Chapter 9 – a conversation
What Xiang You first noticed had changed was on the way back after they had confirmed their relationship.
There were still a few minutes before evening self-study began, and the two of them walked back to the classroom together.
Actually, this was nothing special. They were friends, and they often went back together after eating at the same table.
What was so significant about walking side by side?
Yet Xiang You just felt uncomfortable.
It was not the kind of discomfort that made her annoyed. It was more like her hands and feet no longer belonged to her, her heartbeat had fallen out of rhythm, and every sensation throughout her body had been magnified several times over. Even the gentle breeze felt like a typhoon.
But she was merely walking along this road she had walked countless times before.
And the person walking beside her was the same person she had walked this road with countless times before.
If she had to say what was different...
He was her boyfriend now.
Meng Ou was her boyfriend now.
She was Meng Ou's girlfriend now.
They were together!
The thought suddenly shot into her mind, scrambling her brain into a complete mess.
Her cerebellum, which controlled her balance, was not spared. Her leg went weak and her foot twisted, and just as she was about to crash into the wall, someone grabbed her arm.
The two of them formed a somewhat imperfect inverted right trapezoid.
Xiang You tilted her head at an angle and looked up at him.
That moment was actually very short, because in the next second Meng Ou pulled her upright.
But in Xiang You's eyes, it was as though she had entered bullet time, and the moment stretched out long, long.
There were no lights in the corridor. The light spilling out from the classrooms only illuminated a small patch beside the windowsill.
Of all the light upon his body, only the moon had borrowed its light from the sun, then turned around and handed him a little of it.
The light was faint, hazily brushing a rim around him.
And the eye sockets that were already deep-set on his face were completely concealed in the darkness.
Only his pupils were clear and bright as stars.
Meng Ou pulled her upright and asked how she could even trip on flat ground.
Xiang You suddenly became unhappy.
This unhappiness was not because Meng Ou was teasing her.
It was because, was she really the only one with all these chaotic feelings?
But she could not blame Meng Ou for it either. Otherwise, she would seem far too unreasonable.
She merely reached back and smacked Meng Ou, her voice muffled, though she still tried her best to sound cheerful. "You're the one who trips on flat ground!"
The moment she finished speaking, the person beside her disappeared.
Xiang You widened her eyes and looked at the ground. Meng Ou had actually gone "thump" and sat down on the floor.
"There, I fell," Meng Ou said, tugging at the hem of her clothes.
Heaven knew what kind of thought process Meng Ou had.
Xiang You was already standing rather unsteadily, and that tug completely threw her off balance. She futilely waved her arms as she toppled toward the floor.
Meng Ou still had some conscience. He reached out and put his hand beneath her on the floor.
Although he had clearly underestimated Xiang You's weight, and the impact made him yelp in pain.
He had only himself to blame.
Xiang You had been quite angry at first, but seeing Meng Ou shake his hand and howl miserably, she heartlessly became happy again.
Laughing, she said, "Serves you right."
Meng Ou really was in pain. A few tears of pure physical reaction were even forced from his eyes.
He looked at her just like that, his eyes brimming with tears, and unexpectedly kissed her cheek.
It was very sudden, very brief.
Like a meteor that flashed across the distant sky and vanished in an instant.
The two of them sat on the floor, hidden in the shadows, with walls shielding them on both sides.
No one would see them, yet she still could not control her pounding heart.
The air fell silent for several seconds.
Meng Ou cautiously looked at her, his eyes still watery.
"Are you mad?" he asked softly.
Xiang You did not speak. She merely blinked at him as she looked back.
After staring at each other for several seconds, they suddenly and wordlessly turned their heads away at the same time.
Beside their ears came the sound of their shy laughter, both of them desperately trying to hold it back.
Maybe being in love was not boring after all.
At least being in love with Meng Ou was actually quite fun.
Whether it was shyness, happiness, or joy.
Or anger, hurt feelings, or jealousy.
It was all fun.
In the end, the fact that the two of them were together could not be kept from their teacher.
