The confusion on Bei Yao’s face was too obvious. Teacher Yu Qian was stunned. She had originally planned to ask Bei Yao for her thoughts this morning, but first, little Bei Yao’s home was far away—she always arrived just before class started. Second, a normal person’s instinctive reaction would be that being deskmates with Fang Mingjun was better than being with Pei Chuan.
Pei Chuan had drawn a “38th parallel” and didn’t speak to Bei Yao either. Out of protection for Bei Yao, they should have Bei Yao sit with Fang Mingjun. Thinking this way, Teacher Yu directly made the announcement after class.
Bei Yao looked at the indifferent Pei Chuan. Her thinking wasn’t mature. Although reluctant, little Bei Yao had always been an obedient child who listened to the teacher.
She rubbed her eyes with her small hands, packed her textbooks and water bottle into her school bag, gathering her things. Pei Chuan didn’t even look at her, only staring at the pictures in his Chinese textbook.
Bei Yao was afraid he’d be lonely. After thinking it over, she unfastened the little panda from her school bag.
She reluctantly nuzzled it with her soft cheek, then placed it on Pei Chuan’s desk.
Pei Chuan’s gaze shifted from the book to it. The little panda was round and chubby, sitting blankly in front of his desk.
He knew she really liked this toy. Sometimes in class she would unconsciously tug at the little panda’s ears, and every day before coming she would first settle the little panda.
He finally raised his eyes to look at her. She was extremely reluctant to part with it, with such a pitiful look in her eyes—he didn’t know if she was reluctant to leave him or reluctant to leave the little panda.
Without a word, he pushed her beloved little panda back.
What she was reluctant to leave was most likely not him.
Bei Yao sadly hugged the little panda. He didn’t like her, and he didn’t like her toy either.
Bei Yao carried her school bag and walked toward Fang Mingjun. Fang Mingjun gave her a proud glance, then turned to talk to the person at the back desk.
Five-year-old Pei Chuan used all his willpower to keep from turning his head to watch her retreating figure.
Bei Yao sat in the brilliant sunshine. Golden rays of light gently adorned her little head. He was on her opposite side, in the place where sunlight couldn’t reach, putting the bamboo dragonfly into his school bag.
~
The children watching the excitement quickly forgot about the seat change.
Bei Yao and Fang Mingjun became deskmates.
If Bei Yao had memories from high school, she would definitely feel awkward and strange. Fortunately, with a child’s mentality now, she thought the pretty Mingjun was also very cute.
Throughout the entire autumn, the first thing Bei Yao learned was to control drinking less water, because Fang Mingjun wouldn’t give her water to drink like Pei Chuan did.
Fang Mingjun was exceptionally competitive. If Bei Yao’s hair was combed beautifully, she would have a bad expression all day and subconsciously adjust her princess dress. In the end, she was still a child. Although the concepts her mother instilled were firmly remembered, she didn’t harbor too much hostility toward Bei Yao.
After all, little Bei Yao wasn’t as slender and delicate as her, and Bei Yao was easy to bully.
Garbage could be thrown away by little Bei Yao. Homework could be brought to the group leader together by Bei Yao. Little Bei Yao was obedient and well-behaved.
Pei Chuan saw it all, his expression very unpleasant.
However, this was ultimately the path he had chosen. Bei Yao was no longer his deskmate.
After autumn ended, the weather turned cold. Bei Yao was dressed up by Zhao Zhilan into a fortune doll—a bright red cotton jacket, thick and festive.
The cotton jacket wasn’t new. Zhao Zhilan had altered it from old clothes. Although tacky, it was very warm. Inside the big red cotton jacket were also long underwear and two sweaters. Bei Yao’s little short legs were also wrapped thickly.
Just then, Zhao Xiu came downstairs carrying Fang Mingjun to visit. Bei Yao called out in her little baby voice: “Auntie Xiu, Minmin.”
Zhao Xiu nearly laughed herself breathless: “Zhilan, from far away I thought Yaoyao was a fireball.”
Hearing this, Zhao Zhilan subconsciously looked at Fang Mingjun. The little girl was dressed delicately and prettily, with a brand-new pink cotton jacket paired with a pink scarf outside—fashionable without being bulky. Fang Mingjun nestled in Zhao Xiu’s arms, and Zhao Xiu indulged her.
Zhao Zhilan rolled her eyes internally. On such a cold day, who cared about looking good? Being warm was what mattered. On the surface, she had to be polite: “Oh my, that outfit on your Minmin must not be cheap.”
