Chapter 3
As evening approached, "Old Wang's Barbecue" on the back street of the school was already full of students. Liang Fengshen, Song Shiyue, and several day students sat around a table stained with grease, with freshly grilled meat skewers piled on an iron plate, sizzling with heat.
Cheng Xiao grabbed a meat skewer and turned his gaze to Liang Fengshen, who had been quietly drinking soda: "Hey, I heard Lin Shuning from the dance class brought you water again. How many times has this happened?"
Liang Fengshen paused, his fingers gripping the glass bottle, as fine bubbles rose from the soda. His expression was indifferent and blank: "Can we talk about something else?"
"Isn't this just a bit of gossip? Anyone with eyes can see that Lin Shuning likes you. Just now at the cafeteria entrance, I think she even called your name." Cheng Xiao winked at Liang Fengshen.
Liang Fengshen didn't like talking about such things, so he simply remained silent.
"Alright, alright," Cheng Xiao tactfully changed the subject, nudging Song Shiyue beside him with his elbow, ready to gossip about someone else, "Class monitor, I heard you have a new transfer student in your class?"
Song Shiyue was carefully wiping the oil stains off his school uniform cuffs when he heard this. He looked up, speechless, and said, "How did you find out so quickly? How did you know about this?"
Cheng Xiao clicked his tongue. As a self-proclaimed "Gossip Saint Body," he was not ashamed but rather proud: "Of course, I am the 'Know-it-all of the martial arts world.'"
Song Shiyue took a bite of a lamb skewer: "A new classmate has arrived, transferred from Linchuan."
"What's your name?"
“Sang Sui.” Song Shiyue used the exact same words Sang Sui used to introduce himself: “Sang as in mulberry leaf, Sui as in casual.”
"What an amazing name! I've never met anyone with the surname Sang before. What does she look like?" Cheng Xiao asked, his eyes lighting up. "Is she gentle? Is she pretty? Who's prettier, her or Lin Shuning?"
Song Shiyue thought for a moment and answered objectively, "She is quite quiet, speaks softly, and is quite pretty. But if we're talking about beauty, Lin Shuning is prettier."
"Oh—" Cheng Xiao drawled, and upon hearing that she wasn't a great beauty, his interest waned, and he turned to get new skewers.
Song Shiyue complained, "All you ever do is ask if someone is good-looking or not."
"There's really nothing I can do about it. Our class beauty, Ming, is just too gorgeous, which makes everyone else seem so-so to me." Cheng Xiao said, munching on a lamb skewer.
Liang Fengshen remained silent, quietly eating a skewer of grilled mantou slices, while the sky outside the barbecue restaurant gradually darkened.
The weather in Fuzhou in spring is unpredictable. Sang Sui has only been here for a week and it has already rained several times.
The temperature dropped throughout the city, and the air became somewhat humid. Sang Sui got up to get hot water from the water room, only to find a long queue.
“I’ve been sitting next to her for a week, and Sang Sui hasn’t said more than a few words to me. The few times we’ve had a conversation, I was the one who started it.” Zhao Yanqi peeled a pomegranate in her hand.
He Lili: "She's rather introverted. That's how she is when she first arrives in a new environment. Maybe she'll go crazy once she gets to know people."
"But she probably isn't the type to go crazy, is she?" Qiao Chunchao suggested, "Zhao Yanqi, she has a holiday after math class this afternoon, why don't you ask her if she'd like to go with us to the food street near the school gate for some good food?"
Zhao Yanqi sniffed: "I don't dare. You have no idea how I feel whenever I try to speak first, but then I turn around and meet her expressionless face, I just can't say a word—"
Zhao Yanqi stopped halfway through her sentence.
The three girls exchanged glances and changed the subject, since Sang Sui had already returned from the water room with water.
Sang Sui sat back down in his seat with his water cup, unscrewed the lid and took a sip, seemingly unaware of the strange atmosphere.
She had gotten used to the personalities of the girls sitting next to her.
He Lili and Qiao Chunzhao are definitely the bickering couple type of deskmates. In short, when the two of them are together, they talk so much that it seems like they never run out of things to say, but they also bicker from time to time, arguing one second and making up the next.
Zhao Yanqi likes to lie on the table reading comics or novels, occasionally letting out silly laughs, and sometimes gossiping with the two people in front of her.
