Birthday
On Thursday, before class, Ms. Mina announced something: "Students, our tutoring center, in conjunction with foreign teachers from other tutoring institutions and local foreign language schools, is launching a foreign language summer camp. It will last for ten days and will be held in the neighboring city of Qing."
This activity is primarily aimed at students who intend to major in English in the future, those who want to study abroad, and those who simply want to improve themselves.
"The summer camp program will provide opportunities to interact with foreigners, improve your spoken English, and enhance your practical English skills. The registration fee is 1200 yuan, and the school will cover accommodation, transportation, and meals. I've posted the details in the group chat; if you'd like to register, just contact me."
These words caused a stir in the classroom. While everyone was whispering among themselves, Lu Er looked at Ruan Xiyan in the front row. Given their current situation where their souls would switch places on rainy days, if Ruan Xiyan wanted to apply, then Lu Er certainly couldn't just sit at home doing nothing.
The soul swap is like a red thread, binding the two tightly together. Whoever leaves the other will encounter trouble.
Lu Er was thinking of asking Ruan Xiyan after class, but Ruan Xiyan was acting strangely today. He clearly heard someone call him, turned around, and then ran away in a flash. He ran quite fast.
I had no choice but to ask on my phone. Lu Er typed a WeChat message and sent it to him.
"What the hell is the reduction formula? And this function, why is f(x) sometimes a power function, sometimes a sine function... Look at this page, it's become a to the power of x again? Is it Sun Wukong changing its form like that?"
After two math classes, Tao Yangnian held up his final exam paper and complained bitterly. Chen Xiang was passing by the elementary school where they had their tutoring session and stopped by to check on the two of them.
"Is this even something a human could learn? Let me do the math: 40 points for single-choice questions, 20 points for multiple-answer questions, and 20 points for fill-in-the-blank questions. Even if I guessed all the answers on the first page correctly, I still wouldn't pass. And even for fill-in-the-blank questions, I probably couldn't guess an option that's √2/5 of the way through."
"It's alright," Chen Xiang said, patting his shoulder. "At least you know how to pronounce the square root. That's progress." He had also heard a little about Tao Yangnian's habit of pronouncing cos as "kuo si".
"……hehe."
Finding no solace in Chen Xiang, Tao Yangnian turned to Ruan Xiyan, when a sudden inspiration struck him: "Hey! What do you guys think? Should I buy the answers? The publisher still has them printed in the top left corner of these papers. I'll buy a copy and memorize them..."
Tao Yangnian thought about it more and more and found it made sense, and he was even a little smug about his decision. "Can you find anyone in the whole world as smart as me? What do you think?"
Chen Xiang shrugged: "Just don't revert to your old ways when discussing math problems with people."
"Tch. Everyone was dating back then, right? Who does math problems when they're in love? What do you think, Ruan Xiyan?" Tao Yangnian asked Ruan Xiyan for his opinion, nudged him, and when there was no reaction, called out twice, "Ruan Xiyan? What are you doing? Daydreaming?"
Ruan Xiyan had been somewhat absent-minded. From the moment class ended, he sat in his seat, resting his chin on his hand, lost in thought. The classroom had been dwindling in number and was now quite deserted.
"Looks like a lovesick young man. It's not spring now, is it?" Chen Xiang waved his hand in front of him, but Ruan Xiyan didn't move.
"Say something, Ruan Xiyan. Hey, this kid is so weird. Do you think I should buy the answers?" Tao Yangnian still didn't get a response, so he jumped off the stool and tried to shake Ruan Xiyan's shoulders.
"..." Ruan Xiyan finally moved. He stood up, his schoolbag hanging on one shoulder, his eyes downcast and looking a little lazy. "I don't know."
Tao Yangnian watched his departing figure and hurriedly grabbed him, saying, "Hey, you and Lu Er are getting close, can you give me some advice?"
Suddenly finding Tao Yangnian incredibly annoying, Ruan Xiyan mentally pursed her lips and replied dismissively, "Whatever, it's up to you."
"Xiyan, where did you go? Aren't you going to play ball?" Chen Xiang called out from behind.
