Chapter 27: The Reason for Love
Yu Zhou Zhouâs little action caused Xu Yan Yan and the other two to stay and continue to memorize the script with the battalion instructor while Yu Zhou Zhou and Shan Jie Jie were allowed to go back to the classroom. Most of the students were still out in the sun, on the courts practising as part of the drum and horns and flower bouquet teams so the empty classroom was very suitable for spending a leisurely afternoon.
As Yu Zhou Zhou and Shan Jie Jie went downstairs, they happened to pass by three students from the drum and horns team who were going upstairs. Two of the students were wearing the white drum teamâs captain costume and the other was wearing the green costume of the horns team.
The teen walking on the far left in white was Lin Yang. The other two boys were all slightly taller and wider.
Today, Yu Zhou Zhou seemed to have exceptionally keen senses. As soon as the three boys appeared, Shan Jie Jie who was next to her straightened her chest and lowered her head. Her body was rigid as if she was an instrumental bow that was strung extremely tight. However, Shan Jie Jie immediately put on the classic expression of someone in the Womenâs Rescue Association and look forward with a firm, steady gaze but it was just that her expression was overly stiff.
This type of Shan Jie Jie made Yu Zhou Zhou confused but she could only also look straight ahead even though she didnât really want to make eye contact with Lin Yang.
As for Lin Yang, his expression remained normal the entire time. Like her, he also looked forward as if there was nothing around.
However, the brigade leader was right. Peopleâs peripheral vision wasnât used for eating. However, itâs use wasnât just to help the four presenters align their positions â Yu Zhou Zhouâs peripheral vision told her that when she brushed past them, the one who was walking in the middle, the tallest of the boys, quickly raised his eyes to look at Shan Jie Jie.
The boy she didnât know who was walking on the far right smiled like a little mouse â he looked like one too with a pointy mouth and a long thing face. He giggled while prodding the tall boy with his elbow. He glanced quickly at Shan Jie Jie with wicked eyes. âThatâs her?â His voice carried a degree of frivolousness in it.
Yu Zhou Zhou noticed that Shan Jie Jie had gritted her teeth and her cheekbones prodded out like a fish.
This was the longest passing by that they had experienced from childhood to date.
It was finally over. Yu Zhou Zhou let out a long sigh of relief. She walked to the corner of the staircase before slightly turning her face to look back, she could only hear the sound of a whistle and weird shout that floated over from behind.
Yu Zhou Zhou suddenly laughed.
She turned around to look at the blushing Shan jie jie and repeated Xu Yan Yanâs words in a mischievous manner, âWhatâs going on with you and Zhang Shuo Tian?â
In Shan Jie Jieâs heart, boys were just a group of guys who looked and had different names but were all similarly annoying.
They liked to be in the limelight, had no brains, no sense of collective honour, didnât like to follow the rules, didnât obediently accept criticism, smiled mischievously and liked to talk back. They liked to play around with girls like Xu Yan Yan who loved to dress up and look in the mirror, pulling their braids and lifting their skirts. Then, theyâd mischievously grin and wait for the girls to chase up before playing a chasing scene around the corridors, âstop for meâ âno wayââŠ
Finally, theyâll still be caught by the monitor on duty, get points deducted and tarnish the honour of the class.
The Shan Jie Jie who thought like this actually said to Yu Zhou Zhou, âHe really is quite good looking. He seems to be quite polite as well. Anyways you see, he is different to the guy next to him right?â
A gust of wind blew past. Yu Zhou Zhou who was sitting under the wisteria frame swayed her legs time and time again. Every now and then, she would raise her head to look at her little partner who was opposite her with her head lowered in contemplation.
The unpleasant melody of the drum and horns was already very far away. The cool autumn breeze blew deep into their hearts, making it tickle.
âWhatâŠâ Yu Zhou Zhou who was confused and surprised finally summarized her thoughts into one useless question, âWhat exactly is going on?â
âAnyways⊠Anyway itâs just like that. What is there to say. Theyâre all speaking nonsense.â
Shan Jie Jie looked a bit impatient but looking closely, she seemed to be using her impatience to cover a trace of shyness.
Yu Zhou Zhou was a bit disappointed, it seemed that her friend didnât seem to explain it to her clearly.
She put her hand on cheeks and comforted herself, there are always things that you canât tell others, no matter how close you are.
Hence, Yu Zhou Zhou didnât continue to ask. They both sat face to face in silence under the wisteria stand. When they raised their head, the blue sky had already been separated into small pieces, just like a broken jigsaw puzzle but it had a sense of careless beauty.
