28/Spying
When Shen Yu found Chen Mian, she had just washed her hands, took out a tissue from her pocket to wipe the surface of the cup, crumpled the tissue into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.
When she looked up, she saw Shen Yu standing there staring at her with a scrutinizing gaze, which puzzled Chen Mian. She asked him, "What's wrong?"
This question should have been asked by Shen Yu to Chen Mian. Just now, his eyes looked like a wife catching her husband cheating. He didn't even listen to what the class leader was saying before walking straight out, with the class leader following behind, angrily calling his name.
He didn't respond to Chen Mian's words, but simply stood next to her, turned on the tap again to wash his hands, then went over and took a tissue from her pocket, pulled one out to dry his hands, and asked her, "Are there exams during evening self-study?"
Chen Mian hadn't heard about this before and looked at him with some confusion.
Why do we have to attend evening self-study sessions?
"Didn't your homeroom teacher say that starting today, day students will all have to attend evening self-study sessions at school?"
They really didn't mention it. No wonder Zhao Lili said the science class had exams for two consecutive days, even during evening self-study. It turns out this policy has already been implemented. Chen Mian frowned with some distress and asked Shen Yu, "Does that mean we have to fill out forms again?"
Whenever a policy is implemented in Suizhong, students are always required to fill out a form again, including their home address, parents' contact information, etc., because they are afraid that they will not be able to contact them if there is a problem. The only thing that Chen Mian finds troublesome is having to fill in her parents' information. Chen Song's phone number was filled in randomly once before. When the teacher saw that no one was coming to the parent-teacher meeting in the first year of high school, she called the number and found that it was not in service. She gave Chen Mian a lecture.
Later, Chen Mian met Shen Yu, and her father directly filled in Shen Yu's driver's number as his contact information.
She frowned and complained softly, "So annoying."
There was a lot of noise coming from the teacher's office. Lin Lin's voice was sharp and she was arguing for some reason. Shen Yu had just glanced over when he heard Chen Mian say those two words. It was like being scratched by a cat. His bad mood, which had been dragged into the teacher's office to be scolded early in the morning, was swept away.
"You've been quite fond of acting cute lately."
He spoke to her in a lazy, factual tone, leaning casually against the sink, his watch ticking away, while the angry shouts of the head of the teachers' office echoed down the corridor not far away.
There was a pair of eyes by the door that kept glancing this way.
The hem of her skirt wasn't properly concealed, and some of it peeked out, billowing in the wind like waves.
When her gaze met Chen Mian's, she immediately looked away like a startled rabbit, took a few steps inside, and her skirt disappeared as well.
"What are you looking at?" Shen Yu followed her gaze and looked in that direction, but there was nothing there, just an empty corridor.
Chen Mian looked away and said to Shen Yu, "I wasn't being coquettish."
Even when the topic has strayed far off course, they can still find a way to circumvent it and refute it, unwilling to suffer any loss.
After saying that, she pointed to the teacher's office and said to Shen Yu, "The one who knows how to act cute is over there."
Chen Yin, Qiao Zhiwan, and Lin Lin are all better at acting cute and charming than her.
To Shen Yu, Chen Mian's words sounded a bit sarcastic when analyzed literally, but to his ears, they were a different story. It was like a tour guide simply telling someone which scenery was better—plain and somewhat infuriating. After saying that, Chen Mian seemed to forget what he had said and took out a tissue from his pocket and put it in Shen Yu's pocket.
When the person got close, Shen Yu smelled the scent of lily of the valley shower gel on Chen Mian's body.
The light, refreshing scent, carried by the breeze along with the warmth of the nearby body, felt like a springtime illusion.
As she put the tissue into his school uniform pocket, she was suddenly grabbed through his clothes. The cotton fabric was thin, and the warmth of his fingers seemed to take a few seconds to reach Chen Mian's hand, as if from another time. His slender fingers, with their bent knuckles, pinched her index finger, like catching a restless cicada in the summer.
Chen Mian looked up and saw Shen Yu's school uniform collar, his Adam's apple sticking up, the zipper swaying as he bent over.
