Before long, the water boiled. Shao Wu and Yang Shuyi each held a cup of hot water and sat on the sofa. Yang Shuyi’s home was so quiet and empty that it barely felt lived in, and Shao Wu sneezed twice from the cold. Yang Shuyi was wearing less than Shao Wu, only a thick sweater on top, looking as though he had long since gotten used to it. When Shao Wu sneezed, he asked almost apologetically, “Is it that cold? I can get you something to wear.”
Clothes? Yang Shuyi’s clothes? Shao Wu’s heart leapt for a second, but he shook his head. “I’m fine. I’ll warm up after some hot water.” He did not want to seem too delicate.
The two of them sat and talked. There was not really anything new to say. Their winter break was only eight days long, and everyone had spent it shut at home doing homework. As for anything else going on in Yang Shuyi’s family, Shao Wu was even less willing to ask casually.
“Did you go anywhere for New Year?” Yang Shuyi asked.
“No… I didn’t even go to Chongqing this year.”
“Me neither.” Yang Shuyi took a sip of hot water. “And I still haven’t finished my homework. Math is too hard.”
“Didn’t Old Chen say this year’s paper might be difficult…” Once senior year began, a rumor had started from who knew where that gaokao mathematics papers alternated between easy and hard from year to year. The previous year’s had been easy, so theirs was supposed to be difficult. Even Old Chen had mentioned it half seriously, half jokingly.
Yang Shuyi smiled. “I’m already bad at math. Now you’ve made me even more nervous.”
“It’s fine. I can explain it to you.”
“Are the problems you do in enrichment class even harder than these?”
“I guess…” Thinking of enrichment class and autonomous admissions made Shao Wu a little irritated. “But the enrichment-class problems are more flexible. It’s mainly a different way of thinking.”
“When do you take the exams?”
“Registration should start soon. After school starts, probably.”
“Oh.” Yang Shuyi paused. “That early?”
Shao Wu was silent for a few seconds, then set down his cup. “Actually, I still haven’t decided where to apply.”
“Mm?”
“It’s just… my parents want me to apply to schools in Beijing. My brother is studying there, and they think Beijing would be good. We have relatives there, and it’s a big city.”
Yang Shuyi nodded. “It is pretty good.”
“They’ve even picked out schools already. Beijing Foreign Studies University, Renmin University, Beijing Normal University. Their English programs are all good.”
Yang Shuyi nodded again.
Shao Wu looked at him and saw a little puzzlement, a little approval, and nothing else. Was this what open, uncomplicated friendship between classmates, or between friends, looked like?
“But I still haven’t decided.” Shao Wu looked away, a little deflated. “Beijing feels too far from home… and those three schools are all so good. Maybe I won’t even pass the preliminary screening.”
Yang Shuyi said, “Then apply to a slightly easier school as a backup?”
That was not the point at all! Shao Wu grew anxious inside, and his words came out haltingly too. “Anyway… I still haven’t decided… What do you think about staying around here? Actually, I was thinking… maybe Sichuan University.”
For students from Chongqing, Sichuan University’s admission score was not as high as Renmin or Beijing Normal, and Shao Wu’s grades were consistently near the top. Their homeroom teacher’s view was that Shao Wu could probably get into Sichuan University through the regular gaokao, so his autonomous-admissions chances should be used on stronger schools, somewhere he could reach higher.
“Sichuan University is very good too.” Yang Shuyi paused, then added, “Though I mean, for someone like me, it’s very good.”
“Mm… what school are you planning to apply to?” At this point, surely Yang Shuyi had some kind of goal.
“I haven’t thought about it. I’ll see what my score looks like first.”
Shao Wu: “…At least think about it a little.”
“The north?” Yang Shuyi said. “I’ve never been north. I want to go see it.”
Shao Wu’s heart suddenly tightened. Yang Shuyi wanted to go north. Then wouldn’t that mean… “Do you want to go to Beijing?” Shao Wu could not help the small upward curve of his lips. “Beijing counts as the north, right?”
Yang Shuyi said, “Mm. It does.”
They talked about a few other things, mostly teachers and classmates. Only when there was truly nothing left to talk about did Shao Wu stand and say he should go. Yang Shuyi walked him to the bus stop.
When they reached Songji Road, Shao Wu saw that a new internet café had opened across from the malatang shop and suddenly remembered something. “Do you still play Fantasy Westward Journey?” That ethereal Xiaoyaosheng.
“Not anymore. Careful.” Yang Shuyi yanked Shao Wu toward him with considerable force.
There were several shards of dark green glass on the sidewalk, probably from a beer bottle. Shao Wu had nearly stepped on them.
With that pull, their arms pressed tightly together. It lasted only an instant, but Shao Wu’s face still heated at once. Yang Shuyi seemed to have grown quite a bit taller over the past half year. Seeing him every day made it hard to notice, but in that moment Shao Wu realized his forehead only reached Yang Shuyi’s shoulder now.
Yang Shuyi let go, and the two continued walking.
Before boarding the bus, Shao Wu could not help saying, “If you get bored at home… or if there are any problems you can’t solve, you can call me.” School started the day after tomorrow anyway.
Yang Shuyi only smiled and waved. “See you when school starts.”
During Spring Festival 2008, Shao Wu really had received a call from Yang Shuyi.
During Spring Festival 2009, Shao Wu waited all day, but his phone never rang. Again and again he found himself wondering what Yang Shuyi was doing at home. He was there all by himself, and it was cold. Didn’t he feel lonely? Didn’t he want someone to talk to? It was not until eleven at night that Shao Wu’s mother urged him to pack his schoolbag, drink a cup of hot milk, and go to bed. School started tomorrow.
His phone remained perfectly quiet, like a sleeping little animal. Shao Wu put it on the desk. A little while later, he climbed out of bed again and tucked it beneath his pillow.
He had a strange feeling he could not explain, as though Yang Shuyi had quietly grown up before Shao Wu even realized it.
Everyone grew up, of course. On New Year’s Eve, Shao Wu had gone to a restaurant with his family for their reunion dinner and happened to run into one of his middle-school classmates. The two had stared at each other for several seconds before recognizing one another. Everyone grew up.
Shao Wu simply had a vague premonition that Yang Shuyi was growing in some direction, and Shao Wu could not catch up.