"Ah Jing! Ah Jing! Ah Jing..."
"Huh?" Song Jing crossed his arms. "Even the famous Li Yueling needs company?!"
"Being famous doesn't mean you're brave! Ah Jing, I'm scared!" She grabbed Song Jing's hand and headed towards the stairs.
"Hey, hey..." The voice disappeared automatically, and Song Jing looked at the boy walking towards her with a smile.
The person Song Jing was talking to Zhen Liang about today was someone he would never have stared at so rudely before, but today was an exception. Song Jing's eyes were glued to Ouyang Xiao, as if pulled away, and he couldn't look away.
He slowly walked over, and when he saw Li Yueling and Song Jing, he paused for a moment, then smiled, his lips pursed, like a stone accidentally dropped into a calm lake, rippling outwards little by little—beautiful ripples, alluring ripples—before he passed by. No one knew that his heart was pounding like a drum, so loud that he feared whether everyone had heard it.
Time, no, the world seemed to stand still. Li Yueling's incessant chatter vanished, and everything around her disappeared. Ouyang Xiao stood tall, each step seemingly rhythmic, yet possessing an aura that commanded respect and submission. He walked over, slowly approaching Song Jing, smiled slightly, and then passed by her.
Only after that did the world start turning again.
"Jing, hurry up! There are so many people, we'll have to wait a long time if we don't get a seat..."
In autumn, the cicadas and frogs still chirp throughout the night sky.
The wind rustled through the green bamboo grove beside the teaching building.
The stars twinkled in the distant sky.
The third week, during an evening self-study session, the second period.
Finally finished the workbook, let me stretch first! Song Jing put down his pen, shook his head and neck, then pressed his hands on his waist and twisted a few times before turning his head to the side.
She sat by the window, facing the front door.
She glanced at the window and turned away, then quickly turned her head back to face the window.
Who is that?
Her eyebrows, relatively thin for a boy, and her overly large, piercing eyes stared intently in their direction. Then she lowered her head and began writing something in her notebook. After a while, she would look up again, repeating this process. Song Jing also started staring out the window. After a moment, she lowered her head, then followed suit, looking up repeatedly.
It feels dull and heavy in my chest.
A focused gaze, dark and gleaming eyes.
Each glance deepens the dull ache in my chest, but the pain persists even when I look away, sometimes more intensely than when I'm looking. Is she ill? I can see him when I look up, and even when I look down and can't see him, I can feel his gaze. Why does my heart ache?
"Oh no, you've fallen for Ouyang Xiao!" Li Yueling patted Song Jing's shoulder forcefully, looking gratified, as if saying, "My daughter has grown up."
"Huh? Huh?" Confused, at a loss, and puzzled.
Li Yueling, however, sat on the railing, stroking her chin in deep thought. The railing in the first-floor corridor wasn't very high, but safety was still a concern, so Song Jing watched with worry as Li Yueling swung her feet nonchalantly.
"Let's talk down here!"
Li Yueling didn't hear it, and even if she did, she pretended not to. She suddenly looked up, her eyes sharp: "Hey, Jing, have you heard?! That Ouyang Xiao seems to like you! A lot of people are saying that..."
Song Jing tilted her head and thought for a moment, then shook her head: "I heard Zhen Liang mention it, but I haven't heard anyone else say it." Also, why was she looking at her with such a fierce gaze? As if she had done something wrong.
Li Yueling grinned, slapped Song Jing on the shoulder, and said excitedly, "Great! So you two like each other! Aren't you going to do anything?"
Song Jing didn't understand why Li Yueling was happy. She asked, puzzled, "What are you doing? And... but... Yueling, what is 'like'?"
Li Yueling's raised hand froze, and the expression on her face was very strange.
A gust of wind blew by, lifting her long brown hair that fell beside her cheek.
Li Yueling slowly lowered her hand and said slowly, "A-Jing, you can really drive me crazy sometimes." She had worried for nothing; this little rascal hasn't figured things out yet!
"Huh?" Song Jing looked at Li Yueling with a hurt and puzzled expression.
“But…” Li Yueling cheered up again, “You’re still young! We don’t allow early relationships now, so it’s better if you don’t know anything, hehe…” She laughed to herself.
