Monday.
When Zhang Shutong walked into the classroom, the first thing he smelled was the fresh fragrance of apples.
Today was Christmas Eve, and the most characteristic activity was—
Exchanging Christmas Eve apples.
He came to his seat and discovered Classmate Lu among a pile of apples.
"Morning."
Lu Qinglian merely gave a perfunctory nod.
By now, Zhang Shutong had pretty much grown accustomed to this mode of interaction.
"Why did you buy so many apples?"
"Classmate Zhang Shutong, you could try using your brain a bit more," Lu Qinglian sighed softly, showing a rare hint of helplessness. "For instance, these apples were given by other students, and it was already like this when I arrived."
At present, she was packing the exquisitely wrapped apples one by one into a large plastic bag. Zhang Shutong took a glance; there were no fewer than a dozen or so, with some chocolates mixed in among them.
"Well, you like eating them anyway," Zhang Shutong shrugged. Christmas Eve might just be her favorite holiday.
"Accepting them brings a lot of unnecessary trouble."
Well, that was indeed true. Once this floodgate was opened, more and more "gifts" would appear on her desk in the future.
"Returning them?"
"Leaving them on the podium is fine. Someone will come take them. It's been like this in past years."
Zhang Shutong really hadn't paid attention to this kind of thing in the past.
Lu Qinglian truly lived up to being one of the most popular girls in the whole school.
However, now that he knew, knowing made him feel a headache instead. He came today carrying a task: his mom had handed that pair of boots to him early in the morning, saying that he must accomplish the goal in one attempt and definitely give them out. Thus, that shoebox was lying inside his backpack right now.
Just as he put down his backpack, Lu Qinglian asked:
"How are things with the photo matter?"
"Already asked someone to look into it."
"Mm."
The conversation between the two ended here.
Right now was morning reading time, so it was naturally impossible for him to pull the item out directly. Zhang Shutong shifted closer to Lu Qinglian's side:
"Interrupting for a second, there's a matter to tell you."
"Trouble staying a bit further away," Lu Qinglian held her textbook nonchalantly. "You have sweat on you."
Zhang Shutong had been running to school recently.
"Your mysophobia really is a bit exaggerated."
"You can understand it that way," she said casually, then asked, "What matter?"
"Oh, the Christmas pres—"
"Zhang Shutong, Lu Qinglian, you two step outside for a moment." Just then, the head teacher walked in from the doorway.
Zhang Shutong thought to himself that this head teacher truly had a cosmic jinx against him and Lu Qinglian. How was it that every time they spoke a word of quiet chatter, it would get noticed?
Unexpectedly, however, there were also two students, a male and a female, standing inside the office.
One of them was the class monitor.
Teacher Xu cleared her throat:
"The program for our class for this New Year's Gala has been settled. Calling you two over is to arrange the division of labor."
Regarding the program for their class, Zhang Shutong had already heard about it. Although the students of Class 1 had striven hard to argue their case for several days, the final result was still the poetry recitation settled by the head teacher—only switched from classic poems like Man Jiang Hong to slightly more lively modern poetry.
The head teacher was the type with an extreme desire for control. Not only did the program have to be designated, but the participants were likewise so:
"Right now, four lead reciters are still needed. Shengyu and Shishi are class cadres, while you two have grades ranked first and second. You aren't afraid of delaying your studies, and you can serve as role models with good images. Stay behind during these few middays to rehearse a bit, make quick work of it, and don't delay too much time."
Just as Zhang Shutong was about to decline, Lu Qinglian had already spoken up:
"I have to go back to the mountain on New Year's Day. I don't have time that evening."
Zhang Shutong could bear witness to this point. In the original Class 1, there were two people who never participated in the New Year's Gala: one was Gu Qiumian, and the other was Lu Qinglian. In the past, he and a few best friends had even discussed whether it was a rule of the temple.
Teacher Xu subconsciously glanced at the other few people, and three of them nodded.
"Teacher, I can't squeeze out time either," Zhang Shutong followed right behind. "I already have a program to rehearse."
"Where did you get a program from?"
"Organized by Classmate Gu Qiumian of Class 2. Already discussed it with the dean of students." Having been a lackey for so long, this was the first time Zhang Shutong had brought out the eldest young lady, and the effect was remarkable.
