Chapter 19. Freedom. Your eyes have light.
Chen Zhoudu glanced at her sideways; in the moonlight, her eyes smiled and seemed to hold a galaxy.
His pupils were a deep brown, silently reflecting a shadow. After a moment, he pursed his lips and said softly, "I'll make a fool of myself."
“…Ugly?” Xia Chan laughed. “If yours is ugly, then what are we? Ugly monsters that came to life after the founding of the People’s Republic of China?”
He felt a little embarrassed for a moment and was about to say that he didn't mean it that way when he saw her already giggling to herself.
Then, she playfully crossed her arms, tilted her head, and glanced at him sideways, saying, "But seriously, Chenzhoudu, what else can you do? Kids from families like yours... don't they have to learn a lot of things? What else have you learned? What other surprises do you have that I don't know about?"
"A surprise?" Chen Zhoudu's eyes flickered slightly.
"Hmm." Xia Chan readily admitted to every unexpected thing he had ever done for her.
Chenzhoudu looks just like the most well-behaved top student in school.
He was upright, dignified, and meticulous. What set him apart was his good looks, good family background, and handsome stature. His outstanding appearance amplified every inch of his excellence, making him an object of unconscious admiration and longing for students of his age.
From Taekwondo to Luban locks to guitars… every time it surprised her. Perhaps he was always refined and quiet, making her feel that only that upright, scholarly air suited him. But when he kicked out that whirlwind kick, when he played that chord, she seemed to see a hint of wildness and rebellion buried deep in his bones. That feeling felt familiar to her, and she inexplicably wanted to explore it.
Chen Zhoudu paused for a moment, a faint smile disappearing from his lips, and answered truthfully, "Indeed, I have learned a lot."
"for example?"
"piano."
"Wow!" Xia Chan exclaimed, "Elegant!"
"Mathematical Olympiad".
"clever!"
"Go (Weiqi)".
"Train your thinking skills!"
"Equestrianism."
"Cool!"
"Robot electronic programming".
"large and luxurious!"
"fencing."
"Whoosh!"
"..."
She mimicked drawing a sword, her outstretched arm even striking him, prompting Chen Zhoudu to give her a strange look.
Xia Chan paused for a moment, silently sheathing her "sword," then suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter. After a while, she coughed lightly and leisurely crossed her arms, asking, "Hey, aren't you tired of studying so much? Do you top students really live 24 hours a day?"
“I’ve forgotten.” Chen Zhoudu smiled calmly. “I’ve gradually stopped learning many things. I just remember that when I was little, my schedule was always packed with extracurricular classes. I didn’t really like them, but it seemed like everyone around me was like that, so I assumed that was how it should be. Gradually, I stopped thinking about whether I was tired or not, and I stopped remembering whether I was tired or not.”
"...Don't you like it?" Xia Chan seemed a little confused. "If you don't like it, why learn so much?" She turned her head to look at his profile, then suddenly thought of something and tentatively asked, "...Will it earn you points?"
Chen Zhoudu glanced at her silently, which was taken as tacit agreement.
"Wow..." Xia Chan couldn't help but laugh out loud, almost in a ridiculous way. She tried to say something several times but held back, and finally asked in a strange tone, suppressing her laughter, "You rich people... do you always have a purpose for everything you do? So utilitarian?"
“Some wealthy people may be pragmatic,” Shen Zhoudu corrected with a faint smile, “but not ‘us’.”
Xia Chan nodded slightly, neither confirming nor denying.
Ahead, Si Yi La La and the others started singing shoulder to shoulder again. Xia Chan, stepping on the moonlit branches, asked again, "So how long have you been learning guitar?"
"I haven't studied it."
"ah?"
"To be precise, I never formally studied it." He turned his head to meet her surprised gaze with a gentle smile. "I only attended two classes. After that, I wasn't allowed to study anymore."
"Why?" She raised an eyebrow in confusion, but saw that he didn't answer for a moment, his eyelashes lowered slightly, and the corners of his lips pursed very gently. She suddenly realized, slapped her thigh lightly, and said, "I understand!"
