Chapter 9 (3)

  The dormitory building had emptied out, with only a few people left to keep watch, occasionally letting out strange wails that echoed through the building. The three of them returned to their dorm room, washed up and lay down on their beds, forcing themselves to fall asleep. None of them dared to speak, as even the slightest movement would trigger intense heat. Song Shiping couldn't help but get up and wipe himself down again, then came back and asked: "Has anyone fallen asleep?"

  "Nonsense! You've woken me up while I was sleeping!"

  Yu Xiong, how about you?

  "What do you think?"

  "Neither of you has fallen asleep?"

  "Nonsense."

  "Let's go sleep in the gym together, it has air conditioning, think about it, air conditioning!"

  "You go where you want to go."

  "It's too late now."

  "Why don't you two come out onto the balcony and have a chat?"

  Yu Xiang was the first to get up, took a quick shower and went onto the balcony. Yu Xiong also struggled with the heat, got out of bed, moved a chair and sat at the entrance of the balcony. Yu Xiang gazed at the starry sky and said: "Actually I didn't want to come here, I didn't think I would end up coming here."

  Song Shi Ping looked puzzled and said: "Such a good school that everyone wants to get into, you still don't want to go?"

  "Anyway, there's no other choice. Since we're already here, let's just make the best of it. Without our parents around to nag us, living with a group of classmates is actually quite enjoyable."

  Yu Xiong chuckled a few times in the dark. Yu Xiang was surprised that he could produce such a cold laugh on such a hot day, and wanted to analyze it thoroughly, asking: "What's so funny?"

  Yu Xiong asked him: "You've never lived in a dorm before, have you?"

  Yu Xiong didn't respond. Yu Xiong let out a cold laugh and said, "Yes, you've just arrived, everything seems fresh to you. Just wait and see, after living here for a week, everyone will be polite and courteous to each other. But after a long time, if someone bumps into your bed, blocks your way, or uses your water, ah, that's when the real treatment begins."

  Yu Xiang didn't believe it and said: "I see among the students..."

  Yu Xiong interrupted and said: "You even believe this? Those superficial articles were written by superficial people, it's called 'beautification', get it?"

  Yu Xiang died defending his point of view, saying: "Everyone just give in a bit and it will be fine."

  Yu Xiong said: "Let? Who let? Human nature is selfish."

  Song Shi Ping stood alone, feeling unfulfilled and wanting to prove his existence. He said to Yu Xiong, "Listening to you, it sounds like you've lived in a dorm before." Song Shi Ping was waiting for Yu Xiong to sigh and say something like, "Actually, I'm just pretending too, and you saw right through me!" But instead, Yu Xiong said, "Yeah, I have lived in one. After elementary school, I went to a sports school and boarded there for three years." Song Shi Ping's plan backfired; he had hoped his words would be like the magical Dragon-Sealing Stone from martial arts novels, but Yu Xiong took them as a stepping stone instead. His enthusiasm was instantly extinguished, and disappointment filled his eyes.

  Yu Xiong, with the help of Song Shi Ping, said in a long and unbroken stream: "When I first went to the sports school, everyone was getting along pretty well. Later on, people started to become more calculating, and if someone used up a bit of hot water, they would start fighting, that's just how people are."

  Yu Xiang still had a crush on collective life and said: "At that time, you were young and didn't understand things. Maybe it will be different when you enter high school."

  Yu Xiong shook his head and said: "Maybe, but being sensible is just a kind of restraint, not letting one's true nature show itself. One's true nature will eventually reveal itself after a long time."

  Yu Xiang was impressed by Yu Xiong's words and thought that Yu Xiong was not a simple person, with a deep understanding of the issues, unlike the American journalist Song Shi Ping. Yu Xiang became interested in Yu Xiong and asked: "How did you end up attending a sports school?"

  Yu Xiong said: "When I was young, I liked reading books and wanted to be a writer, but at the same time, I was also good at sports. A teacher from a junior sports school spotted me when the Asian Games were in full swing. My parents thought that those who did well in sports could make a lot of money, so they sent me to the junior sports school, and that's how it happened."

  Yu Xiang flattered: "No wonder your words are never simple, now you even want to be a writer?"

