Chapter 2 Under the Cherry Blossom Tree
Senior Sister Lu checked the time and said, "Okay, I'll take you here. You can handle the rest by yourselves. I still have to help other students."
"Yeah, thank you, senior." Chi Jinjin expressed her gratitude.
After Senior Sister Lu left, Chi Jinjin and Tang Shi each went into their own dormitories.
The dormitory is a six-person dormitory with a bed above and a desk below. Names are posted on each bed.
Chi Jinjin's bed was in the corner, which just suited her taste.
She took the bedding out of the woven bag and threw it onto the bed. Then she took out the clothes from the suitcase, hung them in the closet under the bed, and put the suitcase in as well.
After making the bed, Chi Jinjin began to clean up the garbage under the bed.
A girl wearing a white baseball cap and a long halter dress walked in dragging a small suitcase.
She looked around, then stopped at the bed of "Moli Shen", threw the small shoulder bag on the table, sat down on the stool next to her, crossed her legs and lowered her head to play with her mobile phone.
Chi Jinjin quietly looked at the girl. She had delicate makeup on, was thin and tall, and didn't look like a high school student at all. Instead, she looked like a female star on TV. When she came, a faint fragrance filled the air.
It seems that this is her new roommate. While wiping the table, Chi Jinjin was considering whether she should say hello to him.
Just as she was hesitating, Shen Moli spoke first. She said in a contemptuous tone, “Hey, Auntie, let me wipe this side too.”
"Ah?" Chi Jinjin turned around and looked at her in confusion, not sure if she was calling him just now.
"Are you my roommate? I thought you were the cleaning lady." Shen Moli sighed and said in a commanding tone, "Wipe this for me too."
"Um...Okay, I'll finish wiping mine and then come over to help you." Chi Jinjin said.
Moli Shen casually packed up her things, then carried her small shoulder bag, walked to the door and said to Chi Jinjin, "Hey, when you're done wiping, remember to throw away those boxes for me."
Chi Jinjin nodded.
Moli Shen turned and left the dormitory.
After Chi Jinjin wiped the table, she picked up the boxes and went to find Tang Shi.
Tang Shi came out of the dormitory and saw her holding a pile of boxes. She asked curiously, "Jinjin, where did you get so many shoe boxes?"
"It's not mine. My new roommate asked me to help throw it away." Chi Jinjin replied.
Tang Shi was unhappy and said, "She doesn't have any hands, so why would she ask you to throw it? We are all freshmen and have to be busy."
"Oh, it's okay, I just lost something." Chi Jinjin said indifferently.
Tang Shi said helplessly, "You are just a good person, easy to talk to, and agree to everything."
"That's not the case. If you want to borrow money from me, I'll still think about it." Chi Jinjin said with a smile.
"You're such a miser." Tang Shi reached out to help her pick up a few, then took her arm and said, "Come on, go shopping with me."
"Okay." Chi Jinjin went downstairs with her.
Tang Shi took her to the school supermarket. There was also one in Chi Jinjin's junior high school, but it was just a small convenience store. The school supermarket was bigger than the supermarket in her town and had two floors. It had a wide variety of goods, but the prices were so high that Chi Jinjin could only look at them.
Chi Jinjin didn't need to buy too many things, as she had already brought most of them with her own, even the towel, cup and toothbrush. Most of the time she was buying things for Tang Shi and helping her move to the dormitory.
The other people in her dormitory also came over one by one, and Shen Moli returned to the dormitory, followed by two seniors who helped her carry the quilt and things.
"Because you are pretty, you get treated differently. We just took so many things, but didn't see any seniors come to help. I'm so envious." Tang Shi whispered in Chi Jinjin's ear.
Chi Jinjin nodded in agreement.
In the evening, they came to the classroom. Tang Shi pulled Chi Jinjin to sit in the corner. Soon, classmates came in one after another, and the classroom gradually became lively.
But with the appearance of the head teacher, the classroom immediately became quiet.
The head teacher was a middle-aged teacher with a middle-parted hairstyle and a blue shirt tucked into his suit pants. He looked no different from Chi Jinjin's junior high school teacher.
The homeroom teacher walked to the podium, picked up a piece of chalk, broke it off, and quickly wrote the three characters "Wang Weiguo" on the blackboard. Then he turned around and said with full energy, "Hello, students. It's nice to see you all. From today on, I will be your homeroom teacher and will be in charge of all your affairs, big and small."
There was applause from the audience.
