Chapter 14 (1/2)

“If the earth is flat, I would open the window every day

—Gigi Leung (Weather Report)

Being in freshman year in university meant one had to endure one month of military training. Zhang Yuan had tanned considerably. He Luo smiled when she saw his photo. Over the phone, she told him, “You must wear reflective clothes when you are going out at night, otherwise the driver cannot see you. Crossing the road is too dangerous for you.”

The female monitor Zhu Ning Li then got up. “Zhang Yuan isn’t doing enough to reunite our cla.s.s. It’s almost the end. Even though he is a local and also a monitor, he doesn’t bother arranging the outstation students to explore the city. And he never shows us girl a smiling face.”

Glaring at him, Zhu Ning Li sat back down.

He Luo could not imagine Zhang Yuan’s darkened face. How could he not smile? Since when has He Luo ever seen his dark and moody expression?

Her roommate Zhou Xing Yan, the Beijing girl, frowned as she carried two bottles of hot water back to their room. “Hey, He Luo. Didn’t I tell you to lie down and rest? Why are you still sitting there, reading the letter? You read the letter everyday, you read it so much you will ruin the letter someday!” She ransacked her drawer for a VC pill and dissolved it in a gla.s.s of water. “Since you don’t have an appet.i.te, have some vitamin at least. You’ll get better faster.”

Back then, Zhang Yuan told her how, as a child, he used to go to the traders and ask for calcium carbide. When it rained, he would throw them in the drain on the street. He and a group of children would surround the drain excitedly watching the water bubbling from the chemistry reaction.

“This is called having an adventurous spirit.” Zhang Yuan shook his head at her. That radiant expression was still vivid in her memories but in just a blink of an eye, two years have pa.s.sed since.

In the morning, she was forced to wait for a long time in the school nursery. Zhou Xing Yan who was accompanying her was apologetic as she said, “He Luo, the Advanced Maths cla.s.s is about to begin…” As a freshman, she still carried the perception of a high school student that cla.s.ses cannot be skipped.

After finally meeting the doctor and explaining the cause, she was scolded. “It was raining so hard the past two days but you were outside on the phone for half an hour? You’re lucky not to have pneumonia. Were you calling your boyfriend? I know you weren’t calling home. You children never understand the feelings of worried parents and only know how to be affectionate with your boyfriends. You don’t even know how to take care of yourself!”

He Luo had neither the heart nor strength to retort.

“Your voice sounds off.” Zhang Yuan was suspicious. “Why do you sound so stiff? If you’re tired, just take a break and I will call you back later.”

“Exactly. You 600 girls only have one telephone in the entire building. Of course it’ll be more difficult than calling into a radio hotline,” he complained. “The last time I tried an entire afternoon, I dialed the number over and over until my fingers hurt.”

“Just for that, you made yourself sick?” Ye Zhi placed her school bag on the floor and went over to feel He Luo’s forehead. “Aiya, it’s really hot! I’m going to the canteen, do you want any food?”

The oldest roommate Tong Jia came over. “He Luo, you must miss home all that more when ill?”

“Ah, I’m still okay. I’ll get some sleep first.” He Luo turned towards the wall, hiding underneath the net. In an instant, her tears began falling.

Then it was as if the weather turned sultry and she was transported to the time she was preparing for her college entrance exam. He Luo stared at the review materials covering her desk. “Didn’t I already take the exam?”

“There are so many, how can I finis.h.!.+” When she turned around, she saw that Zhang Yuan was not in the cla.s.sroom. He must be outside playing in the court again. “Come back, there are still so many workbooks undone!” she yelled over the window.

The lights were just turned off and the girls had just settled into their beds, quietly complaining about how the Advanced Maths lecturer skipped 20 pages of content in one go. He Luo stared wide-eyed at the flooring above her, where the wood was so old and cracked she could see scars on it. When Zhou Xing Yan climbed to the bunk above, the bed rattled.

“Is it raining?” He Luo asked.

“Are we being too loud? Did we disturb you?” Ye Zhi asked.

“You seem to be having a nightmare earlier, you kept on muttering something.”

He Luo closed her eyes. Her head was still hurting so much that it felt like it was going to explode. She pressed her palms on her temples and gently rubbed them. Outside the window, the sound of basketball hitting the ground felt especially close, especially clear in the quiet of the night.

“Don’t worry about me,” He Luo said. “You all should rest early, you still have cla.s.s tomorrow.”

He Luo didn’t mention about how she got sick from the rain.

*

“Pick it up and stand!”

“Ah, you’re really heartless! You only come and see me after so many days!” Tian Xin rushed over to He Luo as soon as it was break time. “Is it that you are so busy dating with Cla.s.smate Zhang that you forgot that your sister is still suffering here!”

“Ah, really! Have you gotten better?”

“You’re really [acting] strong,” Tian Xin said. “If my parents know, surely they’ll be crying and rus.h.i.+ng over here on the plane.”