On the first day of the UEE, Li Erqin received a text message from Ruan Mingxian.
Since starting at University, Ruan Mingxian would occasionally drop her a text to keep in touch. Mostly it was just some random frivolous text or a shared picture.
However, one time when Li Erqin was having one of those anxious and hapless kind of days, he suddenly gave her a call.
It was the only time that he had called her.
When he talked, he was still the same-old, devil-may-care Ruan Mingxian. In his jovial and laughing manner he said to her, “I dreamt that you were pulling my sleeves, crying, and thought that maybe you encountered something that Rong Si was not able to help you out with.”
Thinking back, that seemed to have happened over half a year ago.
Li Erqin finished up a whole glass of milk in one go before replying to Ruan Mingxian. [Thanks.]
Then she walked out the front door.
Ruan Mingxian replied: [piece of cake.]
Li Erqin, with her usual cavalier heart, sank her teeth into this slice of ‘cake’.
(T/N : metaphorically since RMX said ‘piece of cake’, it’s used to further the effect that Li Erqin went into the exams ready to bite and chew, and finish this cake with all her heart.)
For those two days (of the UEE), Rong Si and she had agreed not to meet up or communicate with each other. Whether she was about to admit it to herself or not, Rong Si had a huge effect on her. She was scared that if she saw him, her resolve would crumble and she would become weak and feel inferior.
The bell for the last UEE paper finally rang.
Li Erqin followed the throngs of people exiting step by step out of the exam hall. She walked past the stairs, walked out of the building and immediately spotted Rong Si waiting for her quietly under a huge tree.
Somehow there was this strange emotion that came upon her that she could not quite put her finger on.
Behind her was the riotous ruckus of students, relieved to have finally completed their exams. There were big laughs, loud shouts and big tears.
Li Erqin simply felt that her eyes were a little hot.
She walked directly to Rong Si.
And stood upright before him.
Quietly, she fixed her eyes on him.
Neither uttered a word.
The silence stretched.
Li Erqin smiled and asked, “Which Uni are you planning to apply to?”
Rong Si arched his brows.
“Wherever you go, I will go.” She said this with full confidence.
Rong Si’s face had initially been without expression, but now it gradually broke forth into layers upon layers of warmth and gentleness.
＊＊＊
Su Zi looked from afar at the two who were standing apart from the crowd of students. They were facing each other and smiling.
With eyes red, she hurried towards them, and just as she was wondering if she would be interrupting their moment, Li Erqin abruptly turned her head.
Su Zi stopped in her tracks. “I….”
Li Erqin said, “You bombed the exam?”
A flabbergasted Su Zi took a moment to reply, “NO.”
Li Erqin laughed, “Me neither!”
Once again no one spoke a word.
Li Erqin was not able to read Su Zi’s mood from her face so she simply posed her question directly to her. “All chilled and relaxed now?”
Su Zi was aware of what Li Erqin was insinuating and ashamedly replied, “I don’t know. It feels surreal, somewhat empty and hollow.”
“I have that feeling too,” Li Erqin muttered.
Just then, one of the boys from their class came running over, and panting, he stood before them. “Do you guys have plans for tonight?”
“No,” said Su Zi.
“No,” said Li Erqin.
“Then I don’t either,” said Rong Si.
The boy bumped Rong Si and cheekily laughed. “This evening, we’re having a group meal. Will you guys come?”
Rong Si turned to look at Li Erqin.
Li Erqin in turn asked Su Zi, “Do you want to go?”
Su Zi said, “Yes.”
“Then we’ll all be going,” Li Erqin answered.
The boy laughed louder and even more rambunctiously. “In the future, should we just direct all of Rong Si’s schedules and activities to you, Li Erqin classmate?”
Li Erqin very seriously replied, “I should say so.”
The boy was totally dumbstruck.
The class gathering in the evening was at a small cafe shop by the school’s back door.
(This is what they call 小炒店 Xiaochaodian. They usually can be as simple or almost to a mini restaurant style. Some countries like Singapore might call this kind of food Zi Char – that’s because most of the dishes are stir fried over a huge wok that reminiscence of home-cooked food, plus it’s economical compared to restaurants.)
