Hello, Old Times Chapter 79

Chapter 79: Chaos

Zhang Min secretly handed two crumpled papers to Yu Zhou Zhou.

“Don’t tell anyone else. This is a secret test paper that was left behind by the teacher who was transferred to the Department of Education to write exam questions. It’s likely that the style of the maths questions will be very similar to the style in this paper. Go and secretly print a copy to keep. Don’t spread the word, understand?”

Secret paper, yet another secret paper. From the end of May, all types of predictions emerged endlessly. The test papers and lesson plans left by the teachers who were transferring from the different schools that had teachers to write the exam questions had become treasures. Everyone held the mentality of rather doing three thousand questions in vain rather than letting one go to mechanically do set after set of secret papers.

Zhang Min seemed to have read Yu Zhou Zhou’s thoughts, “This paper is different, trust me all right.”

Yu Zhou Zhou nodded vigorously and smiled doggedly.

“I’ll go and make a copy right now, immediately. Thank you!”

She then went back to class and gently knocked on Wen Miao’s desk, “Let’s go, it’s another secret paper. I heard this time, this one is very reliable.”

Zhang Min had repeatedly reminded her not to tell anyone. Yu Zhou Zhou knew that Zhang Min had always favored her but she had people she favored as well, such as Wen Miao.

Although Wen Miao was always too lazy to do papers, every time Yu Zhou Zhou took him to make copies of different versions, he still graciously went along.

For some unknown reason, she avoided Xin Mei Xiang.

After the first mock exams, she stayed steadily as second in the class. Yu Zhou Zhou regained her rank as first but she no longer felt a trace of happiness. It was uncomfortable to have a person cast covetous eyes on her from behind. She had never casted covetous eyes on Shen Qi’s seat but now, someone was gazing at her from behind, making her get chills.

After the third mock exam, Yu Zhou Zhou passed by Xin Mei Xiang’s desk on her way to get water from the water room. She had just casually glanced over but Xin Mei Xiang sensitively used her arm to cover the maths paper she was working on.

This type of secretive behaviour was something all good students who had selfish intentions were familiar with. Yu Zhou Zhou herself knew it very well. However, at the start, she had given it her all to help and had never had the slightest reservation towards Xin Mei Xiang.

Yu Zhou Zhou walked away in a hurry, pretending not to have noticed Xin Mei Xiang’s small gesture. She didn’t know if it was intentional or not but her heart hurt very, very much.

It turned out like this.

From then on, Yu Zhou Zhou never voluntarily passed any of the secret papers or study materials that she had obtained through various channels to Xin Mei Xiang.

It was only after getting hurt that she remembered to look back at the past. Xin Mei Xiang had never exchanged any of her knowledge with her or Wen Miao, nor did she ever share any materials or tips. She would always quietly listen, no matter whether they were right or wrong, she never made any judgement or corrected them.

Wen Miao had a ‘I told you long ago’ expression on his face. Yu Zhou Zhou couldn’t help but should, “What exactly have you told me? I was in the thick of it, how would I have known what you meant?”

She suddenly remembered the night before submitting their high school preferences in early May. That seemed to be the last time the three of them met in the library. The agreements for the High School Affiliated to Normal University had been handed to the three – in the critical second mock exams, it was as if Wen Miao had known that Normal Affiliated High School would take the results from it as the standard and came third in the class, successfully breaking into the entire city’s top 100 and received the qualification to sign the agreement.

Yu Zhou Zhou tapped the desk for a long time then took a deep breath and said softly, “I won’t sign.”

Xin Mei Xiang stayed very, very silent and didn’t say anything.

Wen Miao who had always claimed that he would definitely sign the agreement if he received it though was out of character as he firmly said, “I won’t sign it either.”

Yu Zhou Zhou widened her eyes in astonishment, “What did you say?”

“I’ll accompany you in getting into Zhenhua.”  

Crescent moons bloomed on her face again. Her eyebrows, eyes and mouth all curved with surprise and she didn’t notice Xin Mei Xiang’s silence at all.

