Chapter 14: Little bamboo horse

As rain and frost descended, the sun rose earlier.

On Sunday morning at 8.20, Zhou Sisi rang Lu Xi’s house doorbell.

“Why are you early? Why are you wearing a mask?” While asking Lu Xi took the breakfast from her hand smoothly.

Putting on slippers Zhou Sisi said. “I have a cold.”

Lu Xi: “What class are you going to take with a cold?”

Zhou Sisi: “Wearing a mask will not infect you.”

Lu Xi took a bite from a hot bun: “It’s not that I am afraid of being infected by you, but I just don’t understand why you are so dedicated.”

Zhou Sisi dictated as usual before sorting out his knowledge.

Of the sixty-four words, Lu Xi got fifty-one correct.

This time, the dictation was much better than the previous three times.

“You’re making progress.” Zhou Sisi’s eyes curled lightly. “Keep working hard.”

Lu Xi found that the eyes outside the mask were so beautiful that he didn’t dare to look more.

“Followed by the previous section, sort out the indefinite pronouns.”

“The difference between ‘each’ and ‘every’. ‘Each’ emphasizes the individual, and the number can be two or more…”

After explaining this small knowledge point she asked the question, “For example, how should we express that each of us has a cell phone?”

“…”

Zhou Sisi who was used to getting no response asked: “We each have cellphone, right?”

“…Wrong.” Lu Xi placed his elbow on the table, and his clean fingers placed over his lips.

“Huh?” Zhou Sisi immediately inquired, “Where is the mistake?”

“…”

Zhou Sisi: “We each have a cellphone, is this statement wrong?”

Lu Xi: “…no.”

“Very good.” She affirmed gently.

“The other, ‘every’, emphasizes the whole, the number must be three or more…”

After explaining step by step, she interspersed with targeted questions.

The only “student” would occasionally respond briefly, and his attitude was still lax, but he would barely cooperate with her.

There was a little progress, a change little by little. Zhou Sisi was patient enough with Lu Xi.

…

“I heard Lu Xi’s mother say that you often make breakfast for Lu Xi?” Chen Cui curled her legs on the sofa and painted her nails.

Zhou Sisi walked towards the room. “Hmm.”

“Yesterday, I paid the rent to Lu Xi’s mother. She said she would like to thank our family Sisi, and charged half…”

“You didn’t pay in full?”

“She insisted on giving me half of the refund…”

Zhou Sisi suddenly turned around, frowning. “If someone retreats, you just accept it?”

“Of course not.” Chen Cui dipped the nail polish in the bottle. “You give Lu Xi a make-up lesson and bring breakfast. It’s all between the kids. How can I get involved with rent?”

“If I take back half, how stingy do I look. It’s so shameless.”

Zhou Sisi said quietly: “The rent opened by Aunt Xu and Uncle Lu is affordable enough.” Since they rented this apartment, the rent had not risen for several years, and it had long been lower than the market price.

“They have money in their family.” Chen Cui took it for granted. “Look at my new nail color, does it look good?”

“…Nice.” Zhou Sisi lowered her eyelashes.

“You don’t have to cook dinner for me tonight. I’m going to a friend’s house later.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Playing mahjong to loosen up.”

To play mahjong again…

This person was her biological mother with similar blood to her own.

Zhou Sisi was so upset that she just wanted to be alone.

“The cinnamon at home is running out, isn’t it?” Chen Cui said. “I’ll buy some back tonight by the way.”

“You have a poor physique and anemia, so eat more cinnamon. Add ginger candies and red dates to soak them together in water.”

“…… hmm.” Zhou Sisi closed the room door.

The fatigue had probably been caused by a cold, and her body showed its weariness.

She took off her coat and lay on the bed without taking any hair ties.

Can’t sleep.

Her head seemed to be filled with cotton wool, and there was a cloud of black and white smoke in front of her.

Unable to sleep, she found something to do.

She started to practice her English speech and repeated it several times.

It was as if she pulled away into two parts, one was a body focused on memorization, and the other was a soul that was empty on the sidelines.

After completing it another time.

In the long silence of its owner, the phone vibrated twice. The buzzing of it echoed along with the wooden tabletop.