“The cotton jacket was over thirty yuan. The scarf was a gift from her young aunt.”
Over thirty yuan shut up Zhao Zhilan, who had no money in her pocket. Zhao Xiu’s eyes brimmed with pleasure.
When Zhao Xiu carried Fang Mingjun home, Fang Mingjun said: “Dad said the cotton jacket was twenty-six yuan.”
Zhao Xiu glared at her daughter: “If Mom says it’s thirty, then it’s thirty. You’re almost at finals, right? You must do well, understand? If you do well, Mom will give you a reward.” The thirty-plus yuan jacket made her heart ache too, but when she thought about comparing grades between the two families after finals, Zhao Xiu felt delighted.
For the “reward,” Fang Mingjun nodded like a pecking chicken.
In winter, the children had their first final exam. Even Zhao Zhilan was somewhat nervous. She was afraid that sending Bei Yao to pre-school so early was a mistake. Looking at little Bei Yao’s innocent face, Zhao Zhilan sighed. Forget it—grades weren’t important. The child growing up healthy and safe was the greatest blessing.
On the day of the final exam, Bei Yao was sent to school early by Zhao Zhilan.
Pre-school exams weren’t like elementary school where seating was shuffled. Everyone sat in their original seats to take the test.
Bei Yao wasn’t nervous at all—her knowledge level was at third grade.
“Rebirth” was too distant a concept for a child. She herself was sometimes confused—why did she know all these things and could even know what would happen in the future? However, the sense of urgency in her heart told Bei Yao this was a very important secret that she couldn’t tell even Mom.
Teacher Yu Qian distributed the test papers. After distribution, she watched over everyone doing the problems. Teacher Zheng also came to help. This year, pre-school exams didn’t separate Chinese and math—there was only one test paper for basic knowledge.
The little children taking an exam for the first time had all sorts of situations. One moment someone asked for permission to pee, the next moment a pencil broke and couldn’t be sharpened properly. The teachers had to help look after everything.
Fang Mingjun’s hand formed a curved arc. As she wrote, she covered her test paper. Zhao Xiu had said she couldn’t let Bei Yao copy from her.
Bei Yao looked at the questions on the paper about counting how many little flowers there were and how many little friends.
Bei Yao: “…”
Before writing, Pei Chuan tilted his head slightly. His pitch-black pupils looked toward that place in the sunlight. The little girl was seriously writing her name.
He couldn’t tell if she knew how to do it. Pei Chuan turned his head. Whether she knew how or not was none of his business.
Bei Yao finished very quickly. She thought it was so simple!
~
The children’s test papers were graded quickly. Two days later, they could go get their grades. For the children’s first exam, parents all had high expectations.
In C City’s pre-school in 1996, they implemented a single test paper with a hundred-point system.
The children sat in their seats. The teacher called out names one by one, and then the children went to the podium to get their papers. Teacher Yu Qian didn’t rank them from high to low. To her, teaching and educating—grades weren’t the most important thing, especially since pre-school was just a transition. What surprised her were the grades of two little friends—Bei Yao and Pei Chuan.
Fang Mingjun got her paper first. On her paper was a bright red “90.” Fang Mingjun couldn’t help but curve her lips with joy. Thinking of “Chang Xue’s” image, she pressed down the corners of her mouth, but the happiness in her eyes couldn’t be concealed.
Then came Pei Chuan’s paper. He glanced at it once and put it in his school bag.
Bei Yao was the second-to-last in the class to receive her paper. Seeing the festive number on it, she couldn’t help but curve her almond eyes.
Fang Mingjun thought: even scoring 70 points would probably make her deskmate smile.
She covered her own score, not letting Bei Yao see, then asked: “Yaoyao, how many points did you get?”
Bei Yao spread out her paper for Fang Mingjun to see. At the top was a “99” in red ink—Bei Yao’s drawing in the picture question wasn’t straight, so one point was deducted. It should have been a hundred.
Fang Mingjun looked at that bright red 99, thunderstruck. In the dead of winter, her joy scattered completely, as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over her.
It was over!
If Zhao Xiu found out when she got home…
After finishing the exam and receiving their papers, they would have vacation and go home for New Year. Pei Haobin came to pick up Pei Chuan. They drove past the school gate as usual.
Pei Chuan looked back. That little red ball stood in the first row, waving hard at him, her eyes like two crescent moons.
She bore no grudges, obedient to death.
Pei Chuan gripped the motorcycle’s cold metal bar tightly: “Dad, let’s give Bei Yao a ride.”
