LRTH - 7

Later, when she recalled it, Fang Nanzhi couldn’t quite remember what she said in that moment. It was also possible that she said nothing at all and just stood there blankly.

There was only one thought in her mind: he called her by her name, he remembered her name.

Because he didn’t get a response from her, Li Yizhou didn’t ask any more questions. He just walked to the side, took out his phone, and made a call.

A little while later, a few more boys came down to the back garden. She didn’t recognize any of them. She only saw them each carrying cleaning tools. After greeting Li Yizhou, they laughed and started cleaning.

The back garden, which she had been cleaning alone, was now being cleaned by a group of people. In no time, it was all cleaned up and sparkling.

The sun had completely set behind the mountains, and in the distance, only a small, orange-yellow halo of light remained.

“Hey, we’re done cleaning. Let’s go.”

One of the more lively boys called out before leaving. Fang Nanzhi looked up, and the row of boys had already turned and left. Some were playing with their brooms, some were waving them around, and they were gradually walking away.

The back she was familiar with was also among them. At this moment, he was saying something to the boy next to him. A smile was on his lips, and his eyes were full of laughter, making it impossible to look away.

Fang Nanzhi opened her mouth, belatedly realizing she had forgotten to say thank you.

But they walked away quickly, with no intention of being thanked, as if they had just done something within their ability that was not worth mentioning.

Perhaps for them, it was indeed a very ordinary thing.

But in Fang Nanzhi’s heart, it was as if a storm had been brewing and a fire had been ignited.

She had a sudden, profound realization: it wasn’t her fault.

Being ignored and bullied was not her fault.

None of it was her fault.

It was the fault of people with malicious intentions.

________________________________________

“Hey, did Zhang Lanlan and Qian Feng not go to the back garden to sweep with you this afternoon?” Xu Tingyou, who had just walked in from outside the classroom, suddenly asked her.

Fang Nanzhi was in the middle of writing on a test paper and stopped. “How did you know...?”

“I just heard Zhang Lanlan telling someone in the bathroom. So it’s true. You didn’t just foolishly continue cleaning, did you?” Xu Tingyou didn’t say everything. In the bathroom, she had heard that Zhang Lanlan not only said those things but also many other unpleasant things.

For example, she said that Fang Nanzhi’s family was a nouveau riche family that had suddenly risen to wealth, she attacked her weight, and she said that Fang Nanzhi’s family was deliberately trying to curry favor with her family.

The things she said were nasty, especially the part about currying favor, which was completely baseless.

Xu Tingyou was a snob, and her temper was indeed bad, and she also hated trouble, but she had a clear understanding of things in her heart. She knew very well why their mothers were close. There was no need for all that scheming.

Xu Tingyou immediately walked out and scolded Zhang Lanlan. Zhang Lanlan didn’t dare to argue back. Her face turned red, and she ran off angrily.

Fang Nanzhi looked at her and said truthfully, “...I cleaned it.”

Xu Tingyou rolled her eyes dramatically. Her features were more on the heroic side, so her looks were very intimidating. “It wasn’t a lie when I said you were stupid before. Why are you so meek? If she didn’t come, you shouldn’t have cleaned either. What the hell did you clean for?!”

Fang Nanzhi didn’t expect her to be so angry and was suddenly touched. She tugged on her sleeve to get her to sit down. “It’s because they check at night, and if no one does it, the class gets points deducted. The teacher—”

“Who cares about that? Zhang Lanlan started it. If it were me, I wouldn’t have cleaned. Why should I make it easy for her?”

This kind of innate confidence and arrogance was something Fang Nanzhi admired and would most likely never possess.

Xu Tingyou’s mindset was to throw caution to the wind without any guilt. But for Fang Nanzhi, she thought about the blame from her classmates and the teacher if the class got points deducted.

“Just walk away” was not even an option for her.

“I’m telling you, if this happens again, you should just confront her. What right does she have? And that Qian Feng, he just listens to Zhang Lanlan. He’s a bootlicker. In the future—”

“There won’t be a next time. We’ll only get to clean the back garden once,” Fang Nanzhi interrupted softly. She said, “If something similar happens in the future, I’ll just do my own part... Thank you, Tingyou.”

