Chapter 5 The Mutual Aid Group's raised fingertips accidentally brushed against Liang Yuanjing's...
"2025.08.30 Sunny"
The sunset is brilliant, and today, it just so happens that I still like you.
——Excerpt from Tao Shuran’s Diary
*
With his wrists aching and his vision dizzy, Tao Shuran stood up and stretched himself after copying the text for the 30th time.
She couldn't help but look out the window. It was a beautiful sunset on a sunny day. Large patches of fiery clouds, like fire and smoke, hung low in the sky, with boundless beauty.
Before coming to Fuqing, Tao Shuran had seen many pictures of the beautiful sunset in Fuqing on the Internet, and she had always longed for the sunset in this city.
I didn't expect to meet you at such an opportunity.
In the setting sun, the girl looked up at the scenery with a calm and elegant gaze. Fang Qingyi sneaked in from the back door and happened to see this scene.
She put the packed lunch box on the table and quickly took out her cell phone to take a picture.
Tao Shuran thought she was taking a picture of the view outside the window and had no idea that she was in the camera.
"Oh, I'll copy it later. Eat your meal first."
Fang Qingyi puffed her cheeks and asked her, "Ranran, how many more articles do you have to copy?"
Tao Shuran gestured a number.
Before she realized anything, Fang Qingyi's face turned bitter, revealing an extremely painful expression. Finally, she made up her mind and held the pen.
"I'll help you copy it."
Tao Shuran shook his head: "Our handwriting is different, the teacher will be able to see it."
"Hello, you've been a student for a long time, right? I have experience with this kind of thing. A teacher won't look at each one carefully. If there are two fakes sandwiched between the originals, it won't be discovered at all."
Fang Qingyi spoke with a sophisticated tone, "Besides, Teacher Yu was so angry that she punished so harshly. She knew how tiring it was to copy all that. Senior year is so tight, there's no way she'd waste it on copying as punishment."
"Teacher Yu has been teaching our class since our second year of high school. In the past, my parents would stay up late to do the copying for me as punishment."
Tao Shuran seemed to have imagined the scene of a family of three sitting at the dining table copying hard all night. She laughed and no longer refused.
Holding the steaming hot takeaway box in front of him, he asked, "Is this fried rice noodles?"
Fang Qingyi: "Yes, it's delicious. I brought it specially for you."
Tao Shuran curled her eyes: "Thank you, Xiaoyi."
"But why are you so nice to me?"
Fang Qingyi waved her hand, lowered her head and wrote quickly. She didn't think much about this question, but answered without thinking.
"Because I like you."
"You are beautiful, gentle, and have a good personality. I want to be friends with you."
Tao Shuran was stunned for a second, looking slightly dazed.
After a while, he said with a normal expression, "Well, I hope to be your friend too."
The efficiency of copying together seemed to be greatly improved. Before seven o'clock, Tao Shuran finally sorted out all the content of the punishment and prepared to hand it over to Teacher Yu.
Before leaving, she took the initiative to ask Fang Qingyi if she wanted to go with her.
Fang Qingyi shook her head. "I hate going to the teacher's office the most, especially after school. There's no students in there, only scary teachers."
"Really? I thought I saw other students inside after school."
Tao Shuran thought for a moment and said casually, "It seems to be Fu Changpei from Class 4. He is helping the teacher correct homework."
Fang Qingyi rushed to her and asked, "What did you say? Fu Changpei is here too?"
Tao Shuran nodded slightly.
Fang Qingyi immediately held her hand and said firmly, "I'll go with you."
The sudden change made Tao Shuran slightly stunned.
Soon she caught something in the tiny details, a faint smile appeared on the corner of her lips, and she slowly took Fang Qingyi's hand.
There is a sense of surprise as if you have discovered a secret.
*
After parting with Fang Qingyi at the intersection where the road turned towards the school, Tao Shuran walked home alone as the sky gradually darkened.
On the way home, she received a call from Tao Hongfeng.
He asked her how her life was going recently, whether she was used to Fuqing and whether the food was good.
