At noon that day, Xu Guangji was eating in the cafeteria. There weren’t many fresh dishes, and some were just leftovers. He happened to run into Cai Yingying’s father. Old Cai used to be the head of neurosurgery. Although he was also a loner, he had recently been promoted to deputy director of the hospital, riding high on his success. He sat down next to Xu Guangji with a beaming face, carrying his Hello Kitty lunchbox. “Old Xu, you didn’t go home either?”
Xu Guangji kept his head down, focused on his meal. Sensing a shadow falling over him, he instinctively glanced at the chicken leg he had marinated yesterday and quietly pulled his tray closer.
“Now you’re looking down on me as if you’re the only one who has this,” Director Cai said imposingly as he opened his lunchbox.
Xu Guangji silently glanced over. Indeed, he didn’t have any.
Director Cai quietly picked up his chopsticks and changed the subject, “I heard from Yingying that Xu Zhi did well on her exams this time, scoring over 700 points.”
Cai Yingying’s mouth was even more prone to exaggeration than the cafeteria cooks. Xu Guangji continued eating and replied, “Not that high.”
He knew that Xu Guangji had been keeping a low profile these past few years, almost wanting people to forget his existence. The painful lessons from years ago had made him believe in his mother-in-law’s feng shui saying: when things are going too smoothly and you’re too high-profile, even the heavens become jealous, which is why Qiu Die attracted those unclean things.
“I know your mother-in-law is superstitious, but you’ve had a proper education,” Old Cai scraped the edge of his lunchbox with his chopsticks. “You should still celebrate when it’s due.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t celebrate with her,” Xu Guangji looked up, pushing his glasses. “Let’s wait for the official results. How about your Cai Cai?”
“Don’t even mention it,” Director Cai sighed, lowering his head to start eating. “Her performance was as stable as my blood pressure, not giving you a single extra point. If she doesn’t want to repeat a year, she’ll probably just end up at a vocational college.”
Xu Guangji sympathetically moved his chicken leg to Cai’s plate, “Here, you eat it.”
Old Cai moved it back, and Xu Guangji thought he didn’t want it. He was about to say, “Don’t be polite with me, your Cai Cai is really hard to handle.”
But Director Cai dipped the chicken in the sauce from Xu Guangji’s plate and took a big bite without hesitation. He said with satisfaction, “Thanks, your sauce is delicious. Next time I’ll ask Cai Cai to get another spoonful from your house.”
Xu Guangji: “…”
“By the way,” Old Cai said as he was savoring the chicken leg, suddenly remembering something, “I should warn you, is your Xu Zhi dating someone?”
Xu Guangji abruptly put down his chopsticks, “Who told you that?”
“Don’t get excited,” Old Cai quickly explained, wiping his mouth hastily, “After the third mock exam, there was a parent-teacher meeting. You didn’t go, right? I saw a boy in their teacher’s office wearing a necklace, the one Qiu Die left for Xu Zhi. But at that time, I saw Xu Zhi’s grades were always stable, so I didn’t want to tell you, fearing it might affect the child’s exams if you got too excited.”
Xu Guangji stared at him intently, not saying a word.
“Don’t look at me like that. Now that the exams are over, there’s even less reason for you to get excited. Find some time to have a good talk with her. Dating at this age is indeed a bit early. On this point, our Yingying is quite reassuring. She’s not as pretty as your Xu Zhi, and her grades are so poor. If anyone wanted to date her,” Old Cai closed his lunchbox, saying confidently, “I’d be the first to take him to our hospital to get his eyes checked.”
**
The heavy rain washed the entire city clean. After the rain, the sky became even brighter. The lush leaves glistened with an oily green sheen after being washed by the rain. Cicadas leisurely chirped through one summer after another.
Xu Zhi went to see the apartment Tan Xu was renting. He wasn’t there, and the door was shut tighter than the Taishang Laojun’s alchemy furnace. The neighbor, who was also a student reviewing for exams, said he had gone back to his hometown in the afternoon and would return in the evening.
Xu Zhi slowly walked downstairs, taking in the sight of this apartment tower. The building was mostly occupied by third-year high school students, as it was close to No. 1 High School.
