134 Encountering an Acquaintance

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“Yes, just look at the old woman repairing shoes on the street corner, and that elderly couple selling baked flatbreads. Good grief, do they really have to stare at people like that?” Zhao Qian pouted.

Lin Xia laughed. “We hardly ever get any strangers here throughout the year. A whole group of us arrives at once, and every one of us is young and attractive, so it’s only natural that people can’t stop staring. Girls as pretty as Sister Xin are usually seen only on television. How often would anyone come across one in real life?”

Zhao Xin said, “I saw those little bamboo chairs outside your grandmother’s house just now. I haven’t seen chairs like that in years.”

“Yes. Those two were bought when I was little, and we’ve used them for more than a decade. I doubt you could even find them for sale now. They’ve probably gone extinct.” Lin Xia sighed, then pointed toward the sign ahead. “We’re here.”

Several large characters reading Xishui Town Central Primary School came into view. The school’s imposing iron gates stood open, revealing bare concrete paths stretching in every direction. The whole place seemed utterly lifeless.

“Why is the school so bare? There isn’t even a single tree,” Zhao Qian asked as they entered.

“There used to be rose bushes and banana trees planted over here. During labor classes, we often hid beneath the flowers and plants. Once the teacher left, we would secretly pick the bananas. They weren’t ripe enough to eat, but that never stopped us from having fun.” Lin Xia pointed to an empty patch of ground on the left.

“There used to be a small bamboo grove on the right. This was the Culture Corridor. If someone’s drawing, calligraphy, or composition was displayed here, it was considered an enormous honor.”

They continued farther inside. On the left was a cement basketball court, beside a coal-covered playing field. Weeds had grown thickly through the middle, and a little farther on stood the horizontal and parallel bars used for physical training. On the right was a small garden, with the school buildings behind it. They had clearly stood for many years, and to Lin Xia’s eyes, they were already showing signs of decay.

After beginning work in her previous life, Lin Xia had dreamed of this school building, and of this place, countless times.

Even after entering middle school, high school, and university, this was still the only place she ever dreamed about.

“Huh? Why are there two flag-raising platforms?” Xie Xitong asked, pointing at the playing field. There was one platform on the eastern side and another on the western side.

“When I was in third and fourth grade, we used that platform. We raised the flag there too. By the time we reached fourth and fifth grade, the teachers must have realized that facing west during the flag-raising ceremony was rather strange, so they built another one on the eastern side. After that, we used the eastern platform for flag-raising, while the western one was used for performances and other events.”

“There used to be orchids planted here too. We happened to be learning that song at the time, so those flowers were tormented by us every day.”

After touring the primary school, the group headed toward the middle school.

“The middle school is very close to the primary school. It only takes about five minutes to walk there. I haven’t been back in ages. I wonder whether it has changed.” Lin Xia smiled.

As she spoke, they were already nearing Xishui Middle School.

A voice came from the bend in the road beside them.

“Xiaxia?”

The voice held surprise, delight, and a trace of disbelief.

Lin Xia and the others turned around and saw a girl standing there. She wore an ordinary short-sleeved shirt and jeans, and her hair was tied in a ponytail.

“Ren Jie, what are you doing here?” Lin Xia turned to Chen Zimo and the others. “She was my classmate in middle school. Let’s go over and say hello.”

Zhao Xin smiled. “Since we’ve run into her, we should go over and greet her.”

Xie Xitong nodded. “It would be discourteous not to.”

Since both of them said so, the others naturally had no objections and walked over.

“Xiaxia, when did you come back? Why didn’t I know?” Ren Jie asked. But the moment she saw Zhao Xin’s appearance, she froze slightly. When she noticed Chen Zimo, she was completely stunned, forgetting even to speak.

Lin Xia felt helpless. She had known this would happen.

Seeing Ren Jie’s foolish expression, Sun Xiaoxiao almost laughed. But remembering that she was Lin Xia’s friend, she decided to spare her the embarrassment. She merely leaned against Zhao Qian’s shoulder and whispered with her.

“Let me introduce everyone. This is my classmate, Ren Jie. Ren Jie, these are my friends: Sister Xin, Tongtong, Qianqian, Xiaoxiao, Zimo, and Axin.”

Even after Lin Xia finished that long introduction, Ren Jie still had not recovered. She simply stared blankly at Chen Zimo.

It was terribly rude.

Lin Xia could not help feeling irritated, though she also understood. A young girl who had never seen a man that handsome in real life was bound to lose her composure.

So she patted Ren Jie on the shoulder. “Hey, come back to earth!”

“Oh—” Ren Jie jolted awake as if emerging from a dream. She looked at Lin Xia. “Hmm? What is it?”

“Pfft—”

This time Sun Xiaoxiao truly could not hold back and burst out laughing.

Everyone turned to look at her.

She waved her hands. There happened to be a small shop nearby, so she tugged at Zhao Qian and said, “You all keep talking. Qianqian and I are going to buy some water. We’re thirsty anyway. Big Brother Chen, come help us carry it.”

With that, she dragged the two of them away.