That night, the three walked together in the late Spring breeze. The crescent moon looked exceptionally like a moon boat, it also looked like Yu Zhou Zhou’s sweet smile, with the corners of her mouth curved upwards.

“Xin Mei Xiang, do you have a dream?”

In Yu Zhou Zhou’s recollections, this was the first time Wen Miao took the initiative to talk to Xin Mei Xiang.

Before Xin Mei Xiang could speak, Wen Miao waved his hand, “Getting into Zhenhua isn’t considered a dream.”

“Getting into university isn’t considered a dream either.”

“Earning lots of money isn’t considered a dream either.”

“What I mean is, what you really want to do. Perhaps it’s something you might not have the opportunity in your entire life but it’s something that you really like and will think about for the rest of your life.”

Xin Mei Xiang who had always avoided answering questions in all sorts of conversations and very rarely mentioned her real thoughts was different this time. She blushed and thought seriously for a long time with her head lowered before slowly saying, “I hope to go to Tokyo in the future to learn manga and then return back to China to make cartoons. I want to make lots of great cartoons and write lots of great stories…even if it’s just made for myself to watch.”

Yu Zhou Zhou was a little moved. She never knew that Xin Mei Xiang who liked to steal and read books would have such a fairy-tale like dream buried in her heart.

Wen Miao didn’t speak for a long time.  In the end, he lightly poked his chest, without explanation for the meaning.

“Tokyo is very far away.”

He said softly then fell into a long silence.

Xin Mei Xiang, your Tokyo, is very far away.

Yu Zhou Zhou and Wen Miao hurried out of the school’s stuffy little printing room and bumped directly into Xin Mei Xiang and Shen Qi. They had ran over from different directions, each holding a paper in their hands.

Crossing paths unavoidably, the four looked at each other at a loss.

Yu Zhou Zhou laughed, suddenly feeling that this type of thing was meaningless.

Shen Qi asked directly without any pretentiousness, “What paper?”

Yu Zhou Zhou generously opened it to show her. Shen Qi also opened the paper in her hand and the two exchanged papers. After examining each other’s papers, they both said in unison, “Lend it to me.”

“Then go back and print another copy now,” Wen Miao yawned on the side.

They ran back to the printing room together. Xin Mei Xiang who was left to the side to dry held a rolled up paper in her hand, her lips pursed white.

—

On Wednesday morning, Yu Zhou Zhou woke up very early.

She jumped down from bed and pushed the window open. The morning breeze carried the desolate and indistinct fragrance of the cloves downstairs. The desk was empty except for a transparent folder which contained a pencil case, exam pass, barcodes, student ID card etc. On top of the folder lay a very big postcard. Yu Zhou Zhou didn’t know how many times she picked it up to look at. The blue sky, clear water and huge icebergs on the back formed a magnificent yet unreal looking picture. Flipping it over, the unfamiliar handwriting looked even more unreal than the icebergs on the back.

“Zhou Zhou, I’m at the Santa Claus Village in Finland. I’m in Finland to attend a conference but actually, most of my time has been spent travelling around. I don’t know if this card can reach you in time for Christmas. You’ll be taking the high school entrance exam next summer right? I hope that this encouragement won’t arrive late.”

“I’ve read all your letters but I don’t want to reply. I think that you’ll only continue to write freely if I don’t reply. I like reading your letters but you seem to have stopped writing for a year now. I hope that it’s because you don’t need to write any more letters. Be a happy child, it’s much more important than Zhenhua and you’re already getting much closer.”

“I wish you peace and happiness. Chen An.”

In the afternoon three days before the high school entrance exam, the student on duty for cleaning the mailroom discovered this postcard that had been backlogged for an unknown amount of time, the corners of it were already a little damaged.

Yu Zhou Zhou didn’t feel any special joy. Perhaps it was because she had long stopped looking forward to a reply, or perhaps it was because she no longer ‘needed’ to write to an ethereal immortal anymore. However, she was sincerely happy for Chen An.

