Chapter 7 At Fang Minzhou's reminder, Wang...
At Fang Minzhou's suggestion, Wang Kan went to Master Zhan and told her about their plan to switch seats. After returning from the office, Wang Kan relayed, "Master Zhan... cough, Master Zhan said that next time, there's no need to report such trivial matters to her."
Fang Minzhou calmly replied with an "Oh".
Wang Kan then realized Fang Minzhou's "malicious intentions." She was thoughtful and assessed the risks, but when it came to letting him charge into battle, her thoughts were also quite wicked.
However, their position swap was correct, and everyone was happy.
For Fang Minzhou, there was no longer any need to stand up or sit down to give up her seat for Wang Kan. Wang Kan, on the other hand, became a free bird. It would be even better if some teachers didn't walk around the classroom during class. Jin Baihao felt that it was more convenient for him and Fang Minzhou to discuss the questions in the front and back rows. Ouyang Qian also felt that now she only needed to turn around 45 degrees to find Fang Minzhou, which was less strenuous than the previous 90 degrees.
Wang Kan later went back to the library and borrowed another copy of "Sophie's World". After flipping through a few pages during evening self-study, he stacked it on the pile of books on the corner of the table. As the books underneath were pulled out and new test papers were piled up, Fang Minzhou watched as the water level of that book got lower and lower, like a small island that kept sinking.
Fang Minzhou still found the book a bit hard to get into, but she didn't want to follow Wang Kan's example. She set a goal to read a little bit every day, determined to finish it even if it meant forcing herself to finish it.
When the essays were returned, the Chinese teacher gave her 50 points and Wang Kan 38 points.
When Wang Kan saw her score, she said, quite tactlessly, "I lost fewer points than you."
Fang Min and Zhou Heng, Wang Kan shrugged and zipped up his mouth.
Fang Minzhou was actually quite satisfied with the score; it was already very high. The highest score in the class for the composition was still Sun Tong's, 56 points. The teacher used her composition as an example for analysis. Fang Minzhou felt that their thinking wasn't that different, but Sun Tong's summary and refinement were more incisive and beautiful.
Including the previous math quiz results, Fang Minzhou scored 94 points, and there were two perfect scores in the class, one of whom was Sun Tong.
When it comes to studying, Fang Minzhou rarely pays attention to others, focusing more on his own requirements.
However, although it has only been a month since the start of the second year of high school, some differences are already visible to the naked eye.
During that math class, looking at Sun Tong's back in the front row, Fang Minzhou felt a mix of envy, admiration, and other complex emotions welling up inside her, but she kept them all to herself.
She remembered that Sun Tong lived at school, and often when she arrived at the classroom in the morning, Sun Tong was already studying, and when she left the classroom in the evening, Sun Tong was still studying. Someone with better grades than you is also working harder than you; Fang Minzhou had nothing to say.
When she refocused her attention on the question, she noticed Wang Kan looking at her thoughtfully. When he saw her looking over, he pretended to move his neck.
After getting to know their new classes, Fang Minzhou and Yuan Yue made new friends and didn't eat together as often. But this didn't affect their friendship. For their last lunch before the National Day holiday, the two agreed to eat noodles on the back street of No. 1 Middle School.
The noodle shop we went to was supposedly about as old as the students themselves. It wasn't a big shop, but it was always busy. The school cafeteria wasn't bad, but it couldn't compare to the variety of options outside. Fang Minzhou and Yuan Yue both liked the pork rib noodles at this shop.
It was during this meal that Fang Minzhou learned that Wang Kan had also "harassed" Yuan Yue.
"He just asked me..." Yuan Yue said cautiously, "whether I knew why you disliked him. I said I didn't know... But how are you two now? You should be alright, right?"
“…It’s okay.” Fang Min said, adding a little vinegar to the noodles. “If he contacts you again, just ignore him.”
"Oh..." Yuan Yue replied, then asked curiously, "So why exactly do you... dislike him?"
Fang Minzhou stopped holding back and said whatever she wanted, "Isn't it normal to dislike someone like him?"
"It's alright," Yuan Yue thought to herself, recalling how Wang Kan had stopped her and scratched his head in a troubled expression. She thought he was quite sincere, but Yuan Yue also knew that Fang Minzhou was a serious person, while that boy named Wang Kan... although she hadn't had much contact with him, she could definitely tell that he and Fang Minzhou were not the same type of people.
Some people hit it off immediately, while others can't stand each other. This is perfectly normal, just like the natural differences between species. But Yuan Yue didn't say any of this to Wang Kan at the time.
Wang Kan is suitable to be a wax figure, but whatever he says or does makes Fang Minzhou uncomfortable.
