Chapter 1 What grade and class
In the early summer afternoon, the hot weather and the incessant chirping of cicadas make people feel irritated and uneasy.
Chen Shuya stepped into the bookstore, looked at the owner at the counter and asked softly, "Excuse me, do you have the book "The Ferryman"?"
The middle-aged man sitting in a rocking chair behind the counter poked his head out from behind the books and responded, "It should be on the shelf in the last row."
Chen Shuya thanked her and walked to the back of the bookstore.
After groping for a long time, Chen Shuya finally found the location of the book. She stood on tiptoe and reached out to take the book on the top layer, but she was not tall enough and could not reach it.
Just as she was about to reach back and ask the boss for help, the smell of laundry detergent entered her nose, and an arm suddenly stretched out from behind her and pulled out the book "The Ferryman".
Chen Shuya turned her head to look at the person behind her. Cheng Xiang took two steps back and asked nonchalantly, "Do you want this one?"
The breeze blew through the woods, causing the leaves to rustle, and the sunlight shone through the window onto the young man in front of him.
Chen Shuya nodded, lowered her eyes, took the book, and couldn't help but look up at Cheng Xiang. He was very handsome, the only handsome man she had ever seen.
Facing Chen Shuya's scrutiny, Cheng Xiang met her gaze calmly, raised his eyebrows, and said frivolously: "Does it look good?"
"nice."
Almost as a reflex, Chen Shuya answered.
After being stunned for two seconds, she shook her head, and although she was panicking inside, she said calmly, "I'm talking about the book. It's quite interesting."
Cheng Xiang looked at the girl who was desperately trying to find a patch but her face was red with anxiety. He didn't want to tease her anymore, so he pointed at the counter and said, "Check out over there. Books 2 and 3 are out of stock. Come back next time."
Chen Shuya nodded, glanced at Cheng Xiang as she passed by him, then took the book, paid the bill and left.
He looks familiar, but I can't remember where I've seen him.
…
In the morning, Chen Shuya put on her schoolbag, picked up a bottle of milk from the table, turned her head and said to Cai Yan who was mopping the floor: "Mom, I'm going to school."
Cai Yan said without even raising her head: "Go ahead, and be careful."
Chen Shuya gets up early, so every morning she would go to the breakfast stall near the school and wait for Ning Yan to go to school together.
After ordering Ning Yan's favorite porridge as usual, Chen Shuya took out last night's test paper from her schoolbag and began to check it.
Soon, the silence was broken by the sound of quarreling behind.
Chen Shuya turned her head and saw several boys at the table behind her pushing and arguing about something, the scene was in chaos.
But in the midst of the chaos, a boy sat steadily at the table, eating breakfast with a calm expression, as if he was not involved.
Chen Shuya recognized him as the handsome boy in the bookstore yesterday.
At this moment, the boys were pushing each other more and more fiercely, and one of them picked up the cup on the table and threw it forward.
Unfortunately, he didn't throw the cup accurately, and it flew straight towards Chen Shuya.
Chen Shuya's heart tightened, and she quickly stood up to avoid it, using her arms to cover her head. The cup hit the porridge she ordered squarely, and the cup broke into pieces on the ground. The porcelain bowl broke into pieces, and a portion of porridge quickly spread, wetting most of the test paper.
The people around quickly focused their attention on Chen Shuya, and the boys who were pushing her fell silent.
Chen Shuya hurriedly picked up the test paper, wiped it clean with a tissue, and began to clean up the mess on the table.
Cheng Xiang glanced at Chen Shuya, lowered his eyes, took out a tissue and began to wipe his mouth. After a while, he said, "Apologize."
The boy who hit someone with the cup hesitated for a moment, then walked up to Chen Shuya and said slowly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Are you okay?"
Hearing this, Chen Shuya was stunned at first, then she curved her lips and raised a faint smile: "It's okay."
As she spoke, Chen Shuya squatted down to pick up the broken glass on the ground. Cheng Xiang watched her pick up the broken glass pieces bit by bit and throw them into the trash can. Only after she had picked up all the broken glass did Cheng Xiang ask her, "What grade and class are you in?"
Chen Shuya turned around and met his gaze. He sat there lazily, looking at her quietly. His pair of beautiful eyes were like a pool of deep water, bottomless.
She licked her dry lips, without looking away, and answered, "Class 1, Senior 3."
Before Cheng Xiang could say anything else, Ning Yan's voice came from behind him: "Shu Ya!"
Chen Shuya turned her head and looked at Ning Yan who was walking towards her. She quickly picked up her schoolbag and put it on her back, grabbed the wet test paper on the table and walked towards him.
Ning Yan saw Chen Shuya coming over and asked in confusion: "Why are you here? Aren't you going to have breakfast?"
Chen Shuya handed Ning Yan the milk she had brought from home that morning: "Something went wrong. It's too late to order more. You can use it first."
Ning Yan nodded, and walked towards the school with Chen Shuya obediently, inserting the straw while mumbling: "What happened?"
"My test paper died."
…
When Cheng Xiang walked to the classroom door, the head teacher was already ready to start the class.
He stood at the door and shouted a report.
The head teacher was a middle-aged man. He adjusted his glasses and looked towards the door. His face darkened. "You haven't been here since the start of the school term. Are you late for class on the first day?"
Everyone's eyes fell on Cheng Xiang, but he calmly took over the conversation: "I won't do that next time."
The head teacher didn't want to make things difficult for him anymore, so he raised his head with a grim face and motioned for him to go back to his seat.
"Chen Shuya, where is your test paper? Why didn't you give it to me?"
The head teacher stood on the podium and asked questions, his eyes full of scrutiny.
Chen Shuya looked at the wrinkled test paper in front of her, which was even missing a piece. She opened her mouth but said nothing.
She decided to give it a try and stood up to hand in the tattered test paper in her hand.
Someone in the last row of the classroom said, "Her test paper is here with me."
Chen Shuya looked towards the source of the voice. Cheng Xiang leaned against the wall, raised the test paper in his hand and waved it, then glanced at Chen Shuya who was already stunned.
"Why is her test paper with you?" the head teacher asked suspiciously.
"She left it at the breakfast shop and I picked it up."
The tone was calm, even with a hint of sincerity.
Chen Shuya: 6
The head teacher did not ask any more questions. He retracted his gaze, lowered his head and sorted out the test papers while saying, "Chen Shuya, go get it."
She hesitated for a moment whether to take it or not. If she took it, what would he do? But if she didn't take it, it would embarrass him.
After hesitating for a long time, Chen Shuya slowly walked to Cheng Xiang's desk and took the test paper. The handwriting on the test paper was very beautiful, written in cursive script.
She asked, “What do you do then?”
Cheng Xiang was much taller than her, and when he stood up, he blocked the light in front of her eyes. She looked up at him, but fell into his deep eyes.
He laughed and said, "Why do you care about me?"
Chen Shuya wanted to say something, but the head teacher on the podium had already started urging her. She looked at Cheng Xiang deeply, bent down picked up the pen on his desk, wrote her name on the test paper, turned around and handed in the test paper.