She hoped that in the future, he could send her postcards from all over the world. She hoped that he could really soar like he had said that year in the ice amusement park.

On the morning of the first day of the high school entrance exam, Yu Zhou Zhou lay on her desk. The warmth and calmness she felt inside was as if she was certain that her happiness and fortune would eventually arrive.

“Zhou Zhou? Uncle Qi is downstairs. After you finish drinking the soymilk, we’ll go downstairs. Check that you’ve brought your exam pass and 2B pencil again, are they all there?”

“There’s no problem, let’s go.”

I seem to be, too fortunate.

“I seem to be, too fortunate.”

It seemed very hard not to leave any small regrets in exams. After the second day of exams, Yu Zhou Zhou kept feeling uneasy. She seemed to be unable to remember whether she had filled in the circles in the exam number section on the top of the answer sheet of the physics exam – perhaps she had written down her number but forgot to fill in the circles? It shouldn’t be, the exam teacher would check all the papers one by one and won’t allow this type of situation to happen, definitely not… But what if it was missed?

This worry would pop up to torment Yu Zhou Zhou from time to time during the period between the end of the high school entrance exam and the announcement of the results.

The break was dedicated to hanging out with classmates and having fun. Yu Zhou Zhou and Wen Miao went around to all the playgrounds in the city, big and small. Finally the day the results were released came.

When Yu Zhou Zhou picked up the phone receiver and pressed down the first button of the checking number, she could even feel her own heartbeat. Her little heart was about to pop out.

“Should I help you?” Her mum patted her shoulder gently.

“No,” Yu Zhou Zhou shook her head, “No need, it’s fine.”

She lowered her head and pressed down the second button solemnly.

With the full score being 560, she scored 542 which was higher than Zhenhua’s admission line by 10 points. She hung up the phone with a calm expression then raised her head and said in a trembling voice, “Mum, I failed.”

Then, she threw herself into her mum’s arms, pretending to sob and in midst of her mum’s anxious questioning, lowered her head to reveal a sly smile.

—

That afternoon, she put on her favorite light grey short sleeved shirt and denim shorts with suspenders and ran to school with her schoolbag slung on her back to collect her result card. As soon as she entered the classroom door, Wen Miao grabbed her neck and shook her back and forth.

“What are you doing…”

After checking her results, Yu Zhou Zhou stayed by the phone to call Wen Miao. However, she was worried that if he did badly, then wouldn’t he be very upset to receive her call? Hence she waited and waited until finally, she awaited Wen Miao’s call.

He did much better than usual at 524 points. However, it was only enough to enter into Zhenhua’s self-funded admission line.

Self-funded students in these top high schools needed to pay at least 7000rmb in tuition fees every year. Yu Zhou Zhou stayed silent on the call for a long time before Wen Miao suddenly spoke, “Idiot, I know what you’re thinking. Actually, I signed the agreement with Normal University Affiliated High School.”

“What?”

“I said that I was only going to accompany you in getting into Zhenhua. Look, now you’ve gotten in with such a good score. How great, we both have a great result.”

Yu Zhou Zhou couldn’t help but smile. Between studying at Zhenhua at his own expense and Normal University Affiliated High School, Wen Miao was the type to choose the latter. He didn’t like to fight and compete nor did he like to become weary from persistence. However, in the few months before the entrance exam, he suffered in order to accompany her.

“Wen Miao…” Yu Zhou Zhou suddenly remembered that she and Xin Mei Xiang had both mentioned their dreams before but Wen Miao hadn’t said anything.

“Wen Miao, what’s your dream?”

“Do you have a problem, why are you suddenly mentioning this?”

“Say it!”

“My dream is for others to let me live a good life!”

Yu Zhou Zhou whose dream was being used as a joke blushed red in anger, “Be serious!”

Wen Miao paused on the other end of the phone for quite a while. He seemed to want to speak but finally, returned to his mischievous tone.

“I can’t do it, so I won’t say it.”

Yu Zhou Zhou closed her eyes and softly sighed.

