Thursday, November 3rd.
The autumn morning was shrouded in a thin layer of mist, it had started raining again last night and continued well into the early hours of the day. The sky was not yet bright and the faint scent of osmanthus floated in the damp air.
Lin Yuan was on his way to school.
Many students wearing the same school uniforms passed by on electric bikes or bicycles. When he approached the school gate pushing his bicycle, his steps became slow. He glanced around, but then felt he was being too cautious.
He's never this early anyway.
As he entered the classroom a few students would greet him casually and he would politely smile and nod back in return. Sitting in his seat at the back of the room, Lin Yuan looked at the watch. Morning self-study was still twenty minutes away from starting, but almost everyone in Class 1 had arrived.
The classroom was still noisy, it has only been a day since the monthly exam results came out and everyone hadn't grown tired of discussing it yet.
The smell is also complex.
Lin Yuan quietly opened the window next to his desk and then sat back in his chair.
No one came to talk to Lin Yuan and he didn't try to talk to anyone either. He looked a little lonely sitting alone so he started taking out exercise books from his bag and began to read to avoid looking even more lonely.
Looking at the new English text-book which he had barely used, his movements paused briefly.
It's so embarrassing.
Lin Yuan couldn't help but sigh.
Everytime he thought about his actions yesterday he felt confused. He almost wanted to ask his mother to change tutors all together.
It's because I was out in the rain for too long. I must have been sick.
He ignored the English textbook and started working on maths problems seriously. Soon, more people gradually arrived. While pausing to think about a particularly difficult problem he noticed a large bird's nest of fluffy hair sticking out in the corner of his eye.
His deskmate was here. He glanced at Zhang Li, who had arrived inconspicuously. Perhaps noticing someone looking at him, Zhang Li raised his head slightly.
"Morning, Lin Yuan."
Lin Yuan just nodded. The deskmate seemed to be used to this taciturn response so he paid it no mind and continued speaking with a low voice.
"I'm going to sleep, if Teacher Wei comes don't wake me up okay."
With that Zhang Li rested his head on his shoulders, and his eyes closed again.
Lin Yuan looked at his comfortable figure, then thought about Wei Zhong's square face.
Well it shouldn't be a problem.
Self study came and went quickly when the head teacher, who was also the maths teacher, walked in carrying a small stack of papers. Everyone had quieted down and started opening their maths text book when Wei Zhong began speaking.
"Okay, Zhang Li stand up!" His booming voice rang out in the classroom. In the back corner the bird's nest shook slightly, then became still.
Lin Yuan watched Teacher Wei's eyes laser focus in his direction and a red hue emerge on his tanned face as he started walking towards them.
"Teacher Wei is really mad this time, you should get up." He whispered quickly. The figure next to him seemed to shake slightly, then just when Lin Yuan thought he was going to continue pretending to sleep, Zhang Li suddenly stood up with great vigor.
"Reporting, sir!" Lin Yuan watched as the tall figure next to him raised his hand exaggeratedly and shouted in a military fashion.
"You?! What are you doing, sit down!" Teacher Wei was obviously very surprised, but he still went over to their desk and placed a few test papers onto the desk forcefully.
"Zhang Li don't think skipping school will help you -"
"-Teacher Wei, I really was sick yesterday…" Zhang Li interrupted with an aggrieved look on his face.
Looking at this kid trying to act cute, Wei Zhong couldn't help but get angrier, he shouted, "You are ranked 35th in class this time! How many students are in this class? Tell me, what's wrong with you?!"
Zhang Li hesitated for a moment, even he was a little unsure what went wrong: "Bad luck?"
"Bullshit! Do you think you can rely on luck in the college entrance examination?"
"I've told you to be stable. When will you be able to change this problem?"
"I worked hard to get you into Class 1 this year because I know you have potential and I wanted you to work seriously…"
"You said this time..."
The scolding lasted at least five minutes, but Zhang Li didn't care. He just stared at Wei Zhong's face seriously as if sincerely listening, while thinking about what delicious food would be served at the cafeteria today.
When he saw that Teacher Wei's mouth was getting dry Zhang Li even offered to go get him some water, which earned another 5 minutes of scolding. Maybe he was finally exhausted or he felt like he shouldn't waste too much class time, so Teacher Wei finally finished shouting.
