BSS - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

After the New Year's Day gala, there were no more recreational activities. The pace of studying became increasingly intense.

Comprehensive review papers completely took over their homework. The first round of review was detailed and dense; knowledge and practice filled their schedules to the brim.

Deng Chuan attended class as usual every day, letting the school and teachers fill her schedule, and then did some targeted exercises on her own. After class in the afternoon, she would stay a little longer in the classroom to avoid the peak dining rush before heading to the cafeteria. After eating, she would return to her dorm to shower. Then came evening self-study.

For her, life wasn't about grand, dramatic events. Her life was filled with the trivial, everyday details of each day, each minute, each second—mundane, yet real.

Tangible and completely within her grasp.

It had snowed a few more times after New Year's Day, but not heavily, leaving only a thin layer on the ground. Deng Chuan looked out from her seat and saw the light snow hanging on the branches, comparable to the weeping willows of Jiangnan. The contrast of black and white created a kind of frozen beauty.

Whenever it snowed, during Xu Wei's class, Deng Chuan would always make a special effort to catch her gaze. She watched for the moment Xu Wei looked over, a fleeting charm like the blooming of fiery clouds, and saw the flicker of a smile in those beautiful eyes. Then, with a tacit understanding, they would both look away, leaving only a knowing joy.

In front of her students, Xu Wei rarely showed her emotions. In others' eyes, Xu Wei was unapproachable, a teacher who was very particular about maintaining a distance from them. Therefore, only Deng Chuan knew that when it snowed, Xu Wei was in a good mood.

This day, after the morning reading session, Deng Chuan went to the restroom and was grabbed by Su Mian in the hallway.

Su Mian said, "Your mom said she's bringing you something this afternoon and told you to wait for her at the school gate after class."

Deng Chuan was puzzled. "What is it? She didn't tell me."

"She was afraid you wouldn't be able to check your phone, so she told my mom to have me tell you," Su Mian said, patting her on the shoulder. "Message delivered. I'm off."

"Okay, thanks."

So, after class that afternoon, Deng Chuan headed toward the school gate.

The school gate was bustling. The final bell had just rung, and day students were heading home. Cars picking up students honked their horns occasionally. The street vendors across from the gate had already set up their stalls—grilled cold noodles, fried rice noodles and fried rice, deep-fried skewers, barbecue, and oden—their fragrant aromas wafting from afar. The area was crowded with hungry people, both students and white-collar workers with briefcases, just off work.

Deng Chuan found an empty spot to the side of the gate and waited for her mom to arrive.

She was bored. She had brought a vocabulary book to study, but it was too noisy, so she put it away and began to meticulously observe her surroundings instead.

She often played this kind of game. All by herself, quietly, she would watch with focused and keen eyes a flower swaying by the roadside, the clouds rolling and unfurling across the sky, the way a dog's tail wagged as it lay in front of a shop, or the posture of a certain student walking out of the school gate.

All the dynamic details would form a composition in her eyes, becoming a static work of art or mental material. These things filled her young heart like rain falling on the earth, which would sooner or later accumulate enough vitality for a seedling to break through the soil.

The world was vast, and so was life. But a person, often constrained by the narrowness of their own experiences, would mistakenly feel that the world was small, that life was small. But what one gained from passing through this world was directly proportional to the conscious effort one put in. Hard work, perseverance—it was all connected.

Deng Chuan had long been aware of the gap between her own world and the one Xu Wei inhabited. So, she clung even more tenaciously to the world of human experience, her one and only textbook.

After all, Xu Wei had said that perseverance was enough.

The more she saw, the more she felt, and the more she understood. She felt that she was growing up well.

This was very good.

During the Chinese reading session that morning, there was still time left after they finished reciting the required classical poems and optional classical texts. As per the Chinese teacher's instructions, they took out their scratchpads to practice writing the required poems from memory.

Deng Chuan also wrote earnestly on the paper, murmuring the words to herself.

"Guan guan cry the ospreys, on the islet in the river.

A fair and graceful lady, a gentleman's good match. ..."

She wrote with extreme concentration. As she wrote, she unknowingly filled the entire A4 sheet of scratch paper with neat, repeated lines of this poem.

She didn't close her scratchpad when the reading session ended, and Su Mian happened to call out to her from the hallway. After she went out and came back, Wu Fuwu was sitting at his desk drinking water. He happened to glance over and see her page full of "Guan guan cry the ospreys."

He froze and couldn't help but ask her, "Why did you write this so many times? Can't you remember it?"

Deng Chuan snapped the notebook shut. Only then did she reply, "Yeah, it's four lines, four lines. I forget easily."

"Oh." Wu Fuwu took a sip of water, acknowledged her, and then asked, "Have you done the English newspaper? Are the answers wrong? The long reading passage is way different from my answers. Let me check with yours."

Deng Chuan breathed a sigh of relief. She found the English newspaper and handed it to him, saying, "The answers for that long reading passage are wrong. I didn't check them. I'm waiting for the teacher to go over it."

"Ah."

She sat down, put away her scratchpad, and also closed the classical poetry book that was open on her desk.

As her fingers flipped the pages, she remembered that the poem after "Guan Guan Cry the Ospreys" was "Verdant Are the Reeds."

For a moment, she was stunned.