After a long while, Zhou Sisi picked up the phone.

On the WeChat page, Lu Xi’s profile picture was at the top of the message list.

[Transfer] please confirm payment

Lu Xi: The money for the meal during this period, collect it fast.

“I’ll give you supplements in physics and chemistry.” Zhou Sisi replied, “If you agree, I will accept it.”

⸙ ⸙ ⸙ 

After finishing the first class sleepily, Lu Xi put on his sweater hoodie, and promptly fell asleep on the table as soon as Lao Zhuang left.

“Lu Xi Lu Xi~” Xiang Yinglan came to the seat. “I’ll go to the commissary later, what should I bring you?”

“No.” Lu Xi’s forehead was pressed on his forearm, and the other arm covered his side face and placed around the back of his head.

Long fingers and neatly trimmed nails with a  hoodie wrapped around the arch of the shoulder. He was so dazzling from his hair to the tips of his feet. Xiang Yinglan sighed in her heart.

She couldn’t believe what Luo You told her in the next dormitory: I heard Lu Xi say on the aisle that I think Xiang Yinglan looks good.

Xiang Yinglan had always been dissatisfied with her big nose and thick lips. Sometimes looking in the mirror and seeing the face for a long time, she became disgusted.

In the class group, Xiang Yinglan belonged to the extrovert and active one, and had many friends who could create trouble. No one knew that she was actually a bit of low self-esteem.

At that time when Luo You said that, Xiang Yinglan asked in an nonchalant tone: “That’s not true, right?”

“No, I heard it with my own ears from behind.” Luo You said it with conviction.

In an attempt to appear unconcerned, Xiang Yinglan bent down to sort out the canvas shoes.

An incredible thing happened to her, that was she received praise from an opposite sex of the same age and the person was as bright as sun, perhaps it wasn’t praise at all. So much so that it was like a little star sprinkled overhead.

Looking at Lu Xi she paused for a while, then asked: “Have you had breakfast? I will bring you meatloaf bun and snow…”

“I don’t want anything.” The impatience in Lu Xi’s answer became obvious. “I want to sleep.”

Xiang Yinglan was a little embarrassed. “Oh…”

Lu Xi certainly didn’t mean anything more to her than her classmates.

“Would you mind bringing it for me?” Lu Xi’s deskmate Pan De asked, “Green potato chips, Lays.”

“Oh good.” Xiang Yinglan put away the slight loss in her eyes. “One pack, big or small?”

Pan De held up his meal card. “Canned, thank you.”

Xiang Yinglan tilted her head and said, “I’ll ask Lin Wenjing to buy it for you later.”

Pan De’s face stiffened. “No, don’t.” He turned down the girl’s confession not long ago.

“Just kidding.” Xiang Yinglan pulled the card.

The smile on her face slowly faded after she left the classroom.

Lu Xi didn’t like her, but simply answered his friends’ questions.

However, he said that she looked good, so she should…not look ugly.

…

The fourth period was English, Wu Lan asked Zhou Sisi to read a reading comprehension.

She just finished the last question and sat down while the bell rang, signaling that class was over.

“Zhou Sisi did a great job. That’s it for today’s class.” Wu Lan arranged the assignment for the homework and talked a few things about the class.

Yi Ting pressed down the English book that had been propped up for half a class, and asked her deskmate, “Do you want to go to the restroom?”

“Going to the canteen?” At the same time, a group of female classmates greeted Yi Ting.

“Not this time.” Yi Ting folded her hands. “I’ll find you next time.”

“Let’s go, Sisi?” Yi Ting asked.

Zhou Sisi drank the cold granules from her cup as she replied, “Yeah.”

Walking out of the aisle, Zhou Sisi stepped on something.

A tip pencil, she squatted down to pick it up.

“Oh, my eyesight?” Yi Ting in front exclaimed in a low voice. “Is that a little school grass?”

Zhou Sisi put the pencil on the nearest classmate’s table and looked out.

In the corridor, the teenager stood in the bright sunshine, his short curly hair was fluffy, his side face forehead, nose, lips and jawline contoured perfectly, his hair and skin were sparkling with youth.