"Okay, come see me at the start of lunch break. Don't be late or I'll really get mad!" With that Teacher Wei glared at Zhang Li one last time, ran his palm over his head to smooth out his sparse hair and returned to the podium.
Now Zhang Li was truly stunned, "But teacher the cafeteria - "
"No buts!"
Watching Wei Zhong standing at the podium and beginning his lecture, Zhang Li slumped into his chair with his hand on his head.
Thinking of his ravenous classmates that were like wild animals Zhang Li felt his heart drop and his face kept changing.
Oh no my sweet and sour pork…My stir fry chicken…
I'm so regretful…
At the side Lin Yuan watched his one man performance and instantly felt a lot better.
Who said comparison was the thief of joy? Look at how sad he is, look how happy I am.
…
…
…
When Zhang Li finally left Teacher Wei's office, lunch break was almost halfway over. He rushed to the cafeteria and looked at the white rice and hard buns that were still abundant and felt another wave of sadness. He was about to reluctantly get some buns and then hopefully seek alms from classmates when someone tapped his shoulders.
He turned around to see Lin Yuan nodding towards him and walking back to a table with a tray full of food.
Sweet and sour…chicken…iced tea…
Zhang Li quickly followed him with his eyes darting left and right. Finally, Lin Yuan placed the tray next to him and got out his packed lunch, then gestured toward Zhang Li who was standing with a pitiful expression.
"For you. It's a little cold though."
Zhang Li didn't hesitate and started stuffing his mouth. He could almost feel the tears coming from his eyes.
Between large mouthfuls he leaned toward Lin Yuan with an ingratiating expression, "Brother I really didn't misjudge you."
Lin Yuan felt a little disgusted by his fawning expression, so pushed him away and began eating his own lunch.
After a while there was a loud burp and Zhang Li leaned back on his chair rubbing his slightly bulging stomach. He looked at Lin Yuan who was eating absentmindedly.
"Haha, I'm completely full! How much was it? I'll pay you back."
Lin Yuan didn't seem to hear him. He just mechanically used his chopsticks to arrange each rice grain on top of each other like building a tower made of stones.
Zhang Li had no choice but to poke him boredly.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"No, for lunch, how much was it? I'll pay you back."
"It's fine." Lin Yuan just shook his head and Zhang Li didn't insist.
"Then just come to the restaurant after school today, I'll treat you." Hearing no response, Zhang Li turned to see Lin Yuan playing with his rice again with a dazed look on his face.
Interesting. Very interesting.
Zhang Li had no choice but to poke him again. He leaned his head on his arm and looked at Lin Yuan with an interested look on his face.
"By the way you've been sighing wistfully all morning. Did something happen?"
"No."
Lin Yuan was startled by the question, but he replied calmly.
"Hmmmmmmm…it's very curious." There was a long sound.
He didn't want Zhang Li to get curious, and he would keep nagging if he didn't get a satisfactory answer, so Lin Yuan had to distract him. He remembered something and then smiled slightly.
"What are you thinking about? By the way, should you be worried about me? I heard Zhang Yin was asking about you at lunch, she seemed mad…"
Zhang Li instantly sat up straight and looked around nervously. He stared at Lin Yuan's calm face and tried to discern the slightest fluctuation.
"You didn't say anything right?"
Lin Yuan kept silent as he watched Zhang Li fidget around for a while before giving him some reprieve.
"Of course not."
After confirming a few more times Zhang Li was completely relieved, he slouched back into the chair carelessly and began to complain about the last exam.
…
…
…
It was around 7 pm when Lin Yuan finally got back home. He usually had a light snack at one of the road stalls on the way home from school but today he had dinner early at Zhang Li's family's restaurant.
Zhang Li's family runs a noodle restaurant, which is very famous in the surrounding areas and is close to the school. Lin Yuan would go there to eat noodles since junior high school, and he would often see Zhang Li helping out. They had a few conversations but only really started talking this year when Zhang Li transferred to Class 1.
Entering the living room he wasn't surprised to see his sister lying lazily in her pajamas on the sofa watching tv. She had pulled an all-nighter yesterday and only came home early in the morning, but she had gone to sleep instantly.
It was not unusual for the siblings to not talk for a few days at a time, especially recently when Lin Yuerong was busy at work. But this time Lin Yuan didn't shut himself in his room immediately.
