OS - 42

Youth is unaware of the length of years.

In the days after Qing Hang left, Cheng Wanyue’s low spirits were clear to see, but she never made a single phone call.

She tried to focus on her studies, but the problems she didn’t understand remained so. She’d lose focus in class, feel sleepy after class, and even mix up the restrooms.

Zhou Yu went to meet her for dinner one evening and waited for a long time outside the classroom.

“Wanyue, you’re having a nosebleed.”

Cheng Wanyue touched her nose, and her finger came away with blood.

A boy joked, “Cheng Wanyue, did you see someone naked in the bathroom just now, hahahaha?”

Zhou Yu looked over when she heard the voices and quickly grabbed a tissue to help Cheng Wanyue wipe her nosebleed, then accompanied her to the sink to clean up.

She really liked this shirt, but now it had two drops of blood on it, making the color darker and quite ugly.

“Still feeling unwell? Should I go to the hospital with you?”

“It’s fine, maybe it’s just from internal heat,” Cheng Wanyue shook her head. Her gums had also bled a bit when she brushed her teeth, “Where’s my brother?”

Zhou Yu didn’t mention Qing Hang, still acting as usual, “Let’s just us two chat, no need to call him. What do you want to eat? You should eat something light if you have internal heat.”

Cheng Wanyue didn’t have much of an appetite either, “Anything’s fine, I’m not very hungry.”

The two went downstairs together. At this time, the snack shops near the school were packed. They went to a slightly further place to have beef vermicelli soup.

Yan Ci walked over from the opposite side; Zhou Yu saw him first.

After the Spring Festival, she had only seen Yan Ci in the classroom on the first day of school. His hair had grown long, and perhaps because he went out less, his skin was much fairer than in the summer. He wore a baseball cap, and their eyes met for a fleeting moment when he looked up, before he very calmly shifted his gaze away.

He looked like he was seeing an irrelevant stranger.

If Cheng Wanyue hadn’t waved at him, he would have already walked past on the other side of the road.

“Yan Ci, come eat with us.”

“I’ve already eaten, you two go ahead.”

“What are you doing?”

“Something to do.”

Just a few words.

There was a period like this before, too.

Later, because the Cheng siblings always called Zhou Yu and Yan Ci to hang out together, gradually, Yan Ci no longer ignored Zhou Yu as he had immediately after the accident. Now he had moved to Changchun Road and didn’t go to school. With fewer holidays in senior year, opportunities to hang out together also became fewer.

Zhou Yu didn’t like the taste of cilantro and forgot to tell the owner not to add it. When the two bowls of beef soup were placed on the table, a layer of green cilantro bits floated on the surface.

Cheng Wanyue picked all the cilantro from Zhou Yu’s bowl into her own, and felt full after eating half a bowl.

“Cheng Yanqing said you’re moving to the city.”

“Mm, my dad still has some work. We’ll move after we finish our exams. Grandma also agreed; she’ll live with us for a while, then go to Nanjing to live with my second uncle and aunt for a while. But the old house in the county won’t be sold; we might still come back to live there in the future. Cheng Yanqing wants to go to Beijing, but Qin Yun didn’t pass her art exam, and her sister is practically unknown in the entertainment industry and can’t help her at all. Beijing isn’t that easy to get by in; I don’t know what that fool Cheng Yanqing is thinking. Cheng Yuzhou will probably aim for Nanjing University. As for me, I’ll go wherever I can get in; it’s not my turn to choose a university. Most likely, I’ll stay in the city. A-Yu, what about you? Where do you want to go?”

Zhou Yu simply said, “I don’t know yet.”

________________________________________

April 20th was a Saturday. High school seniors were still in class when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan, and Baicheng also experienced noticeable tremors.

The school announced over the broadcast that boarding students would have half a day off, but some day students missed the message because they didn’t check their phones at noon and still went to school.

Zhou Yu went home for lunch, slept for half an hour, then woke up to her alarm, washed up, and rushed to school.

Turning the corner, she saw Cheng Yuzhou. He was still standing by that street lamp.

