BSS - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

On a cold winter night, a few wisps of thin, grey-white clouds drifted across the sky. The moonlight was clear and cold, the air dry and cool. There were no stars to be seen; the sky was a pure, deep black.

Tomorrow should be another clear day.

Xu Wei drew her hand back and leaned a little closer to Deng Chuan.

Neither of them spoke again. Deng Chuan forcefully suppressed the urge to turn her head, deliberately staring at the back of a student in front of them, pretending to be lost in thought.

Xu Wei was also silent. She wasn't looking at Deng Chuan, nor at anything in particular, simply letting her thoughts drift.

All sounds seemed to recede into the distance. A quiet settled around the two of them, like night falling in a silent forest.

It was quiet, yet the atmosphere wasn't stagnant. Time flowed on without a sound, and the night breeze blew gently past.

After sitting for a long time, her neck grew a bit stiff. Deng Chuan relaxed her body slightly and moved her neck, the joints cracking a few times.

A pebble was tossed onto the surface of the silent lake.

"You've been quiet for a while. Have you been very tired lately?" Xu Wei suddenly asked.

She turned her head, her gaze falling on Deng Chuan's face. They were so close that it felt as if she could see the fine hairs on the girl's ear.

Deng Chuan lowered her eyelids for a moment, then looked up. "I'm not tired," she said.

Xu Wei let out a quiet "Mm," and continued, "After New Year's Day, it'll be winter break." She didn't mention exams or review schedules, only the vacation information that students would be interested in.

Deng Chuan glanced at Xu Wei's eyes, then looked away again. Intending to make the atmosphere more casual, she said offhandedly, "This semester is pretty short."

But Xu Wei asked, "Do you have any plans for the winter break?" After a pause, she added, "And don't say study plans."

Deng Chuan was taken aback. She drew out her words in a light, complaining tone, "The winter break is only a dozen or so days, Teacher."

Xu Wei paused, then smiled. "To be precise, it's fourteen days."

Deng Chuan said, "Then I can only do my homework at home." She tilted her head and thought for a moment before adding, "And celebrate the New Year."

"What are the New Year customs here?" Xu Wei reached up and tucked the long hair that had fallen into the nape of her neck behind her back as she asked.

Deng Chuan hugged her knees and began to count them off. "Um... buying New Year's goods, having New Year's Eve dinner, staying up all night, visiting relatives... It should be pretty much the same as in the south, right?" She knew Xu Wei was from the south, though she couldn't remember where she'd heard that. She didn't know the specific province either.

She let go of her knees and sat up straight, cross-legged, turning to ask Xu Wei, "What customs does your family have, Teacher?"

The night had grown late, and it was indeed a bit cold sitting on the sports field. She scooted closer to Xu Wei.

Xu Wei was also sitting cross-legged. Not minding Deng Chuan's approach, she rested her chin on her hand and recalled in a relaxed tone, "We make a lot of rice products, and we worship gods and ancestors. When I was little, we'd also release sky lanterns."

She turned her head slightly to look at Deng Chuan, and for a moment, each saw her own reflection in the other's eyes. She said:

"I'm from Chaoshan. So our New Year customs at home are quite grand."

Deng Chuan let out a "Wow."

Xu Wei looked at her and tilted her head.

She quickly added, "I've heard of Chaoshan. It has a lot of delicious food."

"Mm," Xu Wei said.

A hint of a smile was in her voice.

Before she could say more, the noise from the back of the class to their left grew louder and louder, causing everyone to look over. Accompanied by curses and whispers, several figures suddenly stood up and started shoving each other.

Xu Wei stopped talking and looked over.

The seating on the sports field was arranged by grade and class. Deng Chuan's class was Arts Class 1. To their left was the last of the science classes, and to their right was Arts Class 2.

The evening gala was in its second half, and the students were all rather excited. The teachers weren't strictly enforcing discipline, letting them relax. They usually turned a blind eye to ordinary roughhousing. But this time, it seemed the commotion was not so pleasant.

