It was a very ordinary morning.
At 6:30 AM, the alarm clock rang on schedule. The young girl on the single bed stirred and sat up gently, quietly drifting in a daze for three minutes before mechanically slipping into her slippers and putting on her uniform.
The summer uniform was designed for comfort and movement, consisting of a blue and white collared polo shirt and loose-fitting, light blue trousers.
By high school, aesthetic sensibilities had developed, and complaints about the uniform being too ugly poured in endlessly. Yet, for years, it remained unchanged, stable as ever.
“Sis, time to eat.”
Someone knocked on the door from outside, a child’s voice.
She had a rule that only three knocks were allowed, and the boy was very obedient; as soon as the third knock fell, he turned and left, his small slippers scuffing on the floor, creating a faint noise.
Chu Qingxian, her six-year-old paternal half-brother, was innocent and pure, quite chatty, and loved nothing more than trailing behind her every day—truly her little shadow.
Chu Qingyao didn’t hate him, but she couldn’t say she liked him either.
After all, she knew her place in this house better than anyone.
And this little emperor was spoiled rotten, arrogant and headstrong, having bullied classmates since kindergarten. If he weren’t as meek as a quail in front of her, she would truly be ruthless and seal his chattering little mouth with super glue.
June 2009. Summer arrived a little later than usual, but it was as sweltering as ever. Inside and outside, the rooms were like furnaces; the slightest movement would make one sweat all over.
Breakfast on the table was still the familiar three items: soy milk, fried dough sticks, and steamed buns.
The soy milk and fried dough sticks were cold, and the vegetarian steamed bun filling was very dry; a few bites yielded no flavor, serving only to fill her stomach.
Chu Qingyao had grown accustomed to it, silently sitting opposite the boy, watching him smile as he ate freshly made wontons with sesame oil sauce. Each bite was juicy and subtly sweet.
That was the woman she had called "Auntie" for six years, who deliberately prepared for her precious son, persistently waking up early every day to make hot food for him, even in the sweltering summer weather.
A truly thoughtful mother, yet destined to have no bond with her.
Li Hui placed a steamed bun into Chu Qingyao’s bowl. She was a person who usually spoke in a loud voice, only deliberately lowering it to a gentle tone when making a request.
“Your father is fully booked these two days, and I’m also working overtime. After school, could you go to the kindergarten to pick up Xianxian?”
Chu Qingyao was used to this “task.” She softly hummed “Mm” and lowered her head, focusing on eating her steamed bun.
The boy dropped his spoon, soup splattering onto his chubby cheeks. He clapped his hands excitedly, “That’s great! Big Sister is picking me up, and we can have ice cream again!”
“Eating so messily,” Li Hui admonished him in a low voice, not forgetting to wipe the mess from his face.
She glanced at Chu Qingyao, who was sipping her soy milk, and said in a pinched voice, “Your sister studies hard, try to be more understanding, don’t cause her more trouble.”
“I’m not trouble...” The boy drooped his head listlessly and mumbled sadly.
The young girl gave a faint smile but said nothing, a trace of bitterness flashing at the corner of her lips. She had seen too many of these boisterous family scenes, each time hiding in a dark corner, playing the role of an unblinking passerby.
Not participating, not judging.
She drank the rest of her soy milk in one gulp, stood up, and pushed her chair back to its original position.
“I’m done eating.”
The child hastily swallowed a messy mouthful, panting from the heat and sticking out his tongue, his words unclear, “Big Sister, wait... for me.”
“Bang.” The door closed.
Li Hui’s expression changed. She opened her mouth strangely and said, “Just eat your food obediently. She doesn’t even see you as her brother.”
As the small southern city entered June, the humidity in the air seemed to evaporate completely. The scorching sun shone overhead, giving a somewhat burning sensation of heat.
On her way to school, Chu Thanh Dao, burdened by her heavy schoolbag, walked from one patch of shade to another. Beneath her thick, heavy bangs, sticky, hot sweat trickled down, clinging to her scalp like glue. Her hair, like a black helmet, remained perfectly still.
“You brat.”
