"I came to find you. The people at the internet cafe told me."
Ju Nian seemed to hear Wu Yu turn her head and curse, but she didn't hear it clearly.
"Are you unhappy?" she asked, staring intently at Wu Yu.
"Ju Nian, this is not a place for you. Go back, and don't come back again. I will come looking for you."
"Is this where you should be? Wu Yu, you have an exam tomorrow!" Ju Nian felt she should have a million reasons to stop Wu Yu from being here, but it seemed like she had only come up with the weakest one.
Wu Yu lowered her head and laughed, "Does it matter what the exam results are? Ju Nian, listen to me, go back and study hard, you will definitely get into a good university, become a capable person, and live a good life. That's how your life should be. But I'm different from you."
"This is the first time you've said we're different. I always thought we were the same." Ju Nian's voice was low. "Wu Yu, will you leave here with me? I don't like this place, and I don't like the people around you."
Wu Yu's silence made her feel that her request was unreasonable. Before this, Ju Nian had never considered how her dislike could possibly influence Wu Yu.
Sure enough, Wu Yu's smile turned helpless.
"Fool, if I also said that I don't like your current life, and I don't like the people around you, could you change it? Could you make sure that I'm the only person in your life?"
Wu Yu's statement was actually a rhetorical question; he himself already had the answer in his heart.
But Ju Nian said, "I can!"
Her answer was so resolute. The door in her heart had only been open once. If Wu Yu couldn't come in, then she would only have herself and endless scenery left.
"I can do it, Wu Yu. Let's always be like we were before, and never change..."
Perhaps Ju Nian already felt uneasy deep down. Only an uneasy person would talk about forever without considering the consequences. Because of fear, she needed powerful words to comfort herself. Whether it can be realized is a matter for the future. At least these two words can make me believe that there is a future.
Wu Yu was still smiling.
"But I can't, Ju Nian, I'm sorry, I can't."
Vows are the most hopeless hopes in the mortal world, how could she not understand that?
Ju Nian murmured a few words, "Oh, I see."
"Then I'll go back." She was silent for a moment, then slowly turned and left.
She had already reached the traffic light intersection, and the other side of the road was the same – she could see it, but couldn't cross.
Wu Yu caught up, panting heavily.
“Ju Nian, I…I didn’t mean that.” He seemed to want to explain, but his words failed him. “That place, and those other people, at least they wouldn’t care that I’m the son of a murderer.”
“I don’t care,” Ju Nian said.
"I know. But you have some of the memories I have too, you're like myself."
The green light came on, and Ju Nian glanced at Wu Yu. His face was as thin as ever; he had run too fast, and instead of turning red, it appeared pale. This boy, he was so good to Ju Nian.
Suddenly, as if possessed, Ju Nian reached out and gently touched Wu Yu's cheek. But the moment her fingers touched his skin, she snapped out of her daze and withdrew her hand in a flash, feeling utterly ashamed.
A hint of confusion appeared on Wu Yu's face.
"Uh, oh, well, I, I saw a drop of sweat on your face," Ju Nian hurriedly explained, not caring whether it was far-fetched or not.
Upon hearing this, Wu Yu quickly smiled and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I was running too fast just now. Ju Nian, we'll be best friends forever, the very best of friends."
“Good friends? Yes, we’ll always be good friends.” Ju Nian nodded vigorously, as if she completely agreed, then she turned her head to look across the street.
“The next green light will take a long time to come, Wu Yu. You don’t need to come back with me. There’s a bus stop right across the street.”
Just then, they all heard horns blaring from the green light lane. A black car was stopped at the front, seemingly oblivious to the streetlights. Ju Nian looked over and saw the back window slowly rolling up.
Wu Yu said, "The people on this bus are really interesting. I'll see you onto the bus."
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Why Don't You Compare Yourself to Marie Curie?
About half an hour before the first exam in the morning, the classrooms had already been sealed off as exam sites and entry was not yet permitted. The second-year students were taking physics in the morning, and the exam rooms were mostly located on the first floor. Most of the students in the same grade were waiting outside the classrooms, in twos and threes, some sitting, some standing, chatting, some discussing the scope of the exam, some memorizing on the spot—all sorts of people were there.