Any classmate with eyes could tell there was something off between them. Even when she admitted it, someone said, “I thought you two had already been together for ages!”
But the teacher was different.
Back when they were still friends, the teacher had never said much about it.
Yet within just a few days of getting together, the teacher discovered that something was fishy.
Did two people really look any different to outsiders during the ambiguous stage and after officially confirming their relationship?
Xiang You clearly felt there was no difference.
Although the changes inside her heart were huge, she felt that, on the surface, they still looked like nothing more than good friends.
Once, the two of them were walking down the corridor when their homeroom teacher suddenly called out to them.
Nearly ten meters apart, the homeroom teacher had no choice but to shout, “You two, come to my office.”
The two of them came to the office with their heads hanging sheepishly.
The lecture was highly formulaic. The two of them were nothing more than two nodding insects, responding with an “Mm” to every sentence.
Finally, the homeroom teacher said, “If I catch you two getting too close again, I’m calling your parents.”
To enforce this threat, the homeroom teacher had Meng Ou leave first.
After Meng Ou left, the homeroom teacher kept her there and talked for several more minutes.
Her tone was sometimes stern, sometimes gentle.
She was stern when telling Xiang You that she had actually violated the school rules, and gentle when telling her to take good care of herself.
Xiang You went from being a mere insect to a human being, taking every word to heart.
Xiang You, who had always followed the rules and obeyed the law, really did stop paying attention to Meng Ou.
At dinner time, Meng Ou came looking for her, but she acted as though she had not seen him and walked away holding her friend's hand.
That night, Meng Ou did not eat dinner.
Later, someone said they had seen him alone on the terrace, standing in the wind with red-rimmed eyes.
But he did not give up. At the end of the school day, he stopped Xiang You again.
There were too many people in the corridor, making it difficult for Xiang You to shake him off completely.
Fortunately, the homeroom teacher was not on duty that night. Xiang You lowered her guard and allowed herself to get a little closer to him.
“Are you going to break up with me?” Meng Ou asked pitifully.
“No.” Xiang You hurriedly denied it. “But aren’t we not allowed to let the homeroom teacher find out?”
“Then when the homeroom teacher isn’t around, can you please not distance yourself from me?” Meng Ou looked utterly aggrieved. “I haven’t done a single word of my homework!”
The sentence was missing its preceding explanation, but Xiang You understood.
What he meant was that being pushed away by her had affected him so much emotionally that he could not even bring himself to do his homework.
Xiang You had experienced the same thing before.
It was on the day Meng Ou had suddenly hugged her in the gymnasium, on the day they confirmed their relationship, and, of course, it had happened again later on the day they broke up.
For students, studying and doing homework were the most important things of all.
If even those were affected, then things had to be very serious.
“But how do you know when the homeroom teacher isn't around?” Xiang You asked.
After all, the homeroom teacher was practically a phantom, appearing and disappearing without a trace.
And because of Murphy's Law, the more likely you were to do something bad, the more likely you were to get caught by the homeroom teacher red-handed.
“My eyesight is good. I’ll keep watch for you.” Meng Ou suddenly opened his eyes wide and scanned the area. “Reporting, the homeroom teacher is not nearby.”
“Do you even need to tell me that?” Xiang You pushed him with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. “The English teacher is on duty tonight. I know the homeroom teacher isn't here without even looking.”
“You sure?” Meng Ou raised an eyebrow. “Forgot what happened last time?”
At those words, Xiang You shuddered in fright.
What Meng Ou was referring to was a previous evening self-study period.
The teacher on duty had been the physics teacher, an old softie who had been rehired after retirement. He was a little hard of hearing, and he had a good-natured personality, always smiling at everyone.
And students, those creatures who bullied the weak and feared the strong, certainly were not going to appreciate that.
So whenever he supervised evening self-study, the classroom was always especially noisy.
Until one day, when everyone was once again chatting away in the classroom, the door was suddenly kicked open.
“I came back to school to get something. I could hear how noisy our class was from all the way down the hall. I didn't expect this is how you spend evening self-study!” the homeroom teacher sneered, speaking in a deliberately high-pitched voice.
