Chapter 71: You were already feeding me meat when you were in third grade.
Chapter 71: You were already feeding me meat when you were in third grade.
There's a pretty famous mountain in the city; it's a 4A-level scenic area, and locals can get in for free with their ID.
This wasn't their first time climbing this mountain; they had come during the summer after their middle school entrance exams. Less than a year later, they felt the scenic area was even better developed. The main road was newly renovated, and the tea plantations on both sides were neatly trimmed. Looking out from the foot of the mountain, the temple with its simple, elegant pillars nestled halfway up the mountain looked quite solemn.
The weather was nice; the spring chill hadn't completely dissipated, but the sun was shining brightly. Fang Yuenian and Cheng Bing didn't rush to climb the mountain after they came in; they planned to just wander around.
Most tourists take photos in the tea gardens and by Xiaoqing Lake, or hike along the main road. The two of them avoided these places and chose a shady path. The further they went, the fewer people there were. Fang Yuenian then said, "Brother Cheng, let me tell you some gossip."
Cheng Bing: "Mm."
Fang Yuenian whispered, "I've noticed that Li Peixiang seems to be excessively nice to Meng Xiaoyang."
Cheng Bing looked at him: "For example?"
"For example, he would give all the meat from a bowl of noodles to Meng Xiaoyang. If you say he takes care of boarding students, then why doesn't he give me any?"
Cheng Bing said expressionlessly, "Maybe he knows I'll give you mine."
Fang Yuenian: "You..."
"And isn't giving me meat too much to ask?" Cheng Bing continued, "When you were in third grade, you would give me the meat in your bowl."
Fang Yuenian blushed slightly: "Why do you only remember these things? Don't interrupt, I haven't finished."
Cheng Bing smiled and said, "Yes, you go ahead."
"It's really unusual, too natural. Anyway, I feel there's something going on. I'll investigate further and report back."
Ahead was a downhill staircase, with newly sprouted bamboo groves on both sides, and even the air smelled fresh and moist.
Fang Yuenian suggested, "Let's sit for a while."
Cheng Bing had noticed he seemed a bit carsick after taking the bus, so she asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, no, no," Fang Yuenian said, still a little excited. "Have you noticed? My motion sickness is getting worse."
Cheng Bing found a step and sat down. "After a while, I probably won't feel dizzy anymore."
“Yes, this is a great achievement,” Fang Yuenian said, taking a deep breath after sitting down. She immediately felt refreshed. “It’s so comfortable. This season is so much better than summer. I could stay here all day and do nothing.”
Cheng Bing took a bottle of water out of her backpack and handed it to him, "Drink some water."
“Okay,” Fang Yuenian took it, took a big gulp, and handed it back. “Hey, have you thought about university yet?”
"University?"
"Yes, Xiaoxiao has graduated from university, and Jun is going to university too. Have you thought about where we'll go to university after we graduate from high school?"
Cheng Bing countered, "What about you? Have you thought about it?"
“Hmm, I’ve been thinking about it recently,” Fang Yuenian said, looking at him. “It should be quite easy for us to go to university in the same city, provided that we choose a city with a lot of universities, including top universities and universities that are a little, right, a little easier to get into.”
"For example, do you want me to get into Tsinghua or Peking University?"
“Why do you say that?” Fang Yuenian raised her eyes. “Don’t you want to take the exam yourself? It’s not like there’s no chance at all. If you can get into the top five, and then work harder to get into the top three, you still have a chance to go to Tsinghua or Peking University.”
“The chances are slim,” Cheng Bing shook his head. He used to be troubled by Fang Yue Nian’s lack of concern about grades, but now it seems he’s gone too far. This guy talks about exams and grades all the time. “I haven’t thought about it yet. It’s still a bit early.”
“It’s a bit early,” Fang Yuenian herself felt that she was thinking too far ahead. “Forget it, let’s talk about it later. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. There are so many good universities. There’s really no need to be anxious now.”
Cheng Bing said in a low voice, "You're the one who's anxious."
Fang Yuenian smiled and said, "Yes, my mom called me last night."
Cheng Bing paused in her smile, "What did you say?"
"She didn't say much, just that my cousin Liangliang is about to take the college entrance exam, and my aunt is very worried about him. Maybe her emotions affected my mom, because she said a lot of her wishes for me, like, 'Be good, get into a good university...'"
Cheng Bing looked at him: "These things will all come true."
Fang Yuenian was clearly in a great mood after returning from her trip, and her light steps were noticeable to everyone in the dormitory.
