BSS - Chapter 28
Chapter 28
The fireworks seemed endless, continuing until the call ended.
Muffled voices came from Xu Wei's end, sounding like an elder in her family calling for her. She answered them, then lowered her voice and said, "I'm hanging up. You should get home soon."
Deng Chuan was reluctant. "Okay."
She then asked, "Who's talking to you?"
There was no answer, just a dial tone. Xu Wei had hung up quickly and without hesitation.
Deng Chuan unconsciously pouted. The phone was hot, warming her ear. She put it away and looked up to see Pei Qingyu standing far away from her, arms crossed.
The look in her eyes was hard to describe.
"What are you doing?" Deng Chuan said.
"Shouldn't I be asking you what you're doing?" Pei Qingyu subtly rolled her eyes. "Who were you on the phone with?"
"No one."
"…" Disbelief was written all over her face. "You're not going to tell me, are you? I recorded a video. You can see it for yourself in the group chat."
Deng Chuan took out her phone.
Pei Qingyu: [Video]
The video was from the latter part of the conversation. Xu Wei was discussing the study plan for the new semester with Deng Chuan, analyzing the things she needed to pay attention to. Deng Chuan stood tall and graceful, holding her phone against the backdrop of the empty street. The orange-yellow light from the streetlamp above cast a glow on her, outlining her well-defined profile. She was smiling, gently agreeing from time to time while scuffing her shadow on the ground with her foot.
She looked like she was in the throes of spring.
Beneath the video, Su Mian had sent a long string of question marks, taking up a third of the screen and making Deng Chuan's head ache.
The video started playing automatically when she tapped it. As Deng Chuan watched, she couldn't help but save it. An irrepressible, secret joy poked its head out from her heart.
It was just like when Xu Wei had said "Okay" earlier-the embers of the fireworks that had exploded in her heart still lingered.
"No way." Pei Qingyu sidled over furtively. Seeing her save the video, what had been mere suspicion was now complete certainty.
"Who is it?"
She was starting to question reality.
"Fine," Deng Chuan conceded. She hadn't planned on hiding it anyway; she had originally intended to tell Su Mian after the exams but had gotten busy and forgotten. "It's Xu Wei."
"Xu Wei is…?" A thoughtful expression appeared on Pei Qingyu's face, and her mouth slowly fell open. "Isn't that your class's math teacher?"
"Yeah," Deng Chuan replied, not minding the look of disbelief on her friend's face. Instead, she asked with concern, "How did you know?"
"…I went to school at the beginning of the semester to handle the leave of absence paperwork for my art training and saw her name on your class schedule."
Deng Chuan nodded upon hearing this.
Pei Qingyu came to her senses. "Wait, that's not the point, is it?"
"Right," Deng Chuan said. "She's also our homeroom teacher now. You met her before when you came to bring me a late-night snack."
Pei Qingyu tried to remember. A slender and beautiful figure vaguely emerged in her mind. Recalling that face, she felt a moment of understanding, but then it hit her again:
"…Don't change the subject. Isn't the point that she's a teacher??"
"Yeah." Deng Chuan widened her eyes, feigning ignorance. "She's a math teacher."
Pei Qingyu, feeling a bit overwhelmed by her evasiveness, decided to be direct. "Deng Chuan… don't tell me you're actually dating your homeroom teacher?"
"Not really," Deng Chuan said. "She wouldn't agree to it."
It was a clear matter of principle, and they both knew it. So the boundary was laid out plainly from the very beginning.
Deng Chuan understood Xu Wei's feelings and what she had to face. Moreover, Xu Wei had given her a small response, so she was no longer as impatient or dejected when faced with Xu Wei's hot-and-cold attitude.
Adults have to be responsible for their actions. Xu Wei was a teacher, but she was also a mentally sound adult with good moral character. Deng Chuan was still a student who hadn't entered society yet. Her thoughts were an open book to Xu Wei. And because of that, it would be easy for an adult to take advantage of a young person like Deng Chuan. They were young, still at an age where they would throw themselves into love without a second thought. Such passionate feelings required proper guidance.