Han Shu leaned against a palm tree, taking one last look at his exam supplies: pens, pencils, erasers, student ID... He didn't allow himself to be careless at this crucial moment. He even drew a few lines on the draft paper with his two most frequently used pens to make sure the ink flowed smoothly before he felt at ease.
Several students from different classes passed by, and a lively girl stopped and asked expectantly, "Han Shu, are you going to karaoke after the exams are over?"
Han Shu laughed and said, "You should ask my old man about this. It would be difficult to get him to sign the release slip before the results are out."
The girl couldn't hide her disappointment and added, "After the results come out, we can all go out and have fun together during winter break."
"I'd like to too, but I guess my mom would make me go with her to Belgium to spend my first Chinese New Year abroad with my older sister. I'll find someone else to hang out with, at least someone who's free." Han Shu said with a hint of self-deprecation as he continued checking his pencil case.
After the female classmate walked away, Zhou Liang leaned against the tree trunk next to Han Shu and said, "I'm telling you, it's just a final exam, not the college entrance exam. Why are you so stressed? The girl kindly invited you to hang out, but you don't have to be as busy as the President of the United States."
Han Shu waved his hand at Zhou Liang listlessly, "Don't talk to me about these things, I'm not in the mood right now."
"Even if you get first place in the grade this time, what makes you think you can fly to the sky? What do you lack that makes you work so hard?"
"Hey, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. Buddha fights for a stick of incense, and man fights for a breath."
Fang Zhihe ran over from a distance and overheard Han Shu's words. He winked at Zhou Liang and said, "Who doesn't understand? The pride he's fighting for is right there over there."
Zhou Liang glanced in the direction his mischievous friend was winking at, and immediately smiled knowingly, his chubby face crinkling into a line with his eyes. Xie Junian was sitting by the flowerbed not far from the toilet entrance, engrossed in a book, her small face almost buried in the pages.
Ever since Han Shu was pushed out of the top ten by Xie Junian by just one point in the first semester's final exams of his first year of high school, Han Shu, though he didn't say anything, seemed to regard this girl from the next class as his academic rival. Aside from the important midterms and finals, he would find ways to subtly inquire about her scores on any test with the same paper. In the citywide math competition during the first semester of his second year, he had originally planned not to participate, but after hearing that Xie Junian had agreed, he changed his mind and insisted on participating.
However, whether it was bad luck or just bad fortune, no matter how determined Han Shu was to reclaim this elusive pride, the result was not as he wished. In the final exams of the second semester of his first year of high school, he did indeed return to the top ten of the honor roll, ranking second in his class and seventh in the grade. But Xie Junian was stuck in the middle, ranking exactly sixth in the grade, which made Han Shu so angry that he lost his appetite for several days.
Finally, the first semester of their junior year arrived, and the grades were released. Han Shu squeezed into the top five, while Xie Junian surprisingly ranked third in the entire grade. It's said that the head of the Chinese language group, who had always thought her exam essays were illogical and rambling, was ill and didn't participate in grading. Meanwhile, the new Chinese teacher praised the girl's essay for its imaginative quality and, for the first time ever, gave her a high score. Without her essay dragging her down, it would have been strange if Xie Junian hadn't made it into the top ten. Even in the math competition that Han Shu and Xie Junian participated in together, a single point difference resulted in Junian being relegated to second prize, while Han Shu became the highest-scoring third-prize winner. After several such incidents, how could the always self-assured Han Shu swallow such humiliation?
"Tsk tsk, I bet you'll beat her this time. Look at her, she's almost in the exam hall and still wants to bury herself in her books. She's definitely not confident. Besides, you've put in a lot of hard work this time, haven't you? I bet Fang Zhihe you've lost a few pounds from studying. Even your old man chasing you with a whip doesn't give you the same motivation." Zhou Liang comforted his friend out of loyalty. Besides, he himself wasn't doing well and was hoping that sitting behind Han Shu would give him some support.
Han Shu laughed and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? You can lose a few pounds from this. Do you think your mother would send you to a diet?"
