resentment
The wind at the end of August, wrapped in the lingering heat, hit the glass windows, making a dull sound.
The ceiling fan in Class 2, Grade 3 had been running diligently for three years. At this moment, it was spinning in circles listlessly, mixing chalk dust and the musty smell of old books into a ball that stuck to the back of everyone's neck.
Xu Yang pressed the plastic seat card with his name on it against the corner of the table, leaving tiny white marks on the transparent shell from his fingertips.
The brand new notebook of corrected exercises that had just been stuffed into the desk was poking at my knees, and the gold-plated words "Good luck, Senior Three" printed on the cover were glowing in the shadows.
He raised his eyes and glanced at the countdown in the upper right corner of the blackboard. The bright red "280" was like a thin needle, piercing his eyes unexpectedly.
“Squeak—”
The chair at the back table suddenly slid back half a foot, and the sound of its iron feet scraping across the concrete floor was particularly harsh amid the buzzing sound of the fan.
Before Xu Yang could turn around, he heard a muffled "bang" sound, which was the sound of a schoolbag hitting the table, followed by the sharp sound of a metal zipper sliding across the wood grain, like a stone thrown into a calm lake.
"Make way."
The voice was lazily like that of late summer, and the ending was hoarse from not waking up yet, but it was filled with unquestionable certainty.
Xu Yang suddenly felt a warm pressure on his back. Someone was bending over to stuff something under the table. The cotton T-shirt rubbed against his school uniform shirt, and it was like a weak electric current crawling up his spine, causing his fingertips to curl up suddenly.
He almost subconsciously moved half an inch to the side, and his elbow hit the tin pencil case on the corner of the table, making a slight tinkling sound.
Suddenly, a white forearm appeared out of the corner of my eye. The cuffs were rolled up to the elbows, and I could see the protruding blue veins under the skin gently jumping with the movement, like a dormant little snake.
"Xu Yang?"
The head teacher in front of the podium pushed his glasses, and the list in his hand shone white in the sunlight.
Xu Yang snapped back to his senses. The electric sensation on his fingertips hadn't faded yet. He straightened his back and replied, "Ah, here I am."
"Lu Jinyu."
The person at the back table responded with a slightly rising tone at the end of his voice, with a hint of nonchalance.
Xu Yang's hand holding the pen paused inexplicably, and the tip of the pen left a small ink dot on the brand new notebook.
This name is like a rusty nail, unexpectedly nailed into the depths of my memory, carrying with it the smell of sweat and the arrogant smile of a young boy on the basketball court four years ago.
He was all too familiar with this man's voice. In his second year of junior high, during the city basketball league, the opponent, wearing a red jersey, had scored the game-winning shot in the final thirty seconds. He'd deliberately stepped on his sneaker as he landed, and in the same nonchalant tone, said, "If you don't have the skills, don't come and embarrass yourself."
The sunlight outside the window suddenly came in at an angle, casting a bright spot on Xu Yang's notebook.
He heard the person at the back table pull out a chair and sit down. The sound of fabric rubbing against each other was mixed with the slight sound of a pen cap being opened.
"Hey, isn't this Xu Daxueba?" Lu Jinyu lowered his voice a little, with a hint of deliberate teasing: "Why, are you so scared of me that you can't even hold the pen?"
Xu Yang tightened his grip on the pen, and a crooked scratch appeared next to the ink dot.
He didn't turn around, but just stared at the words "Senior Year" on the notebook. His voice was as cold as ice: "Lu Jinyu, this is a classroom, not a basketball court. You'd better be more respectful when you speak."
In fact, he is not a top student at all. He just has a goal. He wants to get into the university of his choice and then stay away from the hustle and bustle.
"Respect?" Lu Jinyu sneered, and moved his chair forward again, his knees almost touching the back of Xu Yang's chair. "That's not how you spoke to me on the court four years ago."
Xu Yang's breathing paused for a moment. Of course he remembered.
When they lost the game that day, he stopped the opponent with red eyes and asked if it was a deliberate foul. As a result, he was surrounded and pushed by Lu Jinyu's teammates, and finally the referee pulled him away.
Lu Jinyu was leaning against the basketball hoop, folding his arms and watching his joke. The sunlight fell on his face, and his expression was arrogant and dazzling.