"I'm not playing today, I have something to do."
"What's going on?" Ruan Xiyan had already left the classroom, leaving Tao Yangnian and Chen Xiang looking at each other, confused about what had happened.
-
After finishing her work at the flower shop, Lu Er thought about what happened that morning and checked her phone. Ruan Xiyan still hadn't replied to her message.
Perhaps she forgot to check. Lu Er didn't think too much about it; she went home and made dinner.
There's a kapok tree outside Lu Er's window, its branches extending to her windowsill. Usually, the black and white cat comes to her house through this tree. Recently, the property management sent several workers to trim some of the kapok's messy branches, including the one the cat stepped on.
How will the black and white cat come to her room now? Lu Er lay there thinking. Right, it's time to remove the cat's stitches. This weekend, she'll go to Ruan Xiyan's house to pick up the cat, and then go to the vet.
Speaking of Ruan Xiyan… he still hasn’t replied to my message. Lu Er, who was going downstairs for a walk, was a little confused. It couldn’t be that he hadn’t carried his phone with him all day, could it?
As dusk settled, the evening breeze made the stars overhead clearer, a few hanging in the night sky, bright and sparkling. It was in this light that Lu Er spotted the golden retriever. Yes, outside her apartment complex.
The golden retriever had its fluffy head buried in the green belt. When it pulled out, Lu Er could see it was holding a frog. Upon seeing Lu Er, the golden retriever pounced excitedly. "Croak—"
The frog it was carrying was still croaking. A hint of surprise appeared in Lu Er's eyes. At this moment, she was certain that this was the same frog that belonged to Ruan Xiyan's family.
His dog is here, so is Ruan Xiyan nearby too?
The golden retriever circled around her, and Lu Er looked around. Sure enough, the tall boy in the white hoodie in the distance was none other than Ruan Xiyan.
"Ruan Xiyan. What...what are you doing here?"
Hearing her voice, Ruan Xiyan was slightly startled. He turned around and gave her a stiff but polite smile: "Ha, hello, what a coincidence. I'm walking my dog." Oversized hoodies can make short people look shorter and strong people look bulky.
It fits Ruan Xiyan perfectly, his upper body is neat and tidy, and it also makes his red lips and white teeth stand out.
"..." Lu Er didn't ask him why he was walking the dog near her house. She explained the situation, "I noticed you haven't replied to my WeChat message. Are you interested in signing up?"
Ruan Xiyan was clearly not in the zone; he paused for a few moments before saying, "I didn't check my phone. The one about summer camp?"
"Um."
"I think I'll go. I heard Teacher Mina will be going too; she teaches English really well," Ruan Xiyan said. "What about you? Are you going to summer camp?"
Lu Er hesitated. If she went, her part-time job would be disrupted, and besides, the registration fee wasn't cheap.
Ten days later, the Third Middle School will soon be starting. She doesn't know if she will have earned enough money for books and other expenses by then... But if she doesn't go, and she suddenly switches places with Ruan Xiyan, there will probably be more trouble.
Ruan Xiyan seemed to see through her thoughts. He lowered his face to look at Lu Er's expression and said, "Teacher Lu, why don't you go with me? You can tutor me in other subjects while you're there."
“…Okay, I’ll go too.” Lu Er finally relented.
Ruan Xiyan really helped her a lot; he gave her so much kindness that she could never repay.
Lu Er lowered her head and suddenly wondered, is he this nice to everyone?
Like a little sun, he generously spreads his warmth to everyone who sees him.
"Lu Er." Hearing Ruan Xiyan call her name, Lu Er was momentarily dazed. "What's wrong?"
The boy looked slightly nervous: "Are you... free later?"
-
Lu Er didn't know what Ruan Xiyan wanted to do with her, but she accepted Ruan Xiyan's invitation. Ruan Xiyan told her to wait at a quiet street corner, while she ran into the distant night.
Lu Er didn't understand what he meant, so she leaned against the streetlight, lost in thought. The golden retriever stopped beside her, its paws still pawing at the innocent frog.