Song Jing turned his head and looked at the pitch-black field, his eyes deep and unfathomable, concealing an emotion that seemed to grow even darker.
Because of his pursed lips, his profile appeared even more stern.
The fourth week was the exam, a quiz. The exam was on Wednesday, and the results were announced on Friday, posted on the blackboard at the back of the classroom—white background, black lettering, a shocking sight.
First place: Ouyang Xiao, 197 points.
Second place: Song Jing, 183 points.
Third place: Shen Jichu, 160 points.
Two hundred points as the base score, and twenty points for bonus questions.
Li Yueling pressed down on Song Jing's shoulder and stuck her head out to look: "Hey, Ouyang Xiao is in first place, Jing, he scored fourteen points more than you?!" With surprise, Li Yueling's tone was entirely regretful, without any mockery or other negative meaning.
Song Jing nodded slightly.
Li Yueling winked at her: "Surpass him next time?"
Song Jing tilted her head slightly, her eyes calm and cold. She looked at the crowd of people in front of the bulletin board, and after a long time, she said softly, "It may not work, but I will catch up with him."
Chase? Li Yueling didn't understand. Song Jing's performance—no, she's always been the type to rise to the challenge, hasn't she? When did she become so insecure?
Song Jing lowered his head slightly, a strange light flashing in his eyes. He remained silent for a moment before speaking softly, "I heard... he used to beat the second-place player by at least twenty points. I was very serious this time, so it wasn't too bad."
Li Yueling nodded in understanding.
At this moment, Song Jing suddenly stared intently at Li Yueling without blinking until she saw Li Yueling's whole body bristle. Then she chuckled softly, "Xiaoyue, your grades have dropped!" She glanced sideways at the third name after Shen Jichu, Li Yueling, with a score of 157.
"Ah... Jing, let's get some soup when we go get our food later!"
"Xiaoyue..."
They didn't know, or rather, they didn't notice, that the cute, baby-faced boy standing quietly behind them for a long time, suddenly smiled strangely upon hearing their conversation. "Catch up? Well, he'll have to wait and see."
In Chinese class, Song Jing started competing with Ouyang Xiao to answer questions; in composition class, Ouyang Xiao's articles were used as "model essays" to be read aloud, and Song Jing's articles were also used as "model essays"; in math class, in addition to listening attentively and doing exercises diligently, Song Jing would often go to the teacher's office to ask questions.
As a result, Song Jing's grades improved, and her reputation among the teachers also increased.
That afternoon, Song Jing came out of the office; she had just been called in by her math teacher for extra tutoring. She walked slowly down the corridor, down the stairs, and then stopped.
Ouyang Xiao leaned against the wall, quietly reading a book. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and said, "Song Jing! I have something to tell you." After saying that, he took the lead and walked towards the rooftop.
Song Jing hadn't expected her first conversation with Ouyang Xiao to be like this. She paused for a moment, then smiled silently and followed behind him.
Isn't this the result she wanted?
The rooftop was deserted; the concrete railings and gray floor seemed to extend into another world. Brown leaves were scattered everywhere, occasionally tumbling and rustling. The wind wasn't strong, but the hems of clothes and the ends of hair still fluttered in the breeze.
It's already October, and winter seems to have already stepped in.
Ouyang Xiao stood under the eaves, leaning against the wall.
Soon, Song Jing pushed open the iron gate and walked in. He stopped when he saw Ouyang Xiao, and lowered his brows to wait quietly.
silence.
The wind seemed to be picking up.
"Here, this is the test paper my Chinese teacher gave me. Take it home and do it once, but don't get it dirty. Give it back to me when you're done. If there's anything you don't understand, you can write it down, and I'll write the explanation on it and show it to you." Ouyang Xiao handed over the test paper that she had been holding in her hands.
Song Jing was stunned: "Why?" she asked involuntarily.
Ouyang Xiao simply extended his hand as if to hand it over, waiting until Song Jing hesitated before taking it. Then, he tilted his head slightly to look into the distance, where a few clouds floated in the sky, dyed a beautiful red by the setting sun. He turned back to look at Song Jing, who was still staring at him, and after a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice extremely calm and cold: "Song Jing, I'm telling you this very seriously, didn't you want to catch up with me? I'm waiting for you to catch up."
