Chapter 32
Since Cheng Xun sent her the message that he had something to do over the weekend, Song Qiuxuan hadn't seen him for four days. She didn't know what had happened around Cheng Xun that caused him to miss school on Monday and Tuesday.
Song Qiuxuan felt a little worried about him. After returning home from self-study on Tuesday evening, she took out her phone and considered whether she should send him a message.
She stared at the chat box for several minutes, editing a message repeatedly, but in the end, she deleted it all.
Song Qiuxuan thought to herself as she lay in bed, "If Cheng Xun still doesn't come to school tomorrow, I'll send him a message to ask."
The next day, Cheng Xun's seat was empty; he still hadn't come.
At noon, Song Qiuxuan turned her head slightly to look at the desk behind her, but the boy who usually sat there with his head down studying was nowhere to be seen. Disappointed, Song Qiuxuan turned back and couldn't help but take out her phone to send a message to Cheng Xun.
Song Qiuxuan: Cheng Xun, why haven't you come to school for the past three days? Is it because of that matter you mentioned? Is it serious or troublesome?
Song Qiuxuan: What about tomorrow? Will you come to school?
Song Qiuxuan: Let me know when you come to school. I've sorted out the notes you missed these past few days, and I'll lend them to you when you get back to school.
Several messages went unanswered; Cheng Xun did not reply to any of them.
That evening, Song Qiuxuan rode her bicycle home alone. She took out her keys to open the door and saw Xu Yanzhen busy in the kitchen.
Having received no reply to her message, Song Qiuxuan was in a bad mood from the afternoon onwards, looking sullen and listless. She couldn't even muster the energy to find out what her mother was busy with.
She walked silently, entered the bedroom and closed the door. Xu Yanzhen only realized she was back when she heard the door click shut.
Xu Yanzhen dried her hands, moved to the door of Song Qiuxuan's bedroom, turned the handle, peeked in, and said softly, "Xuanxuan, there's a little bit of seafood porridge left over from dinner. I'll heat it up for you. Come out and have some porridge before you rest."
Song Qiuxuan was startled by the sudden opening of the door. She sighed softly at her desk and replied weakly, "Okay."
Sitting at the dining table, Song Qiuxuan sipped her porridge, one spoonful at a time. After a moment's thought, she said with a determined look, "Mom, remember to knock next time you come into my room."
Xu Yanzhen sat opposite her, not thinking that not knocking was a big deal. She smiled and said, "Look at you, you don't have anything to hide from me, and you're afraid I'll suddenly barge in and discover your secrets?"
"They're hiding something from you," Song Qiuxuan thought, feeling a heavy weight in her heart. The porridge she was eating tasted bland. She looked up at Xu Yanzhen with a guilty expression in her eyes.
Xu Yanzhen couldn't understand her expression and urged her to finish her drink quickly and get some rest.
Xu Yanzhen's anxiety finally subsided after these past few days. She had spent the entire weekend meticulously observing Song Qiuxuan. Every time Song Qiuxuan left the house, she would rush to the balcony to look for her. The next day, she even followed her to the bus stop, but despite several quiet attempts, she didn't see the boy. Tonight, Xu Yanzhen subtly probed Aunt Liu for information, and to her relief, Aunt Liu told her that she hadn't seen the boy escorting Song Qiuxuan home after evening self-study.
It seems they weren't in a relationship at first, at most just friends. Xu Yanzhen thought with relief that she had extinguished those budding flames in time.
*
Song Qiuxuan knew that Cheng Xun would often play basketball with his seemingly good friend during Thursday afternoon PE class. So, when that class started, she went to the basketball court to try her luck and see if she could spot his friend, who might know why Cheng Xun hadn't come to school.
He Zhimian accompanied her, while Song Qiuxuan stood outside the court looking around, but to his disappointment, he did not see his friend on the basketball court.
"Perhaps Cheng Xun has something important to do and doesn't have time to reply to your message." On the way back to class, He Zhimian tried her best to ease Song Qiuxuan's tense emotions.
Song Qiuxuan's thoughts seemed to drift far away. Her mind went blank for a few seconds before she said in a daze, "Maybe."
But he didn't even have time to send a message? Doesn't he know how much she cares about and worries about him?
Normally, if a student asks for a five- or six-day leave, the homeroom teacher will tell the reason in class, but this time not a word of it leaked out.
Song Qiuxuan had gone to Cheng Xun's house, intending to visit him, but Xu Yanzhen had been paying too much attention to her these past few days, and any slight movement would disturb her. On the weekend, Xu Yanzhen even followed her to the bus stop, thinking she had disguised herself well. In fact, Song Qiuxuan had already keenly sensed it, but she didn't expose her in person.
