At that time, I didn’t know that there was already an open wound on his shoulder.
I just cried silently. There was frustration, hatred for Old Xue, and heartache for Dongyu.
After that incident, I didn’t stir trouble near his classroom anymore. Instead, I would wait at the school gate for him to end class. I thought Dongyu’s class would be much more peaceful without me causing a ruckus.
Dongyu had been liked by girls since he was young. This did not change even when we went to school.
However, he didn’t get close to girls, and his daily interactions with them seemed distant.
It could have been his icy aura that attracted many girls, or perhaps it was his looks that was especially outstanding in school.
His handsome face was indeed an asset. He often had gifts and love letters piled on his desk, as well as cards – as they were popular at the time.
Those girls were interesting enough.
Apart from the delicately written love letters, they gave him pencil erasers, set squares, compass drawing board… even comic books, cartoon cards, toys, and other strange gifts.
Most of the time, Dongyu would throw the gifts away. Sometimes, when I saw something I was particularly interested in and wished to have it, Dongyu would stop me as he would rather throw it away.
I did not understand it and asked him, “Why did you throw it away?”
He only smiled and said, “If I don’t throw it away, I may end up being misunderstood.”
I sort of helf understood what he meant.
Every time school ended, I would wait at the school gate for him to go home together, it didn’t matter how long he took.
On the way home, I often pestered him to carry me.
He would never reject me. Every time this happened, he would lovingly scratch my nose before squatting down and saying “Come on up then, you lazy bum!”
I happily lay on his back and hugged his shoulders, feeling as smug as a hydrogen balloon flying high in the sky.
Just as he said, I was famously lazy. After school, I would throw my bag on the bed and lay on the sofa, stretching my limbs out and refusing to move!
I didn’t like to study. I was not good at my homework, and even worse at writing assignments.
Hence, it was a daily occurrence that I could not finish my homework and he had to do it for me.
He was angry yet helpless. He asked me if he’d still be doing my homework when I went to university.
Then, he smiled again and said that given my standard, I might not even make it to university!
I pouted and changed the direction that the conversation was taking, “Brother, don’t you want to go to university?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I haven’t thought about college at this point.”
I mimicked his grown-up tone and replied, “Then it’s not time for you to worry about whether I can get into university or not!”
Dongyu was stumped by my words. After a long while, he rubbed my head. “Yes, yes, great little missy!”
But the reality…?
It wasn’t that I was stupid, it was just that I didn’t want to improve. Or perhaps at that time, I didn’t have the heart to study, and my mind was full of playful thoughts, but I didn’t fall behind in my homework.
Because whenever Dongyu did my homework for me, I would be by his side. As I watched, I learned.
Summer was my favorite season during childhood, especially the summer break.
The summer vacation was indeed scorching hot, but in my youth, it was as if I had boundless energy waiting to be released. Even though the sun hung bright and glaring in the skies, I wanted to go gallivanting.