Sang Suize was mostly silent. She took out her math textbook from the table, the bell rang, and math teacher Ji Yungui walked into the classroom with the test paper. The whole room fell silent.
Ji Yungui wore a mysterious smile: "The first monthly exam of this semester is in two weeks. To find out if you have been studying hard, we have two classes today, so let's have a quick diagnostic test. After all, it's almost the weekend, so I'm sure you won't be in the mood to listen to the lectures."
A series of wails erupted from below. Upon hearing the cries, Ji Yungui laughed even harder.
The class representative, Chu Xiran, distributed the exam papers, which were then passed around.
After receiving the test paper, Sang Sui quickly skimmed through the questions and found that they were all fairly basic. She took out her pen and scratch paper and buried herself in calculations. Before a class period had even passed, she had already turned the page.
It was at this moment that Sang Sui vaguely noticed several gazes falling on her. She hesitated for a moment, then looked up and met several pairs of pleading eyes.
Sang Sui subtly pushed his test paper a little further away.
Those pairs of eyes lit up instantly.
The math quiz is over.
Sang Sui was packing her bag to go home when she heard Zhao Yanqi call out to her, "Sang Sui."
"Hmm?" Sang Sui looked up.
Qiao Chunchao asked her, "Let's go to the food street, do you want to come?"
Sang Sui took out her phone and glanced at the time; it was a little past five in the afternoon, still relatively early. However, if she went home late, Tan Huiyu might scold her.
She shook her head and refused: "Next time, I'm going home."
Zhao Yanqi paused for two seconds, her expression somewhat stiff: "Alright then."
As soon as Sang Sui stepped out of the school gate, she vaguely heard someone say, "I have a cold, I don't want to go out."
She paused, turned her head to look at the source of the sound, and her gaze fell on Liang Fengshen across the crowd.
Unfortunately, before she could get a good look at him, his figure blurred and disappeared into the distance.
She stood there, staring at the direction where the figure disappeared for a long time before turning and leaving.
Liang Fengshen did not say goodbye to Cheng Xiao and the others at the school gate; instead, he turned into another alley by himself.
Deep in the alley, there's an unassuming music store. The owner is a young man in his thirties named Feng Wang. He's a pure music lover, and the store has everything: CDs, tapes, vinyl records, and even physical game discs for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii.
Liang Fengshen often comes here.
Pushing open the glass door, the wind chimes on the door tinkled crisply. The shop was filled with the distinctive smell of old wood and paper, and all four walls were covered with records and tapes, carefully categorized by era and style.
"You're here?" A man in his thirties looked up from behind the counter.
"Let's find some CDs."
"Whose has your eye on? Or are you here to see the power company?"
Liang Fengshen said, "Lady Gaga."
"You have good taste." Feng Wang smiled and looked down to pack his bag. "Okay, feel free to look around. I was thinking of picking up my child from school and closing the shop for a while, but since you're here, could you watch the shop for me for a bit?"
Liang Fengshen was already used to it. He had suspected countless times that Feng Wang opened this shop simply to collect things for himself, and did not really intend to make money from it.
Otherwise, how could they possibly open this shop in a corner and always close it down? They close it when picking up their kids, when they go grocery shopping, and even when they're in a bad mood on rainy days.
This shop was a treasure trove that Liang Fengshen stumbled upon. The owner, Feng Wang, was a music enthusiast with a large collection of rare and out-of-print records. Liang Fengshen frequently came here to hunt for records and gradually became familiar with the owner, occasionally helping out at the shop.
Liang Fengshen nodded: "Okay, I'll keep an eye on it for you."
Feng Wang grabbed his car keys and went out.
Liang Fengshen is selecting items in the store.
As dusk fell, Sang Sui returned home and was doing her homework in her room when her phone screen suddenly lit up.
The class's academic representative, Chu Xiran, sent a friend request. After accepting it, Chu Xiran was immediately added to the class's group chat.
"From now on, all assignments and notices will be sent in the group chat," Chu Xiran said succinctly.
Sang Sui looked at the suddenly lively group chat, hesitated for a moment, and typed, "Student representative, is there a grade-level group?"
"No. Our homeroom teacher won't allow it, afraid that our chatting will affect our studies."