No. 1 High School was known for its intense competition. Top students from various counties, cities, and even other provinces were all vying to get in. So there were many out-of-town students. Third-year students from other places generally preferred to rent their apartments because the dormitories enforced a strict 10 PM lights-out policy.
It was said that in this building, lights were still on at four or five in the morning during those few months before the exams. No wonder Tan Xu’s mood was so unpredictable under such hellish pressure.
Qingyi City was known for its year-round rainy and humid weather. The walls in the corridor were damp, with peeling paint and a musty odor of moisture.
As Xu Zhi reached the first floor, she faintly heard a few low voices coming from one of the rooms—
“The results aren’t out yet, but your father and I have discussed it. We still hope to send you abroad. There’s no need to repeat a year.”
“Oh, whatever.”
The voice was cool and tense, with a magnetic quality.
Xu Zhi instinctively looked up. The security door wasn’t closed, and a long, slender shadow fell across the corridor through the gap. The facilities in this apartment tower were old and dilapidated, with dirty walls streaked with water stains, which oddly accentuated the clean, elongated shadow, making it somewhat attractive.
In the corner were several fly papers covered in dense insect carcasses, along with various brands of mosquito coils, some even unused. It was clear that the occupant was a picky person, not easy to please.
The woman spoke again: “As for that girl, you should clear things up with her anyway. You’d better—”
“Mm, I said whatever. Don’t say she’s not my girlfriend. Even if she were my girlfriend, it doesn’t matter. If you say break up, then break up.” He showed no will to live.
The door was ajar, and through the narrow gap, Xu Zhi saw a middle-aged woman with an elegant demeanor sitting on the living room sofa. She couldn’t see her face. The woman’s voice reminded Xu Zhi of her mother, Madam Lin Qiu Die. The tone was almost identical, gentle yet sharp, even when angry, it remained calm and measured. The pale yellow floral dress she wore, Xu Zhi recalled, Madam Lin Qiu Die seemed to have one just like it.
“You’re still quibbling!” The lady was somewhat furious, slamming her teacup on the table. “If she’s not your girlfriend, why did you bring her home? If I hadn’t come, what were you planning to do? And look at what you’re wearing! I’m not forbidding you from dating, but don’t put me in a situation I can’t handle! That girl’s father is not someone you can easily dismiss.”
He seemed to let out a cold laugh.
“Isn’t that perfect? You won’t have to go through the trouble of finding excuses to send me abroad.”
“What kind of attitude is this? Do you think we’re meddling too much? If you have any complaints about us, just say it. Don’t be so sarcastic with me.”
The owner of the shadow had his back turned, standing in the entryway. He was tall and lean, taking advantage of his superior physique, dressed very casually, just very… “caught in the act,” as if he had hurriedly thrown on whatever clothes and pants he could grab in a rush.
He wore a loose, baggy jersey on top. Individually, he was perfectly proportioned, though lean, not skinny, with smooth, sharp lines – a typical standard clothes hanger – this level of guy.
Xu Zhi recalled that Cai Yingying had indeed mentioned that not only were the grades at No. 1 High School fiercely competitive, but even the handsome boys were in intense competition.
Xu Zhi’s eyes fell on his logo-printed school pants. Compared to Rui Jun’s varied school uniforms, No. 1 High School’s uniforms had always been properly disciplined.
But this guy didn’t look like a proper person. He leaned against the shoe cabinet by the door, one hand in his pocket, his school uniform jacket hanging loosely on his shoulders, one foot lazily resting on a basketball covered in signatures. Under his mother’s frantic bombardment, he could still calmly order takeout for himself.
“What are you ordering again!” The lady was very familiar with him. “Is eating all you know how to do?”
“Is eating not allowed either?” He added fuel to the fire, saying, “Then I’ll ask the hospital later if they forgot to tell me when I was born that I was made of iron.”
“Do you have to be so prickly when you speak?”
He sighed, “Ah, didn’t you know I was a prickly person from the first day you saw me?”
What, was he born with a knife?
The lady, probably feeling it was self-inflicted misery, fell silent for a moment before changing the subject, “You spent the whole night with your grandfather at the police station?”