lucky symbol
After the curtain call, they retreated backstage. Lu Er's skirt trailed long on the floor, like a rosy cloud. She wasn't used to wearing this kind of skirt and almost tripped and fell. Suddenly, someone behind her picked up the rosy cloud. Lu Er turned around and saw Ruan Xiyan helping her.
Thank you, she told him with her eyes.
Ruan Xiyan returned the gesture with a dimple.
From the end of the show until the time they spent backstage, everyone was exceptionally excited—their performance tonight was the most immersive they'd been in all the previous rehearsals. Their incessant chatter was mixed with a hint of lingering enjoyment of the performance.
Teacher Mina lifted the curtain and walked in. She smiled and gave everyone a thumbs up: "Very good, you did a particularly good job tonight."
Xu Ting cut straight to the point and asked, "Hey, teacher, do you think we have a chance of winning an award?"
"Well, I can't participate in the class's selection. But—" Ms. Mina kindly let them know, "From what I've heard, it's been quite well-received by other teachers."
"A chance?" The expressions of all six people lit up.
"Shh," Teacher Mina said mysteriously, keeping everyone in suspense, "The surprise will be revealed at the end."
Lu Er was wearing a floor-length gown, one hem of which trailed on the floor like a small tail. This restricted her movement, and she wanted to quickly go to the dressing room to change out of the gown.
Teacher Mina noticed her presence: "Lu'er, wait a minute, don't change your clothes yet, we'll take a group photo after the awards ceremony." The remaining five people all looked at Lu'er upon hearing this.
"Doesn't this look great on you? Especially beautiful, compared to usual." Teacher Mina looked her over. "Our No. 3 Middle School has its coming-of-age ceremony tomorrow. It would be wonderful if you dressed like this today."
Lu Er wanted to explain, "Walking like this is more troublesome..."
The others skipped her explanation, and Sun Yuanyuan followed up from Teacher Mina, saying, "Yes, it's almost like—"
Sun Yuanyuan and Xu Ting echoed in unison: "The urge to fall head over heels for her."
"It's really beautiful."
Their flattery dissuaded Lu Er from going to change her clothes. Feeling embarrassed, she lowered her head as if trying to hide: "...Thank you."
Teacher Mina turned to the only two boys present: "You two, tell me, right?"
Yan Songqi nodded: "Yes, you look more beautiful than usual."
From the moment everyone spoke their first words, Ruan Xiyan's gaze was fixed on Lu Er. He looked at her bright red lips, the red of her dress contrasting against her fair shoulders, and the faint blush on her cheeks.
Ruan Xiyan smiled: "It looks great."
For the rest of the time, they returned to the audience to watch the CDE class's performance. Xu Ting glanced at the weather forecast: "It was supposed to rain, but it hasn't." She lamented, "I was hoping the floor would dry sooner if we went down early."
Around 6 p.m., the last theatrical performance ended. The foreign teachers held the summer camp closing ceremony on stage, delivered a declaration, and then began the awards ceremony.
There are fifteen awards in total: one first prize, three second prizes, and eleven third prizes. Reading from the bottom up, after finishing the third prizes, we moved on to the second prizes, but we hadn't heard about Group B6 yet.
Lu Er had a premonition. She looked at the five people beside her; they were all keeping quiet and staring at the stage.
"The outstanding play that won first prize is..." The foreign teacher's hand holding the microphone paused dramatically. He opened his mouth, but suddenly fell silent. Xu Ting was so anxious that he kicked his feet, wishing he could go up and be the host himself: "Why did the microphone suddenly run out of power? It failed at the crucial moment."
"Wait a moment, students. The first prize winner is 'Twelfth Night' from Group B6. All the winning groups have been announced. Please come up to receive your prizes."
The closing applause rang out. Amidst the warm and prolonged congratulations and joy, Lu Er and her team walked onto the awards stage. The award presenters were arranged in order of ranking, from first to last. The six members of Group B6 stood in the first row.
The clapping grew louder, and Lu Er knew it was raining. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a version of herself dressed differently than usual, her dimple on her right cheek like the sweet center of a chocolate.
She turned her gaze back, a bright smile spreading across her face, the dimple on her left cheek gentle and tender.
After receiving the award, the crowd dispersed, and the stage, having witnessed such a grand ceremony, felt a poignant sense of emptiness, like fireworks fading away. Music began playing from the speakers—the same song I'd listened to before bed, "Lucky Symbol."
It's unclear who started it, but everyone, even though they were scattered, spontaneously began to sing.
Lu Er heard Ruan Xiyan next to her humming along. Towards the end of the song, it seemed that everyone in the room joined in the chorus.
Lu Er's arm was bumped, and he turned his head, falling into Ruan Xiyan's smiling eyes. He was singing, yet it also sounded like he was speaking.
You are my lucky charm.
You are my lucky charm.
"You are my lucky charm."
—
Yun didn't sob for long, shedding a few symbolic tears. Half an hour later, she shed a few more tears, and the weather gradually cleared up.
The teachers probably didn't want to have any regrets on their last day. After the rain stopped, they pushed the machine that dries the ground around the playground. By the time they finished dinner, the playground was warm and dry.
The outdoor movie showing tonight is called "Dead Poets Society," a famous inspirational film.
Everyone gathered on the playground and sat down. The image on the projection screen flickered.
Lu Er hunched over, chin resting on her knees, watching the movie. All around her was quiet, save for the occasional crunch of potato chips being chewed.
She suddenly felt a finger poking her back, and turned her head away. Xu Ting whispered to her, "Let's go to the back to take pictures."
Lu Er replied in a whisper, "Wouldn't that disturb other people?"
"No, it won't." She gestured for Lu Er to look back. Lu Er looked into the distance and saw that there were indeed many people taking pictures behind the playground. "The movie is playing very loudly, so talking in the back won't affect the people in front. Let's go."
Lu Er hesitated: "Okay."
She and Xu Ting crouched low as they slipped out of the crowd. As they walked, Xu Ting pulled out a camera: "I borrowed this from Yan Songqi. He lives locally, and he had his family bring it over. On our last day, let's take some photos as a memento."
After walking a few steps, Sun Yuanyuan and Sun Yuanyuan ran over; it turned out they were there too.
Lu Er: "Isn't Yan Songqi coming to film?"
Xu Ting: "He went to the restroom and will be back in a bit. Ruan Xiyan seems to have gone with him. Let's take our pictures first."
Lu Er and the other three took a few photos. After Yan Songqi and Ruan Xiyan left the area, the six of them took a few more group photos.
"I'm going out to develop the photos with my family. I'll send them all to you before I leave tomorrow," Yan Songqi said before leaving.
The wind is strong tonight, neither dry nor hot, as if it has swept away the sweltering heat of summer, leaving behind a salty dampness. Xu Ting said that Qing City is connected to the sea, and when the land breeze blows at night, it carries the scent of the sea.
Lu Er tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear and heard girls calling her from behind. It was her roommates A and C, who invited her to come over and take pictures.
Lu Er took photos with the group, and Ye Xinyu pulled her friend over. She said something to girl A, who then excitedly turned her head and asked, "They want to play games, do you want to go?"
The game is called "Who Will He Look At When Everyone Is Looking At Him?" A group of girls pretend to take pictures in front of their phones, then suddenly press the selfie button and turn around to look at the only boy in the group, observing who he will look at. The explanation is that when a group of people are watching one person, that person will subconsciously look at the person they like. A little game full of girlish ingenuity and adolescent restlessness, it either exposes the ambiguous feelings between girls and boys, making them the focus of teasing, or it escalates the atmosphere to a pink bubble, acting as a wingman.
Lu Er wasn't interested in this, but Xu Ting, who happened to be passing by, got excited and dragged Lu Er along to join in. Lu Er knew she wanted to see what the fuss was about, and with the attitude of "since we're here, let's make the best of it," she also decided to join in.
The girls pretended to take pictures by setting their phones up in front of the rocks, then waited for the boy to be off guard before pressing the selfie button. Several faces appeared on the screen, and then their eyes would suddenly turn towards the boy. After he looked at one of them, bewildered, the girls would tease that girl after the game was over.
The first victim was Ye Xinyu. No one seemed surprised. Ye Xinyu's figure and appearance were outstanding among her peers; liking her was like liking a trendy dress that everyone was following—it seemed perfectly normal.
The second victim was a girl from Class A. The two were said to have a vague, ambiguous relationship—more than friends, but not quite lovers. The expected outcome was confirmed: the girls would wink at her every now and then, forcing her to cover her blushing face.
The third victim, the fourth victim... The game organized by Class A naturally brought in all the boys from Class A. Xu Ting and Lu Er, two outsiders who had wandered in, the former watched with great interest, while the latter, after a while, boredly put his head on his chest and went to memorize vocabulary.
Until Ruan Xiyan walked over. Ye Xinyu saw him from afar and, noticing Ruan Xiyan approaching, immediately waved: "Ruan Xiyan!"
Ruan Xiyan was just passing by, but when she saw Lu Er standing in the middle, she was involuntarily drawn over: "Is there something you need?"
Seeing Ruan Xiyan appear, Lu Er felt inexplicably heavy-hearted, as if carrying a heavy weight. She vaguely hoped Ruan Xiyan would refuse, yet also vaguely hoped he would agree. She was conflicted.
Xu Ting followed Ruan Xiyan's gaze and spotted Lu Er's face. She thought to herself: This is the biggest show to watch here.
Ye Xinyu repeated the reason for taking the photo verbatim. Ruan Xiyan nodded and agreed.
Following their initial plan, Lu Er and Xu Ting pretended to watch Ye Xinyu fiddling with her phone.
The moment Ye Xinyu pressed the reverse button, Lu Er felt a synesthetic connection between her ribs and her phone—as if something had poked her ribs.
As the answer was revealed, the phone screen suddenly went black, plunging the surroundings into darkness.
"I forgot to charge it," Ye Xinyu said, picking up her phone in frustration.
"Ah, look," someone pointed in the direction of the projection screen. Not only was it dark here, but it was also pitch black over there, as if the power had been cut off. "It looks like the school's power went out."
Xu Ting missed the excitement and said regretfully, "What a pity."
One by one, everyone took out their phones and turned on the flashlights. Lu Er didn't move; her palms were wet, as if she were holding a puddle of water. Her heart was still pounding wildly in her chest.
In the brief darkness, she met those eyes. The pupils were jet black, the eyes nearly round, with a pale luster, like moonlight fallen from the sky.
The last thing Ruan Xiyan looked at was her.
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