It's still September, and Huaicheng is just entering autumn with a slight chill in the air. The first autumn rain is probably coming soon.
Su Xun rested her chin on her hand, blinked, and gazed at the rain outside the window, her thoughts drifting far away. She hated rainy days the most; when it rained, she couldn't go out to play, and she had to wear those ugly rain boots.
The dark clouds pressed down on the sky, making one feel a little depressed. Little Su Xun didn't know what depression was; she simply disliked rain, the cool raindrops, and all that—she really hated it.
After finishing preschool, Su Xun turned 6 during the summer vacation and reached the school age. So, her mother, Chen Lifang, took her to Yuanxi Elementary School, which was close to home, and she became a student in Class 1, Grade 1.
Although Su Xun was only six years old, he knew that once he started elementary school, he should listen to his teacher, study hard, and strive to be number one so that his parents would be happy.
During the first week of school, she was quiet in class, her chubby little hands resting obediently on the desk, her eyes fixed on the blackboard, not wanting to blink.
"Hey, little one." Seeing that Su Xun was resting his chin on his hand and staring blankly without reacting, Teacher Li, who was over fifty years old, chuckled to herself. What was such a little person looking at so seriously? He was so quiet and didn't play games with the other children. He was really something else.
Thinking this to myself, I tapped on the aluminum security window again, and finally got a response.
Su Xun, who was lost in thought, was brought back to her senses by the knocking sound. Then, thinking about how long the teacher had been standing there, she couldn't help but blush. Her chubby face turned bright red, like a red apple.
She opened her mouth and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Hello, Teacher Li."
Although Su Xun had just enrolled, she already knew Teacher Li, who lived in the school's teachers' building. She had heard that Teacher Li used to teach Chinese, but as she got older, she stopped teaching. Because she had beautiful handwriting and had studied painting, she was in charge of the blackboard newspaper for the lower grades and taught the first-grade art class.
Seeing Su Xun speak shyly, Teacher Li, afraid of scaring the child, grinned, revealing a gray beard on both sides of her face, and said softly, "Little friend, I would like to ask you for a favor. I borrowed a student's Chinese textbook from your class, and I would like to ask you to return it to him, okay?"
Upon hearing that it was Teacher Li who wanted to hand him the book, Su Xun hurriedly said, "Okay." After saying that, his face turned bright red again.
Teacher Li hadn't seen such a shy child in a long time, so he softened his voice a little and said, "That's great. This student's name is Pei Ke. Thank you, little friend." As he spoke, he carefully handed the book over through the gap.
Su Xun reached out and took the book, silently repeating the name "Pei Ke" in her mind, and memorized it. She smiled at Teacher Li, revealing her two little tiger teeth, and then watched the teacher leave.
"Pei Ke," Su Xun murmured the name, searching her memory for the person. She was always rather introverted, and after a week of school, she still hadn't memorized everyone in her class. She was certain she didn't know Pei Ke, and she was somewhat troubled, unsure what to do.
Just then, Su Xun's deskmate returned and, seeing Su Xun's troubled expression, asked, "Su Xun, what's wrong? Did someone bully you?"
Su Xun's deskmate, Tang Shi, was a thin girl with a small ponytail, who was half a head taller than Su Xun.
At that time, "Princess Pearl" was very popular. Tang Shi's father wanted his daughter to become a gentle and talented girl like Ziwei, so he named her that. However, Tang Shi was a restless and active girl who would run outside as soon as get out of class was over. Within a week, she had become friends with everyone in her class.
Thinking that her deskmate might be able to help her, Su Xun weakly said, "No one bullied me. I just want to find someone to return the things to. Do you know Pei Ke?"
Tang Shi smiled when she heard that her cute little deskmate was alright, and sat back down. Then, thinking that her little deskmate didn't even know Pei Ke, she widened her eyes and exclaimed exaggeratedly, "You don't even know Pei Ke?"
Hearing her deskmate's exaggerated tone, Su Xun recalled that she seemed to have heard this name during self-introductions at the beginning of the semester. It was a delicate-looking boy. She asked again, "I have a vague impression, but I can't remember it clearly. Can you point it out to me?"
Tang Shi tilted her head, pointed to the group of boys at the back of the classroom, and said, "He's over there, go ask him."
Following Tang Shi's finger, Su Xun looked towards the back of the classroom. A group of boys were gathered around two tables, discussing a toy placed on them. Su Xun took the Chinese textbook and walked over. As he got closer, he discovered that they were discussing a remote-controlled toy car that looked expensive. The group of boys looked on with surprise and envy.
"Liu Haixuan, your car is so cool!" one of them exclaimed, eyes wide.
“Of course, this is the latest model my dad brought back for me from Beijing. You can’t buy it in Huaicheng.” Liu Haixuan smiled proudly.
Su Xun saw them discussing toys and felt a little embarrassed, unsure how to join in. After a few minutes, she took a breath and shyly asked, "Excuse me, is Pei Ke here?"
Because her voice was too soft and the boys' voices were too loud, no one responded to Su Xun. Seeing that no one answered her, Su Xun became even more embarrassed, but mustered her courage and asked loudly, "Excuse me, is Pei Ke here?"
Finally, the boys turned around and looked at the short, blushing girl with two small braids in front of them, and they laughed loudly, "Hahaha, who is this? Why is she so short? Hahaha."
"You're looking for Pei Ke? He's not here. You've got the wrong person. How stupid of you."
Several boys were making faces at him. Su Xun was not good at dealing with naughty children and was so anxious that he almost cried. He didn't know what to do and his eyes reddened.
The boys around her laughed even harder.
"You're looking for me?" A slightly immature voice, tinged with a hint of estrangement, rang out.
Su Xun turned around and saw a handsome young man walk over and bend down to sit on the chair next to her. The boy was very fair-skinned, not in a pale way, but in a clean and comfortable way. His eyes were bright, and he was staring at her. Hearing the mocking laughter around him, he frowned slightly. The other boys lowered their voices.
Su Xun was a little stunned when she saw the boy who had come to her rescue, but then she suddenly came to her senses and asked, "Are you Pei Ke?"
The boy nodded. "It's me. Is there something you need?"
Upon hearing that he was Pei Ke, Su Xun quickly handed over the book, saying, "This is the book that Teacher Li lent you. I'm returning it to you." After saying that, he lowered his head again.
Pei Ke took the book, glanced at it—it was his book—and looked at Su Xun, whose face was still flushed, before saying, "Thank you." He didn't say anything more.
Upon hearing his thanks, Su Xun whispered, "You're welcome," and ran off, leaving Pei Ke watching her fleeing figure.
Su Xun ran back to her seat, pressing her hand against her slightly heaving chest, thinking to herself, "That person is so handsome, and his voice is so beautiful."
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