The academic workload and homework since the second year of high school were driving them crazy. This sudden afternoon of cleaning was basically the same as an afternoon of physical education. Although it was tiring and they were working for that damned principal, as long as they didn't have to see Yan Sheng's dead fish face or sit in the classroom writing tests all afternoon, it was better than anything else.
After assigning the tasks, Jin Shuoshuo sat on the podium grading papers, listening to the pattering rain outside the window as he did so.
Some of the boys were assigned the most tiring jobs.
Empty the trash can, scrub the trash can, change the water, wash the rags, wash the mop.
It would be faster to divide the boys into groups of three to do these things, and coincidentally, Shen Moyu, Su Jinning, and Gu Junxiao were assigned to a group.
Sometimes, an awkward atmosphere can creep up on you without you even realizing it.
Su Jinning was engrossed in scrolling through short videos, her voice loud, oblivious to how annoyed Shen Moyu was beside her.
A cool breeze ruffled Shen Moyu's hair, some of it swaying in front of his eyes, blurring the view in front of him.
"Quiet down," Shen Moyu warned in a low voice.
Su Jinning knew he was talking about her, rolled her eyes at him, and silently muttered "So much trouble" to herself. She then awkwardly turned off her phone.
Shen Moyu snatched the trash can, annoyed by his dawdling, and dumped the trash into the outside trash can. Then, carrying the empty but smelly trash can, she stood back next to him.
"After you've finished emptying the trash can, go get the broom first. I'll go to the washroom to soak the trash can while I wash my hands."
Not a single unnecessary word was said.
Su Jinning, standing behind him, said helplessly, "Is it that you really don't want to be with me?"
Shen Moyu stopped in her tracks, only turning her head slightly. "You're overthinking it."
After saying that, he never stopped walking.
Their school building had a lot of water rooms, but they were all occupied because the entire second year of high school was doing a big cleaning. He looked at the stains on his hands with disgust, but had no choice but to bite the bullet and go into a water room with Gu Junxiao.
Gu Junxiao was cleaning the trash can at the corner of the stairs. It was fairly clean, but it was still quite a struggle to clean.
Shen Moyu stood in the middle of the washroom, listening to the rushing water. He didn't know whether to go out or stay. The washroom was full, and he had been assigned to the same group as Gu Junxiao, so he could only stay in this room. Even if he went out, if the director caught him wandering around instead of doing a proper cleaning, it would only make things more awkward.
Thinking it over, he put the trash can in the sink to soak, and quietly waited for Su Jinning to bring the broom.
He leaned against the balcony, watching Gu Junxiao clumsily clean the trash can, and after thinking for a long time, he reached out to help.
To his surprise, Gu Junxiao had already noticed his actions and replied out of the blue, "Ah, no need, I can do it myself."
Upon hearing this, Shen Moyu glanced at the trash can, turned her hand in a different direction, turned on the tap, and said in the same icy tone, "No, I'm just washing my hands."
Gu Junxiao was speechless, feeling so embarrassed that he couldn't lift his head. He could only reply, "Ah, okay..."
Shen Moyu washed her hands again, leaned against the balcony, and looked at the golden sunset on the horizon. Suddenly, she wanted to ask a question.
He seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps questioning someone: "Didn't you expect me to transfer here too?"
Gu Junxiao subconsciously stopped what he was doing and remained motionless for a long time, unable to face the situation.
Shen Moyu chuckled and shook his head, saying, "We've run into each other again."
Gu Junxiao remained silent, biting her lip as she processed the words, "We've run into each other again."
He continued what he was doing, turning the tap on full blast, trying to drown out Shen Moyu's voice with the sound of water.
Shen Moyu got up, picked up the mop next to him, put it in the sink, and rubbed it haphazardly.
The sound of running water filled the washroom, quiet and utterly still. They were each doing their own thing, yet sharing the same thoughts.
The two recalled the afternoon they first met. It seemed... to be an autumn day.
Su Jinning, carrying two brooms and humming a little tune, entered the washroom. Seeing the two people squatting on the floor, each doing their own thing, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Busy?"
"Um"
"Um"
"Then... is there anything I can do to help?"
"Need not"
"Need not"
"..."
Su Jinning handed the broom to Gu Junxiao. Even a fool could see that something was off. Could this be the powerful aura of two top students together?
It's a bit stuffy.
He scratched his head, jumped onto the balcony, and awkwardly watched the two people bustling around.
He watched the two busy figures and their stunning profiles, and felt that the atmosphere was rather awkward. He tried to find topics to talk about, but the two remained unmoved, giving a few perfunctory replies before going about their own business.
He stretched, picked up the trash can that Gu Junxiao had cleaned, wiped it down, and said to Shen Moyu, "We're leaving now." Su Jinning put away the mop and went downstairs with Gu Junxiao.
Suddenly, he was all alone in the washroom.
Shen Moyu watched as the water soaked his hands until they turned red, still unable to pull himself out of his memories. His memories of him were still vivid, though some things were somewhat blurred.
It's not that he can't remember, it's that he doesn't want to recall.
When Jin Shuoshuo returned to the classroom alone with the mop, he found that the students had already been assigned to clean downstairs. After all, the first floor was assigned to the sixth, seventh, and eighth classes for this big clean-up.
But it was no longer his business. He sat back down, looked out the window at the azure sky, and sighed.
If you say that God is playing a trick on him, it's not that serious. If you tell others, they'll just think you ran into an old acquaintance. But if you say it's all a coincidence, he'll always feel like God is playing a joke on him.
Shen Moyu looked up at the sky. The white clouds drifted lazily by; it was a rare sunny day in this dreary season. Sunlight streamed onto the table, creating dappled patterns of light. He looked down, picked up his books, and prepared to continue his homework.
Suddenly, a chubby, dark hand reached out, startling Shen Moyu. After all, he hadn't seen many people when he entered the classroom, and they were all quite far away from him. The sudden appearance of someone was truly creepy.
Wu Yong pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and chuckled twice. "Hello, class representative for Chinese! Hello, class representative for Chinese!"
Shen Moyu was a little embarrassed and didn't understand why he suddenly appeared. She could only smile and say, "Ah, hello."
Wu Yong nodded, somewhat embarrassed, and pushed the book over. "Ah, could you please translate this classical Chinese sentence for me? I don't quite understand it."
Shen Moyu took the book. Although he didn't want to be so helpful, he couldn't refuse. He glanced at Wu Yong and pointed with his two slender fingers at the classical Chinese sentence that Wu Yong couldn't understand.
Wu Yong immediately expressed his gratitude, saying, "Ah, thank you so much, thank you for your trouble." His overly attentive manner made Shen Moyu feel a little uncomfortable.
Shen Moyu didn't know whether to praise him for being cute or to worry that he was being too scary. He waved his hand and said, "It's okay, we're all classmates."
He recognized the short, stocky, chubby boy named Wu Yong, who was the class representative for physics. Wu Yong was sometimes even better than him at physics, but he was terrible at humanities subjects, which often dragged down the average score, so his total score was only in the upper-middle range of the class.