The Scorching Sun - 16

The next morning, Fang Zhuo woke while dawn was still only beginning to brighten the sky. Thin curtains blocked half the light. She poked her head out for a look and found her dorm leader already awake, tying up her hair by the desk.

The girl held up seven fingers to tell her it was only seven o'clock. Then she picked up her suitcase, silently waved goodbye to Fang Zhuo, who was still sitting dazed on her bed, and happily wheeled it out the door.

Fang Zhuo packed up her own things, checked that she hadn't forgotten anything, and quietly slipped out of the dorm.

It was still raining outside. After an entire night of rain, the ground had turned into a muddy mess, and the damp air carried the fresh scent that always followed a storm.

Holding an umbrella, Fang Zhuo waited beneath the boys' dormitory building. She stood beside a flower bed, deliberately choosing an inconspicuous spot.

She had purposely worn an old pair of dirty shoes that were already due for a wash. Watching everyone else tiptoe carefully around the puddles gave her a strange sense of carefree satisfaction. Without hesitation, she stepped straight into one.

Water splashed high into the air, right onto a pair of spotless white sneakers that had appeared out of nowhere.

Fang Zhuo froze. Her gaze traveled slowly up from the shoes and met Yan Lie's expressionless face.

He lifted one foot and gave it a shake, hoping to fling off the dirty water. Instead, fresh rain splattered over the shoe, making it even wetter. Before he could even ask, "What are you doing?" Fang Zhuo had already recovered from her shock...

...and fled the scene like a guilty criminal.

"Fang Zhuo!"

She heard Yan Lie calling after her. Cold rain mixed with gusts of wind lashed against her face, and the umbrella in her hand nearly flipped inside out.

A hand reached over from behind, catching the umbrella before it overturned completely and pushing it back above her head.

"Don't run." His voice was helpless rather than annoyed. "I'm not going to scold you. Honestly."

Feeling guilty, Fang Zhuo finally stopped. She held her umbrella properly and continued toward the cafeteria with the utmost seriousness, pretending nothing had happened.

Her guilt didn't last long. Up ahead, another puddle appeared in the road. The petty, vindictive young man beside her immediately charged forward and stomped into it, sending water flying onto Fang Zhuo's shoes.

The cold droplets soaked through instantly.

She looked up at him and said coolly, "Childish."

Yan Lie burst into triumphant laughter, as though he'd just accomplished something spectacular.

Since it was raining, cycling was out of the question. They would have to walk to the bus station.

Leaving the cafeteria, Fang Zhuo swung her bag onto her back to free up her hands for the umbrella. Seeing how heavily the bag sagged and how awkwardly she moved, Yan Lie offered, "Let me take it."

The moment he lifted it, he found it even heavier than he'd expected. "What's in here?" he asked, surprised.

"Books."

His eyes drifted to the large white paper bag in her other hand.

"Also books," Fang Zhuo replied. "I like reading. Is there a problem?"

Yan Lie gave her a strange look. "No. What you like is clearly doing homework."

When other people brought homework home, it was to show their parents and ease their own conscience. Fang Zhuo actually finished hers.

She looked at him instead. "How many clothes do you have in your wardrobe?"

Yan Lie paused. For a second he thought she was about to insult him, but her expression didn't look like she was about to call him a clotheshorse.

Sure enough, she followed up with complete seriousness. "You buy that many clothes. Is it because you like changing outfits?"

The question completely defeated him.

Seeing his blank expression, Fang Zhuo looked mildly disappointed in his intelligence. She answered her own question. "It's so that when society forced you to to wear clothes, you at least have a little freedom to choose what to wear."

Every conclusion she reached came from a direction Yan Lie could never have predicted.

His face settled into a wonderfully conflicted expression, caught somewhere between understanding and doubting everything he knew.

Even after Fang Zhuo had already walked ahead, he remained standing there quietly contemplating the profound philosophy she'd just shared.

...What a terrifying logic.

***

Yan Lie had traveled half of the route to Fang Zhuo's home before. With practiced familiarity, he rode the bus with her to the bridge, then waited for the minivan that would take them to the village.

