Shao Wu gave an embarrassingly obvious shudder, his whole body going stiff. Had Yang Shuyi seen him?!
“Huh? I just… wanted to look at your book.” Because he was nervous, Shao Wu’s voice came out stiff.
“Then take it. A good student really is a good student.” Yang Shuyi laughed. “You even have to hesitate for half a minute before reading something for fun.”
Only after hearing that did Shao Wu secretly relax. Apparently Yang Shuyi had not seen that strange little gesture just now. Of course. Who would imagine one boy standing at another boy’s desk, secretly stroking the mechanical pencil he had used? The cold touch of steel seemed to linger on Shao Wu’s fingertips. He grabbed the copy of Mengya and said brightly to Yang Shuyi, “Thanks.”
“You’re not leaving?” Yang Shuyi asked.
“I’m going now… Why did you come back?”
“I’m not going home at noon today.”
Only then did Shao Wu notice the plastic bag in Yang Shuyi’s hand. It was from Shuangfu Bao Shop, that really cheap bun place.
“Why aren’t you going home?” Shao Wu lowered his voice. “Did you… fight with your dad?”
“No. He hasn’t even been home these past few days. He’s out driving a route to Yingxiu. Auntie Xiajuan took Grandma for a follow-up appointment today, so there’s no one home to make lunch.”
“Oh…” Good. They had not fought.
Yang Shuyi had already opened the plastic bag and taken out a plump white bao. Shao Wu watched him take a bite, leaving a curved notch in the round bun without even reaching the filling.
That was what the buns from this place were like: thick dough, barely any filling. They cost only thirty fen each, after all.
“…Then I’m heading home,” Shao Wu said, though his eyes were still fixed on Yang Shuyi’s bun.
“Mm. Bye.”
After leaving school, Shao Wu took out his phone and called his mom, telling her he had homework to make up at noon and would not be coming home. Naturally, his mom agreed, while repeatedly reminding him to put his head down and sleep for at least a little while, keep the classroom door shut so he would not catch cold, eat something hot for lunch, and make sure he had enough money on him.
Shao Wu nodded again and again. Yes, yes, I have enough. Don’t worry, Mom.
After hanging up, Shao Wu stood outside the school gates in a daze for a moment. Then it suddenly hit him that ever since he had started liking Yang Shuyi, he seemed to have started lying constantly. To his parents, to his teachers, to Yang Shuyi. None of the lies were the kind that hurt others for his own benefit, but still, somehow, he was no longer completely open and aboveboard.
Shao Wu went to the KFC beside the school and bought four pairs of chicken wings, two egg tarts, and two burgers, then carried everything back to school. By the time he entered the classroom, Yang Shuyi had finished his bao, but he was not asleep. He was lying alone over his desk, staring into space. At the sound of footsteps, he turned his head, and Shao Wu saw his eyes brighten. “Shao Wu?”
“I’m not going home either.” Shao Wu casually pulled over a chair and sat beside Yang Shuyi’s desk. “I’m depressed.”
“What are you depressed about?”
“…Let’s talk while we eat. This combo was on sale, and I couldn’t finish it, so I packed the rest up. Help me out.”
Shao Wu efficiently opened the plastic bags and divided the chicken wings, burgers, and egg tarts with Yang Shuyi, moving very quickly. He was afraid that the moment Yang Shuyi opened his mouth, he would say, I’m full, you eat it yourself.
He not only had to move quickly, he also had to look completely casual and sound perfectly matter-of-fact. No one had ever taught Shao Wu how to do any of this, yet when it came to Yang Shuyi, he somehow learned naturally. For the sake of Yang Shuyi’s pride, Shao Wu had to act as though “this is nothing,” even if that meant letting Yang Shuyi think he was some young master who spent money without blinking. Only then might Yang Shuyi accept it.
Fortunately, Yang Shuyi did. He pinched the paper bag holding an egg tart and smiled with his eyes lowered. “This is my first time eating an egg tart.”
“Oh… I mean, I think they’re just okay. Too sweet,” Shao Wu lied at random. “But all the combo meals come with egg tarts.”
The classroom filled with the warm, golden smell of fried chicken and the spicy aroma of chicken burgers. As Yang Shuyi ate his burger, he asked Shao Wu, “So what are you depressed about?”