As the distance closed and her hand was pulled, she took a step back and heard Shen Yu's undisguised laughter.
He said to her again, "Chen Mian, you're really something, both incompetent and a flirt."
That time he smoked, he was both bad at the game and loved to play.
This time, leaving him tissues at school was both silly and flirtatious.
There aren't many good words.
Chen Mian picked up her water glass from the table. "I need to go back to take the exam."
Shen Yu didn't make things difficult for him. He withdrew his strength and, as if the person was fleeing, grabbed his water bottle and immediately ran towards the corner. His fingers brushed against the tissue in his coat pocket, and he chuckled silently.
Chen Mian entered the classroom just as the school bell rang. As soon as she sat down, Zhao Lili handed her a form with information on day students. "You went to the restroom just now, and the homeroom teacher asked Chen Ke to compile the data. I got you a copy. Aren't you a day student?"
Chen Mian was prepared after Shen Yu mentioned this matter. She nodded, took a pen, and filled in the information. As usual, she filled in Shen Yu's driver's number for the phone number and Shengshi Haoting for the address.
Zhao Lili was a little surprised, "You moved, Mianmian?"
"Yes, my mom lives here."
She spoke so naturally, and it was no secret that her parents were divorced. Chen Mian's single-parent family was also listed as a poverty-stricken student. When she gave her speech on the podium, she used this as a title, which was known to everyone in the school. At this moment, she said the word "Mom" so naturally that Zhao Lili did not remember that Chen Mian's mother had disappeared for nearly three years.
She gave a somewhat dazed "oh," hesitated for a moment, and then whispered to Chen Mian, "But I think if you fill it out like this, and Chen Ke sees it, he'll definitely use it as an excuse to say that you don't meet the application criteria for living here."
Application criteria for students from impoverished families.
Adhering strictly to the principle of "one radish, one hole," the poor radish lives in the narrow hole, and the rich radish lives in the wide hole.
Because Shengshi Haoting is adjacent to Suizhong, every student knows about it. High school students don't have much to do besides studying. Underneath their uniform school attire, the hidden competition revolves around shoes, watches, bracelets, as well as where they live and the cars that pick them up and drop them off.
Like an invisible pyramid, the way from the bottom to the middle is bound to spark heated discussions.
Chen Ke, who had just complained, was clearly not a good person. Zhao Lili was genuinely worried about Chen Mian and even suggested, "Why don't you just give it to the teacher later? Don't let Chen Ke do it. He's such a blabbermouth."
As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Ke, who was organizing the documents at his desk, walked over to them. Zhao Lili immediately shut up, and Chen Ke reached out his hand to Chen Mian, "You're the only one left. Have you finished filling it out?"
Seeing Chen Mian about to give it to him, Zhao Lili hurriedly called her name softly, "Mianmian—"
Chen Ke looked at her, "Is there a problem, Zhao Lili?"
Zhao Lili pouted, "What problem could I possibly have? Absolutely no problem."
After saying that, he reached down and tugged at Chen Mian's clothes.
Chen Mian gave the information to Chen Ke. As expected, Chen Ke looked at the address, gave Chen Mian a meaningful look, said nothing, and left with the information.
Seeing his expression, Zhao Lili was somewhat indignant and was about to say something to Chen Mian when the math teacher walked in with the test papers. He piled the papers on the podium, looked at the listless students below, and slapped the ruler loudly.
"Students! Cheer up! Look at the countdown to the college entrance exam on the podium. Be alert! If you want to sleep, wait until after the exam. Students in the first row, pass the exam papers to the back."
Then all I heard was a chorus of sighs.
A whole day of exams drained my energy.
Another evening study session spent going over the test papers, and the sound of the bell ringing for the end of class is no different from throwing a lifebuoy into the sea.
Chen Mian collected the exam paper, folded it, and put it in her bag, indicating that she intended to review it again when she got back.
Zhao Lili was somewhat envious of her energy, saying, "Mianmian, your enthusiasm for learning is like a fangirl meeting a handsome guy."
