Gardenia
Lin Luo returned to the classroom to attend class. Xu Yangyang and Zhu Changyu asked her if she had recovered from her illness. She smiled brightly and said, "I'm fine."
After school in the afternoon, they changed seats for the last time and returned to their original positions, with Lin Luo sitting in front of Fu Xingchuan.
After dinner, she went to the study room on the fifth floor to do exercises. Xu Fanqing was also there. Lin Luo worked hard for about an hour. When the bell was about to ring, she packed up her exercise book and went back to the classroom.
She didn't notice Xu Fanqing was still in the study room. He suddenly said, "Lin Qiao."
Lin Luo greeted him naturally.
He said, "You didn't come yesterday."
"Yes, I was sick yesterday." Lin Luo smiled faintly, "It will be late for the study session. I'm leaving first."
"Okay, bye." Lin Luo hurried downstairs and reached the classroom door before the bell rang, but she did not go in. Instead, she stood in the corridor with a book and read aloud.
Cheng Kaizhong saw her and said she was pretending not to let her in the corridor. Lin Luo was about to persuade him when Director Wang happened to be patrolling and said that everyone in the sprint class was rushing to study in the corridor, and this practice was worth encouraging.
Since Director Wang said so, Cheng Kaizhong had no choice but to flatter him and said nothing more.
Lin Luo blocked out their voices and recited the text seriously.
Evening study began, and Lin Luo worked on boring math problems. The weather had warmed up, and the classroom was stuffy. The air conditioner was broken, and the only ventilation was provided by two large fans at the front and back of the door.
Zhu Changyu kept fanning himself with a notebook, and Xu Yangyang, feeling sleepy, lay on the table to get some of Zhu Changyu's attention.
Lin Xiao, a thin layer of sweat on her neck, was working on a math problem. Her thoughts weren't clear, and she couldn't come up with the correct answer, so she scribbled and corrected it on her scratch paper.
"What a nice smell!" Xu Yangyang sniffed. Zhu Changyu asked with a smile, "Are you a dog?"
"If I were a dog, I would bite you first." Xu Yangyang raised his eyebrows and looked around like a dog to find the source of the fragrance.
Lin Luo was concentrating on the question, but suddenly a breeze blew from behind her, making her feel cool, and she relaxed.
She looked out the window. The trees were not moving. Where did the wind come from?
Lin Qi accidentally caught a glimpse of white out of the corner of her eye and tilted her head, noticing that Fu Xingchuan was sitting at his seat. There was a pot of gardenia on the windowsill, with a few white buds blooming on the branches.
There was a fan at the back of the classroom blowing air towards them, which must have been brought by him.
Zhu Changyu's eyes lit up and he made a big heart with his hands, "Fu Xingchuan, I love you."
"Disgusting." Fu Xingchuan cursed with a smile.
Ruan Ye didn't know how to answer a question, so he asked Fu Xingchuan for help. Lin Qi looked away.
Gardenia is very fragrant, strong but not overpowering, clear but not light, and soothing.
Xu Yangyang leaned close to Lin Qiao's ear and said, "I once read a book called 'The Grass and Trees of the World.' The author wrote a passage in it that has always left a deep impression on me."
"What is it?" Zhu Changyu leaned his head back.
"Gardenias are thick and large, and their fragrance is so strong that it can't be brushed away. Therefore, elegant people don't like them, thinking they are of low moral character. The gardenia says: 'Fuck you, I just want to be fragrant like this, fragrant to my heart's content, what the hell is it to you!'"
After Xu Yangyang finished speaking, she seemed to have released some pressure and was in a good mood. Zhu Changyu's hair was blown by the wind, and Lin Luo curled the corners of her lips.
Under the fragrance of gardenia and Fu Xingchuan's gentle voice, Lin Luo solved one difficult math problem after another.
Another exam, this time the paper was difficult. Lin Luo ranked 18th in the class, but she scored 132 in math, the highest score ever.
But Tong Yun dropped to 300th in the grade. She often skipped classes and did not come to school. Because she had no relatives, Director Wang could do nothing about her.
Lin Luo talked to her many times, but she always had an impatient attitude and said that she would break up with her if she said those words again.
