He Luo glanced at him. “Are you looking down on us? This is the most basic knowledge when it comes to outdoor activities. I might even know more about it than you.”
“That’s because Zhang Yuan likes these things a lot, that’s why I know some of it,” He Luo replied. “And it’s true that they’re also interesting.”
“Mainly because it’s interesting.”
“Because it’s interesting!”
He Luo waved her hand. “Forget it. What’s wrong with being lovey-dovey?”
Zhou Xing Yan leaned over. “That’s because you’re not as handsome as her boyfriend.”
“What do you mean?” He Luo glared at him.
“Hng. Zhang Yuan’s entrance examination score isn’t lower than yours, it just so happens because you’re from Beijing.”
Yes, what was wrong with her? He Luo had to ask that herself. Why did she act like she had a bone to pick with everyone?
“I just don’t want to hear anyone criticise him,” she replied. “I think I can understand his feelings. To be looked at and contemplated by others that way is a disgraceful feeling.”
He Luo’s footsteps slowed. Her heart shook as realisation dawned on her. Was this really true? Perhaps it was… Back then she was courageous to go against her parents’ wishes and was able to hold her head high to meet the eyes of others. That wasn’t because she was really brave. That was because she and Zhang Yuan were remarkable. As long as they didn’t go over the line, no teacher or parent would interfere with their relationship. And she herself was not fearless as she had thought. Zhang Yuan was still the Zhang Yuan from the past. Not only was he unable to accept his defeat, he was unable to frankly face such a reality.
She was frightened by her thoughts.
I believe in Zhang Yuan, I also believe in his ability. She believed that everything would turn out to be fine in the end.
“No, I’m writing to my family. What’s up?”
“Here I thought what big issue has happened. That’s just normal.” Ye Zhi laughed. “If Zhang Yuan is just a good-for-nothing pretty boy, would you have liked him? You’re moved because he’s good in all aspects. And you think he’s wasting his talents and hopes he can do better. That’s not an unreasonable illusion.”
“That’s why you need to guide and comfort him.”
“How do I know? I’ve never been in love,” Ye Zhi replied.
He Luo sighed and climbed down the side ladder.
A relationship is between two persons. Why did she now required someone else’s approval? He Luo was a little disappointed in herself. She raised the torchlight and wrote the following line in her diary: “Is our love too perfect that we cannot even bear a grain of sand [a third person]?”
After receiving a parcel from home, Zhang Wei Rui went to the campus post office during lunch time to send her reply. The tiny hall was packed with people and she was squeezed to a small corner. She suddenly heard the clear, deep voice of a boy. “Shifu [master], please help me nail down these boxes and give me a parcel delivery form.”
Tall stature, navy blue short coat. “Ge [brother]!” Zhang Wei Rui yelled, waving her hand. “Hey, Zhang Yuan!”
“My mouth is mine, your ear is yours. I’ll shout your name all I like, you can choose not to listen.” Zhang Wei grinned. She glanced at the two wooden boxes in his hands. “Eh? What is this?” She looked up at him. “Ah, are they presents?” She can’t help but take them to see for herself. Inside were four CDs. “Gigi Leung, Karen Mok, Xu Huai Yu…” She looked up again. “These are all the latest albums. Your music taste is really diverse.”
“And they don’t sell these in Beijing?”
“Right. Then she might as well just get pirated CDs.”
“Here you go, the hammer and nails. Do it yourself.”
“It will crush the albums inside.” Zhang Yuan took the hammer and nails over to a more isolated corner. He kneeled down and began hammering away.
“Step away. Be careful of the wood splinter getting into your eye,” he warned. “Come, student Zhang Chao Chao [grass]. Stand a little further away.”
“It’s still Chao Chao,” he replied. “In this country, how many people will be able to write that name of yours?”
“Who wants their delivery packages?” The staff called, shaking a stack of the folded packages. “These are we have for today. Those who don’t get one will have to come back tomorrow!”
“Put it down.” He can’t help but stop her.
“Are you okay?” Zhang Yuan pushed the crowd away and worriedly squatted next to her.
“You still say nothing.” Zhang Yuan reached out his hand.
“You.... the more you help, the more mess you create.” Zhang Yuan examined the boxes in his hand. There was a long split caused by the crooked nail on one side. “This is called nothing? How can I use this?”
“Forget it. You can’t make it in time.” Zhang Yuan said, “They don’t have the right sizes here. These two are my handiwork.”
*
“But the worth of such thoughtfulness is priceless.” Ye Zhi smiled. “Look at He Luo. She’s been hiding in a corner listening to the CDs since she got them. Earlier I wanted to open one of the CDs but she resisted like it’s a life-or-death matter.”
Shen Lie went and looked for He Luo. “There’s no class tomorrow noon, are we still going to check out the venue? The competition is this weekend.”
Shen Lie was bemused. “This doesn’t sound like you. Aren’t you the type who likes to make sure everything is within your grasp?”