Hearing his father's concern, Tao Shuran's eyes suddenly turned red.
She lowered her voice and said, "Dad, why don't you care about my academic performance?"
Tao Hongfeng smiled and said, "There's no rush to ask. The most important thing for my daughter is to eat well and sleep well."
He echoed and asked, "How is it? Are you used to studying in Linchuan?"
"I'm not used to it." Tao Shuran said in a low voice, "I ranked last in the class on the first exam."
Tao Hongfeng was stunned for a moment, then smiled as usual, as if it was no big deal.
"You're not new here. The learning pace at the Affiliated High School is fast, and you're definitely not used to it. You've been studying hard since you were young, and Dad believes you'll definitely catch up later."
Tao Shuran hummed softly, his feeling of loss not changing, but rather becoming more intense.
She thought of the scene in Chinese class today, and the scene of being questioned by the teacher was still vivid in her mind.
This unspeakable scene happened when Liang Yuanjing was sitting next to her.
That's not true, her grades aren't that bad. She wanted to defend herself, but Tao Shuran couldn't say anything.
I just felt a little sad when I sat down, and because the person I like was sitting next to me, this sadness was magnified to another level.
Her tears began to fall, and she squatted on the side of the road in front of the alley, secretly wiping her tears with her sleeve.
Tao Hongfeng on the other end of the phone could tell that she was in a bad mood, and tried to comfort her in a joking tone.
But people are emotional animals. If they are coaxed, their grievances will surge up exponentially. Tao Shuran felt that her emotions could not be suppressed and her tears fell even harder.
In the end, her cuffs were soaked with tears, and she took out the paper from the bag hanging on her shoulder with tears in her eyes.
Someone handed me a pack of paper.
His slender knuckles were as white as jade, like a perfect character walking out of a comic book. Liang Yuanjing held a basketball under his left arm, one hand in his pocket, and his eyes naturally dropped to look at her.
Tao Shuran took the paper blankly, and then realized his embarrassment.
Liang Yuanjing seemed not to recognize her, or perhaps he had no impression of her at all. He did not stay for a moment, and his back was stretched out at the junction of light and shadow.
"Of course?"
Tao Shuran, holding the phone, was completely stunned.
After a while, she realized that maybe in Liang Yuanjing's world, she was just an NPC with no memory at all.
All the embarrassment and awkwardness she thought of did not actually exist in his memory.
Thinking of this, Tao Shuran could barely comfort himself.
She quickly responded, "I'm here, Dad."
"Dad has good news to tell you, but you can't cry after I tell you."
Tao Shuran tore open the package and took out a piece of paper to wipe the tears from her face.
He whispered, "What?"
"Dad is coming to Fuqing."
"This weekend?"
"It's this year," Tao Hongfeng said. "I quit my job at Xian Yao and will focus on accompanying my daughter to school for the next year. Don't you love eating the food cooked by dad the most?"
"How could you quit your job for me? Don't you like that job very much?"
Zhao Yanyun's work as a lawyer requires him to travel around the country to attend court hearings, so most of the household matters are left to Tao Hongfeng to handle.
Because his work is completely opposite to the traditional model of men working outside and women working inside, Tao Hongfeng has been criticized a lot by the outside world. Comments such as "grandeur" and "henpecked" have been made about him all year round as jokes.
Two years ago, Tao Hongfeng found a job he liked. The salary was not high, but it was leisurely.
Tao Shuran was very happy for her father at that time, thinking that he finally had his own life.
Tao Hongfeng said: "Dad prefers taking care of you more than working."
"But didn't you disapprove of my transfer to Fuqing?" Tao Shuran whispered, "You even had a big fight with Mom because of it. I heard that you two haven't reconciled yet."
Tao Hongfeng snorted: "Fighting is a matter for adults. No matter how big the matter is, you can't let my daughter go hungry."
After finishing the call with his father, Tao Shuran felt a little better.
When she returned home, it was later than usual. She looked up at the window and saw that the lights in the room were off. Zhao Yanyun had not returned yet.
