Chapter 35 You wouldn't happen to like...
The festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival has not yet faded, and the winter vacation is already quietly coming to an end.
Two days before the start of the school term, Zhang Yang, carrying a stack of homework, hurriedly knocked on Chen Yubai's door.
"Brother Yu! Help!" He cried, piling his winter break homework on the table. "I'm really doomed this time!"
Chen Yubai casually flipped open a book, raising an eyebrow slightly: "You only did the multiple-choice questions in math, and the English is all blank... Are you planning to be punished by standing in the hallway when school starts?"
"I went to a saxophone training camp during winter break, so I really didn't have much time to write." Zhang Yang scratched his messy hair.
"You're also attending training camps during the Chinese New Year holidays?" Chen Yubai looked up.
Zhang Yang gave an awkward laugh: "Who does homework during the Spring Festival? That's so unfortunate."
"I've done it." Chen Yubai smiled and tossed the homework on the table to him. "Copy it yourself. Don't expect me to help you."
After saying that, he leaned lazily against the bed and picked up the book next to his pillow.
"..."
Zhang Yang's expression fell, and knowing he was in the wrong, he sat down at his desk and opened the homework book that had been thrown at him.
The only sound in the room for a moment was the scratching of the pen tip across the paper.
Two hours later, Zhang Yang rubbed his aching wrist, looked up, and saw Chen Yubai leisurely leaning against the headboard reading a book, trying to evoke his sympathy.
"Brother Yu, could you help me out a little? I really can't finish copying all by myself. I'll get yelled at to death by our teacher when school starts. You know how fierce our teacher is; she never repeats herself when she scolds people."
"I'm busy," Chen Yubai said without looking up.
Zhang Yang pursed his lips, craned his neck to glance at the book title, and suddenly his eyes widened: "Brother Yu, what are you reading? 'Practical Guide to Harmony'?!"
Chen Yubai slightly lifted his eyelids and glanced at Zhang Yang, who looked shocked: "I wasn't reading a forbidden book, why are you making such a fuss?"
“But who would read these kinds of professional books for no reason…” Zhang Yang suddenly stopped halfway through his sentence, and as if he had discovered a new continent, he raised his voice abruptly, “Wow, Brother Yu, you’re not going to come and follow in my footsteps as a music student, are you?!”
"It's just to kill time, why are you making things up?" Chen Yubai said indifferently.
"Oh... your way of killing time is quite unique." Zhang Yang's lips twitched, then a thought struck him. "Did Peng Chengyi show you this?"
"What does it have to do with her?" Chen Yubai lowered his eyes, his voice subtly tightening.
"She's very enthusiastic about the band, so maybe she's no longer satisfied with playing other people's songs and wants to create original music, so she forced you to learn it," Zhang Yang speculated seriously.
Chen Yubai chuckled and shook his head: "I've noticed that your ability to fill in the blanks is really quite strong."
Zhang Yang stared at him for a few seconds, then said seriously, "Otherwise, I really can't imagine why you would suddenly be reading professional books on music arrangement."
Chen Yubai said indifferently, "Instead of wasting time thinking about such pointless questions, you should hurry up and copy your homework."
"..." Zhang Yang choked, then his face immediately turned into a crying face again, "Brother Yu, can't you really help me copy two pages?"
"No." Chen Yubai refused decisively.
“Then I’ll try to shake Peng Chengyi’s phone,” Zhang Yang said, taking out his phone.
She's not home right now.
Zhang Yang paused, then looked up: "How do you know her whereabouts so well?"
"Because she sent me a photo of herself at the arcade just five minutes ago."
Zhang Yang couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement: "She even reports to you when she goes out to play. The relationship between you two..."
"What's wrong?" Chen Yubai raised his eyes.
Zhang Yang grinned: "Pretty solid."
"...Do you even need to tell me?" Chen Yubai smirked and continued turning the pages of his book.
"However, I've noticed that Peng Chengyi is quite popular now. During the training camp, a senior from the second year of high school even asked me for her WeChat," Zhang Yang added casually.
The sound of pages turning stopped abruptly.
Chen Yubai's fingers tightened slightly, his knuckles turning white: "You gave it to me?"
"How could that be!" Zhang Yang said righteously. "Of course I asked Peng Chengyi first, and guess what she said?"
"Stop keeping me in suspense." Chen Yubai frowned.
"I was just testing how well you two get along," Zhang Yang said, pursing his lips. "She asked if that senior was as good-looking as you, and I said he was nowhere near as good. She said, 'Never mind then.'"
The room suddenly became so quiet that you could hear the ticking of the clock.
Chen Yubai's lips curled up almost imperceptibly, then quickly flattened, his tone carrying a faint smile: "...She's certainly picky."
"That's for sure!" Zhang Yang slammed his hand on the table, making the homework on it tremble. "By this standard, she's probably going to stay single forever."
“Normally, No. 1 High School doesn’t allow early relationships. Next time, just refuse her directly and don’t bother her,” Chen Yubai said calmly.
