Ann Wan ate a few bites of her meal, drank some water, and gazed at the stinky tofu shop not far away. The line was long, with tourists and locals mixed together. The sizzling heat from the big iron pot rose up, and several slices of stinky tofu were pierced by long bamboo skewers. The tofu was drizzled with bright red chili oil and sauce, making Ann Wan’s mouth water before she even took a bite.
“The most important thing about stinky tofu is the seasoning of the sauce. The tofu needs to be crispy and tender, which is a technique and a secret recipe of the big brands.” Liu Chang’an followed Ann Wan’s gaze.
“Liu Chang’an, you didn’t have a romantic relationship in high school for three years, don’t you feel regretful?” Ann Wan interrupted Liu Chang’an’s idle chatter. This person was really good at spewing nonsense, bringing up all sorts of topics from ancient times to the present, and Ann Wan was afraid he would start talking about stinky tofu again, so she blurted out her question.
Liu Chang’an looked at Ann Wan. Ann Wan felt a bit flustered, her eyelashes drooping to cover her sparkling eyes. She wasn’t even sure what answer she wanted to hear or what she was expecting – was she really expecting something to happen, or did she just want to confirm something?
Liu Chang’an hesitated for a moment before saying, “Does online love count?”
Ann Wan’s heart secretly cried out, “Oh no, I’ve been too sentimental!” She finally realized that what she wanted to confirm was whether Liu Chang’an had feelings for her, and as for other things, she wasn’t psychologically prepared yet.
So Ann Wan relaxed her tense posture, took a few more bites of her meal, and then said nonchalantly, “Online love, I guess that counts…”
That’s right; Liu Chang’an was just talking about three years ago, and he only thought Ann Wan was prettier than Bai Rui, but that didn’t mean he still had special feelings for her three years later.
It was good that way, anyway. With the college entrance exam approaching, Ann Wan shouldn’t be thinking too much about this. Even if Liu Chang’an really had feelings for her, she wouldn’t agree to be with him… Liu Chang’an was always messing around, didn’t take things seriously, and liked to tease girls…
Moreover, as long as she could prove she was better than Bai Rui, that was all that mattered. Bai Rui had suffered a big loss, and Ann Wan was still very happy about it.
“You have a grudge against chopsticks or against rice?” Liu Chang’an saw Ann Wan furiously stabbing at her bowl with her chopsticks, causing rice to fly everywhere. He looked at her with a stern expression, reciting a poem: “Don’t waste your rice, work hard in the fields, Sweat drips down to the soil, Who knows how much effort goes into each meal…”
“This bowl of rice is for you too; don’t need to thank me. Just eat slowly and enjoy it.” Ann Wan poured her rice into Liu Chang’an’s bowl, stormed out of the restaurant, and left.
This little girl’s temper was truly huge. Liu Chang’an smiled, ate his meal slowly, and didn’t mind that Ann Wan had eaten from the same bowl of rice. The college entrance exam was approaching; you shouldn’t be distracted like Bai Rui.
Liu Chang’an finished his meal, got a free bowl of restaurant soup (pork bone and kelp soup), which had only one piece of pork bone but a lot of kelp. It seemed like no seasonings were added except salt, so it was quite bland. Liu Chang’an slowly drank the soup, thinking that adding some ginger slices would make it taste better. However, ginger was hard to find and expensive these days.
Liu Chang’an checked the news and received a WeChat message. “A classmate confessed to me while we were singing at KTV… but I don’t like him. The exam is coming up, and I don’t want to be distracted. However, he’s my deskmate, so what should I do?”
There was a video attached, which was Liu Chang’an’s performance at KTV that had spread throughout the school.
Liu Chang’an watched the video, feeling a bit embarrassed. He didn’t care what others thought, but watching his own performance made him feel awkward. He quickly drank some soup to relax.
“Is the whole class aware of this, including the teacher?” Liu Chang’an asked.
“Yes, my mom and the teacher are classmates, and the teacher forwarded the message to my mom. Now I’m really annoyed. The exam is so important; why did he have to do this?”
Liu Chang’an thought for a moment, then replied, “Since he’s the only one who’s interested, I suggest your mom talk to him about it.”
“Shouldn’t the teacher handle this kind of thing?”
“The teacher can’t handle it either… what’s more, he’s one of their students. He must think that this is a critical period, and taking care of this matter himself would be too much responsibility. Forwarding the video to your mom means letting the parents handle it.”
