Mr. Han spoke earnestly, "Xiao Yu, our ancestors emphasized winning people over with virtue! You can’t just go picking fights because you have the might."
Zhen Yu nodded in agreent and said: "That’s right."
"You’re a girl; you should be gentle and graceful! When you have ti, study more with Ming Yue. That’s what you should be doing at your age."
"Got it."
Seeing Zhen Yu obediently taking the advice, Mr. Han couldn’t bear to say more, so he waved his hand and said, "Alright! Go find Ming Yue."
"You’re here." Han Mingyue gently laughed and opened the room door, realizing that it felt better to study together after not seeing each other for the whole day yesterday.
Even without saying anything, just looking up to see soone beside you doing the sa thing sohow makes you feel better.
Of course, the identity of that person is also very important.
"I want to go to the bookstore for a bit." Zhen Yu had no intention of entering the room, asking directly, "Want to join?"
"Okay, just wait for !"
Turning around, Han Mingyue picked up the coat from the chair and took out so money from the drawer, closed the room door, and said, "Let’s go!"
-
The bookstore in Laha Town was in the town center. When they went out, Mr. Han repeatedly reminded them to be careful when crossing the railway tracks.
Zhen Yu and Han Mingyue skirted around several large water-filled potholes and crossed a road to reach the unobstructed train tracks.
Zhen Yu stared at the red and black steam locomotive not far away, lost in thought. How many years had it been since she last saw such a locomotive in her hotown? She almost couldn’t rember.
The people living in the residential area of the transshipnt station could describe their lives as "falling asleep to the lant of the tracks under their pillows, waking up to the sound of the train whistles as it entered the station."
Before starting junior high school, this had been Zhen Yu’s life, so much so that when she first moved into the school dormitory in her previous life, she had trouble sleeping without the sound of trains.
Perhaps, it was because she was hosick, longing for the little kang bed where she had lived for twelve years.
The twenty or so train tracks in front of her were constantly crossed by countless passenger and freight trains day and night, and the people on either side had beco accustod to traversing these tracks to get to and from work as naturally as crossing a zebra crossing in later tis.
Of course, this place was certainly dangerous. There had been accidents with fatal outcos and others leaving people disabled.
Among those Zhen Yu knew, there was one who had lost an arm.
Zhen Yu and Han Mingyue looked left and right. Hearing the distant sound of a train, they’d wait between two tracks for the train to pass, making sure to identify which line the train was coming from before keeping a wider distance.
The two of them crossed one by one, whether the sleepers were made of wood or concrete. Only one freight train passed them by, and receding once, they soon ca to the station platform.
The steps leading up to the platform were quite far ahead, but Zhen Yu didn’t want to go all the way over there. She pushed herself up on the platform, which was at waist height, and leapt onto it.
Then, she turned and bent over to extend her hand in one fluid motion.
Han Mingyue pursed her lips and, lifting her hands from the platform, she dusted off the dirt and reached out her right hand.
Once she was steady on the platform, Han Mingyue felt Zhen Yu relax her strength, and after a short pause, let go of her hand.
Neither of them said much. After passing through the train station, it was considered the town center, but Xinhua Bookstore was even more central in the streets.
Walking along the straight main road into the town, Zhen Yu asked Han Mingyue, "Do you have anything else you want to buy? I can join you to look around the Cooperative Society or First Departnt Store first."
Han Mingyue shook her head, "No, I just want to see if there are any new books."
"Then let’s head straight to the bookstore."
Han Mingyue was curious. The Zhen siblings had never bought books before, and he had invited them several tis to no avail.
"Do you want to buy study materials? Didn’t you already finish previewing the first-year knowledge?"
"I’m going to buy so extracurricular books and essay collections."
"Essay collections? Aren’t your essays well written?"
"Hmm, not very well." Zhen Yu admitted frankly, she should say ’too bad’ in comparison to the genius beside her!
Han Mingyue didn’t even think before she said, "I have so essay collections. You can take them ho to read."
Zhen Yu glanced sideways. "Aren’t they not for lending?"
Han Mingyue felt embarrassed and annoyed for a mont. How could this person take advantage and still act innocent? Doesn’t he have any face to save?
Yet, she still forcefully argued, "Extra-curricular readings aren’t for lending! Didn’t I let you take away all the material from the first year of junior high?"
Zhen Yu blurted out as well and imdiately realized that he was a bit too much. Seeing Han Mingyue had found a way to step down, he just echoed with an "Oh."
Han Mingyue got choked by that word and couldn’t speak for a while.
Just three to five minutes later, Han Mingyue suddenly turned her head and asked Zhen Yu, "Want an ice pop?"
Zhen Yu, who was contemplating how to improve his writing skills, turned his head in confusion, "What?"
"...Want an ice pop?"
"...Yeah."
"Wait here for , I’ll go buy them!" After dropping this line, Han Mingyue ran towards soone pushing a bicycle by the roadside.
The black bicycle had a white foam box tied to the rear seat, covered with a snow-white little quilt. Zhen Yu watched from neither far nor near and suddenly felt nostalgic for the ’268’ in his mory.
It wasn’t until Han Mingyue jogged up to her holding two cylindrical ice pops that Zhen Yu pursed her lips and chuckled, reaching out to take one.
The rich milk flavor lted in her mouth, a feeling of happiness.
No matter how many types of ice cream she had later, none tasted like the one in her mory.
On a whim, she asked, "How much for one?"
Han Mingyue looked at her with an ’are-you-an-idiot’ expression, "50 cents."
Zhen Yu didn’t mind, and casually said, "It’s not like I’ll give you the money."
After saying this, she sighed in her heart, "Prices have already started to rise, huh!"
Soon, the price of other ice pops will break through to one yuan, two yuan, three yuan...
After hearing Zhen Yu’s words, Han Mingyue felt internally disheveled for a while, not knowing what to say, and could only silently eat her ice pop.
-
Xinhua Bookstore is not big, just a small storefront with books piled up in the middle and all around.
Just books.
No other stationery or the like.
Zhen Yu casually picked up Freud’s "The Interpretation of Dreams" and started flipping through it. Han Mingyue leaned over to look at the cover, quite surprised.
"Are you going to buy this book?"
Zhen Yu shook her head, "Just taking a casual look."
After saying that, she put the book back in its place.
Han Mingyue found that she was becoming more and more unable to guess Zhen Yu’s thoughts. In the past, whatever she thought would be written on her face, but now...
Now, poker-faced.
The ntally exhausted Han Mingyue raised her hand and pointed inside, "The essay collections are over there, with the Chinese and foreign classics on the left."
Zhen Yu casually looked in that direction and headed towards the essay collections first.
"The National Middle School Excellent Essay Collections" monthly was placed in the most conspicuous position. Zhen Yu picked it up and looked at it - the price was one yuan.
"I’ve subscribed to this one, so you don’t need to buy it," Han Mingyue said, taking the book from Zhen Yu’s hands and putting it back on the shelf.
"What about this one?" Zhen Yu picked up a "100 Perfect Essays for College Entrance Examination" and showed it to Han Mingyue.
Han Mingyue exclaid in amazent, "This is for the college entrance exam, we haven’t even taken the middle school exam yet~"
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