Fireworks display
"Well, we signed up before the New Year. Have you signed up?" Jiang Zhizhi asked.
Li Rongrong's mouth twitched, and she looked at Jiang Zhizhi as if she were a monster. "How could I possibly sign up? The junior high math league tests all the math content learned throughout junior high. Who else, as talented as you and Xu Qingbo, would dare to sign up for the math league in the first year of junior high?"
"I've been cramming for math formulas from the eighth and ninth grades recently. It's really hard to apply what I haven't learned. I'm not sure about this math league, but I'm just giving it a try to see how good I am at now," said Jiang Zhizhi.
Li Rongrong chuckled, "Xu Qingbo seems to have already learned all the math content for the ninth grade. You might lose to him this time."
"He's good at math and has a solid foundation..."
"Hey! Can we stop discussing math?" Lu Xiye impatiently stuck the shovel into the snow, and his voice rose several decibels.
As soon as he finished speaking, a cheerful cell phone ringtone rang from the living room.
"Zhizhi, it looks like it's your call." Li Rongrong pointed at the pink pager on the coffee table in the living room, a sly smile flickering across her face. "Haha, could it be Xu Qingbo wishing you a happy new year?"
Lu Xiye frowned and looked at Li Rongrong. The more he looked, the more he felt that this guy deserved a beating.
Li Rongrong had already turned around and ran to get Jiang Zhizhi's phone. "Let me see who's calling... Hmm, it really is someone named Xu, but it's not Xu Qingbo, it's Xu Jiaojiao. I remember Xu Jiaojiao got into No. 4 Middle School, right?"
"Well, she is in No. 4 Middle School now."
Jiang Zhizhi took the phone from Li Rongrong and asked, "Hello?"
"Zhizhi, do you want to come out and play tonight?" Xu Jiaojiao's tone was a little excited.
"Where are you going?"
"The fireworks display at Changyin Lake is really lively today."
Jiang Zhizhi glanced at Li Rongrong and Lu Xiye beside her, thought for a moment and said, "Then let's meet at Changyin Lake. We're going there tonight too."
"Okay, there's a pavilion on the west bank of Changyin Lake. Let's meet there at six in the evening."
*
It was 5:30 in the afternoon and sunset was approaching.
The snow on the road downstairs in the community had been cleared long ago, but there was still thick snow on the hedges and shrubs next to it.
Inside the unit, the door on the right side of the first floor opened with a click, and Jiang Zhizhi walked out.
"Mom, let's go push the car out first, hurry up."
In the room, Cheng Yuping was still packing her things. Jiang Zhizhi talked to her while walking out the door with Li Rongrong and Lu Xiye.
She was wearing a short gray and white down jacket and a thick hand-knitted red scarf around her neck to protect herself from the cold on the road. She also wore a woolen hat, which was ugly but very warm.
"Rongrong, are you cold? How about I find you a pair of pants? My pants should be able to fit you." When walking out, Jiang Zhizhi looked at Li Rongrong and couldn't help but persuade her again.
Li Rongrong wore a beautiful pink tweed half-cape coat on her upper body, a short pink plaid skirt underneath, and a pair of white velvet socks under the skirt. She looked both fashionable and beautiful.
She was wearing this outfit when she came from home, but she took a car when she came. Now they were going to take an open-top tricycle, and Jiang Zhizhi still felt that she would be cold.
"Oh, I'm really not cold. Let's go."
Li Rongrong pulled Jiang Zhizhi and hurried outside.
Her clothes were a complete set. If she changed into Jiang Zhizhi's pants, she would definitely look ugly.
She would rather be a little cold than go out looking ugly.
Lu Xiye brushed past them and said lazily, "Just ignore her. She's the one who's cold, not you."
Jiang Zhizhi glanced at Lu Xiye. This guy was dressed quite coolly. It was so cold, but he didn't even wear a down jacket. He wore a black plush jacket on the upper body and a red sweater with a V-neck underneath. Even his collarbone was exposed. The pants underneath were made of unknown material. Although there was fleece inside, it was obvious that they were just plain pants. They didn't even cover his ankles.
However, it must be said that Lu Xiye's outfit does make him look taller and with longer legs. Of course, he is also quite tall among his peers.
When they arrived at the parking shed, Jiang Zhizhi pushed the tricycle, and Lu Xiye also rode out his electric bike.
"Wow, Lu Xiye, is this your electric car? It's so cool!" Li Rongrong was immediately attracted when she saw Lu Xiye's dazzling electric car.
Being praised for his car, Lu Xiye was very proud. "Isn't it cool? I had someone specially modify this electric car!"
When he said this, he also deliberately glanced at Jiang Zhizhi who was not far away. His expression seemed to say that everyone thought his car was handsome, but only Jiang Zhizhi had no taste.
"Handsome! Really handsome! Lu Xiye, why don't I just take your car..." As she said that, Li Rongrong was about to lift her legs and sit up.
Lu Xiye twisted the handlebars, pushed Li Rongrong to the back, and refused without hesitation, "That won't work. I don't let anyone ride my bike casually."
"It's just an electric car. Isn't that too stingy?" Li Rongrong didn't expect Lu Xiye to refuse. Her face turned a little red with embarrassment and she said angrily.
"I won't let you sit here anyway." Lu Xiye glanced at Jiang Zhizhi guiltily and muttered softly.
But Jiang Zhizhi seemed not to hear their conversation and was struggling to push the tricycle out of the messy pile of cars.
When I pushed the tricycle back to the unit door, Cheng Yuping had already come out.