In fact, from her perspective, she was under great pressure due to the upcoming college entrance examination, and had no relatives around to care for her. Lin Luo felt that it was normal for her to become like this.
Lin Luo kept her mouth shut, but took more action. She lent her her notebook, and she and Tang Muchen called her from time to time. Lin Luo also specially sent the pigeon soup made by Du Yunyan to her dormitory.
"Tong Yun's grades have dropped, it must be because of premature love." Aunt Li picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and put it in Lin Luo's bowl. Du Yunyan had something to go out for today, so she didn't have to attend evening self-study, so Lin Luo had dinner at Aunt Li's house.
As soon as she said this, Lin Luo accidentally bit her tongue and it hurt.
"How do you know she's in a premature relationship?" Lin Qiao asked Aunt Li.
"Everyone in this area knows about it. Yesterday, Tong Yun's father went to the Zhu family and made a scene, saying that Fu Xingchuan seduced his daughter. He threw a tantrum at the door and brought disgrace to the Zhu family."
Lin Luo had never met Tong Yun's father, but she had heard that he was not a good person. He disappeared after Tong Yun's mother died.
"What happened next?" Lin Luo asked, and Ruan Ye also put down his chopsticks and listened.
"Then the Zhu family paid them off! Old Master Zhu turned pale with anger and fainted at the door." Aunt Li poured a bowl of soup for Ruan Ye and murmured, "I heard that the Zhu family will return to Jinghe after Fu Xingchuan takes the college entrance examination. I don't know how long your friendship will last. After all, the gap in your family backgrounds is too big."
Ruan Ye pushed the soup to Aunt Li and said, "I'm full. I'm going back to my room first."
"You only ate two bites, eat more!" Aunt Li was worried. Ruan Ye closed the door of the room. "Xiaoxiao, eat more. Muchen fell asleep, right? I'll pack some food for you to take back later. I'll heat it up for him when he wakes up."
"Okay." Lin Qiao had lost her appetite and put a few grains of rice into her mouth. "What does Tong Yun's father look like?"
"I don't know, I haven't seen him either. But he used to be a gangster, so he must have looked fierce. Tong Yun is also pitiful, but why doesn't he learn his lesson and has to fall in love too early?" Aunt Li wondered.
Because Fu Xingchuan is a nice person.
Lin Xiao felt a pang of pain in her heart, but she still corrected Aunt Li. "Premature love may affect your grades, but it's not a big mistake. Our biology teacher said that during adolescence, hormones are secreted rapidly, and it's natural to be curious about and attracted to the opposite sex. This is determined by biological attributes, so premature love is also a normal phenomenon."
"Is that so? Auntie is uneducated and what she said was wrong... Auntie really likes Xiaoxiao very much. She's obedient and sensible, which makes me feel most at ease."
Lin Luo pursed her lips and swallowed a mouthful of rice. It was raining outside and the sound of rain could be clearly heard in the house.
Tick-tick-tick—
Lin Luo ran out of pens. Shouxin Building was close to the main gate, so she went to the stationery store outside the school with an umbrella to buy some.
It was raining heavily. An unknown boy ran past her hurriedly without an umbrella. He didn't notice the puddle under his feet and stepped into it directly. The muddy water splashed onto Lin Qiao's trouser legs.
Lin Luo lowered her head to look at her pants. The boy ran away without apologizing. She felt uncomfortable and frowned unconsciously.
"Fu Xingchuan must have been drugged by Tong Yun! I feel like he's completely bewitched."
"I heard that Tong Yun either skipped classes or slept on her desk all day. Did she think that she could rest easy now that she was hooking up with Fu Xingchuan?"
"I think it's possible. Fu Xingchuan is such a great man! As long as he still likes her, she can go to Jinghe to live with him even if she doesn't take the college entrance examination."
"Oh! It turns out that people are still very different. Why are some people so lucky? I don't want to take the college entrance examination either!"
Two girls passing by were chatting under the same umbrella. Lin Luo looked up and saw Fu Xingchuan holding an umbrella in front of her, with Tong Yun standing beside him. The umbrella was tilted, and the rain was so heavy that half of Fu Xingchuan's body was soaked.