After Ouyang Xiao finished speaking, he seemed unwilling to see her anymore, and turned away with a look of disgust on his face.
W-what?
Song Jing stood frozen in the shadows.
“Ouyang…” she called out hesitantly. Ouyang Xiao stopped in his tracks. Although he was a short boy, his back had an indescribable solemnity and generosity. Song Jing suddenly felt that she understood a little, but not quite. She looked at Ouyang Xiao and said, word by word, “Ouyang Xiao, I think what they said about you liking me is true.”
This time, she didn't blush or skip a beat, and it even seemed as if she wasn't showing any emotion at all.
Simply state the facts.
“Although I don’t know what liking someone means…” Song Jing continued, “I think it’s true that they say you like me, right?” After saying that, she looked at Ouyang Xiao’s back with expectant eyes, which were actually burning brightly.
Ouyang Xiao swayed, turned around with a cold face, forced a disdainful sneer at the corner of her mouth, and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "I really hate you! Don't you understand anything?"
Song Jing's face slowly turned as pale as paper.
"Don't jump to conclusions without knowing anything. It will only make people hate and despise you, and nothing else will come of it." Ouyang Xiao said this and walked away without looking back—his posture was as if he were fleeing.
Shouting loudly is useless, screaming is useless, crying or pleading is useless.
She just didn't understand, that's all...
"Then why are you doing this to me?" No one answered this question.
Chapter Two
Updated: 2008-04-07 17:27:51 Words: 0
"I never knew happiness could take this shape, as if it had grown a pair of wings, and I could reach out and touch the sky I longed for." Song Jing wrote this sentence carefully in her notebook, then closed it up and carefully put it away in a wooden box. A lock locked away the girl's secret thoughts.
"Hey! Ouyang Xiao! How about I sit in the front row when you perform tomorrow?" Song Jing smiled brightly, acting like a ten-year-old girl for the first time—willful, lively, innocent, and carefree.
Ouyang Xiao nodded, then said softly, "Just let me see you."
In the darkness, I could see nothing, but I could vaguely feel that we were so close to each other. My cheeks flushed red, as if they were about to burn. My heart pounded, and I held my breath involuntarily... Deep, deep, deep, as if I were drunk, completely confused, completely confused.
***
After the midterm exams, Song Jing caught a cold and took two days off. Two days later, sitting in the classroom, she suddenly had a surreal feeling, but thankfully, it was just an illusion.
During the two days she spent in the hospital receiving IV drips, on the first night, Song Jing had a dream. She dreamt of herself as an adult, and, of course, of course, of the name that had been bothering her recently, and its owner, Ouyang Xiao.
I dreamt of that winter, when winter was about to pass and spring was about to arrive. It was the day after a light snowfall. The southwest was still warm, and the snow had almost melted overnight, revealing tender new shoots of grass underneath, full of the promise of spring. The sunlight was a little pale, but bathing in it, my fingers and cheeks felt warm.
Song Jing sat in the warm living room, next to her father and mother, and her younger brother Song Yi, who was laughing so hard he was practically falling over, completely losing his composure in front of the television screen. Song Jing sat beside them, her parents smiling and chatting about trivial matters. Song Jing joined in, unconsciously revealing a silly smile to herself.
Just then, a familiar voice suddenly called from downstairs: "Song Jing! Song Jing! Song Jing! Aren't you going to come down and greet your good friend?!" The woman, hands on her hips, wearing a beautiful pink dress that accentuated her round face, was quite charming. She flashed a smile, revealing a set of white teeth, and looked up at Song Jing, who was peeking down from the corridor, giving him a victory sign: "Hurry up and come down!"
So Song Jing went back and told his parents, then ran downstairs.
"Ouyang Xiao! What are you doing running out like that?" A strange woman asked as soon as they passed the third floor.
Song Jing stopped in his forward motion and turned around.
At the top of the stairs, on the third floor, bathed in bright sunlight, Ouyang Xiao's face was blurred; all that could be seen was that he was smiling, his lips slightly parted, his eyes...
His eyes curved upwards, gleaming with a cunning light.
Song Jing stared at Ouyang Xiao almost greedily, his smile spreading uncontrollably.