“That’s true. Peng Chengyi is a model student in the teachers’ eyes. It would be troublesome if her parents were called in.” Zhang Yang nodded, then asked gossipily, “What about you? Don’t you plan to date in high school? That girl from Class 11 who gave you love letters before, she’s considered the prettiest girl in our grade, and you weren’t even a little bit tempted?”
"The class beauty?" Chen Yubai scoffed, his gaze returning to the pages of the book. "She's not even as pretty as Peng Chengyi."
Zhang Yang was stunned.
Although Peng Chengyi is quite cute, is she prettier than the universally acknowledged class beauty?
Isn't this evaluation a bit too biased?
A thought he had never considered suddenly flashed into his mind, and he couldn't help but stiffen his lips, tentatively asking, "Brother Yu, you wouldn't happen to be pregnant..."
"I don't see you're in a hurry to finish your homework, so just go home and do it yourself. Why are you copying mine?" Chen Yubai coldly interrupted him.
"No, no, no!" Zhang Yang grabbed the notebook and shook his head like a rattle-drum. "I'll copy it! I'll copy it right now!"
He buried his head in his writing and couldn't help but steal a glance at Chen Yubai, who was leaning against the headboard.
I don't know if it's because of the lighting.
He always felt that the tips of his ears were slightly red.
-
Meanwhile, neon lights flashed and deafening music filled the arcade.
Peng Chengyi stared at her phone screen for almost ten minutes, but her chat with Chen Yubai remained silent.
"Strange..." she muttered, then patted his little white dog avatar again: "Where are you? Were you stunned by my score?"
My phone vibrated as soon as I sent the message.
Chen Yubai: "Your score? Do you think I'm blind?"
Peng Chengyi's heart skipped a beat. She quickly opened the photo she had just sent and zoomed in to take a closer look.
Only then did they notice that Chen Wei's shadow was faintly reflected in the arcade machine's screen.
"Oh no! I miscalculated!" she wailed, gripping her phone tightly. "How can this dog have such sharp eyes!"
Chen Wei, who had just finished performing "Taiko no Tatsujin," put down her drumsticks and came over with concern: "What's wrong?"
Peng Chengyi raised her head with a look of utter despair: "I originally wanted to use your achievements to show off in front of Chen Yubai, but he saw through my plan."
Today is the Lantern Festival. Hearing that Chen Wei came to the family compound to visit her grandmother, Peng Chengyi couldn't wait to drag her to the arcade to challenge Taiko no Tatsujin after lunch.
As it turns out, playing this is a piece of cake for a professional drummer; she broke Chen Yubai's record not long ago in just a few rounds.
"How did he figure it out? You didn't tell him I was here today," Chen Wei asked curiously.
“This reflection.” Peng Chengyi held the photo up in front of her.
Chen Wei looked closely before she could see the blurry outline reflected above.
"He has good eyesight; he can tell it's not you even in such a blurry picture," she commented objectively.
"So you know how miserable I am, right?" Peng Chengyi sighed. "Trying to show off in front of him is harder than climbing to heaven."
Chen Wei smiled and handed her the drumsticks: "It's okay, practice more, and you'll be able to break his record sooner or later."
Peng Chengyi: "..."
She truly lives up to her cool image.
The comfort I gave her was all such simple and unpretentious advice.
-
After the start of the school year, the days flew by in a flurry of activity.
The Qingming Festival is just around the corner.
It was a Tuesday. Although there were no classes, the school had a tradition of organizing first-year students to visit the martyrs' cemetery in Qinglin County to sweep the tombs, and then go on a spring outing and picnic in the surrounding wetland park.
Peng Chengyi, who had never participated in such a group activity before, was quite excited at first. Over the weekend, she dragged Chen Yubai to the supermarket and bought a lot of snacks.
When she got to the school, she learned from Zheng Xinyue that they were supposed to walk from the No. 1 Middle School to the Martyrs' Cemetery.
“Walk there?! I saw on the navigation that it’s almost 20 kilometers away!” Peng Chengyi exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yes, the school wants us to experience the hardships of the Long March and temper our will." Zheng Xinyue smiled wryly. "However, I heard from my senior that after sweeping the tombs we can take the bus, and the subsequent field trip is quite interesting."
"Then, should I not have brought so many snacks?" Peng Chengyi opened her bulging backpack.
Zheng Xinyue glanced at him and said, "It's best to travel light. You can pick out some to take out."
"All right……"
Since she had originally bought all the foods she liked, Peng Chengyi spent a long time picking and choosing, but couldn't bring herself to take out more than a few packs.
After all, during the subsequent outing, we could sit by the river and eat.
She even persuaded Chen Yubai to buy a picnic mat and bring it to school.
Oh well, a few more bags of snacks won't make it much heavier to carry.
Peng Chengyi comforted herself and zipped up her schoolbag.
The next morning, the early spring sunshine still carried a hint of chill.
The students, dressed in red and white school uniforms, lined up in order of their classes and set off in a grand procession from the gate of the No. 1 Middle School.