Song Qiuxuan could understand Xu Yanzhen quite well. After all, she used to be really sensible and obedient. Once she did something against Xu Yanzhen's wishes, Xu Yanzhen would immediately be on high alert.
*
On Friday after school, Song Qiuxuan had no idea that she would run into Liang Shizhe, Cheng Xun's friend, at the school gate.
The school gate was bustling with people. Song Qiuxuan pushed her bicycle, dodging the crowd, when suddenly a voice called out to her.
"Song Qiuxuan? Is your name Song Qiuxuan? I think I'm not mistaken."
Song Qiuxuan felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and, upon seeing who it was, her eyes widened in surprise. Then she nodded vigorously in response.
She noticed a bruise near the boy's mouth, like one left from a fight. She stared at the wound for a few seconds, then hesitantly asked, "Do you know my name?"
Liang Shizhe laughed heartily and said, "Cheng Xun and I are good friends. Aren't you two together? With that kind of relationship, how could I not know your name?"
Song Qiuxuan lowered her eyes and said, "You know."
“Let’s talk as we walk,” Liang Shizhe said, pointing outside the school. Then he frowned in confusion, “Has Cheng Xun not come to school yet?”
It sounded like he didn't understand Cheng Xun's reason for asking for leave either. Song Qiuxuan walked past the flower bed outside the school, feeling somewhat disappointed.
"Hmm, even you don't know why he didn't come to school?" Song Qiuxuan gripped the handlebars so tightly that her fingertips turned white.
"I knew, but I didn't expect him to return to school later than me."
Song Qiuxuan asked in surprise, "You haven't been to school these past few days?"
Liang Shizhe scratched his head sheepishly and nodded. Then he said angrily, "It was an accident! It was all an accident! It was all those idiots' fault, those damn scum of society. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have gotten this bruise on my face."
His words drew stares from those around him, their eyes filled with astonishment at his use of profanity in public.
Liang Shizhe awkwardly shut his mouth and walked to a place further away from the school before he spoke again: "In short, there was a reason why we didn't come to school. We had no choice but to be tricked by someone."
Song Qiuxuan was completely confused and didn't understand what he was talking about. She tentatively asked, "What...what happened between you two?"
Liang Shizhe spat in disgust, seemingly feeling relieved, before describing what happened that day to Song Qiuxuan.
"On Saturday night, Cheng Xun and I went out for barbecue. We ordered a bunch of skewers and two cans of beer. It was a pretty comfortable evening. After we finished eating and drinking, we went home and walked to the roadside to hail a taxi. But on the way, we ran into a few unfamiliar boys, all around our age. Only one of them looked familiar. Cheng Xun and I had met that guy in the dean's office. It was shortly after the start of the semester. Cheng Xun and I were caught smoking and had to write apologies there. He was in the same situation as us, also punished for smoking and had to write an apology. When he saw that Cheng Xun had finished writing, he acted like an older brother and asked Cheng Xun to write one for him. Cheng Xun refused, but little did he know that the idiot would hold a grudge against him. Later, they met outside an internet cafe. Cheng Xun didn't want to talk to him, so he tried to burn Cheng Xun with a cigarette. So Cheng Xun retaliated and kicked him."
"Originally, it was all that person's fault for meddling, but he turned around and held a grudge against Cheng Xun. When he saw Cheng Xun and me on Saturday night, he acted like he had seen an enemy and immediately called over a few boys around him to teach us a lesson."
"There were only two of us, Cheng Xun and I. At first, we were able to exchange a few moves, but then I was knocked to the ground. That guy's target was Cheng Xun. I was pinned to the ground and couldn't move. I only got two punches in the mouth and that was it. But Cheng Xun was beaten up by several beastly boys. Especially that guy, who broke Cheng Xun's hand."
"Damn it, I've never met such a disgusting group of people in my life. They beat people up and ran away. The three who were injured when Cheng Xun and I fought back were then turned around and accused Cheng Xun and me of being drunk and provoking the fight. They pinned all the old and new injuries on Cheng Xun and me. It's a huge mess. And the alley where it happened doesn't have any security cameras, so we can't produce any evidence."
“When we explained, they said we were drunk and talking nonsense, insisting that we started the fight. Later, when my family went to the police station, the police said they had seen this kind of situation many times. Both sides held their own opinions and argued their points, making it impossible to distinguish the truth from the falsehood. The only thing that could be confirmed was that both sides were injured. The police then looked at the parents' attitude. My parents wanted to pursue the matter to the end, but Cheng Xun's parents unanimously agreed to a settlement, after all, his injuries were serious. My parents were persuaded by them and did not insist.”
"At that time, I couldn't understand Cheng Xun's parents' thinking. We were the innocent party. If we had pursued the matter further, we might have been able to find out the truth."