The figures swayed, and the conflict seemed to be escalating, almost turning into a fight. People nearby couldn't hold them back, trying to persuade them with words, while someone else ran to get a teacher. The scene was chaotic for a moment.

The two of them watched from the side, observing the situation. It was only when one person shoved another away with what seemed like a great deal of force that the argument turned into a physical conflict. Everyone stood up to give them space. Xu Wei placed a hand on Deng Chuan's shoulder, feeling the boyish, slender bones beneath her palm. She signaled for her to stay put, then stood up and walked over.

Worried something might happen, Deng Chuan quickly followed.

The person who had been pushed steadied himself, cursed again under his breath, and was about to lunge forward viciously.

In the nick of time, Xu Wei arrived and said:

"Stop."

The scene fell strangely silent. The two boys, breathing heavily, stared at her, seemingly wary of her status as a teacher, or perhaps intimidated by her presence.

Xu Wei returned their gaze, her face taut.

After a brief standoff, the one who had been pushed spoke up. "T-Teacher! He started it, he pushed me."

The one who did the pushing retorted indignantly, "You cursed at me first!"

Xu Wei didn't say anything, frowning as she sized them up. She wasn't their homeroom teacher, so it wasn't her place to intervene. She just wanted to stabilize the situation until their teacher arrived.

Seeing her silent, her eyes cold, and with the night wind blowing past, the gazes of the onlookers also carried an indescribable chill. The two boys finally calmed down, realizing where they were.

With the Gaokao approaching, they were all afraid of getting a demerit. By the time their homeroom teacher finally pushed through the crowd, the scene had devolved into them tattling on each other.

Deng Chuan looked over and saw Mediterranean walking toward them.

She hadn't expected Mediterranean to be this class's homeroom teacher. A knot formed in her stomach.

Mediterranean parted the crowd and walked over. His face had been dark, but upon seeing Xu Wei, it instantly broke into a smile as bright as a flower. Ignoring the two male students from his class standing beside him, he started to chat amiably with Xu Wei:

"Teacher Xu, you're here too. Students these days are just so disobedient. It's shameful."

Xu Wei didn't seem to have much patience for his attentiveness. With a stern face, she gave a polite nod but said nothing.

Her gaze swept through the crowd and found Deng Chuan. She started walking toward her, leaving Mediterranean's "I'll treat you to dinner sometime" hanging in the air behind her, pretending not to have heard.

She gave Deng Chuan's sleeve a small tug and said, "Let's go."

With Mediterranean's arrival, the two arguing students were dragged away by him for a scolding, and the students gradually returned to order. The surroundings became peaceful again.

Deng Chuan and Xu Wei returned to where they had been sitting. Perhaps finding the performances boring, more than half of their class had already left. Xu Wei didn't sit down, remaining standing as she asked, "Do you want to head back too? You can get some rest earlier."

Deng Chuan's eyes were wide, like a small animal's, as she looked at her and said, "I'm not sleepy."

Xu Wei asked again, "What time do you all usually go to sleep at night?"

She thought for a moment. "Eleven-thirty?"

Xu Wei was clearly skeptical. "A student in my class told me they study until one or two in the morning." She didn't say anything more.

After a moment's thought, she added, "I don't mean to encourage you to stay up late. Sleeping early is good, sleep deprivation is not."

Deng Chuan fell silent. After a short while, she asked, "Who told you that?"

Xu Wei smiled without answering. She swayed slightly, raising a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, and said meaningfully, "Since you're not leaving, I'm going to go first."

Deng Chuan blurted out, "Don't..."

Xu Wei let out a questioning "Hm?", the smile in her eyes gentle and obvious.

Deng Chuan immediately said, "I'm sleepy!"

"Oh," Xu Wei drew out the sound and turned around gracefully. "Let's go then."

They walked onto the school path lit by orange streetlights, their footsteps counting the mottled tree shadows as they left the noisy stage and crowd behind.