She took two small stools and a cotton coat and handed them to Li Rongrong. "Rongrong, if you feel cold later, cover your legs with this coat. Don't freeze."
"I understand, godmother." Li Rongrong did not refuse this time. Anyway, she could just put the clothes in the car when she got there, and it would not affect her beautiful shopping.
Cheng Yuping asked Jiang Zhizhi and Li Rongrong to sit in the car. Just as she was about to drive, she suddenly saw Lu Xiye holding the handlebars. "Xiaoye, why aren't you wearing gloves?"
"I... I'm not cold." Lu Xiye said.
"How can it not be cold in such a cold day? What if you get frostbite?" Cheng Yuping wanted to get another pair of gloves for Lu Xiye, but there were no extra ones at home. After hesitating for a moment, she took off her own gloves and said, "Xiaoye, you can use Auntie's gloves..."
"Mom, what are you going to do?" Jiang Zhizhi hurriedly stopped her.
Cheng Yuping smiled and said, "It's okay, Mom. I'll go to the street and buy another pair later."
Jiang Zhizhi frowned. It would take more than 20 minutes to get to Changyin Lake from here. Riding a tricycle in the wind would be very cold.
She thought about it, turned around and jumped out of the car, took out her gloves from home, and handed them to Lu Xiye, "You can use mine."
Jiang Zhizhi's gloves were grayish-white plush, but it was also obvious that they were for girls.
There was actually a pair of gloves in the hidden small basket under Lu Xiye’s electric bike, but when he saw Jiang Zhizhi’s gloves, he still took them.
The fluffy gloves were very comfortable just to hold in the hands. He tried them on and the length of his fingers was fine, but because they were for girls, the palms were narrow and tightly bound.
For some reason, he suddenly felt warm in his heart, as if flowers were blooming, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
When they came to their senses, Cheng Yuping had already ridden a tricycle with Jiang Zhizhi and Li Rongrong out of the community.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
He turned the handlebars and hurried to follow.
*
It had just snowed heavily, and the surface of Changyin Lake was covered with a thick layer of ice. The setting sun shone on the shimmering ice, casting a dreamy golden-red glow.
The streets on both sides of the lake are crowded with all kinds of vendors, and the pedestrians on the street are almost all families, in groups of three or five, making it very lively.
There are all kinds of cars of all sizes parked outside the shopping street, stretching as far as the eye can see.
Jiang Zhizhi and her group had just found a place to park the car when Li Rongrong's phone rang. It was her father calling.
"Rongrong, are you here yet?"
"We're here. We just parked the car. Where are you?" Li Rongrong's voice was trembling with cold after being blown by the wind all the way.
Li Mingzhang said, "Your mother and I are at the milk tea shop at the intersection. Come over quickly."
When they arrived at the milk tea shop, Fang Yi and Li Mingzhang brought out six cups of hot milk tea and gave one to each person.
"Are you frozen on the road? I should have come to pick you up." Li Mingzhang said guiltily.
Cheng Yuping felt a little embarrassed. If she had a car like Li Mingzhang, she wouldn't have left Li Rongrong and Jiang Zhizhi out in the cold.
Suddenly, she thought of the driver's license test that Jiang Zhizhi had mentioned before. She still had more than 400,000 yuan in her hands, so she could indeed buy a car, which would make traveling much more convenient in the future.
But this means that the opening of the store will be postponed again.
But when she saw Jiang Zhizhi and Li Rongrong's faces were chapped and red from the cold, Cheng Yuping gritted her teeth and decided to buy a car and get a driver's license.
Now that the family is rich, she doesn't want Jiang Zhizhi to suffer anymore.
"Mom, we have an appointment with our classmates to meet in front." Jiang Zhizhi looked at her watch. It was almost six o'clock.
"You guys go and have fun, be careful, and call us if you have any problems." Fang Yi said with a smile.
*
Outside the window, it was already dark.
Xu Qingbo's mother hung the washed clothes one by one on the clothesline on the balcony. She happened to see a neighbor's family of four driving out of the community. Thinking of what they talked about at noon at the fireworks display at Changyin Lake, she had an idea and turned around and knocked on Xu Qingbo's door.
The room was a little dim. Xu Qingbo was doing homework at the desk. It seemed that because the questions were a little difficult, he was concentrating on his work with a worried look on his face.
"Qingbo, why don't you turn on the light? Your myopia will get worse in the future if you continue like this." Xu Qingbo's mother quickly turned on the light.
The room suddenly became bright, and Xu Qingbo came to his senses. He glanced out the window and found that it was already night.
"Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. You should give yourself a day off. There's a fireworks display at Changyin Lake today. Shall we go over and take a look?"
Since entering junior high school, Xu Qingbo has studied harder. When he was in elementary school, he would set aside time to play chess and read some extracurricular books, but now, he just concentrates on doing exercises and even speaks less.
Seeing him like this, Xu Qingbo's mother sometimes couldn't help but feel distressed.
She also hopes that her son can be like ordinary children, even if his grades are not so good, but he can be happy.
"You go with Dad. I'm not going. The math league's preliminary exams will start at the beginning of next semester, and I need to prepare more."
"Studying should also be a combination of work and rest. How can you just bury yourself in study all year round?" Xu Qingbo's mother advised worriedly.
Xu Qingbo lowered his eyes and looked at the test paper in front of him. He was silent for a while and said, "Mom, I finally caught up with Jiang Zhizhi and I don't want to be left behind by her again. I know you've been worried about me recently, but I'm really fine. I'm just doing what I think is important. Compared to these, the fireworks display and the like are really not worth mentioning."
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