“Zhou Zhou, we’re best friends right? In the future, even if we aren’t able to meet, we’ll still be best friends right?”

“Yeah.”

It was like a fateful farewell over the phone. Neither Yu Zhou Zhou nor Wen Miao could see each other’s expressions.

Wen Miao, thank you.

Unexpectedly, the first thing he did during their final meeting was to grab her neck and shake her back and forth.

“Are you mental!” Yu Zhou Zhou broke free with a lot of effort.

“I’m happy for you,” We Miao smiled, “Did you know, you’ve finally ranked first in the school!”

Yu Zhou Zhou didn’t feel the slightest sense of joy. She lightly asked, “What about Shen Qi?”

Wen Miao paused, “Right, I didn’t ask. Teacher Zhang just said that you were first. You’re seventh in the entire city which is super impressive.”

Yu Zhou Zhou ran towards Class 2 without a second word but when she passed by the platform, she saw Shen Qi’s thin figure by the window.

“Shen Qi?”

It was only after Yu Zhou Zhou called out that she realized what a big trigger her current presence would be to Shen Qi. However, rankings weren’t that important. As long they had enough points then it was fine, wasn’t it?

Shen Qi turned back and smiled a little generously, making Yu Zhou Zhou feel much more relieved.

“Congratulations.”

“…Thanks.”

“Are you wanting to know how many points I got?”

Yu Zhou Zhou shook her head, nodded, then shook her head.

“520, you didn’t expect it right?”

Shen Qi continued to smile. Her calm expression made Yu Zhou Zhou’s heart ache.

“Actually, it’s really easy for people to feel jealous of you. However, I’m not jealous of you. If it’s something I can get through my own hard work, I won’t envy others even if it’s easier for others to get it while I have to put in ten times the effort. It’s clearly to help my family save money but the end result is that I might need to pay over 20,000rmb to study at Zhenhua or Normal University Affiliated High School.”

“My family can’t afford it. Perhaps they’ll get that damn aunt of mine to pay for it. Every time I see her and that son of hers who studies at Normal University Affiliated Middle School, I want to strangle them to death – Really, I want to strangle them to death. They look down on my dad and think that he’s an embarrassment to my grandparents. They also look down on my family for being so poor. Back then, she wanted to sponsor me to study at Normal University Affiliated Middle School but I didn’t agree at all. I wanted to come to No. 13 Middle School based on my household registration. I refused to believe that I couldn’t get into Zhenhua if I studied at No.13 Middle School. I wanted to show her and her idiot son!”

Shen Qi’s last two sentences were spoken extremely quickly. Yu Zhou Zhou suddenly remembered how she had performed like a cannonball during the open class.

“In the end, I still made my parents embarrassed in front of them. Actually, her son did exceptionally bad but I had to do very, very well in order to be proud. I didn’t.”

“No matter how many times I ranked first in the school exams, it was all a waste. In the most critical moment, you came first.”

“I really don’t envy you. Don’t worry.”

“I chose Zhenhua as my key high school option but I didn’t select the self-funded option. I’ve decided to go to an ordinary high school.”

Yu Zhou Zhou looked up in surprise. The gap between key middle schools and ordinary middle schools was far less than between high schools. She didn’t know how much impulsiveness was behind Shen Qi’s decision but it was indeed a very dangerous decision.

“So what if you used their money to go to Zhenhua? Between pride and the future, there’s always one that’s more important,” Yu Zhou Zhou interrupted her excitedly.

“It’s not a matter of pride,” Shen Qi turned to face her, “It’s a matter of dignity. Dignity and the future can’t be compared.”

Yu Zhou Zhou couldn’t refute. She knew that if she was in Shen Qi’s situation, she might make the same decision as Shen Qi.

“I’ve failed the last three years but I still have three years. I don’t believe it.”

When she heard her choked tone, Yu Zhou Zhou raised her head. Shen Qi had already turned and left.

