Chapter 21
As soon as the cultural festival ended, Rongcheng No.1 Middle School ushered in its final exams.
That summer was both long and sweltering.
As usual, the class assignment list was posted the day before the exam. Sang Sui glanced at the list. This time, the class assignments were not randomly arranged like in the monthly exams, but based on scores. She, Chu Xiran, and Song Shiyue were all assigned to the same exam room.
Given Liang Fengshen's grades, he would naturally be in the first examination room.
Liang Fengshen's examination room was quite far away from her.
I don't know if we'll have the chance to take the exam in the same exam room again.
The exam room needs to be cleared the day before class assignments. Final exams are quite formal, and the school requires that there not be a single book in the entire classroom.
Therefore, all the books in the classroom need to be cleared out.
The school emptied all the classrooms on the first floor of Mingde Building to store books for the students.
However, Mingde Building was opposite their teaching building, which meant that they had to pack up all the books, carry them downstairs, and then walk across an open space more than ten meters away to store them.
The school's decision caused a great deal of distress among the students.
Zhao Yanqi: "That's so weird. During the monthly exams, textbooks can just be piled up in the hallway."
Qiao Chunzhao: "During the last monthly exam, I put my books under the podium."
He Lili: "I don't understand why they have to do this. Final exams aren't like the college entrance exams. It's like they're preventing anyone from cheating."
Zhang Da stood with his hands on his hips, cursing the school and saying he would carry a bomb and blow it up.
But despite the criticism, the book still needs to be copied verbatim.
Sang Sui had a lot of stuff, box after box, requiring many trips back and forth. The other three girls' stuff was even more than Sang Sui's. He Lili was a little better off, Qiao Chunchao had a bunch of bottles and jars, and Zhao Yanqi had a pile of extracurricular books.
Each of them was too busy to help each other, so they could only carry their own things and couldn't help each other. At first they walked together, but later they were at different paces and simply split up.
The sun was blazing hot today, hanging in the sky and dazzlingly bright. Walking on the asphalt road at school, you could even see waves of heat rising up.
Sang Sui made two trips back and forth, and her arms and legs were sore from carrying the load. She could barely open her eyes and could clearly feel sweat dripping down her back.
This was her last trip. Carrying a box full of books downstairs, her legs were trembling. Students, both unfamiliar and familiar, were going up and down the stairs.
Sang Sui struggled to carry the books, her fingers aching from the heavy box. Stray hairs clung to her skin with sweat, tickling her, but she couldn't free her hands to brush them away. She walked slowly and carefully, afraid that if she lost her balance, the books in her arms would spill onto the ground.
Just as she finally managed to carry the items downstairs, her arms starting to ache and tremble, a figure passed by her.
It was Liang Fengshen.
He had clearly finished moving his books; his hands were empty, and he walked with ease.
His white school uniform short-sleeved shirt shone brightly in the sunlight, his bangs were neatly combed, and a faint shadow was cast on the bridge of his nose. He seemed to be heading towards the teaching building.
Sang Sui subconsciously lowered her head, not wanting him to see her disheveled state, and unconsciously tightened her grip on the book.
However, he slowed down as he passed her, and then stopped.
"A lot of books?"
Liang Fengshen took the initiative to greet her, his voice clear and pure, with the clean quality unique to young people, like a cool breeze in this sweltering afternoon.
Sang Sui's heart skipped a beat; he could almost hear his own heart pounding like a drum.
She looked up and met his calm gaze. For a moment, she forgot to respond and just nodded blankly.
Liang Fengshen didn't ask any more questions and naturally extended his hand to her, "Let me help you."
His fingers were long and slender with distinct knuckles, and his nails were neatly trimmed.
Sang Sui almost held her breath, her mind blank, letting him lift the other side of the box. The weight suddenly lightened considerably, and her reddened fingers went slightly numb. An unreal sense of lightness made her feel somewhat dazed.
"Are you going to put it on the first floor of Mingde Building, or take it back to your dorm?" He asked her, tilting his head as he carried the other side of the suitcase, his movements as relaxed as if he were just holding a thin exercise book.
"Yes, Mingde Building is closer, thank you." Her voice was a little tight, with a barely perceptible tremor.
He nodded and walked down the road with her, carrying the same suitcase together.
Sang Sui could see his profile with just a turn of his head.
