Twenty-seven
"How bad could he have been this time, getting chased and yelled at by Zhang Zixu like this?"
May.
On the first day after another joint exam, several students from Class 3 were chatting in the corridor.
“I don’t know,” another shrugged. “How bad could he be? Scoring ten or twenty points higher than the second place is a piece of cake. More than that, I’m concerned about why Zhang Zixu didn’t send us the results right away.”
"Yeah... I'm still worried about my own grades."
"Judging from Lao Zhang's expression, we probably didn't fare too well this time either."
"Didn't pass the entrance exam for the affiliated high school... Sigh. Senior year of high school."
"Old Zhang feels like he's lost all his hair. It's not easy for him. His head is so thin it could be used as a light bulb."
"What are you talking about?" Lu Yunian had just finished his PE class and casually leaned against the corridor wall with an ice cream in his mouth.
"I didn't want to do physics, so I came out to get some fresh air. Have your class released their grades yet?"
"No, have the results already been released? That's fast."
"Hey, do you know what just happened with Ning Yi'en being..."
"—Tell him..." someone next to him nudged him and whispered.
“Why can’t we tell him?” The person who was reminded didn’t get his point, but there really was nothing that couldn’t be said. “You didn’t see it, did you? I’ll show you.”
He coughed twice, his expression turned serious, he tugged at the hem of his clothes and was about to speak when he turned around twice, looking at Lu Yunian without saying anything.
"You're so hyperactive," Lu Yunian said impatiently, giving him a slap on the shoulder.
“Every step is crucial, don’t you understand?” He then playfully smacked Lu Yunian, ruffled his hair a couple of times, and mimicked the director’s tone: “Ning Yi’en…”
“Ning Yi’en…”
Long break
Ning Yi'en was called to the corridor by Zhang Zixu.
His hair was already in a precarious state from touching it so much. "This time..."
"I know I did very poorly on the test." Ning Yi'en stood against the wall, her expression blank.
"You saw it?"
"No, didn't you say you'd send it at noon?"
"Wow! You know me pretty well, don't you?" Zhang Zixu laughed for a second, but then his face darkened. "Tell me, how did you do so badly on the test?"
"English... I felt terrible during the exam, but I just wrote whatever came to mind after section D."
“If you’re feeling bad, you can stop…” Zhang Zixu’s tone was still firm, but then he suddenly thought of something and stopped speaking. “Fine. Let’s try to adapt. We’re not talking about pursuing any titles or anything like that; they’re just external things. But it’s another 365 days, so at least we can be true to ourselves.”
"Yes, I know, I will."
Ning Yi'en thought he had finished speaking, so she straightened up against the wall and started walking towards the classroom.
"Hey! You haven't finished yet, stand still."
Ning Yi'en settled down.
“I looked at your answer sheet, and it wasn’t very good. I also talked to Teacher Ning… and your grandmother. We’ll change classes in the next couple of days.”
"Transfer to another class...? Class One?" Ning Yi'en frowned. "Didn't you promise me before..."
"I did agree, but wasn't the premise of our previous agreement that we should be in the top five?"
What number is it this time?
"I forgot you haven't seen the results yet." Zhang Zixu made a seven-point gesture.
"Twenty-seven? Or thirty-seven?" Ning Yi'en was actually quite expecting it, after all, her performance in this exam was really poor.
"Seventh. You yourself are quite insecure."
"I know I'm wrong, so how can I be confident about this?"
Have you ever achieved this ranking before?
"I can't remember the small tests, and I don't remember the big ones."
“Besides the college entrance exam,” Ning Yi’en added after thinking for a moment.
"Sigh." Zhang Zixu shook his head, not knowing what to say for a moment, and patted his shoulder.
"There's one more thing... what exactly are you and..."
"Who exactly do you suspect I talked to? Yu Cong?" Ning Yi'en looked at his expression. "It couldn't be Song Moxiao, could it?"
"You... I told Teacher Ning to keep it a secret, how come I told you all of this so soon?"