After the head teacher explained some matters, it was time for Chi Jinjin to introduce herself, which she wanted to avoid but couldn't.
Shen Moli walked onto the stage calmly, changing her previous coldness, and said very friendly and confidently, "Hello everyone, my name is Shen Moli, I can play the guitar, if you want to listen in the future, I can play it for you."
After saying that, she walked down from the podium.
There was warm applause from the audience.
Chi Jinjin was clapping while feeling very nervous. She kept making drafts in her mind, thinking about what to say next and practicing it over and over again.
After a while, it was finally Chi Jinjin's turn. She went on stage and stammered as she introduced her name and birthday, then quickly returned to her seat.
There were some scattered applause in the venue, but Tang Shi's applause was unusually loud.
"Okay, stop taking pictures. Are you that excited?" Chi Jinjin found it funny, but when it was Tang Shi's turn to go on stage, she couldn't help but applaud very hard.
They are never stingy with their applause for each other and always subconsciously want to give each other the warmest cheers.
After the class introduced themselves, they began to elect class leaders to cooperate with the teachers and instructors in their future work.
The head teacher asked them to recommend themselves, but everyone was shy the first time and no one stepped forward.
"Since everyone is shy, I'll pick someone myself." The head teacher flipped through the roster and asked, "Who's Chi Jinjin?"
Chi Jinjin was startled, hesitantly stood up slowly, and said, "I, I am."
"You will be the monitor of our class from now on." said the head teacher.
"Ah?" Chi Jinjin said nervously, "Teacher, I've never been one before. I'm afraid, I'm afraid I can't do it well. Why don't you change someone else..."
"It's best if you have never been one. It's a good opportunity for you to exercise your abilities. There's no need to change. The teacher believes in you." The head teacher said firmly.
Chi Jinjin had no choice but to nod and sit down helplessly.
Then he arranged for Shen Moli to be the cultural and sports committee member, and Shen Moli's friend, who was also Chi Jinjin's other roommate named Wang Xiaomo, to be the disciplinary inspection committee member.
After selecting the class leaders, they met with the instructors of this military training.
This was Chi Jinjin's first military training in her life, and also the first time she saw a soldier in real life.
"Hello, students. My name is Chen. Starting today, I will lead you in a month and a half of military training. I hope that during this period, you can abide by the rules and overcome difficulties. Can you do this?"
The instructor was dressed in a military uniform, with dark skin under his hat, and even his facial features were hard to see. His body was as tall and straight as a towering tree. Even if he didn't say anything, no matter where he stood, there was an invisible sense of deterrence and oppression.
The class slowly replied in unison, "Yes..."
But the next moment the instructor yelled, "Louder! Can you please!"
The instructor's voice was like thunder, shaking the earth, and frightened them so much that they quickly raised their voices and shouted again, "Yes!!"
At this moment, Chi Jinjin felt that she was not a student, but a new recruit who had just entered the military camp and would soon undergo devilish training.
After evening self-study, Chi Jinjin took Tang Shi’s hand and returned to the dormitory.
Tang Shi lay in bed and opened her phone. Someone named "Yizhi Shishu" sent her a WeChat message asking: "You start school today, right?"
Tang Shi quickly replied: [Yeah, I'm exhausted.]
Tang Shi thought about it, then smiled and added an emoticon of pouting and looking tired.
Yizhishishu immediately replied with a "pat on the head" emoticon.
The other roommates in the dormitory were chatting enthusiastically, talking about makeup, clothes, shoes, and cities they had visited. Chi Jinjin couldn't join in the conversation and couldn't fit in.
She came to the balcony and lay on the fence. The evening breeze blew her hair on her forehead. She looked down at the beautiful scenery in front of her, but felt a little empty in her heart.
The scenery is beautiful, just like this city, but it is also strange, strange people, strange school, strange city, everything is so strange.
In the past, she longed to leave her hometown and see the outside world. Now that she has finally left, she begins to miss the days in the countryside. At night in the countryside, there are no familiar insects chirping and dogs barking, only the noise of people talking and car horns.
During the day, Senior Sister Lu's words came to her mind again. This school seemed to be a little different from what she had imagined before, and she couldn't help feeling worried and uneasy.
Chi Jinjin took out her cell phone and called her family. When she heard the familiar voices of her parents, her empty heart finally felt a sense of belonging.
She looked up at the bright moon and took a deep breath, telling herself that one can't stay in their comfort zone forever. Just like a bird leaving its nest, if you want to fly high, you must dare to leave the nest, so that you can soar in the blue sky...
