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墨書 Inktalez
After three years of living in a boarding school and the struggles of the final year, she appeared much more composed, her gaze more determined than before. The way she looked at An Shaojie was no longer filled with the admiration of childhood, nor did it carry the shyness typical of girls just entering adolescence.
She calmly glanced at An Shaojie for a moment before lowering her head, pulling at a few blades of grass beneath her, lost in thought.
"Hey, An Shaojie, it's the last day today. Can you tell us about the secret of your blue diary?" A loud voice suddenly cut through the noise.
The commotion fell silent as everyone turned their attention to An Shaojie.
Caught off guard by the sudden focus on him, An Shaojie seemed a bit bewildered, as if waking from a dream. He looked around in confusion, "What's going on? Why is everyone looking at me?"
It was rare for him to speak in public, and he wore a calm smile on his face.
Qinglan quickly raised her head. In the dim night light, An Shaojie's smiling face gave off an ethereal and unreal feeling.
When Qinglan suddenly looked at An Shaojie, she noticed that he had inadvertently glanced her way.
Just that one glance, dreamlike and surreal, suddenly fell upon Qinglan.
Indeed, this casual glance was something Qinglan had been waiting for since childhood—sixteen long years spent waiting from innocence to youth, from youth to the budding of adolescence, finally culminating in this gentle look.
Her heart skipped a beat. The calm gaze she had held just moments ago shattered instantly.
She hurriedly avoided his gaze, lightly biting her lip as she turned her face away, her eyes fixed on the infinitely deep night.
"Come on, tell us who you wrote about in that blue diary!" It was still the same boy's voice. "Share your story with your Childhood Sweetheart."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the classmates who had been looking at An Shaojie with curiosity shifted their gazes toward Qinglan upon hearing "Childhood Sweetheart."
Yes, among all the classmates, only Qinglan and he were Childhood Sweethearts.
Sitting on the cement ground of the playground, Qinglan's eyes were still dreamy as she stared into the dark night. Suddenly, she realized everyone was looking at her.
She slowly turned her face around.
With a sudden thud, An Shaojie, who was sitting across from her, stood up abruptly.
The dreamy smile that had been on his face just moments ago vanished, replaced by a fierce glare. His fists were clenched tightly as he stared intently at Qinglan.
Qinglan's expression was one of confusion and surprise. What was going on? I didn't provoke him this time!
Everyone present was stunned, looking up at the tall figure of An Shaojie.
Especially the boy who had just spoken; he involuntarily stood up alongside An Shaojie.
"An Shaojie, what's wrong?" the boy asked nervously, fidgeting with his hands as he stood in front of An Shaojie.
An Shaojie slowly shifted his gaze from Qinglan to the boy.
"Did you look at my diary?" he suddenly shouted in an explosive manner.
"I... I... I just flipped through it out of curiosity before the High School Entrance Exam. I thought it was your notebook. I saw how well you usually do in class and wanted to borrow it to take a look. I didn't realize it was your diary," the boy stammered, frightened by An Shaojie's angry glare.
"Don't touch my things again," An Shaojie yelled, though his voice had softened considerably.
"There won't be a next time." Seeing that An Shaojie's tone had lightened, the boy relaxed a bit and muttered quietly, "You and your Lin Mei Mei will be studying at County No. 1 High School; I don't even know where I'll be." He lowered his head in shame and sadness, shuffling his feet on the concrete floor.
This classmate's grades had never been very good, which explained his comment.
"Lin Mei Mei? Lin Mei Mei?" Xiang Yuanqiu immediately seized upon those three words from the boy's statement, feigning curiosity as he asked around, "Isn't it Qingmei?"
Xiang Yuanqiu deliberately mispronounced "Qing" as "Qing," occasionally glancing at Qinglan.
An Shaojie glanced at the boy who was looking down. The softness in his demeanor made An Shaojie feel reluctant to lash out at him. Moreover, the High School Entrance Exam was a significant event in their lives; everyone felt compassion for those who faced failure.
An Shaojie's heart softened, but his stubborn nature prevented him from showing any weakness in front of others. Although he chose not to say anything further to the boy, he also refused to return to his previous state. He picked up the book that had been under him and walked away without looking at anyone else.
He still resembled a porcupine!
After An Shaojie left, a group of people felt awkward for a while, but soon began to chatter and create a lively atmosphere.
Xiang Yuanqiu continued to curiously inquire about Lin Mei Mei, occasionally sighing.
Qinglan sat alone off to the side, feeling somewhat lonely.
No one knew more about Brother Shaojie and Lin Mei Mei than Qinglan. However, as she listened to their hearsay about Lin Xi, which was not entirely accurate, she wanted to interject and correct them but found no opportunity. Moreover, no one asked her about Lin Xi; in their eyes, it seemed that the story between An Shaojie and Lin Xi had nothing to do with her. She felt even more like an outsider than they did.
As she first experienced the bittersweet taste of secretly liking someone, Qinglan stood up, her lost and lonely figure disappearing into the dark night.
Time sometimes felt like an aging man, slow and dragging, while at other times it resembled a mischievous child that vanished in a leap.
The days spent waiting for the High School Entrance Exam scores were like this—hoping time would fly by while also wishing it could pause at a certain moment.
Although Qinglan knew she would surely be admitted to the top high school, she also believed that An Shaojie would definitely get in as well, and they would meet again there.