As Deng Chuan walked, her gaze involuntarily fell to the ground. Step after step, she tirelessly used her feet to measure the distance between her shadow and Xu Wei's.

Xu Wei didn't seem to notice her actions. She just looked straight ahead, her hands in her coat pockets, walking quietly with a graceful gait.

Deng Chuan murmured, "Even though I usually feel like the third year of high school is really tough, at times like this, I feel like staying in high school forever wouldn't be so bad."

She asked her, "Teacher, by thinking this way, am I being as unreasonable as those people who don't want to grow up?"

Xu Wei was silent, seemingly lost in thought.

The moment the question left her lips, Deng Chuan regretted bringing it up. Seeing Xu Wei's silence, she grew even more anxious.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Wei answered her, "Because this is indeed the simplest time in your lives. You don't have to worry about too much, and you don't have to do much. You just need to persevere."

She chuckled softly. "Persevere in doing homework, persevere in memorizing texts, persevere in solving complex math problems."

Seeing Deng Chuan curve her lips into a cooperative smile, Xu Wei reached out and stroked the back of her neck, an affectionate gesture that didn't cross any lines.

"So, at this stage, all you need to do is persevere. After all, time won't stop. As for these harmless thoughts, leave them for your future self to ponder and answer."

After passing the academic building, they turned into the residential area. Unlike the academic area, the buildings here were lower. The trees had long since lost their leaves, baring their gnarled forms at the sky like claws, but the low shrubs remained evergreen. Deng Chuan looked up and felt the view open up before her.

The white moonlight looked down upon the earth. The world was clean and pure.

She couldn't help but sigh, "The weather is so nice today."

Xu Wei also said, "Mm, I really like the weather here." She paused, then added, "Unlike my hometown, which is too humid."

Deng Chuan then asked, "So which season here is your favorite?"

Xu Wei thought about it seriously. "Winter, I think. It's cold and clear, and it feels like the whole world is clean."

"Especially when it snows. I'm always in a good mood whenever it snows." Xu Wei's lips curved into a subtle smile. "A common ailment for southerners, isn't it?"

Deng Chuan had always preferred summer to winter. Summer was so wonderful. It had both a head-on heat and dryness, and the uninhibited comfort of an air-conditioned room with iced watermelon. The kind of heat that makes the soles of your feet sweat and your temper flare; only then can you experience a truly bone-chilling cool. It was passionate and straightforward, as distinct as a young person's temperament. But now, she said, "I like winter too."

She paused, wanting to learn more, and asked, "Is spring in the south really that humid? We learned about the huinantian season in geography."

Xu Wei said, "Mm, every spring, during the huinantian season, the moisture can soak the walls, and the ground is all wet. It rains often, too. I was a day student in high school, so I had to use an umbrella almost every day on my way home, afraid of getting my hair wet."

Later, Xu Wei said some other things. Deng Chuan couldn't remember them clearly anymore. Sweet dreams were always hazy. She walked alongside Xu Wei, only remembering that the road was so long, yet so short. It was clearly a dry and cold winter, but her nose and cheeks felt as if they could sense the damp moisture of a spring day. Xu Wei's voice was so gentle, caressing her ears, leading her into the old, ivy-covered buildings of Lingnan, to meet the school-uniform-clad girl holding an umbrella in the rainy season.

The moon was as bright as a mirror. The little deer in the depths of Deng Chuan's heart suddenly stirred. It leaped over a clear mountain stream, light and nimble, passed through a dense forest of tangled branches, and jumped into the white moonlight.

She turned her face away and saw how gentle the night sky was.

That night, Xu Wei said a lot to Deng Chuan. About growing up. About dreams. About the humid rainy season of her hometown. Some things weren't what she had originally intended to say, but she said them anyway.

But what Deng Chuan didn't know was that Xu Wei left something unsaid: there were many things she wished could be as simple as just persevering. But at the same time, she hoped Deng Chuan would understand, and yet hoped she wouldn't.

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