【007】
At the same time, the PE teacher brought in a new desk.
Class 3 had 60 students, divided into five columns and six rows, perfectly filled.
The principal’s gaze swept across the students below, quickly settling on the last row by the window — the sixth row, onto Yu Ting’s face.
With nearly two thousand students at No. 2 High School, the principal naturally couldn’t remember every face.
He remembered Yu Ting.
First place in the high school entrance exam, representative of the new students speaking at the opening ceremony. Every month starting from first year, he was the one delivering the student speech under the national flag.
In the second year, when they split into arts and science tracks, Yu Ting was first in both.
The principal had the PE teacher place the new desk in the first row of the first column, near the door. Smiling, he pointed at Yu Ting’s deskmate. “That student, switch seats for now. When Teacher Yang has time after the monthly exams, she’ll rearrange the seating again.”
Teacher Yang was the Class 3 homeroom teacher.
She called out, “Zhou Qiao, move to the front.” She told Lu Jue, “Your deskmate is Yu Ting. He’s the class study representative. Just ask him if you don’t understand something.”
Lu Jue nodded.
Zhou Qiao was packing his books, muttering a mournful sigh. “Goodbye, my golden seat! Can’t use my phone in class from now on…”
The principal, Teacher Yang, and the cluster of teachers left again. Lu Jue walked down from the platform, carrying a messenger bag mixed with black and red. Moments later, he was beside Yu Ting.
He looked down at Yu Ting. Though the weather had been hot since morning, the boy was still neatly dressed in the blue and white school uniform, zipped all the way to the top, revealing the round edge of a white T-shirt underneath.
Outside the window, a tall and lush goldenrain tree was just beginning to bloom. Its height covered most of the window. Amidst the vast green hid a few clusters of golden flowers. A sliver of sunlight squeezed past the very top of the window onto the desk, illuminating Yu Ting’s right hand holding his pen. It was so translucent you could see the faint, clear blue veins. His hand was exceptionally thin, the knuckles of each finger so sharply pointed they looked as though they might pierce that thin layer of skin at any moment.
Lu Jue’s eyes curved. “Study Rep, letting me through?”
Yu Ting slightly raised his face and glanced at Lu Jue. His light brown eyes, illuminated by the sunlight, were like two orbs of pure cat’s-eye stone. He stopped writing, stood up, and let Lu Jue pass.
The girl in the front row turned back and greeted Lu Jue in a low voice. “Hey there, new classmate.”
Lu Jue smiled. “Hello.”
So approachable! From the row ahead of that, a boy with a buzz cut also turned around and flashed a wide grin full of white teeth. “Classmate Lu—”
A piece of chalk the size of a fingernail flew onto the back of the boy’s head. The boy hastily turned back, expertly patting off the chalk dust stuck to his head with a practiced motion.
Old Ding at the front of the class drew out another piece of pink chalk. Turning to write on the blackboard, he said, “Let positive integers a, b…”
Halfway through writing, he turned to call on Yu Ting. “Yu Ting, share your test paper with Classmate Lu for this period. After class, come with me to get a new one.”
The test paper, with its neat and tidy handwriting, was nudged a few centimeters towards Lu Jue’s side. Yu Ting continued working on his problem set. Lu Jue propped his chin on one hand, his peripheral vision scanning the paper full of red checkmarks, then immediately shifting to the side of Yu Ting’s face.
The boy’s face was also very thin, just the size of his palm. His jawline was sharper than the ruler he was using. The bridge of his nose was high and straight. His overly long eyelashes were the only unruliness on his face — several sticking up high, several pressed flat against his eyelids.
Looks like he slept well last night.
Lu Jue’s eyes curved even more. Fatigue hit him too. He didn’t look at Yu Ting anymore, put his arm down, pillowed his head, and promptly fell asleep.
Yu Ting finished solving a problem and glanced slightly to the side. All he saw was half a face, soundly asleep.
“…”
Yu Ting thought for a few seconds and didn’t wake Lu Jue. His former deskmate, Zhou Qiao, occasionally slept too, and he had never woken him either.
The bell rang. Old Ding on the platform raced against time to finish writing a number before putting down the chalk and announcing the end of class. He beckoned to Yu Ting, signaling him to follow and get the paper, then walked off with the sheaf of papers in hand.
Yu Ting twisted his pen cap closed and was about to move. At that moment, the person sleeping next to him woke up, rubbing his eyes and asking, “Class over?”
Yu Ting replied, “Mm.”
Just as he was about to leave, his wrist was suddenly grabbed. Perhaps because he had just woken up, Lu Jue’s palm was very hot. Even through the uniform jacket, the heat was palpable.
“Bring me back an ice pop?” Lu Jue’s eyes slightly upturned, the dark depths reflecting Yu Ting’s face.
The hand holding Yu Ting’s wrist was tight and imperceptibly trembling.
He had said, next time they meet, he would treat him to a Salted Ice Pop.
It wasn’t a question; it was a statement of fact.
He was willing to be friends with Lu Jue.
