White Rabbit Creamy Candy
"Wen Sheng." He looked at her, his eyes showing a hint of weariness mixed with acceptance. "Why are you here?"
"Just passing by." Wen Sheng stood a few steps away from him, without moving.
"Yeah, just passing by," he repeated softly.
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Wen Sheng didn't take a step closer, nor did she turn around and leave. The two of them stood silently facing each other under the old locust tree, neither of them saying a word.
In the end, Xu Jianing gave in. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he finally asked in a low voice:
"Wen Sheng, what do you think of the capital?"
Wen Sheng was taken aback, not quite understanding why he suddenly asked this. She tried to read something from his expression, but he just stared at her shadow.
"The capital has prestigious universities like Jinghua University, Guoren University, and Beicheng Normal School," Xu Jianing said slowly, listing the famous schools as if those distant institutions of learning were right before his eyes.
“I’ve seen your grades. Your Chinese and English have always been consistent. Your math is a little weak, but it’s not holding you back. If you can improve that subject, you have a real chance of getting into the capital.”
Wen Sheng was surprised that he knew even more than she did. She pursed her lips and turned her face away, saying, "How do you remember all my grades so clearly?"
“Because I’ve been watching it,” Xu Jianing said.
Wen Sheng blinked, a slight smile playing on her lips, and said with a hint of smugness, "Didn't I tell you I did well on the test?"
Xu Jianing paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, her eyes shining as if illuminated by her: "Hmm, not bad."
“The capital…” Wen Sheng repeated softly, the map in her geography textbook unconsciously appearing in her mind. She carefully measured the distance in her mind. From south to north, it was a very long road. She had never even been to the city.
“It’s quite far,” she said seriously, then paused and added, “But if I can get in, I’ll definitely go.”
"Um."
Xu Jianing lowered his head, concealing the fleeting emotional fluctuation in his eyes. He took a step to the side, letting their shadows overlap, stared at each other for several seconds, and then his lips curled up slightly.
Then, he took two more steps forward and stood beside her.
The last rays of the setting sun slanted down from behind, casting long shadows of the two of them side by side on the ground. His silhouette leaned slightly forward, as if whispering in her ear.
"Let's go together then, to the capital."
Xu Jianing didn't look up, but stared at the overlapping shadows at her feet, a slight smile curving her lips: "Saturday, see you at the usual place."
After saying that, he turned and walked forward. In the setting sun, his shadow and her shadow were still intertwined, reluctant to separate, until they gradually parted at the corner.
Wen Sheng stood there, stunned, her gaze following the retreating figure.
She had experienced talking to him side by side many times, but every time, she would still get nervous uncontrollably, just like the first time he called her name, her heart would pound.
It wasn't until the sun had completely set that she came to her senses and ran towards the teaching building.
After the first evening self-study session ended, the classroom suddenly became lively. Some people stretched, some took their books to the corridor for some fresh air, and some went to the water room to get water.
The math class representative walked back and forth in the front row, collecting homework and shouting, "Hurry up and hand in your math homework, don't delay!"
"Oh no, wait a minute, I can't find my notebook."
Someone in the back row immediately started jeering: "Did you write it yesterday? Don't try to fool us."
"I've written it! I've written it!" The person quickly slapped the notebook into the class representative's arms. "Don't talk nonsense!"
Li Qingmiao was also rummaging through her schoolbag. "Strange, I clearly put it here. How come I can't find it?"
She simply emptied her schoolbag, piling her books, draft paper, and pencil case all onto the table. Only when she reached the very bottom did she pull out a math workbook with curled corners.
She was both amused and exasperated: "No wonder I couldn't find it; this isn't mine at all."
Wen Sheng curiously peeked out and saw three words written crookedly on the cover of the workbook: "Li Changshui".
Li Qingmiao clicked her tongue and threw her homework on the table: "My parents probably packed the wrong thing in my bag last night and put my brother's homework in here. Seriously, it made me look for it for ages."
"Sheng Sheng, will you come with me to the second-year high school floor to find my brother? I'm too scared to go alone."
Wen Sheng was a little surprised: "It's just going to get some homework, what are you afraid of?"
Li Qingmiao said, "You don't know, my brother is always complaining about his homeroom teacher, Liu Zhigang, at home. He says that now that he's the dean of students, he's even stricter than before. He checks on students all the time, and he'll record anyone who's even a minute late for class. He's also cracking down hard on early relationships."
As she spoke, she made an exaggerated gesture, mimicking Li Changshui's tone: "When Liu Zhigang stared at us, it was like an eagle eyeing a chick. His eyes were incredibly sharp. If anyone spoke more than a few words to another person, he could immediately tell something was wrong. Oh my, my brother said that feeling made him break out in a cold sweat."
After saying that, she shivered and deliberately rubbed her shoulders together, making Wen Sheng burst out laughing: "Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"exaggerate?"
Li Qingmiao held up her index finger and shook it from side to side in front of Wen Sheng, then continued, "My brother said that Liu Zhigang wasn't like this before. He's changed completely since he became the dean of students this year. He used to smile occasionally, but now he has a stern face and watches the students all day long. He scolds them if they hand in their homework late even once, and he calls their parents if their grades drop by even a few points. He even specifically investigates students who are dating."
