Hello, Old Times Chapter 76

Chapter 76: The Days in May are Impetuous

In May, the end of Spring wind blew warmly and comfortably on one’s face, making people unable to help but want to yawn and curl up in a ball with the cats on the roof to sunbathe and nap.

In the third revision class of the second semester of the second year of middle school, Xi Mei Xiang was already in the third row of Class B.

A lot of people who didn’t know the situation all thought that the massive change came from an unexpected outburst one afternoon. In literature class, when it was Xin Mei Xiang’s turn to recite the text, everyone followed the usual practice where once the girl in front of Xin Mei Xiang sat down, the girl in the first row of another group stood up.

“Why did you bypass me?!”

Xin Mei Xiang’s voice wasn’t loud but it was cold and firm.

Then, while the literature teacher and girl in the first row were still stunned, Xin Mei Xiang started to recite. Yu Zhou Zhou could hear a lot of complex emotions through her voice. In her frail and trembling voice was courage wrapped in tension and excitement.

She turned her head and winked proudly at Wen Miao as if Xin Mei Xiang was an extraordinary work of hers that was finally revealed to the world.

Wen Miao was still idle, as if he had no interest at all in Xin Mei Xiang’s actions.

No one knew what happened in these four months. Xin Mei Xiang was like a swallowtail butterfly that had just emerged from its chrysalis, fluttering her wings lightly in the early summer. She became skinnier and her long distance runs gave her a healthy tan. Her facial features also became more defined and she no longer wore those cheap clothes that weren’t for her age.

Everyone suddenly discovered that she was actually a very attractive girl with narrow shoulders and a thin chin that showed a few points of fierceness.

Yu Zhou Zhou knew that she wasn’t actually fully aware of Xin Mei Xiang’s efforts. Wanting to break away from your previous self was like pulling out a bone. Although she had also experienced all kinds of difficulties, but those were all external pressures and difficulties. She concentrated on waiting for opportunities to make a comeback but didn’t need to change too much about herself. Even if she did, it was a silent, gradual change that accumulated over time. Noone had ever been so cruel to themselves before like Xin Mei Xiang had.

Was it only just to become better?

Xin Mei Xiang who had grown confident no longer remained silent when Yu Zhou Zhou talked through the exercises. Occasionally, she would interrupt sharply to bluntly say that the method was too troublesome and that there was clearly a simpler algorithm.

Wen Miao would sneer on the side every time.

Yu Zhou Zhou who was rebuked could only scratch her head and smile, “Oh? Can you explain?”

Xin Mei Xiang was transferred to the fourth row, and was only separated by Yu Zhou Zhou and Wen Miao’s group by an aisle. In the beginning, a lot of classmates chatted to her. It appeared that everyone had quickly accepted the change after being surprised and didn’t seem to remember in the slightest how they had collectively laughed at her during their idle chats.

Yu Zhou Zhou softly said to Wen Miao, “Look, grades can indeed win favour.”

Wen Miao slouched on the table, his face buried in his arms with only half of his head exposed and his rolling.

“But don’t you think this is a little pitiful?”

Yu Zhou Zhou didn’t want to admit it but there was indeed things about Xin Mei Xiang that she hadn’t discovered before.

For instance, that sneer by her lips.

One morning at the end of June, Yu Zhou Zhou and Wen Miao walked across the corridors of the admin area with the class’s physics exercise books in their hands when they bumped into Shen Qi who was similarly holding onto exercise books. Yu Zhou Zhou grinned and was about to say hello when she suddenly heard an electric bell in the distance that seemed to come from the Fourth Vocational High School near their school.

The electric bell rang for a long time. Yu Zhou Zhou had never heard their school’s electric bell ring so arrogantly before.

“It’s currently 9 o’clock, which period is this for? Did the old man in the office drink too much?” Wen Miao stared out the window.

Yu Zhou Zhou suddenly recalled something, “It’s the high school entrance examination! No. 4 is the examination site for the high school entrance exam, today is their first exam right?”