That night, besides perseverance, Xu Wei had said that time cannot be stopped. That was, of course, undeniable. At first, the sentence sounded melancholic, carrying a sense of helplessness, like "I was born when you were already old." But slowly, Deng Chuan mulled it over and found a glimmer of hope. Time wouldn't stop, that was right. So she would grow up, keep growing up, until the day her life was on the same frequency as Xu Wei's. Then she could openly and honorably tell her she loved her.

—It would be even better if Xu Wei was willing to wait for her.

Would Xu Wei be willing to wait for her?

Deng Chuan came back to her senses.

At the thought of Xu Wei, a sweet yet empty wave washed over her heart. To fill this void and distract herself, she began to silently recite poetry again. Her lips moved without a sound, and this time, the words that came out were "Verdant are the reeds, the white dew turns to frost."

Verdant are the reeds, the white dew turns to frost.

The one I speak of, is on the other side of the water.

I go against the current to seek her, the path is long and arduous.

I go with the current to seek her, she seems to be in the middle of the water.

...

At the bustling school gate, noise and silence coexisted.

Beneath the two stone lions in front of the gate, a tiny blade of grass lay in a crack in the ground, its leaves gently swayed by the wind.

Before long, a white BMW pulled up in front of Deng Chuan. A moment later, the window rolled down. The woman in the driver's seat wore light makeup, her lipstick a soft, dusty rose shade. Her features were elegant, and there was a faint air of authority in her brow. Who would have thought that the first thing she'd say to Deng Chuan would be:

"Baby—"

Deng Chuan flinched at the name. Seeing others look over, she quickly walked toward her mom's car window.

Deng Chuan first called out, "Mom." Before she could ask why her mom was here, she saw Tang Lijuan pull out a large bag from the passenger seat as if presenting a treasure.

She quickly asked, "What's this?"

"Baby, these are local specialties your dad brought back from his business trip. There's too much, we can't finish it at home, so I brought it for you. It's some candy and things."

"Mom was afraid it wouldn't be enough, so I bought you some fruit, plus oatmeal and milk. If you don't have time for the cafeteria for breakfast, you can have this—"

Deng Chuan said, "Oh, I don't need it."

But Tang Lijuan was insistent. "You do. You're in your third year of high school. Other parents deliver meals and nourishing soups. You need to supplement your nutrition."

Deng Chuan started to say something but hesitated, "I..."

Before she could finish, Tang Lijuan interrupted her again. "Especially the milk and oatmeal, you must have them on hand. Deng Chuan, I'm telling you this seriously, you must eat breakfast. Why do so many young people nowadays get chronic gastritis? Eighty percent of the time, it's because they skip breakfast."

The bag was finally pushed out of the car window. Tang Lijuan gestured, "Quick, take it. It's heavy."

Deng Chuan had no choice but to take the bag, feeling its heavy weight digging into her hand. "Isn't this too much? I can't finish it all."

"How is it too much? I didn't bring a lot of each thing. You and Su Mian can share it, you'll finish it quickly. —Tell Mom when you're done, and Mom will buy more for you."

Seeing Deng Chuan's complicated expression, she added thoughtfully, "Besides, if you can't finish it, you can share it with your classmates. You need to foster good relationships with them. Understand?"

Deng Chuan could only agree. "I know. I do."

"Good." Tang Lijuan hummed in satisfaction and reached out the window to cup Deng Chuan's face. "—Baby. You're working so hard. Give me a kiss."

Deng Chuan said, "Oh, Mom," but she couldn't help leaning her face forward.

A kiss, and then another. Only then did her mother say, "Mom has to be on duty tonight, so I have to go. You should head back now."

"Okay." Deng Chuan held the large bag in one hand and obediently waved to Tang Lijuan with the other, watching until the white BMW disappeared into the traffic at the end of the road. Only then did she turn and walk back into the school.

She carried the big bag of things back to the classroom first and looked through it. The contents were far more than "a little." There were large bags of candy and fruit, and whole canisters of milk powder and oatmeal.

She opened the candy and distributed some on the desks of the classmates around her. She saved half for Su Mian. There was still a lot left. She thought for a moment, then picked out a few of each type of candy and held them in her hands.

She wanted to give the candy to Xu Wei secretly, just as Xu Wei had given candy to her.

Xu Wei's office was at the end of the hallway. Deng Chuan strolled down the corridor. It was quiet all around, with only the sound of her footsteps.

Perhaps because there was still evening self-study, the office door wasn't locked, just left ajar.

She carefully pushed the door open and entered.

Dusk was falling, and the room was dim.

A breeze blew in through a window that wasn't tightly shut, causing something outside to rustle loudly. A few pages of a book on Xu Wei's desk were lifted by the wind.

Deng Chuan reached out to hold them down and looked closely.

It wasn't a textbook or a supplementary guide. It was a book with a light blue cover. The cover read: Fermat's Last Theorem—A Puzzle That Baffled the World's Wisest for 358 Years.

A long bookmark was tucked halfway through the book.

She examined it carefully, then took the candy from her pocket and placed it on the cover that was fluttering in the wind. After a moment's thought, she stacked them neatly, using chocolate for the base and a White Rabbit candy for the top, filling the middle with all sorts of other candies.

After finishing, and making sure everything looked right, Deng Chuan left the office. She went to eat and wash up on her own.

The next day, before class, Deng Chuan received her math workbook. When she opened it to the first page, she saw a piece of paper tucked inside.

It read: Thank you.

She smiled when she saw it and looked up, her gaze meeting Xu Wei's.

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