The sunken boatman looked at her with suspicion.
Xia Chan: "No points allowed!"
He laughed, then covered his lips and nodded silently, taking it as agreement.
Mountain Breeze Lane was already in sight. Siyi and the others lowered their voices. There were still sporadic insect chirps in the woods beside the road in the early autumn night.
Xia Chan suddenly whispered, "Chen Zhoudu, do you know that you sing very well?"
Chen Zhoudu's eyelashes trembled slightly as if blown by the wind, and he stared at her in slight surprise.
She simply smiled at him casually, seemingly generous with her praise, then lowered her head and pointed to a paving stone at her feet, saying:
“Actually, I’ve always felt that you’re a lot like this tiling tile, square and upright, very rigid, with exquisitely carved patterns. It’s beautiful, but it’s just too rigid…”
He was stunned, and then he saw her draw a "田" character on her palm as she spoke.
"But just now, when you were singing, there was actually light in it."
When she said "this," she quickly raised her hand and pointed lightly at his eyes, then drew a stroke on the character "田" in her palm.
The character “田” suddenly transformed into the character “由”, meaning freedom.
Chen Zhoudu's heart inexplicably started racing for a moment, and he saw her open her empty palm and wave it at him.
Even though there was nothing in her palm, Chen Zhoudu felt for no reason as if two words were faintly glowing in her hand.
He stared at her smiling eyes, which seemed to shatter like fallen stars, for a long time, lost in thought.
“Actually…” After a long while, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice, “I used to have the exact same guitar that Huang Mao had today.”
"And then what happened?"
"later……"
The wind rustled through the leaves beside him, the swaying branches like a lone sail on a turbulent sea, constantly billowing. The sunken boatman gazed at the scene for a long time and whispered:
"Later, it was smashed to pieces. I never touched it again."
-
As September drew to a close, the senior students at the Experimental High School became quite busy, as they were scheduled to take their first mock test before the National Day holiday.
This mock test will be conducted entirely according to the standards of the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao). Not only will the test papers use all real questions, but it will also allow students to adapt to the atmosphere of the Gaokao in advance and undergo desensitization training. Therefore, the school issued a particularly stern notice, which made the students feel a sense of urgency.
But before the mock exam, Vice Principal Liu called Guo Chenzhou to his room alone one day and showed him an exam paper.
The science test that Xia Chan, Chen Zhoudu, and Lala Panghu ran away from the exam hall has been retaken individually by the four of them. Without exception, Chen Zhoudu is still first in the class and first in the entire grade.
Xia Chan later jokingly teased him for finally proving her worth, but the experimental middle school didn't keep track of the grades for the quizzes. When Chen Zhoudu asked her how she did, she just smiled mysteriously and didn't tell him.
Unexpectedly, her exam paper was found right here.
Vice Principal Liu asked, "Did you notice anything?"
Chen Zhoudu stared in slight surprise at the numerous red crosses on her test paper. "They're all wrong."
"..."
He added, "But she wrote all the formulas correctly."
Vice Principal Liu sighed deeply, as if troubled.
According to Vice Principal Liu, Xia Chan's grades were actually quite good. When she entered high school, she was assigned to Class 1 based on her excellent grades. However, she gradually stopped studying after starting high school.
Even if she answered all the formulas correctly, she was unwilling to write an extra sentence. Vice Principal Liu talked to her several times, but he couldn't persuade her otherwise.
He thought that since Chen Zhoudu was now close to her, he might as well make the most of him and hoped that he could persuade Xia Chan to tutor her in her studies when she had time.
The time in senior year of high school passed in the blink of an eye. Two hundred days or so may sound long, but it's all over in the blink of an eye. He didn't want to see her continue to sink into despair like this.
"Xia Chan's situation... is a bit special."
"Her family's situation must have had a significant impact on her back then. But she's too stubborn; once she's made up her mind, nothing can change it. You peers can talk to each other, and maybe she'll listen to her friends. Anyway, time is running out, so trying to persuade her is better than doing nothing. This child...sigh."