An adult who would casually agree to and exploit a young person's sincere feelings wasn't being true to themselves; they were being vile.
Furthermore, how could an adult entrust their future to a young person? In this day and age, a promise of eternal love could turn into mutual dislike by tomorrow. To them, a young person's sincerity was too easy to see through and too insignificant. This affection was too light and thin; a gust of wind could blow it away along with the young person's uncertain future.
Xu Wei had her responsibilities as a teacher and as an adult. Deng Chuan's affection wasn't sweet to Xu Wei; it was a burden.
"But, I like her," Deng Chuan confessed with great solemnity. "I'm very sure. I like her a lot, so much so that I will always chase after her. Even if we're still very far apart right now."
Pei Qingyu was stunned for a moment, taken aback by this declaration. Too many retorts were swirling in her mind. After a long pause, she managed to ask dryly, "So… does she know?"
Deng Chuan smiled sweetly and openly. Seeing her like this, the retort on the tip of Pei Qingyu's tongue-"She's not just stringing you along, is she?"-remained unspoken.
But Deng Chuan said, "Maybe she knows. But nothing will happen between us."
Pei Qingyu still asked the question. "Deng Chuan, you need to think this through. The gap between you two is so big. She might just be playing with you."
The distant noise died down, leaving only Deng Chuan's calm and resolute voice in the air.
Her tone was slightly cool.
Deng Chuan said, "I know."
She said, "-Although I also know Xu Wei isn't that kind of person. But, there's absolutely no way anything can happen between us right now. That's why I have to do well on the Gaokao. When the gap between us isn't so big, I'll formally pursue her."
Pei Qingyu opened her mouth. She knew in her heart that she couldn't persuade her, and seeing the situation, there was no need to. She couldn't bear to keep pouring cold water on her. She just said, "Alright. As long as you know what you're doing."
Deng Chuan nodded, then turned her head to ask, "How come you're not surprised that I like girls?"
"…" Pei Qingyu was speechless. After a moment, she replied faintly, "I honestly can't imagine you liking boys."
"So, I'm not surprised at all."
Hearing her words, Deng Chuan tilted her head in confusion. Though she didn't understand Pei Qingyu's logic, she didn't dwell on it, letting the topic drop for the time being. She asked her, "I'm a little cold. What are we doing now?"
Pei Qingyu had already packed her things. At her words, she slung her bag over her shoulder and hopped on her small electric scooter.
"Let's go for a ride."
The little scooter zipped away, weaving through the city's streets and alleys. Deng Chuan sat up straight. The school was also nearby. She glanced in that direction; only the lights at the main gate were still on, while the campus itself was pitch black.
The late-night wind was sharp and cold. The wind and the shadows of the alleys swept past them. To shield themselves from the wind, they both pulled up their large hoods and popped their collars. Deng Chuan leaned close to Pei Qingyu's ear, whispering bits of nonsense.
The moonlight was like water. They rode from the quiet street of the art studio all the way to the bustling city center where the fireworks had been set off. Their view suddenly became bright and open. The crowd that had been watching the fireworks was gradually dispersing. Not far away, police officers were maintaining order. The roads were full of cars, and people were gathered in clumps by the roadside waiting for their ride-shares.
"It's so lively," Pei Qingyu said.
They went to a convenience store on the side of the road to buy water. They stood at the entrance, drinking. As Deng Chuan drank, she caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye and asked, "Why are you secretly taking pictures of me again?"
Pei Qingyu showed no sign of panic at being caught, smiling as she said, "Sorry. But you should thank me. Because I took a really nice picture."
She held the phone up for Deng Chuan to see.
It was indeed a very nice picture. Pei Qingyu was an art student; even without formal photography training, her aesthetic and composition skills were top-notch.