Xu Tingyou’s angry expression froze. She was choked up by Fang Nanzhi’s soft and gentle “thank you.”

She looked at Fang Nanzhi, and under her shy smile and sincere eyes, she took a deep breath. “No, you, why are you thanking me? I didn’t do anything. Why are you so weird?”

Fang Nanzhi smiled and said, “I’m thanking you for sticking up for me.”

Xu Tingyou: “I wasn’t. I just couldn’t stand Zhang Lanlan. It had nothing to do with you.”

“Mmm, but thank you anyway.”

“...”

Xu Tingyou’s heart skipped a beat. It felt very strange. She simply threw her test paper on the desk, propped her chin on her hand, turned her back to her, and stopped talking.

Fang Nanzhi curved her lips and continued to write on her test paper. “Today’s math paper is a bit difficult. You can ask me if you can’t solve it.”

Xu Tingyou didn’t respond. Only after the awkward feeling in her heart passed did she turn to look at her.

At that moment, Fang Nanzhi had just put down her pen and picked up a cloth to wipe her glasses.

Xu Tingyou had never looked at her carefully before, but now that she was really looking, she suddenly noticed that Fang Nanzhi’s skin was really fair, even fairer than hers, and it was delicate and soft. Up close, she even looked a little cute.

From the side, she could clearly see her long eyelashes that curled up slightly...

How had she never noticed this before?

Oh, those glasses were too ugly, with their big black frames that hid her eyes.

And those thick bangs... What kind of taste did this girl have?

“What do you usually eat that makes your skin so fair?” Xu Tingyou asked out of the blue.

Girls all cared about their appearance, and she just wanted to know what to eat for fair skin.

Fang Nanzhi, however, was startled and looked at her in surprise. “Huh?”

Xu Tingyou: “I’m talking about your skin.”

“...I, I don’t know.”

Xu Tingyou was frustrated. “Are you saying you were born with it?”

Fang Nanzhi: “I don’t know.”

Xu Tingyou clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Forget it.”

________________________________________

Autumn went, and winter came. The school also gave the first-year students new school uniform jackets, two styles: a black long down jacket and a light blue short padded jacket.

Fang Nanzhi most often wore the black long down jacket, which was very warm.

Time passed little by little, and the final exams were approaching.

Besides math, Fang Nanzhi’s other subjects were not outstanding. She put all her energy into doing practice problems and reviewing every day. Because of the upcoming exams, she didn’t go home for lunch or dinner and just ate at the school cafeteria before returning to the classroom to study.

During this time, she would occasionally go to the art studio at noon. Sometimes it was because she was stressed about her studies and wanted to go to a comfortable place to relax and draw.

And other times... although she would never admit it out loud, she hoped to run into that person at the art studio again.

She had never had this feeling before. She just felt that it would be nice to run into him, even if they didn’t talk, didn’t make eye contact, and didn’t interact.

Just to run into him.

One day at noon, Fang Nanzhi finished two English reading comprehension exercises after eating. She stretched, then walked out of the classroom.

The winter in Hangzhou was bitterly cold, and a cold wind blew through the hallway.

Fang Nanzhi, wrapped in her down jacket, walked toward the art studio as she usually did. When she pushed the door open, the studio was still empty. No one was there.

It was expected, but she still felt disappointed.

She suddenly lost the desire to go inside and sit down. With her hand on the doorknob, she closed the door again, wanting to return to the classroom.

“Is it locked?”

Before she could pull her hand back, she suddenly heard a familiar voice from the right side of the hallway, a voice that was etched in her mind.

Fang Nanzhi’s heart suddenly began to beat faster. Blood rushed to her head, and even her breathing seemed to change rhythm.

“Is the art studio locked?” Since he didn’t hear her answer, the person asked again.

Fang Nanzhi let out a subtle sigh of relief, then turned her head to look at him.

He was also wearing the school’s down jacket today. But while the coat looked bulky and heavy on others, it looked particularly slender on him, making him a beautiful sight in the winter.