It was an early evening in the beginning of June, and the summer heat had not yet completely retreated. It mingled with the eclectic smells emitting from the various street vendors. The small cafe shop had its door opened wide, and the stifling, sultry air mixed with the clamorous sounds of people and the hooting of workers having just knocked off work. The noise seemed to scuttle into the shop, only to be lambasted out by the huge pedestal fan. The setting sun’s harsh glow was cast upon the limestones by the shop’s front entrance, and the sharp light from the shop’s eye-piercing signage illuminated a previously obscured foul-smelling puddle.
Li Erqin’s classmates were seated inside in a corner of the stall and surrounding them were groups of students from other classes sitting around large round tables. The small cafe had definitely more than tripled its usual liveliness.
Initially, everyone was a little restrained. The class was relatively big so not everyone was familiar enough to get on like *pants on fire. There were the usual few rowdy, rambunctious ones and those who naturally attracted the attentions of others. However, the majority of the classmates were quiet and reserved, as usual, and hardly made a sound. Even on such an occasion, they were still the same, quietly taking in and looking at the few who were ribbing each other and telling nonsensical jokes.
(T/N : the author uses the imagery of being close friends/familiar with each other to the point that they would exchange their pants. – sound ewww to me but I’ve used Pant on fire which is probably a more familiar term for most of us ….hopefully!)
This went on until a usually rough and fierce looking boy stood up suddenly and raised his glass towards a girl sitting quietly by the corner. “Little….Little Min.”
Instantly, another classmate hollered out, “Little Min? Since when have you both become so close with each other?”
The boy blushed and barked, “Shut up! This is none of your business!”
The breaking voice of a youthful lad and his gut full of confidence strangely didn’t come off as being fierce.
Guan Min looked at the boy with eyes that spoke of some familiarity towards him and with a depth that seemed to hide a message that only their two hearts would understand.
The boy raised his glass, his face turning a darker shade of red. However, his voice was still just as boisterous. “I don’t know which Uni you’ll get into, and besides, my results aren’t as good as yours. However, there are some things that if they are not said today, I most likely won’t have another opportunity to do so in this lifetime.”
This would have normally been the time for hoots and catcalls, but suddenly the atmosphere quieted down.
Very naturally the boy’s voice tapered down and became gentle. “I like you.”
Guan Min stood up. The bright yellow overhead lights illuminated and seemed to cast a brilliant, golden hue in her eyes. She tipped her head back to drink her glass of beer in one shot, and then facing him, she smiled. “Thank you.”
Not everyone can get the opportunity to say those *three words, “I like you”, and not every “I like you” is said at the right time (to get a response).
(TN: in chinese, this is actually four words. 我喜欢你 wo xi huan ni.)
The boy’s throat was slightly constricted as his Adam’s apple moved up and down. His eyes seemed to have reflected that of the girl’s and glistened with moisture, and then he, too, drank his glass in one shot. Lowering his head in quiet contemplation, he lifted his head soon after and smiled at her. “My name is Ke Yuanhuan. Please do remember my name.”
Guan Min smiled.
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
Su Zi was fiddling with her chopsticks as she said, “If only Zige was here, the atmosphere wouldn’t be so stale.”
Li Erqin gave Su Zi a strange look, but before she could say anything, Rong Si filled her plate with a piece of pork rib.
Li Erqin’s attention was diverted.
Rong Si and Li Erqin’s little exchange was noticed by another boy who loudly laughed and exclaimed, “Hey, shouldn’t we drink to our class’ one and only couple!”
The boy next to him burst out laughing.
He was perplexed. “What are you laughing about?”
The boy next to him casually pointed at a few others. “This one here, and here, and over there the one who is usually the most docile are all in a *relationship.”
[TN: it said they were all part of the “underground club” (of secret relationships).]
The boy was surprised. “Am I the only one who didn’t know?”
Li Erqin pursed her lips. “Even I knew about it.”
The boy was even more alarmed. “Even Li Erqin knew?!”
It seemed that Li Erqin knowing more than he did was an even bigger blow to him.
It was getting late into the night.
However, no one had any intention of calling it a night.
The food on the table had long gone cold, and the continuously changing beer bottles were coated with condensation, their beaded droplets gliding down the sides of the bottle.
Somewhere across the road, one of the food stalls had put on some music. The sound filtered into the noisy cafe and somehow added a layer of sadness to the proceedings.
It was the song “Saying a Proper Farewell” sung by Sharon Kwan and David Tao.
(Minodayz : what a lovely song – do check it out. https://youtu.be/BeS8dUSp8zg)
Finally, someone broke down in tears.