Yu Zhou Zhou didnât know that Shan Jie Jie who treated boys âjust the sameâ could actually immediately spot Zhang Shuo Tian from the crowd. Zhang Shuo Tian never fastened the top two buttons no matter what shirt he wore, there was a pimple on the left side of his forehead, his height was considered the tallest in the school, unlike those little beans, he was already 160 something. However, what Shan Jie Jie didnât know was that if a boy was already 160 something centimetres tall at 12 years old, there was a great possibility that heâll stay as 160 something for life.
Also, his side profile looked a bit similar to Wu Qi Long, Shan Jie Jieâs favorite in the Little Tigers Band.
Shan Jie Jie wanted to tell Yu Zhou Zhou that she recognized him because he was special.
But was he really special? Or was it because he was slightly taller, slightly better looking than the other boys that he was special?
She wasnât able to explain it either, this feeling made her feel very ashamed so she wanted to speak a few times but could only wave her hands to ask Yu Zhou Zhou to let go of her.
Actually, what she didnât tell Yu Zhou Zhou was that yesterday afternoon, she had walked across the court by herself. She had walked past the drum and horns with her head lowered as they were being rowdy. She didnât raise her head but her gaze still passed by Zhang Shuo Tianâs legs. The costume was a bit tight on him and it wasnât long enough for his legs so his white socks were revealed, contrasting deeply with his black shoes.
Plus, his thighs were chubby.
Just then, when the three boys appeared, she recognized him based on this alone.
How could she immediately recognize him like this? When she realized this, Shan Jie Jie felt extremely ashamed and wasnât able to accept it.
âCan I ask you one final question?â Yu Zhou Zhou lightly asked when they stood up to go back to the classroom.
Shan Jie Jie nodded, âWhat?â
âHow do you know that Zhang Shuo Tian?â
The question that shouldâve been asked at the start was suppressed until the end.
Shan Jie Jie was speechless, she shook her head and tried to divert the topic without any skill, âLetâs go back to classâ.
Zhou Zhou, she softly answered in her heart, did you know, I donât know him.
The first time the name Zhang Shuo Tian appeared was in the chatter of the girls.
They said, âDid you know, Zhang Shuo Tian likes Shan Jie Jie.â
Later, Shan Jie Jie didnât know how many times she had heard that line. Class 4âs Zhang Shuo Tian likes Class 7âs Shan Jie Jie. The boys in her own class all shouted this, the girls in the corridor all quietly whispered this⊠She didnât know when it started but the way many people in the class looked at her turned different.
Even when Yu Zhou Zhou heard, she would use an inquisitive gaze to look at Shan Jie Jie. But thankfully, Yu Zhou Zhou noticed her slight bit of hesitation and chose to keep silent and not ask anything.
After that, every time she walked across the corridor, the girls in the other classes would quietly look at her and say, âItâs her, itâs her. Sheâs Shan Jie Jie.â When the boys were being chased around by the girls, she would frown and shout for them to stop mucking around, that they werenât allowed to run around the corridors but the boys would turn around and call out to her, extending each word, âZhang~ Shuo~ TianâŠâ
Finally one day, when she was skipping on the courts, someone suddenly hit into her. When she stared back angrily, she discovered a mischevious student push a tall boy towards her. The tall boy turned back and cursed, âWang Liang are you f**king looking for deathâ. He then immediately turned around and smiled shyly at her amidst everyoneâs laughter as if that roar just then was just a ringing in her ears.
Whereas yesterday, when she hurriedly weaved through the drum and horn players, holding the script with her head lowered to look for the battalion leader, the players all collectively became excited. Their shouts were like a curse that wrapped around her. She was nervous inside but on the outside, she remained steady and calm, only her steps were a bit flustered. Stuck amidst the chaotic noise, she saw him in front, being pushed out from the group of people, blocking her in a slightly shy yet sloppy manner.
She lowered her head, passed by him and started to run.
However, she didnât know how in the instant that she lowered her head, she came to remember his white socks, black shoes and chubby legs.
It was like a proof of identity, allowing her to recognize him with one glance today.
It turns out that being surrounded by a crowd with a boy felt this good.
