Meng Xiaoyu pouted and reluctantly grabbed the microphone: "Are you tone-deaf?"
Yu Lele ignored him and shouted triumphantly: "Give back what you took from me, spit out what you ate from me... make up for what you owe me, hand over what you stole from me..."
While thinking to myself: What kind of rubbish is this?
But then I exclaimed in admiration: Indeed, some songs are just for venting!
Meng Xiaoyu was intimidated by Yu Lele's imposing manner and secretly gestured to Zhuang Yuewei: "Did she have a fight with her boyfriend?"
Zhuang Yuewei winked and said, "I don't know."
Meng Xiaoyu shook her head, sighed, picked up the microphone and started shouting. Zhuang Yuewei stood to the side, waving her arms and legs with various props as a cheerleader. The atmosphere quickly became lively, and Yu Lele felt her depression gradually dissipating.
When it was Zhuang Yuewei's turn to sing, Meng Xiaoyu asked loudly, "Teacher, aren't you going back next door yet?"
Yu Lele slapped Meng Xiaoyu hard: "Are you so eager for me to leave?"
Meng Xiaoyu grinned and said, "What need is there for a third wheel in a karaoke room!"
“Wrong,” Yu Lele looked at Meng Xiaoyu and laughed, “I’m not a third wheel, I’m a candle. ‘The silkworm spins silk until death, the candle burns until it’s ash,’ that’s what candles are like—a candle like me!”
She was resolute: "I refuse to leave. I'll sit here, burning myself to light up others!"
Meng Xiaoyu patted her head in despair: "I should have known you were different from everyone else."
Yu Lele proudly stretched out her hand and waved it in front of Meng Xiaoyu: "Just noticed? This is the standard 'fair-skinned with rosy cheeks, unique'!"
Meng Xiaoyu was speechless.
Yu Lele smiled. She found it very enjoyable to banter with Meng Xiaoyu—Meng Xiaoyu was the kind of boy she had never met before. They were a little mischievous and a little roguish, but natural and carefree. The process of outwitting him seemed to help her quickly shed the heavy and sorrowful shell she carried, making her feel lighter.
It seems that after their chance encounter at the KTV, Meng Xiaoyu and Yu Lele developed a rather interesting tacit understanding—when Yu Lele got off work, she often saw Meng Xiaoyu half-sitting on his bicycle waiting for Zhuang Yuewei, and when he saw Yu Lele come out, he would wave two fingers together to his forehead; he still didn't listen in class, but he no longer skipped class, instead quietly falling asleep; occasionally, he would hand in his homework, although it was obvious at a glance that most of it was copied from others.
Even Cheng Kai said, "Don't set your expectations too high; this is already quite remarkable."
Yu Lele still felt a little regretful: "If he's like this, even if he goes abroad in the future, will he still just drift through life?"
“Some people can coast through life and still not starve, while others can starve even if they don’t coast,” Cheng Kai shook his head. “Junior Sister, you’re already very dedicated.”
Is that so? Yu Lele asked herself, without coming to any conclusion.
After that, Yu Lele seemed to have more opportunities to interact with Zhuang Yuewei. Zhuang Yuewei was convinced that "this teacher is very approachable" and often chatted with Yu Lele every few days. Gradually, Yu Lele learned that Zhuang Yuewei's parents were also considered successful people in the United States, with a comfortable family background. Because her father was visiting a university here for academic exchange, the family had returned to their hometown after more than ten years of separation.
"Does your mother approve of you being with Meng Xiaoyu?" Yu Lele was still very curious.
"What does this have to do with her?" Zhuang Yuewei asked, puzzled. "This is my own business."
Yu Lele felt a bitter envy welling up inside her.
"When are you going back to America?" Yu Lele found this sentence strange: China was clearly her hometown, but America was the home where this little girl was born and raised.
“In a few more months, Dad will be able to go back after his work here is finished.” She smiled broadly.
Yu Lele smiled: "If I have the chance in the future, I might consider going there to take a look."
"Really?!" Zhuang Yuewei exclaimed happily, "Tourism? Or settling down?"