The sunlight stretched his shadow long.
Because the two of them were very close, she could smell the faint scent of laundry detergent on him, mixed with the pleasant aroma of sunshine.
The sounds of other students carrying books and chatting filled the air, and people were playing ball on the playground. It was noisy and full of life, but her world seemed to consist only of the slender and upright figure next to her.
The path leading to Mingde Building seemed exceptionally short.
Sang Sui asked him, "Have you finished moving your books?"
"Well, I don't have much stuff."
"Then I'll treat you to some water later."
"Um?"
"Thank you for helping me move the books."
Upon hearing this, Liang Fengshen chuckled softly, but his laughter was so clear when it reached her ears on the wind.
He said, "No need, it's nothing. I just help out when I run into familiar classmates."
Sang Sui wanted to say something more, but the distance of more than ten meters was quickly covered. The long distance she had just disliked now seemed terrifyingly short.
Liang Fengshen stopped in his tracks. "We've arrived."
He released her grip, and the weight of the entire bookcase instantly pressed down on her hands, causing them to sag slightly.
"Thank you." Sang Sui thanked him again, this time her voice was a little calmer, but she still didn't dare to look him in the eye.
"You're welcome, I'll be going now." His response was as concise as ever, and then he turned and left without any further pleasantries.
Sang Sui stood there, watching his departing figure disappear around the corner of the tree-lined path, before turning around and finding a place in the classroom to put down the box.
The red marks on my fingers from being bound haven't faded yet, but my heart feels gently filled with something.
I didn't even feel that the weather was this hot.
The subjects for the first day of exams were Chinese in the morning and math in the afternoon.
On the afternoon of the math exam, she left the classroom with her pencil case and review materials, heading towards the exam room on the third floor with the crowd. Someone gently patted her on the shoulder, and when she turned around, she saw Song Shiyue's gentle smile.
"Let's go together, we're in the same exam room anyway." He said casually, his soft black hair was damp with sweat and stuck to his skin because of the heat.
"OK."
"How did you do on the Chinese test this morning?"
"Chinese... I feel the questions are so tricky, I almost didn't understand the reading comprehension passage."
“Yeah,” Song Shiyue pushed up his glasses, deeply agreeing, “All this stuff about plants and tomatoes, it totally baffled me. You can’t guess what the test setter was thinking. The most ridiculous thing is the essay, it’s a letter-style essay…”
Sang Sui said, "Fortunately, the exams are over. I just need to keep a steady performance on the next few."
The two walked side by side down the slightly crowded corridor, discussing the Chinese exam that had just ended that morning.
Just as they were about to reach the entrance of the third examination room, Sang Sui caught a glimpse of a familiar figure coming down the stairs out of the corner of his eye.
It was Liang Fengshen.
He was wearing a clean school uniform short-sleeved shirt, with a slender and upright figure, and was looking down slightly at the steps at his feet.
Sunlight streamed in obliquely from the window at the end of the corridor, outlining a blurry halo around him.
Sang Sui's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously slowed her breathing.
She pretended to be focused on talking to Song Shiyue, but her eyes kept drifting towards him.
The distance was shrinking, five steps, four steps, three steps... She could even see his drooping eyelashes and his well-defined fingers holding the pencil case.
Just as they were about to pass each other, Song Shiyue called out to him, "Old Liang."
Liang Fengshen stopped and looked up. His gaze first fell on Song Shiyue, and he responded with a faint "Mm".
Then, those clear, cold eyes seemed to casually sweep across Sang Sui's face.
Sang Sui felt her cheeks instantly heat up several degrees.
Liang Fengshen asked, "Which examination room?"
"Exam room number three, of course. Where else could it be?" Song Shiyue chuckled and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Break in some of your good luck, and good luck on your math exam."
Liang Fengshen nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips: "You too."
Sang Sui felt that he could take this opportunity to say a few words to Liang Fengshen.
The opportunity is now; if you miss it now, you'll truly miss it.
She mustered almost all the courage she had at that moment, her voice trembling slightly, and softly replied, "Good luck with math, Liang Fengshen."
She regretted it as soon as she finished speaking, feeling like a clumsy parrot who could only repeat Song Shiyue's words.
However, Liang Fengshen stopped what he was doing and this time he truly turned his gaze to her.