Fang Minzhou considered his intentions in seeking out Yuan Yue to be good, but the feeling of being inquired about behind her back lingered. She was a little bothered, and her attitude towards Wang Kan cooled somewhat that afternoon, specifically showing how she ignored his banter during the group discussion.
Her relationship with Wang Kan wasn't as tense as before, but the bond they formed was as fragile as paper armor, crumbling on its own.
Wang Kan still couldn't figure out what girls were thinking, but his ability to read people's expressions improved, and his shamelessness in asking questions grew thicker. With an academic spirit, he was curious about "what's wrong with Fang Minzhou again," so when the bell rang for the last evening self-study session, he didn't join the group of people who were overjoyed to go home for the holiday, but instead asked Fang Minzhou, "Do you want to have a late-night snack? I'll treat you."
Fang Minzhou looked at him with a puzzled expression, as if he were an idiot. "No need, thank you, I'm going home now."
On the first day of National Day, Fang Minzhou went to visit her maternal grandparents with her parents. Her previous excuses were not made up.
Fang Minzhou's parents were actually childhood sweethearts from neighboring villages. Back then, conditions were poor, and children from several surrounding villages all attended the same primary school. However, according to her mother, they didn't speak to each other until they were in junior high school.
Fang Minzhou's grandfather passed away before she was born, and her grandmother passed away when Fang Minzhou was five or six years old. Being too young to remember, she heard from adults that her grandmother had fallen and suffered a stroke shortly after her birth. Indeed, Fang Minzhou retained a long-standing memory of her grandmother being bedridden for many years.
She heard from the adults that in order to take care of the elderly and children, her mother had to quit her original job as an accountant. After Fang Minzhou started elementary school, she went to work at the neighborhood office. Although the salary and status were not as good as before, it was still stable and leisurely.
The adults would say, "Your mother has had a tough time; she's suffered a lot. So you should be obedient and study hard."
During the hardest days, her maternal grandmother came to take care of her for a period of time. Fang Minzhou had no memory of it, but as she grew up, she would consciously or unconsciously become very close to her maternal grandparents and visit them whenever she had time during holidays.
Fang Minzhou's maternal grandparents' home was located at the border of Zhangcheng and the neighboring city of Jiangcheng. Getting there from downtown Zhangcheng was very inconvenient. In the past, her parents always had to drive her there. Later, when she grew up, if her parents were busy, she would take the rural bus with its ear-piercing horn. After a bumpy ride, she would inevitably spit out sour fluids after getting off the bus, so she secretly decided that the first thing she would do after becoming an adult was to get a driver's license.
I stayed at my maternal grandmother's house for a few days. After returning, I had important business to attend to: one of Fang Minzhou's cousins was getting married and inviting guests.
It seemed she never had suitable clothes for important occasions. Her mother took her shopping and picked out a few dresses for her to try on. Fang Minzhou was a grown woman, and if it weren't for the fact that there was one dress she couldn't zip up at the back, she would have been too embarrassed to ask her mother to come into the dressing room to help her.
As soon as she came in, her mother pressed her finger on her shoulder, "What happened? Did you bump into something?"
"Ah..." Fang Minzhou forgot about that. She turned slightly in front of the full-length mirror. Perhaps because of her fair skin, a dark bruise on her left shoulder was quite noticeable. "I accidentally bumped into it earlier."
"Ouch, when did you bump into something? How did you bump into something?" Zhao Ningying asked repeatedly. "Why didn't you tell me? If you had told me sooner, we would have had some medicated oil at home that I could have applied. Does it still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt, it's okay, you can't even tell anymore."
Zhao Ningying still felt sorry for him.
After zipping up the dress, the mother and daughter looked at Fang Minzhou in the mirror. She was wearing a blue square-neck dress that just revealed the lines of her collarbone.
Fang Minzhou was used to wearing school uniforms with pocket-like linings, so she didn't quite like this one. Her mother, however, kept praising it, saying, "This one is perfect. It looks good. Just wear it directly. It would be even better if it didn't have this piece on the back."
Fang Minzhou laughed at her for exaggerating, saying that it was obvious that no one could tell.
"Next time you bump or scrape yourself, you have to tell Mom and Dad, okay? Be careful at school. How did you end up bumping your shoulder like that?"
Fang Minzhou's mother took her to the front desk to pay the bill, frowning and muttering to herself. Fang Minzhou silently cursed Wang Kan in her heart.
I had only met my cousin Fang Minzhou during the Chinese New Year, and we weren't close. On the wedding day, the elders were all busy helping out, but Fang Minzhou felt out of place among the younger generation. They were either older than her and already married and established in their careers, or they were still in kindergarten, clinging to their mothers.
