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墨書 Inktalez
Qinglan turned around, her gaze suddenly fixed on Xiang Yuanqiu.
"Is there something wrong?" Qinglan asked.
"What's up with you? Aren't we good friends? Let's go back to the dorm together!" Xiang Yuanqiu smiled, finding Qinglan's expression and tone quite amusing.
"Good friends?" Qinglan retorted, "I never acknowledged that." She laughed sarcastically.
"What's wrong with you today? I just left a bit early tonight and didn't call you. Is it really that serious?" Xiang Yuanqiu turned her face away, feeling that Qinglan was being unreasonable.
"Well, isn't it? Then let me ask you, about the meal tickets, did you tell Brother Shaojie?" Qinglan could no longer contain her anger and roared at Xiang Yuanqiu like an aggressive rooster.
"Yes, and so what? No, and so what?" Xiang Yuanqiu neither confirmed nor denied it, suddenly roaring back at Qinglan.
"You said it, didn't you!?" Qinglan suddenly felt weak all over; she had no strength left to shout. Her voice lowered, appearing somewhat powerless.
"I forgot!" Xiang Yuanqiu said lightly, as if she were talking about forgetting where she put her eraser.
After saying that, she continued walking ahead on her own.
"You forgot?" Qinglan roared again. "Do you know that because of your words, Brother Shaojie has been eating only two meals a day for almost half a semester to pay back those meal tickets? Do you know that without those meal tickets, he hardly eats enough every day? Is this how you like someone?"
"You were eavesdropping on my conversation with him," Xiang Yuanqiu glared at Qinglan, aggressively questioning her.
"I wasn't eavesdropping; I just happened to pass by here," Qinglan replied coldly.
There is no need for justification; the fact is that this road is the only way back to the dormitory. The God of Fate never arranges for good people to take a detour just because there are bad people on a necessary path.
Why should good people have to take a detour in front of bad ones?
"You haven't been eavesdropping; you clearly have been, yet you won't admit it. You're just someone who enjoys listening in on others," Xiang Yuanqiu said, tugging at Qinglan's shoulder.
Qinglan pried Xiang Yuanqiu's hand away and looked at her with disdain, saying, "Let go of me; I want to go back to the dorm." After speaking, Qinglan adjusted the books she was holding and walked toward the dormitory.
Qinglan didn't want to talk to someone like her anymore.
Xiang Yuanqiu's logic was that bad people should not be seen doing bad things by good people. If you see them, then you are a bad person too.
After Qinglan left, Xiang Yuanqiu sneered, "Hmph! Even if he doesn't like me, the person he likes shouldn't be you. Even if it is you, hmph! I won't let you have him. Forever!"
From that moment on, Qinglan never interacted with Xiang Yuanqiu again and did not speak to her.
Time flew by, and soon it was May 1997.
Qinglan and An Shaojie were both in their third year of middle school, facing the High School Entrance Exam.
Xiang Yuanqiu also became busy with her studies for the exam and stopped bothering An Shaojie. She focused all her energy on learning, secretly determined to surpass Qinglan, not just academically.
Qinglan was also fully committed to preparing for the High School Entrance Exam. Her only motivation was to attend the same high school as Brother Shaojie—County No. 1 High School, a key high school that was Brother Shaojie's goal. There, she would surely be able to see Lin Sister as well; with Lin Sister's intelligence and diligence, she would definitely get into County No. 1 High School.
Qinglan was happily daydreaming.
Yes, at this moment, Lin Xi was in the third year of junior high school at a secondary school in the county city. She was indeed as Qinglan imagined, not only smart but also diligent and hardworking, with excellent grades.
“Lin Xi.”
A girl with a backpack was buying Rice Cake at a snack stall. Hearing someone call her from behind, she quickly turned around to look at the person who called her.
The girl had a sweet round face, a student hairstyle, and beneath her thick, neat bangs were a pair of large round eyes. Her long black hair framed her slender, fair neck. Dressed in a pink dress, she stood gracefully by the roadside, waiting for the classmate who had just called her.