He looked at Sang Sui, and a faint smile appeared in his eyes, which usually seemed somewhat aloof. His tone also took on a light, almost joking quality.
"OK, let's both get full marks."
...
Let's all get full marks.
Sang Sui was stunned.
She hadn't expected Liang Fengshen to respond like that. It wasn't a polite "thank you," nor a simple "um," but a joking remark tinged with teasing and encouragement.
He actually has such a humorous side?
The exam time was approaching, and Liang Fengshen didn't say anything more. He just gestured to Song Shiyue again and then turned and went downstairs.
Even after his figure disappeared around the corner of the stairs, Sang Sui still felt her heart pounding wildly, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up in a smile.
The three days of intense final exams have finally come to a complete end.
The students, who had been suppressing their emotions for a long time, just wanted to find an opportunity to go wild. With a shout from a few active members of the class, led by Zhang Da, a small off-campus party quickly took shape.
The location was a well-regarded barbecue restaurant on the back street of the school, which had private rooms and reasonable prices.
Zhang Da initially only invited Luo Kewei, Song Shiyue, Cheng Xiao, and some of his male classmates who were close to him, but Cheng Xiao and Song Shiyue brought some friends, and soon the number of people increased.
Zhao Yanqi is the kind of person who is popular with both men and women, so she naturally accepted the invitation.
But a party with only boys isn't very fun, so we brought along a few girls as well.
Sang Sui wasn't initially very interested in this kind of activity, but when she learned that Cheng Xiao and Song Shiyue would also be going, she wavered.
Cheng Xiao and Song Shiyue are both going back, so Liang Fengshen should go too, right?
So she nodded in agreement.
When Sang arrived, the private room was already bustling with activity. The air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat and the boisterous chatter typical of young people.
Zhao Yanqi and He Lili were huddled together, studying the menu, making notes and occasionally arguing, "We have to order two grilled eggplants!" and "How spicy do you want the enoki mushrooms!"
Zhang Da and Luo Kewei, those two clowns, had already started their "performance," using disposable chopsticks as drumsticks and banging on empty beverage bottles, improvising a tuneless but extremely noisy "heavy metal rock" routine, which was awkwardly stopped after Chu Xiran rolled her eyes at them one after the other.
Zhang Da complained, "Oh my, we're all off-campus now, you're still scaring us, Class Representative."
Qiao Chunzhao dressed up specially today, wearing a refreshing floral dress and carefully combing her hair. She was sitting with a few girls with a slightly shy expression, but her eyes kept drifting towards the door. Zhang Da plays basketball every day and has a wide circle of friends. He even knows Chi Shu, a senior in high school.
Chi Shu will naturally be here today as well.
Song Shiyue and Cheng Xiao sat in the innermost seats.
Song Shiyue watched the commotion with a smile, while Cheng Xiao leaned back lazily in his chair, playing with a lighter in his hand—although he didn't smoke, there were a few lighters on each table in the barbecue restaurant, so he just played with them when he had nothing to do.
Sang Sui found a seat near the entrance with a good view and sat down.
Like many other expectant girls present, her gaze drifted uncontrollably towards the half-closed door again and again.
Will Liang Fengshen come?
Song Shiyue is here. They have such a good relationship, he should come, right?
Time passed by, plates of skewers were served one after another, and bottles of drinks were opened one after another. The atmosphere became more and more lively, but that slender and tall figure still did not appear.
Sang Sui's expectations deflated little by little, like a balloon being slowly bleed out.
She held a skewer of grilled rice cakes, taking small bites without really tasting them, but her ears were perked up, trying to catch every footstep outside the door.
“Don’t wait any longer,” a low, amused voice suddenly rang in her ear, “He’s busy.”
Sang Sui turned around abruptly and met Cheng Xiao's face, which had somehow gotten close to her.
His lips curled into that signature knowing smile, and his eyes clearly said, "I understand."
Sang Sui's face flushed red instantly, like a thief caught red-handed. She remembered that Liang Fengshen had caught her delivering medicine last time, and he definitely knew what she was up to.
My heart was pounding in my chest, and I felt a panic and embarrassment that my secret had been exposed.
Almost instinctively, she whispered to Cheng Xiao in a pleading tone, "Don't tell anyone."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiao chuckled softly, his shoulders twitching slightly.