Liang Shizhe's anger hadn't subsided. He grew angrier as he spoke, his voice rising several octaves towards the end. After he finished speaking, he saw a stone on the ground and kicked it aside in a fit of rage.
Song Qiuxuan was afraid of missing a single word, so she listened very attentively. Throughout the entire process, she was on tenterhooks, and her lips turned white from being pressed together.
Song Qiuxuan's voice trembled slightly: "Cheng Xun, how is he now?"
Liang Shizhe looked at Song Qiuxuan, whose face was pale with suspicion, and asked, "You two have that kind of relationship, didn't Cheng Xun tell you any of this?"
Song Qiuxuan said, "I sent a message, but Cheng Xun didn't reply."
Liang Shizhe frowned in surprise: "How could that be? After leaving the police station that day, Cheng Xun and his parents went to the hospital to treat his wounds, and I went home first. A few days ago, I asked him on my phone how he was doing, and he said he was recovering well, but I forgot to ask him when he was going back to school."
Song Qiuxuan was stunned for a few seconds. Why didn't Cheng Xun reply to her messages? Why didn't he tell her about the thrilling thing that happened to him over the weekend?
Liang Shizhe noticed Song Qiuxuan's low spirits and tried to ease the tension by saying, "He probably didn't see your message. Don't overthink it."
Song Qiuxuan nodded. Just then, Liang Shizhe's phone rang. He answered it, said a few words, and then hung up. He said to Song Qiuxuan, "My dad is here to pick me up. His car is parked across the street. I'm leaving now."
"Okay, goodbye." Song Qiuxuan watched Liang Shizhe walk across the street.
*
That evening, Song Qiuxuan barely managed to concentrate on finishing the math workbook assignment given by her teacher. She closed the book and put down her pen, her gaze falling on her phone.
She opened the chat window, lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, and finally decided to edit a message to inquire about Cheng Xun's situation.
Song Qiuxuan: Cheng Xun, I ran into your friend after school today. He told me about what happened to you over the weekend.
Song Qiuxuan: I can't believe such a terrible thing happened around here. I heard you broke your hand. Are you feeling better after a few days?
Song Qiuxuan: When are you going back to school?
After sending the message, Song Qiuxuan stared at the screen for several minutes but still didn't receive a reply. She glanced at the time; it was eleven o'clock. Perhaps Cheng Xun was resting.
Song Qiuxuan turned off the light, lay down on the bed, and closed her eyes.
Not long after closing her eyes, Song Qiuxuan recalled the bloody scene after the fight, followed by Cheng Xun's face appearing in the chaotic corner.
Song Qiuxuan suddenly opened her eyes, breathing rapidly, her palms sweating, and her heart pounding wildly.
After resting in the darkness for a while, Song Qiuxuan lay on her side, her head resting on her arm. She glanced at her phone, which was barely visible on the table, lying there quietly. There was no movement whatsoever.
With Cheng Xun on her mind, Song Qiuxuan suffered from insomnia again.
She wanted to confront Cheng Xun face-to-face: Was she deliberately ignoring her messages? With so many messages, had she really not seen a single one?
He always seemed to obey her every word and indulge her, as if he was treating her the best. However, when it came to crucial moments, he would tell her nothing.
*
The opening ceremony of the Lianyan No.1 Middle School Sports Meet is scheduled for 7:30 a.m.
For three consecutive days, the sports meet was a welcome respite from homework, and the students were excited and enthusiastic. During the event, the school radio station was flooded with slips of paper with song titles written on them, and popular music filled the campus for the three days.
Song Qiuxuan is a member of the class officers and is responsible for purchasing mineral water for the sports meet.
After the long opening ceremony, Song Qiuxuan led several boys to the school supermarket to get water.
Lu Chengzhou's project wasn't scheduled for the morning, but he joined in the fun. On the way, several boys were discussing the game intensely.
"Song Qiuxuan." Lu Chengzhou caught up with Song Qiuxuan, who was walking ahead, and stood beside her. Song Qiuxuan glanced at him. Since they changed seats, they had rarely spoken.
“I signed up for the high jump, and as your former deskmate,” Lu Chengzhou raised an eyebrow. “You should write a cheer for me, right?”
"Haven't all the cheerleading messages for the contestants in the class been written?" Song Qiuxuan hadn't been in high spirits these past few days. She pursed her lips and looked at the small supermarket not far away.
“I know that the class monitor was assigned to write it by the teacher, but there’s no rule that each person can only write one cheering speech. You can also write one for me and submit it to the broadcasting station.”
"I've been a bit busy these past few days, so I probably won't have time to write," Song Qiuxuan politely declined.
"All right."
Song Qiuxuan and several boys carried several boxes of water back to Class 20's base camp.
Most people went to watch the game; only a few sat on small stools playing on their phones.