He'd been in an excellent mood all day.

Whether he was carrying her backpack or holding the umbrella, even the hour-long trip hadn't dampened his spirits. He walked with light steps, humming a tune Fang Zhuo had never heard before.

Not long after they reached the bridge, the rain finally stopped.

The dark clouds parted to reveal a patch of pale blue sky. Gentle sunlight pierced through, spilling over the lush green mountains beyond the countryside.

The plants still glistened with lingering moisture, breathing out the clean fragrance of fresh rain.

Yan Lie studied the vines climbing the rocky hillside and the small white flowers blooming here and there with obvious curiosity.

"What are those called?"

Fang Zhuo answered helplessly, "How would I know? They're just... wildflowers."

"These flowers work so hard to bloom," Yan Lie said. "How can you just call them wild? They must have their own names."

He always had these odd whimsical little thoughts that felt unmistakably youthful. Naive, perhaps. But somehow never annoying.

Yan Lie took out his phone and pointed the camera toward the flowers to identify them.

Curious about the feature herself, Fang Zhuo leaned over to watch.

Unfortunately, the little circle on the screen spun and spun, and what finally popped up was a different, very common flower.

Yan Lie sighed. "Looks like it still has a lot to learn."

Turning back toward her, he added, "The people in those nature magazines seem to know everything. They're amazing."

Fang Zhuo nodded. "Mhm."

Yan Lie looked at his phone and sighed dramatically. "Baidu, this isn't acceptable. You've got to try harder."

Fang Zhuo: "..."

Chuckling, Yan Lie tucked away his phone and looked down the road. "How much longer do you think?"

"Shouldn't be long." She didn't know the exact schedule, but her luck had been pretty good the last few times. Usually the wait was no more than half an hour.

Yan Lie asked, "Doesn't it get boring waiting here by yourself every time?"

Fang Zhuo replied, "Doesn't it get boring staying home by yourself?"

"It does," Yan Lie admitted candidly. "So I go find other things to do."

Fang Zhuo looked ahead, then turned to look at him. Choosing her words carefully, she asked, "Why is nobody ever home at your house?"

Yan Lie raised an eyebrow. "Because they don't come home?"

His uncertain answer only made Fang Zhuo lower her voice further, as carefully as the cool breeze drifting through the flowers behind them. "How long has it been?"

Yan Lie almost laughed. He struggled to keep a straight face before answering solemnly, "Doctor... is it serious? Can it still be treated?"

Fang Zhuo opened her mouth, then closed it again without speaking. Yan Lie watched her lower her head and stare at the puddle in front of her. Her usually calm face slowly clouded over. She looked...angry.

A quiet mountain road. Silent travelers.

Mist stretching endlessly into the distance.

The broad wind sweeping across the valley.

Deep green hills beneath a gray-blue sky.

Yan Lie loved moments like this. Quiet, but not lonely.

And he loved listening to Fang Zhuo talk. Her voice was crisp and clean, alive in the same way the mountain plants around them were.

When she still didn't answer, he asked again, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know how to respond." Fang Zhuo sounded deeply aggrieved. "Annoying.”

This was why she didn't really like talking to people. Sometimes it felt as though they hadn't even graduated from the same nine years of compulsory education.

Which, to be fair, they really hadn't.

Yan Lie stared at her for a second, then burst into loud laughter.

His bright, carefree laughter drifted through the mountain air.

Fang Zhuo endured it for a while, but the other party showed no sign of reining it in.

She became increasingly convinced she was being openly laughed at. Her face darkened. "What's so funny?"

Just then, a pair of warm yellow headlights appeared beneath the bridge. Flustered and annoyed, Fang Zhuo said, "I'm leaving. You can stay here laughing by yourself."

She walked straight toward the arriving minibus. 

Yan Lie hurried after her. There were very few passengers inside, leaving more than half the seats empty.

Fang Zhuo chose a window seat. Yan Lie sat beside her, finally calming down.