  Before Yu Xiong could respond, Song Shipei patted Yu's butt and said: "It's really not easy!"

  Yu Xiong thought for a moment and said: "It's hard to say now, probably don't think about it anymore, don't think about it."

  Song Shi Ping was also disappointed, he had wanted to applaud, but Yu Xiong said such a depressing sentence, leaving him with nowhere to clap, so he just fanned himself with his palm and said: "It's so hot."

  This remark suddenly reminded Yu Xiong and Yu Xiao of the heat they had forgotten, and they felt a strange heat surge up. Unable to bear it any longer, Yu Xiao exclaimed loudly: "You must have seen through the worldly dust!"

  Yu Xiong said: "What's the point of 'seeing through the red dust', I look down on those pessimistic people, so-called seeing through the red dust is just turning the originally beautiful red dust into worthless things!"

  Yu Xiang laughed and clapped his hands, saying: "Good, good!" He clapped a few more times, feeling that this sentence seemed familiar, but he was sure it wasn't a famous quote, because famous people couldn't say something so earth-shattering. It was as if someone had said it before, and it was stuck in a conspicuous place in his brain, but he just couldn't find it. Yu Xiang used all his might to think, but "thinking" is one of those things that no matter how hard you try, it's just not going to work. When you're not thinking about it, it will automatically pop up, but when you want to think about it, it's nowhere to be found. But precisely because it had "automatically popped up" before, Yu Xiang didn't want to give up trying. This experience was very painful - the thing he wanted to think of was always on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say it out loud. It was like a drop of water hanging from the faucet, sometimes long, sometimes short, but never falling.

  At the moment when Yu Xiang's thoughts were neither here nor there, he suddenly "got it", a feeling as refreshing as unclogging a toilet that had been clogged for half a day. It was also heartening to hear about it. Yu Xiang remembered that the person who first said those words was Liang Zijun, and it was Liang Zijun who jokingly told him the idiom's twisted meaning at the beginning.

  Yu Xiang's heart was still aching, but whenever he thought of Liang Zijun, his smile would fade. Yu Xiong also let out a sigh, and that sigh brought an end to their night-time conversation. The three of them leaned against the balcony railing, unaware when they fell asleep.

  The next day, Yu Xiang was the first to wake up. There was a gentle breeze outside the balcony, which was rare and blew away some of the worries in his heart. Yu Xiang suddenly remembered that he needed to train, so he woke up the other two people. When he looked at the time, he admired himself for waking up just in time - there were still twenty minutes left. For the first time waking up in a strange place, Yu Xiang felt a bit down and didn't know what to do with many things. The sink was too low, and when he bent over to wash his face, he often bumped into the faucet like he did at home; the towels for washing his face and feet were also often put in the wrong place; when walking, he would often collide with the furniture in the room as if no one was there, and it had already happened more than twice. Everything was a mess.

  When the three of them came out of the dormitory, it was already drizzling outside. Song Shipei said: "Great, no need to train!" Yu Xiong gave him a white eye and said: "Think about it, raining or not, we still have to train." They jogged to the playground, where Liu Zhichang was standing on the track, holding a stopwatch: "It was hot yesterday, you guys suffered. I reflected this to the school, and they finally agreed to open the gym. Today, reporters are coming for an interview, so everyone should train as usual. If someone is interviewed, don't say empty words, just say what you have to say. Alright, let's jog two laps!" After one lap, a person carrying a camera suddenly appeared from the side of the playground, aiming the lens at Yu Xiong. Yu Xiong felt uncomfortable all over, wanting to smile but unable to, and could only hope that the lens would move away. The cameraman aimed for a while before turning the lens towards the buildings of Shenzhen No. 3 Middle School. Fortunately, the Hu Shi Building wouldn't blush, so the cameraman took shots from various angles. Then, together with the cameraman, a reporter appeared. That reporter looked like a freshly baked bun, but her delicate skin couldn't withstand the scorching sun and she retreated to the car to avoid the heat before doing any actual work. She saw that the long-distance running team had finished two laps and was resting, so she waited for an opportunity to rush over and conduct an interview.