so he decided to go home.
"We haven't been to the supermarket yet." Lu Bai raised an objection, but was rejected by Zhang Xiaotian.
“There are no childhood memories in supermarkets.”
"Of course I didn't. When I was a kid..." Lu Bai tried again.
"Next time then." Zhang Xiaotian said, "Next time for sure!"
This time it was Lu Bai's turn to sigh.
Without taking a detour, Lu Bai quickly sent Zhang Xiaotian to his home. Before leaving, he reminded Zhang Xiaotian: "Go to school early tomorrow."
"I know." Zhang Xiaotian directly exposed his little trick, "Go see the handsome you as soon as possible."
"Hehe." Lu Bai smiled, revealing a row of very white teeth. "Then it's settled! I'm leaving!"
He walked backwards a few steps, said goodbye several times, and then turned and left.
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