“You’re not her grandson, I am.” Ning Yi’en finally smiled. “I’m not with anyone, so please don’t make unfounded accusations.”
"?"
"Who are you calling a grandson?" Zhang Zixu subconsciously wanted to say, but then he realized that he might not have said anything wrong.
"There's no such thing as 'best,' so focus on your studies!"
"Got it!" Ning Yi'en said, her school uniform jacket open and her hands casually in her pockets. "Don't suspect Lao Zhang anymore, you can't guess right anyway."
"You brat," Zhang Zixu said, pretending to kick him, "pay attention in class."
"Okay! Got it."
"So... are you alright...?"
After afternoon classes ended, Lu Yunian went to find Ning Yi'en.
"So what if I failed the exam? What's the big deal?" Ning Yi'en leaned against the corridor railing, looking up at the sky, and waved her hand dismissively. "It's not like I haven't failed before."
“Old Zhang is being too demanding of you.” Lu Yunian said, fiddling with his fingers. “How bad can seventh place be… although it might not be for you.” He was still a little worried about Ning Yi’en’s mental state, even though he knew she wasn’t a fragile person.
"It's alright in terms of the grade level, but the ranking in the joint entrance exam is terrible, downright appalling. I'm ranked in the fifties, I don't know if I can get into a less desirable major. Our grade as a whole was just average this year."
“It definitely can!” Lu Yunian blurted out.
"No..." he realized, "That's not what I meant... I meant you definitely don't need it..."
"It's okay, I know." Ning Yi'en was amused by him. "How did you do on your exam this time?"
"It's alright, I feel like I'm pretty much guaranteed to get into Jingzhou now."
"That's fine."
So, shall we go to the cafeteria for lunch now?
"I've taken the day off. I'll just wander around and grab something to eat later."
"Ask for leave?"
"Hmm!" No matter how mature a high school student is, there's always a strange sense of pleasure and satisfaction in asking to go home when everyone else is still studying. "Want me to go out to eat with you...?"
"No," Lu Yunian seemed a little disappointed, but then he smiled again, "I thought you were trying to avoid the cafeteria by not going there."
"I'm not going to squeeze with the crowds today, I'm going home." Ning Yi'en raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't need me to come with you?"
“Of course I wouldn’t want to drag you along to squeeze with me in the crowd,” Lu Yunian said. “I also want to go home…” he said bitterly.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Lu Yunian rushed downstairs. "I'm coming right away!" His voice came from the stairwell, already sounding somewhat distant.
"Clang! Clang!" When Lu Yunian ran up, Ning Yi'en was still staring blankly at the sky.
"Eat?" Ning Yi'en was perhaps not quite there yet, her reaction was indifferent, and she seemed a little dazed.
"No, no, no." Lu Yunian couldn't help but shake his finger, then took out a leave slip from behind his back, looking smug as if he were showing off his official seal.
"If your grades are good, the teacher will be much more accommodating. Let's go, what do you want to eat?"
"Anything is fine."
"Let's go eat some spicy hot pot, make ourselves spicy, and forget everything except that our mouths still hurt."
"You're a masochist."
"I don't have any! ...Then what do you want to eat?"
"Let's go then, I haven't eaten in a long time."
"OK!"
In the end, Lu Yunian really kept his word and took the lead by preparing a bowl of spicy dipping sauce for himself—even though he didn't seem to have any worries to dispel.
Ning Yi'en decided to let her stomach off the hook and bought a bottle of Rio from the convenience store next door to drink slowly.
"Can drinking really help you forget your troubles?"
“I’ve never gotten myself drunk, so I don’t know.” Ning Yi’en took a sip. “I just really like it. When my grandpa was still alive, I would drink the white foam that came out of his beer every time he opened it. My friends would occasionally ask me to drink it too, and I gradually got used to it and started to like it.”
"Then why won't you let me drink with you?" Lu Yunian pouted.
"It's not right for someone under the age of 18, Lu Yunian. We must care for the flowers of our motherland."
