See you tomorrow
The sunlight on weekend mornings is softer than on weekdays. It shines through the sparse branches of the old locust tree, weaving mottled light and shadows on the ground.
As Xu Yang reached the alley entrance, he saw Lu Jinyu standing under a tree with his schoolbag on his back. A cloth bag with a small ginkgo leaf printed on it was placed at his feet. Seeing him, he immediately shook the thermos in his hand and said, "My mom got up at five this morning to make soy milk. This time she added longan, which is warmer than the red dates. Come and try it."
Xu Yang walked over and took the enamel cup handed to him by Lu Jinyu - the wall of the cup was still warm to the touch. He took a sip, and the sweet fragrance of longan mixed with the mellowness of soy milk spread on the tip of his tongue, and most of the early winter chill dissipated.
"It's sweeter than last time," he said, looking down at the few longans at the bottom of the cup. "Auntie is so thoughtful."
"My mom said you're tired from studying and need to catch up on your studies," Lu Jinyu scratched his head and pulled out a manila folder from his cloth bag. "Here are some pressure questions I compiled. There are basic questions and some that are easy to make mistakes. I marked them with asterisks yesterday. The more stars, the harder they are. Let's start with the ones with one star, okay?"
Xu Yang took the folder and opened the first page. He saw that Lu Jinyu had marked it with pens of different colors: black was used to write the question stem, blue was used to draw the force analysis diagram, and red was used to mark the points that are easy to make mistakes. Even the calculation steps were divided into lines, which was clearer than the examples in the textbook.
"You've organized it very carefully," he pointed to a question. "In this question, the force area is easily confused with the contact area. You marked it 'Note: Contact area ≠ force area', which is very accurate."
The tips of Lu Jinyu's ears instantly turned red. He quickly took out the orange-flavored gummy candy from the cloth bag and stuffed one into Xu Yang's hand: "I sorted it out until midnight yesterday, fearing that I might have marked it wrong. I hope you think it's okay.
Let's go upstairs quickly. My mom has cleaned up the study and put out some hand warmers."
The two of them were walking towards Lu Jinyu's house. When they passed by the vegetable market, Lu Jinyu suddenly stopped and pulled Xu Yang towards a nearby stall. "Look at this candied haws. The hawthorns are really big and covered with sesame seeds. My mom said eating one in the morning would whet your appetite. Shall we buy two?"
Xu Yang looked at the bright red candied haws on the stall, the sugar coating gleaming in the sunlight, and nodded. Lu Jinyu paid, carefully took two strings of candied haws, and handed one to Xu Yang: "Eat slowly, don't get any on your clothes, the sugar coating is very brittle."
Xu Yang took a bite. The sourness of the hawthorn and the sweetness of the sugar coating just balanced each other. The aroma of sesame spread in his mouth. It was indeed more refreshing than usual.
"Delicious," he said. Seeing Lu Jinyu staring at the corner of his mouth, he quickly wiped it and asked, "Did you get some sugar on it?"
"No, no," Lu Jinyu quickly looked away, stuffed the remaining half of the candied haws into his mouth, and said vaguely, "Let's go quickly, otherwise the soy milk will get cold."
Arriving at Lu Jinyu's house, Xu Yang had just put down his schoolbag when Lu Jinyu's mother came over with a plate of freshly steamed yam cakes. "Yanyang is here? Come and try the yam cakes Auntie made. They're made with red date paste. They're not too sweet or greasy, and they're perfect for filling your stomach."
"Thank you, Auntie." Xu Yang took a piece and took a bite. The dense yam mixed with the sweet aroma of red dates had a very soft and sticky texture. "It's really delicious, even more fragrant than the ones you buy outside."
"If you like it, eat more," Mrs. Lu smiled and patted Lu Jinyu's shoulder. "Jinyu, you and Yangyang should review well. Auntie will make you scrambled eggs with tomatoes and your favorite cola chicken wings for lunch."
Lu Jinyu nodded immediately: "I know, Mom, let's go to the study now."
As he spoke, he pulled Xu Yang towards the study, not forgetting to turn around and shout, "Mom, remember to warm the soy milk for us!"
There was indeed a hand warmer in the study, plugged in and emitting warmth.
There were two open physics textbooks on the desk, next to which was a notebook of wrong answers sorted out by Lu Jinyu, and a stack of printed exercises.
Lu Jinyu handed the hand warmer to Xu Yang: "Warm your hands first. Let's talk about the one-star question first. Take your time. Don't rush."
