Chapter 10
The days flowed by as smoothly as the Pearl River. In the blink of an eye, the streets of Guangzhou were filled with the flutter of kapok flowers.
Wu Ye's school uniform collar grew increasingly pale from washing, but his grades on his report cards continued to shine. Li Ruiyuan remained the same, juggling the canteen and various odd jobs, occasionally disappearing for a day or two, returning with a faint odor of blood and cigarettes.
Every Friday evening, a striking figure stands out at the entrance to Guangwei Middle School. Li Ruiyuan is either leaning against his motorcycle, playing with his phone, or crouching on the side of the road, playing with a stray cat. The students have gradually grown accustomed to this scene, and occasionally, a girl will secretly take a photo.
"Your brother is here again." The classmate touched Wu Ye's elbow.
Wu Ye did not correct the name, but just quickened the pace of packing his schoolbag.
On the bus back home, the two of them always sat side by side in the back seat. Wu Ye reported the week's test scores, and Li Ruiyuan listened while scrolling through his phone, occasionally humming.
Once Wu Ye got second place in his grade in an exam, and he waited expectantly for a reaction after saying this.
Li Ruiyuan swiped the screen: "Who's first?"
"Chen Fan from Class 1."
"Next time, surpass him."
Business at my mother's small supermarket was picking up; they had a new neon sign. Li Xuan's grades were still average, but she finally got over 100 in math. Weekend dinners often consisted of four dishes and a soup, and Wu Ye's bowl always had the heaviest portion of meat.
On the first day of summer, Li Ruiyuan suddenly brought home a second-hand air conditioner. As the installer worked outside the window, his mother kept muttering, "What a waste of money!"
"It's so hot." Li Ruiyuan squatted on the windowsill and smoked. "Besides, Xuanxuan is about to take the high school entrance exam."
Wu Ye stood behind him, quietly pressing an icy cola against the back of his neck. Li Ruiyuan shuddered from the cold and grabbed his neck with his backhand: "Are you rebelling?"
Amid the humming sound of the air conditioner, my mother's eyes were reddened. "When you and your sister were little, you couldn't sleep because it was too hot, so you spread out mats on the rooftop..."
Li Ruiyuan jumped off the windowsill: "How long ago was that? Don't mention it."
But that night, he sent Wu Ye to use the air conditioner and slept on the sofa in the living room.
On the eve of the exam, Wu Ye discovered a brand new 2B pencil in his pencil case. On the pen holder was a small word engraved: "Yuan".
He stared at the word for a long time until his eyes were sore, and then he carefully placed the pencil and other examination supplies together, as if it were some sacred ceremony.
On the morning of the exam, Li Ruiyuan actually wore a relatively clean T-shirt.
"What are you looking at?" He glared at Wu Ye. "Eat quickly, don't be late."
The school gate was crowded with anxious parents. Li Ruiyuan stuffed his admission ticket into Wu Ye's schoolbag and said, "If you don't do well on the test, don't come back."
After a pause, he added: "Check the multiple-choice questions twice."
On the day after the three-day exam, Wu Ye left the exam room at dusk. His classmates had all been picked up by their parents, leaving him alone at the school gate.
As the streetlights gradually came on, a familiar figure appeared around the corner. Li Ruiyuan was holding a plastic bag and was drenched in sweat.
"It's too late." He threw the bag over. "We haven't finished moving the goods yet."
Inside the bag was melted ice cream and a wilted sunflower.
Wu Ye, holding the melted ice cream, suddenly said, "Brother, the last question is the same as your guess."
Li Ruiyuan paused for a moment, the corners of his mouth raised slightly: "So my predictions are so accurate?"
They walked slowly along the Pearl River, the neon lights on the other side reflected in the water, shattered into thousands of points of light by the evening breeze.
"Brother Yuan."
"Um?"
"Can we go to Dongguan during the summer vacation..." Wu Ye said softly, "?
"Okay."
Li Ruiyuan raised his hand and rubbed his hair. The river breeze brought the sound of the ferry whistle in the distance, like a long sigh.
In the evening, before taking Li Xuan out, her mother specifically told her, "There are leftovers in the refrigerator. Just heat them up."
As soon as the door closed, the room fell silent. Li Ruiyuan kicked the delivery box away from his feet and slumped on the sofa, playing with his phone. Wu Ye finished his last question and looked up. It was already dark.
"What do you want to eat?" Li Ruiyuan asked without raising his head.
"Anything is fine."
"Scrambled eggs with chives in the refrigerator?"
"I ate it yesterday."
The two exchanged glances, then looked out the window at the same time. The lights in the old city were beginning to come on, and the neon signs of the food stalls lit up one by one.
"Let's go for a walk?" Li Ruiyuan stood up.
Wu Ye closed the exercise book: "Yeah."
The alley was hot and humid on a summer night, the air thick with the scent of cooking oil and gardenias. They walked, one in front of the other, their slippers clacking on the waterlogged ground.
As we turned the corner, the clatter of food stalls washed over us. Plastic tables and chairs crowded the sidewalk, and the clang of woks and the clink of beer bottles mingled in the background.
"What would you like to eat?" the proprietress greeted them warmly, her apron stained with oil.
Li Ruiyuan found a corner seat with familiarity: "Roast goose as usual, dry fried beef noodles, and water spinach."
Wu Ye stared at the grilled oysters on the next table. Li Ruiyuan followed his gaze and asked, "Want some?"
“…kind of.”
"Add half a dozen oysters," Li Ruiyuan called to the proprietress, then turned around and said, "A reward for a good test."
While waiting for the food, Li Ruiyuan opened a bottle of beer. Wu Ye quietly broke a pair of disposable chopsticks, carefully smoothing out the burrs.
"Do you want to drink?" Li Ruiyuan suddenly pushed the wine glass over.
Wu Ye hesitated for a moment, took a sip, and immediately frowned at the bitterness.
"Here, you coward." Li Ruiyuan sneered, but ordered a bottle of Coke for him.
The roast goose was shiny when it was served. Wu Ye first picked up the largest piece and put it in Li Ruiyuan's bowl.
"What?" Li Rui raised his eyebrows.
"You work hard."
The lights of the night market were dim, and the shadows of young people overlapped on the plastic tablecloth. At the next table, a few uncles played drinking games, the noise was deafening.
"Brother Yuan." Wu Ye whispered, "From now on..."
"Um?"
"I'll take you to eat something good too."
Li Ruiyuan took a sip of beer, the foam sticking to the corner of his mouth: "You are so loyal, brother."
The oysters sizzled, the aroma of garlic filling the air. Wu Ye ate them carefully, even drinking the juices from the shells. Li Ruiyuan looked at him amused and pushed his share over.
"I'm full." Wu Ye's ears turned slightly red.
"Why are you pretending? Who was staring at the oysters just now?"
When paying the bill, the lady boss omitted the change: "Student discount." She smiled at Wu Ye and said, "Study hard."
On the way back, it started to drizzle. The two of them huddled under the eaves, waiting for the rain to stop, the light from the convenience store behind them illuminating the fine raindrops.
"The results will be out tomorrow." Wu Ye said suddenly.
"nervous?"
“A little.”
Li Ruiyuan tapped his forehead: "You are so smart, but you didn't do well in the exam?"
In the rain, the outline of Guangwei Middle School was faintly visible in the distance.
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