At the Year 3 middle school graduation, the class had also had a similar gathering. However, after all their fun and laughter, eating and drinking, they had all said to each other, “See you in High School” and then went off to their merry way home.
Something was vastly different with the High School Year 3 farewell.
The sound of laughter from students chasing each other from the front classroom door to the back door and the sighs from when they turned around from in front of the podium. Every night before they went to sleep, their ‘see you tomorrow’, and every morning when they woke up, their daily conundrum of which cafeteria to go to, the big one or the small one, – all these seemed to fade into the distance on this very night.
There would no longer be someone beside them at the desk, complicit, putting the rush like a wind and urging the other to quickly finish copying, or someone sleeping in class and being alerted by a ‘cough’ that they had caught the teacher’s attention. And no longer would there be someone quietly watching a girl’s every move from the back of the classroom and after class, going over and pretending to “accidentally” bump into her books. There would not be such opportunities again to purposely walk the wrong direction to the toilet just to pass his classroom and catch a quick glimpse of where he sits.
Never again would you be so frustrated over whether an answer was C or D that you couldn’t even eat, nor would there be another moment of you dangling your breakfast from your lips and dashing like mad to class. There would be no more standing in the field, cheering your classmates on, just to encourage them to finish that final lap. The main thing though, was that all these daily motions and people that you never even realized you had grown accustomed to and familiar with, all these things were, on this night, saying to you:
“GOODBYE.”
(Minodayz : Tissue please…I’m bawling my eyes typing this! What a big sop I am but alas, how true isn’t it. Like saying goodbye to friends and a place that has been more like home for the past 3 years.)
How many three-year intervals are there in a person’s life, and yet this special, nothing-can-compare to these three years had gone by, never to return.
Su Zi took advantage of the moment when she was drinking something to secretly try to swallow and loosen the knot in her throat. Her eyes caught a glimpse of Li Erqin and Rong Si who were sitting down totally unaffected and impervious to the overwhelmingly sad and emotional atmosphere.
Then again, because it was Li Erqin and Rong Si, this behavior really wasn’t all that strange.
Every time she looked at them, she felt that even the most fiery and hot tempered person would cool off immediately in their presence. This was because they were both very calm, collected and rational people, almost as if emotions were not part of their makeup.
Oddly enough, the usually straight-laced Li Erqin, who was drinking for the first time, was mildly drunk, and her vision was slightly wavering. However, she was still harbouring something in her heart and was not able to take her leave early to go home.
A concerned Rong Si caressed Li Erqin’s hand under the table and asked quietly, “Are you alright?”
Li Erqin said, “I probably can last another 10 minutes.”
Rong Si smiled helplessly. “You’ve got the timing so precise?”
Li Erqin was not quite certain. “Could possibly be 20 minutes too.”
(Minodayz : awwwww…..)
Observing the situation, Su Zi stood up. “I’ll go ask the owner if we can get a cup of hot water for Erqin.”
Rong Si was grateful towards her. “Sorry to trouble you.”
“Don’t mention it,” Su Zi muttered as she walked off.
When the owner was pouring her a cup of water, she heard a commotion coming from her classmates in exclamation and welcome. She turned back but all she saw was a mass of people huddled together, and she wasn’t sure what they were fussing about.
She smiled apologetically to the owner. “Thanks for your hard work today.”
The boss waved his hands. “I totally understand. Every year there are a few days like this.” As he spoke, he handed Su Zi the cup. “Would you like me to bring it over for you? It’s rather hot.”
Su Zi reached out to take the cup. “It’s ok, it’s just a couple of steps. I’m fine taking it there myself.”
The boss caught sight of something behind her and stated, “Perfect timing, there is a lad here to help you.”
Su Zi gingerly held onto the rim of the cup using her fingertips. “It’s ok, but I can….”
She collided into some boy who was standing way too close and almost lost her grip on the cup completely. In a fury, she turned and bellowed, “Why did you come so….”
There was a second’s pause.
Then the air broke out in two sounds.
A shriek and a wail.
Another minute passed.
Peng Zige didn’t get to attend to his hand at all, which was scalded when Su Zi had accidentally tipped the hot water out. He was totally bewildered and unable to do anything as he watched Su Zi burst into seemingly never-ending tears right in front of him.
(Minodayz : OMG Puppy dog is bacccccckkkkk!!!! )
Li Erqin stood to the side, leaning next to Rong Si. Without a word, she took out some tissues from her bag to pass to them.