Several boxes of water were piled up in a corner of the base camp, and Song Qiuxuan sat quietly to the side, recording the expenses in the notebook given to her by the squad leader.
After finishing all this, Song Qiuxuan took out her phone to check the time. Only half an hour had passed since the opening ceremony ended. She blinked and her finger subconsciously tapped on her chat box with Cheng Xun, but he still hadn't replied.
It's Wednesday today. The sun isn't very strong, but the wind is quite fierce. The squad flags planted next to the base camp are fluttering everywhere, as if they're whipping the air.
In two more days, Cheng Xun will have been absent from school for a full two weeks.
Yesterday, Song Qiuxuan ran into Liang Shizhe again, trying to inquire about Cheng Xun's situation through him. However, this time he kept his mouth shut and refused to reveal any information.
Seeing Liang Shizhe's completely different reaction from last time, Song Qiuxuan was certain that Cheng Xun was deliberately ignoring her messages.
Why? Song Qiuxuan couldn't figure it out. At the same time, she hated herself for being so easily distracted and distressed because of this.
The entire playground was noisy, with students in the stands cheering for their classmates, the broadcasting station constantly reading out encouraging messages, and the starting gun firing intermittently.
Song Qiuxuan seemed to be isolated from the noisy scene around her; her emotions were like a still lake, without a ripple.
She put away her phone, rested her arms on her knees, propped her chin on her hand, and stared blankly at the rubber track.
Suddenly, she remembered that Cheng Xun had said he would never forget anything related to her; he had said it so confidently, like a promise. And there was that love letter, in which he promised to stay by her side, making her believe him.
But now, it's obvious he's deliberately ignoring her.
He even had the audacity to say he'd treat her to a lavish meal if she won first place in her group at the sports meet. What does that even mean? Shouldn't he give her an explanation on the day of the sports meet?
Song Qiuxuan grew angrier the more he thought about it, even planning to avoid him whenever he saw him after returning to school, determined to make him experience the helplessness and frustration of being coldly left aside.
*
The sports meet ended on a Friday. After the other classes were dismissed, they went straight to the school gate, but only Class 20 was called back to the classroom.
The seating arrangement was originally scheduled to change after the second monthly exam, but it was delayed for two weeks until today.
The students sighed and walked against the flow of people back to their classrooms. This time, the seating arrangement was made by the homeroom teacher, who said that protesting was useless and they would just sit wherever they were assigned.
Song Qiuxuan moved her seat to the third row of the middle group. While tidying up her books, she couldn't help but look back.
Because Cheng Xun took leave, the teacher didn't assign him a new seat, so he will have to stay here for at least another month.
Song Qiuxuan held a stack of books, his gaze sweeping intently over every inch of the desk behind him, as if trying to memorize something. The stack of books on the desk was always quite high, and in the past two weeks, it had been knocked askew several times by classmates who were playing around. Each time, Song Qiuxuan would help straighten it. His draft paper was still spread out, covered with dense marks of calligraphy practice.
She was a little reluctant to leave this seat. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Song Qiuxuan shook her head. She was still angry that Cheng Xun ignored her. Changing seats would be good, so that she could avoid Cheng Xun in the same way when he came back.
While tidying up her new seat, Song Qiuxuan chatted with her deskmate for a bit. Her deskmate was an approachable girl who seemed to know a lot of gossip and enthusiastically told Song Qiuxuan about it.
The conversation between the students abruptly shifted to Cheng Xun: "Your seat used to be in front of Cheng Xun. I think I often saw you explaining problems to him. Were you two close?"
Song Qiuxuan paused in her act of putting away the books, then shook her head, unwilling to admit it because of Cheng Xun's actions over the past few days.
My deskmate didn't dwell on the matter. She said, "During this sports meet, girls from other classes came to our class's headquarters specifically to find Cheng Xun. I was sitting on a small stool at the time, and I saw her holding a small pink envelope, probably a confession. Then she heard that Cheng Xun hadn't come to school for the past few days, and she left looking very disappointed."
Her deskmate looked at her with pity: "You have no idea how disappointed she was back then."
Song Qiuxuan nodded absentmindedly.
My deskmate remarked with a sigh, "I never imagined he was so famous at school."
Song Qiuxuan thought, "What a faithless guy."
A promise that cannot be kept should not be made with conviction.
When the promise was broken, she was left alone in sorrow and despair.
After leaving the school, Song Qiuxuan rode her bicycle to a milk tea shop to cheer herself up.
As Song Qiuxuan walked out of the shop carrying her taro mochi milk tea, she stared blankly at the lonely bicycle parked outside.
She suddenly realized that Cheng Xun had left indelible marks on her life in every way.
Uncontrollably, Song Qiuxuan was overwhelmed and enveloped by feelings of loneliness.
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