Leaning toward her with bright, energetic eyes, he asked, "Why don't you ever reply to my text messages? Is it because you don't know how to respond?"

"No," Fang Zhuo looked at him like the question made no sense. "What's so hard about thinking of a reply?"

Yan Lie pressed relentlessly. "Then why?"

Fang Zhuo answered vaguely, "If you text me something important, I'll reply."

Yan Lie: "Why?"

She was beginning to lose patience and could only answer honestly. "Text messages cost money."

Yan Lie blinked. That was absolutely not the answer he'd expected.

Was Fang Zhuo simply incredibly frugal, or was their friendship not even worth a few cents?

Feeling wronged, he protested, "You can use QQ."

Fang Zhuo said, "No. That's my uncle's phone."

"Then get your own?" Yan Lie said, "My old phone still works. The battery will die if it just sitting around. Why don't I lend it to you for now?"

"No." Fang Zhuo refused immediately. "It'll slow down my studying."

Yan Lie looked disappointed. "...Alright."

The minibus rolled past flooded rice fields.

At last, the chatterbox finally ran out of energy and fell silent, gazing out the window at the passing scenery.

A moment later, he asked to switch seats so he could sit by the window himself, happily admiring the endless stretches of ordinary green fields as though they were something extraordinary.

Watching his profile, Fang Zhuo suddenly remembered something from a long time ago.

She had still been in elementary school then. The school required teachers to make home visits, so one teacher had followed the address listed in her records.

It had been raining then too, much harder than today.

The low-lying fields had completely flooded until all that remained was murky brown water. Even parts of the road had disappeared beneath it, making them impossible to distinguish. Anyone unfamiliar with the village could easily step into one of the roadside pits.

The teacher had gotten hopelessly lost. He ended up returning without ever finding Fang Zhuo's house. Back at school, he'd complained to the class, "What kind of awful place is that?"

At the time, Fang Zhuo had been afraid of him, so she hadn't said anything. He looked rather harsh by nature and had never been particularly kind to her.

She hadn't known whose fault it was. She'd thought maybe it was her, for living in bad place. She only vaguely understood that people were laughing at it.

She knew it meant something bad.

A few years later, a young female teacher also visited her home. Standing atop the high ridge between the fields, she looked out over the brilliant yellow rapeseed blossoms swaying in the breeze, saying, "So beautiful." Then she took Fang Zhuo's hand and walked her home.

Fang Zhuo remembered that moment for years afterward. Even the color of the dusk that day, the silhouettes along the roadside, were etched deep in her memory.

Only years later did she finally understand. It wasn't a bad place. 

It had simply been a bad person.

Yan Lie's voice pulled her back to the present. Framing the scenery with his fingers like a camera, he grinned at the landscape racing past outside. "The environment here is incredible. It looks just like something out of an anime. Any random photo you took here would probably go viral online."

"Really?" Fang Zhuo asked softly.

Why did Yan Lie seem to embody every quality she admired?

After entertaining himself for a while longer, Yan Lie finally powered down.

His battery exhausted, eyelids gradually drooped shut. He leaned back against the seat and fell asleep.

He hadn't slept long before Fang Zhuo gently nudged his shoulder to wake him. Still half asleep, he stumbled off the bus after her.

This time, Ye Yuncheng had been waiting at the village entrance all along.

He sat on a small wooden stool. Seeing Fang Zhuo return with an unfamiliar boy, he looked surprised and slowly stood with the help of his cane, unsure how to greet him.

Hearing Fang Zhuo call out "Uncle", Yan Lie snapped instantly awake. He flashed his brightest smile and introduced himself in one rapid breath.

"Hello, Uncle! My name's Yan Lie. I'm Fang Zhuo's classmate. I ranked first in our class and top three in the whole grade on the last monthly exam. Our goal is to improve together!"

Fang Zhuo: "..."

Was that... really the standard format for introducing yourself?

Unexpectedly, the moment Ye Yuncheng heard that, his entire face lit up. Grasping Yan Lie's hand enthusiastically, he exclaimed, "Hello, classmate!”

---

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