"There's no need to talk about the past." Xu Yang's voice was hard. "We are classmates now. We just need to keep our distance and be well."
"Are you all doing well?" Lu Jinyu's voice suddenly leaned in, his hot breath almost brushing against the back of Xu Yang's neck. "But I transferred to this school just to find you."
Xu Yang turned his head suddenly and met a pair of smiling eyes.
Lu Jinyu's hair is shorter than it was four years ago. The strands of hair on his forehead have been dyed light brown by the sun. He has a high nose bridge and the curve of his lips has a natural casualness.
He leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head, and the amusement in his eyes almost overflowed.
"What do you mean?" Xu Yang's heart beat inexplicably faster, and even his voice became a little tense.
Xu Yang thought that if only he was taller than Lu Jinyu, he would beat him until he knelt down and called him daddy.
"Literally." Lu Jinyu raised an eyebrow and glanced at Xu Yang's notebook. "Why, even a top student would be distracted? Or is he too excited to see me?"
Xu Yang gritted his teeth and was about to open his mouth to retort when the head teacher suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Quiet! Now we will rearrange the seats and choose according to the ranking of the last final exam results."
Suddenly, there was a sound of desks and chairs being moved in the classroom. Xu Yang turned around immediately, pretending to tidy up his books, but his ears were burning uncontrollably.
He heard Lu Jinyu chuckle from behind, followed by the sound of a chair being pulled away.
"Xu Yang, which seat do you choose?" the girl in the front row turned around and asked, still holding a pen in her hand.
Xu Yang was just about to say he'd sit here when Lu Jinyu's voice suddenly rang out from the table behind him: "He'll definitely choose the first row so it's more convenient for him to interact with the teacher, right, Xu Daxueba?"
A few low laughs echoed around them. Xu Yang's face flushed instantly. He stood up, clutching his pen, and walked past Lu Jinyu to the back of the classroom. "I'll choose the last row by the window."
Lu Jinyu raised his eyebrows and followed him slowly: "What a coincidence, I like that position too."
Xu Yang paused, turned around and glared at him: "Did you do this on purpose? Do you believe I will beat you up?"
"Yes." Lu Jinyu smiled frankly, "I did it on purpose."
When Lu Jinyu heard the last sentence, he couldn't help laughing out loud: "You? You want to beat me up? Come on, you don't have to joke like that."
The sunlight filtered through the window and fell between them, like an invisible barrier. Xu Yang looked at the smile in Lu Jinyu's eyes and suddenly felt that this senior year might not be as peaceful as he had expected.
He took a deep breath, turned around and walked to the last row by the window and sat down, stuffing his schoolbag into the table. The noise was even louder than Lu Jinyu's just now.
Lu Jinyu sat down in the empty seat next to him, put his elbows on the windowsill, and looked at him sideways: "What, are you angry?"
"There's nothing much to talk about between you and me." Xu Yang took out the Chinese textbook, opened it with a bang, and deliberately avoided looking at him.
Lu Jinyu didn't intend to let him go. He tapped Xu Yang's textbook lightly with his fingers and said, "I heard that you ranked first in the grade in this exam?"
Xu Yang ignored him.
"It seems so." Lu Jinyu said to himself, "But before I transferred here, I had already found out that the top science students in this school get into Peking University and Tsinghua University every year."
Xu Yang paused as he flipped through the pages of his book. His goal was to get into Peking University or Tsinghua University, a fact almost no one knew except his parents and his homeroom teacher.
"What do you want to do?" He finally turned his head, his eyes full of vigilance.
Lu Jinyu smiled, the sunlight falling on his eyelashes, casting a light shadow: "Nothing. I just want to compete with you to see whether your pen is better or my brain is better."
Xu Yang's heart sank. What he hated most was Lu Jinyu's attitude. He seemed to care nothing for anyone, yet he always managed to easily stir up others' fighting spirit. Just like two years ago on the court, when they were clearly far superior in strength, he was nearly provoked out of control by a few words from the other player.
"I don't have time to compete with you on this." Xu Yang closed the book, his voice as cold as ice, "Senior year of high school isn't for fun. If you just want to have fun, you can just get out."
"Get lost?" Lu Jinyu raised his eyebrows and suddenly moved closer, the distance between them instantly shortened to only a few centimeters. "Xu Yang, you're still so weak."