“Is that so? I’ll think about it again.”
Think about it again? Shouldn’t it be “Let my mom think about it again?”
Liu Chang’an carried the food back to the classroom, was called to the office by Huang Shan, and was told about Ann Wan’s mom knowing about the situation and wanting to talk to Liu Chang’an. Huang Shan stopped it, saying that Ann Wan’s family would take care of her emotions and communication, and he would talk to Liu Chang’an.
This made Liu Chang’an feel a bit down, as he was originally looking forward to meeting her.
Huang Shan forwarded the video because he cared about his students, not because he couldn’t handle this kind of thing.
For the old teacher, handling this kind of thing was a piece of cake. After a few words of advice, Huang Shan arranged for Liu Chang’an to switch seats with Miao Yingying.
With the exam approaching, it was more important not to cause any disturbances. In Huang Shan’s view, handling this matter discreetly and firmly was necessary.
“Old teacher, why did you suddenly switch our seats?” Gao Dewei was puzzled and annoyed. “I don’t know Miao Yingying, and it’s awkward.”
No one told Gao Dewei about the situation, as he wouldn’t bother to care about gossip.
“Maybe it’s because the teacher wants Liu Chang’an to get what he wants,” Ann Wan helped Liu Chang’an gather his things, smiling: “Goodbye, don’t see you off.”
Gao Dewei patted Liu Chang’an’s shoulder to comfort him. However, he knew about the gossip that had spread for three years, and Huang Shan definitely wouldn’t do it for that reason.
“Will you come watch me play basketball after school?” Liu Chang’an asked Ann Wan.
Ann Wan glared at him; he was acting like nothing was wrong… Ann Wan couldn’t help but think that maybe Liu Chang’an had known all along that if he confessed, he would be rejected by Bai Rui, so he pretended to retreat? Was he really interested in Bai Rui?
If so, Liu Chang’an was too scary… He had already achieved his goal, getting close to Bai Rui in the remaining time!
“Ah!”
Ann Wan yelped in pain as Liu Chang’an tapped her head.
Ann Wan reached out to grab Liu Chang’an’s waist, but he dodged away.
“Study hard, don’t daydream, and don’t make it difficult for us to get into the same university.”
“Who wants to get into the same university with you?” Ann Wan retorted, “Go take the exam with your Bai Rui!”
Liu Chang’an tapped her again, picked up his things, and left.
Ann Wan watched Liu Chang’an’s back, feeling empty and sad, as if the feeling of separation after the exam had arrived early. Her vision was blurry, and she felt like she couldn’t grasp anything.
Many scenes flashed before her eyes like a film, and she realized that she couldn’t change her habits. Most people changed others to fit their habits, but Ann Wan couldn’t call Liu Chang’an back; she felt like her habits had been forcibly changed, from head to toe, and everything felt unnatural.
She took a deep breath, and the air around her seemed stifling.
“We should be able to get into the same university,” Gao Dewei said with some expectation.
“Ah?” Ann Wan returned to reality, realizing that her scores were indeed similar to Liu Chang’an’s, while Gao Dewei was somewhat behind. In the mock exams, everyone was close, only differing by a few dozen points. However, the college entrance exam was only once, and if the gap was a few dozen points, that would be a gap for life. Gao Dewei was going to replace Huang Shan as the person who would help the school take the top spot in the science department.
“The highest and lowest scores for the Five-Dragon Vocational College in our province differ by about five to six dozen points each year,” Gao Dewei said encouragingly, thinking Ann Wan was worried about her scores being too far apart from his.
Ann Wan rolled her eyes at Gao Dewei; his encouragement sounded like bragging.
But Ann Wan didn’t care; she suddenly realized that Liu Chang’an’s intention was to take the exam with her?
Ann Wan couldn’t help but steal a glance at Liu Chang’an’s back, thinking of all the campus romance stories she loved, especially the biggest wish of the male and female leads – wasn’t it to attend the same university?
Ann Wan gritted her teeth, looking at Liu Chang’an, who was already sitting at his new seat, smiling brightly at Bai Rui like a sunflower in the autumn sun.
Yes, Miao Yingying’s original deskmate was Bai Rui, and after Liu Chang’an switched seats, he became Bai Rui’s deskmate.
June was approaching, and the remaining time was even shorter. Liu Chang’an was no longer Ann Wan’s deskmate.
Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter