Chapter 2 (2/2)

Li Xiang smiled, and found a way to defuse the situation, “We could always play together in the future.”

He left. As Chen Nian turned around, she saw Wei Cai sitting on the ledge and staring at her coldly through her narrowed eyes. Or rather, she was staring at something behind Chen Nian.

Chen Nian looked back, and saw Li Xiang engaged in a conversation with Zeng Hao. He handed a badminton racquet to Zeng Hao, and the both of them went off to play badminton together.

With her jump rope in hand, Chen Nian went off in search of an isolated corner that was separated from the crowd. As she concentrated on the jump rope, she gradually moved from the isolated corner which was exposed to the blazing heat of the afternoon sun into the cooling shade of the mulberry trees. The song of the cicadas surrounded her.

“Hey.” A low male voice rang out emotionlessly.

Chen Nian halted her jump rope, her heart beating like a drum. She surveyed her surroundings but not a single soul was in sight – the students were all gathered on the faraway field, exercising.

The youth smirked coldly, “Here.”

Only then did Chen Nian turn her head in the opposite direction. The boy who had been in the white t-s.h.i.+rt the previous night stood outside the school gates, under the blazing heat of the afternoon sun. He donned another white t-s.h.i.+rt today, along with a pair of school pants. As his jacket hung loosely from his waist, Chen Nian was unable to tell whether he came from a vocational school, or a technical school…

He had an unlit cigarette in his hand, and his fingers played with the cigarette slowly.

The cicada’s song pierced the azure blue sky.

A thin sheen of sweat had formed on Chen Nian’s nose, and her usually pale face had turned into a healthy shade of red; perhaps because of her exercise, her heart was trembling rather violently. Subconsciously, Chen Nian pressed her lips together, and took a step backwards.

The school gates served as a boundary – one side was shrouded in darkness whilst the other was bathed in light.

His extraordinarily bright eyes swept across the boundary dividing the darkness from the light, “How much money did they take from you?”

“Sev……”Chen Nian took a deep breath and continued, “Seventy dollars.”

He fished around in his pockets, and managed to produced two brand new fifty dollar notes. His arm reached across the school gates in an attempt to pa.s.s the money to her.

Chen Nian refused to take the money, shaking her head, “No……”

He waited for a few seconds. On discovering that Chen Nian hadn’t continued her speech, he replied in a distant tone, “You don’t have to give me any change.”

Stunned, Chen Nian shut her mouth, swallowing the word ‘change’ that had been lingering on the tip of her tongue. At a loss as to how to respond, Chen Nian simply opted to continue shaking her head.

His arm was still hanging in mid-air. The youth narrowed his eyes and stared at Chen Nian for a few minutes before letting out an abrupt, cold laugh, “Are you going to take the money, or not?”

Gripping the jump rope in her hand, Chen Nian turned away and was about to leave when the youth suddenly retracted his arm and stepped away from the school gates.

Astonished, Chen Nian turned back to look at him – only to see the youth break out into a sudden run towards the school gates. Using both his arms and his legs, the youth managed to clamber up onto the school gates; and without breaking the momentum, the youth leapt off the school gates, easily landing on the gra.s.s patch before Chen Nian.

The youth lowered his head, sweeping off the dust that had gathered on his hands.

Chen Nian’s heart had leapt into her throat. Speechless, she could only stare at him with widened eyes.

His face was rather clean and pale, and several bruises had already formed above his eyebrows. Standing under the shade of the mulberry trees, his eyes seemed to be even darker and even colder than before. He walked towards her, finally standing in front of her. He was much taller compared to her, and his forceful presence overpowered her. As Chen Nian had been gripping the jump rope tightly in her refusal to take the money, the youth simply stuffed the notes into her fist through the gaps in between her fingers.

It was newly minted notes, causing Chen Nian’s hand to hurt.

The youth turned around immediately and left. Chen Nian stared at his silhouette; it appeared to be rather thin and cold, and radiated an air of youthful decisiveness.

Having taken a few steps, the youth suddenly turned back.

He stared at Chen Nian with the same unreadable gaze. “What’s your name?”

Chen Nian hesitated for a moment, “Chen……Chen Nian.”

Mildly bewildered, he asked, “ Chen Chen Nian?” Due to his Southern accent, Chen Nian’s name sounded like an old type of wine that was clearly lacking in youthful vigour.

Chen Nian neither nodded her head nor shook her head, hoping that by doing so she’d be considered to have silently admitted the truth of his statement. If so, the youth would finally leave the school compound…

The youth gazed at Chen Nian speculatively. He didn’t leave. Instead, he picked up a nearby twig and returned to Chen Nian’s side. He pointed the twig towards the ground before pa.s.sing it to her, and instructed, “Write it out.”

Chen Nian squat down and wrote her name in the sand.

“Chen Nian.” He voiced aloud before continuing, “What does Nian mean?”

Belief (Xin Nian), Reminiscence (Nian Jiu), or Diligence (Nian Shu)?

Chen Nian tried her best to explain, “It mea……” She expended a huge amount of effort, but the words were still as soft as ever. “means being……being true to one’s heart.”

The youth looked at Chen Nian out of the corner of his eyes, finally understanding why she had said “Chen Chen Nian” the first time round.

Chen Nian knew that the youth had discovered her habit of stuttering. She looked at him calmly and peacefully, waiting for him to laugh at her and to mock her. However, his cold face betrayed no sign of any emotion.

Chen Nian could hear shouts originating from beyond the school walls. They were calling out a single name.

White t-s.h.i.+rt walked to the school gates and stepped onto a clump of mud. With his height, the youth simply needed to raise his arms in order to grab hold of the arrowheads on top of the school gates. With the exertion of a small amount of force, his thin body easily defied gravity as he leapt onto the gates.

Chen Nian thought that the arrowheads would scratch the youth, but they did not. They didn’t even manage to touch the school uniform that had been hanging from his waist. Like a sparrow, the youth easily landed on the ground beyond the school gates.

He left. This time, he didn’t look back.

Chen Nian emerged from the shade of the mulberry tree, and took a glimpse at the crowd outside. A group of male students were waiting at the opposite side of the road, all of them armed with wooden bats and sticks.

Chen Nian placed the crumpled notes into the pockets of her exercise outfit. She coiled the jump rope up, deciding to return to the cla.s.sroom to study.

Li Xiang had managed to voice out her innermost thoughts. “Just work hard and focus on your studies. Once you’re done with your examinations, you will be able to leave this place once and for all.”

All the hard work that she put in, all the effort that she expended – it was all so she could escape her present predicament.