“The homeroom teacher called us into a meeting. He told us not to spread it around, but there’s no way it’ll stay secret. The grade is starting an enrichment class.”
“An enrichment class?”
“Mm. There’s this independent admissions policy now. Some really good universities organize exams for senior students ahead of time. If you do well, they can admit you with a lower gaokao score.”
“That good?”
“…The school wants us to prepare for the independent admissions exams, so they’re opening an enrichment class for us. Math.”
Yang Shuyi nodded. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“It’s every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night, after evening self-study.”
“Oh…” Yang Shuyi paused. “That does sound a little tiring.”
A little tiring? Shao Wu gloomily wanted to reach out and poke Yang Shuyi in the chin. That was all he thought, that it sounded “a little tiring”? We won’t be able to leave school together anymore!
“Yeah, and I bet the exam is really hard,” Shao Wu could only continue along Yang Shuyi’s line of thought. “Who knows if I’d even qualify to take it… Going to the enrichment class might just waste time.”
“That’s true.” Since Yang Shuyi ranked near the bottom of the class, he probably could not offer much useful advice and could only encourage his friend instead. “But I think you’re so smart it wouldn’t take that much out of you.”
Smart? Shao Wu thought. If he were really smart enough, he would not have to work this hard just to buy Yang Shuyi a meal with some meat in it. First he was “too depressed to go home,” then there was a “KFC combo on sale.” When would he finally be able to say, openly and without excuses, I’m taking you out for something good to eat?
After lunch, sleepiness began to creep in. Shao Wu yawned and said with a hint of shamelessness, “I’m going to put my head down here for a while.”
Yang Shuyi said, “Then what about me?” One desk did not have room for two heads and four arms.
“Didn’t you sleep all morning?” Shao Wu pointed toward the air conditioner behind him. “It’s warm over here.”
That much was true. Yang Shuyi’s seat might be beside the trash can, but it was also directly in front of the air conditioner.
“Fine.” Yang Shuyi smiled. “Go to sleep.”
Shao Wu rested his head sideways on Yang Shuyi’s desk. Yang Shuyi leaned back and pulled a copy of Geyan magazine from the desk compartment to read. Shao Wu secretly studied him, watching his focused, black-and-white eyes from behind the magazine pages. Yang Shuyi suddenly looked up and met his gaze. “Weren’t you going to sleep?”
“Mm. Sleeping.” Shao Wu hurriedly shut his eyes.
It was daytime, and the classroom lights were on, so all Shao Wu could see behind his eyelids was a glaring brightness beneath the dark, which was not very comfortable. A few seconds later, however, his vision dimmed, almost as though night had suddenly fallen. At the same time, he caught the faintest scent of printing ink.
Shao Wu opened his eyes slightly and found the magazine cover right in front of him. Yang Shuyi had leaned over and was using the magazine to block the light from Shao Wu’s eyes.
The corners of Shao Wu’s mouth quietly curved upward, and he drifted peacefully to sleep.
Two days later, after hesitating for a while, Shao Wu went to the enrichment class after all. Their instructor was Teacher Zhang Han, who normally taught first-year students: tall, handsome, a Xi’an native with fluent standard Mandarin, and newly married the year before. At the time, Sister Shan had given Shao Wu some of Zhang Han’s wedding candy, which Shao Wu had then passed on to Yang Shuyi.
Teacher Zhang Han normally coached science-track students for academic competitions, and humanities-track math was simpler than science-track math. He explained problems clearly and accessibly while still going into depth, and everyone liked him. Even Zheng Xiaoning, who had always hated math, started looking forward to the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday enrichment classes.
Shao Wu liked Teacher Zhang Han’s classes too, but he still could not help resenting the fact that he no longer got to leave school with Yang Shuyi. Fortunately, they were classmates. During the long break, at noon, in PE… there were always chances to get together, talk, or play ball.
By mid-April, spring in Yongchuan was lush and full of life. The newly released Beijing Welcomes You had become the designated song for their exercise break. It was another Monday, and their homeroom teacher, in a rather childlike mood, had put up wall posters of the five Fuwa mascots in the classroom.
Elio’s Notes: Beijing Welcomes You was released in April 2008 as the theme song for the 100-day countdown to the Beijing Olympics, neatly anchoring this scene in the spring of 2008.
That very afternoon, Yang Shuyi’s father suddenly came to the school.