“This is for eating mosquitoes.” Lu Er squatted down to be level with the Golden Retriever and earnestly warned it, “It doesn’t taste good, you should let it go.”
The golden retriever, its bright red tongue lolling out, seemed to understand, and obediently picked up the frog and dropped it into the flower bed on the other side.
"You actually understand." Lu Er didn't like interacting with dogs and would usually avoid them when she encountered them. The only exception was Ruan Xiyan's dog. Lu Er gently curved the corners of her mouth: "What's your name again? Mao Mao?"
"I'm back." The blurry silhouette of the boy was outlined under the lamplight. Ruan Xiyan ran quickly and was panting.
He was holding the gift box with the milky white bow. Perhaps it was his imagination, or perhaps it was hidden by his hoodie, but Lu Er saw that Ruan Xiyan's neck was very red... as if she had a fever.
"Happy seventeenth birthday." Ruan Xiyan's lips curled up slightly, her eyes bright and clear.
He touched the bridge of his nose, explaining somewhat embarrassedly, "I found it when I was taking your ID card. Since your birthday is coming up, I prepared a gift for you... I was a bit short on time, and the cake is still on its way." Ruan Xiyan wasn't sure if Lu Er disliked desserts, so she ordered a cake for two or three people.
To be honest, when Lu Er heard "Happy Birthday," her heart felt like it had been squeezed for a second, and she was so flustered that she lost her bearings.
She couldn't quite describe the feeling she had at that moment, like a torrential downpour churning within her, a feeling that was both uncomfortable and novel, strange and exciting.
In the blink of an eye, she regained her composure. Lu Er lowered her head slightly, not wanting Ruan Xiyan to see her current expression: "Thank you for your blessing. As for the gift... I won't accept it."
"It's your birthday, what's wrong with accepting the gift?" Ruan Xiyan had already anticipated her reply. He said with a smile, "I bought a few dresses that are only suitable for you. If I take them back, no one else can wear them. My mom can't wear them, and neither can my cousin. Teacher Xiaolu, please accept them. They're your birthday present. If you don't want them, they'll just go to waste."
His address changed from Teacher Lu to Little Teacher Lu. Lu Er's eyelashes blinked slowly a few times.
She still refused to accept the gift box; she was always much more stubborn than he imagined. Ruan Xiyan didn't want her to have any unpleasantness with him on her birthday, so he quickly came up with a plan: "How about this, Ms. Lu, could you wear a dress and come out to play with me for a day? I'm bored on Saturday, so consider this a purchase—play with me for a day, okay?"
Ruan Xiyan was worried that she would end up putting all the dresses away in the trunk, but the more he thought about the words that had just slipped out, the more he felt that something was wrong.
Asking a girl to wear a skirt and come out with him... that sounds so ambiguous.
Ruan Xiyan's face and neck became hot; she was really about to develop a fever.
“…Okay, I promise you.” Lu Er finally took the box, still a little hesitant. “Thank you, Ruan Xiyan. It’s that cake…”
"You ate the cake too. I filled in your home address; you can eat as much as you want if you can't finish it." After saying those words, Ruan Xiyan seemed flustered. Fortunately, Lu Er couldn't see him in his current state.
“Alright.” Lu Er stopped and then said, “Well, I have something I want to give you. Can you come with me?”
Downstairs from Lu Er's house.
Ruan Xiyan stroked the golden retriever's head, but at that moment he regretted his hasty decision. He whispered to the golden retriever, as if talking to himself, "Was I too rash?" The golden retriever, who had witnessed the whole thing, just wagged its tail and barked innocently twice.
Lu Er came downstairs with this bottle. It contained some water, and several sunflowers drooped their large, golden heads out of the bottle, like tiny suns.
"These are the leftovers I collected from the florist, and I made them into a flower arrangement. I thought it would suit you well, so... I wanted to give it to you."
Lu Er looked at him, and Ruan Xiyan paused for a moment before taking the sunflower. A dimple graced his cheek; he was handsome and refined, seemingly more vibrant than the sunflower in his hand.
Ruan Xiyan smiled and said, "Thank you, Teacher Xiaolu."
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