transfer students
South City in September is like a balance swinging between late summer and early autumn, delicately maintaining the carnival of late summer and the tranquility of early autumn.
The daytime sunlight still carries the undoubted power of late summer, scorching the earth brightly.
The asphalt road surface was exposed to the sun, giving it a vague oily sheen. From a distance, it looked like a flowing, boiling river.
The leaves on the trees beside the sidewalk were curled up due to the sun, and their heads were drooping vertically. Only the cicadas were still making their last screams at the top of their lungs, as if they were crying out for this short life.
The sound penetrates the dull and hot air, conveying the stubbornness of summer that refuses to leave.
But the breeze in the morning and evening still quietly carries a bit of coolness that cannot be ignored.
Like cunning elves, they shuttled among the increasingly sparse sycamore leaves, making rustling sounds, as if bidding a final farewell to summer, or like messengers sent by autumn, whispering a foreshadowing of the coming autumn.
That voice, when it reached the ears of the students who were about to enter their third year of high school, lacked some of the romance described by literati, but instead contained some of the urgency of the passing of time and an uncertain future.
Every falling leaf is like a calendar torn off the wall, reminding every student that they are one day closer to the battlefield without gunpowder smoke.
The campus of Nancheng No. 1 Middle School seemed a bit lazy in the late summer afternoon.
The huge sycamore tree that has witnessed countless generations of students coming and going and requires two people to hug it still stands in front of the teaching building.
The branches are twisted and the leaves are lush, but if you look closely, you will find that the edges of the leaves have a faint burnt yellow halo.
It's like a golden edge inadvertently burned by time, or like it's been quietly stained by countless late nights of working under the lamp, and it carries the weight of the years and silent expectations.
The classroom of Grade 3 (6) is located on the easternmost side of the teaching building.
This is a corner jokingly called a "feng shui treasure land" by students from other grades - because it is the farthest place from the classroom and office.
It is convenient for students to have a short break between classes and steal half a day of leisure time.
Also, because this place faces the wide playground, the view is broad, which is enough to allow you to occasionally let your thoughts fly during the boring study life, allowing your tired eyes and brain to get a moment of respite.
At this moment, the preparatory bell for the first class in the morning had just rung. The remaining bell sound seemed to still float in the hot air, mixed with the monotonous rotating sound of the old ceiling fan above, forming a dull, sleep-inducing afternoon lullaby.
This is the most sleepy time of the day.
The feeling of fullness and the hot air worked together to erode the teenagers' nerves, which were already fragile from staying up late to study.
The sunlight slanted through a layer of glass covered with a thin layer of dust, casting mottled rays of light on the mottled desks, the polished cement floor, and the slightly thin shoulders of the teenagers.
Countless tiny chalk dust particles fluttered up and down in the beam of light formed by the sunlight, constantly busy, like a group of elves who had lost their way but still persisted in dancing.
They eventually disappeared silently in the gaps between the spread-out textbooks, in the slightly closed eyes of the teenagers, and in the complex atmosphere unique to senior year of high school, a mixture of fatigue, anxiety, confusion about the future, and a hint of longing.
Jiang Yile sat in the fourth row by the window.
From this angle, you can just see the small but vibrant playground outside the window, and a row of ginkgo trees in the distance that are quietly beginning to turn golden.
This indicates that the rich green of summer is fading away little by little, and the golden color of autumn is about to appear.
At this moment, the lower grade students are having physical education class.
In the classroom, one can hear the faint sound of whistles, the cheerful sound of running footsteps, and the carefree, silvery laughter unique to young people.
Everything was blurred by the thick glass and the distance from one floor.
It's like background music from another distant and vivid world, reminding the students who are studying hard in the classroom that they once had such carefree and happy times.
Looking at Jiang Yile outside the window, his fingertips unconsciously turned a somewhat worn 2B pencil.
The pen turned flexibly between her slender white fingers, drawing dazzling black shadows.
She stared out the window with a somewhat vacant gaze. The energetic figures leaping and running reminded her of herself two years ago. It seemed as if she had once possessed such light, tireless steps, as if she could run forever.
Instead of feeling an inexplicable fatigue coming from deep within my body and a fragile balance that I need to maintain carefully, like now.
“Lele, Lele!”
Zhou Xiaowei, who was sitting at the table in front, turned around, nudged her lightly with her elbow, and pushed a small stack of math papers with wet ink in front of her. She lowered her voice, her tone full of resentment as if she had survived a disaster.
"Look at that last function question. Isn't it too weird? I didn't even fully understand the question! I kept thinking about it and thinking about it, and my brain is almost a mess. You must have figured it out, right? Quick, show me the steps and save my math confidence, which is on the verge of collapse..."
Jiang Yile suddenly came back to his senses, and the 2B pen that was flexibly turning between his fingertips made a light "click" sound and fell on the blank page of the open sketchbook, leaving a small black dot on the book.
She turned her head and smiled helplessly at Zhou Xiaowei's big eyes that were full of curiosity for knowledge - or, to be more blunt, a desire for mathematical answers.
Zhou Xiaowei is her best friend since high school. She is lively and outgoing, and is a well-known "informer" and "little broadcaster" in the class.
It seemed that there was no gossip in this school that she didn't know.
But he hated mathematics the most and regarded every test as a kind of spiritual practice to overcome difficulties.
He said that every time he finished a math test, he felt like he had shed a layer of skin.
"Let me see..."
Zhou Xiaowei was just about to push over her own test paper with neat handwriting and clear steps.
At this time, the familiar and slightly majestic voice of our head teacher, Teacher Li, sounded at the door of the classroom.