The entire classroom fell silent in one second, as quiet as a morgue.
Only the physics teacher, a beat too slow, came back from the dead. He leisurely turned his head toward the doorway, his face filled with simple, genuine confusion.
“Teacher Zheng, you didn't go home?”
Anyway, after that, discipline during evening self-study improved considerably whenever the physics teacher was on duty.
Everyone was not afraid of the physics teacher. They were afraid that the homeroom teacher might forget something again one day.
Thinking of this incident, Xiang You could not shake the feeling that the homeroom teacher was mixed somewhere into the crowd in the corridor.
She looked left and right, but Meng Ou grabbed her ponytail and gave it two little shakes. “I already told you I checked for you. You don't believe me?”
Xiang You withdrew her gaze. “Then from now on, you have to observe more carefully.”
Meng Ou raised an eyebrow. “Leave it to me.”
With that promise, the two of them returned to how they had been before.
They ate together, chatted together, and did their homework together.
Whenever the homeroom teacher appeared within sight, Meng Ou would spot her immediately and then “whoosh” away.
And Xiang You, always a beat too slow, would only realize there was a problem after the wind he kicked up had blown against her face.
There was only one exception.
It was during lunch break. Rarely, neither of them had gone home. After eating together at school, they planned to return to the classroom to rest.
Maybe because it was their first lunch break, or maybe because they were simply having too much fun chatting.
In any case, Meng Ou's radar failed.
“You two...” The homeroom teacher's furious roar came from behind them.
Xiang You was so frightened that she stood rooted to the spot, not even daring to turn her head, her mind echoing with the words, We're screwed.
But Meng Ou, who knew what was going through his mind, suddenly grabbed her hand and sprinted forward.
“Are you crazy!”
Xiang You desperately tried to shake his hand off, but somehow she could not get free and could only be forced to run along with him.
Behind them came the homeroom teacher's pursuing footsteps, mixed with furious cursing.
“Meng Ou, are you sick?! Let go of my hand! What are we going to do?! Am I going to get expelled...?”
Xiang You spoke the whole way, gasping for breath.
Meng Ou, on the other hand, was remarkably calm. He even had time to spare her a glance and flash her a smile.
What the hell are you smiling for!
It's all your fault!
Xiang You was too out of breath to speak anymore, so she moved the curses from her mouth into her heart.
People said that running had a limit.
Once you reached that limit, the body's exhaustion would suddenly disappear, and you could run on for a very, very long way.
And Xiang You reached a limit, too.
But it was not the limit of running.
It was when all those pressures, fears, anxieties... accumulated to a certain point, and then suddenly, with a “whoosh,” vanished into thin air.
She stopped caring.
The thing had already happened anyway. Nothing she did could undo it.
Xiang You tightened her grip on his hand.
As if sensing something, Meng Ou tightened his grip on hers in return.
The two of them ran wildly down the corridor, their hands clasped tightly together.
Actually, the homeroom teacher had fallen behind them long ago.
Her furious shouting gradually faded until it could no longer be heard.
But the two of them kept running.
They both knew they could not run forever. Sooner or later, they had to return to the classroom.
But they simply wanted to hold hands and run like this once, particularly rebelliously.
The school building was very empty during lunch break. The day students had gone home, and the boarding students had returned to their dormitories.
The entire building echoed with their chaotic footsteps. Later, intermittent laughter joined in, stretching from upstairs to downstairs, then toward the sports field.
When they reached the first floor, they both understood that there was no need to keep running.
But they exchanged a knowing look, and without saying a word, ran hand in hand toward the sports field again.
They ran all the way onto the rubber track. Xiang You was the first to lose her strength. She simply slumped onto the ground, dragging Meng Ou down with her.
Neither of them had the strength to speak. They looked at each other, like two little dogs, mouths open as they panted.
Once their breathing settled, the first thing they did was laugh.
It began with a knowing smile and gradually escalated into loud laughter.