Pei Haobin was surprised: “What if her mom came to pick her up?”
“If we meet her on the way, we can say something, or we can tell the teacher.”
Pei Haobin couldn’t help but glance at his son. After Pei Chuan lost his legs, he became taciturn and rarely spoke this much. He agreed with Pei Chuan’s suggestion. A four-year-old girl walking nearly two kilometers every day to and from school—even though he wasn’t her father, he felt a bit sorry for her.
Pei Haobin turned the motorcycle around and asked little Bei Yao: “Would you like Uncle to give you a ride home?”
Bei Yao wanted to ride the motorcycle. In her third-grade memories, Bei Licai only bought a motorcycle then. Sitting on it was like stepping on the wind—five minutes and she’d be home. However, little Bei Yao was somewhat shy with strangers. She timidly glanced at Pei Chuan. Pei Chuan lowered his eyes to look at her—there was no rejection in his eyes.
She shyly nodded, her little baby voice soft: “Thank you, Uncle Pei.”
“Yu Qian, since I’m going that way, I’ll bring Bei Yao back too. If her mom comes, please tell her.”
Yu Qian naturally trusted her old classmate and nodded with a smile.
Pei Haobin had Yu Qian help lift little Bei Yao onto the back seat, then secured her with leather straps to prevent the child from falling off due to weak strength.
The children lined up behind all watched, some envying Bei Yao. Fang Mingjun couldn’t help pouting. Her dad had a very big bicycle that carried her home every day, but she had never ridden home on a motorcycle before. Fang Mingjun felt somewhat wronged. They all lived in the same residential complex—why did Pei Chuan’s dad only take Bei Yao and not her?
Since changing seats, this was the first time Pei Chuan had been this close to Bei Yao.
It was as if even the air was tinged with the milky fragrance from her body.
Pei Haobin started the vehicle and softened his voice to ask Bei Yao: “How many points did Bei Yao get?”
Pei Chuan also couldn’t help but focus to listen.
Her voice was like a ringing bell: “Ninety-nine points.”
Pei Haobin knew she was young—probably the youngest child in class. Originally asking Bei Yao was just to tease her. He didn’t expect such a young child could score so well.
He sincerely praised: “Bei Yao is really amazing, so smart.”
Bei Yao knew to be polite: “Thank you, Uncle.”
Pei Chuan sat in the very front. The winter wind blew through the boy’s short hair. He didn’t speak the entire time. He himself didn’t even know that the corners of his lips curved up slightly.
~
Fang Mingjun was carried home on Teacher Fang Xin’s bicycle. Her little face was somewhat pale, very afraid of going home.
What if Mom asked about grades?
Before the exam, she had never thought she wouldn’t score better than Bei Yao. But when the papers were handed out, everything became reality. She sat on the crossbar of her dad’s bicycle, wanting to cry a little.
Even though Fang Mingjun was young, she could still sense her parents’ emotions.
What Zhao Xiu cared about most were two things: first, Fang Mingjun’s delicate appearance similar to the jade maiden “Chang Xue,” and second, beating Zhao Zhilan.
On the second matter, Zhao Xiu had been far ahead for over twenty years. Zhao Zhilan couldn’t compare to her in anything. But now she had actually been defeated in her daughter’s grades.
Fang Mingjun held back the tears in her eyes. She couldn’t let Mom know.
She felt both afraid and ashamed.
Bei Yao was so stupid—why couldn’t she score better than her? Next time she would definitely score better than Bei Yao. This time was just a mistake.
In her muddled state, the father and daughter returned home.
Zhao Xiu had been waiting long ago and immediately came forward: “How was it, Minmin? Let Mom see the paper.”
Fang Mingjun had no choice but to take out the test paper from her school bag. Zhao Xiu saw the ninety points and beamed with joy: “My Minmin is so capable!” She planted a hard kiss on Fang Mingjun’s face.
Zhao Xiu then asked Fang Mingjun: “What about that girl Bei Yao? How many points did she get?” Zhao Xiu had the same thought as her daughter—Fang Mingjun was so excellent, she couldn’t possibly not score better than Bei Yao.
Fang Mingjun’s face immediately went white. Her little hands clenched tightly. She lowered her head and said: “Sixty-six points.”
Lying made her extremely uneasy.
Hearing this, Zhao Xiu almost laughed out loud. She knew it—how capable could Zhao Zhilan’s daughter be? She kissed Fang Mingjun again: “Mom’s good baby girl!”