She lowered her voice and imitated Liu Zhigang's tone, saying, "Studying comes first, everything else can wait. Anyone who dares to disobey will face consequences!"
His imitation was so lifelike that Wen Sheng burst out laughing.
Li Qingmiao breathed a sigh of relief and deliberately blinked, "So, you have to come with me, otherwise I really don't dare to go upstairs alone."
Wen Sheng glanced at the clock on the wall; there was still time.
"Let's go."
The classrooms for the second year of high school were upstairs, and were noticeably quieter and more oppressive than those for the first year. There was little laughter or noise in the corridors, only the tension of preparing for exams. Occasionally, a student would come out to get water, but they would just pass by in a hurry.
As soon as Wen Sheng and her group arrived on this floor, they subconsciously slowed down their pace and tried to minimize their presence, not wanting to disturb the atmosphere of the second-year high school students studying.
“My brother is sitting there!” Li Qingmiao spotted her brother’s seat at a glance.
Wen Sheng looked in the direction he was looking and saw Li Changshui by the window, focused on solving a problem. His desk was piled high with books and workbooks, almost obscuring half of his face.
A familiar figure sat to his right; it was Xu Jianing.
Wen Sheng was stunned. He clearly remembered that his original seat was in the back of the classroom, in a place that was not easy to notice. Now he had been moved to the window, facing the corridor, where he could see the corridor as soon as he turned his head.
"My brother changed seats? Wasn't he sitting inside before? How did he end up by the window?" Li Qingmiao was also a little confused.
As they were talking, Xu Jianing suddenly raised her head, her gaze landing precisely on Wen Sheng. She paused for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly in surprise, as if silently asking, "Why are you here?"
The next second, his gaze shifted to her side and he saw Li Qingmiao standing next to her, waving her homework around. He then realized what was happening, patted Li Changshui on the shoulder, and whispered, "Your sister is here."
Li Changshui was patted on the shoulder. He turned to look at Xu Jianing, then followed the direction of his chin and saw his younger sister standing in the corridor with a notebook in her hand, beckoning to him.
"Oh dear!" He quickly pushed back his chair and stood up. "Why did this little rascal get up here?"
Li Qingmiao walked to the door and handed over the homework. Li Changshui flipped through a couple of pages, and after confirming it was his, he frowned and said, "How did my homework end up with you? Didn't I tell you not to rummage through my desk?"
"I didn't look for yours! Mom and Dad took the wrong one." Li Qingmiao rolled her eyes. "Besides, my handwriting isn't nearly as bad as yours."
Li Changshui clicked his tongue and closed his notebook: "Your mouth will drive your parents crazy sooner or later."
"You were the one who started it badly."
“I taught you how to refute, not how to lie through your teeth, and I certainly didn’t teach you to lie to me.”
The two of them started bickering back and forth at the door, completely ignoring the stares coming from all around them.
Wen Sheng stood aside, watching the two lively siblings with a mix of helplessness and amusement. The originally oppressive atmosphere in the corridor was greatly eased by their banter.
She saw Li Qingmiao waving at her and was about to say goodbye to Xu Jianing before leaving when she suddenly noticed a White Rabbit candy on the windowsill with a blue and red rabbit drawn on it.
Wen Sheng looked up and saw Xu Jianing by the window still with his head down, writing without stopping, as if the candy from earlier hadn't been placed there by him at all, but rather blown in by the wind.
The next second, he pretended to stretch, and with a casual push of his elbow, he "accidentally" pushed the candy outwards, to the edge of the windowsill, where it almost fell out.
He did it all in one go, without changing his expression.
Throughout the entire process, Xu Jianing didn't glance at the people outside the window once. She even drew a circle next to the question with her pen, reminding herself to go back and check it again.
Wen Sheng reached out and put the milk candy by the window into her pocket, then ran to Li Qingmiao and went downstairs with her.
In the classroom behind her, Xu Jianing was still writing her questions with her head down, as if nothing had happened, except that the pen in her hand paused for a few seconds.
Not long after, Li Changshui swayed back from outside the door and sat down again.
Xu Jianing lowered her voice and asked, "Did you see the homeroom teacher outside just now?"
"No." Li Changshui brushed a stray hair from his forehead and put his notebook on the table. "But he's supervising the next evening self-study session, so he should be up soon."
"You want to ask him a question? Don't rush, he'll definitely call out names first."
"No," Xu Jianing denied.
"By the way, was the White Rabbit candy I just gave you delicious?" Li Changshui asked.
“My mom went to a meeting in another province and grabbed it at a department store. They said it was a limited supply.”
Xu Jianing nodded: "It's quite sweet."
"Of course." Li Changshui leaned back smugly. "But when did you eat it? How come I didn't know?"
Xu Jianing tilted her head and asked in confusion, "Do I have to report to you when I eat?"
Li Changshui was rebuffed but not angry. He continued to reason, "You probably ate it while I was arguing with Li Qingmiao. Don't be so careful next time. I should have given you two more. You wouldn't have been so careful."
Xu Jianing turned a page and replied without looking up, "After class, I'll go to the convenience store and buy you a bag of walnuts."
"Wow, a milk candy for a bag of walnuts, that's a great deal!" Li Changshui smiled, his eyes narrowing into slits.
Xu Jianing uttered two words calmly: "Brain tonic."
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