This week she got off work later and later, and Tao Shuran had gotten used to it.
Fortunately, Fang Qingyi bought her dinner in the evening.
After turning on the lights and washing up briefly, Tao Shuran sat down at the desk again. The slowly starting computer revealed some unknown emotions.
She opened her email box quite skillfully, and when she saw that she had received a reply to the email she had sent half a month ago, surprise immediately appeared in her eyes.
This email was about a physics question she had asked Liang Yuanjing some time ago. She was not very good at physics and was puzzled by the answer, so she asked him with a try-it attitude.
Unexpectedly, I got a reply half a month later.
Liang Yuanjing not only wrote down the three solutions to this problem, but also marked the source of each knowledge point in detail.
Tao Shuran replied cautiously: "Thank you, Y."
*
A week passed like this in the new school, and the novelty of having a new classmate in the school was soon replaced by the upcoming opening ceremony.
The last class on Friday night is Zhou Wu’s class.
"This week is a normal holiday. Everyone go back and prepare. School will officially start next Monday, which also means that you will officially enter the third year of high school and truly enter the countdown to the college entrance examination."
Zhou Wu coughed lightly and said, "Alright, go back early and cherish your last complete weekend."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was a cry of grief from the audience.
But even though everyone was howling, they didn't stop for a moment to go home after school and ran out of the school gate like a streak.
On the way back, I passed by the honor roll covered with photos, and as expected, I saw Liang Yuanjing's photo at the very front.
Tao Shuran paused.
She silently calculated the distance between her and him in her heart, and suddenly felt the urgency of time. The resulting pressure made her bite her lip unconsciously.
Fang Qingyi came jogging from behind with her schoolbag in hand and patted Tao Shuran's shoulder.
She was startled, but only felt relieved after seeing his face clearly.
Fang Qingyi complained, "Did you know that Wen Fangfang was first in the liberal arts exam this time? Look how cocky she was today, passing a tattered paper around to over a dozen people."
"And you're even pretending to ask if you need it. Are you pretending we didn't hear you? A few days ago, you were spreading the news that you ranked last in the exam."
Tao Shuran took out a candy from his pocket and asked softly, "Do you want candy?"
"Eat." Fang Qingyi angrily tore open the candy wrapper and mumbled as she bit into it, "We must beat her on the next test."
After saying this, she hesitated for a moment and added another sentence.
"At least we can't take up the bottom three spots anymore."
Tao Shuran pursed her lips: "I'll try my best."
"So, I decided to set up a study support group."
When talking about her plan, Fang Qingyi's eyes lit up, and she looked at her with a burning gaze and said, "Let Fu Changpei lead the two of us in our studies. What do you think? Do you want to join us?"
As they were talking, the two of them just happened to walk to the entrance of the alley.
Tao Shuran hadn't noticed Fang Qingyi had followed her here yet. She couldn't help but ask, "Does Fu Changpei agree to this?"
"I made an agreement with him yesterday. If you agree, we can have tutoring at his store tonight."
Fang Qingyi seemed to be more familiar with this place than she was. She skillfully crossed the alley and walked up the long slope. At an angle with a wide view, she took the initiative to knock on the window.
After a while, the back door was opened and Fu Changpei slightly turned sideways to invite them in.
Tao Shuran said a little embarrassedly: "Sorry to bother you."
Fu Changpei didn't say anything, just pointed to the shelf and said, "If you want water, get it yourself."
Entering from the back door is an empty yard with some express cartons wholesaled from supermarkets and a large wooden table in the corner.
A long bench was brought from the house, which was just big enough for her and Fang Qingyi to sit on.
But Tao Shuran never expected that there would be another person here.
The door was wide open, revealing the scenery inside. On the beige fabric sofa, Liang Yuanjing took off his coat. His T-shirt was a blue color comparable to the sky, with the collar hanging loosely. He held the controller in both hands, concentrating on playing the game.
Tao Shuran's gaze fell on his face calmly and intently.
