Meet
In the studio, Ji Sibai sat in front of the easel. He was slightly hunched over, with deep-set eyes and messy hair that looked like a bird's nest on his head.
He picked up the brush several times, then lowered it again, finally throwing it away, staring at the ceiling, and letting out a sigh.
"I must have committed murder and arson in my past life, and now I'm an art student." Ji Sibai glanced at Ruan Xiyan, who was sitting by the window, grinning foolishly at his phone. He called out to her, "Ruan Xiyan, what are you doing?"
Ruan Xiyan seemed glued to her phone, her gaze unwavering: "Chat."
Ji Sibai: "...Laughing like a lovesick girl in the dead of winter."
Ruan Xiyan ignored him. Ji Sibai looked down and saw the muddy stains on his trousers, then looked back up, seemingly unbothered: "Everyone else is so miserable, why are you so happy?"
Ji Sibai, Chen Xiang, Ruan Xiyan, and the others all knew each other from junior high school. Only he and Ruan Xiyan were art students among this group. Ji Sibai went to No. 7 High School for high school and came here for training a few months ago, which reunited him with Ruan Xiyan.
The intense, closed-door training made Ji Sibai feel like he was being exiled to the frontier every day, constantly sighing. Not just him, everyone in the studio was like that—dusty, with bluish lips; when someone walked in, they mistook him for a member of the Beggars' Guild.
Ruan Xiyan, however, stood out from the group of homeless people. He always had a smile on his face, and when he painted, he seemed more energetic than anyone else.
Ji Sibai looked at him and said, "The girls from Kaoyang and Meimei are all so beautiful, but none of them have your mental state."
“…People should look forward.” Ruan Xiyan stood up, pretended to pat him on the shoulder a few times, and went outside the studio.
Where are you going?
Ji Sibai craned his neck, only to see Ruan Xiyan vanish in a flash. He muttered, "What's wrong with her?"
Lu Er got off the bus, looked towards the intersection, and typed: "I've arrived, where are you?"
Ruan Xiyan's training camp was held in the neighboring city of Sui. Lu Er took the high-speed train from Huai'an on Sunday morning, which took more than an hour. Then he transferred to the subway and it took almost half an hour to reach his destination.
Ruan Xiyan kept saying she missed her, but when it came to actually coming, she didn't want to. The journey back and forth would be too tiring.
Lu Er wouldn't go back on her word more than twice. She had been friends with Ruan Xiyan once, but she couldn't go back on her word again. Standing on this unfamiliar street, Lu Er sent Ruan Xiyan her location on WeChat.
Ruan Xiyan replied instantly: "I'm printing my exam admission ticket, I'll be right out."
Sui City is full of evergreen trees. When the warm winter sun shines down, half of the branches shimmer with gold.
Lu Er looked at the evergreen trees, and a hand tapped her right shoulder. She turned her head, but there was no one to her right. She turned her head again and met Ruan Xiyan's teasing eyes.
"You're so childish."
Ruan Xiyan said "Oh" twice, and followed her words: "Yes, I'm childish." Lu Er felt something gently tap her head. She raised her eyelashes, and the red brim of her hat was sticking out in front of her eyes. "Don't take it off while you're with me today."
Lu Er tried to take him down, but Ruan Xiyan, noticing her intention, immediately pressed him down.
After repeating this a few times, Lu Er laughed angrily: "Ruan Xiyan, you childish devil."
"Okay, okay, I'm a little kid, a middle kid, and a big kid." Ruan Xiyan bent her knees slightly, looked at her, and said with a smile, "Teacher Xiaolu, wear it. There are many classmates here who know me. If they see us, they won't be able to see your face if you wear a hat."
"……oh."
Why did you speak to me like you were coaxing a child?
-
Traffic came and went in Sui City, and Ruan Xiyan led her through the sea of people. Lu Er didn't ask Ruan Xiyan where they were going.
After walking for a while, it seemed they hadn't reached their destination yet. Lu Er couldn't help but look up and ask, "Where are we going?"