Like a stone thrown into a pond that was originally rippled with noise, it instantly suppressed all the whispers and restlessness during class breaks.
"Classmates, please be quiet."
The classroom fell silent almost immediately, and even the sleeping students opened their eyes immediately.
All eyes, whether they were sleepy, curious, or still immersed in the previous problem, were all cast towards the door.
The nerves of high school students are always sensitive and tense. Any slight movement may be interpreted in different ways about exams, rankings, and even future destiny.
Teacher Li walked up to the podium with his usual unhurried steps.
He is nearly fifty years old, with his hair combed meticulously. The gray hair on his head records his many years of teaching career.
Wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes behind the lenses are sharp and experienced, and he can always easily see through the little thoughts and emotional fluctuations that these half-grown children in the audience are trying to hide.
Behind him, there was a strange figure following.
"It will take a few minutes of your time."
Teacher Li adjusted his glasses and scanned the audience like a radar, ensuring everyone was in tune. Then, pointing to Gu Nanxiao, he said, "Let me introduce you to our new transfer student, Gu Nanxiao. Welcome everyone."
As soon as he finished speaking, sparse applause broke out.
The gazes were not enthusiastic, but rather filled with scrutiny and curiosity. Like countless invisible searchlights, they were all focused on the tall and slightly thin figure beside the podium.
Transferring schools in the third year of high school is not common, especially in a key high school like Nancheng No. 1 High School.
But transferring schools with less than a year left before the college entrance examination is something that can trigger all kinds of speculation and imagination.
The boy was wearing a blue and white school uniform shirt that was so clean that it looked brand new. The top button was buttoned meticulously, with an air of rigor that was almost rigid.
He has an upright figure and straight shoulders, but he is not athletically strong. Instead, he has a youthful and tough look.
It is more like a green bamboo that has not yet fully unfolded, but has already begun to show its character.
He lowered his head slightly, and the fine black hair on his forehead was a little too long, covering part of his eyebrows and eyes, making it difficult to see his complete appearance for a moment, but one could still see that his nose was very high and straight, like a carefully carved ridge, his lips were thin and clear, and his lip color was very light, and the curve of his jawline had a sharpness unique to his age that had not yet completely lost its youthfulness.
He was very quiet, even a little depressed.
He just stood there, without any awkwardness of a new arrival, nor any deliberate attempts at friendliness or flattery. He was more like a plant growing quietly in the shade, with an invisible barrier that prevented communication, completely out of tune with the subtle commotion and inquiring gazes around him.
The sunlight shone from behind him, casting a faint golden shadow on his body.
But it seemed unable to penetrate the slightly cool aura he carried, and the light around him seemed to become a little colder.
"Gu Nanxiao, please introduce yourself."
Teacher Li looked at Gu Nanxiao beside him and said kindly.
Trying to ease any possible awkwardness and give this seemingly too quiet boy a chance to integrate into the group.
He raised his head upon hearing this, and his eyes swept calmly, even somewhat indifferently, over the dozens of unfamiliar faces in the audience, which were filled with various emotions.
That moment.
Jiang Yile finally saw his eyes clearly - they were standard peach blossom eyes, with beautiful shape and slightly raised tails.
The eyes that should have been full of affection and sparkling with life were now like two pools of cold water in late autumn. The pupils were extremely dark, almost pure black, like black jade immersed in a cold pool, so deep that no one could see the bottom, and no emotion could be seen.
But there was no obvious emotion in his eyes, neither curiosity nor nervousness, only a kind of alienated indifference, as if all the noise, curiosity, and even future friendship around him were separated from him by an invisible, thick barrier.
"Hello everyone, my name is Gu Nanxiao."
He introduced himself, his voice clear as a mountain stream hitting rocks.
The voice is actually pleasant, deep and magnetic, but the tone has no ups and downs, and the self-introduction is as concise as it can be.
Only five words.
…
Then there was silence.
There was a strange silence in the classroom for a moment.
It seemed as if even the air was stagnant.
Everyone was waiting for him to say a few more words, such as where he was from, what his interests and hobbies were, or even just a simple "please take care of me".
Even the experienced teacher Li seemed stunned for a moment, probably not expecting his self-introduction to be so... concise and to the point, using words sparingly.
He coughed lightly to cover up his momentary embarrassment, and his eyes swept around the classroom, finally landing on the empty seat next to Jiang Yile.
That was the seat left by a student who transferred last semester.
"Gu Nanxiao, please sit there first, in the fourth row, by the window." Teacher Li pointed in the direction of the seat and continued, "Jiang Yile is our class monitor. If you have any questions about study or life, you can ask her."
Gu Nanxiao looked in the direction the teacher pointed.
At that moment, Jiang Yile happened to meet his gaze.
Those dark jade eyes, across half the classroom, met her eyes impartially and without any emotion.
His gaze stayed on her face for less than a second, so fast that it was almost impossible to capture, like a scanner confirming the location, but Jiang Yile's heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
It’s hard to describe what that feeling is. It’s not like a heartbeat, but more like a... premonition?
It was like a calm lake, whose silence was broken by a small stone from afar. The ripples it caused were small, but they spread out in circles.
It exists clearly, foreshadowing the beginning of something unusual.
Almost subconsciously, she gave him a friendly, standard smile that belonged to a class monitor, with the corners of her mouth curved up just the right angle, expressing a kind welcome and a gesture of "You can come to me if you need anything in the future."
Gu Nanxiao's gaze showed no response, no nod, no smile, not even any subtle change in expression. It was as if he was passing by an insignificant object and just looked away.
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