Besides day students, No. 2 High School also had boarding students. The school had opened a small shop next to the cafeteria. Aside from essential living supplies, it also sold snacks and drinks.
There was a distance from the teaching building to the cafeteria. Yu Ting calculated the round-trip time and nodded. “Okay.”
The taut five fingers loosened. Right then, several boys crowded around, enthusiastically starting a conversation with Lu Jue.
Lu Jue smiled and listened to them one by one. The moment Yu Ting left the classroom, the smile in his eyes instantly vanished without a trace. He turned his face indifferently to look out the window, staring at a certain spot downstairs.
He slowly counted. When he reached 121, that slender figure appeared.
The boy looked very good running too. From over a dozen meters high, the wind lifted his hair. Lu Jue still spotted that small red mole behind his ear at once.
He closed his eyes, and the tip of his nose seemed to catch the boy’s scent again.
A faint, clean soapberry scent.
Maddeningly good.
~
The news of a new transfer student joining Grade 11 Class 3 became the latest hot topic on campus.
Back then, Tieba was still popular in high schools. The front page of Lingjiang No. 2 High School’s Tieba was blown up.
【The new transfer student in Grade 11 Class 3 is so handsome!】
【Transfer student is 190cm! Name’s Lu Jue!】
【No way! I’ve heard the name Lu Jue! The son of the richest family in the whole city!】
…
Grade 11 Class 3 was even more bustling. From morning until the break before the last class of the afternoon, there were always people around Yu Ting and Lu Jue’s seats.
The bell for the last class rang, and it finally quieted down.
The last class was a homeroom period. The homeroom teacher was a few seconds late. Once on the platform, she immediately dropped a bombshell.
“Starting tomorrow, there will be evening self-study. Class starts at 6:30 PM, school ends at 9 PM. Arrange your time accordingly.”
Immediately, wails filled the room.
“6:30! That’s not enough time to go home for dinner!”
“Boo hoo, three periods of evening self-study! My sister’s class only had two before…”
There were also happy ones.
The girl in front of Yu Ting poked her deskmate’s arm, lowering her voice with envy. “So jealous. You have a boyfriend to walk you home, no fear of dark streets!”
The girl’s cheeks flushed. She quietly took out her phone and, head down, sent a text.
Yu Ting was also contemplating the evening self-study issue. School ended at 5 PM. Including the trip home and back plus dinner time, an hour and a half was too tight.
From Monday to Friday, he wouldn’t be able to go home for dinner either. The cafeteria’s set meals were very cheap. Vegetable dishes were all one yuan, small rice portions fifty cents, soup was free.
An extra one yuan fifty per day—
Just as Yu Ting was calculating the money, Lu Jue suddenly leaned over and asked quietly, “Can you cook?”
Yu Ting froze for a second, not understanding why Lu Jue suddenly asked this. Still, he nodded. It was his first time whispering in class; his voice was extremely low. “Some simple home-style dishes.”
Zhao Rufei could only make simple meals. Normally, they mostly bought the cheapest ingredients. Yu Ting hadn’t had the environment to make elaborate dishes.
Lu Jue said, “My family has a place near the school, empty and uninhabited. How about we team up? I provide the ingredients, you provide the cooking skills. That way, we don’t have to run home for lunch and dinner.”
“…No need.” Yu Ting uncapped his pen and pulled out his problem book. “I’m used to eating in the cafeteria.”
The smile on Lu Jue’s face suddenly dimmed. He stiffly nodded, showing a hint of disappointment, and turned back to look out the window.
Pen tip on the paper, didn’t move for a long while, only leaving a pitch-black dot.
For the first time, Yu Ting’s mind wandered.
He only refused because he didn’t want to trouble others, not to avoid being alone with Lu Jue. But Lu Jue seemed to have misunderstood?
Yu Ting wanted to explain, but Lu Jue quickly acted normal again, smiling and asking about tomorrow’s class schedule. Yu Ting wrote him a detailed timetable. Lu Jue put it away. When the bell rang, Lu Jue left.
Yu Ting had no time to explain.
He finished the remaining problems in the classroom before heading home. Passing the school gate, he encountered a few boys at the fried skewer stall by the entrance, eating skewers and chatting heatedly.
“Seriously! Someone on Tieba posted a pic! That Rolls-Royce Phantom came to pick him up! Even had a chauffeur opening the door for him. Crap, it’s just like a TV drama!”
“Tsk, rich and handsome. My standing with the girls is gonna drop another rank.”
…
Yu Ting walked further away.
The bus from school to the stop closest to his home cost one yuan. From the stop to his home was another ten-minute walk. Barring special circumstances, Yu Ting always walked home.
Close to home, Yu Ting suddenly stopped and looked back, but saw only a young woman holding a child’s hand, walking. Nothing else unusual.
But that feeling of being watched lingered.
Yu Ting observed for a few more seconds, truly seeing no one else, then turned and left.
When he arrived home, Zhao Rufei wasn’t back yet. Yu Ting returned to his room to put away his backpack, meticulously washed his hands, and went to the kitchen.