"Who allowed you to par—" Teacher Xu knitted her brows, then waved her hand again. "Forget it, you know what you're doing."
She was a pragmatist too. What mattered most for a graduating class was grades, not some program, so she didn't use collective honor to pressure them. Xu Aiping merely pondered for a moment before instructing:
"You two go back to morning reading first. I'll look for other people."
Zhang Shutong breathed a sigh of relief.
Let alone not having time, even if he had time, he wouldn't be willing to rehearse any poetry recitation. Walking out of the office door, Zhang Shutong asked:
"Something going on at the temple that day?"
"Pretty much." Lu Qinglian didn't say yes, nor did she say no. "What was that matter just now?"
"The Christmas present..."
"Thanks, no need."
"I haven't said I'm giving it to you yet." Zhang Shutong felt she was truly a bit narcissistically self-absorbed.
"Classmate Zhang Shutong, you had better remember that I am the study representative," Lu Qinglian turned her head over. "Ever since becoming deskmates with you, you have only handed in homework three times."
"Thanks a lot."
As partners, helping a teammate who didn't write homework bypass the teacher's inspection was also part of the cooperation.
"What are you thinking again?" She said helplessly. "I'm saying, when a person who almost never carries a backpack suddenly packs a box over and brings up the matter of Christmas twice, do you think the thing itself is very hard to guess?"
Yes, yes, you're the smartest, so accept it, okay? Zhang Shutong thought to himself that if she accepted it, he could also fulfill his task:
"Then I'll go back and bring it to give to you?"
"No need. Or is it that Christmas also has an unwritten rule similar to supermarket sampling areas?" She used a nonchalant tone, yet tilted her high ponytail. "As long as a present is brought, Santa Claus will forcefully stuff it into the stocking?"
"...There really isn't one like that."
"That's good then."
This woman nodded politely, stepping out with those long legs of hers.
"By the way."
Lu Qinglian suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"What?"
"Better return it as soon as possible."
She actually didn't forget to give a word of advice.
An unfavorable start to the mission.
From this, it could be seen that Lu Qinglian truly hadn't bought many items, still stuck in the era where returns were possible. Let alone the fact that the pair of boots had been bought long ago, even if bought just this morning, taking them back to the mall could only get an exchange.
All the way until noon, Zhang Shutong was still thinking about how to give the item out.
Stuffing it straight into her desk drawer?
Probably wouldn't work either.
This was the first time Zhang Shutong had encountered this kind of situation: for some people, picking a gift was very hard, while for some people, giving a gift was very hard.
The surrounding clamor brought him back to his senses. It was rehearsal time again, and all four classes started getting busy.
Zhang Shutong had things to do today as well. The reason he gave the head teacher wasn't entirely a pretense; those few joking words from that night had become reality. In Gu Qiumian's words, since this New Year's Day was the first time spending it on the island, it needed to be a bit livelier.
Zhang Shutong was indifferent to this. In the past, once a matter was settled by Ruoping, the three of them didn't have much room for opposition; now that a matter was settled by both Gu Qiumian and Ruoping, he only had a role of running around to serve.
The program finally settled on was an original drama.
Qingyi wrote two scripts, both rejected by Gu Qiumian. She wouldn't have a princess and prince story no matter what, saying that it would collide with Class 3's program.
Now Qingyi was writing a third one. Learning about this matter was on Saturday, and it was unknown whether he had finished writing it or not. Zhang Shutong calculated the time; it was actually pretty tight.
In short, the script was to be determined.
There were only six actors. Besides the three boys among them, Gu Qiumian definitely had to participate; Ruoping's time was a bit tight, so she could only guest-star a bit without too many scenes, which was why she called over a gal pal to help.
In her words, it was originally just the few of them playing around, so there was no need to make it too much of a grand fuss.
This was the complete plan for their small group.
Zhang Shutong didn't hold much expectation for the performance effect; it was fine as long as everyone had fun playing.
He came to the hallway to wait for Class 3 to clear the room. Just then, someone patted him:
"Have something on your mind?" Qingyi had been popping out suddenly a lot recently.
"Finished writing the script?"
"Handled it as soon as I got home yesterday," he shook a stack of manuscript paper. "A piece of cake."
"It's not that Princess A and Princess B story again, is it..."
"That one was rejected by Gu Qiumian. It's the princess saving the prince."
