CY – Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

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

Zhang Xiaotian didn’t join the commotion. He sat at his desk, resting his chin on one hand, his eyes fixed on the crowd, his expression unreadable. He appeared indifferent, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous. In fact, his palms were sweating. The crowd around the grade-wide ranking list blurred before his eyes. This anxious feeling was not unfamiliar, and he tried to detach himself from it. Just as he was about to do so, a particularly conspicuous person emerged from the throng, exuding 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 vague feeling, but he didn’t dare to believe it.

“You!” Lu Bai couldn’t help but raise his voice slightly, then consciously lowered it. “Guess what!” His gaze was so intense that Zhang Xiaotian could almost hear his eyes speaking. He couldn’t maintain his composure under such a fiery gaze and lowered his head somewhat flustered.

“What…”

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

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

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

“I’m happy, and you can still be my deskmate!” Lu Bai took out a piece of paper with slightly creased edges, intending to hand it to Zhang Xiaotian, but then 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 retracted his hand halfway. “Settle down and give it to me.”

Lu Bai then realized he was a bit too excited and scratched his head, saying awkwardly, “Yeah, maybe a little… Why aren’t you excited at all, Tian’er?”

“What’s there to be excited about…” Zhang Xiaotian exhaled to calm himself and looked at his subject scores seriously. The scores in each subject had only slightly increased, and they weren’t exactly scores or rankings that inspired much confidence. The momentary joy flashed and faded, and he found himself unable to smile again.

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

“I’m fine,” Han Chengcheng nodded in agreement.

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

“She’s not picking me up today; she’s busy with something,” Zhang Xiaotian replied.

“Then it’s settled.”

The break passed, and his turbulent emotions calmed down. When he looked at the grade report again, Zhang Xiaotian felt no emotional fluctuations. His mind was unusually blank, feeling empty. Seeing the teacher walk into the classroom, the first thing they said after putting down their books was, “Don’t think you can relax just because the exams are 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, looking down at his paper, Zhang Xiaotian drifted off.

“What’s wrong, Tian’er?” Lu Bai, who had been looking at the script for the poetry recitation, noticed Zhang Xiaotian’s listlessness. “Didn’t sleep well last night?”

“A little.” It wasn’t really 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 asked, “How are you guys doing for the poetry recitation tomorrow?”

“We’re almost there; it’s pretty decent,” Lu Bai said, getting excited when he talked about it. “We even got some costumes. Guess how we did it?”

“What’s there to guess?” Zhang Xiaotian wasn’t particularly 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 bit shy, his voice much lower. “So I got some suits for a few of my buddies to wear.”

Suits? Zhang Xiaotian paused. “Groomsmen’s attire?”

“Yeah.” Lu Bai raised an eyebrow, his expression a bit playfully mysterious. “I’m telling you, they look incredibly sharp, all so dapper!”

“Really?” Zhang Xiaotian found his demeanor amusing and, since he couldn’t focus on studying anyway, continued, “Are all of you wearing the same thing?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Are you more handsome than the rest of them?” Zhang Xiaotian teased him. “I remember that guy, the one who’s 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 a pen. “Go back to listening to my lecture and study hard!”

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

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

“What are the girls reciting in the poem wearing? Bridesmaid dresses?” Han Chengcheng asked.

“Yes, that’s right.”

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

“Too late, you’re only tempted now the day before the performance,” Lu Bai said. “Next time.”

“Next time it will be the third year of high school. Will you still be helping Li arrange practice sessions?” Han Chengcheng asked.

“Can high school seniors perform 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 dismissal approached, even the few students who were still listening to the lecture 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, and just as they were deciding what to eat, the dismissal bell rang. The two girls in front packed up quickly and went to secure seats.

Zhang Xiaotian didn’t want to be kept waiting and packed up quickly. After they finished, the two of them left the classroom together. The corridor was filled with people, and the sports meet was the topic of conversation everywhere. The sports meet was a rare time for relaxation at school, and students were allowed to bring their phones. No one mentioned it directly, but everyone had some anticipation. Zhang Xiaotian called out to Lu Bai as they weaved through the crowd, his ears filled with the noise of chatter and laughter. For once, it didn’t bother him.

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 some movies to watch,” Lu Bai slowed his pace, walking alongside Zhang Xiaotian. “We can play some games too.”

“Okay,” Zhang Xiaotian nodded.

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

“Sure,” Zhang Xiaotian nodded.

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

“Anything’s 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.

“Am I much older than you?” Lu Bai laughed back. “Old Man Zhang?”

“Get lost,” Zhang Xiaotian said.

They bickered back and forth with “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.

“I just end up being silly and happy when I’m with you,” Zhang Xiaotian said, feeling speechless as he recalled the scene.

“Isn’t being silly and happy good?” Lu Bai countered. “Just tell me, is your mood better?”

That was true. Zhang Xiaotian nodded.

“It’s good that your mood is better,” Lu Bai stretched. “Who wouldn’t be in a good mood after doing well on a test?”

“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 standard for a certain period.” He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together as he said this.

Zhang Xiaotian looked at his hand without speaking. They walked at a steady pace, and the hot pot restaurant they had decided on was now in sight.

Seeing this, Lu Bai scratched his head and decided to pull Zhang Xiaotian to a stop at the entrance of the restaurant. He continued, “What I mean is, you’ve already achieved so much to stay, and your ranking has improved so much. I truly admire you. Believe me. We can continue to work hard to stay in Class One, but you don’t need to deny yourself even a moment of relaxation.”

Zhang Xiaotian was bewildered by Lu Bai’s outburst. He had never paid much attention to others’ concern before, always believing he didn’t need it. Now, these few words, expressed with such limited vocabulary and simple sincerity, hit him like a wave, leaving him somewhat at a loss. Looking at Lu Bai, who was still trying to find the right words to comfort him, Zhang Xiaotian suddenly felt that he had been self-pitying and melodramatic in the classroom that afternoon.

“You’re so silly.”

Lu Bai knew his words were jumbled. He was in the middle of thinking about how to continue comforting him when he heard this unexpected sentence and didn’t react immediately.

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

Zhang Xiaotian couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out laughing, waving his arm to push Lu Bai’s away.

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

“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.