CY – Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The results came out quickly. Waiting for grades felt incredibly long and agonizing, but in reality, the grade-wide ranking list was posted before the last class on the afternoon of the next day. The classroom was filled with wails, everyone claiming they had definitely failed and were too scared to look. However, the ranking charts posted on each class’s bulletin board were surrounded three layers deep, so much so that latecomers couldn’t even squeeze a foot in.

Zhang Xiaotian didn’t join the commotion. He sat at his desk, propping his chin with one hand, his eyes glancing at the cluster of people without much expression. He appeared indifferent, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t anxious. In fact, his palms were sweating from nervousness, and the crowd gathered in front of the grade-wide ranking list gradually blurred into a smear in his eyes. This feeling of anxiety was not unfamiliar, and he tried to detach himself from it. Just as he was about to do so, a particularly noticeable person emerged from the crowd, radiating an undeniable, obvious joy.

Lu Bai walked towards him, smiling, but unlike before, he didn’t start talking before he even arrived. This time, he waited until he was settled beside Zhang Xiaotian before speaking, “Guess what?”

“Guess what?” Zhang Xiaotian had a faint feeling, but he didn’t dare to believe it.

“You!” Lu Bai couldn’t help but raise his voice a little, then tried to control himself, “Guess what!” His gaze was almost tangible; Zhang Xiaotian could practically hear his eyes speaking. He couldn’t maintain his composure under such intense scrutiny and lowered his head in a slight panic.

“What…”

“Tian’er! 72nd place!” Yin Li shouted from beside the bulletin board. “Amazing!”

“Yin Li! You’re too quick to speak! I wanted Tian’er to guess!” Lu Bai couldn’t hold back and finally stood up to shout along, “You’re in the top eighty! Tian’er!”

“I know!” Zhang Xiaotian had initially felt relieved, but seeing them so happy now, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but lift. He felt a small warmth bloom in his heart, making him happy yet a little flustered. He quickly tugged at Lu Bai’s sleeve, urging him to sit down, “It’s not that great a score, why are you two acting like this…”

“I’m happy, and you can still be my deskmate!” Lu Bai took out a slightly crumpled piece of paper and was about to hand it to Zhang Xiaotian, but he couldn’t resist unfolding it to look again. “I copied down all your subject scores and your rankings for each subject. Take a look yourself.”

“You’re so dramatic…” Zhang Xiaotian reached out to take it, then pulled his hand back halfway. “Calm down and give it to me.”

Lu Bai finally realized he was a bit too excited, scratching his head sheepishly. “I guess I was a bit… Why aren’t you excited at all, Tian’er?”

“What’s there to be excited about…” Zhang Xiaotian exhaled, calming himself, and seriously looked at his subject scores. The scores in each subject had only slightly increased, not exactly reassuring grades or rankings. The joy he’d felt a moment ago flashed and then disappeared, and he found it hard to smile again.

“Let’s celebrate with the four of us over dinner tonight,” Yin Li said, returning to her seat. “I did pretty well this time too. Chengcheng, Lu Bai, are you two free?”

“I can,” Han Chengcheng nodded in agreement.

“I’m good, how about you, Tian’er?” Lu Bai looked back at Zhang Xiaotian. “Is Auntie picking you up today?”

“Not today, she’s busy with something,” Zhang Xiaotian replied.

“Then it’s settled.”

By the end of the break, his turbulent emotions had calmed. Facing the grade report again, Zhang Xiaotian no longer felt any emotional fluctuations. His mind was unusually clear, feeling blank. Seeing the teacher walk into the classroom, the first thing they did after putting down their books was, “Don’t think you can relax just because the exam is over. Get your papers out.” Zhang Xiaotian suddenly felt like everything was just beginning and that he should maintain this momentum and continue studying. However, as he looked down at the paper, Zhang Xiaotian’s mind wandered.

“What’s wrong, Tian’er?” Lu Bai, who had been reading the poetry recitation script, noticed Zhang Xiaotian looking listless. “Didn’t sleep well yesterday?”

“A little.” It wasn’t exactly that, but Zhang Xiaotian was too lazy to explain.

“Then why don’t you seem very energetic?” Lu Bai asked him.

“It’s nothing.” Zhang Xiaotian didn’t want to share his fluctuating mood with him and instead asked, “How are you guys? For tomorrow’s poetry recitation.”

“Almost done, it’s pretty decent,” Lu Bai perked up when he mentioned it. “We even got performance costumes, guess how we did it?”

“What’s there to guess?” Zhang Xiaotian wasn’t very interested but still played along, asking, “How did you do it?”

Lu Bai rubbed his nose. “Heh heh. My family runs a wedding photography studio, so…” He trailed off, sounding a little shy, his voice much softer. “So I got some suits for a few of my buddies to wear.”

Suits? Zhang Xiaotian paused. “Groomsmen attire?”

“Yep.” Lu Bai raised an eyebrow, his expression a little playfully mysterious. “I’m telling you, they look incredibly sharp, all proper!”

“Really?” Zhang Xiaotian felt like laughing at his antics. Thinking he couldn’t focus on studying anyway, he continued, “Are you guys all wearing the same thing?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Are you handsomer than them?” Zhang Xiaotian teased him. “I remember that guy, isn’t he a bit taller than you?”

“Nonsense!” Lu Bai scoffed. “I’m the tallest among us!”