Rong Si caressed Li Erqin’s hair and then tucked her head into his embrace.
(Minodayz : what about me…. I need a hug too!!!)
Su Zi’s cries were choppy as she said, “So you both….knew that Peng Zige was coming back?”
Li Erqin honestly fessed up. “Peng Zige wanted to give you a surprise.”
Peng Zige was helpless. “If I knew you’d react this way, I would have told you earlier.”
Su Zi wiped her tears before lifting her head to look at him. In this one year, Peng Zige hadn’t grown much taller. His hairstyle really was a little messy, but his face seemed to have matured a bit. That cheeky young boy had grown into a young man.
“Please stop crying,” Peng Zige gently coaxed. “Please?”
Su Zi struggled to bring it under control, but the tears fell once again.
Peng Zige begged for pardon. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I was wrong.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“No, I really was in the wrong.”
Rong Si shook his head and led Li Erqin out of the cafe, giving some room to the two people who had just reunited after a long separation.
It was late into the night, and the night air wasn’t as humid and hot. The cool breeze quietly blew some of Li Erqin’s drunkenness away.
However, not all of it was blown away.
Li Erqin lifted her head and propped her chin on his chest.
Rong Si chuckled. “What’s on your mind?”
“I was really afraid earlier,” she said.
Rong Si nodded and let her continue.
“I was afraid that I wouldn’t do well on the exam. Scared that I won’t be able to get into the same Uni as you.” She was a little embarrassed and lowered her eyes briefly, before looking once again at Rong Si. “I was afraid that I would have to take back what I had told my dad. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to prove that being with you was a good thing and that together we were improving ourselves and not walking down the wrong path.”
Rong Si quietly looked at her. “I know.”
“I’ve never disobeyed my parents and their wishes, and never broken the school rules.”
She paused here momentarily before clarifying, “Can we not count the time when I was secretly having a drink?”
Rong Si smiled. “Yes.”
“Then there really isn’t any other time.” She laughed. “Being with you is the most momentous thing that has happened in my life.”
Rong Si pulled her into his embrace and said, “Me too.”
“And also the best thing that has happened.”
“Same here.”
My *heady and capricious youth was (spent) liking you.
On the first day of the UEE, Li Erqin received a text message from Ruan Mingxian.
Since starting at University, Ruan Mingxian would occasionally drop her a text to keep in touch. Mostly it was just some random frivolous text or a shared picture.
However, one time when Li Erqin was having one of those anxious and hapless kind of days, he suddenly gave her a call.
It was the only time that he had called her.
When he talked, he was still the same-old, devil-may-care Ruan Mingxian. In his jovial and laughing manner he said to her, “I dreamt that you were pulling my sleeves, crying, and thought that maybe you encountered something that Rong Si was not able to help you out with.”
Thinking back, that seemed to have happened over half a year ago.
Li Erqin finished up a whole glass of milk in one go before replying to Ruan Mingxian. [Thanks.]
Then she walked out the front door.
Ruan Mingxian replied: [piece of cake.]
Li Erqin, with her usual cavalier heart, sank her teeth into this slice of ‘cake’.
(T/N : metaphorically since RMX said ‘piece of cake’, it’s used to further the effect that Li Erqin went into the exams ready to bite and chew, and finish this cake with all her heart.)
For those two days (of the UEE), Rong Si and she had agreed not to meet up or communicate with each other. Whether she was about to admit it to herself or not, Rong Si had a huge effect on her. She was scared that if she saw him, her resolve would crumble and she would become weak and feel inferior.
The bell for the last UEE paper finally rang.
Li Erqin followed the throngs of people exiting step by step out of the exam hall. She walked past the stairs, walked out of the building and immediately spotted Rong Si waiting for her quietly under a huge tree.
Somehow there was this strange emotion that came upon her that she could not quite put her finger on.
Behind her was the riotous ruckus of students, relieved to have finally completed their exams. There were big laughs, loud shouts and big tears.
Li Erqin simply felt that her eyes were a little hot.
She walked directly to Rong Si.
And stood upright before him.
Quietly, she fixed her eyes on him.
Neither uttered a word.
The silence stretched.
Li Erqin smiled and asked, “Which Uni are you planning to apply to?”
Rong Si arched his brows.
“Wherever you go, I will go.” She said this with full confidence.
Rong Si’s face had initially been without expression, but now it gradually broke forth into layers upon layers of warmth and gentleness.