Someone called from behind her, but she didn't stop. She smiled, slowing her breathing, knowing exactly who it was just from the bouncing footsteps.
“Playing deaf and dumb, are we?”
A tall girl with a ponytail and dark sunglasses ran a few steps to catch up and stand in front of her. Like a hoodlum, she lightly lifted Chu Thanh Dao's chin. “Careful, Big Brother might reward you with a few lumps of trouble.”
Chu Thanh Dao was so hot she didn't want to reply. She gently pushed the girl away, fanning herself with her hand. “Please stand aside, don't block the way.”
“Hey, don't go...”
Hồ Mộng, who had been pushed a few steps away, caught up, grabbing Chu Thanh Dao's schoolbag strap to make her stop. Her voice rose slightly. “I'm asking you, how did you do on this month's exam?”
“Same as usual.”
“You said 'the same' last time too, and you ended up second overall.”
Chu Thanh Dao was pulled forcefully by her. The sunlight beat down for a while, exposing her small, thin face to two patches of redness. Her skin was sensitive and prone to allergies in the heat; a blazing summer day was truly the embodiment of Death for her.
Her voice was dry. “You know it's second place. If I don't get first, it's just 'the same'.”
Hồ Mộng pushed up her glasses with a finger, huffing enviously. “Tsk, modesty.”
Chu Thanh Dao checked the time on her digital watch, and, dodging Hồ Mộng, quickened her pace.
“Hurry up, we're going to be late.”
Chu Thanh Dao was in Class 1, the gifted class, at Jiangzhou No. 2 High School. The entire class had fewer than 30 students, and the best teachers were concentrated there, ensuring excellent education.
But this school was a strange entity.
It wasn't that the school was bad; every year, it cultivated a group of promising students for key universities.
But apart from the two gifted classes in each grade, all the other students were a chaotic mess, treating studying as a joke.
The teachers couldn't control them. The only requirement was to take the exams, at least writing their names on the papers; everything else was optional.
During lunch break, Hồ Mộng from Class 2 came to find her, inviting her to the cafeteria for lunch.
The two walked arm-in-arm to the end of the hallway. From there, going down, the classroom next to the stairs was Class 6 of the 11th grade, known as the most chaotic class in the school.
It was said that the class contained many undesirable elements of society. Most of the fights outside the school gates were feuds and grudges caused by this group.
As they went down the stairs, Hồ Mộng's steps faltered. She clung tightly to Chu Thanh Dao's arm, asking in a low voice, “Why don't we go the other way?”
This area felt generally gloomy. It was clearly midday in summer, but the air around them felt like an ice cellar, infecting even their breaths with its chill.
Chu Thanh Dao said, “This way is closer to the cafeteria.”
“I'd rather take the long way around...”
Hồ Mộng swallowed, hesitating. “You know, Class 6 is the school's malignant tumor. They're all thugs from the bottom of society. I heard some students even got robbed...”
The girl's voice suddenly stopped, then fell silent.
Around the bend of the stairs, a group of boys not wearing uniforms sat on the descending steps. Cigarettes were clutched between their fingers; they took light drags and exhaled forcefully, leisurely puffing out clouds of smoke.
Two others stood casually. One leaned against the white wall, lighting a cigarette, while the other leaned against the railing, lost in thought.
Hearing footsteps, the sitting group all looked up. Hồ Mộng instinctively hid behind Chu Thanh Dao.
She was the archetypal bully towards those close to her, but in reality, she was very timid. This situation was more terrifying than a horror movie; seeing these boys exuding a strong street presence made her very scared.
The nearest was a guy with dazzling white hair, bleached and dyed, which made his face look childish. He wore a black t-shirt and uniform pants. When he laughed, his eyes narrowed into a curve, but the extent of his smirk was utterly wicked.
“Oh, esteemed guests from Grade Six.”
He swaggered with an air of arrogance, separated by the height of one step, as he scrutinized Hu Meng hiding behind Chu Qingdao. “Little sister, don’t be scared,” he said, “I’m very gentle, I don’t eat people.”
