BSS - Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Deng Chuan was a bit dazed. It wasn't until she saw Xu Wei's brow furrow slightly that she snapped back to reality.
She explained to the girl, "This is our teacher. You can go back now. It's okay. I can wash the clothes myself."
Her thin lips were slightly pursed, her gaze gentle, and her tone was light and clear, giving the impression of great patience.
Afraid the girl would stand there waiting for her, she offered a long string of explanations, stopping just short of saying, "Let's just leave it at that."
The girl's hand loosened. The base of her ears turned red as she said softly, "Then, goodbye, senior sister."
Deng Chuan nodded at her. As she walked toward Xu Wei, she could feel the girl's gaze burning into her back.
Xu Wei watched fixedly. Ignoring everything else, her eyes were locked on Deng Chuan. When Deng Chuan reached her, she said, "Follow me," and led the way toward the dormitory.
They walked in silence. Deng Chuan, while observing Xu Wei's expression, took the initiative to explain, "She got my clothes dirty and came to apologize…"
Xu Wei gave a slight nod. "Mm."
What did "mm" mean?
Deng Chuan added, "I told her it was fine. But she probably still felt bad about it…"
Xu Wei listened, her expression unchanged, still maintaining that cool and detached demeanor. She asked, "So what did she want to do?"
Unable to read her emotions, Deng Chuan answered dejectedly, "She wanted to wash my clothes for me."
At that, Xu Wei let out a short laugh. She reached out, lifted Deng Chuan's collar, and straightened it. "Take the jacket off. I'll take it to be washed for you."
"…Huh?" Deng Chuan's eyes widened slightly as she looked at Xu Wei. "I can wash it myself."
"You won't get it clean."
"Then you…"
Xu Wei cut her off. "I'm not washing it either. The dry cleaner is."
"Oh." Deng Chuan unconsciously pouted. She was a little disappointed, yet also a little happy. "Okay."
She quickly remembered her manners. "Thank you, Teacher."
Hearing this, the corner of Xu Wei's mouth quirked into a half-smile. "You're welcome."
She reached out and straightened her collar again. "Be more careful in the future."
Her tone didn't sound unhappy. Deng Chuan peeked at her and nodded.
From that moment on, a strange atmosphere enveloped the two of them. The air filled with a tacit silence that grew more and more intense. Deng Chuan's young heart gradually swelled like a sail, but the surface of the sea was as calm as Xu Wei's eyes. She held her breath, remaining composed as she inched closer and closer to Xu Wei's side.
The spring scenery was perfect, the air filled with the pleasant scent of new growth, and the sunlight was warm and comforting.
Xu Wei's eyelashes were lowered, her beautiful eyes half-hidden, shimmering with a light more radiant than the spring blossoms on the branches. In the silence, her brow furrowed in thought, and the midday sun falling on her face gave her a glaze-like luster.
She didn't react to Deng Chuan's approach, perhaps aware, perhaps not. It wasn't until Deng Chuan grew bolder, her shoulder about to brush against hers, that she shifted slightly to the side. "Don't crowd me."
Deng Chuan moved away a little, murmuring awkwardly, "Oh."
Xu Wei took a nearly inaudible breath and asked calmly, "How was the exam this morning?"
Deng Chuan said, "It was alright, I guess."
A hint of a smile touched Xu Wei's lips. "'Alright' doesn't seem to be enough."
At a turn in the staircase, Deng Chuan used the corner as an opportunity to boldly grasp her wrist. "Then… what is enough?"
She didn't use much force. Her thumb and forefinger loosely circled Xu Wei's slender wrist, which felt cool and smooth to the touch. Deng Chuan recalled the first day they met, when Xu Wei had rested her elegant wrist on her desk, as exquisite and fragile as a work of art. And now, it was resting in her palm.
Almost in the next second, Xu Wei pulled her hand away.
"You figure it out."
Deng Chuan quickly caught up, her eyes curving into a smile.
The young woman called out in a soft voice, "Teacher Xu."
Teacher Xu inexplicably slowed her pace. "What is it?"
"I will seize the opportunity."
"…"
"Really, you have to believe me."
Tsk.
This kid was quite annoying.
Xu Wei lifted her hand. The sensation where she had been touched lingered. She quietly curled her fingers and heard herself say, "Alright- I believe you."
Once inside, Zhou Liu shot over like a bolt of lightning, weaving around their legs. He was a fully grown cat now, his body soft and slender, his fur glossy and shining like satin.
He meowed incessantly in a delicate voice, pressing his body tightly against Xu Wei's leg and pawing at her ankle.
"Alright." Xu Wei changed her shoes and squatted down to stroke his head. "Are you hungry?"
Xu Wei got a pair of slippers for her, then went to add some food to Zhou Liu's bowl.
After changing her shoes, Deng Chuan stood up and saw Xu Wei squatting on the floor, stroking Zhou Liu's head as she looked up at her. "Take off your jacket. Did the clothes underneath get dirty?"
Her gaze was exceptionally gentle as she said this.
Deng Chuan quietly swallowed. The oil stain on her jacket had already set. She unzipped it and slipped it off. The sleeve of the shirt underneath was clean. "…No."
Xu Wei lifted her gaze from Zhou Liu's head. She stood up and reached for Deng Chuan's jacket, but as her eyes fell upon her, she momentarily forgot to look away.
Sunlight poured in from all directions. Deng Chuan stood in the center of the small living room, wearing a white cotton T-shirt under her school uniform. The hem was tucked into her pants, accentuating her tall, slender figure and straight posture. The collar generously revealed her collarbones, and above that, her fair neck.
The other girl seemed completely unaware of her daze, her eyes clear as she placed the jacket in her hand.
This was just killing her.
