Summer in Your Name - 12
nì hài^-^
Zhang Shu looked furious, like he might actually strangle her. But he didn't speak, or maybe, more accurately, he was beyond words.
Sheng Xia held her breath until she thought she might pass out. Then he suddenly grabbed his essay from his desk and slapped it down in front of her. "What's my name?"
"Zhang... Shu?" Had he lost his mind?
"Which SHU?"
Sheng Xia: ...?
She glanced at his paper. The character "Shu (数)" in "Zhang Shu (张数)" was circled in red ink. Next to it was Fu Jie's handwriting: Cute deskmate ^-^.
The two characters were unmistakably her handwriting.
So... it wasn't this "Shu (数)"? Then which one was it? Shù (竖)? Shù (束)? Shù (述)? This sound had so many characters suitable for a name.
Careless. She shouldn't have jumped to conclusions.
"I'm sorry," Sheng Xia apologized sincerely. It really was rude to write someone's name wrong. She bit her lip, at a loss. "Then... which SHU is it?"
Her eyes, when filled with guilt, looked as if she’d been deeply wronged, like they could well up with a lake’s worth of tears at any moment.
How dare she look so innocent? She'd been in this class for over two weeks. She could even write Hou Junqi's "Qi" correctly, and that character had dozens of homophones. How did she not know which "SHU" he was?
Zhang Shu looked away. He grabbed Sheng Xia's wrist, pulled a marker with perfect accuracy from her "Disney Princess" crystal pen holder, and wrote stroke by stroke on her forearm: 澍.
The cool tip traced her skin, sending jolts of electricity through her.
Sheng Xia felt her captured wrist heating up fast, the warmth spreading to her ears and cheeks.
She didn't know if he could feel her pulse, it was hammering, wild and fast.
She tried to pull back, but he held firm, pulling her closer instead.
When he finished, Zhang Shu lifted her slender wrist, examined his work with satisfaction. "This 'Shu'. Got it? Don't wipe it off. Look at it a few times before bed. Worship it when you wake up. Morning and evening devotions. Guarantee you'll never write it wrong for the rest of your life."
Sheng Xia murmured, "That's not how you use that idiom… 'Morning and evening devotions' means attending to your parents at night and asking after them in the morning. It's an ancient term for filial duty.”
That's what she focused on?
Zhang Shu: "Wujibayu."
Sheng Xia: "What?"
Zhang Shu: “I'm praising you for being smart and cultured. Everything you said is right.”
Sheng Xia looked down. That's definitely not what it means.
Zhang Shu fell silent too. Why did she look so wronged again? He’d already been polite enough to swallow the urge to say ‘Just treat me as your dad then’.
Sheng Xia wasn't foolish enough to continue the conversation. Having imagined far worse outcomes, this mix-up wasn't so bad. She calmed down a little and studied the character on her arm.
So he was this "Shu". How rare.
Shu: timely rain, heaven-sent sweet dew. A metaphor for grace and blessing.
To his parents, he must be a precious gift. They must love him very much.
---
Halfway through evening study, Sheng Xia realized her essay hadn't been returned. She didn't think much of it until Xin Xiaohe came over during break, a teasing look on her face, her tone playful: "Super nì hài~”
Sheng Xia was confused. Xin Xiaohe pointed at the display board on the back wall. "Your essay's on the Model Essay Wall!"
It was break time. A few people were gathered by the wall, whispering, occasionally glancing back at Sheng Xia.
Sheng Xia had no idea what was going on, and she wasn't about to join the crowd. Did she get full marks again?
Xin Xiaohe sat down in Zhang Shu's seat, hooked her arm through Sheng Xia's. "I'm so bored over there by myself. I wish this week would end already!"
"Me too..."
Having a girl as a deskmate was much more comfortable.
Xin Xiaohe let go of Sheng Xia and idly examined Zhang Shu's desk. "How does he not have any supplementary books?"
He really didn't. Sheng Xia had noticed that aside from finishing his assignments every night, he almost never did any extra practice. This was different from the top student she'd imagined.
Sheng Xia: “Maybe the one issued by the school is enough for him."
Xin Xiaohe nodded. "Zhang Shu never plays by the rules." Just then, she noticed the characters on Sheng Xia's arm. "Holy crap, what's that?"
Sheng Xia frowned, rubbing her thumb over it uselessly. "I thought his name was the '数' for 'number.’ I wrote it wrong. This... is him not playing by the rules."
Xin Xiaohe was half-annoyed, half-amused. "Seriously? Is he an emperor or something?"
Sheng Xia pressed her lips together in silent agreement.