"Wait a second," Zhang Shutong roasted. "Is there an essential difference between this and the prince saving the princess?"
"Gu Qiumian has already agreed."
"Alright then..."
"Though let's agree first, I'm playing the villain, don't snatch it."
"No one is snatching it with you."
Zhang Shutong knew Qingyi always had a villain's heart. From the very start, writing lines was tailor-made for himself, needing to shout out loudly whenever he used a move.
Besides this, every one of them put forward a small requirement.
"The character allocation goes like this," Qingyi said. "I'm the main villain, Du Kang is Villain Number Two..."
"Wait a second," Zhang Shutong interrupted again. "Why are there two villains?"
"The script was too simple, so I had no choice but to add a few more villains to make up the numbers. Listen to me finish talking," Qingyi added. "Gu Qiumian is the princess, Ruoping is the goddess guiding the princess, and you, Shutong, your task is the easiest."
"A tree?"
"Pretty much. Sleeping Prince."
"What is a Sleeping Prince?" Zhang Shutong had only heard of Sleeping Beauty and The Little Prince.
"It's the prince who falls into a deep sleep due to a witch's curse at the opening, only waking up at the very end. Anyway, I wrote it according to your request—speaking as little as possible."
Zhang Shutong opened his mouth silently.
"By the way, what about that gal pal?"
"The gal pal is the witch," Qingyi said boringly. "Suspected of stealing my spotlight."
"Why isn't the witch the villain?" Zhang Shutong's mind was a bit messy.
"Because I want to be the villain."
Zhang Shutong was speechlessly left with nothing to say:
"...Alright."
The script was temporarily settled, but they were a fifth program independent of the four classes. Plus with Gu Qiumian and Ruoping both having their own affairs, they had no choice but to wait until after lunch to rehearse.
On the way to eat, Zhang Shutong made a phone call to his revered teacher.
"Shutong ah," Old Song was quite cheerful today. "Eaten yet?"
Zhang Shutong said he was just preparing to go. Recently, master and apprentice often made a phone call; Old Song was responsible for recalling anomalies he consciously felt weren't right back then, while Zhang Shutong was responsible for picking out clues.
"How are things on your end, Teacher?"
"My mom eats early. Look at this, just finished serving her, and I casually washed the dishes too. Just got a bit of free time." When saying this sentence, the man was panting heavily, having merely done a few ordinary household chores. Listening to it made Zhang Shutong feel a bit gloomy.
They chatted for a few sentences, and Old Song asked about school life again. Zhang Shutong reported good news while withholding bad, only saying Christmas was approaching and everyone was very excited.
"Aiya, then what program is our class rehearsing this year?" Old Song asked curiously.
Zhang Shutong thought to himself that the original Class 1 had long ceased to exist, yet only he would still subconsciously say so.
He mentioned the poetry recitation, and Old Song shook his head with a smile:
"Your Teacher Xu is also afraid of you guys getting distracted. Besides, isn't poetry recitation pretty good too? In previous years, you guys grew accustomed to being wild, my fault."
Zhang Shutong brought up the matter of the few of them gathering together again, and recounted the script once. Old Song listened until he burst out laughing, happy from the bottom of his heart:
"Then what about Qinglian?"
"She has things going on on New Year's Day."
"Oh, oh, look at this brain of mine..."
While casually chatting with him, Zhang Shutong sat down in the rice-with-toppings shop at the school gate, ordering a portion of green pepper and shredded pork rice with toppings as usual.
Old Song just loved to nag. Hearing that he was eating green pepper and shredded pork rice with toppings, he spoke up again: "Apprentice ah, how come Master hears that you have something on your mind today, to the point where even chewing the green pepper shreds doesn't smell delicious?"
Zhang Shutong didn't deny it either. He thought for a bit:
"Just right to ask you a question: what should I do if I give someone a gift and the other party doesn't accept it?"
"Cook the raw rice into cooked rice," Old Song uttered shocking words as usual.
"Uh, how to cook it?"
"Stuff it to her and turn around to run?"
"Will be caught up with..."
"Then quietly place it in her desk drawer?"
"Will be taken up to the podium..."
"What on earth are you preparing to give Qinglian?" Old Song wondered.
"How did you know it was Lu Qinglian?" Zhang Shutong was startled.