It seemed that what happened a few days ago hadn't affected their relationship. Someone who valued family so much actually put love first. The hem of his pants stuck to Lin Luo's calf, and the wet feeling was annoying.
Lin Luo walked to the side of the road, rolled up his school uniform trouser legs, and walked towards the school canteen.
She bought a black fountain pen, a 2B pencil, and an eraser...
There is also a bottle of medicated oil.
The smell of gardenia no longer had any effect on her. Ever since Lin Dayong called her, Lin Luo no longer suffered from insomnia. However, because she studied too long every day and could only sleep for a few hours at night, she was always sleepy.
The scent of the medicated oil was too strong, completely drowning out the floral scent. The air conditioner was repaired, and the electric fan Fu Xingchuan had brought was left unused, standing in the back, getting in the way, so someone took it away.
Du Yunyan seemed to be very busy recently and was always busy and couldn't bring her food, so Lin Luo often went to the cafeteria.
It was a rare occasion for the six of them to get together for dinner. The girls sat in one row and the boys sat across from them.
Xu Yangyang couldn't pick up the meatball, so she poked it instead. Zhu Changyu picked up a clean spoon and scooped the soup into his mouth.
The food in the cafeteria was still unpalatable and Lin Luo couldn't swallow it.
"I heard that the private school next door held a stress relief party. Will our school also have one?" Xu Yangyang put down the meatball and asked while biting the chopsticks.
Zhu Changyu remembers, “We didn’t have one last year.”
Xu Yangyang: "What about this year?"
Zhu Changyu: "It's hard to say."
Xu Yangyang: "If something happens, Cheng Kaizhong will definitely be the last to be notified. Aren't there any other classes?"
Zhu Changyu: “Not at the moment.”
Xu Yangyang sighed, "I heard the party was really exciting."
"Who told you that?" Zhu Changyu asked casually.
"Qi Yao, he used to study there."
"oh."
Xu Yangyang described the scene of the party and the various performances to them, and Lin Luo became interested.
She had a cold and took leave to stay home and didn't attend the New Year's Day party. She didn't get to see Fu Xingchuan host the show in person, which was a real pity.
Tong Yun told them, "I know that schools in Guangdong will sing "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" at their pre-college entrance exam parties."
This is the second Cantonese song Lin has learned, and she conjures up images in her mind: "Wow! That must be very moving."
"Yeah! It would be nice if there was a party." Tong Yun put down her chopsticks, and Lin Luo noticed that she hadn't eaten much.
After dinner, the boys whispered to each other and decided to go out of school, so the three of them went back to the classroom together.
Lin Luo asked Tong Yun, "Don't you have an appetite? I see you didn't eat much just now."
Tong Yun smiled and said, "I'm too fat. I need to lose weight."
"You call that fat? I think you've lost a lot more weight than last year! If you lose any more weight, there won't be much flesh left." Xu Yangyang looked her up and down and said. Her mother always whispered in her ears, telling her to stay away from Tong Yun. Xu Yangyang felt that Tong Yun was really different from before. "And why is your makeup getting heavier and heavier?"
"This is called smoky makeup. Doesn't it look good?" Tong Yun's mouth curled up even more.
"It looks good, but students shouldn't wear such heavy makeup." Tong Yun said calmly, but it seemed to become a sermon in Tong Yun's ears. She got angry and quickened her pace regardless of them.
Xu Yangyang was already annoyed and complained, "I'm not allowed to speak."
Lin Luo patted her shoulder and then went to chase Tong Yun.
But Tong Yun ignored Lin Luo as well, and she felt inexplicably tired.
During evening study, Lin Luo lay on the table and Xu Yangyang was also in a bad mood.
At some point, Zhu Changyu slipped two notes onto their desks.
Xu Yangyang noticed it and immediately sat up.
Lin Qi's eyelids drooped as she unfolded the note. It read: "The college entrance exam is approaching. This is our only chance to be young. We're going to hold an unofficial rally. Please circulate this note quietly, without the teacher noticing."
The time, place, and precautions are written below, and the event will start with a broadcast.
Zhu Changyu, Ruan Ye, and Fu Xingchuan were all away, and Xu Yangyang had legitimate doubts. "Is this organized by the three of them? Is that even possible?"