Yu Lele suddenly felt a little dazed: Actually, she didn't like settling down there, but if it was just a trip, wouldn't the lingering pain of passing by be better than never seeing each other again?
On Thursday, Yu Lele had no classes but was dragged back to school for an organizational activity. Several junior students wanted to join the Party, and the student Party branch was holding a serious meeting. Yu Lele, now considered a "veteran," didn't say much, sitting in the back row staring out the window in a daze.
During a break in the meeting, a group of junior students surrounded their senior classmates, who were becoming increasingly elusive due to their impending graduation, and chatted with them. Tong Dingding asked Yu Lele, "Senior sister, where are you going to work?"
Junior brother Chen Fang patted Tong Dingding: "Isn't senior sister going to Experimental Middle School? Are you an idiot?"
The two started playfully bickering. Yu Lele watched them and laughed. Just then, Xu Yin leaned over, nudged Yu Lele mysteriously, and whispered, "Did you know that Lian Haiping gave up the provincial university's re-examination?"
"What?" Yu Lele was confused for a moment: "Why give up?"
“Why?” Xu Yin smiled, “Probably because I’m determined to settle down in this little seaside town.”
“But he can come back after he finishes his master’s degree!” Yu Lele said anxiously.
“That’s what I said too, but my words never really carry any weight,” she patted Yu Lele on the shoulder. “Go ask him yourself.”
Yu Lele suddenly stood up, but couldn't see Lian Haiping anywhere. Xu Yin sighed and tugged at Yu Lele: "He had an interview today and took the day off for the meeting."
"An interview?" Yu Lele didn't understand.
"Yu Lele!" Xu Yin couldn't take it anymore: "You little ingrate! He's done so much for you, why don't you ever care about him?"
"He didn't tell me anything!" Yu Lele said innocently.
“That’s because you never ask,” Xu Yin said, indignantly.
Yu Lele was stunned.
After a while, she tugged at Xu Yin's sleeve and whispered, "What kind of interview?"
Xu Yin said weakly, "He applied for a civil service position at the Municipal Youth League Committee, passed the written exam, and is having his interview today."
"When did he take the civil service exam? I had no idea," Yu Lele said in surprise.
Xu Yin was utterly speechless and stormed off. Yu Lele sat by the window, lost in thought. After a while, she checked her watch; it was 10 a.m. She wondered if he was in the exam hall. She wanted to call but didn't dare. Finally, she took out her phone and sent a text message: "I wish you success."
18-2
At noon, Lian Haiping finally replied to the text message with two words: Thank you.
Yu Lele called back, and before Lian Haiping could even speak, she started yelling, "Lian Haiping, are you crazy? Others can't even get into the provincial university's graduate program, and you finally passed the preliminary exam and you don't even appreciate it? Why don't you go and take the interview? Don't you have any sense of responsibility? Did you even consult your family? How can you only think of yourself in everything! If I were your dad, I would beat you to death!"
Hearing no response, Yu Lele snapped, "Speak! Stop playing dead!"
"Ahem!" Someone cleared their throat and said, "Are you looking for Haiping?"
With a loud bang, Yu Lele's fierce face vanished instantly, and her voice began to tremble: "Excuse me... um, I'm looking for Lian Haiping, is he home?"
"He's taking a shower," the voice paused, "Will he call you back in a bit?"
"Oh, okay, thank you." Yu Lele hung up, her forehead covered in cold sweat.
Finally, Lian Haiping called. Yu Lele nervously asked, "Are you Lian Haiping?"
Lian Haiping laughed loudly: "If it wasn't me, then who was it? What did you just say to my grandfather? Why did he look at you so strangely?"
Yu Lele was on the verge of tears: "You've ruined my ladylike image! It's all destroyed!"
"What did you do?" Lian Haiping asked, puzzled.
Yu Lele briefly recounted her experience, making Lian Haiping laugh until he could hardly breathe. After a while, Yu Lele remembered her responsibilities and asked angrily, "Why didn't you go to the graduate school entrance exam?"
"I don't want to go," Lian Haiping said casually.