So Lin Yuerong was surprised to see her brother sitting next to her on the sofa playing with his phone.
After a minute of silence, Lin Yuerong finally couldn't stand the awkwardness and began to make conversation.
"How was school?"
"Fine."
"By the way do we have enough groceries? If not, I'll give you money so you can buy more tomorrow. Or should I buy them? I don't know if you trust me enough though hehe -"
"-We have enough."
Lin Yuan still had his head down looking at his phone.
"..."
"Um, mom asked me this afternoon whether Ning Qing was going to continue being your tutor. I already confirmed it, that's not a problem right?"
Lin Yuan paused scrolling.
"...Fine."
Well, he was a little curious what the punishment would be. If she says something outrageous he can give his mother a good reason to find someone else.
"Of course I knew it. I'm a genius! Mom should really trust me more, I told her that Ning Qing was absolutely the best candidate!"
"Oh yeah, by the way, yesterday…"
Lin Yuan suddenly felt tense and his hand holding his phone tightened.
"...Thanks for reminding me, otherwise I wouldn't have realised I let my precious junior sister walk home alone! She's so beautiful. What if some hooligans harass her?!" Lin Yuerong spoke indignantly with a rising voice but then she seemed to think of something and her angry expression faltered.
"Well never mind. It's always good not to cause any trouble." She muttered quietly.
She turned to look at Lin Yuan's thin and weak figure sitting beside her and sighed.
"You should behave properly in front of Ning Qing, okay? Don't make trouble."
Lin Yuan didn't understand what she meant but nodded anyway, feeling a sense of relief inexplicably.
After a while Lin Yuerong yawned and sat up holding her grumbling stomach, "So what are we having for dinner? I'm so hungry, I've already eaten all the leftovers from yesterday. Let's have some sweet and sour -"
"- I already ate dinner." Lin Yuan got up and took his school bag.
Hearing this Lin Yuerong was disappointed, thinking she would have to eat alone tonight as well.
"Oh." She said listlessly before turning back to watch the tv.
Lin Yuan glanced at her before heading out of the living room.
"I'll put my bag upstairs and then I'll make dinner. Also you can't always have sweet and sour pork, I'll make something else today."
"Hehehe…" Listening to the excited laughter coming from behind, he smiled.
…
…
…
Later that night.
Lin Yuan put down his pen and yawned. Even though the maths olympiad trials were over he was still used to working on the questions - the habit was hard to shake.
Looking at the paper filled with equations, and thinking of the various exercise books that were filled with his scribblings, he sighed.
It's all over…My last chance…
Lin Yuan got up from his chair and slammed onto the bed belly first. He was bored, but it was too early to go to sleep. He was contemplating starting the new book he'd bought about a young girl who was reborn as the concubine of a general in ancient times. It was very popular online and highly recommended for romance fans.
Just when he was about to lay down and read, he got a message from Zhang Li.
Divine Emperor Li: Hey, you wanna play League of Glory?
Lin Yuan: …
Lin Yuan: Who else is playing?
Divine Emperor Li: Don't worry! These guys are good, trust me! Last time was a fluke, they lied to me and said they were actually gold and they were only playing on their smurf accounts.
Divine Emperor Li: You know it's not just you who got demoted, I lost so many league points!!
Looking at this message Lin Yuan had a dark face. Zhang Li loved to play video games but he was awful at them, it was hard enough to carry him without adding any more dead weights.
Divine Emperor Li: Come on, we'll make a rush toward diamond tonight, trust me!
Seeing his confident words, Lin Yuan had a sense of deja vu, but he was still about to agree when he thought of something.
The next lesson is tomorrow. I have to memorise.
Thinking of the long list of words that Ning Qing had given him, Lin Yuan felt some pressure. He hadn't memorised in the morning before self study, and English class was still focused on revision from the monthly test.
Lin Yuan: Sorry. I can't today, I have a lot of homework left.
Lin Yuan put away his phone after taking a quick look at the various complaints and crying emojis sent by Zhang Li. He got up and returned to his desk, opening the printed exercise book full of vocabulary that Ning Qing had given and began reciting out loud.
He thought since his mother was paying a lot of money for a tutor he should take it seriously.