"It should be possible. After all, youth only comes once." Thinking of Tong Yun saying in the afternoon that he wanted to watch the evening party, Lin Luo tightly held the note.
There are still eight days left before the college entrance examination. On May 31st, the entire Shouxin Building was silent when the evening self-study began. The light in each classroom today seemed particularly dim under the rendering of the night. It was the senior high school students in the classroom who were brewing a sweet rain together.
They were waiting for the broadcast to sound, but there was no movement.
After the evening self-study get out of class, there was chattering at the door. They went out to see that the open space in the middle of the teaching building was pitch black and there was nothing there.
Xu Yangyang randomly picked someone to get information. He said, "That villain Feng Zhengyan leaked the information and complained to Cheng Kaizhong. The three of them were arrested before they even reached the broadcasting room. Now they're standing in the office as punishment! It looks like there's no hope."
Everyone said there was no hope, but they all walked out of the classroom and stood in the corridor.
Of course, there were also class teachers who sent them back to the classroom, but there was always a group of people standing in the corridor, waiting for something.
The results of the final mock exam for senior high school students had just come out. Xu Yangyang hadn’t done well in the comprehensive science test, so she was in a bad mood and wanted to pull Lin Luo into the classroom.
But Lin Luo held her hand and stood still, "Wait a little longer."
Time passed by minute by minute, but Lin Luo remained calm because she believed in Fu Xingchuan.
The bell rang and more and more people could not help but walk into the classroom, but Lin Luo remained there. She blinked and seemed to see a beam of light.
She quickly opened her eyes and looked downstairs. There was indeed a beam of light, and the light was moving. Lin Luo tried hard to see clearly that the person running with the light was Fu Xingchuan.
He was running with the class flag in his hand, and the teacher must be chasing him with a flashlight.
"Yangyang, look quickly." Lin Luo pointed to Xu Yangyang, and her impetuous thoughts immediately disappeared, and her heart became calm.
More and more people noticed the light, and the corridor was filled with people again.
The teacher above was yelling, "Everyone, go back to the classroom. Why are you standing here? Time is running out. Aren't you going to study?"
Cheng Kaizhong shouted from below, "Stop right there! You're so bold! You want to be punished, right?"
But they were all firm and did not waver.
Suddenly someone shouted to the crowd below, or to be more precise, led the singing.
Run forward, facing the cold eyes and ridicule
How can we feel the vastness of life without going through hardships?
Fate cannot make us kneel down and beg for mercy
Even if my arms are covered in blood
Keep running, with the pride of a child
How can we see the brilliance of life if we don’t persist?
…
The boy's voice became hoarse towards the end of the song, and the tune disappeared, but more people joined him.
The whole building was singing in chorus, and the blood was boiling.
The radio suddenly sounded, and Director Wang's voice came from it, "Students, you've just finished your last mock exam for senior year, and June is about to begin. It's been a blink of an eye, and we've already known each other for three years. I remember so much of you. It's inevitable that we'll be reluctant to part. As your teachers, we want to send you our sincerest blessings. And as your friends, we hope to cheer you up through this impromptu rally..."
Cheers rang out in the corridor.
"I wish you success in the exams and success in the examination hall!"
The lights in the open space downstairs suddenly lit up. Fu Xingchuan stood there holding a guitar. Zhu Changyu's drum set was brought in. Everyone was there. This was the first time that Lin Qiao had officially watched the Winter Time band perform.
When the music started, Tian Yajun distributed the glow sticks that she had prepared earlier to them, as if they were watching a concert.
Lin Luo noticed that something was wrong with Xu Yangyang, and asked softly amid the chorus: "Yangyang, are you crying?"
She was a strong-willed person who seldom cried. She wiped away her tears stubbornly and said, "I didn't cry. It was your wind oil that stung my eyes. I was frightened by it."
"oh."
Lin Luo looked at Fu Xingchuan, and he also looked up, as if looking in her direction. Lin Luo's hand waving the glow stick stopped.
"Xiaoxiao." Tong Yun appeared and stood beside her, holding her hand.
It turns out he was looking at her!
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