In Wufeng County Town, there were both local Tujia people and Han Ethnicity individuals who had come to work, so many Tujia people in the county had already been assimilated into Han culture. Back when they were in Liu Family Village, Lin Xi's father, Lin Wenhui, had been influenced by Han Ethnicity people and often bought Han Ethnicity clothing for Lin Xi. After so many years in the county town, they had assimilated even more, so Lin Xi's outfit was basically no different from that of a Han Ethnicity person.
Seeing that her classmate was approaching, Lin Xi smiled gently, revealing a pair of sweet dimples.
“I just bought some Rice Cake, take one and eat it.” Lin Xi opened the plastic bag in her hand and offered it to her companion.
The girl standing next to Lin Xi was named Simple. She was Lin Xi's classmate, and their families lived in the same residential area. Her mother and Lin Xi's father taught at the same school. Her father was a section chief in a certain bureau in the county. Both of her parents were from other provinces, and they had a good family background. She had an older brother named Jian Ming, who was a sophomore at a high school in the county.
Simple was a Han Ethnicity girl whose personality matched her name; she was cheerful. She wore a sky-blue short skirt with a short-sleeved blouse adorned with a long bow tie, had a high ponytail, long legs, and light skin. She loved to eat and laugh.
“Mm.” Simple nodded, reached out to take a piece of Rice Cake, and while eating it, looked at Lin Xi with a smile. “It’s really delicious.”
“If you like it, you can take another one.” Lin Xi said.
"Mm." With the Rice Cake still in her mouth, she mumbled a response and nodded, while Simple reached for another one.
Watching the cheerful and food-loving Simple, Lin Xi's frustration instantly dissipated.
For the past few days, Lin Xi had been feeling down. She had thought that after finishing middle school and starting high school, she would be able to see her childhood friends Brother Shaojie and Lanlan again. However, a few days ago, she overheard her Dad and Mama talking, and it seemed her Dad was going to be transferred again. He mentioned that a school in the Provincial Capital was interested in him, which meant she would have to leave the county town again due to her Dad's job relocation.
"Going to the Provincial Capital would be great! It's much bigger than our county town, and there are so many delicious things to eat. When my brother came back during winter break, he brought me lots of tasty snacks. Mm! Mm!" Eating the Rice Cake, Simple tilted her head back and squinted at the sky, grinning foolishly.
"You only think about eating." Looking at Simple with her face turned up to the sky, carefree as ever, Lin Xi playfully pinched her small nose. "What will you do if you end up looking like a pig?"
Simple blushed and laughed, saying, "I'll just lose weight after I get fat. I can't let my mouth and stomach suffer, right? Besides, being a pig seems pretty happy too; they eat and sleep all day long—so carefree." With a mouthful of Rice Cake, Simple appeared completely unconcerned.
The Rice Cake Lin Xi bought was specifically for her.
Hearing Lin Xi say this, Simple burst into laughter.
Sigh! Lin Xi gently sighed; Simple seemed like a child who would never grow up and had no idea about Lin Xi's feelings. If only Qinglan were here; that girl understood her thoughts and had always clicked with her since childhood.
When she was with Qinglan and An Shaojie, even though they were young and appeared to understand nothing about emotions at that age, the bond they formed without knowing what feelings were felt like a deep connection in hindsight. As time went on, Lin Xi increasingly felt that there were very few people around her who could connect with her like they did.
Especially with Simple, who only knew how to eat and laugh; thinking about it made Lin Xi feel quite frustrated.
In third grade of elementary school, before turning ten, Lin Xi moved from Liu Family Village to the county town and became neighbors with Simple. They were classmates and desk mates in elementary school and continued as classmates in middle school. They had known each other for over eight years. If you exclude the time when they were infants who couldn't speak or toddlers who didn't understand anything, Lin Xi had spent far more time with Simple than with Qinglan or An Shaojie. Yet, Lin Xi always felt that she couldn't truly connect with Simple.
So Lin Xi particularly missed Qinglan and An Shaojie.
Yeah, I wonder what Brother Shaojie looks like now. Have he and Lanlan reconciled? If they have, are they getting along well? There's no need to worry about Brother Shaojie's grades; he is smart and eager to learn, so he will definitely excel and get into the county's top high school.