He washed the rice and started it cooking. He set up the steamer and also steamed an egg custard. Then he took out a few stalks of bok choy from the fridge, washed them, and cut them into thin ribbons. He also chopped half a chicken breast. He stir-fried a dish of shredded chicken with bok choy.
Shortly after the dish was ready, Zhao Rufei returned.
Outside the window, the sky was already completely dark. Zhao Rufei went to wash her hands, then sat down at the dining table and gestured with a smile. “The streetlight at the intersection is fixed!”
Yu Ting was a bit surprised. It had been broken for over three years and was finally fixed? The last time he had brought Lu Jue back, they could barely see the road there and almost fell.
The two exchanged a few more everyday words. Yu Ting scooped a spoonful of the golden egg custard over his rice and said, “Starting tomorrow, there’s evening self-study. I won’t be coming home for dinner at night either.”
Zhao Rufei put down her bowl and gestured. “The cafeteria food has no oil and isn’t filling. Find a decent restaurant. Mom will give you an extra five… ten yuan a day.”
Their combined weekly food budget was only a few dozen yuan. Yu Ting didn’t argue. “Mm.”
Yu Ting agreed so readily, Zhao Rufei was still uneasy. She gestured again. “You must eat well! No more saving money!”
It had happened when Yu Ting was in elementary school. The school was far from home; Yu Ting couldn’t go home for lunch, and the school had no cafeteria. Zhao Rufei gave him five yuan every day for lunch.
Back then, a bowl of plain noodles was two yuan fifty. With meat, it was four yuan fifty. There was fifty cents left for an ice pop.
Then, one time, Zhao Rufei was delivering goods at noon and passed by Yu Ting’s school. She saw little Yu Ting eating a steamed bun at the school gate.
The cheapest steamed bun, without even a drop of oil.
Zhao Rufei thought little Yu Ting was like other kids, wasting money on Ultraman cards. Furious, she gave his calves a solid thrashing with a feather duster when they got home. Little Yu Ting just kept his mouth shut tight, didn’t cry, and didn’t say a word.
In the end, it was Zhao Rufei who quietly cried.
In the middle of the night, little Yu Ting ran into Zhao Rufei’s room, holding a steaming hot towel to her swollen eyes, and then hugged her. He held out a neatly stacked pile of bills, all one- and two- and five-cent notes. In a tiny voice, he said, “Mom, don’t cry. I didn’t waste money on cards. I wanted to save up to buy soccer shoes. I want to play soccer with my classmates… I’m sorry, Mom. You can have all the money. I won’t make you cry again.”
Zhao Rufei cried so much that night that the entire pillow was soaked. As soon as dawn broke, she ran to the mall and bought Yu Ting the newest style of soccer shoes.
Recalling the past, Zhao Rufei felt heartache and comfort welling up inside her. She gently tapped Yu Ting’s forehead. “Never listened since you were little.”
Yu Ting smiled along but never once promised he wouldn’t save money.
There was a collection of books he wanted. The original editions were hard to find and extremely expensive. He had wanted them for a long time, but the money he’d saved was meant for Li Chengxi’s birthday present. He would need to save for another period.
The next morning, Yu Ting had just finished washing up and came out when Zhao Rufei, face full of urgency, rushed towards the door while putting on clothes.
Yu Ting quickly chased after her. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
Zhao Rufei was so anxious tears were brimming. She gestured frantically. “Something happened at the flower nursery!”
After convincing Zhao Rufei to take the morning off, Yu Ting accompanied her to Rufei Flower Nursery.
Arriving at the nursery, Yu Ting’s eyelids twitched violently several times.
The scene was even worse than Zhang Minhua had described. The outdoor flower beds, the potted plants, the greenhouse shed Zhao Rufei had spent a fortune erecting at the start of the year — all smashed to smithereens.
Zhang Minhua was trembling with rage. She passed the nursery on her way to work and nearly fainted seeing the devastation in the morning. She had immediately called Zhao Rufei.
Her face ashen, she cursed furiously. “Who did this sneaky, shameless, vile thing! If I catch you, I swear I’ll tear your head off! Damned bastard! Bullying a widow and her child, what kind of skill is that!”
Zhao Rufei’s face was pale. Suddenly, she rushed inside. Yu Ting hurried to follow.
Mud everywhere, shards of broken glass and ceramic pots. Yu Ting’s sneakers were quickly dirtied. He followed Zhao Rufei to the flower nursery’s innermost greenhouse. Its glass panels were all shattered, even the top ones hadn’t been spared.
The flowers, so vibrant and alive just yesterday, were all dead.
Green leaves, red, pink, white, yellow, blue blossoms scattered in the mud and filth. A lifetime of hard work ruined, just like that. Their source of livelihood cut off. Zhao Rufei’s vision went black. Unable to catch her breath, her body swayed and she pitched forward.
Yu Ting caught Zhao Rufei just in time. He held her tightly, her body cold, and soothed her calmly. “Mom, don’t panic. First, call the police.”
Zhao Rufei bit her pale lips. Her hands clung tightly to Yu Ting’s shirt. Her lips moved soundlessly. “What do I do… what do I do… the delivery due today is all ruined…”