Sang Sui put down her phone with some disappointment. She had originally thought that if she could join the grade group, she might be able to find Liang Fengshen's account, even if it was just to secretly look at his profile.
She opened Chu Xiran's chat window, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. How could she subtly inquire about Liang Fengshen? Should she ask if he worked at the radio station? Should she ask what kind of music he liked?
Sang Sui pondered for a long time, but still didn't know how to ask.
She simply exited the chat window with Chu Xiran and sent Jiang Yaoyue an emoji that said "Are you free?"
Jiang Yaoyue replied almost instantly.
Jiang Yaoyue: How's the new school?
Sang Sui put down his pen, picked up his phone, and a rare smile appeared on his face.
Sang Sui: It's alright. The school is big and beautiful, the teachers are nice, and the food in the school cafeteria is delicious.
Jiang Yaoyue: It sounds really good.
Sang Sui: But without you, I miss you.
Jiang Yaoyue: Have you made any new friends at school? I knew immediately that you hadn't.
Jiang Yaoyue: You need to be more proactive. It would be too hard to live without friends in this world.
Sang Sui: There is no one in this world who is better to me than you.
Jiang Yaoyue: Hahahaha.
When Sang Sui was in junior high school, she learned a new English word: "boring." She thought that she was such a boring person, not good at joking, and not good at making friends.
People with personality flaws naturally find it difficult to make friends.
Jiang Yaoyue's personality, however, is extremely sunny and lively, like SpongeBob SquarePants with boundless energy.
Sang Sui spent a long time trying to figure out why Jiang Yaoyue would be so proactive in wanting to be friends with her.
Jiang Yaoyue said, "The magnetic field between people is so strange; a single glance is enough to create a bond. I liked you the moment I saw you."
Sang Sui fell into self-doubt countless times—could she really be worthy of someone's affection?
Jiang Yaoyue would always affirm her, "Of course."
Jiang Yaoyue was as important to Sang Sui as his grandmother. If it weren't for Jiang Yaoyue, Sang Sui might never have made any good friends in his life.
Over the years, time has filtered out batches of people around them, but the two of them are still by each other's side and can talk about almost anything.
Sang Sui briefly talked about school life, then held his phone and carefully typed out each word.
Sang Sui: I think I've fallen for a boy.
Jiang Yaoyue: Oh, so you've finally fallen for someone? Do you have any photos?
Sang Sui: You don't seem surprised?
Jiang Yaoyue: Isn't it normal to have someone you like at this age?
Sang Sui: I don't have his photo, I only know his name, and I don't even know which class he was in.
Jiang Yaoyue: Oh, then he must be very handsome, with a very dashing appearance.
Sang Sui: You think I was lustful?
Jiang Yaoyue: What else? Being attracted to someone's looks isn't so shameful. Most people like handsome appearances. There's a saying—it starts with looks, but ends with character.
Sang Sui thought to himself.
Whether it was love at first sight or lust at first sight, Liang Fengshen was someone she fell for after only a brief encounter on a green train.
Just as Sang Sui and Jiang Yaoyue were chatting happily, her door was pushed open.
Tan Huiyu brought in fruit and frowned immediately when she saw the phone in her hand: "You're playing on your phone as soon as you get home. Have you finished your homework?"
“I was looking at the messages in the class group chat…” Sang Sui tried to explain.
"All this talk about groups is just an excuse." Tan Huiyu snatched the phone without further ado. "It's confiscated. Finish your homework first."
The door closed again, and the room returned to silence. Sang Sui looked at the empty desk, feeling a surge of frustration. She opened her math workbook, but had no desire to write anything.
The pen tip unconsciously traced across the draft paper. When she came to her senses, she found the paper covered with the three characters "Liang Fengshen." She hurriedly tore the paper off, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into the bottom of her schoolbag.
Sang Sui suddenly remembered what Jiang Yaoyue had said—
"The bond between people is destined from the first glance."
Liking someone can begin in an instant; it happens without warning, unexpectedly, and silently.
Whatever the reason, Sang Sui was certain of it at this moment.
She fell in love with Liang Fengshen.
It makes no sense; even just unconsciously writing his name on a piece of paper makes my heart tremble uncontrollably.
Liking something is a complicated thing.
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