Chapter 34 Summer at Iron Tower Elementary School is Over "Your face is handsome, but..."
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"Ah, oh. Oh oh." Jiang Yueming seemed to have suddenly lost her voice, stammering for a long time. After a while, she suddenly raised her voice, startling Li Leshan.
“Me?!” Jiang Yueming exclaimed.
It's not a dog, not a cat, not a book, not some random, distant thing, it's Jiang Yueming!
Something was pounding in his chest, leaping high before landing with a thud. This excited state was only somewhat reminiscent of when he received his race car a few years ago, perhaps even more so.
He outwardly appeared calm, but inwardly he was secretly delighted, muttering to himself, "What could I possibly have to write about?"
Jiang Yueming said this, but he didn't really think that way. It would be strange if he did; he wouldn't be Jiang Yueming. He could write a lot more, from beginning to end, top to bottom; Jiang Yueming felt he could write at least 800 words.
He finds everything pleasing to the eye now—flowers, grass, even the sight of Tian Tian using his clothes as a mop.
Oh wait, this one doesn't look quite right.
Jiang Yueming grabbed his short-sleeved shirt and casually tossed his school uniform jacket to Tian Tian. The school uniform didn't matter; she could wear it however she wanted.
"Do you even have your own clothes?" Jiang Yueming asked her. All he did was ruin his clothes; he only had a few, and they were all either dead or damaged. If he walked down the street, people would think he was a beggar.
He thought that after the exam, he could go to the Zhonghua Market with Li Leshan to browse the clothing wholesale stores. The Zhonghua Market is a special place for clothing stores to buy goods. Everything is at wholesale price, and you can get a better deal if you buy a lot. That's why Sister Yiyi always goes there to buy goods.
"You seem to be in a good mood today. Did you have a good time during the exam? That's rare." Lin Cuiqin looked at Jiang Yueming's beaming face, as if he had won the lottery.
"Only Lele is in a good mood during exams." Jiang Yueming put down her schoolbag and went into the kitchen to help her aunt wash vegetables.
Lin Cuiqin was startled when the 1.7-meter-tall boy suddenly squeezed into the kitchen. Lin Cuiqin looked him over and laughed, "Yueming, you won't grow to be over 1.8 meters tall in the future, will you? That's too tall."
“Being tall is a good thing, no one will dare to bully you and Tiantian,” Jiang Yueming said. “The only downside to being tall is that people will call you a big, clumsy fool.”
Lin Cuiqin laughed out loud. She looked closely at Jiang Yueming, and suddenly felt a pang of sadness. "Good, it's good to be tall. You should go out now, it's too smoky in here."
"It's nothing." Jiang Yueming was focused on washing the vegetables and didn't notice Lin Cuiqin's unusual behavior.
As she watched his retreating figure, she suddenly thought of her deceased sister, Jiang Yueming's biological mother. She had almost blurted out, "Your mother was tall too, about 1.7 meters," but thankfully she hadn't.
Jiang Yueming's mother's name was "Cuilan," Lin Cuilan. She was the eldest sister in the family; Lin Cuiqin was six years younger than her.
I have no younger brother.
Yes, there were only two daughters in the family. Lin Cuiqin's mother, who was also Jiang Yueming's maternal grandmother, regretted most in her life not having a son. Actually, her mother was very good to her two daughters, but in those days, not having a son was unacceptable. In the eyes of the villagers, it was considered unfilial, looked down upon, and everyone could bully and trample on them. Sometimes, Lin Cuiqin felt that her mother's passing was a relief; at least she wouldn't be looked down upon or bullied anymore. It was just a pity she didn't get to enjoy the blessings of having daughters.
So Lin Cuiqin and Lin Cuilan became each other's only family, and the two sisters had a very deep bond. Lin Cuilan had witnessed firsthand how her mother was bullied and looked down upon; those who couldn't give birth to a son weren't even allowed to enter the ancestral hall. Therefore, even though she was in poor health, Lin Cuilan insisted on giving birth to Jiang Yueming. She was especially fond of Jiang Yueming, but her health couldn't hold up for more than a few years, and she passed away.
After Lin Cuilan left, Lin Cuiqin brought Tiantian back to this small county town from the south so she could better care for Jiang Yueming. When Cuilan first left, Jiang Yueming cried every day, crying about everything. As she grew older, she stopped crying, so Lin Cuiqin never mentioned Cuilan to Jiang Yueming. She dared not mention it, afraid of hurting him, so she carefully kept quiet. Now Jiang Yueming is twelve years old, and Cuilan has been gone for almost seven years.
"Auntie, the pot looks burnt," Jiang Yueming said, as he busied himself and smelled a delicious aroma.
He thought it smelled of food, then looked again and exclaimed, "Holy crap!"
Oh my god!
"Oh dear," Lin Cuiqin hurriedly tidied up. She was a little embarrassed by the scene and half-pushed Jiang Yueming out of the kitchen, saying, "You go out and play with Tiantian, I'll clean up."
“Okay, Auntie,” Jiang Yueming pulled out two tissues from the side and handed them to Lin Cuiqin. “Your face is wet. You must have gotten some water on it when you were washing the vegetables.”
Lin Cuiqin choked up, watching Jiang Yueming's departing figure. She knew clearly that it wasn't water.
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"Li Leshan wrote about you?" Han Jiang asked in surprise.
He knew it was possible that the two of them wrote about each other, but he thought it was more likely that Jiang Yueming would write it. He never expected that it would be Li Leshan who wrote it.