“It’s not locked. I... was just about to go in.” Without any thought, she lied.

Li Yizhou nodded. “I saw you standing here and thought the door was locked.”

Fang Nanzhi shook her head and opened the door again.

She walked in with stiff steps, sat down in her usual spot, and put the tools she was holding on the easel.

Li Yizhou walked to the back of the classroom. With the weather so cold, he was clearly not there to sleep.

Fang Nanzhi heard the sound of easels being moved, then a chair, paper, and pencil sharpening...

Was he planning to draw?

A senior student, and he still had the energy to draw?

Was he really an art student?

But if he was, he didn’t come to the studio very often. She had been here so many times and never saw him.

Maybe he was like her, just drawing occasionally out of interest.

She heard the sound of a pencil scratching from behind her, and Fang Nanzhi couldn’t help but secretly look back.

The easel was in the way, so she couldn’t see Li Yizhou’s whole face. She could only see his handsome eyebrows and eyes and his focused gaze on the paper.

Just as she wished, this was a meeting with no interaction.

But there were only two of them in the large art studio. They were a distance apart, yet they were breathing the same air.

She quickly found that she couldn’t focus on the paper in front of her. All her attention seemed to be drawn to the person behind her.

He was drawing lines, he stopped, he was probably thinking... Even though her back was to him and she couldn’t see, she was mentally picturing his every move.

Buzz—

A phone vibrated in the art studio. It was Li Yizhou’s.

“Hello? I’m in the art studio. Yes, really...” He answered the phone and walked out of the studio while talking, and he didn’t come back for a long time.

A little while later, the preparatory bell for the afternoon class rang. Fang Nanzhi got up and looked back at where Li Yizhou had been sitting.

Class was about to start; he probably wouldn’t be back.

Fang Nanzhi saw that he hadn’t put away his drawing tools and was curious. She thought there was no way Li Yizhou would come back, so she summoned the courage to walk to the back and look at his easel.

It was an architectural drawing.

She didn’t know what he was drawing, but from the drawing, it was a very well-designed building. It could be a large library, an activity center, or an exhibition hall...

She had only been in a big city for a short time, so her exposure was still very limited. She didn’t know what place this was, but she just thought it was very beautiful.

“Class is about to start. Aren’t you going back?”

Li Yizhou had come back at some point, and Fang Nanzhi, who was too focused on his drawing, was startled and quickly took a few steps back.

“I, I was just... getting something,” she said, realizing her excuse was weak. What could she be getting in the back? Her face was flushed, and she said in a low voice, “I’m sorry...”

Li Yizhou sat back down in front of the easel and smiled. “It’s fine. It’s not like it’s something you can’t look at.”

He didn’t seem offended, and Fang Nanzhi felt relieved.

“Oh, by the way, the drawing of the Fenglan activity area you were working on before, did you finish it?” Li Yizhou suddenly asked.

Fang Nanzhi was stunned. She didn’t expect him to remember that. “I finished it. Why do you ask...?”

“No reason, I just thought it looked pretty good when I glanced at it before. I was wondering what the finished product looked like.”

“I can bring it to the studio next time, then.”

She said it without thinking. After saying it, she realized she had been too excited and eager and clenched her hands.

Fortunately, Li Yizhou didn’t notice her unusual behavior. He just said, “Sure.”

He picked up his pen, looking like he was about to continue drawing.

Fang Nanzhi turned to leave, and after a few steps, she turned back and asked, “Aren’t you going back to the classroom?”

Li Yizhou answered frankly, “The first period this afternoon is self-study. I’m not going.”

Senior students had many self-study periods. At this stage, students were also self-disciplined and would work hard in the classroom.

But he was out drawing during this stressful time.

She remembered that he had excellent grades... Sure enough, only top students could be so carefree.

Fang Nanzhi withdrew her gaze with a little envy and quietly said goodbye. He also looked at her and said goodbye back.

As she walked out of the art studio, a cold wind hit her.

But Fang Nanzhi didn’t feel cold at all. A slight smile formed on her lips after her nervousness subsided, and she was in an incredibly excited mood.

