Chapter Twenty-One: A Tale of Time

Last night’s rain draped Wuzhou Middle School in an ancient, misty veil;
Teachers and students moved quietly through the fog,
As if they were all working in the celestial palace.
From outside the corridor came the voice of the disciplinary director.
Wang Lixin watched everyone studying diligently, flipping through their books absorbed in their own world;
A soft double knock on the door, then the disciplinary director’s gentle request:
“Teacher Wang, could you ask a few students to help me move some files...”
Wang Lixin retorted, “Don’t you have hands? Get out!”
Some heads sneaked a glance, seeing Director Sun Hongzhi, then turned away sheepishly...
Damn! That’s the disciplinary director!
Wang Lixin’s face was stern as he said, “Lin Cheng, come with me.”
Zhuang Sijing’s heart pounded wildly; she whispered, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Cheng grinned, then shook his head.
The whole class watched with inexplicable anxiety as the guardian Wang led Lin Cheng away.
Curious classmates asked the teacher’s son, Tan Xiaokai, “How come our teacher can even scold the disciplinary director? Is he aiming to be principal?”
“Nonsense! The director used to be Wang’s student!”
“Wow! That’s impressive!”
In modern terms: Wang Lixin exerted absolute dominance over his students!
Wang Lixin walked a few steps, then turned around; Lin Cheng followed closely, nearly bumping into him.
Wang Lixin softened his tone, “Have you finished your speech draft?”
“Oh, teacher, I’m still writing it!”
“Good, keep at it. The education bureau leaders are coming this time; the school is taking it seriously.”
“Okay.”
Lin Cheng was sweating; damn, the morning was terrifying!

The exam stirred the students’ chatter back to the top achievers.
This was the true spirit of a national model high school; despite material rivalries and premature romances,
The main theme was the contest of intellect and the pursuit of future success.
At Wuzhou Middle School, brimming with talent,
Even Lin Cheng, reborn, would blend into the crowd without wholehearted effort...

The last two morning classes were physics, taught by Qin Zhijiebin, an amusing little old man in his fifties;
All the students liked him.
Old Qin was explaining gravitational acceleration, calculating the fall time ratio of two objects with the same mass dropped from the Moon and Earth...
Suddenly, a “thud” behind him startled the teacher, who turned and dashed down from the podium.
He found the academic warrior Zhuang Sijing had fallen off her stool!
“Zhuang Sijing!”
Lin Cheng caught her in a princess carry, pushing through the crowd as he rushed to the infirmary!
Zhuang Sijing was unconscious, her body limp like a swaying willow branch...
“Hey, slow down! Hey! Lin—hey—don’t drop her!”
Old Qin was panting as he hurried after them.
“Slow down, Teacher Qin, she just has low blood sugar.”
“Are you a doctor?”
In his past and present lives, Lin Cheng had seen Zhuang Sijing’s low blood sugar episodes several times.
Sometimes she was drenched in sweat; sometimes she simply fainted.

When Zhuang Sijing opened her eyes, she heard someone nagging in her ear:
“Where’s your chocolate?”
“...”
“Where’s your milk candy?”
“...”
“Where’s your Alps candy?”
“Oh, Black-Faced God! Stop nagging, I only have walnuts left. I didn’t dare eat during class...”
Her voice was soft and sweet, tinged with complaint and reluctance.
Old Qin, Wang Lixin, and Lin Cheng all wore awkward expressions.

After lunch, when Zhuang Sijing woke from her nap, she found the table covered in treats,
Along with a note that read:
Where’s your chocolate?
Where’s your milk candy?
Where’s your Alps candy?

Signed with a big smiley face.

The ancient city streets glowed with scattered lights;
Lin Cheng’s little blue bike sped to the canal’s edge, a cool breeze brushing past;
At the horizon, the stars scattered across the night sky evoked the liberating scene of “thousands of blossoms released by the east wind, stars falling like rain.”
Zhuang Sijing sat behind Lin Cheng’s bike, loudly asking,
“Lin, how did you learn all this?”
Lin Cheng couldn’t reveal the truth and said, “Didn’t you want me to follow your pace? Whatever you memorize, I memorize too. Why do you ask?”
“Huh?”
Zhuang Sijing laughed gaily, “Whether true or not, I love hearing you say that!”
“Lin Cheng, can you keep your grades steady? If you can, maybe you can get into Tsinghua or Peking University.”
“No way!”
Lin Cheng felt that even if he worked hard and got into those top universities, he wouldn’t get a good major.
Besides, places like that overflow with gifted people; even the most diligent students stumble along chasing after prodigies, often unable to catch up.
He certainly wouldn’t consider journalism or archaeology.
“Then how about Shanghai?” Zhuang Sijing teased cheerfully. “What did Guardian Wang want with you?”
“He asked about my speech draft...”
“Wow—” Zhuang Sijing, who never made the list of sharing learning experiences, was a bit envious.

Rebirth seemed to add a fresh, warm feeling to their friendship—like meeting again after a long absence, familiar yet new.
She liked secretly calling herself a genius girl, happily showing off over small things.
She liked drinking AD calcium milk, a bottle every day, rain or shine.
She liked eating chocolate, sneaking bites during class when the teacher wasn’t looking.
She liked to laugh, her eyes narrowing to slits, her voice ringing like silver bells.
She liked so many things.
Lin Cheng knew: he was one of the things she liked too.

The flowing water carries away the stories of time,
Changing a person
In that tender, wistful youth, waiting for the first bloom of dawn.