This is also the reason why Lin Xi has been studying hard all these years. She wants to get into that high school too, so maybe she can be in the same class as Brother Shaojie again and continue their warm childhood friendship.
Lin Xi thought beautifully about this.
By the way, what about that girl Lanlan? She should have grown quite tall by now, right? Although she isn't as diligent in her studies as Brother Shaojie, she is smart, so studying shouldn't be a big problem for her. The main thing is, if Brother Shaojie reconciles with her, then with his encouragement, she will definitely study hard. Since childhood, she has always listened to Brother Shaojie's words; his words are more effective than those of her Father and Mother.
Thinking of this, Lin Xi couldn't help but smile.
"What are you laughing at?" At some point, Simple had taken an ice pop and was eating it. She had been chattering in Lin Xi's ear for a long time, but Lin Xi hadn't heard a word.
"Simple, do you remember the two good friends I told you about when I was little?" Lin Xi suddenly asked seriously while looking at Simple, who was enjoying her ice pop.
"I remember! You talked about them every day when you first came to the county." Simple nodded vigorously like a chick pecking at grain, while still stuffing her mouth with the ice pop.
"Yes, Simple. If I transfer to the Provincial Capital for high school, could you help take care of them after they come to the county?"
Without hesitation, Simple nodded and said, "Sure."
Just as she finished saying "sure," she suddenly seemed to remember something and grabbed Lin Xi's hand in surprise, saying, "No way, Lin Xi."
"Why?" Lin Xi widened her eyes.
Simple's round face immediately showed a helpless expression. "Because I can't get into First High School. Didn't you say they are very smart and have great grades? They will definitely get into First High School, but I..."
With her head down, Simple's voice grew quieter.
"Simple, can't you just focus on studying hard and try to get into First High School?" Lin Xi tapped Simple's head, feeling a bit frustrated.
"It's too late to work hard now. Who told you not to say it earlier?" Simple pouted, sighing dejectedly.
"If I had said it earlier, would you have put in the effort?" Lin Xi retorted.
"Of course! But now it's too late, the High School Entrance Exam is coming up soon." Simple shook her head. "But I have a plan!" She smiled mysteriously.
"You have a plan? What plan?" Lin Xi couldn't imagine what kind of plan could come from Simple's simple mind.
"I can go to Ten Middle School for high school! I'm sure I can get in! Ten Middle School is so close to First High School, this way, I can still take care of your two good friends," Simple said proudly.
"That's quite a good idea." Lin Xi smiled helplessly. "Alright, I'll give you that."
The two chatted and laughed as they entered the residential area, then parted ways to head home.
The scorching June was suddenly upon them.
1997 was a special year, as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region returned to the embrace of the People's Republic of China, capturing the attention of people around the world.
For Qinglan, An Shaojie, and Lin Xi, who had just shed their childhood innocence and were still in their youthful days, the impending return of Hong Kong filled them with joy and excitement. However, this exhilaration was fleeting. What made them more anxious and expectant was the upcoming High School Entrance Exam. What lingered in their hearts were those small emotions, little touches, warm moments, tender feelings, and secrets of their youth.
These small emotions, little touches, warm moments, tender feelings, and secrets were indeed the greatest motivation during their confusing teenage years.
Yes, in their youth, everyone fought towards their goals with determination and courage for what they believed to be the most beautiful little secrets in their hearts. They were willing to give their all with a fearless attitude.
Soon, the High School Entrance Exam came to an end.
On the night after the exam, the classmates relaxed. Whether they lived far from school or nearby, none wanted to rush home that evening.
That night, they gathered on the school playground, sitting in a circle on the concrete ground, excitedly discussing their future dreams. The dark night enveloped a group of spirited youths; whether they felt they had done well or poorly on the exam, confident smiles adorned their faces, and no one thought about how the results would turn out.
Youth often believes that as long as they care about the process, they can leave the results to fate. The greatest advantage of being young is not fearing failure.
An Shaojie was also different from usual.
He sat among the crowd; although he remained silent as always, he was no longer cold and distant. Instead, a faint smile graced his face.
Qinglan, sitting across from him, occasionally glanced his way.
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