Many times after evening self-study, he would see her back home from there, waiting until her figure disappeared before turning back.

“Why are you here?”

“Worried you, this silly idiot, would foolishly run to school.”

“...No class this afternoon?”

“No, they announced it at one o’clock,” Cheng Yuzhou smiled, “Didn’t you feel the bed shaking when you were sleeping?”

Zhou Yu shook her head blankly, “No, I only woke up when my alarm went off. No wonder the neighbors are all outside talking.”

“You didn’t listen?”

“They love to gossip when they get together, talking like it’s all true. I always have to run faster, or I’ll be the next topic,” as Zhou Yu spoke, an auntie craned her neck to look over, “Not going to school then, shall we go to the library?”

“Okay.”

The tremors in Baicheng weren’t particularly strong, but news from Sichuan quickly emerged.

Liu Fen helped her grandmother sit in the yard, not joining the crowds.

“A-Yu and that handsome young man, I’ve seen them several times.”

“He seems to be Mayor Cheng’s nephew. I saw him once when I went to pick up our girl from school at night. They were laughing and chatting the whole way. Mayor Cheng’s second son and his wife seem to be in Nanjing, right? Nanjing is a good place, but it’s too far from us.”

“A-Yu is sensible and pretty, but her family’s burden is too heavy. Her grandmother can’t take care of herself, and her own mother is like that. It’s really hard for her. Girls, you have to be a bit heartless to live well yourselves. Get into a good university, far from home, marry a good husband after graduating, and you won’t have to worry for a lifetime. Any man without a bit of capability would really be afraid to marry her after seeing her family.”

“The words are harsh, but they are true.”

The words of several women drilled into Liu Fen’s ears, giving her a severe headache and making her anxious.

Her mind was filled with chaotic thoughts. Her memory stopped at the day she suddenly learned that Zhou Liwen had died. She tried desperately to remember, but couldn’t recall anything.

She got up and paced back and forth in the yard, muttering something. She went into the house, came out, went in again, stood at the door staring at Zhou Yu’s room, and then suddenly rushed over and pushed open the door.

The books on the table were strewn about by her, and a sticky note covered with the word ‘Nanjing’ fell out. She tore it with her hands and stomped on it with her feet.

After bumping into the corner of the table, she suddenly sobered up, looking dazed at the mess on the floor.

________________________________________

The library was almost empty today. There weren’t even children reading picture books. The librarian was outside discussing the earthquake with others.

Zhou Yu hadn’t seen the news, and hearing about it made her feel a wave of fear. Humans are so tiny in the face of natural disasters. Qing Hang’s old house was destroyed by a landslide.

Cheng Yuzhou finished a call with Qin Yiming, casually took a book from the shelf, walked over, and sat beside Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu had her test papers and no table, so she was lying on the floor.

She lightly poked Cheng Yuzhou’s waist with her pen cap, “How do you do this problem?”

Physics was her weak point, especially the final long questions. The two times she scored poorly were because of physics dragging her down.

Cheng Yuzhou had already looked at the problem during the few minutes Zhou Yu was trying to figure it out. It was quite difficult. He took the pen from her hand, then changed his mind before explaining, “I can’t just teach you for free, can I?”

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and took a piece of candy from her pocket. Her grandma had been wanting to follow her to school these past few days, so she had put candy in all her clothes.

The lemon candy was what she used to keep herself awake; the sourness was intense. Cheng Yuzhou couldn’t swallow it nor spit it out.

“Let me see who’s secretly laughing,” Cheng Yuzhou leaned in close, his forehead touching hers, “Is it you?”

Zhou Yu said with a smile, “Isn’t it stimulating? Wakes you right up.”

“Mm, it’s very stimulating. You should try it too.”

Every shelf was filled with books. From the entrance, you couldn’t see to the very back. Her face was hidden behind an open magazine. When it reappeared, it was flushed crimson.

Cheng Yuzhou lay on the floor with his eyes closed, his hands clasped behind his head, his breathing still heavy, “I really wish the exams would be over soon.”