Time Has Grown Dim, And Evening Has Already Fallen - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cheng Xun took out the textbooks he needed for class and said leisurely, “He’s on a leave of absence; he won’t transfer to our school until next semester.”

Xie Qiubai blinked and said lazily, Oh.

After a moment of silence, he started talking again: So, are you doing okay?

Cheng Xun was puzzled.

Xie Qiubai gave a light click of his tongue and said with faux-seriousness, “I’m just afraid your family is about to stage some melodramatic soap opera.”

Cheng Xun’s confusion deepened.

The fact that he had been picked up by Grandma was no secret to the neighborhood; gossip like that couldn’t be hidden anyway.

“Do you think I’m going to be kicked out now that Grandma’s biological grandson is back?” Having finally followed his train of thought, Cheng Xun looked at Xie Qiubai irritably and asked with a cold face.

“Don’t panic. No matter what happens, your bro has got your back,” Xie Qiubai said with an air of heroic spirit, though his youthful energy leaned more toward being a dork. “If you end up homeless, you can come to my place. There are rooms on the second floor of the internet cafe—take your pick.”

“Get lost,” Cheng Xun scolded him mercilessly. “Stop watching so much trashy TV.”

Comrade Xie Qiubai: a Level 10 enthusiast of melodramatic family ethics dramas.

The first period in the afternoon was a time when anyone would feel drowsy. Cheng Xun propped up his head, his cat-like eyes full of exhaustion. He forced his eyes open, trying to dispel the sleepiness by staring intently at the projector screen.

Xie Qiubai had long since given up, sleeping soundly with his forehead resting on the back of his hand. Unfortunately, his sweet dream was quickly shattered when the English teacher’s chalk bit flicked accurately onto his head.

His dazed expression actually helped chase away Cheng Xun’s sleepiness.

The cold-faced youth rubbed his face, no longer feeling drowsy.

The curriculum had already reached the review stage. Although Cheng Xun didn’t have the “summer is ruined if I fail” anxiety of his classmates, he still worked hard on his revision, not wanting to disappoint Grandma.

In the second year of high school (Grade 11), students had to choose between the Science and Arts tracks. Aside from Class 1, which was the specialty talent class, the other classes remained parallel classes without being split into fast or slow tracks.

Cheng Xun naturally chose the Science track; he was quite exceptional in math.

Xie Qiubai, that “dead pig who isn’t afraid of boiling water,” chose the Arts track directly—his parents didn’t mind anyway.

As for Lu Xingshu, he had originally been on the Science track.

Ninth High didn’t have evening self-study for first-year students, so the dismissal time for them was leisurely compared to the second and third years. This gave Cheng Xun time to work at the noodle shop after school.

Though the shop was named “Ah Fu Noodle Shop,” it actually sold a wide variety of food—from late-night barbecue skewers to savory crepes (jianbing guozi) and scallion oil pancakes.

The owner was a kind man, and the neighbors loved coming there to eat.

Cheng Xun was technically working “under the table” since he was underage, but his monthly wages were always paid on time. He was mainly responsible for serving dishes, clearing tables, and cleaning, but the owner wasn’t stingy about teaching him how to cook.

Perhaps it was natural talent, but Cheng Xun learned to cook very quickly, and the food he made was delicious. He didn’t get much chance to cook at home; to save money, he ate the school cafeteria’s breakfast, and for dinner and weekends, Grandma did the cooking.

Cheng Xun worked until late at night before heading back. There were clearly more customers than usual today, leaving Uncle Fu, the owner, beaming with joy.

Cheng Xun rushed back to the family convenience store. The first floor had no AC, only a fan whirring away. Through the mosquito curtain, he could vaguely see the scene inside.

The elegant, cool-looking boy was sitting by the counter, with Grandma sitting beside him, seemingly watching TV.

The only TV in the house was installed in the shop on the first floor to keep Grandma entertained while she minded the store.

Cheng Xun lifted the curtain and walked in. Grandma immediately got up to serve him dinner—stewed potatoes that had been cooked until soft and flavorful.

As he passed the counter, Lu Xingshu looked up at him and gave a slight nod as a greeting. Cheng Xun responded with a polite, slight curve of his eyes.

After eating, Cheng Xun cleared the table, washed the dishes, and took the kitchen trash to the community waste station.

The smell of the kitchen clung to him, so he went upstairs to take a shower and tossed the clothes from the hamper into the washing machine.

Cheng Xun came back down wearing a SpongeBob T-shirt, looking a bit silly. He started working on his practice papers at the dining table, since there was a small fan there to help with the heat.

Not long after he settled down to work, he heard a commotion outside, getting closer.

Xie Qiubai’s voice was highly recognizable; even his silly laugh was exceptionally high-spirited.

Sure enough, a group of “fair-weather friends” entered the shop one after another, and for a moment, the air was filled with voices calling out to “Grandma.”

Cheng Xun naturally had to go out to greet them.

“Grandma, we’re here to buy some popsicles,” Xie Qiubai said with a chuckle. His eyes swept over Cheng Xun and finally landed on the unfamiliar boy inside the room.

Suddenly, he froze.

Damn… he really is handsome.