Hu Meng was startled by that eerie voice. Terrified by the evil force, she tugged at Chu Qingdao’s clothes, her voice suppressed to a whisper. “I… Let’s leave…”
Chu Qingdao didn’t answer. Her gaze, feigning nonchalance, swept past the boy in the gray t-shirt leaning against the wall; she deliberately refrained from looking again. Then, neither arrogant nor fawning, she smiled at Bai Mao.
“Can you let us go down?” she asked.
“Of course.”
Bai Mao answered readily, his long arm swinging up. The few people sitting obeyed and stood up, yielding a clear path.
Hu Meng, behind her, didn’t dare open her eyes, cautiously following her down. But before they had taken two steps, Bai Mao placed one foot on the wall, directly blocking their path.
“Hoo…”
A large puff of smoke blew onto Chu Qingdao’s face, making her choke, frown, and cough.
“Don’t understand the rules?”
She waved away the acrid smoke in the air, asking him only: “What rules?”
He flicked his chin contemptuously, nonchalantly saying, “As that little girl just said, Grade Six is a malignant tumor, they love to extort money. You tell me, if I don’t do something, how can I live up to my approachable, down-to-earth image….”
After speaking, he deliberately looked at Hu Meng and asked with a smile, “You agree, right?”
Hu Meng was so scared she didn’t even dare to breathe heavily, wishing she could hide in a crack in the wall. With both hands, she tightly clutched Chu Qingdao’s lapel, her clothes almost torn into strips.
The air hung heavy for a few seconds.
The school staircase was very narrow. In front of Chu Qingdao, to her right, less than half a meter away, the boy leaning against the wall slowly reined in his wandering thoughts, flicking ash onto the ground.
He bit down on his cigarette and took a deep drag, white smoke, like thin silk, spreading into the air as the young man’s face gradually became clear.
He had thick eyebrows and a high nose, single eyelids but very large eyes with dark brown pupils, and a slightly square, clearly defined jawline.
At that time, straight, slicked-back hairstyles were popular; some people even wanted to douse their heads with a whole bottle of hair wax, each strand standing stiffly, like rocket launchpads.
But he had neat short hair, shaved so close on the sides that his scalp was almost visible. At first glance, he had no student-like aura, looking more like a mature, idle youth.
He had a pleasant voice, with a deep, emotional tone, as if it had been smoked into existence by thick smoke.
“Yang Ke, are you so full you’ve got nothing better to do?”
The words were spoken to Bai Mao, but his gaze swept over Chu Qingdao’s straight back.
She felt that intense, burning gaze; her arms hanging by her sides stiffened slightly, and her heart skipped half a beat.
Bai Mao was surprised, laughing exaggeratedly. “Young Master Xiao, I didn’t expect you to still pity the fair sex…”
The young man didn’t answer, his eyelids lifting. That gaze was sharp and dark; anyone it swept over felt pressure.
At this moment, the boy in the white shirt leaning against the staircase politely flicked his cigarette, yawned, and lazily opened his mouth. “Don’t be crazy, let them go quickly.”
Bai Mao lost interest, regretfully shrugged, and mercifully withdrew his leg.
“Alright, the protection fee is on credit for now. Pay it all next time.”
Out of danger, Hu Kou forcefully tugged at Chu Qingdao’s clothes.
Her arm, which had just stiffened, slowly relaxed, and she led the person behind her down the stairs at a leisurely pace.
"—Welcome back next time!"
Bai Mao, who had made way, suddenly roared like a madman, then threw his head back and let out a long laugh.
That laughter was shrill and ear-splitting, more unsettling than the cold wails of ghosts in horror movies.
Hu Meng was so scared by this series of outrageous actions that she almost cried, walking the entire short staircase with her eyes squeezed shut.
As they turned the corner, Chu Qingdao couldn't help but look up.
The boy leaning against the wall brought a cigarette to his mouth again. His thumb slid over the Zippo, and the lighter flared red. He tilted his head to light it, his gaze briefly flickered over, and their eyes met across the space.
Chu Qingdao averted her gaze, burying her thoughts deep in her heart, her small face beneath her bowl cut continuously heating up.
Nearly a year.
Today was the closest she had ever stood to him...!
(~~~~~~~~~)
[Soda]
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