He spoke dismissively, but in his heart, he actually thought of that so-and-so's poem, "I grow thinner and thinner, yet I have no regrets, for I am wasting away for her sake." He suddenly felt incredibly awkward. Spending too much time with Zhou Liang had lowered his IQ, and his random use of classical allusions was the most obvious example.
Fang Zhihe chimed in, "Han Shu, what are you comparing yourself to her for? She even carries an English dictionary to the toilet. Can you do that?"
"Going to the toilet with an English dictionary? How can you even see it?" Han Shu glanced at Fang Zhihe.
"I'm just using an analogy, you know? Look at all these people, who studied as hard as she did before the exam? I saw her sitting there studying early this morning."
Han Shu didn't want to cause trouble. No amount of talk about how well he did on the exam would matter; the results would tell. But even so, under the guise of checking if the exam hall was open, he quickly glanced towards the flowerbed in front of the restrooms. Sure enough, that guy was engrossed in his studies.
He said sarcastically, "I don't know how much time I should have spent studying, I have to catch up now... Never mind, I'm going to the restroom now since there aren't many people around."
"Hey, wait a minute, let's go too."
Han Shu walked past the flowerbed by the toilet entrance, completely unaware of the person engrossed in reading. When he emerged from the toilet, he carefully wiped his hands with a tissue, walking slowly and deliberately until they were spotless. He then tossed the tissue into the trash can, stopping right next to the flowerbed.
"It's you? Classmate, with your grades, you don't need to be so frantic. Seeing you like this, how much pressure must others feel!" Han Shu's surprise at the unexpected encounter was just right.
"Huh?" Ju Nian looked up in a daze and saw Han Shu standing in front of her. She seemed startled and pulled the book on her lap closer to her body. "I, I didn't review some parts well."
"For a good student like you, what could be more important than studying? Why didn't you study well? Did something more interesting happen? Tell me about it."
Ju Nian seemed to recall hearing the girls in her class gossip about how they liked watching Han Shu from the next class smile; they called it "sunshine." Ju Nian thought, if sunshine looks like that, then all the things that bask in the sun must get moldy. He was chatting with her with a strange smile, acting like they were old friends, but why did it seem so ill-intentioned?
“There’s nothing fun to do.” Ju Nian’s answer was obedient but uninteresting, and she put her books away again.
"What are you looking at? Is it a problem that your teacher gave you extra help with? Don't be so stingy, let me take a look."
"No..." Ju Nian's refusal carried no weight at all. Han Shu snatched the book from her hand without a word, and said in a serious tone, "Thank you."
"Practice? Math practice... When you're young, if you fall in love with someone... please treat her gently... What is this?" Han Shu eagerly looked at it at first, but his expression grew increasingly strange. He quickly flipped through a few pages, then looked back at the framed cover. The book cover was made from the back of an old calendar, with the words "One Hundred Practices of Algebra for Grade 11" written in large characters on it, presumably her handwriting. Han Shu incredulously peeled back the disguise, and the real cover was finally revealed.
"Selected Poems of Xi Murong, Xie Junian, is this the book you were so eagerly reading before the exam?" He waved the book at Junian, hardly believing his eyes. Who was this person? He had tried so hard, yet he lost to this idiot who was reading obscure poetry before the exam? It was absurd. Han Shu would rather she had actually been studying the math problems the teacher had specially prepared for the exam.
Ju Nian twisted her fingers, lowered her head, and gave him an resigned look. She waited for Han Shu to finish speaking before pleading in a low voice, "Give me the book."
However, as Han Shu swung the book, a small note that had been tucked inside fluttered down. Ju Nian's expression changed, and she immediately bent down to catch the note. Han Shu was no slower, and the two of them bent over at the same time. With a "thud," their foreheads collided.
"Oh!" Han Shu cried out, clutching his head. He had already grabbed the note and quickly straightened up. He looked around, not wanting his embarrassing behavior to attract too much attention. Fortunately, several classmates looked over, but there were no acquaintances among them.
Han Shu coughed and looked down at the note. Afraid that Ju Nian would snatch it, he took a step back and turned to the side.
The handwriting on the note was similar to that on the fake book cover—a smooth, flowing cursive script.