“Let’s go somewhere you like,” Ruan Xiyan said mysteriously.
Lu Er was skeptical: "Will I really like it?"
"Yes, definitely."
His confident tone piqued Lu Er's curiosity. She raised her hat brim slightly and kept looking at the shops along the road, trying to guess which one Ruan Xiyan wanted to take her to.
Lu Er looked at him with a hint of suspicion: "It's not the library, is it?"
"Ah, you guessed right." Ruan Xiyan deliberately widened her eyes, and when she smiled, her eyes looked like two bright, shining glass beads. "Don't you like it, Teacher Xiaolu?"
"..." Lu Er knew he was teasing her, and turned half her face away. She had come all this way; Ruan Xiyan would never allow her to study here.
In front of a shop, Ruan Xiyan stopped: "Okay, I'm not teasing you anymore. This is the place, you should like it."
This is a cat café. Through the smooth windows next door, you can see a small playground-like area with a dozen or so cats scattered around. Some are quietly lying down, being teased by customers... and then another one pops out from a corner every now and then, as if cats were born on this ground.
"This is the largest cat cafe in Sui City. Almost all of my classmates from that area have been here."
Lu Er asked, "Have you been here many times?"
“Not even once.” Ruan Xiyan looked at her and smiled. “Because I wanted to wait for you to come so we could go together.”
The two paid and, following the instructions of the store staff, put on dust-proof shoe covers.
As soon as they stepped inside, several cats crowded around their feet. Lu Er stroked a golden shaded cat; its fur was strangely soft, not like petting a cat, but more like petting a cloud.
Lu Er seemed to have catnip on her, constantly attracting cats to her. A large ragdoll lay at her feet, a Siamese climbed onto her knees, and a calico cat was nestled in her arms. A ticklish sensation rose on her back, and Lu Er turned around to see a young silver shaded cat scratching its paw.
"They...are so enthusiastic." Lu Er was a little overwhelmed.
She had never seen such an affectionate cat. The black and white cat that roamed freely in the neighborhood, although it basically knew its way around and acted as its owner, mostly wandered around outside and wouldn't come back for two or three days at a time.
"Because I like you the most." Ruan Xiyan opened the round ball in her hand, and the aroma of freeze-dried food attracted the kittens to come over, but none of the kittens that covered Lu Er fell out.
“Teacher Xiaolu, the cats you attract are too clingy.” Ruan Xiyan laughed, took a piece of freeze-dried food and put it in front of Sanhua, and it ate it from his hand. “You should say that the cats you attract are all clingy.”
Lu Er followed with a slight smile: "That includes you too." The difference is, he's a clingy little dog.
Ruan Xiyan understood her thoughts, hugged the silver shaded cat next to her, blinked, and said to her, "Then who do you think is cuter?" She insisted on competing with the cat for attention.
"Is there any comparison?" Lu Er raised her eyebrows.
"have."
Lu Er paused for a moment, then said, "Come here and let me see it more clearly."
Ruan Xiyan obeyed and moved a little closer to her. After waiting for a while, Lu Er still didn't answer. Little Silver was getting impatient with his hug and pushed Ruan Xiyan's face with a chubby paw.
Lu Er finally moved, holding up her phone, the flash going off. She took a picture of Ruan Xiyan.
"?!" Ruan Xiyan opened his mouth in disbelief. He leaned over to look at the photo in her album; the lens was too close, and the lines of her eyes, nose, and lips were clearly visible. But the kitten's paw pressed against his face looked comical, like a stamp.
Lu Er couldn't help but lower his head and laugh.
“That’s not fair,” Ruan Xiyan said. “I want to film too.”
Lu Er picked up a plush toy and said, "Take a picture."
Ruan Xiyan protested, "Then take pictures of the two of us first!" It seems he really wants to compete with these cats.
What an idiot. Lu Er thought, but a sliver of hope flickered in her heart.
-
Ruan Xiyan and Lu Er lingered at the cat cafe for almost two hours. As the sun began to set, they went to find a barbecue restaurant to eat.
