Chapter 7
The entrance to Guangwei Middle School was packed with parents dropping off their children, and luxury cars were blocking the way. Li Ruiyuan, wearing flip-flops, watched Wu Ye walk into the school gate, looking back every few steps.
"Brother Yuan..." Wu Ye turned around at the door, "After school..."
"I know." Li Ruiyuan interrupted him, "Wait at the usual place."
Watching the figure in the new school uniform disappear into the crowd, Li Ruiyuan lit a cigarette. Through the smoke, he squinted at the well-dressed parents, then glanced down at his own washed-out T-shirt.
"The accommodation seems pretty good," he muttered to himself, "It saves me from running around all day."
As I turned to walk towards the bus stop, my phone vibrated. It was a message from Lin Lixin: "There's a game tonight, do you want to come?"
It was three in the afternoon, the bar had just opened. Li Ruiyuan sat in a booth, watching the men and women dancing on the dance floor. The lights were dim, the music was blaring, and the air was thick with the scent of alcohol and perfume.
"That's rare." Lin Lixin came over with a glass of wine, "She actually took the initiative to ask me out for a drink."
Li Ruiyuan swirled the iced whiskey in his glass: "I'm so bored."
A few girls in suspender skirts passed by, their eyes lingering on his face for a moment. Lin Lixin scoffed, "Here to pick up girls again?"
"It's boring."
One of the girls with big wavy brown hair came over, her perfume so strong it was choking: "Handsome, could you have a drink?"
Li Ruiyuan looked up at her. Her skirt was short, her legs were long, and her makeup was as delicate as a doll in a shop window.
"Sit down." He moved aside.
The girl's name was Tina, and she claimed to be a student at a certain university. Her fingers touched his wine glass, intentionally or unintentionally, and her laughter was like honey. Li Ruiyuan responded incoherently, his eyes drifting out the window.
Guangwei Middle School should be over by 4:30 in the afternoon.
"...So I blocked that scumbag!" Tina said, looking at him expectantly.
Li Ruiyuan came back to his senses: "Hmm? Pretty good."
Lin Lixin winked at the booth opposite and mouthed "Come on".
Li Ruiyuan suddenly felt bored. These girls wearing designer clothes and perfume and the boy in the washed-out white school uniform seemed like they were from two different worlds.
"Sorry." He stood up. "Something happened suddenly."
Tina's smile froze on her face: "What?"
"Something's up." Li Ruiyuan took out two bills and placed them on the table. "Wine money."
As he walked out of the bar, the sun was setting. He squinted in the distance towards Guangwei Middle School and pulled out his phone.
The phone rang once and then connected. A quick breath came from the other end: "Brother Yuan?"
"Where?"
"The school gate...where you waited for me yesterday."
Li Rui stopped a taxi and said, "Wait."
The evening rush hour was incredibly congested. When he arrived, Wu Ye was sitting on the curb doing his homework, a math workbook spread across his lap. The setting sun stained the boy's white school uniform golden, and his eyelashes cast long shadows across his face.
Seeing him get off the car, Wu Ye immediately stood up, his eyes brightening surprisingly: "I thought..."
"Why?" Li Ruiyuan kicked the schoolbag at his feet. "I keep my word."
On the bus back, Wu Ye kept stealing glances at him.
"What are you looking at?"
"You..." Wu Ye whispered, "you smell like perfume."
Li Ruiyuan was stunned for a moment, thinking of the girl named Tina. He sneered and opened the car window wider: "You have a dog nose."
The evening breeze blew in, dispersing the last traces of the ambiguous fragrance. Wu Ye quietly leaned towards him, and the friction of his new school uniform made a small sound.
"Brother Yuan."
"Um?"
"The accommodation application form... I threw it away."
Li Ruiyuan looked at the lights outside the window and said after a long time:
"what ever."
As the bus turned into the alley, he saw the lights on at the door of his house. Li Ruiyuan sighed, "I'm back."
