Chapter 8 (1/2)
Chapter 8: The Sun on the Palm
The snow fell continuously. The school’s field was turned into a makes.h.i.+ft ice rink.
The last cla.s.s of the day was PE. Zhao Cheng Jie cried in anguish, “We’re dead, dead. We’ll have to trip over and break into pieces.”
“Didn’t you always flaunt your athleticism?” He Luo laughed at him.
“But I’m tall, so my centre of gravity is high. I’m not made for skating,” Zhao Cheng Jie lamented. “Never mind, never mind. With your height, you won’t be able to understand my pain.”
“What a joke,” He Luo said. “When we started skating lessons in primary school, we’ve never heard that being tall would be a disadvantage.”
Zhang Yuan leaned forward, glancing at the ice skates she was holding. “No wonder you sound so experienced, I thought girls would use figure skates.”
“Are you looking down girls? Let’s compete and see who’s better!” He Luo lifted her chin.
“I don’t mean that.” Zhang Yuan smiled. “But since you’ve asked for it, let’s do it!”
They had just barely stood in the ice rink when Zheng Qing Yin ran over to them. Separated by the fence, she waved at Zhang Yuan. “You’re still on wheels [skates]. I saw you this morning, you zoomed past our side in an instant.”
“Superb acrobatics, wasn’t it!” Zhang Yuan skated over, stopping expertly.
“What. It’s so dangerous.” Zheng Qing Yin pouted. “In the future you’re not allowed to go so fast.”
“If I don’t go a little faster, won’t I be late?” Zhang Yuan turned around. “I’ll go and sign my attendance with the teacher first.”
Zheng Qing Yin sprawled over the fence and extended her hand to grab his coat. With a lowered voice, she said, “Promise me, promise me.”
“Fine, fine. You let go first.”
He Luo did not say anything, only running to skate a few laps around the rink. “You’re doing pretty well!” Teacher Qiu who taught language cla.s.s pa.s.sed by and praised her.
The PE teacher said proudly, “Of course! You have to see who her teacher is.”
“It’s because she already learned this, isn’t it. The students you teach are like that,” Teacher Qiu pointed at Zhao Cheng Jie. He was standing woodenly in the middle of the rink, both feet wide open like he was a big ‘eight’ character.
He Luo shook her head and skated over. “Do you want me to help you?”
“How? Aren’t you going to compete with Zhang Yuan? Oh, he’s being hara.s.sed by the little girl again.” With his seatmate’s help, Zhang Cheng Jie managed to stand firm, looking past the top of her head. “Ah, ah, look, look. They’re even pulling each other [acting intimately]. Could it be that in another moment they would be hugging each other!”
“Why are you so concerned about that? Learn to skate properly!” He Luo chided him.
“Don’t be so fierce. After mixing around with Tian Xin, Li Yun Wei and the rest, your temperament has chang
ed, your temper has also become bad.” He sighed. “Look, that type of cute and helpless-looking girl would be more popular with boys. Zhang Yuan this brat really has luck with the ladies.”
“You really speak a lot of nonsense.” He Luo violently shook him off.
Zhao Cheng Jie lost his footing and with a string of “ai” sound, sprawled onto the ice floor. It hurt so bad that he grimaced. “Did you inhale gunpowder? I called you fierce and you really become fierce!”
Zhang Yuan skated over and pulled Zhao Cheng Jie up. “He Luo, why have you come here to spit fire, didn’t you say you want to have a match with me?”
“What’s there to compete,” He Luo wanly said. “While you were chatting, I have already skated many rounds and have long depleted my energy.” She turned around and left.
“Good, lest you said I didn’t win gracefully.” Zhang Yuan chased after her. “Where’s your scarf and hat?”
“Didn’t you say to compete earlier? Wearing them will be a burden.”
“Then don’t skate anymore, your ears are all red. If I touch them, they’ll fall off.”
“We’re in cla.s.s. It’s not like we’re outside playing. If I don’t skate, I’ll be scolded by the teacher.” He Luo rubbed her hands and covered her ears with them.
“He won’t have the leisure time to notice.” Zhang Yuan put up his hand. “Look, there’s one who keep on falling over, using a thousand ways to get back on his feet.” He Luo saw that a few other beginners falling over and over, the PE teacher had been breathlessly going back and forth to help them.
Zhang Yuan cleared his throat and said quietly, “Were you angry? How about some roasted sweet potatoes?”
The freshly roasted sweet potatoes were hot to the touch and its burnt skin was peeling all over, revealing a rich yellow colour inside. The sweet smell swirled with the white breath floated into the nose.
“I want another one. I’ll pay,” He Luo told the hawker.
“You really can eat!” Zhang Yuan said, “I’ve even chosen a particularly big one for you, is it still not enough?”
“For my seatmate. I caused him to fall just now.”
“Why are you always losing your temper at Zhao Cheng Jie?”
“Did I lose my temper?”
“Did you not? You’re usually not this sensitive.” Zhang Yuan took a large bite on his sweet potatoes, but it was so hot that he jumped a little.
“I’m usually like this.”
“The more I say, the more stubborn you become.”
“I’m usually this stubborn.”
The two of them lowered their heads and ate the potatoes in silence. Zhang Yuan usually kept his back straight but whenever he talked to girls, he would lean down slightly, but not in a condescending way. He is this considerate and polite to everyone, He Luo thought, this is a type of habit, not a special treatment towards me.
The potatoes remained really hot. Zhang Yuan gasped for cold air and said a string of words that she could not decipher the long and short of.
“What did you say?”
“Mean girl.” He lowered his head and continued eating.
“Say that again!”
“Me–an. Gi–rl!” Zhang Yuan said each word clearly.
He Luo was biting on her potato, lowered her head to hide a smile. “Pumpkin thief,” she said.
“Mean girl.”
“Pumpkin thief.”