The three of them quietned down. There wasn’t anything to see outside the window. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the back profile of No.4’s teaching building stood peacefully.

It’ll be their turn next year.

Yu Zhou Zhou remembered something that she had heard about the exam two days ago, “I heard that the High School Affiliated to Normal University will look for the top 100 students in the city to discuss and sign an agreement. If they sign the agreement, then they can only apply for the High School Affiliated to Normal University but they’ll get a discount of ten points. A lot of students who want to apply for Zhen Hua High School but are worried that they won’t make it all sign this agreement in the end as a guaranteed compromise.”

Wen Miao nodded, “I’ve heard this too.”

Yu Zhou Zhou thought for a while then softly asked, “If it was you, would you sign?”

After all, the students of No.13 High School all wanted to get into Zhenhua, wanting to either succeed or die trying. The High School Affiliated to Normal University on the other hand, was indeed a very good school as well.

Wen Miao and Shen Qi spoke at the same time.

“Sign it of course!” “Definitely won’t sign.”

The three looked at each other then laughed.

“Zhou Zhou, what about you?”

Yu Zhou Zhou spread her hands, “I don’t know.”

She seemed to suddenly not be so attached to Zhenhua.

Was it because she was living too happily?

—

That summer, there was a song called ‘Courage’ that was sung over and over again by all the boys and girls in the class. The young couples who secretly held hands to go and play CS at the internet café would hum, “Love needs courage, to withstand the gossip and rumours…”

That summer, there were four flower boys who made all the students frantically purchase all the VCDs and entertainment magazines just to get some news about any of them. The girls no longer asked each other, “Which guy do you like from our class,” but instead, directly split into factions, “Hey, do you like Dao Ming Si or Hua Ze Lei*?”

*[From the Taiwanese version of Boys Over Flowers – Meteor Garden]

Even Wen Miao had directly asked Yu Zhou Zhou this.

Yu Zhou Zhou blushed, “I haven’t finished watching Meteor Garden…”

Wen Miao raised her eyebrows in surprise, “Why?”

Yu Zhou Zhou shook her head and refused to explain.

How was she to explain to Wen Miao? When she was watching TV in the living room, her mom was sitting on the side peeling fruit while Uncle Qi was leaning on the sofa reading a newspaper when suddenly, Shan Cai’s scream came from the TV. The two adults looked over at the TV just in time to see the shot of Dao Ming Si push Shan Cai to the wall, tear her clothes and kiss her forcefully.

The clothes on Shan Cai’s shoulder was torn apart as was Yu Zhou Zhou’s face.

She turned the TV off with a red face while Uncle Qi laughed. Yu Zhou Zhou’s mum who never interfered with Yu Zhou Zhou’s life outside of school put down the apple and walked over to gently pat her on the head, “What nonsense is this, don’t watch it in the future!”

Yu Zhou Zhou wanted to cry but had no tears, this damn Dao Ming Si.

Hence, while everyone was still discussing the plot and relationships in full swing, Yu Zhou Zhou could only draw circles on paper with her head down.

Various different F4 groups also started popping up at school. Of course, there were some that didn’t follow the usual path and called themselves, “The Four Talents”, “Four Young Masters of No.13 Middle School” etc. but in summary, they couldn’t separate from the number four.

Yu Zhou Zhou found out from Tan Li Na that they also had a F4 in their year, among which, Xu Zhi Qiang was ‘Dao Ming Si’.

Thinking of Xu Zhi Qiang’s forse face, she resisted the urge to rol her eyes and patted her chest asking, “Why?”

“Maybe because he’s the most domineering…”

“Then who is Hua Ze Lei?”

Tan Li Na suddenly got a little nervous and said in a secretive manner, “I’m not clear either, I heard it’s Murong Shen Zhang from Class 2… Tch, how is he handsome…”

Yu Zhou Zhou sneered inside, you’re the clearest inside on how handsome he is.

She didn’t want to think of Ben Ben, that Ben Ben who she was better not meeting than meeting. In other words, he was no longer Ben Ben, only a delinquent youth with a magnificent surname and strange name.