Xu Wei composed herself, her voice barely steady. "Aren't you cold, wearing so little?"
Although spring had arrived, the weather wasn't quite warm enough for just a T-shirt.
"I'm not cold." Deng Chuan shook her head, her eyes curving into crescents. "I get hot really easily."
Xu Wei took the jacket, found a bag to put it in, and hummed softly in response to Deng Chuan's words.
The room was quiet, save for the soft crunching of Zhou Liu eating his cat food, which sounded like a child eating cookies.
Deng Chuan's interest was piqued. She squatted next to him, stroking his head now and then. His fur was incredibly smooth.
Petting a cat is the happiest thing in the world. And so is being with Xu Wei, Deng Chuan thought, squinting her eyes in contentment.
She was overcome with the feeling that she could stay here until the end of time. Seeing Xu Wei open a disposable cup to pour water, she looked up and asked, "Can I take my lunch break here?"
Xu Wei's hand paused. "What?"
"I mean, can I study here?"
Teacher Xu gave a noncommittal nod. "Suit yourself."
She placed the cup of water on the table. "Make yourself at home."
She then turned and went into her room.
She had given her permission so casually, and Deng Chuan was quite pleased. She stood up, grabbed her error correction notebook, and sat cross-legged on the floor.
After finishing the food in his bowl, Zhou Liu lazily curled up in the crook of her leg.
The sunlight was just right, pouring into the room and casting a golden glow on the top of Deng Chuan's head. In the quiet afternoon, Xu Wei was probably resting. She stood guard outside, reading her book, and no one would come to disturb them.
Everything was perfect, except that Zhou Liu was a big, mature cat now. By the time the bell signaling the end of the lunch break rang, her leg was completely numb from his weight.
Xu Wei had told her to make herself at home and had really just left her to her own devices, never coming out of her room. Deng Chuan didn't know if she had to proctor an exam that afternoon. She had to get to the exam hall, so she didn't wait for her. She drank the water that had cooled on the table, turned, and left.
The exam hall was the same in the afternoon. When she entered the classroom, there weren't many people yet. Yu Xiao, who sat not far from her, saw her come in and walked over to her desk to make small talk.
There was no way to cram for math at the last minute. Even for someone like Deng Chuan, after reviewing her error notebook and perhaps going over the knowledge framework one more time, all she could do was wait for the test to verify her skills.
Some students in the classroom were still reading. Yu Xiao lowered her voice and joked, "I heard a junior girl drenched you in leftovers in the cafeteria."
Deng Chuan raised an eyebrow. She wasn't wearing her school uniform jacket, only the T-shirt, which further confirmed the rumor. The hem of her T-shirt was untucked, making her look less formal and much more relaxed. "How did you know?"
"The junior posted on a 'social death' group, and someone from our school recognized her."
Deng Chuan gave a faint "Oh."
Yu Xiao wasn't finished. She put an arm around Deng Chuan's shoulder and said with a grin, "That post… is really something. You should check it out when you have time."
Seeing Deng Chuan's lack of understanding, she didn't elaborate, leaving her words mysteriously half-finished before changing the subject.
Deng Chuan's interest wasn't piqued by her coyness. She rarely read information about herself online, whether on the popular student confession pages or the school forums. To her, this information was meaningless.
It was nothing compared to a single word of praise from Xu Wei after a good exam.
The afternoon exam was math. While doing the problems, she found that a great number of the concepts were ones Xu Wei had emphasized. Deng Chuan could recall the image of her standing at the podium, methodically dissecting the answers, her lips slightly pursed and her gaze calm, as if everything was under her control.
As she calculated on her scratch paper, she found herself quietly lost in that memory.
The symbols and numbers at the tip of her pen seemed to become a unique secret between the two of them.
Everything went smoothly. Deng Chuan completed the entire test in one go, recapturing the feeling she'd had when she previously scored full marks.
She checked her work carefully twice. The teacher at the front of the room had long since noticed her progress and was watching her with a smiling gaze.
Time always seemed to fly by during the math exam. When the bell rang, an even louder burst of discussion erupted than after the morning exam, once the proctors had collected the papers.
Deng Chuan paid it no mind, both out of her usual confidence and a desire to protect her mental state. She didn't have the habit of checking answers. But when Wu Fuwu and the others came to ask, she told them her answers one by one, unconcerned with how many people her words would make happy or sad.
She put her books back in the classroom. With the math exam over, her mood lightened considerably.
If only Xu Wei were here. She would only need to look at her, and she would know that she was properly seizing her opportunities.
So Deng Chuan thought.
The rest of the exams proceeded as scheduled. The results of the mock exam came out quickly. This time, they were looking at city-wide rankings, and schools were competing against each other.
Deng Chuan's score was within her expectations but still held a pleasant surprise. She had gotten off to a good start- she ranked first in the entire city, and her math score was one of only five perfect scores.
This year's senior class at No. 1 High School was very strong, taking eight of the top ten spots in the city. A notice celebrating the top one hundred students was posted on the bulletin board. The school's press corps was even gathering information on the top ten students to feature in the outstanding student display along the school path.
The bulletin board was next to the path in front of the academic building. It was a long, vertical display. On it were the outstanding graduates from previous years. They all had young faces, but these were matched with academic achievements and awards that could not be ignored.
New photos were taken. Deng Chuan's face had lost some of the childishness it had when she first started high school. Her features had matured, but the spirited energy in her eyes remained as vibrant as ever.
She smiled faintly, beginning to learn how to sheathe the sharpness in her gaze and reveal her inner restraint and composure. A fledgling beast walking in the world, beginning to learn how to retract its claws, calmly accepting its own strength without needing to overstate it.
In the brilliant spring light, it was the perfect image of someone charging toward their final goal.
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