"Very normal. That time with the avalanche, she was the one who saved you. Not much time has passed, right? With your nature, you definitely want to thank her, and I thought through a circle just now—she's the only one who fits the criteria." Old Song was amused. "Shutong ah, just say whether my guess was accurate or not?"
"Pretty much. Actually, my mom bought it—boots." Zhang Shutong thought in his heart, did I show it this obviously?
"You should have called me earlier. How is it that as soon as I leave, you can't even give out a gift?" Old Song hated that iron couldn't become steel. "If you kid had called me earlier, she'd already be wearing them on her feet."
Zhang Shutong said you're amazing, alright? So give an idea?
"Boots, huh." A lighter clicked on the other end of the line. "For this kind of thing, wouldn't it be fine as long as she puts them on? She can't possibly put them on and then return them, right?"
Zhang Shutong felt it made some sense.
Old Song analyzed again:
"The three core formulas for holiday gift-giving: First, although it's a task assigned to you by your mother, you absolutely cannot say it was bought by your mother. Remember ah, definitely don't let slip of the mouth. Second, you kid better not harbor any crooked thoughts, like intentionally getting her shoes wet to change shoes or something—Qinglian can see through it at a single glance. Finally, you must make the other party accept willingly; you can't say things like 'Since it's bought anyway, if you don't want it I can only throw it away' to force her to accept."
Zhang Shutong felt it made complete sense:
"And then?"
"And then... let me think ah."
Zhang Shutong was almost done eating the green peppers when Old Song slapped his thigh:
"Aren't you guys rehearsing a drama? Wouldn't it be fine if you have her put the boots on as a costume prop?"
Zhang Shutong had always felt that his revered teacher being a teacher was truly wasting his talents:
"But she isn't participating."
"Wouldn't you think of an excuse to get her to participate?" Old Song said crossly. "I know you want to say she doesn't have time on New Year's Day, but these are two different matters. Alright, does a specific excuse still need me to teach you? Go figure it out yourself. Hanging up, hanging up..."
Zhang Shutong looked at the phone making beep-beep sounds, really wanting to say how about you teach me one more sentence?
He settled the bill, feeling somewhat troubled. Leaving aside the fact that Lu Qinglian's personality originally didn't like noisy collective activities, she wasn't preparing to come participate in the gala to begin with—so how could she agree to join the drama performance? This was also why Ruoping, who always liked looking for Lu Qinglian to play, didn't call her from the start.
When returning to school, everyone had almost all arrived, except for a minor situation on Gu Qiumian's end: today a girl had an inflamed throat and kept singing out of tune. By the time Zhang Shutong finished eating, Class 2 hadn't finished yet. The rehearsal matter wasn't too urgent, and Zhang Shutong didn't rush her, merely agreeing to meet up at the library in a bit.
The four carried big and small bags filled entirely with costume props, walking toward the library.
On the way, Du Kang said his family's dog seemed to have been frightened yesterday, not even eating dinner; Qingyi said helplessly that of course, you held it and ran for a whole day; Ruoping felt it was a pity to have missed the good show yesterday, asking Zhang Shutong who the senior sister was the whole way.
Zhang Shutong acted as if he hadn't heard. He was still thinking about what excuse Old Song mentioned. When the four pushed open the library's main doors, they didn't expect someone to be inside early on—
Lu Qinglian sat at a corner of a table, quietly holding a book and reading.
"We were just preparing to rehearse the drama. Qinglian, why are you here?" Ruoping said in surprise. "No wonder I didn't see you just now."
Zhang Shutong could guess why she was here: because during rehearsals, every class was too noisy. Last time in school when waiting for that man, it was like this—she was forced to go from Class 1 to Class 3. Classmate Lu learned a lesson from a pit, simply leaving the teaching building, yet didn't expect the few of them to chase over as well.
She cast her gaze over expressionlessly.
Zhang Shutong spread his hands, indicating he hadn't intentionally brought people over.
Lu Qinglian rubbed the bridge of her nose. Seeing her close the book and prepare to stand up, Zhang Shutong was just thinking of making up an excuse to keep her first, when unexpectedly Ruoping received a phone call. She spoke a few sentences, saying pitifully:
"Qinglian, can you help guest-star for a bit later? That gal pal of mine got a flat tire on her bike and can't come at noon today..."