＊＊＊
Su Zi looked from afar at the two who were standing apart from the crowd of students. They were facing each other and smiling.
With eyes red, she hurried towards them, and just as she was wondering if she would be interrupting their moment, Li Erqin abruptly turned her head.
Su Zi stopped in her tracks. “I….”
Li Erqin said, “You bombed the exam?”
A flabbergasted Su Zi took a moment to reply, “NO.”
Li Erqin laughed, “Me neither!”
Once again no one spoke a word.
Li Erqin was not able to read Su Zi’s mood from her face so she simply posed her question directly to her. “All chilled and relaxed now?”
Su Zi was aware of what Li Erqin was insinuating and ashamedly replied, “I don’t know. It feels surreal, somewhat empty and hollow.”
“I have that feeling too,” Li Erqin muttered.
Just then, one of the boys from their class came running over, and panting, he stood before them. “Do you guys have plans for tonight?”
“No,” said Su Zi.
“No,” said Li Erqin.
“Then I don’t either,” said Rong Si.
The boy bumped Rong Si and cheekily laughed. “This evening, we’re having a group meal. Will you guys come?”
Rong Si turned to look at Li Erqin.
Li Erqin in turn asked Su Zi, “Do you want to go?”
Su Zi said, “Yes.”
“Then we’ll all be going,” Li Erqin answered.
The boy laughed louder and even more rambunctiously. “In the future, should we just direct all of Rong Si’s schedules and activities to you, Li Erqin classmate?”
Li Erqin very seriously replied, “I should say so.”
The boy was totally dumbstruck.
The class gathering in the evening was at a small cafe shop by the school’s back door.
(This is what they call 小炒店 Xiaochaodian. They usually can be as simple or almost to a mini restaurant style. Some countries like Singapore might call this kind of food Zi Char – that’s because most of the dishes are stir fried over a huge wok that reminiscence of home-cooked food, plus it’s economical compared to restaurants.)
It was an early evening in the beginning of June, and the summer heat had not yet completely retreated. It mingled with the eclectic smells emitting from the various street vendors. The small cafe shop had its door opened wide, and the stifling, sultry air mixed with the clamorous sounds of people and the hooting of workers having just knocked off work. The noise seemed to scuttle into the shop, only to be lambasted out by the huge pedestal fan. The setting sun’s harsh glow was cast upon the limestones by the shop’s front entrance, and the sharp light from the shop’s eye-piercing signage illuminated a previously obscured foul-smelling puddle.
Li Erqin’s classmates were seated inside in a corner of the stall and surrounding them were groups of students from other classes sitting around large round tables. The small cafe had definitely more than tripled its usual liveliness.
Initially, everyone was a little restrained. The class was relatively big so not everyone was familiar enough to get on like *pants on fire. There were the usual few rowdy, rambunctious ones and those who naturally attracted the attentions of others. However, the majority of the classmates were quiet and reserved, as usual, and hardly made a sound. Even on such an occasion, they were still the same, quietly taking in and looking at the few who were ribbing each other and telling nonsensical jokes.
(T/N : the author uses the imagery of being close friends/familiar with each other to the point that they would exchange their pants. – sound ewww to me but I’ve used Pant on fire which is probably a more familiar term for most of us ….hopefully!)
This went on until a usually rough and fierce looking boy stood up suddenly and raised his glass towards a girl sitting quietly by the corner. “Little….Little Min.”
Instantly, another classmate hollered out, “Little Min? Since when have you both become so close with each other?”
The boy blushed and barked, “Shut up! This is none of your business!”
The breaking voice of a youthful lad and his gut full of confidence strangely didn’t come off as being fierce.
Guan Min looked at the boy with eyes that spoke of some familiarity towards him and with a depth that seemed to hide a message that only their two hearts would understand.
The boy raised his glass, his face turning a darker shade of red. However, his voice was still just as boisterous. “I don’t know which Uni you’ll get into, and besides, my results aren’t as good as yours. However, there are some things that if they are not said today, I most likely won’t have another opportunity to do so in this lifetime.”
This would have normally been the time for hoots and catcalls, but suddenly the atmosphere quieted down.
Very naturally the boy’s voice tapered down and became gentle. “I like you.”
Guan Min stood up. The bright yellow overhead lights illuminated and seemed to cast a brilliant, golden hue in her eyes. She tipped her head back to drink her glass of beer in one shot, and then facing him, she smiled. “Thank you.”