Xie Qiubai thought to himself, but then, unwilling to lose, he thought: I’m still more handsome. I’m the coolest guy on this street.

He felt a bit salty.

Lu Xingshu was cold as ice when facing strangers, even if they were Cheng Xun’s classmates.

Xie Qiubai and the others didn’t stay long. After buying their popsicles and joking around, they headed back to the internet cafe to play games.

After seeing them off at the door, Cheng Xun turned around and found Lu Xingshu staring at him.

He was puzzled: “Something wrong?”

Nothing.

Cheng Xun:

Then why are you staring at me? Cheng Xun thought wordlessly.

After a moment, Lu Xingshu spoke calmly: “Don’t you need to review for finals?”

Huh? Cheng Xun didn’t react for a second.

I can go to the noodle shop part-time in your place, Lu Xingshu finally voiced his thought.

Cheng Xun instinctively refused: “It’s fine, I get out of class early. Besides, the noodle shop is busy; I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it.”

Lu Xingshu gave an “oh” and didn’t insist further.

Cheng Xun looked at him, and after a moment of consideration, said, Why don’t we go find a part-time job together during summer break? Maybe a milk tea shop or something.

Lu Xingshu looked down and replied, “Okay.”

Before bed, Lu Xingshu watched Cheng Xun pack his bag and suddenly said, If there are questions you don’t understand, you can ask me.

Cheng Xun looked at him and didn’t refuse: “But there’s quite a lot I don’t understand.”

My grades are a bit lopsided.

My Chinese is pretty bad.

Okay, my English isn’t great either.

Lu Xingshu:

By the end, Cheng Xun sounded a bit self-deprecating. He scratched his hair in frustration, making his short black hair a bit messy.

“My grades are lopsided too,” Lu Xingshu said, seemingly trying to save his pride.

Cheng Xun looked at Lu Xingshu, his face practically screaming I don’t believe you.

Seeing his disbelief, Lu Xingshu repeated calmly, Really.

Well, you’re definitely better than me, Cheng Xun muttered.

Time passed quickly, and final exams arrived as scheduled.

Although Ninth High’s teaching staff was average, the facilities were quite up-to-date; at least the classrooms had air conditioning, though when it was turned on wasn’t up to the students.

At least during the finals, the AC was on, making the exams much more comfortable.

Of course, for those who couldn’t answer the questions, it didn’t matter either way.

Lu Xingshu also participated in this final exam, though he took the tests alone in the office. The AC was turned a bit too low, making him slightly annoyed.

After finishing, Lu Xingshu didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he followed Cheng Xun’s directions to find his classroom.

He had handed in his paper early, so he came out ahead of time, but he didn’t go far, standing quietly in the hallway waiting.

Cheng Xun’s classroom was near the stairs, where there was a corner to rest.

Finally, the bell rang. Cheng Xun dragged it out until the very last second to hand in his paper, having made an effort to check it twice.

As for whether he did well or not, that was all up to fate.

Today, the school required them to take all their belongings home. Since they were moving up to the second year, not only would the classes be reshuffled, but they would also move to a different teaching building.

Cheng Xun knew Lu Xingshu was taking the exams today; it was convenient since Lu could help him carry some books.

Sure enough, Cheng Xun looked up and saw that familiar figure.

When the exam hall was cleared, his things had already been placed in the lockers outside the classroom, so he could just bag them up and leave.

If it isn’t Student Lu,” Xie Qiubai greeted him familiarly with a lazy smile.

Lu Xingshu nodded to him: Hello.

This “slacker” himself hadn’t brought many books; he just shoved them into his bag and was done, standing by to wait for Cheng Xun to leave.

Cheng Xun glared at him: “Why haven’t you left yet?”

Xie Qiubai: “?”

Oh… wasn’t I just about to help you? Xie Qiubai said sincerely. I only just finished organizing my own books.

Cheng Xun rolled his eyes at him.

Xie Qiubai played the victim: Xun-ge, you’re so mean.

This time, Cheng Xun didn’t even want to give him a roll of the eyes.

Lu Xingshu helped Cheng Xun carry a bag of books, walking quietly on his left. On Cheng Xun’s right followed Xie Qiubai, who couldn’t stay quiet for a second.

As they passed a street stall, Xie Qiubai excitedly went over and bought three grilled sausages—the kind that are pure starch, where finding a bit of meat would be a miracle.

The sausages were drizzled with savory sauce and wrapped loosely in a napkin at the end. Xie Qiubai smilingly handed one to each of them.

Lu Xingshu was going to refuse, but seeing Cheng Xun take it naturally, he accepted it as well.

He didn’t usually like junk food, but trying it occasionally, the taste was indeed not bad.

Why are you so generous today? Cheng Xun looked at him suspiciously; usually, when this guy ate sausages, he’d practically try to snatch them from Cheng Xun’s hands.

Xie Qiubai said grandly, “Shouldn’t we commemorate our friendship as desk-mates for this past year?”

Cheng Xun: “?”

He looked at the grilled sausage in his hand with a hint of disdain.

Lu Xingshu: “…?”

He inadvertently glanced at Xie Qiubai’s position.

Then our friendship is a bit shallow.

Cheng Xun finished the sausage in two or three bites, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and tossed it accurately into the roadside trash can.