New classroom for high school students
The September sun shone obliquely into the new classroom of Class 2 (3) of Senior High School. Lin Weixi stood at the door, her eyes anxiously scanning the rows of desks. When she saw the back of that familiar head, her heart finally settled down - Chen Wang had indeed chosen the science class, and they were still in the same class.
But soon, her heart sank again. Chen Wang sat in the third row by the window, while she was in the second-to-last row by the door. Four rows of desks separated them, like an unbridgeable galaxy.
The new classroom was larger than the one I had in my freshman year of high school. The walls were covered with periodic tables and physics formula posters. Lin Weixi walked to her new seat and put down her schoolbag. She couldn't help but glance in that direction again. Chen Wang was discussing the summer basketball league with his deskmate, his profile looking especially clear in the sunlight.
"Wei Xi! We're in the same class again!" Chen Siyu ran over excitedly and naturally sat in the empty seat in front of her. "It's a pity that we're not deskmates anymore."
Lin Weixi forced a smile, her eyes still fixed on that direction. She noticed that Chen Wang's new deskmate was a famous physics genius in the class, and the two seemed to get along well.
The head teacher walked into the classroom and began to explain the course schedule for the second year of high school. Lin Weixi listened absentmindedly, her fingers unconsciously drawing circles on the desk. Physics, chemistry, biology - these subjects that she was not good at, now became important because of one person's choice.
During the break, the students began to familiarize themselves with the new environment. Lin Weixi pretended to pack her schoolbag, but her eyes kept following Chen Wang's figure. He quickly became friends with the new students, and laughter could be heard from the other end of the classroom from time to time.
"I heard that the study groups will be re-divided this semester." Shen Siyu turned around and lowered her voice, "I hope we can be assigned to the same group."
Lin Weixi's heart skipped a beat. Study group? This meant she might have the opportunity to have more exchanges with Chen Wang.
The second class was physics, and the new teacher asked the students to introduce themselves. When it was Chen Wang's turn, he stood up and said simply, "I like physics and basketball, and I hope to make progress with my classmates this semester."
When it was Lin Weixi's turn, she was so nervous that her voice trembled: "I... I like photography and will work hard to learn physics." After saying that, she sat down immediately, her cheeks burning. She felt that Chen Wang seemed to glance in her direction, but she didn't dare to confirm it.
At noon, school was over and the students left the classroom one after another. Lin Weixi deliberately slowed down the pace of packing her things and watched Chen Wang and a few boys walk out the door, chatting and laughing. After their backs disappeared at the end of the corridor, she picked up her schoolbag and left alone.
On the way home, she kept calculating the distance in the classroom. From her seat to Chen Wang's, it was seven and a half steps. These seven and a half steps became the harshest reality of the beginning of her second year of high school.
In the afternoon chemistry class, the teacher arranged an in-class experiment. According to the seating order, Lin Weixi and Shen Siyu were in a group, while Chen Wang was in a group with the physics genius. During the experiment, she looked up at the laboratory table across from her from time to time. Chen Wang's focused profile as he operated the instrument made her lose her focus for a moment, and she almost added the wrong reagent.
"Wei Xi! That's concentrated sulfuric acid!" Shen Siyu grabbed her hand in time to avoid an accident.
Lin Weixi broke out in a cold sweat and quickly apologized. She secretly glanced across and found Chen Wang looking at her with concern. The moment their eyes met, she hurriedly lowered her head, her heart beating like a drum.
After school, Lin Weixi was the last one to leave the classroom. She walked over to Chen Wang's seat and lightly brushed her fingers across the desk. There were formulas faintly written in pencil on it, and a small basketball doodle - exactly the same habit she had in her freshman year of high school.
This discovery brought a sweet feeling to her heart. At least, some things never changed.
At the class meeting on Friday, the head teacher announced the list of study groups. When "Chen Wang, Lin Weixi, Shen Siyu, Zhou Xu" was read out, Lin Weixi could hardly believe her ears.
Shen Siyu quietly shook her hand under the table and winked. Zhou Xu gave her a meaningful smile. Chen Wang, on the other hand, simply nodded, as if this was just an ordinary arrangement.
But for Lin Weixi, this was an unexpected surprise. The study group meant that they had to sit together and discuss homework two afternoons a week. This meant that the seven and a half steps distance finally had a chance to be broken.
Over the weekend, she went to the bookstore specifically to buy the latest physics reference books. As she checked out, she imagined the conversations that might take place during group study, and her lips curled up unconsciously.
After school on Monday, the first group study session took place in the library. Lin Weixi arrived ten minutes early and chose a seat by the window. When Chen Wang came over with a reference book in his arms, the setting sun fell on him through the window.
"Let's start." He sat down opposite her naturally and opened the textbook.
Throughout the discussion, Lin Weixi tried hard to concentrate, but her mind kept wandering unconsciously. Chen Wang's slightly furrowed brows when he explained the difficult problem, his habit of spinning his pen when thinking, and the focused look he gave her occasionally made her heart beat faster.
"Do you understand here?" he asked suddenly, pointing the tip of his pen at the draft paper in front of her.
Lin Weixi suddenly came back to her senses and nodded with a red face. Zhou Xu and Shen Siyu exchanged a tacit look, but did not point it out.
After finishing their studies, the four of them walked out of the school gate together. The setting sun stretched their shadows very long, and Lin Weixi quietly adjusted her pace so that her shadow and Chen Wang's would occasionally overlap. This small gesture became her sweetest secret of the day.
That night, she drew a floor plan of the classroom in her diary, marking the locations of the two seats with a red pen. Next to it, she wrote:
"Although we're only seven and a half steps apart, the study group gives us the opportunity to get closer every week. During today's discussion, he explained three problems to me, said five sentences, and laughed twice. I'll remember these numbers well."
As she wrote this, she remembered Chen Wang's serious expression when he was explaining things, and his occasional dimples. Although the start of her second year of high school was not satisfactory, it didn't seem that bad.
The moonlight outside the window was just right, and Lin Weixi gently closed the diary. This distance of seven and a half steps was perhaps the most appropriate length for youth - not too far, not too close, just enough for her to silently love and grow quietly.
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