"So you were an adult when you first drank alcohol?"
"without."
"That's it."
"That won't do. I have to supervise the flowers of our motherland."
"Alright, my dear motherland," Lu Yunian said, taking a big gulp of cola with a hint of resentment, "I'll come back next month when I turn 18 and get you drunk!"
"Oh? So confident." Ning Yi'en picked up the wine bottle and gently clinked glasses with him. "Wait a minute."
"snort!"
"Don't practice secretly at home."
"Shh!" Lu Yunian put his index finger to his lips to make a shushing gesture, then buried his head in his food.
It's raining.
After finishing their meal, the two stood under the eaves at the entrance of the shop. Ning Yi'en stretched out her hand without saying a word, quietly, as if she were feeling the rain.
"How about I run over and buy some..." Lu Yunian was already in the starting position.
"Want to get soaked in the rain together?" Ning Yi'en asked.
"Huh?" Lu Yunian was somewhat surprised.
But they almost immediately said, "Let's go!"
The rain in early summer always comes unexpectedly and fiercely.
The road home from here isn't long, but it's enough to soak two chickens to the bone.
Running wildly in the rainy night.
"Don't you think I look like a madwoman?" Ning Yi'en said, panting with her hands on her knees while waiting at a traffic light.
"How is that possible!?" Lu Yunian rubbed his soaking wet hair. "It's incredibly romantic! I love it!"
"uh-huh!"
For the last short stretch of the road, Ning Yi'en pulled Lu Yunian's wrist and ran forward. Perhaps because it was a little slippery, their fingers ended up intertwined at some point.
“Yanyan…” Lu Yunian paused for a moment, but the sound of rain drowned out his murmur.
"Thank you." The elevator slowly ascended, and Ning Yi'en said to Lu Yunian.
“Actually, I don’t like this word.” Lu Yunian reached out and removed a leaf that had fallen on Ning Yi’en’s head, then casually put it in his pocket. “I’m willing, Ning Yi’en.”
"good."
They made eye contact, then Ning Yi'en looked away first.
After a brief silence, the elevator reached its floor, and the two walked in opposite directions.
"Take a hot shower later, don't catch a cold," Ning Yi'en said to him as she opened the door.
"Okay! You too." Lu Yunian smiled and winked at him.
"If you catch a cold, you'll have to take responsibility for me," he said, but perhaps the creaking sound of the door opening drowned him out, or perhaps Lu Yunian was too timid and spoke too softly, and in any case, nothing more was said.
Lu Yunian dawdled in his bath for a long time. The hot water felt nice, but his mind became increasingly foggy in the steam.
He felt he had figured things out, but now it seemed a little unclear.
The hooked fingers still seemed to be faintly burning…
He turned the water pump to the far left and poured cold water over his head and toes.
He really stayed in the bathroom for a very long time. When Ning Yien came to knock on his door, Lu Yunian had just turned off the water.
"Here I am." He hurriedly put on his pants, then suddenly realized he had left his clothes in the room.
Never mind, it'll definitely be smoke anyway.
He dried his hair with a towel, draped it over his shoulders, and rushed out to open the door.
Wait, it's Ning Yi'en.
Lu Yunian tried to close the door, which was only half open, but of course, that was impossible.
"What's up, Yan Yan?" Lu Yunian poked half his head out, but thinking that he would be seen anyway, he might as well be open and honest. There was nothing he couldn't see anyway—and he thought his physique was acceptable.
“Here, I’m taking responsibility for you.” Ning Yi’en smiled as she looked him up and down and shoved a cup into his hand. “Brown sugar ginger tea, remember to drink it, don’t be shy.”
"Okay!"
“No matter how good your physique is, you should still dress properly so as not to attract envy,” Ning Yi’en teased him.
But it must be admitted that Lu Yunian's physique is indeed excellent, with just the right amount of muscle definition, firm and full of power.
"Good night." Ning Yi'en didn't see his bright red ears.
Goodnight, Yanyan.
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