Xu Yang took the hand warmer, his fingertips touching the soft velvet surface, and his heart warmed. He flipped through the questions Lu Jinyu had sorted out and pointed to the first one: "This question is about calculating the pressure of a solid. Given the pressure and the area under force, to find the pressure, just use the formula P = F / S. Have you ever gotten this type of question wrong before?"
Lu Jinyu, sitting next to me, quickly pulled out his notebook. "I missed a similar question before, calculating the force-bearing area as the base area of the object. Then you told me to look at the 'contact area' first, so I specifically marked 'contact area is 0.01 square meters' this time. Shouldn't that be correct?"
"That's right," Xu Yang nodded. "You found the correct area of force this time, and your calculations are also correct. That's a big improvement. Let's look at this two-star question, which involves the 'pressure of superimposed objects.' For example, if two objects are stacked on top of each other, and you want to find the pressure exerted by the lower object on the table, the pressure must be calculated based on the total weight of the two objects. Do you understand?"
Lu Jinyu frowned and pointed at the diagram in the question. "When I looked at this question yesterday, I was a little confused about how to calculate the 'total gravity'. For example, if the object on top weighs 5N and the object below weighs 10N, the total gravity is 15N, right? Is it the area under the force or the contact area of the object below?"
"Right," Xu Yang took out a pen and drew a simple diagram on paper. "Because the lower object has to support the weight of both objects, the pressure is the total gravity. The area under the force is the contact area between the lower object and the tabletop, which doesn't include the area of the upper object. Look at the solution to this problem. I marked 'Total Pressure = G1 + G2'. That's what I mean."
Lu Jinyu stared at the diagram for a while, and suddenly realized: "So that's how it is! Yesterday I was wondering if the area of the upper object would have an impact. Now I understand, the force-bearing area only depends on the lower area."
He quickly wrote it down in his notebook and drew a small arrow pointing to "Total Pressure = G1 + G2". "I have to remember this so I won't make mistakes next time I encounter this kind of question."
The two of them went through each question one by one. When Lu Jinyu encountered something he didn't understand, he would ask questions immediately. Xu Yang patiently helped him analyze it and occasionally drew pictures to aid his understanding.
The temperature of the hand warmer slowly seeped into the fingertips, and I drank cup after cup of the soy milk on the table. Mother Lu would knock on the door from time to time and bring me some cut apples or hot milk. The study was filled with a warm atmosphere.
By two o'clock in the afternoon, the two had finally finished discussing both the one-star and two-star problems. Lu Jinyu stretched and looked at the densely packed notes on his notebook. He couldn't help but smile: "It turns out that the pressure problems are not that difficult. I always thought they were confusing before, but now that I've heard you explain them, it's much clearer."
Xu Yang closed the folder, looked at the light in Lu Jinyu's eyes, and smiled: "You are very smart, but you didn't find the right method before. Now that you have mastered the idea, you will definitely get it right next time."
"Oh, right," Lu Jinyu suddenly remembered something and took out a small box from his schoolbag. "I went to the stationery store last week and saw this ginkgo bookmark that looked really nice, so I bought two. I'll give you one with 'Come on!' engraved on it. Let's cheer each other on for the next quiz."
Xu Yang took the box and opened it. There were two wooden bookmarks inside. Both were engraved with golden ginkgo leaves. One was engraved with "Xu Yang" and the other was engraved with "Lu Jinyu". There was a small "Come on" word in the corner of each.
"Very exquisite." He picked up the bookmark engraved with his name, his fingertips touching the smooth wood grain. "Thank you, I will keep it well."
"I put it in my history book," Lu Jinyu took out his own history book and turned to the page with the bookmark. "It happens to be in the lesson on the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Next time I review, when I see the bookmark, it will remind me of our discussion today, and it will give me motivation."
Xu Yang's heart softened as he watched him take it seriously. He pulled out a collection of physics problems from his schoolbag and handed them to Lu Jinyu. "Here are some pressure problems I found that are easy to make mistakes on. Three of them have three stars. They're a bit difficult. We can try them this afternoon. If you really don't understand, just mark them down and we'll go over them next time."
Lu Jinyu took the question and his eyes lit up immediately: "Okay! Let's start now. I don't believe I can't do it." Then he picked up the pen and read the question carefully, frowning slightly. Occasionally, he drew a force analysis diagram on the draft paper, and his concentration was even more serious than when he was in class.
Xu Yang sat next to him, watching him solve the problem. He couldn't help but take out his history book and turn to the page with the ginkgo leaf - it was the one Lu Jinyu gave him last time. There was a sentence written on the golden leaf: "November 4, picked up at the entrance of the vegetable market", and there were historical knowledge points marked in small letters next to it.
He remembered how Lu Jinyu spoke in history class, and how he ran over with his test paper to share his joy at his progress. He thought to himself that working hard with someone was such a heartwarming thing.