Fang Minzhou, having nothing to do, picked up the hotel brochure and started reading it. She thought to herself that if she had known this would happen, she would have brought her homework. When her parents saw her, they told her to get up and move around. "Why don't you go and get something to eat first? But don't eat too much, you'll have to eat dinner later."
“Okay,” Fang Minzhou said.
She wasn't hungry, so she went to the tea restaurant on the first floor and planned to order some snacks.
While people were queuing, some little boys were chasing and playing around in the restaurant. Before the waiter could stop them, they both fell down, and the drink one of them was holding flew high into the air.
Fang Minzhou dodged by herself, but quickly pulled over a little girl behind her.
The drinks spilled all over the floor, splashing on people; thankfully, it wasn't a glass. The two boys cried louder and louder, while their parents, who arrived at the scene, showered them with scolding, angry words, and apologies.
Fang Minzhou was a little worried that the little girl next to her would be frightened, but after the little girl saw the terrible scene over there, she raised her little face and said to Fang Minzhou, "Thank you, sister."
Fang Minzhou was relieved. "Are you alone?"
The little girl, about ten years old, shook her head, then suddenly waved behind them and called out, "Uncle, I'm here."
Uncle? Fang Minzhou looked over and met Wang Kan's eyes. Both of them were taken aback.
Wang Kan took his hand out of his jacket pocket, scratched his face, and coughed lightly. "What are you doing here?" he asked, pointing to a chaotic scene not far away. "What happened over there?"
Fang Minzhou's anger flared up instantly: "How could you let your sister run around alone?"
Wang Kan chuckled, "She's already run off on her own, what else could I do? That's why I came looking for her."
Fang Minzhou was furious, but didn't want to argue in front of the children, so she said in a hard voice, "If you bring her out to play, you should watch over her. Where can a child run off to? Just now, the parents over there weren't watching her, and she fell."
The little girl tugged at her clothes: "Sister, don't be angry..."
Fang Minzhou stared at Wang Kan, raised his hand, and patted the little girl's head.
"Okay, I was wrong, I'm sorry." Wang Kan surrendered shamelessly, then straightened his face and said to the little girl, "Don't run around like that next time, okay?"
The little girl nodded.
Fang Minzhou said seriously, "She didn't run around; you just didn't keep a close eye on her."
Wang Kan: "...Okay, then I was the one who wandered off, alright?"
Fang Minzhou didn't want to talk to Wang Kan anymore, but he led the little girl to stand behind her. After a while, probably feeling awkward, he introduced her, "This is my niece, her name is Xu Ran." Then he said to the little girl, "This is your brother's deskmate."
He emphasized the words "deskmate".
Fang Minzhou: "..."
She bent down and told Xu Ran her name. Xu Ran obediently replied, "Hello, Sister Fang. My name is Xu Ran, the 'Ran' in 'the sun rises slowly.' You can call me Ranran."
...It was a somewhat familiar self-introduction, but the little girl sounded very clever saying it.
Xu Ran: "I'm here today to attend my cousin's wedding."
Fang Minzhou: "Oh, I see. I'm here for the wedding too."
Wang Kan's voice came from above, "No wonder."
No wonder.
Fang Minzhou then realized that her clothes were different from usual and her hair was down. She couldn't help but glare at him in embarrassment and annoyance. Wang Kan shrank back and looked away.
During the ensuing waiting period, Fang Minzhou felt like she was being pricked by thorns.
Finally, it was her turn. Fang Minzhou ordered a set meal that included a toy, asked the waiter to give the toy to Xu Ran, and then asked Xu Ran what she wanted to eat, and treated her to a sundae.
After ordering, she took the receipt and turned around, deliberately ignoring Wang Kan's presence. She found a corner by the window, but not long after, the two of them, one big and one small, found her.
Wang Kan, who was following behind, said, "She's the one who wanted to see you."
Fang Minzhou: "..."
"But I just heard her say that you helped her up. I didn't know that... Thank you."
His tone was still not particularly serious, but Fang Minzhou's anger subsided somewhat when she saw him touching the back of his neck with an awkward expression.
Their meals were served one after another. Fang Minzhou asked the waiter for an extra set of cutlery and shared a piece of her raisin pancake with Xu Ran. Xu Ran said, "Thank you, sister," and pushed the snack platter she had ordered to the middle. The two smiled at each other.
"So cute," Fang Minzhou thought. "Big eyes, and a smile that curves when she smiles. In that respect... look at Wang Kan next to the little girl. They are somewhat similar in kinship, but their personalities are worlds apart."
"Isn't there any for me?" Wang Kan asked.
Fang Minzhou: "..."
Wang Kan waved and asked the waiter for another set of cutlery, so Fang Minzhou had no choice but to give him a pancake as well.
How shameless.
"Have you finished your homework?" Wang Kan asked while eating a pancake.