Following her gaze, Fang Qingyi also noticed the people in the room.
She was surprised for a second, but then she thought about the relationship between Fu Changpei and Liang Yuanjing, and felt that it was normal for someone to appear here.
"What a pleasant surprise," Fang Qingyi said with a smile, "Now we have two older masters leading us, it's a perfect 1v1."
Fu Changpei walked in and said a few words.
The chirping of cicadas in summer was too loud, the conflicting air currents in the air were too dry, and his surging heart made it impossible to hear anything. He only heard a few words that Fu Changpei asked him when he turned around and looked at him before he walked out.
He asked Liang Yuanjing: "Will you join?"
Liang Yuanjing lowered his eyes, and the fragmented summer light fell on the bone on the back of his neck. His skin seemed to glow in the sunlight.
Through the dust particles floating in the air, I seemed to have the illusion of looking into her eyes.
Tao Shuran's heart skipped a beat and she subconsciously avoided his sight.
When I looked up again, Liang Yuanjing had already thrown down the controller, got up lazily, walked out of the room, and walked into the yard where the light was the brightest.
He raised his chin slightly, speaking nonchalantly, as if he was still playing.
"I'll follow Lao Fu."
At this time, Fang Qingyi whispered in Tao Shuran's ear the story about the two of them.
In fact, Fang Qingyi knew very little about Liang Yuanjing. She only knew that his family background was not simple, so simple that the leaders of the entire school were a little afraid of him, but if she wanted to say it specifically, no one could explain it clearly.
The opportunity for him and Fu Changpei to meet was very simple. They hit it off at a competition and became friends.
Fang Qingyi complained, "Fu Changpei and Liang Yuanjing, one is reserved and coquettish, the other is extremely bad. They have such different personalities, yet they can become such close friends."
There are too many things in this world that are unpredictable.
Just as Tao Shuran had not expected, the opportunity for her to meet Liang Yuanjing one day would be like this.
Her eyelashes drooped and trembled, and she dared not look at him.
Fang Qingyi has a carefree personality and didn't seem to notice her momentary silence.
In the end, a sudden knock on the door broke the quiet and awkward atmosphere.
As soon as the knock on the door sounded, Fang Qingyi closed her eyes in despair and said in a very certain tone, "The sound of this crazy guy knocking on the door must be that dog Zhao Zhengnian followed the scent."
Tao Shuran couldn't help but ask: "How do you know it's him?"
"Because we often met here before." Fang Qingyi said "Oh" and then explained to her, "Fu Changpei, Zhao Zhengnian, and I were in the same class in our freshman year of high school. Later, we were divided into arts and science. That's why Mr. Fu studied science and didn't stay with us."
"This supermarket is run by Grandma Fu. It's our little base. We often do our homework here together."
"Are you doing your homework? You're clearly just copying Fu Changpei's math answers."
Before Zhao Zhengnian arrived, a loud and clear voice called out to him.
He had just heard about the study group when he was talking to Fu Changpei on the phone, and now he wanted to join it.
Fang Qingyi glared at him unhappily: "What's your business?"
It was originally a good 1v1, but now there's one more person involved. It's definitely not possible to rely on Liang Yuanjing's cold personality. Does Fu Changpei have to coach two people alone?
"Hey, I can't let you study secretly behind my back."
Zhao Zhengnian said without hesitation: "I declare that our Linchuan study group is now established!"
"You have no say."
Fang Qingyi, determined to defend her position as the top sister, took the initiative to extend her hand and said, "Give me five."
Tao Shuran stretched out his hand hesitantly.
In the few seconds she hesitated, Liang Yuanjing's palm covered her, and soon everyone's hands covered her.
Then it fell and rose again, clapping its hands loudly, sounding the loud horn of youth.
Tao Shuran felt dizzy.
When they high-fived just now, her hand turned slightly, and her raised fingertips accidentally brushed against Liang Yuanjing's palm.
It was just a moment, her heart moved slightly, and she subconsciously raised her head.
It just so happened that Liang Yuanjing's eyes met.
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