34 : Self reflection

 The next morning, when Chen Zhoumu woke up, the person on the upper bunk was already gone. The blankets were neatly folded on the bed, and he scratched his head in frustration.

It seemed as if a barrier separated the two of them; neither spoke first. Song Shi arrived at the classroom early.

Alone, he didn't see the person who usually stayed by his side. He woke up before the morning bell rang.

Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, he thought a lot before quietly going downstairs. After washing up, he sat in a chair watching the person sleeping soundly on the lower bunk.

After a long while, he picked up his bag without waking the person and left alone.

Today was Monday, and the school announced that there would be a flag-raising ceremony and an awards ceremony for the last joint exam after the second period. The two hadn't spoken a word all morning.

He Xi and the others sensed something was wrong behind them, but no one approached to ask. They exchanged glances and shrugged, indicating they didn't know.

During the break between the first and second periods, Song Shi continued to sit at his seat, writing a self-criticism. This was about what happened after Zhou Wei caught him the previous night.

Song Shi had never written a self-criticism before, so he just scribbled some random things on a piece of paper.

Glancing at the person beside him, he saw that the other person had been sleeping since this morning and hadn't even lifted their head yet, seemingly back to their old self, able to sleep for long periods without being disturbed.

Song Shi shifted his gaze to the paper in front of him, and as he picked up his pen again to write, someone called him.

"Song Shi, looking for someone outside."

He put down his pen and walked out from behind his seat. Standing in the doorway was none other than Tan Xiuyuan.

Song Shi, hands in his pockets, asked, "What are you doing here?"

The person standing in front had attracted a lot of attention since he arrived. The student from No. 3 Middle School who had

returned from studying abroad. One was handsome, athletic, and had a great physique, and originally from No. 3 Middle School but transferred to No. 1 Middle School.

The other had been a topic of discussion since transferring schools and had a close relationship with Chen Zhoumu.

All the talking points were piled on the two of them; the attention they received was understandable.

"Oh my god, what's their relationship?"

"I heard from the post that they're childhood friends."

"But... doesn't Tan Xiuyuan from No. 3 Middle School like boys?"

"What do you mean? Are you saying he likes Song Shi?"

"I think so? Someone photographed them on the playground of No. 2 Middle School yesterday, the atmosphere was ambiguous."

"Huh? But isn't it said that Song Shi and Chen Zhoumu are dating?"

"Ahem..."

The discussion between the two stopped because Chen Zhoumu had woken up at some point and was now filling a cup at the water dispenser in front of them.

The water dispenser wasn't far from the back door, and Song Shi, who was standing at the door, saw it as soon as he came over, then shifted his gaze back to Tan Xiuyuan.

The person in front of him stood lazily: "My mom is coming to Xia City today, come to lunch with me this afternoon, don't refuse me."

Song Shi glanced at the person standing not far away, the other person was looking down at the cup in his hand without any expression, he was sure he could hear him at such a short distance.

But the other person was very calm as if he hadn't heard, and didn't even look in his direction.

He watched Chen Zhoumu fill his cup and leave.

Song Shi looked back at Tan Xiuyuan and said, "I have something to do tonight. I'll go back to Yangcheng to see Auntie next month."

Tan Xiuyuan didn't notice Chen Zhoumu's dissatisfaction after hearing Song Shi's words. He crossed his arms and looked at him, "What's wrong? I'm going back to China and you don't even spend time with me, and now you can't even have a meal with me?"

"It's a personal matter. I'll definitely go next time, okay?"

Finally, the bell rang for class, which saved Song Shi. He returned to his seat and subconsciously looked at the person sitting next to him.

That person was no longer slumped over and was now looking down at his phone.

Chen Zhoumu couldn't concentrate on anything on his phone. He had been dozing off at the table when he heard someone calling for Song Shi and wanted to look up.

But he didn't. Later, when he heard who it was, he couldn't resist anymore and grabbed something and followed.

Standing to the side, he eavesdropped on the conversation between the two. When he heard the other person invite Song Shi, he pretended not to care, but his hand holding the water glass tightened slightly.

He didn't even feel the hot water splashing on the back of his hand. In the end, he didn't listen to their conversation; he didn't want to hear Song Shi agree.

After returning to his seat, he turned to look at the two of them, nodding and smiling, as if he had agreed.

He didn't want to talk to Song Shi anymore, but he kept thinking about him. Chen Zhoumu knew that if he didn't speak first,

given Song Shi's personality, they might never speak another word to each other again.

But every time he was about to greet him first, he swallowed his words. He was still angry; he had been sick again last night.

He had even deliberately closed all the doors and windows before taking his medicine. Song Shi knew he was sick,

but he hadn't said a word, not a single word of concern, not even a question.