When she opened the door, her mother was just coming out of the kitchen carrying soup. Li Xuan was the first to rush over: "Brother! We brought a lot of Dongguan specialties!"
When her eyes fell on Wu Ye, the little girl was stunned for a moment: "Brother Wu Ye, are you wearing new clothes?"
The mother put down the soup bowl and looked between the two of them: "Where did you go?"
"Buying clothes." Li Ruiyuan threw his schoolbag on the sofa. "His school uniform is not dry yet."
The mother took a few steps closer and suddenly frowned: "A Yuan, what's that smell on you?"
Li Xuan came over like a puppy and sniffed: "Wow! Brother, you went to the bar?"
Wu Ye stood there, his fingers quietly clenching the corner of his new clothes.
"It's my friend's birthday." Li Ruiyuan remained calm. "I had a drink."
The mother obviously didn't believe it, but she didn't ask any more questions. She turned around and served the soup: "Aye, come and have some soup. I saved it especially for you."
The atmosphere at the dinner table was a bit awkward. Mother kept picking up food for Wu Ye, but her eyes kept glancing at Li Ruiyuan.
"A Yuan."
"Um?"
"Xuanxuan's parents' meeting next month, you go."
Li Ruiyuan paused with his chopsticks: "What am I going to do?"
"I need to look after the store," the mother said firmly. "Should we let Aye go?"
Wu Ye suddenly looked up: "I can -"
"You can't." Li Ruiyuan interrupted him, "Do your homework."
After dinner, when the mother was cleaning up the dishes, she called Li Ruiyuan into the kitchen.
"The sink is clogged, clear it."
When he bent down to repair it, his mother suddenly lowered her voice and said, "Don't lead them astray."
Li Ruiyuan paused for a moment: "What are you talking about?"
"I can smell it." Mother's tone turned cold. "Cigarettes, alcohol, perfume... Don't let Aye get any of your bad deeds on him."
The smell of drain cleaner filled the air, so pungent it stung the eyes.
"He knows the importance of this." Li Ruiyuan said finally.
Sleeping at night became a problem. Her mother insisted that Wu Ye sleep on Li Xuan's upper bunk, and temporarily arranged for the little girl to sleep on the floor in the master bedroom.
"How can this be..." Wu Ye hugged the pillow, at a loss.
Li Xuan was very happy: "Wow! We can sleep in the tent!" She had already spread the bedding on the ground.
Li Ruiyuan leaned against the door frame and watched the show: "Whatever you want."
In the end, Wu Ye returned to sleep in Li Ruiyuan's room. His mother didn't insist, but glared at her son before going to sleep.
In the darkness, they lay side by side. The sheets smelled of sunshine, freshly changed by their mother.
"Brother Yuan," Wu Ye suddenly whispered, "I got a perfect score on today's math test."
Li Ruiyuan closed his eyes: "Yeah."
"The teacher said we should take part in Mathematical Olympiad training..."
"Go ahead."
"You have to pay 800 yuan for training."
The room fell silent. From outside the window came the gentle voice of her mother, singing to lull Li Xuan to sleep.
"I'll go get the money tomorrow." Li Ruiyuan turned over and said, "Go to sleep."
Moonlight filtered in through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the brand-new Mathematical Olympiad application form on the desk. Wu Ye quietly opened his eyes and looked at the back of the person beside him.
The next morning, while frying eggs in the kitchen, my mother suddenly said, "I'll pay for your training."
Li Ruiyuan paused while pouring milk.
"Your money..." His mother didn't look at him, "save it for marrying a wife."
Wu Ye stood at the kitchen door, toothbrush in hand. Foam clung to the corners of his mouth, like a white mustache.
Li Xuan came running in, "Mom! I want to learn Mathematical Olympiad, too!"
"You should first learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division!" the mother scolded with a smile.
The morning light streamed through the kitchen window, casting a fuzzy glow on everyone. Li Ruiyuan threw the milk carton into the trash can, his lips curled up slightly.
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