"Wanna get late-night snacks?" Xin Xiaohe invited again.
Sheng Xia touched her stomach. "I don't think I have room. I ate so much dinner..."
"Is the food at the lunch center good? I've thought about signing up, but I heard it's like a hundred a day?"
"I don't know how much it costs. The expensive part is probably the afternoon nap accommodation. The food is really good, it's just…" Sheng Xia hesitated.
"Just what?"
Sheng Xia: "The owner really loves making cola chicken wings."
"Cola chicken wings are delicious! I love them, wahhh. Why can't the school cafeteria have cola chicken wings..."
"I like them too," Sheng Xia said. "But we've had them for a week straight…"
Xin Xiaohe: "Huh, I hear the menu doesn't repeat?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought. I don't know. Apparently someone had complained…"
Xin Xiaohe tapped the desk. "Why don't you ask Mr. Doesn't-Play-by-the-Rules over here? Isn't the lunch center run by his relative?"
Sheng Xia: "Is it?" The first day she went, she seemed to hear the auntie and the owner mention ‘A-Shu.’
"It is."
"Maybe I won't..."
"So, chicken wings it is."
"Yeah..."
"Hehe."
"Haha."
The two girls chatted, heads huddled together on the desk, not noticing the tall boy leaning against the desk behind them, arms crossed, listening idly while scrolling through his phone.
Just before class was about to start, Xin Xiaohe got up to go back to her seat. She turned and nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Are you a ghost!" Xin Xiaohe clutched her chest.
Zhang Shu: "Is the ghost's seat comfortable?"
Xin Xiaohe: "Ha. Only because I'm next to a fairy and I’m basking in her fairy aura. You think I'd come for any other reason?"
Zhang Shu let out a short laugh.
Was putting one down to lift the other up really necessary…
Fairy. Fairy aura. What even…
Sheng Xia felt incredibly awkward. She couldn't just sit there, so she grabbed her cup and went to get water.
The crowd at the back had thinned out a bit. Sheng Xia pretended to just be passing by and took a look at the essay wall.
Her essay was displayed in the center. At the top, with a bold 50, full marks.
In the bottom right corner was Fu Jie's hundred-word comment.
And, below that, Fu Jie's evaluation of Zhang Shu's review.
Under Zhang Shu's "Super awesome(lì hǎi)!", Fu Jie had drawn two red lines and written: It really is super nì hài ^-^.
That smiley face was full of life.
Sheng Xia silently reread his comment, "Awesome handwriting. Awesome phrasing. Awesome argument. Awesome logic. Super awesome!!", and found herself mentally replacing every "awesome(lì hǎi)" with "nì hài." Especially "super nì hài," The way it sounded, with that rising intonation… It felt, somehow, strangely… different.
Sheng Xia couldn’t find the right word for it and quietly returned to her seat.
The girl came and went. Zhang Shu glanced at her water bottle, still full, and smiled to himself.
---
Not long after second-period evening study started, Sheng Xia's window got lively again. This time, there were not one, not two, but four heads crouched outside.
Sheng Xia knew the drill by now. They were here for Zhang Shu. He still had his back to her. She was about to call his name, then remembered he'd told her not to, and just tapped his arm instead.
Zhang Shu turned, his eyes landing first on her pale fingers, then trailing up to the “澍” on her forearm, black ink on white skin, standing out strikingly.
"Someone's here for you..." Sheng Xia prompted.
Only then did Zhang Shu look up.
Crouched outside were Han Xiao, Zhou Yingxiang, and Liu Hui'an and Wu Pengcheng, guys he'd hung out with in Grade One before they were assigned to different classes.
Sheng Xia opened the window for them. Feeling their collective gaze linger on her, she lowered her head and returned to her homework, avoiding their stares.
"Let's go, Shu-ge?" Han Xiao said, then tapped Hou Junqi in front. "Hou-ge, let's bounce?"
Hou Junqi looked at Zhang Shu.
Zhang Shu scanned the blackboard, flipped through his math workbook, and said, “Twenty minutes.”
Zhou Yingxiang stuck his head in. "Do it tomorrow, Shu. Chen Mengyao's waiting outside, y'know?"
Zhang Shu shot him a flat look. "Make it thirty, then."
"No, no," Han Xiao knew how Zhang Shu worked. Push him, and he’d dig in harder. Better to compromise. "We'll wait for you at the North Gate, then? Twenty minutes?"
Zhang Shu: "The time you've spent running your mouth, I could've solved a problem."
Han Xiao: “Fine, fine, we’re leaving. Catch you later.”
But Zhang Shu didn't leave after twenty minutes. He waited until the second-period bell rang, then slowly packed up and headed out.