Not everyone can get the opportunity to say those *three words, “I like you”, and not every “I like you” is said at the right time (to get a response).
(TN: in chinese, this is actually four words. 我喜欢你 wo xi huan ni.)
The boy’s throat was slightly constricted as his Adam’s apple moved up and down. His eyes seemed to have reflected that of the girl’s and glistened with moisture, and then he, too, drank his glass in one shot. Lowering his head in quiet contemplation, he lifted his head soon after and smiled at her. “My name is Ke Yuanhuan. Please do remember my name.”
Guan Min smiled.
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
Su Zi was fiddling with her chopsticks as she said, “If only Zige was here, the atmosphere wouldn’t be so stale.”
Li Erqin gave Su Zi a strange look, but before she could say anything, Rong Si filled her plate with a piece of pork rib.
Li Erqin’s attention was diverted.
Rong Si and Li Erqin’s little exchange was noticed by another boy who loudly laughed and exclaimed, “Hey, shouldn’t we drink to our class’ one and only couple!”
The boy next to him burst out laughing.
He was perplexed. “What are you laughing about?”
The boy next to him casually pointed at a few others. “This one here, and here, and over there the one who is usually the most docile are all in a *relationship.”
[TN: it said they were all part of the “underground club” (of secret relationships).]
The boy was surprised. “Am I the only one who didn’t know?”
Li Erqin pursed her lips. “Even I knew about it.”
The boy was even more alarmed. “Even Li Erqin knew?!”
It seemed that Li Erqin knowing more than he did was an even bigger blow to him.
It was getting late into the night.
However, no one had any intention of calling it a night.
The food on the table had long gone cold, and the continuously changing beer bottles were coated with condensation, their beaded droplets gliding down the sides of the bottle.
Somewhere across the road, one of the food stalls had put on some music. The sound filtered into the noisy cafe and somehow added a layer of sadness to the proceedings.
It was the song “Saying a Proper Farewell” sung by Sharon Kwan and David Tao.
(Minodayz : what a lovely song – do check it out. https://youtu.be/BeS8dUSp8zg)
Finally, someone broke down in tears.
At the Year 3 middle school graduation, the class had also had a similar gathering. However, after all their fun and laughter, eating and drinking, they had all said to each other, “See you in High School” and then went off to their merry way home.
Something was vastly different with the High School Year 3 farewell.
The sound of laughter from students chasing each other from the front classroom door to the back door and the sighs from when they turned around from in front of the podium. Every night before they went to sleep, their ‘see you tomorrow’, and every morning when they woke up, their daily conundrum of which cafeteria to go to, the big one or the small one, – all these seemed to fade into the distance on this very night.
There would no longer be someone beside them at the desk, complicit, putting the rush like a wind and urging the other to quickly finish copying, or someone sleeping in class and being alerted by a ‘cough’ that they had caught the teacher’s attention. And no longer would there be someone quietly watching a girl’s every move from the back of the classroom and after class, going over and pretending to “accidentally” bump into her books. There would not be such opportunities again to purposely walk the wrong direction to the toilet just to pass his classroom and catch a quick glimpse of where he sits.
Never again would you be so frustrated over whether an answer was C or D that you couldn’t even eat, nor would there be another moment of you dangling your breakfast from your lips and dashing like mad to class. There would be no more standing in the field, cheering your classmates on, just to encourage them to finish that final lap. The main thing though, was that all these daily motions and people that you never even realized you had grown accustomed to and familiar with, all these things were, on this night, saying to you:
“GOODBYE.”
(Minodayz : Tissue please…I’m bawling my eyes typing this! What a big sop I am but alas, how true isn’t it. Like saying goodbye to friends and a place that has been more like home for the past 3 years.)
How many three-year intervals are there in a person’s life, and yet this special, nothing-can-compare to these three years had gone by, never to return.
Su Zi took advantage of the moment when she was drinking something to secretly try to swallow and loosen the knot in her throat. Her eyes caught a glimpse of Li Erqin and Rong Si who were sitting down totally unaffected and impervious to the overwhelmingly sad and emotional atmosphere.
Then again, because it was Li Erqin and Rong Si, this behavior really wasn’t all that strange.
Every time she looked at them, she felt that even the most fiery and hot tempered person would cool off immediately in their presence. This was because they were both very calm, collected and rational people, almost as if emotions were not part of their makeup.