"How could you be like this! If it were me, I would have cherished it," Yu Lele said through gritted teeth, heartbroken at the missed interview opportunity. "You're so selfish! We're breaking up! I don't know you!"
Lian Haiping said helplessly, "Who's being willful here? I thought it over carefully before acting, okay?"
"Oh, so you've thought about it too!" Yu Lele said irritably.
“Really, I’m not lying to you, but fate isn’t on my side, and there’s nothing I can do,” he paused, “today is the day of my postgraduate entrance exam interview.”
Yu Lele was momentarily stunned: Today's graduate school entrance exam interview? So what?
She looked up at the window: the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly; it was a beautiful day.
Lian Haiping seemed to have guessed that Yu Lele would be rather slow to react, and explained with a headache: "The postgraduate entrance exam and the civil service interview are on the same day, so you have to give one up."
"Ah!" Yu Lele finally realized, but she was still unwilling: "If it were me, I would go for a master's degree. Anyway, I can still take the civil service exam after graduating with a master's degree."
Lian Haiping sighed softly, and after a long while said, "The employment situation is too severe. I'm not sure if I can pass the exam in three years."
Yu Lele fell silent.
“Aren’t you going to ask me how I did on the exam?” Lian Haiping said with some disappointment. “It’s a major turning point in my life, after all.”
"Oh," Yu Lele replied, "So, how did your exam go?"
"Of course it's not bad," Lian Haiping wanted to say, but suddenly lost his composure. He sensed the perfunctoriness in her tone and naturally connected it to her longing for the provincial university, the best Chinese department in that prestigious university, and the person she couldn't forget in that distant city...
Noticing Lian Haiping's silence, Yu Lele quickly changed her tone and asked, "So, how did you do on the exam?"
Lian Haiping remained silent.
Yu Lele thought the phone was broken, so she tentatively called out, "Hello, Lian Haiping, are you there? Hello..."
"Click," the phone was hung up.
Yu Lele stared blankly at her phone, feeling utterly bewildered.
Although, within this inexplicable situation, there is something I clearly know, yet still want to deny and avoid.
Meanwhile, Lian Haiping, on the other end of the line, stared at the phone he had just hung up on, his heart heavy, unsure of what to say.
Saying "I gave up graduate school for you"? That's too sentimental; he couldn't do that.
He wasn't even sure if she would care if he said, "You did very well on the exam, don't worry."
I can't bring myself to say anything.
The weather was starting to warm up, but standing in the living room, he still felt the chill of March was still unbearable.
This was the first time Lian Haiping had hung up on Yu Lele. Before, it always seemed that he waited for her to hang up first. She was used to hanging up first and overlooked the sense of loss and bewilderment she felt when faced with the busy tone of the phone.
Is he angry?
She must be angry.
Yu Lele sat at her desk, looking at the lesson plan book spread out on the surface. She wanted to write a lesson plan, but couldn't concentrate. She couldn't help but recall the unavoidable moments from the four years she had known Lian Haiping: he taught her English, he helped her relax, he offered her a shoulder to cry on, he held her hand tightly when she was nervous... It seemed that he had always been there for her.
In truth, she knew everything perfectly well, but the mix of relief and happiness with bittersweetness and reluctance created a strange, inexplicable evasiveness. Perhaps, from the very beginning, she knew that his staying, his decision to forgo the excellent opportunity of a fully funded postgraduate program in Chinese Literature at the provincial university, was simply because she was there.
After all, while others might have to fight and compete for a civil servant position, for him, there are countless better opportunities that could fall from the sky at any time—if he wanted to.
Just as he himself said, he waited for her for four years. In those four years, he held her hand when she stumbled, gave her a warm hug when she trembled; he only gave, never asked for anything in return. And she had to admit that when she was with him, the naturalness, the ease, the joyful laughter, the forgotten troubles—couldn't a simple "thank you" truly compensate for all that?
Perhaps, all along, it was just that she herself refused to admit it: Lian Haiping and Xu Chen, one representing warmth and the other love, had both taught her something precious and irreplaceable, something that, even if indescribable, made her youth and memories gentle and tender.