“Really?” Zhang Xiaotian mimicked his scoff. “I don’t believe it.”

“I don’t believe it either,” Yin Li chimed in from the front.

“What’s it to you?” Lu Bai poked her back with his pen. “Go listen to your teacher, study hard!”

“Why aren’t you studying hard?” Yin Li straightened her back, turning her head slightly to speak to those behind her. “And you’re poking me. If Chengcheng and I weren’t sitting up straight, you two would have been discovered talking during class long ago.”

“So we should thank you two then?” Lu Bai pouted.

“What are the girls reciting with wearing, bridesmaid dresses?” Han Chengcheng asked.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“They must be incredibly beautiful,” Han Chengcheng sighed. “It’s making me a little tempted.”

“Too late, you’re only tempted now when the performance is tomorrow,” Lu Bai said. “Next time.”

“Next time will be senior year, and you’ll still be helping Li arrange and practice programs?” Han Chengcheng asked.

“Can seniors perform programs at the sports meet?” Yin Li said. “Probably not.”

“Who knows,” Lu Bai shrugged.

Tomorrow was the sports meet, so there was no evening study hall. As school was about to end, even the few students who were still listening to the teacher found it hard to concentrate. The teacher, unusually, didn’t pay attention to the class’s study habits. The four of them chatted about random things. Just as they decided what to eat, the bell rang. The two girls in front packed up quickly and went to reserve seats.

Zhang Xiaotian didn’t want to keep them waiting, so he packed up quickly. After the two of them finished, they left the classroom together. The corridor was filled with people, and everywhere they went, they could hear talk about the sports meet. The sports meet was a rare time for relaxation at school, and students were even allowed to bring their phones. Although they didn’t say it, everyone had some anticipation. Zhang Xiaotian called out to Lu Bai as they weaved through the crowd, his ears filled with the cacophony of chatter and laughter, and for once, he didn’t find it annoying.

Lu Bai, walking ahead, suddenly turned back and said something.

“What?” Zhang Xiaotian hadn’t heard clearly and shouted back.

“I said I’ll bring my tablet tomorrow, and we can find a movie to watch,” Lu Bai slowed his pace to walk alongside Zhang Xiaotian. “We can play some games too.”

“Okay,” Zhang Xiaotian nodded.

Lu Bai also nodded, and after a moment, he added, “Are there any snacks you want to eat? We can go buy some after dinner.”

“Sure,” Zhang Xiaotian nodded.

After walking a few steps, Lu Bai asked again, “What kind of movies do you usually like to watch? I’ll download some tonight.”

“Anything is fine,” Zhang Xiaotian found him a bit amusing and asked, “Are you that excited about the sports meet tomorrow?”

“No…” Lu Bai instinctively said no, then corrected himself, “Well, I guess a little.”

“Child,” Zhang Xiaotian teased him.

“Are you much older than me?” Lu Bai laughed back, “Old man Zhang?”

“Get lost,” Zhang Xiaotian said.

The two of them bantered back and forth as “Old man Zhang” and “Little kid Lu” all the way. By the time they reached the school gate, Zhang Xiaotian realized how childish he had been just now.

“Being with you, I just end up being silly and happy,” Zhang Xiaotian felt speechless recalling the scene.

“Isn’t being silly and happy good?” Lu Bai retorted. “Just tell me, did your mood improve?”

That was true. Zhang Xiaotian nodded.

“It’s good that your mood improved,” Lu Bai stretched. “Who would be in a bad mood after doing well on an exam?”

“Huh?” Zhang Xiaotian didn’t understand what he meant.

“Huh what?” Lu Bai glanced at him and put an arm around his other shoulder.

“You did really well this time, you really slapped Li An in the face. He must be so frustrated. There are indeed many students with good grades in our class, but there are also those with average grades who aren’t afraid of being demoted. There are actually many people in our class who can stay if their grades don’t meet the requirements for a certain period.” He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together as he said this.

Zhang Xiaotian looked at his hand without speaking. They hadn’t walked slowly, and the hot pot restaurant they had decided on was now in sight.

Seeing this, Lu Bai scratched his head and simply pulled Zhang Xiaotian to stand at the entrance of the restaurant. He continued, “What I mean is, for you to stay, to really improve your ranking so much is already amazing. I truly admire you, really, believe me. In the future, to continue staying in Class One, we can keep working hard, but you don’t need to deny yourself even a moment of relaxation.”

Zhang Xiaotian was taken aback by Lu Bai’s outburst. He hadn’t paid much attention to others’ concern before, always believing he didn’t need it. Now, these few words, with their rather limited vocabulary and simple language, were bombarding him, leaving him somewhat flustered. Looking at Lu Bai, who was still trying to find words to comfort him, Zhang Xiaotian suddenly felt that he had been self-pitying and affected in the classroom that afternoon.

“You’re so silly.”

Lu Bai knew his words were jumbled. He was wondering how to continue comforting him when he suddenly heard this and didn’t react immediately.

“You, you’re okay now?” Lu Bai asked, then felt foolish himself.

Zhang Xiaotian finally couldn’t hold back his laughter and waved Lu Bai’s arm away.

“What are you standing there for? Let’s go.” Without waiting for Lu Bai, he pushed the door open and went inside.

“Finally, you two are here.”

The hot pot restaurant was filled with steam. Yin Li and Han Chengcheng had been waiting for them for a long time.