Chen Zhoudu pursed his lips and pondered, wanting to take the opportunity to find out exactly what happened back then, but after struggling for a moment, he gave up and said, "I'll try."
That night, after finishing his homework, Chen Zhoudu closed his pen cap and looked out the window. The courtyard was completely silent. It was late at night, and even the lights in his grandmother's room were off.
With mock exams approaching, he's been making the most of his evenings to review his lessons.
It was already late at night when I finished all the planned tasks.
He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and massaged his temples; he felt a little hungry.
Worried that starting the fire would wake Grandma, I tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen to find some biscuits or bread to tide me over. As I went out, I saw a figure sitting on the roof, and I paused.
Xia Chan sat on the rooftop, gazing at the night sky with a serene expression, as if admiring the moon.
As Chen Zhoudu approached from behind, his footsteps made a slight sound, which she heard immediately and turned around.
Shen Zhoudu immediately stood still as if caught red-handed, while Xia Chan smiled brightly.
He smiled helplessly and walked to her side, saying, "It's so late, why are you still here?"
"I can't sleep." Xia Chan subconsciously moved aside to make room for him.
He handed over his hand, which was behind his back, as if to surprise her. In his hand were several clean ground cherries, which looked like small golden suns in the moonlight.
Xia Chan raised an eyebrow and took the fruit without ceremony, then popped a small fruit into her mouth.
The moment the fruit was bitten into, it burst with sweet juice, and her lips turned a bright red as if moistened by the juice. She gave him a thumbs-up to indicate that it was very sweet.
Chen Zhoudu gazed at her expression, a slight smile curving his lips. After a moment's thought, he said, "Thinking about the mock exam?"
Xia Chan scoffed, "Who would want that?"
He paused for a moment, lowered his eyes as if pondering something, and said slowly, "Vice Principal Liu spoke to me today."
Xia Chan looked at him questioningly.
He didn't answer for a moment, but slowly took something out of his coat pocket.
It was a test paper folded neatly into a square, like a small brick. Xia Chan looked at him again with a puzzled expression and took it.
Upon unfolding it, I couldn't help but exclaim "Holy crap!" Then, as if speechless, I slapped my forehead, feeling both amused and exasperated.
A faint smile vanished from Chen Zhoudu's lips.
After Xia Chan finished being speechless, she sighed and unfolded the test paper, mocking herself, "Ugh, that Lao Liu is really something, just giving you my test paper like that... Doesn't he know about privacy? Even if you don't do well in school, you still have some shame! It's so embarrassing..."
Chen Zhoudu simply looked calmly at the formulas on her test paper. "Actually, you can do all of these questions, right?"
Xia Chan paused slightly, then smiled again, gently brushing aside a corner of the rolled-up test paper. She looked up and met his gaze with a smile, "I don't know."
Chen Zhoudu simply stared at her silently.
"Really." Seeing the disbelief in his eyes, her smile deepened. "Even the best skills will become rusty and forgotten if you don't practice them for too long, right? Like when you played the guitar that day... weren't you rusty at first?"
Chen Zhoudu's eyes flickered slightly before he fell silent.
He speculated on the possible reasons why she might be doing this on purpose. Looking at her nonchalant profile, he asked in a slow voice, "Is it because of your grandmother and Siyi that you want to give up your studies, or even give up the college entrance exam?"
"I guess so." Xia Chan was still stroking the paper in her hands, her expression calm.
The sunken boat cannot be saved.
She had already folded the paper roll into a paper airplane to play with. Suddenly, she stood up, closed one eye as if searching for a certain direction, and said with a faint smile, "I just feel that it's boring...it's all so boring."
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Author's Note: I'm back! Daily updates will resume tomorrow! Update time will be 9 PM every night.
Thank you "Doujuan", "Shiwulou", and "Hai Na Bai Chuan" for the landmines~ Thank you "55931805" for the nutrient solution~ Love you all! [Sprinkling flowers]
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