The night before the final exams, Zhao ii pushed her textbooks aside, deciding not to study and to take a good rest tonight, letting her mind calm down.
Zhao ii nestled on the sofa and called her Brother Yangyang.
Shi Yang’s voice sounded a bit languid: "The exam is tomorrow, so go to bed early tonight."
Zhao ii agreed with a sound.
Shi Yang asked, "You’ve been working hard; do you think you can score high this ti?"
Zhao ii answered confidently, "Of course, I can."
Shi Yang laughed, his deep, magnetic laughter traveling through the phone line, like a little hand stirring Zhao ii’s fluttering heart.
Zhao ii held her face in her hands and asked, "Brother, if I do well, will there be a reward for ?"
Shi Yang: "What do you want?"
Zhao ii thought for a mont: "I want to eat hamburgers, chicken wings, and fries."
Shi Yang readily agreed: "Sure."
Zhao ii giggled foolishly a couple of tis, chatted with her Brother Yangyang for a bit more, then hung up and went back to her room to sleep.
The final exams lasted three days. After finishing the last subject, Zhao ii handed in her paper and left the exam hall, waiting in front of the school building for Xu Xu with her backpack.
When Xu Xu ca out, he saw Zhao ii sitting on the steps, zoning out with her chin propped up.
Zhao ii’s side profile was particularly beautiful, with her slightly lowered eyelids revealing long, dense eyelashes, highlighting the gentle contours of her face. She sat there quietly, like a painting.
Zhao ii inadvertently turned her head and saw Xu Xu standing on the steps, staring at her, lost in thought.
When Xu Xu t her gaze, he instantly snapped back to reality and smiled, "Have you been waiting long?"
Zhao ii stood up, dusting off the dirt on her pants: "I have, indeed."
Xu Xu habitually took her backpack and explained, "Got delayed a bit correcting the answers."
The two walked side by side toward the school gate.
Xu Xu asked Zhao ii, "How do you feel you did on the exam?"
Zhao ii smiled confidently, "I feel pretty good about it."
With a friendly gesture, Zhao ii threw her arm over Xu Xu’s shoulder, "When the results co out, if I did well, I’ll take you out for skewers!"
Xu Xu’s body tensed for a mont, then relaxed without leaving any trace, nodding in agreent: "Sounds good."
Xu Xu turned his head to look at Zhao ii, whose eyes were almost level with his, and he felt a bit gloomy.
Xu Xu wasn’t particularly short in the class, but he wasn’t tall either. Zhao ii was relatively tall for a girl, so when they stood together, their heights seed similar.
Zhao ii didn’t notice Xu Xu’s gloominess because she was so relieved and happy now that the exams were finally over. She turned her head and asked Xu Xu, "When we get to my house later, let’s..."
"ii!"
Zhao ii quickly turned her head toward the school gate, and imdiately spotted her Brother Yangyang’s extraordinarily handso face amidst the parents waiting to pick up their kids.
"Brother!" Zhao ii released Xu Xu’s shoulder and, in a sprinting burst, directly jumped into her Brother Yangyang’s arms.
Shi Yang held her firmly, standing especially stable.
Zhao ii hugged his strong waist and looked up at him excitedly: "Brother! Why did you co? When did you get back?"
Shi Yang smiled at her: "All done with exams?"
Zhao ii grinned from ear to ear: "Yes! Gosh! Brother! I’m so thrilled you ca to pick up!"
Zhao ii hugged her Brother Yangyang and bounced twice in place, as if only this could express her overwhelming excitent.
Xu Xu watched as Zhao ii unhesitatingly left him and leapt into her Brother Yangyang’s arms. His heart ached with jealousy. He stood there, staring blankly, pausing before managing to force a smile, then walked over to greet them, "Brother Yangyang."
Shi Yang, who was speaking with Zhao ii, looked up at the sound and saw Xu Xu. His gaze naturally slid to the light blue backpack in Xu Xu’s hand, pausing before smiling lightly, his expression polite but distant.
Shi Yang took them to a fast-food restaurant in the city by taxi, and the three sat around a table eating.
Shi Yang ordered braised pork rice for himself, Zhao ii was vigorously eating a hamburger, and Xu Xu was mindlessly chewing his food, feeling a prickly sensation in his stomach.
Halfway through the al, Shi Yang received a phone call. He stepped aside to answer it, and when he returned, he saw Xu Xu holding a napkin and wiping ketchup from Zhao ii’s mouth.
Xu Xu leaned over, and Zhao ii looked up. Their actions were intimate and natural.
Shi Yang halted, initially stunned. But when he saw the focused and tender gaze Xu Xu had for Zhao ii, he suddenly understood what kind of feelings this handso young man had for her.
Realizing this, Shi Yang felt inexplicably uncomfortable and a bit annoyed, along with an indescribable awkwardness and anger.
These complex emotions clashed harshly in his heart, leaving him montarily at a loss.
With such mixed feelings, Shi Yang returned to his seat.
Zhao ii turned to him with concern, "Who was on the phone?"
Shi Yang replied nonchalantly, "Just a friend."
Zhao ii acknowledged with a sound and continued eating, engaging with Xu Xu in their previous conversation. They animatedly gestured with their hands in the air during monts of excitent, the atmosphere warm and pleasant.
Watching them talk, Shi Yang furrowed his brow and fell silent.
He contemplated the peculiar, repressed anger he was feeling.
Zhao ii was transitioning from eighth to ninth grade, at the blossoming age where having a crush on a peer is entirely normal. Besides, it was Xu Xu, soone she had grown up with, a classic childhood friend.
As this sweet, youthful idea flashed through his mind, he suddenly felt inexplicably sad, as if sothing he cherished most deeply and importantly was becoming precarious, ready to slip away, no longer solely his.
As Shi Yang sat brooding, he noticed a red blur passing in front of his eyes.
Zhao ii: "....Brother!"
Shi Yang snapped out of his daze: "Hmm?"
Only then did he see that Zhao ii was holding a fry dipped in ketchup to his mouth.
Zhao ii: "Ah!"
Shi Yang cooperatively opened his mouth, biting the fry, tasting its sour and sweet flavor spreading across his taste buds.
Zhao ii dipped another fry and fed it to him: "Ah!"
Shi Yang opened his mouth again, biting down and chewing the fry: "Stop feeding ; I don’t really like it."
Zhao ii pouted: "It’s so good! Ah! Try one more!"
Reluctantly, Shi Yang ate another couple of fries, and as the sour-sweet taste filled his mouth, the tinge of lancholy in his heart inexplicably dissipated.
At that mont, a thought flashed through Shi Yang’s mind that made him smile wryly: This feeling might be similar to watching his daughter prepare to leave ho and marry.
Shi Yang shook his head, determined to categorize these complex, anxious emotions under familial love, and imdiately felt his tangled feelings ease.
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