He picked up the iced cola on the table, took a sip, and then slowly said, "Unrequited love is so painful, why not be bolder?"
His voice was very soft, blending into the surrounding noise, and only Sang Sui could hear it.
Be bolder? Easier said than done.
She needs to muster up courage even to look at him, and her heart races when she tries to say "good luck on your exam."
"Cheng Xiao, I beg you, please stop talking." Sang Sui lowered her head, her voice barely audible, carrying a hint of pleading.
"If you're too scared to say it, I'll say it for you. Otherwise, if you don't say anything, you'll miss out on the opportunity later."
Sang Sui almost pleaded, "No, no, no, I beg you, I really beg you."
Cheng Xiao smiled.
She was terrified that Cheng Xiao, with his big mouth, would blurt it out in front of everyone at any moment.
Fortunately, Cheng Xiao seemed to only want to tease her and did not intend to delve deeper into the topic.
He shrugged, reverting to his lazy demeanor, and turned his attention back to Luo Kewei, who was fighting Zhang Da for the last chicken wing. He then joined the fray, shouting, "Luo Kewei, are you a dog? You're so possessive of your food!"
Sang Sui secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but her palms were sweaty from the tension. She was glad that their seats were in the corner and no one had noticed their brief, nerve-wracking conversation.
However, my strongest feeling was one of disappointment due to Liang Fengshen's absence.
The atmosphere of the party gradually reached its climax.
Initially, the conversation revolved around the three eternal "mountains"—school, cafeteria, and exams.
"Let me tell you, I suspect that Mr. Ji wanted to show us the diversity of the world through that last, really difficult math problem!"
Zhang Da mumbled a complaint while eating skewers. "Come on, when haven't you said that?"
He Lili ruthlessly exposed, "The cafeteria is the real hellhole, okay? Last week's sweet and sour pork was so sour it tasted like my grandma's vinegar bottle had overturned!"
"What's that compared to what we caught in the men's dorm last time? Do you know how big a cockroach we found last time?" Luo Kewei said with a pained expression. "It almost got killed by my roommate."
Everyone burst into laughter, and all sorts of bizarre campus anecdotes and embarrassing exam mishaps were brought up, filling the private room with a joyful atmosphere.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, someone suggested starting the rather ceremonial "toasting ceremony."
"Come on! Everyone, raise your glasses." Zhang Da was the first to stand up, holding a can of Dongpeng Special Drink in his hand, his voice booming, "Although we are all minors and cannot drink alcohol, friendship is enough. Let's use tea instead of alcohol, and beverages instead of alcohol."
"Well said, I toast you with this nutritional drink!" Zhao Yanqi said with a smile, raising the bottle in her hand.
"One Dongpeng Special Drink with me," Cheng Xiao said lazily, raising his glass as well.
Song Shiyue smiled and picked up his iced tea: "The next time we meet will be after we've been divided into arts and science classes."
With the first year of high school almost over, it's uncertain whether everyone will be able to stay in the same class again.
Qiao Chunchao looked at the lemonade in her hand and said softly, "I wonder if we'll be able to be in the same class again."
He Lili put her arm around her shoulder and patted her hard: "Whether you study humanities or sciences in the future, I wish us both a bright future!"
"Yes, a bright future awaits you!"
"If I become rich and powerful, let's not forget each other, Zhangda."
"Get lost! Once you're rich, remember to give your brothers a hand!"
The noise, blessings, and clinking of glasses mingled together.
Sang Sui also held up his lime soda, laughing and joking with everyone.
The icy soda glided down my throat, carrying a slightly astringent yet refreshing sweetness.
Her gaze inadvertently swept over the empty seat again.
There's a small place in my heart still reserved for that absent person, tinged with a faint bitterness.
But amidst the clamor of youth, friendship, and grand farewells, the bittersweet feeling seemed to have been diluted considerably.
By the time the party ended, the city lights were already on.
The summer night breeze carried a warm scent, caressing the flushed cheeks of the boys and girls, who were overcome with excitement.
People walked in twos and threes, saying goodbye to each other and promising to play together during the summer vacation. Their voices carried far through the streets at night.
Sang Sui and Zhao Yanqi walked together, glancing back at the still brightly lit barbecue restaurant.
And so, my first year of high school came to an end.
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