The first night in high school was quite short. The morning bell outside rang at five in the morning.
"Class 140, gather in the playground in ten minutes!"
The instructor’s horn sounded outside the door.
The lights in the dormitory suddenly lit up, and everyone was busy. Chi Jinjin quickly got out of bed, brushed her teeth and washed her face, then ran next door to go with Tang Shi, but found that she was still asleep.
Chi Jinjin quickly woke her up, urged her to wash up, and dragged her to the playground. Fortunately, they arrived within the specified time. Those who failed to arrive were scolded by the instructor and then punished to run five laps.
In the morning, they learned how to stand at attention. Chi Jinjin listened carefully to the key points, fearing that she would be scolded by the instructor if she made any mistakes.
Chi Jinjin felt very uncomfortable standing at attention. Her whole body was as tense as a string. It was okay at the beginning, but later on, her legs began to feel sore and weak, and the sun above her head was getting bigger and bigger.
The instructor walked through the ranks and said, "If you feel unwell, you can report it."
"Report."
As soon as the instructor finished speaking, Moli Shen said, “I don’t feel well.”
"Go and have a rest." The instructor replied.
Moli Shen walked to the shade in front and sat down.
After a while, more people started talking, and Tang Shi quickly followed them and said that they were not feeling well.
After arriving in the shade, Tang Shi kept winking at Chi Jinjin, asking her to say that she was feeling unwell too.
But Chi Jinjin did not respond.
After standing at attention, Chi Jinjin, who was thirsty, drank a large bottle of water directly.
"Jinjin, why didn't you join us just now? You are too honest. You didn't take a rest when you had the chance to." Tang Shi said.
Chi Jinjin said with a smile, "After all, I am the squad leader. I have to set an example and play a leading role."
"Hey, you..." Tang Shi wiped the sweat off her face, "You don't have to take that position. Why are you taking it so seriously? Just take it casually."
"That won't work." Chi Jinjin said seriously. Although she didn't want to be the class monitor, since the teacher gave it to her, she couldn't take it lightly. She had to treat it well. After all, the teacher wanted to train her.
Tang Shi was helpless. She also understood Chi Jinjin. She would not take the initiative to ask for anything or fight for anything, but she had a strong sense of responsibility. Even if it was something she didn't like, she would complete it with all her heart.
After lunch break, the afternoon military training started on time, but the sharp-eyed instructor found that there were a few people missing from the class.
"Squad leader." the instructor called.
Chi Jinjin quickly replied, "Here!"
"There are fewer people in the class, let's check." said the instructor.
Chi Jinjin looked back and said awkwardly, "Instructor, I didn't bring the roster..."
"Go back to the dormitory and get it." said the instructor.
Chi Jinjin hurried to the dormitory to get the roster, but after getting off the dormitory building and looking at the five or six roads ahead, she forgot which road she came from.
She was a bit directionally challenged to begin with, and the crisscrossing paths of the huge school made Chi Jinjin even more confused.
Chi Jinjin was like a headless fly, running around anxiously in the school.
It’s over. If the instructor sees that I haven’t gone for a long time, he will definitely scold me to death.
The more Chi Jinjin thought about it, the more anxious she became. However, she ran around and couldn't find her own queue, as if she had entered a maze.
She wanted to find someone to ask, but the words were on the tip of her tongue and she couldn't open them.
In the end, she didn't know where she was. It was very quiet around her and there was no one around. She could only hear the sound of training in the distance.
Chi Jinjin walked forward, passed the pavilion, which was covered with wisteria, and came to the end of the pavilion. At the end was a large lawn with cherry trees planted on the lawn. The branches were full of pink cherry blossoms.
A gust of wind blew, and petals fell from the branches, fluttering in the air, as if it was snowing cherry blossoms. Under this grand cherry blossom snow, there was Chi Jinjin and a young man sitting under the cherry tree.
The boy leaned against the tree trunk, his face covered by his blue and white school uniform. One of his long legs was stretched out, and the other leg was bent and stepped on the ground. One hand was on the knee of the other leg, and the other hand was on his head. Chi Jinjin had only seen such slender fingers with distinct joints in comics. There were a few books and pens scattered beside him.
The only one who can wear school uniform now should be the senior, Chi Jinjin guessed. She wanted to ask him for directions, but seeing that he was sleeping, she didn't want to disturb him.
Just as she was about to leave, the boy slowly pulled off his school uniform jacket...
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