"I never expected that kid, who seems so cold, would actually be quite humane," Han Jiang said, his face drooping as he sighed. "If only Xu Qing could write about me."
However, both of them knew that not only was Han Jiang out of the running, but Jiang Yueming was even less likely to win. If they were ranked in order, and Han Jiang was eighth, then Jiang Yueming would be a long way off. If the essay were titled "My Bad Friend," then Jiang Yueming would very well come out on top.
"Do you have Li Leshan's exam paper?" Han Jiang asked.
“No,” Jiang Yueming shook his head. He really wanted to see, but he stubbornly said, “I’m not that curious.”
“You’re not curious, but I am!” Han Jiang said. “Let’s go steal that exam paper back.”
"Damn it, you go by yourself," Jiang Yueming said. He wasn't going; if he got caught, he'd never be able to face Li Leshan again.
"He wrote it all down, he definitely wants you to see it," Han Jiang said. "Are you stupid? If he doesn't show it to you, does he intend to show it to Yin Guiying?"
Jiang Yueming was silent for a while, then he felt that there was some truth to it, "But I won't steal."
“How can something done by a scholar be called stealing?” Han Jiang put his knowledge to good use; he had just learned about Kong Yiji last semester.
"Forget about being a scholar, even working is unacceptable." Jiang Yueming felt that Han Jiang was not a true friend at all. "Me, stealing Li Leshan's exam paper? Don't I have any shame?"
"Is your face that important?" Han Jiang said. If Xu Qing had written his name on the paper, Han Jiang would have stolen it long ago. He even wanted to steal it before the exam papers were graded.
“It’s my face that’s been lost, you probably don’t think it matters anymore,” Jiang Yueming said.
“It’s different,” Han Jiang said seriously. “Your face is handsome, so you can lose more weight.”
“I’m not stealing,” Jiang Yueming said irritably. “Can’t I just look openly and honestly? Do I have to resort to such crooked methods?”
He won't take the main road and the right path, but he insists on taking this shortcut and the side road.
“Then you can leave,” Han Jiang said, not knowing what kind of person this guy was. “If you can watch properly, I’ll treat you to breakfast for a month.”
Indeed, Jiang Yueming felt he wouldn't be able to eat breakfast. After all, even asking a question was so difficult for him, let alone looking at this. He didn't understand; if it were Han Jiang's exam paper, Jiang Yueming would have snatched it and read it long ago. Was it because the protagonist of the essay wasn't him? Was that really the case?
"Forget it, let's wait a while," Jiang Yueming said. "Li Leshan won't throw away his exam papers, so we can definitely keep an eye on them."
Han Jiang chuckled twice, not believing that Jiang Yueming could actually read it. This kid was probably just trying to avoid it! What's there to be afraid of? It's not a love letter. Besides, even if it were a love letter, there's nothing wrong with reading it!
So cowardly, so timid, so awkward!
Before long, it was almost time for the entrance exam to junior high school. Jiang Yueming hadn't forgotten about it. He planned to look for it when he helped Li Leshan move his books. Li Leshan's test papers were all neatly stacked together, so finding them would be easy. He didn't care about anything else, just for Han Jiang's breakfast for the whole month. He had to find it and take a look.
At this moment, Han Jiang said: "Is Jiang Yueming watching this openly and honestly? Isn't it still stealing?!"
As Yin Guiying finished her lecture on the podium, she glanced at the children she had spent several years with and her voice trembled as she spoke. Even though they were all in a small county town, she knew that she would only see most of her classmates a handful of times in the future.
"Okay, I don't have anything else to tell you," Yin Guiying said with a smile. "Classmates, now line up and go downstairs to take your graduation photos. After that, you can pack your books and go home. Then, a week after the exams, come back to school to pick up your graduation photos. From then on, you'll all be junior high school students, another stage of growing up, and you'll still have to..."
"I know—" came a few scattered voices from below the stage. "Study hard and make progress every day!"
"That's true, but not entirely true." Yin Guiying rarely uttered her favorite phrase. "You have to take good care of yourself from now on. No matter which junior high, high school, or university you all get into, you'll always be the best in your teachers' hearts. Happy graduation!"
At Yin Guiying's command, the students swarmed out and ran downstairs. Jiang Yueming was at the forefront. It wasn't that he didn't want to be sentimental; he simply didn't have the time. While Yin Guiying was speaking, his mind had already drifted downstairs.
It's Li Leshan's class's turn to take graduation photos right now. If Jiang Yueming goes over there, he can at least catch a glimpse of Li Leshan, see how he takes his graduation photos, where he stands, and whether he still has that cold expression.
...
Jiang Yueming stood there catching his breath for a while. He kept his distance from the Class 2 group, searching for Li Leshan's figure among the uniform blue school uniforms. It was easy to spot him; Li Leshan was tall, so he just needed to pinpoint the last row. He was the fifth one from the right, and his handsomeness stood out.
His face remained expressionless, though slightly softened. Jiang Yueming looked up again and, as if by telepathy, met the man's gaze. He waved to Li Leshan, using sign language to communicate with him.
"Smile!" Jiang Yueming gestured frantically.
We've all graduated, but we'll still have to reminisce later.
Li Leshan could see his sign language clearly from a distance, and obediently the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
With the photographer's command, "Three, two, one, look at the camera."
The moment the camera captured was when they graduated, and summer at the Iron Tower Elementary School finally came to an end.
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Author's Note: Finally! I wrote over thirty chapters during the elementary school stage, haha, and dubbed myself the "Master of Water Words" (actually, I didn't write any water words, sob sob TT). My two little ones are really starting to grow up!
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