But she also knew that at County No. 1 High School, there was someone else waiting to reunite with them.
Lin Xi, forgive me; it's not that I don't want to meet you. It's just that you now, I now, and he now are no longer the children we once were.
He is heading towards you, while I am heading towards him—towards the promise you entrusted to me in our childhood, towards the friendship you had for me back then. But what about you? Have you ever waited for him? Or for me? Or for both of us?
Around early July, the long-awaited High School Entrance Exam scores and cutoff lines were released. Qinglan and An Shaojie both successfully entered County No. 1 High School.
Especially An Shaojie, who was directly admitted into the Experimental Class with scores far exceeding those required by the school. Qinglan's scores needed to be evaluated after registration at the start of school before class assignments could be made.
An Shaojie's results caused quite a stir in Liu Family Village; after all, it was rare for someone from a small mountain village to get close enough to attend school in the county town, let alone gain admission to the best high school there. Many people knew that getting into County No. 1 High School meant a pathway to university, and entering the Experimental Class indicated a chance at prestigious universities.
Thus, this time An Shaojie not only brought honor to Liu Family Village but also significantly elevated Bai Cuifen's image among the villagers. They no longer viewed her as a somewhat pitiful and weak woman.
Now in the eyes of the villagers, her fragility was seen as delicacy and precision, traits that she had passed on accurately to An Shaojie. Her lack of eloquence transformed into composure reflected in An Shaojie's demeanor. Her modesty and introversion became virtues in the villagers' eyes—qualities of gentleness and grace.
With so many admirable traits inherited from her, look at An Shaojie—he excels academically and is handsome as well.
In short, the flaws that were once gossiped about by the Villagers have now become points of pride for them.
Of course, these have always been Bai Cuifen's strengths. When people praised her in this way, she smiled lightly. She did not care whether they were praising or belittling her; she had her own standards of judgment and knew her own worth.
The only thing that could bring her true joy and pride was that An Shaojie had been accepted into the key class at County No. 1 High School.
Since returning home after the High School Entrance Exam, An Shaojie no longer buried himself in books and homework every day with the same tension as before. His face seemed to carry a light smile.
Bai Cuifen had asked him how he did on the exam.
"It was okay," An Shaojie replied confidently.
Although Bai Cuifen did not know what "okay" meant when it came from An Shaojie's mouth, seeing his face no longer clouded with gloom but instead lit up with a smile made her happy. Although his smile was still not as bright as those of other children, it was enough to see the corners of his mouth lift and his eyebrows rise, casting a gentle glow on his face. Not only that, but even his eyes had softened.
Bai Cuifen thought, he must have done well! Perhaps this change in him was due to that?
Usually, Bai Cuifen rarely inquired about his studies because his serious demeanor reassured her. So even though this was an important event in his life, she only asked him symbolically this time.
She still believed he could manage his own life well.
However, Bai Cuifen did not know that An Shaojie's changes were not just due to confidence in his acceptance into the school but also because he was looking forward to seeing Lin Xi again and being with her once more.
Sure enough, when the scores came out, both he and Qinglan were accepted into County No. 1 High School.
In addition to An Shaojie's achievement that made Bai Cuifen proud, there was also Shaw Min.
Although Shaw Min was not from a key high school, she was in a key class at their school and performed well academically. For a girl to reach such a level was indeed something to be proud of.
Thus, the events of the summer of 1997 were not only a source of pride for the Chinese people but also for Bai Cuifen's family.
However, for Qing Shusheng's family, the summer of 1997 brought mixed feelings.
The good news was that Qing Shusheng's proud daughter Qinglan did not disappoint him and was accepted into County No. 1 High School. Although she did not score as high as An Shaojie to be directly admitted into the key class, as a girl, Qinglan had set a precedent for Liu Family Village. In Liu Family Village, few girls pursued education, let alone entered County No. 1 High School in the city; it was indeed remarkable.
Worriedly, Liu Jiawei failed the college entrance examination.
This was something Qing Shusheng had anticipated, so he was not surprised or felt any psychological gap.
However, what angered Qing Shusheng was that Liu Jiawei not only did not study properly but also learned to smoke, drink, and gamble, dressing in a bizarre manner.
After returning home from the exam, he not only failed to reflect or feel ashamed but also spent every day hanging out with a group of classmates and friends. Qing Shusheng urged him to use the summer vacation to study at home and then return to school for another year of review in September.
Unexpectedly, Liu Jiawei waved his hand dismissively, saying, "No way, I'm not going back to school and suffering through that." After saying this, he left without even saying goodbye, following a noisy group out the door.
Grandma came out of her room and scolded Liu Jiawei's departing figure before turning to Liu Xiuzhen and saying, "It's all your fault for spoiling him."
Liu Xiuzhen rolled her eyes. "Why are you blaming me again?"
"If I don't blame you, who should I blame?" Grandma retorted.
"You didn't educate him when he was young; of course, he would go astray when he grew up," Grandma continued.
"Going astray has nothing to do with me! What about the kids from that family across the street? Who educated them? They’ve been wild since childhood, yet they turned out fine!" Liu Xiuzhen argued defiantly.
"Did they not educate their children? How do you know they didn't? Just because they didn’t consult you doesn’t mean they didn’t teach their kids!" Qing Shusheng truly did not know how to communicate with Liu Xiuzhen; every time he heard her speak, it made him angry.
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