Hou Junqi had turned around to check on him at least a dozen times.
Sheng Xia stared at his empty seat. It was surprising. Was he playing hard to get, making the girl wait longer on purpose? Or was he genuinely prioritizing his studies?
---
Just as Zhang Shu and Hou Junqi left the teaching building, they spotted four people squatting by the roadside, the tips of their cigarettes glowing in the dark.
Guarding the intersection, as if afraid he wouldn't show.
Seeing the two approach, the guys stubbed out their cigarettes and stood up. "A-Shu!"
"What are we playing?" Zhang Shu asked.
"Anything's fine," Zhou Yingxiang fell into step beside him, all magnanimous. "We've got enough people. How about Emperor's Guard?"
"Sure."
They walked towards the North Gate. Wu Pengcheng suddenly asked, "A-Shu, your deskmate's pretty cute. How come I've never seen her before?"
Zhang Shu raised an eyebrow. "Is she?"
Wu Pengcheng said, "She's gorgeous. You blind or something?"
Liu Hui'an chimed in, "What's the use of telling him that? He only has eyes for Chen Mengyao.”
Wu Pengcheng was in the same class as Chen Mengyao. For some reason, he'd never liked her. "Chen Mengyao knows how to dress up, I'll give her that. But your deskmate? She's got this, like, ethereal vibe. It's a different kind of pretty."
Hou Junqi nodded in agreement. "One's an earthly peony, the other's a celestial being."
Wu Pengcheng gave a thumbs-up. "Yeah, that's it. You're the cultured one.”
Zhang Shu didn't comment. He just said, "She just transferred here."
Wu Pengcheng asked, "From where?"
Zhang Shu: "No. 2 High."
Liu Hui'an said, "Transferring in senior year, and from No. 2 High of all places? This girl's family isn't simple."
Liu Hui'an's mom worked in administration at Affiliated High School. He knew the inside scoop of how things worked there.
Hou Junqi was intrigued. "What do you mean?"
Liu Hui'an gestured at Zhou Yingxiang. "Even our bro Xiang here could only get into the Elite Department. At our school, you only ever hear people transfer out. When have you ever seen anyone transfer in?"
Zhou Yingxiang nodded. "True. It took my old man a ton of effort to get me into the Elite Department. Calling in favors everywhere."
The Elite Department had originally been Affiliated High School's retake program for repeat students. The tuition was sky-high and not just anyone could get in. They almost only exclusively accepted students from the main school who'd underperformed their college entrance exams, or students from other schools who'd done well but wanted another shot at a top university.
But in the last couple of years, maybe the school was strapped for cash, who knew, the Elite Department started admitting one class of senior year students from other schools. On top of the already high tuition, they charged an additional "guest student" fee, which was just as astronomical, regular families couldn't even think about it.
And even then, slots were in high demand. After all, all the teachers and the entire curriculum at Elite Department were the same as the main school's.
It was, in essence, paying a premium to attend Affiliated High for a year.
Come to think of it, he really never saw anyone transfer into the main school.
Zhang Shu knew Sheng Xia had lunch at his sister's place, which wasn't cheap. And she had a cucumber juice every day, sometimes two. Bought stationery in bulk without checking prices… He knew her family wasn't badly off.
And the girl herself was always calm and composed, incredibly well-mannered. Probably came from a strict, proper household.
“What’s with the writing on her arm?" Liu Hui'an nudged Zhang Shu's shoulder. "Already marking your territory? What about your Chen Mengyao?"
"Yeah, she skipped her training to come celebrate your birthday,” Zhou Yingxiang eagerly joined in. He'd been the one to invite Chen Mengyao, after all. He didn't want to back the wrong horse.
Zhang Shu stopped in his tracks, frowning. “Why are you all so convinced I’m into Chen Mengyao?”
Back when he was in the music club, he'd hung out with Chen Mengyao for a while. A few rumors popped up, and he hadn't cared enough to shut them down. But lately, they've gotten more and more ridiculous.
To this day, he still had no idea where the rumors started. Hardly anyone ever ask him about it directly, and since it wasn’t something that bothered him, he’d just shrugged it off.
Over time, it wasn't just people who barely knew him. Even his own friends started believing it.
Wu Pengcheng: "Haven't you been chasing her since middle school? That's, like, true love, bro?"
Zhang Shu almost rolled his eyes. "I didn't even know Chen Mengyao in middle school!"
Even Han Xiao, who'd gone to middle school with him, was shocked. "WHAT?!"
← Previous | Table of Contents | Next →
Comments
Post a Comment