30 : Recalling

 

Today's competition is in the afternoon. Other events were scheduled for this morning, but only first and second-year high school students were there to watch. Third-year students were in regular classes

. So when the two went to the teaching building today, Zhou Wei was still checking for disciplinary violations.

The competition was still being held at the neighboring No. 2 Middle School, which had built a special arena on campus.

Students from other schools were already used to this, and all they could say was envy.

A group of students from No. 1 Middle School had already gone to the competition this morning; they were in the later group.

After everyone had gathered at the entrance of the teaching building, Xu Sen stood aside and said some things to be careful about: "I only have one thing to say today: don't get injured! Don't get injured!"

After everyone got on the bus, he spoke again: "Someone on the basketball team got injured this morning. Remember, it's a friendly match, don't take it too seriously."

The car slowly drove towards No. 2 Middle School. Chen Zhoumu had insomnia last night and was now sleeping on Song Shi's shoulder.

Song Shi stared blankly out the window. The other person's head, resting on his shoulder, wasn't heavy, but some of their hair brushed against his neck as the car swayed. It

tickled a little, but he didn't push the other person's head away.

While the two were heading to the competition, the news from this morning had already spread like wildfire.

Some people still watching the competition received the news and chatted amongst themselves.

Today was the day of the school competitions, and all students were allowed to bring their phones.

Online posts had already been flooded with replies.

[Is what the original poster said true?]

[I heard it with my own ears this morning. You all know what kind of person Lao Zhou is.]

[Could there be a misunderstanding?]

[I guarantee it's true because I was there. Lao Zhou said it himself: 'Who was the person you dated last night?']

[And also, Lao Zhou said: 'You've got guts, daring to date so young!' And the one who stood up was Song Shi.]

[I don't care anymore, I'll just say '99' first.] [

…]

After the No. 1 Middle School's competition team arrived at No. 2 Middle School, students from No. 2 Middle School came to greet them. Standing at the front was a girl who didn't seem to be a local.

Several other students followed behind her. After the students led them to the rest area behind the competition venue, they left.

However, the girl didn't leave. She walked in through the door, heading straight towards Song Shi, who was taking off his bag and rummaging through his team uniform.

The person with his head down noticed a shadow suddenly appear in front of him and looked up in confusion.

The girl standing in front of him smiled when she saw him look up, then sat down next to him: "Hello, classmate, I'd like to get to know you."

Song Shi looked at her, said nothing, and subtly moved to the side, his voice devoid of emotion: "Um, hello."

He wasn't good at handling these kinds of situations. Back in Guangzhou, he mostly wrote love letters or used confession walls.

He rarely encountered face-to-face conversations, and usually, he would coldly reject them.

This tactic seemed to have no effect on the person in front of him. Aside from the initial exchange, they hadn't said much, and she just sat there beside him. He just

stared at Song Shi without saying a word.

Song Shi, in turn, treated him like air.

But Chen Zhoumu, who was standing not far away discussing tactics with Xu Sen, couldn't hold back any longer. When that person walked up to Song Shi, his peripheral vision was filled with him.

Then his gaze fell on the two of them sitting together.

Chen Zhoumu didn't even listen to Xu Sen, who was still talking non-stop in front of him.

Then, he suddenly remembered what Song Shi had said last night: 'He likes girls.'

Yes, Song Shi likes girls. He's straight, and quite a few people liked him back in high school.

But most of them were secretive, and unexpressed affection posed no threat to Chen Zhoumu.

His thoughts drifted further and further away. If a girl suddenly started pursuing him, would Song Shi agree?

This question began to take root in his heart like a seed, and then began to sprout violently.

Would he? Chen Zhoumu couldn't find the answer, but when he thought about how Song Shi was just a little cold on the outside, he figured he could win him over with persistence.

After all, wasn't that how he had stayed by Song Shi's side?

Chen Zhoumu scratched his head in frustration, glancing up at the girl sitting next to Song Shi. She wore a short skirt and had long hair.

She seemed quite pretty. Compared to him, who was prettier?

He felt like he was going crazy. Yes, he was obsessed. Why was everyone staring at Song Shi?

Whether it was this girl or that childhood friend.

Xu Sen, who was speaking, noticed the absent-minded man in front of him. Following his gaze, he saw a girl sitting on a bench. She had fair skin and light makeup, but even without it, she was still very pretty.

He looked at the still-dazed man and teased, "You like her?"

Chen Zhoumu snapped out of his reverie, his heart skipping a beat at Xu Sen's words. "No."

"If you don't like her, why are you staring at her?"