Shen Lie said, “Then are you planning not to prepare at all? That’s just trying your luck.”
“Earlier you said the joy is in participation and you just want to have fun.”
This was something Zhang Yuan once said, which she found very logical. This guy would sometimes come up with the most brilliant phrases and she would write them down and memorise them. Sometimes when he heard her repeating his words, he would say, “Did I say something like that?”
“This is how great men are born. What they don’t remember saying will be jotted down by their admirers as record.”
“Good. Then I’ll also write Quotations of He.” Zhang Yuan had laughed. “Ah, that’s not right. It should be Quotations of Zhang and He.”
Ring-aling, ding dong, please hurry up and open the door.
Ring-aling, ding dong, please listen to my confession.
*
“Ah, shut it! It’s really awful, it’s like an out-of-battery recorder.” Zhu Ning Li, who had picked up Zhang Wei Rui’s earphones, laughed at her.
Ring-aling, ding dong, please hurry up and open the door. Ring-aling, ding dong, be my hero, be my knight.
“It’s good, isn’t it!” Zhang Wei Rui nodded her head to the beat of the song, making some hip-hop gestures. “Ah, be my hero, be my knight [in English]!” She stretched her arms towards Zhu Ning Li, laughing like a maniac.
After laughing for a moment, Zhang Wei Rui stopped and asked, “Have you met Zhang Yuan’s girlfriend? What does she look like?”
“But she should be a very cute girl,” Zhang Wei Rui said. “Someone who blushes as soon as she speaks, very shy, the kind who makes one feel protective of her.”
“I guessed.” Zhang Wei Rui told her about what happened at the post office. “Just look at how Zhang Yuan dotes on her.”
“It’s just that I haven’t heard of Xu Huai Yu’s songs and found it interesting. Do you have to speak this way?” Zhang Wei Rui stomped her feet. “I already said, I’m not the kind of little girl who falls in love at first sight.”
“Then what about you?”
*
“That’s because the school map isn’t clear!” Zhou Xing Yan protested.
“Why didn’t you mention that you went to the high school attached to our university? You must have came over to our campus everyday for food, like one of those brats who crowd our canteens!”
He Luo and Shen Lie shared the same starting point. While waiting, Shen Lie took out a bar of chocolate. “Our run is going to take an hour, this is enough to supply energy for that long.”
“I’ve known how to all along but why don’t some people ask whether they’re considered girls?” Shen Lie snickered.
“Aiya, isn’t it enough that I’m afraid of you, big sis? You see, I don’t even dare to compete with you directly using the same map.” Shen Lie showed her that he was carrying the team B’s map.
“Hello. We’re from the same class. My name is He Luo.”
“Me? This is my first time entering this kind of competition. If I can find my way around, that would already be good enough.”
“What did you say about me?” He Luo asked after Cai Man Xin left.
“That’s too much pressure.” He Luo laughed. “You said she’s from the management faculty? I want to ask a few questions about their graduate program.”
“No, I want to ask on Zhang Yuan’s behalf,” He Luo replied. “There are very few spots for their university’s graduate program. I hope he can apply to ours. I’ll ask about all the relevant programs he can try, including finance, economics, applied mathematics, or even computer technology.”
“There are only three years left. The earlier we start, the better our chances.” He Luo smiled. “Remember what I told you? There are some things where it’s okay to give up. On the same vein, there are also some things we can’t afford to lose.”
Unlike everyone else who rushed forwards, He Luo stayed back and studied her map. She slowly ran out of the starting point as she looked for the best path for her to finish the course. She then leisurely walked towards that direction. When she looked around, she saw Cai Man Xin also using the same strategy as hers.
Zhou Xing Yan was the unluckiest out of everyone. Just as she was getting out of her starting point, she said, “I’m going to climb this mountain.” As she finally made it up, she accidentally slipped on the slope and stepped into an abandoned tree pit. She cried in pain, unable to move. The rest of the students clamoured to help her. Jiang Zhi Yao laughed. “The contestant next to you must have felt strange to find you suddenly half your height out of the blue. After a closer look, it turns out you’ve fallen into a pit.”
Jiang Zhi Yao laughed even more loudly but still sent her to the school clinic on bike.
“There’s something I need to ask you, about your faculty’s postgraduate program.” He Luo caught up to her.
“Oh… I’m helping a schoolmate to ask but he’s not from our university. He studies mathematical finance. So I was asking to see if there are any postgraduate programs he can choose from.”
“It’s easier to speak to peers…” He Luo frowned. Where can she find this year’s test-takers?
“Boastful, isn’t she?” Shen Lie said. “She’s been like this since a long time ago.”
“That kid isn’t bad at heart, just a little arrogant.”
“Her? Her standards are too high!” Shen Lie said. “It’ll be a miracle if she can even look at someone like me.”
“Her eyesight is so high that her eyes are atop her head [very high standards]!” Shen Lie cried. “Unless I’m an electricity pole, it won’t happen.”
[illustration by Choi Mi Kyung]