That was the last time Yu Zhou Zhou saw Shen Qi’s profile. The acne on her forehead hadn’t cleared yet and the reflection from her glasses made it hard to see her expression. She was thin and stern, just like the first time they had met.

—

Yu Zhou Zhou hurriedly stuffed the admission letter she had just received into her bag and rushed out of the house.

She had taken her time when changing her clothes and when she finally realised that she was about to be late, there was only fifteen minutes left before the appointed time.

She ran wildly the entire way and when she got to the side of the river, she saw a tall figure in a white t-shirt in the distance, standing under the sunlight with a messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

When she had received the call the night before, the unfamiliar yet familiar voice on the other side had made her mind blank for a moment.

“Hello, is this Yu Zhou Zhou’s house?”

She grinned then with a deep breath, strode towards him.

When she was right in front of him, she lowered her head without a word and pulled out that piece of tattered paper from her bag, with the big gold words, ‘Admission Letter’ on the front which looked a bit shabby.

“Hey, I got in.”

Chen An seemed to be a little tanned. His appearance was much more masculine than before and his smile was exceptionally bright. It seemed that he would never be ethereal again.

“Mhm, congratulations to the heroine from returning to Jianghu*.”

*[The wuxia world]

For a moment, Yu Zhou Zhou suddenly thought of Shen Qi. As a heroine who had jumped off the cliff in the face of adversity just like she had, Shen Qi didn’t have cheats nor luck. She had proved that it’s easier to get into a good high school through a good middle school and what Teacher Yu had said was definitely reasonable.

Yu Zhou Zhou didn’t want to mention Shen Qi. She was the fortunate one and no matter what, she didn’t have any qualifications to feel sorry for her. That would be an insult to Shen Qi.

Yu Zhou Zhou stopped smiling. She swiftly put the admission letter back into her bag then raised her head to look at Chen An carefully.

“You’re not as handsome as before.”

Chen An leaned against the street lamp exaggeratedly, “You’re really straightforward.”

Yu Zhou Zhou nodded, “But you look more like a living person now.”

“I wasn’t like a living person before?” Chen An bowed his head and asked with a smile.

“No.” Yu Zhou Zhou discovered that when they finally met again, she had somehow unknowingly become so confident in front of him instead of looking up at him in a cowardly manner.

“I’m saying,” Yu Zhou Zhou tilted her head, “The immortal has descended.”

Chen An laughed in a strange manner. He rubbed Yu Zhou Zhou’s head, “It’s great that you think this way.”

On a whim, Yu Zhou Zhou tugged Chen An’s sleeve and said mysteriously, “Can I take you to a place? I originally had something to do in the afternoon but now I want to take you along too.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll know when we get there.”

—

“Isn’t my mum very beautiful?”

Yu Zhou Zhou looked with a greedy gaze at her mum who was downstairs in a wedding gown then eagerly asked for Chen An’s opinion. Chen An laughed gently, “Mhm, she’s the most beautiful mother I’ve ever met.”

“You really know how to talk,” Yu Zhou Zhou squinted her eyes at him, “She’s even prettier than your mum?”

Chen An froze for a moment and seemed to have thought of something. After a while, he nodded, “Probably.”

They stood by the window on the second floor of the photography studio. Downstairs, the photoshoot area was decorated in a so-called European style with a lawn turf. Her mum and Uncle Qi stood in various poses under the direction of the photographer, the long train of the champagne coloured dress draped behind them on the grass.  

Yu Zhou Zhou leaned by the windowsill. She suddenly felt that the woman who was holding up the hem of her dress as she carefully crossing the lawn wasn’t her mum at all. She was only a girl in her twenties, looking forward to entering a new chapter of her life.

Everything in her life was good. Herself, her mum and her friends.

Looking up at the blazing three o’clock sunlight, Yu Zhou Zhou suddenly started crying.

“What’s wrong?”

Yu Zhou Zhou clenched Chen An’s sleeve, only speaking after half a second later.

“I seem to be a little too lucky.”

She was overwhelmed by the fortune that she couldn’t afford.