There was a moment where Yu Zhou Zhou had really wanted to shout out in a room enshrouded in ambiguity, you’re all longing for love right!?

However, it wasn’t her turn to start worrying about the mental health of adolescents going through puberty. All she had to worry about was herself.

Xu Zhi Qiang broke up with his girlfriend and his pursuit of Yu Zhou Zhou returned.

Xin Mei Xiang’s change made Xu Zhi Qiang remember the trials between him and Yu Zhou Zhou again. She had tattled on him in front of him, rejected his confession, shouted “How dare you hit someone” in front of him… As the Dao Ming Si of No. 13 Middle School, he had the responsibility of quickly finding a Shan Cai and his eyes were unfortunately locked onto Yu Zhou Zhou.

Gifting flowers, buying lunch, giving snacks, getting all sorts of his little bros to spread the news of the relationship between the two. For a while, a lot of students from the other classes would linger at the door of their class during breaktime, wanting to take a look at the appearance of ‘Shan Cai’.

She was even chased and intercepted on the way home from school. Xu Zhi Qiang and two of his bros would follow behind her, annoying her to death.

Wen Miao said somewhat worriedly, “Let’s go, I’ll send you home in the future.”

Yu Zhou Zhou smiled gratefully without even considering that this would put Wen Miao into a very dangerous situation. Soon, Xu Zhi Qiang let out that if there wasn’t at least twenty people to beat Wen Miao until his teeth fell out, then he’d write ‘Xu’ backwards.

Wen Miao still went to school like normal and when he heard Yu Zhou Zhou mention Xu Zhi Qiang’s declaration, he only smiled.

Actually, it wasn’t that he wasn’t nervous. Yu Zhou Zhou could tell but he kept holding out, using a nonchalant smile to hide his fear.

She suddenly felt very distressed about it.

During free time in PE class, Yu Zhou Zhou saw Wen Miao being surrounded by a group of unknown boys while the other boys in Class 6 watched from a distance with their heads shrunk back. With her blood rushing to her head, Yu Zhou Zhou charged into the group, found Wen Miao effortlessly then defended in front of him.

The leader, Xu Zhi Qiang folded his arms with his eyes squinted and a smirk on his mouth. He imitated the manner of a hooligan with a toothpick in his mouth.

“It’s none of your business, get out of the way. I have to teach him a lesson today so that he doesn’t have the poor eyesight to make trouble for me!”

Whenever there was a need to protect others, Yu Zhou Zhou always had infinite courage. At that moment, she didn’t even try to sneak around the borders. She thought of how when Seiya was defeated, his friends and family would float into his mind and his ‘Cosmos’ would be awakened. The main protagonist’s strength always comes from loving and wanting to protect other’s, wasn’t it?

She smiled excitedly, look Yu Zhou Zhou, you indeed have a life of a protagonist.

“Xu Zhi Qiang, let me tell you, if you continue to make trouble for no reason, I won’t spare you!”

“Hey, how are you planning to not spare me?” Xu Zhi Qiang smiled pervertedly. His gang also laughed with him and the atmosphere was in unison for a while.

“Wen Miao is my best friend. If you dare to touch a single hair on him, I’ll, I’ll…” Yu Zhou Zhou thought for a while but couldn’t think of the right word hence shouted with all her strength, “I’ll tell the teacher!”

There was a silence of three seconds.

Then, the boys around started laughing wildly. Yu Zhou Zhou turned around and saw that even Wen Miao who was in the middle of danger had a helpless ‘don’t say that we know each other’ look on his face.

Xu Zhi Qiang however, stared at her with an expression of admiration and a strange smile. Yu Zhou Zhou once again thought of that affectionate confession he had made while holding her hand a year and a half ago.

“Are you willing to be my Shan Cai?” Xu Zhi Qiang’s eyes sparkled.

Everyone looked at her.

Yu Zhou Zhou paused after each word, “Shan. Your. Grandma!”