She was so happy that she had run into him today.

________________________________________

A week later, final exams.

The exams lasted for three days, and after they were over, it was time for the winter break.

The grades came out on the third day of the break, sent via text message to each student’s parents.

Fang Nanzhi still got a high score in math and did well in physics, but her other subjects were average. English was even in the lower-middle tier. Therefore, her total ranking wasn’t very high, only putting her at a middle level in the class.

In her old middle school in the small town, she could always rank in the top three of her class and top ten of her grade... The educational resources in Hangzhou were indeed much better, and the students were very talented. The gap between her and them, coming from a small town, was immediately apparent.

“Liaoliao, don’t be discouraged. You just got here, and you’ve already done very well,” Zhao Liyun said a few comforting words, afraid that she would lose confidence, then glanced at Fang Ji, signaling for him to say something as well.

The two of them had not been by their daughter’s side while working to earn money, so their communication with their daughter was clumsy.

Fang Ji cleared his throat and said, “That’s right. Your math teacher said this math paper was quite difficult, and your score is already very high. You should be praised for it.”

Zhao Liyun: “That’s right, that’s right. Getting a good score in math shows that our Liaoliao is still very smart.”

Fang Nanzhi was a little sad when she saw her ranking, but she wasn’t discouraged. Seeing her parents comforting her like this now made her blush a little.

She wasn’t used to being praised and comforted so much.

“Mmm... I know. Mom and Dad, don’t worry about me. I won’t be discouraged, and I’ll continue to work hard next semester.”

“Hey! That’s the spirit!”

As they were talking, the doorbell rang.

After the housekeeper opened the door, Fang Nanzhi saw Huang Yurou walk in, pulling Xu Tingyou behind her.

Auntie Huang and her mom had a good relationship, so visiting was a regular thing, but Xu Tingyou didn’t come to their house often. Seeing her now, Fang Nanzhi was a little surprised.

“Yurou, you’ve come at a good time. We’re about to eat. Come join us. Tingyou, come, have a seat.”

“No need to eat. We’ve already cooked at home. And besides, if anyone is eating, it should be me treating you,” Huang Yurou said.

Zhao Liyun: “What do you mean by that?”

Huang Yurou looked happy. “Didn’t Tingyou’s final exam results just come out? I found out she did pretty well in math this time, 128 points. You don’t know, for the first few quizzes this semester, she didn’t even pass her math!”

Zhao Liyun smiled and said, “That’s a good reason to be happy.”

“That’s right, and it’s all thanks to Liaoliao,” Huang Yurou said. “I heard Tingyou say that Liaoliao was teaching her problems during evening self-study. So, I brought her here to say thank you.”

With a surprised look from Fang Nanzhi, Xu Tingyou’s expression was as awkward as could be. But with Huang Yurou pushing her, she still said thank you, then quickly left.

“That child,” Huang Yurou continued to chat with Zhao Liyun.

Fang Nanzhi took advantage of their distraction and walked out the door, just as she saw Xu Tingyou heading to her own house.

“Tingyou.”

Xu Tingyou stopped and looked back at her with a look of despair. “I just said a few words at home, saying you had been explaining problems to me for a while, and my mom, well, she just had to drag me over here.”

Fang Nanzhi: “Oh... it’s okay. You don’t have to thank me. It’s the result of your own hard work.”

Xu Tingyou’s expression softened slightly. She glanced at her and mumbled, “I should still thank you, right? I’m not an ungrateful person.”

Fang Nanzhi couldn’t help but smile. A moment later, she said, “Thank you.”

“...Why are you thanking me?”

“Just, thank you for talking to me in the classroom.”

Xu Tingyou was stunned for a moment. She said, “You’re my deskmate. If I don’t talk to you, who else would I talk to? The air?”

“Mmm... that’s true.”

The two looked at each other for a moment and, with a bit of a mutual understanding, laughed together again.

A moment later, Xu Tingyou said, “Oh, right. We’re having a small party at our house in a few days. It’s my brother’s birthday.”

“Huh?”

“Huh what? It’s right next door. You should come too.”