The cold war was too painful. He didn't like passive-aggressive behavior, but he didn't know how to start a conversation. Now, everyone Song Shi had grown up with was here.

Chen Zhoumu felt like he wasn't that important anymore.

After class, Jiang Man came to the classroom to organize the students to walk to the playground. After all the students were lined up, the flag-raising ceremony began.

Song Shi stood behind Chen Zhoumu. The seats were arranged according to seating arrangement, so his seat was behind his deskmate.

He listened to the people above speaking, looking up at Chen Zhoumu's head. The other boy's hair was a little messy, and the collar of his school uniform was neatly pressed against his neck.

His back was very upright, his hands hanging at his sides, slightly bent. Song Shi kicked at the leaves at his feet out of boredom.

Autumn had already begun in Xia City. The weather was sunny today, and the wind carried a chill.

Leaves were scattered on the ground. He had been here for almost half a year, and it seemed that nothing had changed.

If he hadn't taken Tang Ze to that repair shop that night, would he and Chen Zhoumu have had no connection? Perhaps.

Now it was as if they had never met, no communication, no contact, just like ordinary classmates.

Song Shi suddenly felt a little irritated, but how could he pretend that nothing had happened?

If either of them spoke, they could both back down gracefully, but it was as if they were opposing each other, neither of them breaking the ice between them.

They didn't even dare to touch it.

After the flag-raising ceremony, the teachers led the students to the auditorium for the joint entrance examination awards ceremony.

Song Shi and Chen Zhoumu didn't follow the main group; instead, Zhou Wei pulled them aside and led them separately.

Zhou Wei walked between the two: "Have you prepared your self-criticisms? Don't think you can escape this just because you have good grades. Good students and problem students are treated equally, so don't get any illusions!"

"Chen Zhoumu! Did you hear me? What are you thinking about so seriously?"

"Yes."

"Don't be so listless! You're students! Be energetic! What kind of image is this, so lifeless?"

Zhou Wei led the two towards the backstage area of ​​the lobby, then turned to them: "Don't run away. Stay here for now. You two will go up on stage to read your self-criticisms later."

After saying that, he was called away by other teachers.

A short while later, Zhou Wei gestured for the two to come up on stage.

"Holy crap! It's actually true! The post is real! Are they really dating?" "

Didn't Zhou Wei call them up? And they had to read their self-criticisms, so I think it's almost certainly true." "

But he only said they stayed out all night, not that they were dating."

"How can you talk about this openly? We know it's a sensitive topic, but anyway, they're definitely having an affair."

Zhou Wei looked at the two of them with a look of utter disbelief, then handed the microphone to Chen Zhoumu.

The person standing to the side didn't take it, and said to the person in front, "I didn't write it."

The other person looked at him in shock: "You! Why didn't you write it?"

"I forgot, sorry."

Zhou Wei took a deep breath, looking at Chen Zhoumu with a self-righteous expression, but his attitude was very sincere in his apology.

Not wanting to lose his temper in front of the entire school, he twitched his lips and said, "Then Song Shi should have written it, right?"

Song Shi took the microphone and stood in the center of the stage. Zhou Wei, who was behind him, was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Song Shi's first words of self-criticism caught him off guard.

"First of all, I am honored to be standing here today to read my self-criticism..."

It was supposed to be a self-criticism, but it felt more like an acceptance speech.

After Song Shi finished reading the self-criticism, some students even applauded. Zhou Wei was furious.

Fortunately, there were no more strange things after the self-criticism. After the two of them finally finished the self-criticism segment, the award presenter took the microphone again to continue the ceremony.

Zhou Wei looked at the two people still standing next to him and said with some annoyance, "What are you still standing here for?"

The award presenter, who had just finished speaking, turned around and said, "Let's welcome the award winners to the stage with applause."

"Of course, to receive the award." After saying that, Song Shi walked back to the center of the stage.

Zhou Wei felt like he could faint again; he'd completely forgotten that these two were actually among the top five in the last joint exam.

"Wow, this is too dramatic! They just got criticized and now they're wearing little red flowers as outstanding students."

"Look at the expression on Performance Guy's face right now, it's priceless, hahaha."

"It's not just his expression, which of these teachers today can keep a straight face?"

"It's so funny, so damn satisfying! Especially since the teacher who presented the awards told us to learn from them."

After everyone received their awards and took photos, the award ceremony officially ended, and everyone followed the signs to the door.

Chen Zhoumu was standing behind Song Shi, the two of them at the very back of the line. The crowd slowly dispersed, and the surrounding noise gradually subsided.

Chen Zhoumu suddenly stopped because the people in front of him weren't moving forward.

Song Shi turned around and looked at Chen Zhoumu: "How long are you going to keep this up? Are you done being angry? Can you talk to me now?"

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