After a while, Lu Jinyu suddenly looked up and pointed at a question. "Xu Yang, I'm a little confused about this one. It says, 'An object is placed on a horizontal table. A spring dynamometer is used to pull the object upward. Find the pressure the object exerts on the table.' How do you calculate the pressure? Is it gravity minus the pulling force?"
Xu Yang leaned over and looked at the question: "Yes, because the spring dynamometer pulls the object upward, it will offset part of the gravity, so the pressure of the object on the table is equal to the gravity minus the tension, that is, F = GF pull, and the area under force is still the contact area between the object and the table. You can draw a force analysis diagram. The object is subjected to gravity, tension and support force. The support force and pressure are interaction forces and are equal in magnitude, so F pressure = F support = GF pull."
Lu Jinyu then drew a force analysis diagram, looked at it for a while, and suddenly nodded: "I understand! It turns out that we also need to consider tension. Before, I only thought about gravity and ignored other forces."
He quickly wrote "F press = GF pull" next to the question and drew a small smiley face. "Now I know how to do it. I won't be afraid of this kind of question next time."
The two continued to work on the exercises until the evening, when they finally finished the exercises Xu Yang had brought. Lu Jinyu stretched himself, looking out the window at the gradually darkening sky, and couldn't help but sigh, "Time flies so fast, a day has already passed. But I learned a lot of exercises today, and I feel a great sense of accomplishment."
Xu Yang closed his notebook, looked at the scattered draft papers and empty soy milk cup on the table, and said with a smile, "Indeed, you made great progress today. You answered many difficult questions correctly. You will definitely pass the next physics test."
"Good luck!" Lu Jinyu immediately took out his phone and opened the History Timeline app. "Oh, by the way, I added a 'Knowledge Point Check-in' feature to the app yesterday. You can earn points by checking in every day, and those points can be exchanged for historical stories. Shall we check in today?"
Xu Yang leaned over and looked at the mini program interface - there was an additional "check-in" button on it. Clicking on it would take him to the historical knowledge point of the day. Today's knowledge point was "The signing time and content of the Treaty of Shimonoseki."
Lu Jinyu expertly clicked to check in and read out a few key points: "In 1895, the Qing government and Japan signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The treaty included ceding the Liaodong Peninsula, the entire island of Taiwan and all its affiliated islands, and the Penghu Islands to Japan; paying 200 million taels of silver as compensation for Japanese military expenses; opening Shashi, Chongqing, Suzhou, and Hangzhou as commercial ports; and allowing Japan to establish factories in these ports."
"That's right," Xu Yang nodded. "You remember it very clearly. You will definitely be able to answer this question correctly next time you are asked this question in the history test."
Lu Jinyu's eyes lit up instantly, and he put his phone back in his pocket: "You taught me well, otherwise I would not have remembered it. By the way, my mom made cola chicken wings. Let's go downstairs and eat. If we don't eat now, it will get cold."
When they went downstairs, Mother Lu had already laid out the dishes. There were scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cola chicken wings, stir-fried vegetables, and a bowl of steaming pork rib soup. "Hurry up and sit down and eat," Mother Lu said with a smile, picking up a piece of cola chicken wing for Xu Yang. "Yangyang, you've been reviewing with Jinyu all day, so you must be tired. Eat more to replenish your energy."
Xu Yang took the chicken wing and took a bite. The skin was crispy, the meat inside was tender, and the sauce was just the right flavor, sweet with a hint of saltiness. It was even better than the ones you buy outside. "Thank you, Auntie. It's really delicious," he said. Seeing Lu Jinyu putting tomato scrambled eggs into his bowl, he quickly said, "I can do it myself. You should eat more too."
"It's okay, if you like it, take more," Lu Jinyu said with a smile, "My mom's scrambled eggs with tomatoes are the best. I can eat two bowls of rice every time."
During dinner, Mother Lu kept asking about their review progress. When she heard that Lu Jinyu had made great progress, she smiled from ear to ear: "Yanyang, come home more often in the future and help Auntie take good care of Jinyu. He used to not like studying, but now that you're with him, he's much more serious than before."
"Mom, I'm serious all along," Lu Jinyu said unconvincedly, and handed Xu Yang another piece of pork ribs. "Try this one now. My mom stewed it for two hours, and it's super soft."
Xu Yang took a bite of the ribs. The meat was soft and tender, and the soup was rich. It was indeed delicious.
He watched the interaction between Lu Jinyu and Lu's mother, and his heart felt warm, as if something sweet was slowly fermenting.