He blinked quickly, suppressing his nervousness. "Can't I look?"

Xu Sen raised an eyebrow and smiled in surprise. He knew about the girl's family background; staring at a girl so blatantly was indeed impolite.

But what surprised him even more was Chen Zhoumu's reply. He spoke with such self-righteousness, then voiced his true feelings: "Impolite."

"What's impolite about me staring at my own brother?"

As he spoke, he looked over again. The boy and girl had strikingly similar faces, sitting together like a painting.

Chen Zhoumu gritted his teeth; they were truly a perfect match.

After a moment of silence, the person sitting next to him spoke up: "Excuse me, can I exchange contact information?"

Song Shi didn't have the habit of adding people randomly, and was about to refuse when the other person's voice came through again.

"I know you, Song Shi. I'm Gao Ting's older sister."

Hearing this, Song Shi turned to look at the other person again. The girl was pretty and somewhat familiar.

Almost several months had passed, and he wouldn't remember the events in Yangcheng unless he thought about them.

But the name Gao Ting was too deeply ingrained in his mind, and all those messy things came rushing back, along with some fragmented pieces.

He began to piece together a face full of tears in his mind.

Yangcheng No. 1 School was the best high school in Yangcheng, a key high school that countless people would kill to get into.

Because Song Shi hadn't slept well the night before and was worried about being sleepy in the afternoon class, he went to the rooftop to get some fresh air during the break.

The rooftop of the teaching building was quite large and rarely visited. Song Shi leaned against the railing, the wind billowing his school uniform.

The air in Guangzhou always carried a damp, sticky feel, almost suffocating.

Song Shi looked around, and only after confirming no one was watching did he light a cigarette. Wisps of smoke, carrying a sticky aroma, filled his nostrils.

The bitter taste of nicotine reached his head, bringing a temporary sense of clarity.

From somewhere in the quiet space, he heard voices discussing something, punctuated by laughter.

Song Shi intended to stub out his cigarette and leave, but as he lifted his leg to leave, a small sob suddenly broke the silence.

It wasn't loud; if the wind on the rooftop had been stronger, or if the laughter had been more shrill, he wouldn't have heard it.

His steps faltered, and he turned and walked towards the source of

the sound. The closer he got, the louder it became.

"If you dare tell anyone else, I can't guarantee these things will end up on everyone's phones."

"But don't be scared, how about two thousand to delete one?"

"Pah, cry, cry, cry your mother's ass!" After saying that, the crying stopped abruptly.

Then someone stepped on something: "Gao Ting, let me tell you, this is what your dad owes us. I feel so damn unlucky to be your classmate at school."

"Damn it, who are you trying to seduce with such big breasts!" The person spat again and stared straight at the girl sitting on the ground, who was suppressing her sobs.

Then someone next to her tugged at the person's shoulder and then looked at the person clutching her chest with a smile: "Gao Ting, I heard you have an older sister, she's quite pretty, bring her along next time you go out..."

Before he could finish, the girl sitting on the ground glared angrily at the person: "You're dreaming!"

The person was instantly enraged and wanted to punch her in the face.

But first, there was a forceful movement from the side of her waist, and Song Shi put her phone back in her pocket.

The person who was kicked was slammed to the ground, and then roughly opened her mouth, supporting herself on the ground, looking at the person standing in front of her.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

Song Shi was a popular figure at school; even if you hadn't seen him in person, everyone had recognized his face.

The man swallowed hard as he was helped up. He glared at Song Shi, clutching his back, but made no real move.

He just smiled at Gao Lu, then the group glanced at each other and left through the back stairwell.

Song Shi looked at the man sitting on the ground, expressionless, and took out his phone.

The dial tone came through, and the man, who had been sitting, jumped up and asked frantically, "What are you doing?"

Song Shi looked at her coldly, "Call the police."

Gao Lu, extremely agitated, snatched the phone from Song Shi's hand, then looked at him pleadingly, "No, please."

"They can file a case..."

"They...have my photos."

"..."

"Please, no. It's useless, nothing works."

"..."

"I've already called the police, they won't care."

"..."

"Classmate? Are you listening?"

His thoughts returned, Song Shi looked at the person in front of him, then took out his phone, and the two added each other as friends.

The girl sitting to the side spoke up, "Thank you, good luck in the competition."

Chen Zhoumu, seeing that they had even added each other as friends, once again ignored Xu Sen speaking from the other side.

He walked straight towards them, and when he reached the two of them, he glanced at Song Shi's face.

No expression.

Then he plopped down between them, squeezing Song Shi to the side.

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