Lu Er looked down at the photos she had taken at the cat cafe. Ruan Xiyan sat down opposite her and said quietly, "I saw them."
Lu Er asked curiously, "What did you see?"
"The note you gave me."
Lu Er exclaimed "Ah!" and tilted her head to look at him: "Did I say something wrong?"
"..." Ruan Xiyan tried to gesture her thoughts, "Couldn't we be a little more intimate..."
"How intimate?" Lu Er thought for a moment and asked, "What's the nickname you gave me in your contact list?"
Ruan Xiyan fell silent, her neck turning as red as if she'd eaten a tomato. Lu Er sensed something was wrong, stared into his eyes, and said, "Let me see."
Ruan Xiyan stammered. Lu Er wanted to tease him even more, so she spread her hands out as if to hand over her phone.
His neck and face flushed red as he refused, "No." Then he quickly added, "Not now."
"When will that be?"
"When I can call you that legitimately." Ruan Xiyan blinked, refusing to say it no matter what.
Unable to go home, a dejected Ji Sibai and a dejected friend went to an internet cafe and played Delta Force for the entire afternoon. After venting their frustrations, they got hungry, wandered around the neighborhood, and ended up at a barbecue restaurant.
Ji Sibai looked up at the sky and sighed, "When will this end?"
His friend offered a rather uncomfortable word of comfort: "The standardized exam is coming soon, just bear with it a little longer."
Ji Sibai sighed again: "After the unified exam, there are still the college entrance exams, and after that, there's the national college entrance exam."
"The revolution has not yet succeeded; comrades must continue to strive."
Ji Sibai wanted to sigh again, but tilted his head back and fixed his gaze on a corner. Ruan Xiyan was sitting there, chatting happily with a girl opposite her.
If that were all, it wouldn't have piqued Ji Sibai's curiosity, but the fact that the girl was wearing Ruan Xiyan's baseball cap made Ji Sibai sense something was amiss.
He messaged Ruan Xiyan, but she didn't reply. So Ji Sibai observed everything quietly.
"It's almost three o'clock, I have to go back." It's a journey of about two hours from Sui City back to Huai'an No. 3 Middle School, and there's no other way but to set off early.
Ruan Xiyan subconsciously stood up as well: "I'll see you off."
Lu Er was reluctant and tried to refuse, but she only let him see her to the door. Nearly half a day passed quickly, gone in the blink of an eye. Ruan Xiyan said reluctantly, "Teacher Lu, when will we see each other next time?"
"About a month from now." A month from now, it will be the New Year.
Ruan Xiyan felt even more reluctant to part: "It's been so long."
His gaze made Lu Er afraid to look at him for long, lest she harbor any lingering thoughts. Lu Er took off her baseball cap and placed it in his hand: "Ruan Xiyan, good luck on the unified exam. See you at Tsinghua University." Lu Er had made up her mind; she wanted to get into Tsinghua University.
Ruan Xiyan smiled and said, "Okay."
After saying goodbye to Lu Er, Ruan Xiyan lost his appetite. He returned to his original spot, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and prepared to leave.
Taking advantage of a moment, Ji Sibai pulled him aside: "Who was that just now?"
Ruan Xiyan feigned ignorance: "My sister."
"You're kidding me." Ruan Xiyan valued his red baseball cap so much; it was a seventeenth birthday gift from his mother, and none of his friends had ever seen him touch it. "How many sisters do you have? I've never seen your cousin wear that hat."
Ruan Xiyan couldn't hide it from him: "The person I like."
"..." Ji Sibai fell silent, then thought of something, "I won't be the last one to find out, will I?"
"What?"
Ji Sibai didn't ask for details, and shouted in a frenzy, "All of you, you, Wen Fei, Sheng Jiao... it's not spring yet, is it?"
Ruan Xiyan looked at him, puzzled: "What happened between Wen Fei and Sheng Jiao?"
“…Forget it.” Ji Sibai gave up. “I can’t reason with you.”
Ruan Xiyan shrugged and walked out of the barbecue restaurant.
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