The boy approached a female student in front of him and just opened his mouth. As if he felt something, he turned to look at the classroom.

After he looked at Sisi.

Come out.

——Zhou Sisi read Lu Xi’s lips.

What did he come to find her for…

Zhou Sisi walked out the back door of the classroom.

“Give me your phone.” Lu Xi, who strode forward, went straight in.

“Mobile phone?” Zhou Sisi’s eyelashes fluttered. “Mine?”

“Yes, give it to me.” He held out his hand, palm facing up.

Yi Ting, mouth wide opened, and the female classmate who wanted to talk, looked at Lu Xi and Zhou Sisi each other.

“I didn’t bring it.” Zhou Sisi said.

“Impossible,” Lu Xi didn’t believe it as he continued, “You don’t bring your mobile phone to school?”

Zhou Sisi nodded. “Yeah.” He roughly guessed her intention.

…Excellent, as expected of a good student.

The transfers initiated yesterday would be returned over after 24 hours.

Lu Xi’s tongue touched his lower inner tooth. “Remember to take your phone to confirm the payment when you get home from school.” He again gave her another transfer.

“You don’t have to…”

“Physics chemistry. You have to do what you said.”

Zhou Sisi, who put forward the conditions, was dumbfounded.

“I’m going.” Lu Xi put one hand into his sweater pocket, ignoring the eyes of the surrounding onlookers as he went away.

Yi Ting who came to her senses quickly rushed over and half hugged Zhou Sisi’s arm. “Go to the toilet, go to the toilet.”

“I’m sorry.” Zhou Sisi thought she was in a hurry. “You don’t have to wait for me.”

“Used it”

When she got to a place with fewer people, Yi Ting stopped, “You actually know little school grass!”

Zhou Sisi: “…”

“The tone of little school grass asking for your mobile phone…Crap, you should be very familiar.” Yi Ting couldn’t hide her excitement. “How long have you known each other?”

Zhou Sisi hesitated for two seconds. “About fifteen years.” Based on the time in this life.

“Fifteen years? Let me calculate, didn’t you know each other since you were not in kindergarten?” Yi Ting: “That’s a bamboo horse.”

(***Bamboo horse — childhood sweetheart)

“Not childhood sweethearts.” Zhou Sisi suspected that she might not even be an ordinary friend in Lu Xi’s heart.

***

On Thursday evening, Lu Xi had dinner at Sisi’s house and tutored for an hour in physics as he promised.

When he got home,  the light was lit in the study room, which was closed.

Surprisingly, Ms. Xu Xuelin didn’t work overtime tonight?

Without much thought he put on his slippers and went back to the room.

Putting down his schoolbag, he took out his mobile phone, and with one hand, he scrolled through the 99+ news in the small group of friends.

After swiping the two sand sculpture emoji thrown by Huang Zhou, Lu Xi touched the keyboard and was about to comment.

“Lu Xi! Come out for me!” Xu Xuelin pushed open the half-closed door. “Using your phone all day long, don’t you know how to study!”

Lu Xi: “I studied.”

“What did you learn? You’re lying without a draft ah! Next month is the midterm exam. Are you going to be at the bottom of the whole school?”

Lu Xi: “I didn’t spill it….”

“Is football so good? Is the game that fun? Stand up straight for me!”

“Bullshit, you didn’t come back until this point, you must have gone to the Internet cafe!” Xu Xuelin snarled.

Lu Xi made a stop gesture, holding back his displeasure he calmly said. “I didn’t go to the Internet cafe today.”

“You hadn’t gone to an internet cafe but came home at almost 9 o’clock? It’s too long, ah?” Xu Xuelin put one hand on her hip. “Why don’t you make up a story about studying in the classroom until it’s dark? You really don’t have a bit of self-motivation at all!”

Ms. Xu Xuelin always spoke in such a harsh, loud and ruthless manner.

There were many things that could be talked about normally, but she made a lot of scenes full of gunpowder.

Lu Xi’s temper was also not good, so he burst into fits of range. “If I say I didn’t go, I didn’t go. If you don’t believe me, ask Zhou Sisi!”