After dinner, Xu Yang helped to clean up the dishes, and Lu Jinyu also came to help. The two washed the dishes together. Occasionally, their hands touched, but they would quickly move away, and the tips of their ears would turn red.
After packing up, Xu Yang looked at the time and said, "I should go home, otherwise it will be dark."
"I'll take you downstairs," Lu Jinyu immediately picked up his coat and took the cloth bag with the small ginkgo print from the table. "Inside are some yam cakes my mom packed for you, and a few packets of strawberry-flavored candies. Eat them on the way. I'll wait for you under the old locust tree tomorrow morning. The soy milk will still be hot."
Xu Yang took the cloth bag, and his fingertips touched the warm yam cake, and his heart was warm: "Thank you, and thank you Auntie, I'm sorry for bothering you today."
"It's not a big deal," Lu Jinyu said with a smile, "My mom is so happy that you can come to my house. Let's go quickly. I'll take you to the alley entrance."
The two walked side by side in the alley. The street lights were on, and the warm yellow light sprinkled on the ground, stretching their shadows very long.
Lu Jinyu has been talking about his plans for next week - bring red date soy milk on Monday morning, review history points together during the break on Wednesday, sort out the wrong physics questions again on Friday night, and do three-star difficult problems together on the weekend.
Xu Yang listened to his words and nodded occasionally in response. The cloth bag in his hand was heavy but warm. It was filled with the sweet fragrance of yam cake and the aroma of strawberry candy, as if it contained the warmth of the entire weekend.
At the entrance of the alley, Xu Yang stopped and said, "I'm going this way. You should go back quickly. Be careful on the road."
"You should be careful too," Lu Jinyu said, pulling out a small gadget from his pocket and handing it to him. "This is a small ginkgo pendant I bought yesterday. Hang it on your schoolbag. The next time you see it, it will remind you of our discussion today."
Xu Yang took the pendant, a small ginkgo leaf-shaped keychain with the words "Progress Together" engraved on it. "It's cute," he said. "I'll hang it on my schoolbag."
Lu Jinyu smiled and waved: "See you tomorrow! See you next week!"
Xu Yang also waved and turned to walk home. After walking a few steps, he looked back and saw Lu Jinyu still standing at the entrance of the alley, waving at him. The light from the street lamp fell on him, as if coated with a layer of warm light.
Xu Yang lowered his head and looked at the pendant and cloth bag in his hands, feeling sweet in his heart.
He thought of the pressure problems they had discussed together today, the historical knowledge points they checked in on together, the candied haws and yam cakes they had eaten together, and the look on Lu Jinyu's face and the light in his eyes when he was solving the problems seriously.
It turns out that working towards a goal with someone is such a wonderful thing. Those wrong questions and knowledge points that I once thought were boring have become vivid because of the company.
Back home, Xu Yang put the ginkgo bookmark in his physics textbook, hung the small pendant on his schoolbag, put the yam cake in the refrigerator, and put the strawberry candy in his desk drawer. He sat at his desk, opened his physics error book, looked at the problems sorted by Lu Jinyu and his own notes, and couldn't help but smile.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling onto the notebook and illuminating the handwriting. Xu Yang picked up a pen and wrote on the last page: "November 10th, I reviewed pressure problems with Lu Jinyu. He made great progress. We agreed to improve together on the next quiz."
After finishing writing, he closed the book of wrong questions and thought to himself that there were still many questions to be discussed next week, many knowledge points to be reviewed together, and many unfulfilled promises to be completed together.
The next morning, just as Xu Yang reached the alley entrance, he saw Lu Jinyu standing under the old locust tree, holding a thermos in his hand and a candy cake in his arms. Seeing him, he immediately ran over and said, "The soy milk is still hot! I carried it all the way here. The candy cake is also freshly fried. Come and try it! My mom put more red bean paste in it this time."
Xu Yang took the thermos and took a sip of the soy milk. The sweet aroma of longan spread in his mouth, warming his heart. He took a bite of the cake. The crisp shell was filled with red bean paste and the sweetness was just right.
"It's delicious," he said, looking at the light in Lu Jinyu's eyes. "Let's review history together during recess today. I want to review the knowledge points we checked in yesterday."
Lu Jinyu nodded immediately: "Okay! We will review in the corridor during the break. I also brought a history book with a ginkgo bookmark on it. Seeing it will give me motivation."
The bus arrived, and the two of them got on together and found a seat by the window.
The sun shone through the window, falling on them, warm and cozy. Lu Jinyu was still talking about the plan for today. Xu Yang leaned against the window, listening to his voice and watching the street scene passing by. He thought to himself that this winter, because of Lu Jinyu's company, even reviewing and practicing questions became full of anticipation.
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