That's quite a vivid description. After evaluating others, he then evaluates himself: "And I am the cow being played on the piano."
Lin Lin, who was tidying up her things in the front row, chuckled upon hearing this. She turned around to look at Chen Mian with a hint of provocation in her eyes, but said to Zhao Lili, "You don't really know your deskmate. Besides being enthusiastic about studying, she's also quite enthusiastic about people."
After saying that, he took his school uniform jacket from the drawer and left.
The night was deep.
Chen Mian and Shen Yu remained distant from each other at school.
Across the row of roadside trees, Chen Mian walked along the sidewalk with her schoolbag on her back, while the Bentley sped along the road at the speed of a bicycle.
The driver asked Chen Yu, who was wearing headphones in the back seat, "Are you sure you don't need to give Chen a ride?"
Shen Yu was listening to English listening practice and said without looking up, "No need."
They trailed each other at a distance, the shadows of cars under the streetlights like the embodiment of trees. Chen Mian walked under each reflection, with different shops playing pop music in her ears, the different tunes blended together into strange and eccentric sounds.
People who had just finished school were walking on this road, their voices hushed and quiet.
When Qiao Zhiwan called Chen Mian's name, she happened to be walking in front of the milk tea shop where they were playing "Half Moon Serenade". She turned around and saw Qiao Zhiwan with her fishtail braids smiling and waving at her.
Qiao Zhiwan walked beside Chen Mian. The daytime spying seemed like a secret in the sunlight. Now she chatted with her without any reservations, "Where do you live? I haven't seen you go to evening self-study before, and I've never run into you here before."
The shop's speakers were playing the lyrics, "People are like the bright moon in the sky, unattainable; feelings are like a melody, leaving only irretrievable separation."
Chen Mian snapped out of her reverie from the song and replied to Qiao Zhiwan, "A magnificent and luxurious place."
Qiao Zhiwan immediately exclaimed "Wow!" in a very happy tone, and said to Chen Mian, "We live in the same neighborhood! Which building do you live in? If I don't go out for the art exam and stay at school, we can walk home together after school."
Chen Mian casually replied.
There wasn't much to say between the two of them, and they weren't particularly close. Chen Mian knew all too well that the voyeuristic desire hidden behind Qiao Zhiwan's rambling topics stemmed from her relationship with Shen Yu. She and Chen Yin were similar in some ways but not in others. If it were Chen Yin, she would have bluntly told her that she and Shen Yu were not the same kind of people and that she should stay away from him.
But Qiao Zhiwan couldn't say such things. She had a gentleness similar to Ruan Yanmei, speaking softly and gently, like a little princess in an ivory tower who knew nothing of malice. She was too shy to ask even the slightest question, as if doing so would reveal her secret crush.
She talked a lot about herself, and after each story, she would habitually ask Chen Mian a question.
As a child, I loved dolls, so whenever I received an award, I would ask my dad for a doll as a reward, resulting in a whole cabinet full of dolls in the house. When I got a little older, I loved the carousel at amusement parks. The whole family would go to the amusement park to take pictures on weekends, and 80% of the photos in the album were taken on the carousel. Occasionally, we would go on picnics, bringing picnic blankets and prepared food to enjoy the spring breeze and savor delicious food.
She asked, "Chen Mian, what about you? How is your life?"
The question seems to have been brought into reality.
At the end of the alley, at the entrance to the residential area.
Ruan Yanmei, dressed in a Chanel-style suit, got out of the taxi and was rummaging through her bag for her keys.
Qiao Zhiwan happily called out "Mom!" Ruan Yanmei turned around and her smile froze on her face when she saw Chen Mian.
Chen Mian didn't look at her, but watched as Shen Yu's Bentley turned into the residential area. As it flashed by, the boy's smiling expression flashed by through the half-open rear window.
This coincided with what she had seen when she passed by the office that morning.
It was as if a cicada hidden in a sleeve chirped once more.
And so the secret was exposed.
She looked away and, under Ruan Yanmei's astonished gaze, whispered to Qiao Zhiwan.
"It's the other side of your life."
/
Pearl, Comment (reaching out)
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