“We’ll go take a look too. You two chat,” Zhao Xin said with a gentle smile.

Ren Jie froze again.

How could there be a girl this beautiful?

Only after Lin Xia was the sole person standing before her did Ren Jie’s face begin to redden.

That girl had just laughed at her!

“Ren Jie, what are you doing here?” Lin Xia asked with a smile.

“I had something to do in town. What about you? Weren’t you living in the county? Why did you come back?” Ren Jie recovered herself and asked, “And who were those people just now? They’re incredibly attractive.”

Although Sun Xiaoxiao and Zhao Qian were not as beautiful as Zhao Xin and Xie Xitong, they were still far prettier than Lin Xia.

“They’re some friends of mine.” Lin Xia did not elaborate. Instead, she asked, “Which high school are you attending now? I haven’t heard from you in more than a year. What about Ren Xia and Li Jing? How are they doing?”

“I haven’t seen Ren Xia since the high school entrance examination. I heard she went with her aunt to a big city to work in a garment factory. Li Jing didn’t pass, so she plans to repeat the year. I got into Experimental High School, but I still don’t know how things will turn out.” Ren Jie sighed.

Lin Xia looked enlightened. In only two years, that innocent little girl who had once cared about nothing in the world had been forced to grow up.

Time truly urged people toward old age.

Ren Jie glanced at the well-dressed group of women standing by the shop and said enviously, “I’m so jealous of you. Your parents treat you so well, and now you live in such a big house. You’ve even made friends with all these beautiful, wonderful people.”

Lin Xia merely smiled without speaking.

They saw only the brilliance on the surface. How could they see the sweat and tears behind it?

When Lin Xia stayed up late doing her homework, they were asleep. When she desperately read books and wrote essays, other people were eating snacks and watching television. She had given so much just to be able to stand beside Chen Zimo and the others without feeling inferior.

Some people were born to shine. People like them had to struggle desperately to reach that same height.

Yet the heritage and advantages that others had accumulated over generations were not something people like them could ever match.

“You make it sound as though your parents treated you badly. Didn’t you used to complain that my mother was always nagging me, saying that this was wrong and that was wrong? Didn’t you say it was more carefree when your parents weren’t around? What changed your mind?” Lin Xia teased, trying to comfort her. “If your mother really were with you every day, constantly lecturing you, I doubt you could stand it either.”

Ren Jie sighed. When one’s parents were nearby, at least there was someone to make decisions whenever anything happened. Her own parents were away, and she had filled out her high school applications entirely by herself. They had only called to ask about it, which was why she envied Lin Xia.

“Everyone has their own advantages. People are always envious of what others have.” Once she entered high school, Ren Jie had begun missing her childhood companions more and more. That gentle girl with the warm smile was even prettier than the most arrogant beauty in her class. Perhaps they really did belong to the same kind of world.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Lin Xia could not leave Chen Zimo and the others waiting any longer.

“You should go take care of your business. I’ll be leaving now. If I have the chance, I’ll come to your school and visit you.”

Ren Jie nodded. “Go on. Your friends are waiting.”

“Goodbye, then.”

“Goodbye.”

The moment Lin Xia returned, Sun Xiaoxiao immediately handed her a bottle of soda, grinning ingratiatingly.

Lin Xia laughed. “All right, let’s look around inside. Then we’ll have seen the whole of Xishui Town. After that, we can go play by the river. The Sihu River is still quite clean at this time of year.”

“The Sihu River.” You Xin repeated the name. “Is that the river we passed earlier? It looked rather wide.”

“Yes, that one. It’s a tributary of the Yangtze. When there’s too much water in the city, some of it is diverted to small places like ours to keep the city’s drainage system flowing smoothly.”

The old-fashioned iron gates had been replaced by modern electronic ones, and the school had been completely renovated. A large building had also been constructed beside it, which looked like a student dormitory.

“See that classroom? I attended my first year of middle school there. Look at those windows. Because they’ve been there so long, the glass often fell out, so the school never allowed us to walk underneath them.”

“That little shop has been here for many years too. I used to come here to buy snacks when I was in primary school. I still remember buying dried tofu strips. They cost fifty cents a packet.”

“Wow, stop talking about it. You’re making my mouth water.”

Chen Zimo smiled and stuffed the snacks in his hands into her arms. “They’re all yours. Eat.”

Watching Chen Zimo’s gentle profile, Zhao Xin felt a deep sense of contentment.

Although he was not very skilled at dealing with people and often failed to show much consideration toward unfamiliar girls, hurting their pride without meaning to, he displayed a gentleness and patience far beyond his years in front of girls he knew well.

He took the initiative to carry bags and schoolbooks, looked after every member of the group, and cared for the others in his own way.

A boy this exceptional surely deserved to find happiness.

Watching coldly from the sidelines, Lin Xia now understood why Chen Zimo had behaved that way when they first met.

At the time, they had been strangers, and Chen Zimo had always been cold toward unfamiliar girls. Perhaps he had been pestered by girls for so long that he had grown wary of them. Give them even the slightest smile, and they would cling to him like chewing gum, impossible to shake off.

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