Chen Yu had been holed up in his dorm reading martial arts novels all day and was now feeling dizzy and his eyes were sore. He was yawning and went to get some water to brush his teeth when he saw Fang Yuenian humming a little tune and swaying over to brush his teeth. He asked, "Oh, so happy, Nian-ge?"
"Oh, that's great," Fang Yuenian said, pretending nothing was wrong. "Am I never this happy?"
"Tch," Chen Yu flicked the water off the toothpaste, "But where did you go today? You left before you even woke up this morning. I was planning to invite you to read a novel with me; I just rented one under the overpass yesterday."
Fang Yuenian had no interest in the thick novels he had collected, but now several beds in the dormitory were empty, one of which was piled up with everyone's miscellaneous books—novels, magazines, all sorts of random things. When people were bored, they would grab one to read. Even Meng Xiaoyang had read two history books.
Fang Yuenian glared at Chen Yu, "What new book did you rent this time? It's not some magical Seventh Night again..."
"Pah!" Chen Yu spat out the foam in his mouth. "I already said it was an accident. Who knew that shop owner would rip me off? I asked around this time, and there's no way they have that kind of novel anymore."
Fang Yuenian was brushing her teeth, so all she could do was give him a "I hope so" look.
Chen Yu could clearly see the man's indifference, and too lazy to explain again, he quickly washed his face, held his head high, and walked away.
This is actually quite funny.
Last week, Chen Yu went to the supermarket to buy things and passed by the small bookstore where he often rented books. He went in thinking of renting two new books to read.
These small bookstores are hidden in winding, dark alleys. The books inside vary in age, and it's impossible to verify whether they are pirated or genuine. However, the rent is extremely cheap, only one or two yuan for a week. The customers are usually students who have nothing to do and nothing else to kill time, especially boarding students.
However, the bookstore owner wasn't very ethical and sometimes would smuggle in books with questionable content, tempting these teenagers to the point of being unable to resist. Chen Yu usually read suspenseful murder or fantasy cultivation novels. Last week, he inexplicably brought back a "masterpiece" called "The Seventh Night of Magic." When he opened it, he found that some of the descriptions were extremely explicit, making them blush. Eventually, even Chen Yu couldn't stand it anymore and returned it in a panic.
"Meng Xiaoyang, want to read the new book?" After being rebuffed by Fang Yuenian, Chen Yu turned to Meng Xiaoyang to try and sell it to him.
Meng Xiaoyang smiled at him. He returned to the dormitory very late today. Fang Yuenian had already finished her self-study and returned. He was only just arriving when he brought some snacks to share with everyone.
"I've already heard that you finished a book in one day."
"This book is really good today!" Chen Yu's eyes were bloodshot from staying up all night, but he was still enthusiastically recommending it. "If you want to read it, read it this week. We have to prepare for our midterm exams next week."
As he spoke, he climbed onto his bed. "I can't afford to keep everyone in suspense. Reading novels is not allowed during exam week, so please be considerate."
Given that he borrowed most of the novels, he certainly has the right to educate people.
When Fang Yuenian returned after washing up, she heard this and asked, "Isn't the midterm exam next month?"
"Isn't it too early to focus solely on studying starting next week?" another roommate replied. "It's only two weeks, and I'm already starting to feel nervous."
Chen Yu sighed and lay down on the bed. "You two have such good grades, you wouldn't understand how we feel. I just hope we don't fall out of the top 500. I promised my parents I would stay in the top 50%."
In fact, based on the high school's past college entrance rates, the top 50% basically have a good chance of getting into a top university, so many people aspire to be within the top 500. Many students who come from rural schools struggle to excel in the fierce competition of high school and experience a significant sense of disappointment. After all, they were all top students in junior high, and now they have to accept that they are no longer the top students whose names can be seen on any honor roll, which is quite a test of their mental strength.
Fang Yuenian casually smoothed his hair, went over to his small desk to tidy up his test papers. He didn't plan to study anymore that night and wanted to go to bed early.
Meng Xiaoyang leaned closer and asked, "How was your day?"
“That’s great,” Fang Yuenian said in a low voice. “It’s a really beautiful place, and there aren’t many people there. You and Li Peixiang must have been there before, right?”
“I’ve been there,” he paused, “I went there quite a few times when I was a child.”
Fang Yue Nian paused, somewhat regretting asking that question so casually—it seemed that Meng Xiaoyang did many things with He Linjie when he was a child.
"Let's go another day," Meng Xiaoyang said readily without much hesitation. "The bamboo forest there will be even more beautiful when it's warmer."
"Okay."
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