She had previously heard of Zhang Shuo Tian before but it was really just âheard ofâ â one lunch time when she went out the school gates to buy some plums, she saw lots of people across the road, the boys shouted âZhang. Shuo. Tian!â and the girls immediately followed with âXu. Yan. Yan!â
At the time, Shan Jie Jie was holding Xu Zhou Zhouâs hand. The two looked at each other and smiled. She thought, how shameless. The onlookers were even more boring, theyâre able to alternate and call out the two names with so much energy, how come every Monday when they sang the national anthem, their voices were so small. Was calling someoneâs name an extremely exciting thing? Childish, really childish!
However, now Xu Yan Yanâs name had changed to hers.
Shan Jie Jie suddenly had a thought, previously, she had despised the âgirlsâ equally, when did Xu Yan Yan come to the forefront and receive extra contempt? Could it beâŠ
Shan Jie Jie didnât dare to think deeply so she simply skipped over this.
In conclusion, she had heard them say, âZhang Shuo Tian, you even dare to like Shan Jie Jie? Look at her stubborn face, fiery temper and adherence to the rules, sheâs always so vigorousâŠâ
This question remained in her heart. One day, she asked Yu Zhou Zhou in a roundabout way, âZhou Zhou, say⊠sigh, theyâre so annoying, they keep talking nonsense, saying that Zhang Shuo Tian⊠Iâm so different to him, what does he like about me? Being able to create this rumour, what nonsense.â
Unexpectedly, at the time, Yu Zhou Zhou was too into manga. She stuffed a plum in her mouth while muttering, Usagi Tsukino is dumb and lazy but Tuxedo Mask likes her kindness. Everyone else is just a commoner.â
This answer made Shan Jie Jie feel happiness mixed with sorrow but Yu Zhou Zhou had no idea.
Nonetheless, Shan Jie Jie decided that she⊠might also like Zhang Shuo Tian.
She didnât know what kind of person Zhang Shuo Tian was. She liked him only because he liked her.
But why did that matter. Even thinking the line, âI like Zhang Shuo Tianâ made her blush like a tomato, lower her head and become as stiff as a rock. So, why did it matter if it was or wasnât true love.
They only understood âlikeâ.
Yu Zhou Zhou squeezed past the group of girls who were selecting origami paper at the small stall outside the school gates and sped home â she was responsible for cleaning up today so she left class late. If she didnât run, she wouldnât be able to make Sailor Moon at 6:10pm.
She arrived home at 6:05pm. Panting, she put down her school bag and sat next to Yu Ting Ting and quietly waited for the opening theme song to start.
The story was about slaying and eliminating demons. At the end, Usagi Tsukino and Tuxedo Mask finally embraced and used the resistance brought by the open umbrella to jump down from the balcony and safely land on the ground.
And thenâŠtheyâŠ
KissedâŠ
Yu Zhou Zhou stared stunned as the two beautiful faces got closer and closer. Flustered, she opened her mouth, unable to believe it. Suddenly, she heard the sound of someone opening the front door with the keys. It seemed to be their grandma who had returned from her walk. She glanced at the two faces on TV who had not yet separated. Yu Ting Ting who was beside her was already freaked out. They hurriedly stood up and looked for the remote control then randomly pressed a button, the screen immediately jumped to the stateâs news broadcast.
Some random leader of some provincial party was doing an inspection at the grassroot level. Under the welcome of the crowd, he walked past the vegetable stalls, past the pigs pen, the biogas digesterâŠ
âWhy are you two standing in the living room? Why are you watching the news? Did your cartoon end?â
Grandma looked in astonishment at Yu Zhou Zhou and Yu Ting Ting who held the remote control tightly to their chest.
During dinner, even the chatterbox Yu Ting Ting was exceptionally quiet. Occasionally, when Yu Zhou Zhou raised her head and they made eye contact, the two would immediately blush and turn their heads.
They didnât know what they were being awkward about.
After dinner, Yu Zhou Zhou slumped across the study desk alone in a daze. She had finished her homework at school. She fiddled around with the string of the lamp, open, close, open, close, she pulled the string many times.
Her heart was a mess but she wasnât upset.
Not knowing why, she pulled out the metal box from under the bed and brushed off the dust on the top. She tried hard to pry open the lid of the container then took out the contents one by one.
The already full metal box was packed full of memories.
Yu Zhou Zhou suddenly felt very empty inside. It wasnât a type of emptiness that Lord Duke or Candy Candy could fill. Growing older had opened a hole inside her, she seemed to lack something â and that something was what even Shan Jie Jie had.
She could only lower her head to search. She emptied the biscuit tin, searching out everything one by one.
She was looking for that thing that could fill her void. Or perhaps, that person.
Tofubyu 
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