"I dwell on the sunny side of Mount Wu, amidst towering hills..."
"Han Shu, give it back to me!" She didn't lunge at him to snatch it, her voice still low, but the pleading in her tone was very clear. Han Shu had never heard his name so clearly from her lips before; it was a strange feeling. He narrowed his eyes, looking puzzled.
Zhou Liang and his friends happened to come out of the restroom, and seeing this scene, they naturally didn't want to be left behind and joined in to watch the excitement.
"Let me see it." Zhou Liang snatched the note away from Han Shu while he was in a daze.
"I am in Wushan... what obstacle is there..."
"Damn it, give it to me." Fang Zhihe reached out and took it again. "You can't even read, your brain's all inside your belly. 'I dwell on the sunny side of Wushan, amidst high hills, at dawn I am the morning clouds, at dusk I am the passing rain, beneath the Yangtai Terrace…'"
Ju Nian's face already showed some despair. She knew that it was useless to compete with these boys who were two heads taller than her. It would only attract more attention and make her a laughing stock.
"Oh, I know, this refers to 'the clouds and rain of Wushan,' the goddess of Wushan inviting King Xiang of Chu to sleep with her." Fang Zhihe's mother was a Chinese teacher at another high school, and having grown up in the literary world, she had some literary knowledge. However, her interpretation made Ju Nian want to cry but had no tears, and she wished she could just kill herself.
Fang Zhihe didn't notice that Xie Junian wasn't the only one whose face changed color after he finished speaking.
"Han Shu, make him give it back to me... Han Shu, I'm begging you!"
There were already quite a few students waiting to enter the examination hall, and more and more of them were showing great interest in the drama unfolding around them. After Fang Zhihe's note returned to Zhou Liang's hands, it was taken by another boy from their class to read. Ju Nian didn't recognize them, so she could only gently tug at Han Shu's sleeve and plead softly, as if grasping at a last straw.
Han Shu originally only intended to tease her as a prank and didn't want to make a big deal out of it. However, after hearing Fang Zhihe's words, he felt nauseous, as if he had found half a worm in an apple. He attributed this to his own moral fastidiousness.
"Xie Junian, is spring in your heart all you feel?"
Ju Nian didn't care about his harsh words; her only hope was that the note wouldn't be passed around and would return to her rightful place.
"Han Shu, I've never had any ill will towards you." Her lips were trembling slightly.
Han Shu pulled his sleeve back from her hand. "It's none of my business. The note isn't in my possession, otherwise I would have given it to you." He spoke with an air of self-righteousness, as if it had nothing to do with him. Ju Nian couldn't understand why he seemed to hate her.
If this continues, the whole grade might know that the Goddess of Wushan is going to sleep with King Xiang of Chu. Ju Nian was cornered; should she chase after him like a madwoman, or cry and beg for pity? In desperation, she snatched the pencil case from Han Shu's hand.
"Tell them to give my things back, and I'll give this to you."
Han Shu was taken aback by her move, paused for a moment, and then laughed, "Why are you taking my things? I won't allow it, so what can you do about them?"
Ju Nian opened his pencil case, pulled out his student ID, and said tremblingly, "If you don't let them take it back, I'll tear it up!"
A student ID is very important for a high school student, especially one about to take an exam. Han Shu's expression changed, and he reached out to snatch it. Ju Nian put her hands behind her back and pulled back, almost embracing him completely. In that instant, Ju Nian tightly closed her eyes. The filthy behavior of Lin Henggui when he pounced on her years ago suddenly surfaced in her mind, and disgust surged like a tidal wave. Without hesitation, she raised her foot and, like any girl who feels a fatal threat, kicked the person in front of her in a certain part with all her might.
Han Shu was also a nimble young man. He had already guessed Ju Nian's intention when she raised her foot. It was too late to dodge. He barely managed to avoid a fatal kick to his vital parts by turning to the side, but his thigh inevitably took a heavy hit.
He immediately felt a sharp pain, bent over and took two steps back, rubbing the sore spot. He realized that if he had dodged even a second later, the landing point of her kick would have been very different, and the force was so heavy. Was she deliberately trying to make him learn the "Evil-Repelling Sword Technique"?