He was eating pancakes with his eyebrows furrowed. Fang Minzhou remembered that he had said before that he didn't like sweets. If he didn't like them, why did he have to suffer like that? Was he greedy? Or did he feel that others had them so he wanted them too? Who was the child here?
She nodded perfunctorily.
"What's with your reaction?" Wang Kan said with a half-smile. "I didn't intend to borrow your homework to copy."
"I didn't say you wanted to borrow my homework."
Wang Kan remained noncommittal, saying, "There are still two or three days before we return to school. It would be abnormal if we finished our homework now."
Fang Minzhou forcefully shoved the fork into the thick, soft muffin.
“She didn’t finish even though she had so little homework.” Wang Kan pulled Xu Ran along.
Xu Ran glanced at the two of them and said, "I'm almost finished writing."
Wang Kan: "..."
Fang Minzhou picked up a French fry to hide her uncontrollable laughter and asked Xu Ran, "How old are you? What grade are you in?"
Wang Kan interrupted, "Nine years old, fourth grade."
Neither Fang Minzhou nor Xu Ran looked at him. Xu Ran answered herself, "Nine years old, fourth grade."
Fang Minzhou also said to her, "Study hard, don't end up like...."
Xu Ran nodded.
“What’s wrong with me, Fang Minzhou?” Wang Kan called her name. “Are you talking bad about me right in front of me?”
Fang Minzhou replied calmly, "I'm just giving an objective evaluation."
Wang Kan: "..."
Xu Ran licked the sauce off her lips. Fang Minzhou had only intended to hand her a tissue, but as he reached out, he wiped it off for her as well.
Seeing this, Wang Kan felt increasingly superfluous and forced a conversation: "Did you go out for fun during the National Day holiday?"
Instead of answering, Fang Minzhou asked, "Where did you go?"
"I didn't play. I just went back to Nancheng with my mom. They do business in Nancheng."
Fang Minzhou: "Oh."
Wang Kan, realizing she had made a fool of herself, shut up.
“Let’s go see my great-great-grandfather,” Xu Ran said crisply.
Wang Kan glanced at Xu Ran, and fearing that Fang Minzhou's relationship might be complicated, added, "My maternal grandparents."
Fang Minzhou thought for a moment. Xu Ran was Wang Kan's niece, that is, the daughter of Wang Kan's cousin. So, Wang Kan's age difference with her relatives of the same generation was quite large.
"Do they all live in the south of the city?" Fang Minzhou asked.
Wang Kan didn't expect Fang Minzhou to be willing to talk to him on this topic. "Well, my mother is from Nancheng. I wanted them to move here before, but they didn't want to. However, the climate in Nancheng is indeed better than in Zhangcheng."
"Old people are all like that, including my maternal grandparents."
"Are your maternal grandparents also in the south of the city?"
Fang Minzhou was speechless. What kind of reasoning was this? She said, "No, Zhangcheng, but over in Shuangxi."
"Oh, I know, I've been there."
"Have you been there?"
“There’s a reservoir near Shuangxi. My dad took me fishing there.”
Fang Minzhou was quite surprised, but then he thought that perhaps Wang Kan and his father were among the fathers and sons he had seen fishing at the reservoir in the past, and suddenly he felt a little uncomfortable.
She chose to continue eating muffins.
Wang Kan: "..."
The conversation stalled before we even started talking. I really don't understand.
After finishing their snacks, the three took the elevator back to the banquet hall upstairs. The elevator doors opened, and Fang Minzhou stepped out first.
Her hair was swept forward, and Wang Kan inadvertently noticed a small, faint bluish patch on her exposed left shoulder blade. He paused for a moment, then realized what was happening and was at a loss for what to do.
He wanted to take a closer look, but Fang Minzhou had already turned around, glancing past him and only saying goodbye to Xu Ran. Wang Kan licked his lips and remained silent.
The two weddings were on opposite sides of the hall. Fang Minzhou had only taken a few steps to the right when she bumped into her father, who was walking towards her. His gaze passed over her and he asked, "Who's this? Your classmate?"
Fang Minzhou felt inexplicably nervous, as if she had been caught red-handed. "Um... my classmate."
"Those in the class now?"
"Um.
"What a coincidence? Someone in his family is getting married here too?"
Fang Minzhou observed her father's expression for any unusualness, but it seemed to be just surprise. "Hmm."
"Is that child his sister?"
"No, his niece."
"My niece is so grown up now..." her father said thoughtfully.
On the other side, Wang Kan led Xu Ran away and disappeared around the corner.
Xu Ran: "Uncle."
Wang Kan: "Hmm?"
Xu Ran: "Are you and Sister Fang on good terms?"
Wang Kan: "...What's it to you?"
A note from the author:
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