Each class's sports representative walked at the front of the procession, holding up colorful flags. The bright flags fluttered in the morning breeze, resembling a winding, colorful river from afar.
The support vehicle slowly followed beside the convoy, the morning dew condensing on the windows glistening in the sunlight.
At first, Peng Chengyi chatted and laughed with Zheng Xinyue and Chen Wei, and felt that the 20-kilometer journey was not so difficult.
But after more than an hour, her feet started to ache, and the extra bags of snacks in her backpack felt like a heavy burden, making her shoulders ache.
"I regret it. I really shouldn't have brought so many snacks..." She couldn't help but breathe heavily, tugging at the heavy backpack strap on her shoulder.
Zheng Xinyue: "Why don't you ask Chen Yubai to carry it for you for a while?"
"Forget it, if I go to him, I'll definitely be ridiculed." Peng Chengyi smiled bitterly, "Because when I bought snacks, he told me to bring less."
Zheng Xinyue: "Then hang in there a little longer. In another half hour, we'll reach the rest stop."
Peng Chengyi sighed: "Now I understand what my mother always said: 'If you're feeling bitter, think of the Long March; if you're feeling tired, think of the revolutionary veterans...'"
Zheng Xinyue: "Haha, my mom often says that too."
Chen Wei: "My mom too."
Peng Chengyi: "One world, one mother."
Although she held on, she did not seek help from Chen Yubai.
But as she slowed down, she couldn't keep up with the middle group and gradually fell to the back.
"I told you not to buy so many snacks, you can't walk anymore already?" A casual, teasing voice came from behind.
Peng Chengyi knew it was Chen Yubai without even turning around, and stubbornly straightened her back: "Who can't walk anymore?"
"Then what are you doing at the back of the line, you little dwarf?" Chen Yubai chuckled lazily.
Peng Chengyi choked for a moment, then said stiffly, "I wanted to enjoy the scenery along the way more."
"Oh—" Chen Yubai drawled, glancing at her increasingly slumped shoulders, and reached out to lift her heavy schoolbag. "You're so engrossed in admiring it that your shoulders are all crooked."
The heavy weight on her shoulders instantly lightened, and Peng Chengyi couldn't resist turning her face away, asking, "Will you help me carry it?"
Chen Yubai slightly curled the corners of his lips and said slowly, "Call me brother, and I'll help you out for a while."
Surrounded by unfamiliar boys in the back row, she felt too embarrassed to call him "brother" in front of them. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she muttered "idiot dog" to him, then forced herself to quicken her pace.
"Hahaha, your boss is so awesome."
Ling Baizhou's teasing laughter came from behind, followed by Chen Yubai's crisp and decisive "Get lost."
After another ten minutes, we finally reached the service station in the middle.
Peng Chengyi breathed a sigh of relief as she unloaded her heavy schoolbag and slumped onto a bench at the rest stop.
She gently massaged her shoulders, which were marked with red welts from the straps, and her aching muscles finally got a moment's respite.
"Do you need to go to the restroom?" Zheng Xinyue asked Chen Wei, pulling her aside.
"Let me catch my breath..." Peng Chengyi leaned back in her chair.
Zheng Xinyue: "Then we'll go first, I'm about to burst from holding my breath."
Peng Chengyi waved her hand understandingly: "Go ahead, go ahead."
By the time her aching shoulders and feet had finally eased up a bit, a long, winding queue had already formed in front of the restroom.
Peng Chengyi stood on tiptoe to count the number of people in front of her, then sighed helplessly.
By the time she finally emerged from the restroom, the assembly whistle had already resounded throughout the rest area.
Peng Chengyi glanced hurriedly at the bench in the distance and saw that it was empty. She thought that Zheng Xinyue and the others must have taken her schoolbag with them when they gathered.
He jogged back to the class line and reached out to Chen Wei behind him: "Give me your schoolbag."
"What kind of backpack?" Chen Wei asked curiously.
"Huh? Isn't my backpack with you?" Peng Chengyi turned around, slightly startled.
“It’s not here. We came back from the restroom and didn’t see your backpack on the chair. We thought you had taken it with you.” Zheng Xinyue peeked out from behind Chen Wei.
"I didn't carry it..." Peng Chengyi opened her mouth, then panicked, "Oh no, oh no, my backpack couldn't have fallen under the chair, so none of us saw it! My wallet and phone are still inside!"
Zheng Xinyue quickly comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, go to the sports committee first to explain the situation, and we'll go back with you to look for it."
"Hmm." Peng Chengyi nodded, and was about to turn around to find the sports committee member who was counting the number of people in the back.
Suddenly, a tall, thin boy at the back of the line stood out on his shoulder—
I caught a glimpse of her missing white backpack.
-----------------------
Author's Note: [Dog head with rose in hand]
Thank you to SaltyFishDoesntWantToTurnOver, 75981039, uoow, and LittleGreenRiverMyBeloved for the nutrient solution!
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