Against a dazzling, colorful background, a young person was tilting their head back to drink water. Behind her was the convenience store's display case. Her eyelashes were lowered, and a mix of streetlight and fluorescent light fell on her face, her serene expression and distant aura blending with the bustling city. It gave off a feeling of being sober while everyone else was drunk.
Like a beautiful stranger you might encounter at a convenience store late at night.
After looking at it, Deng Chuan said calmly, "Send it to me."
Pei Qingyu: "I sent it to the group chat."
Deng Chuan gave a reserved nod. Then she turned around and sent the photo to Xu Wei.
Pei Qingyu was close enough to see her actions clearly. In that instant, she wanted to roll her eyes into the back of her head. She felt Deng Chuan was a lost cause. How was this behavior any different from a peacock showing off its feathers?
Her expression didn't change. She said to the peacock, "Let's go, let's go, I'll take you home."
Deng Chuan even asked her, "Huh? So the night's over just like that?"
Pei Qingyu replied in a rush, "It's over, it's over. School starts in a few days. You need to work hard."
Although she didn't trust Xu Wei, she was still mindful. "For your Teacher Xu, you better be good. Don't mess up at the last minute."
Deng Chuan was waiting for Xu Wei's reply. Hearing Pei Qingyu's nagging, she felt a little shy and unaccustomed to her long-hidden feelings being brought into the light so frequently tonight. She mumbled an embarrassed excuse, "Aiya, I know."
It was rare for Deng Chuan to show such a bashful side, even in front of them. Seeing the tips of her ears turn bright red, Pei Qingyu suddenly felt that Deng Chuan's love was quite adorable.
She just hoped everything would have a happy ending.
Pei Qingyu couldn't help but sigh. She gathered her spirits and said, "Let's go-"
The night wind stirred the clouds and the shadows of the trees, scattering the young person's words and wishes into the river of time.
Once New Year's Eve passed, the rest of the holiday flew by, and soon it was time to return to school.
This winter break had been incredibly fulfilling for Deng Chuan, not just in the progress of her friendships and love life, but also in terms of homework and knowledge gained. The stack of practice papers she was given was enough to keep her busy until the very last day; the school had her schedule packed.
The review for the third year of high school was a seemingly endless task. Even though she had already learned all the material thoroughly, there was always room for improvement until the very last moment. Following Xu Wei's advice, Deng Chuan reviewed her math by combining knowledge frameworks with problem types, which indeed helped her identify and patch up many of her weaknesses.
In addition, she continued to work on her English vocabulary and Chinese recitation. She would review the Book of Odes every day. The sea of learning was boundless, and the one she loved was on a distant shore, so all she could do was study hard and build a boat to cross it.
Deng Chuan's state of mind was excellent.
On the afternoon she was to return to school, the whole family was present for a rare occasion. They had dinner early specifically for her. She ate while memorizing vocabulary. Tang Lijuan watched her, feeling both happy and worried. "Baby, don't study while you're eating."
Deng Chuan snapped back to reality and looked at her mom, a little dazed.
Her mom put more food on her plate, then said with concern, "At this stage, do you need us parents to cooperate with anything? Didn't they used to have parent-teacher conferences? How come there aren't any now that you're in your third year?"
Deng Chuan swallowed the food in her mouth and said, "I'm not too sure either."
Tang Lijuan said guiltily, "Dad and Mom are busy… You have to take good care of yourself, you know?"
"I know."
Tang Lijuan smiled again, her hands never stopping as she piled food onto Deng Chuan's plate.
After dinner, her dad drove her to school, carrying a large bag of fruits and snacks as usual.
She arrived early, so there weren't many people in the classroom. But Xu Wei was already there, directing the students who had arrived early to clean the classroom.
Deng Chuan entered through the front door, bringing a chill from the outdoors with her. As she stepped inside, the two of them made eye contact, and both froze for a moment.
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