Oddly enough, the usually straight-laced Li Erqin, who was drinking for the first time, was mildly drunk, and her vision was slightly wavering. However, she was still harbouring something in her heart and was not able to take her leave early to go home.
A concerned Rong Si caressed Li Erqin’s hand under the table and asked quietly, “Are you alright?”
Li Erqin said, “I probably can last another 10 minutes.”
Rong Si smiled helplessly. “You’ve got the timing so precise?”
Li Erqin was not quite certain. “Could possibly be 20 minutes too.”
(Minodayz : awwwww…..)
Observing the situation, Su Zi stood up. “I’ll go ask the owner if we can get a cup of hot water for Erqin.”
Rong Si was grateful towards her. “Sorry to trouble you.”
“Don’t mention it,” Su Zi muttered as she walked off.
When the owner was pouring her a cup of water, she heard a commotion coming from her classmates in exclamation and welcome. She turned back but all she saw was a mass of people huddled together, and she wasn’t sure what they were fussing about.
She smiled apologetically to the owner. “Thanks for your hard work today.”
The boss waved his hands. “I totally understand. Every year there are a few days like this.” As he spoke, he handed Su Zi the cup. “Would you like me to bring it over for you? It’s rather hot.”
Su Zi reached out to take the cup. “It’s ok, it’s just a couple of steps. I’m fine taking it there myself.”
The boss caught sight of something behind her and stated, “Perfect timing, there is a lad here to help you.”
Su Zi gingerly held onto the rim of the cup using her fingertips. “It’s ok, but I can….”
She collided into some boy who was standing way too close and almost lost her grip on the cup completely. In a fury, she turned and bellowed, “Why did you come so….”
There was a second’s pause.
Then the air broke out in two sounds.
A shriek and a wail.
Another minute passed.
Peng Zige didn’t get to attend to his hand at all, which was scalded when Su Zi had accidentally tipped the hot water out. He was totally bewildered and unable to do anything as he watched Su Zi burst into seemingly never-ending tears right in front of him.
(Minodayz : OMG Puppy dog is bacccccckkkkk!!!! )
Li Erqin stood to the side, leaning next to Rong Si. Without a word, she took out some tissues from her bag to pass to them.
Rong Si caressed Li Erqin’s hair and then tucked her head into his embrace.
(Minodayz : what about me…. I need a hug too!!!)
Su Zi’s cries were choppy as she said, “So you both….knew that Peng Zige was coming back?”
Li Erqin honestly fessed up. “Peng Zige wanted to give you a surprise.”
Peng Zige was helpless. “If I knew you’d react this way, I would have told you earlier.”
Su Zi wiped her tears before lifting her head to look at him. In this one year, Peng Zige hadn’t grown much taller. His hairstyle really was a little messy, but his face seemed to have matured a bit. That cheeky young boy had grown into a young man.
“Please stop crying,” Peng Zige gently coaxed. “Please?”
Su Zi struggled to bring it under control, but the tears fell once again.
Peng Zige begged for pardon. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I was wrong.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“No, I really was in the wrong.”
Rong Si shook his head and led Li Erqin out of the cafe, giving some room to the two people who had just reunited after a long separation.
It was late into the night, and the night air wasn’t as humid and hot. The cool breeze quietly blew some of Li Erqin’s drunkenness away.
However, not all of it was blown away.
Li Erqin lifted her head and propped her chin on his chest.
Rong Si chuckled. “What’s on your mind?”
“I was really afraid earlier,” she said.
Rong Si nodded and let her continue.
“I was afraid that I wouldn’t do well on the exam. Scared that I won’t be able to get into the same Uni as you.” She was a little embarrassed and lowered her eyes briefly, before looking once again at Rong Si. “I was afraid that I would have to take back what I had told my dad. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to prove that being with you was a good thing and that together we were improving ourselves and not walking down the wrong path.”
Rong Si quietly looked at her. “I know.”
“I’ve never disobeyed my parents and their wishes, and never broken the school rules.”
She paused here momentarily before clarifying, “Can we not count the time when I was secretly having a drink?”
Rong Si smiled. “Yes.”
“Then there really isn’t any other time.” She laughed. “Being with you is the most momentous thing that has happened in my life.”
Rong Si pulled her into his embrace and said, “Me too.”
“And also the best thing that has happened.”
“Same here.”
My *heady and capricious youth was (spent) liking you.