A warm breath brushed across his cheek, and Xu Yang's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
He leaned back in his chair suddenly, creating distance, but his cheeks were burning uncontrollably: "Get away from me!"
“Ding-ling-ling——”
The bell suddenly rang, interrupting the confrontation between the two.
Lu Jinyu stood up, shrugged with a smile, and went back to sort out his things. Xu Yang, however, was still in shock, his heart pounding in his chest, as if it was going to burst through his ribs.
He looked at the camphor tree outside the window. The leaves swayed gently in the wind, and the sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves onto the desk, flickering.
The scenes from four years ago suddenly flooded into my mind: the smell of sweat on the basketball court, the referee’s whistle, and Lu Jinyu’s arrogant smile.
It turns out that some memories can still easily disturb your mind even after two years.
The Chinese teacher walked into the classroom with a lesson plan, and the classroom became quiet instantly.
Xu Yang took a deep breath and forced himself to focus on the textbook, but the corner of his eyes kept drifting to the side uncontrollably.
Lu Jinyu was lying on the table, looking out the window with his head tilted. The sunlight fell on his profile, outlining a clear jawline.
His fingers tapped the table unconsciously, in a brisk rhythm, as if he was beating out some beat.
Xu Yang suddenly felt that this senior year of high school might really be a long one.
The teacher was lecturing on ancient poetry at the podium, but Xu Yang didn't hear a single word.
He could clearly feel the movements around him, the sound of Lu Jinyu turning pages, the sound of spinning a pen, and even the occasional cough.
These sounds crawled into his ears like little bugs, making him feel uneasy.
"Hello."
As soon as the bell rang, Lu Jinyu's voice came over. Xu Yang ignored him, packing up his textbooks and preparing to get some water.
"I heard the next class is math?" Lu Jinyu followed him, a smile in his voice. "It just so happens that I recently learned some new solutions and wanted to share them with you."
Xu Yang stopped and turned to look at him, his eyes showing no disdain. "Lu Jinyu, what on earth do you want to do? Isn't our grudge from four years ago still settled?"
"Grudge?" Lu Jinyu was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "In your eyes, that's a grudge?"
"What else?" Xu Yang gritted his teeth. "You deliberately fouled me, mocked my poor skills, and had your teammates surround me. Aren't these just grudges?"
Lu Jinyu's smile gradually faded. He looked at Xu Yang's red eyes and suddenly reached out to touch his shoulder, but Xu Yang dodged him abruptly.
"Get away! Don't touch me!" Xu Yang's voice trembled. "I'm telling you, from that point on, we're sworn enemies, complete and utter sworn enemies. If you dare to cause trouble here, I'll tell the teacher and the principal right away!"
Some classmates around were already looking over, and the sound of pointing and talking was like needles piercing my ears.
Lu Jinyu's face darkened. He looked at Xu Yang's tense profile and suddenly smiled: "It seems you are still so timid. Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble."
He took a step back, creating distance, and put his hands in his school uniform pockets: "I just want to compete with you to see who will have the last laugh in this final year."
Xu Yang watched him walk away, his clenched fists slowly loosening, his palms wet with sweat. He leaned against the railing of the corridor, looking at the noisy playground downstairs, his heart still pounding.
I could hear classmates talking nearby.
"Is that the new transfer student? His name seems to be Lu Jinyu."
"He's quite handsome, but he doesn't look like someone you'd want to mess with."
"What's going on between him and Xu Yang? They seem to know each other?"
Xu Yang took a deep breath and turned to walk towards the classroom. He knew that from the moment Lu Jinyu walked into this classroom, his senior year of high school was destined to be turbulent.
When I returned to my seat, Lu Jinyu was sleeping on the table. The sunlight fell on his back, casting a small shadow.
Xu Yang looked at the back of his neck that was exposed, and suddenly remembered the electric-like touch just now, and his cheeks began to feel hot again.
He took out the math paper and forced himself to concentrate on the calculations, but after scratching the paper with his pen for a long time, he didn't write a single word.
The camphor tree outside the window rustled, as if foreshadowing something. Xu Yang looked at the complex function graph on the test paper and suddenly felt that this senior year might be more lively than he had imagined.
And this complicated feud has just begun.
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