Although she knew that hell was waiting for her afterward, at that moment, Xiang You was simply, incredibly happy.
The happiest moment of her nearly eighteen years of life.
After laughing, Xiang You leaned sideways and rested against him.
Since they were both covered in sweat, neither of them had any right to dislike the other.
Meng Ou tilted his head, struggling to look down at her face.
Xiang You rolled her eyes up at him, grateful that the thick clouds had blocked out the sun.
He suddenly said, “Xiang You, I like you.”
Whenever he was being serious, he always called her by her full name, every syllable intact.
“I know.” Xiang You answered with a beaming smile.
“Then can you say it to me, too?” Meng Ou gently nudged the ear resting against his shoulder with his own shoulder.
“I won't say it.” Xiang You deliberately teased him.
Meng Ou instantly looked a little dejected, but still refused to give up. “Why?”
“Heh...” Xiang You pulled a silly face at him. “I just won't say it.”
Meng Ou pouted and lowered his head without speaking.
“Are you mad?” Xiang You asked him.
“No.” That tone was obviously the exact opposite of what he really felt.
Xiang You stared at him for a while.
She stared until he could no longer stand it, and he finally looked back at her.
Right at that moment, Xiang You suddenly said, “I like you!”
“Ah...” For an instant, an unusually flustered expression appeared on Meng Ou's face.
After the fluster came a joy he desperately tried to suppress.
Xiang You leaned against his shoulder. Where their bodies pressed tightly together, she could feel him trying desperately not to laugh, until his whole body was trembling and trembling.
And he made her tremble along with him, like they were sitting in a little boat being tossed about by the waves.
That afternoon, both sets of parents arrived at the school building before the two of them did. When they entered the office, it was obvious that the two parents had already been given a lecture.
The fear they had tossed to the back of their minds came surging back.
So much so that Xiang You started crying the moment she walked through the door. By the time she reached the homeroom teacher's desk, she was already sobbing uncontrollably.
Xiang You's mother was heartbroken. “Teacher, you can see that the child knows she was wrong. I'll definitely discipline her when we get home. Could you please spare her a little face here at school?”
Meng Ou's mother, meanwhile, immediately took out some tissues, bent down to wipe Xiang You's tears, and said as she wiped, “It's okay, it's okay. Don't be scared, little girl. I'll go home and give Meng Ou a beating.”
And Meng Ou said, “Teacher, just scold me. It's all my fault.”
In any case, Xiang You's torrent of tears instantly won over the three people present.
The homeroom teacher was a little embarrassed. Even several teachers nearby who had come over to watch the commotion teased her.
“Teacher Zheng, look how frightened you've made her.”
In the end, the homeroom teacher could only say helplessly, “I hope you really do understand that you were wrong. At this stage, studying is the most important thing. The monthly exam is coming up soon. If either of you does badly, it won't be something that can be solved simply by calling your parents.”
“Teacher, I promise I'll do well on the exam,” Meng Ou said.
“Teacher, I, I, I also...” Xiang You was crying so hard that she could not even get a complete sentence out.
Seeing her tear-streaked, pear-blossom-in-the-rain appearance, the homeroom teacher could not help laughing.
That one laugh instantly dissolved the tense atmosphere.
The four of them walked out of the office together.
As soon as they stepped outside, the two sets of parents exchanged a glance and smiled awkwardly.
Xiang You had more or less stopped crying by then, though she still sniffled from time to time.
Meng Ou's mother stepped forward, looking at her somewhat helplessly. She fumbled around in her pocket for a long while before pulling out a piece of chocolate.
She handed the chocolate to Xiang You. “I'm sorry about that.”
Xiang You did not know whether she should accept it, so she looked at her mother blankly.
Her mother was looking at her with a mixture of countless emotions. Seeing her timid, apprehensive appearance, she gave the slightest nod.
Xiang You reached out and took the chocolate from Meng Ou's mother's palm.
And Meng Ou's mother raised her hand and gently stroked her hair.
This counted as the first time the two of them met each other's parents.
And also the only time.
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