A nineteen-year-old boy, half a year apart, had grown taller again.
Wang Shuang’s changes were of course not limited to height; the Liu Chuan Feng hairstyle he had favoured in high school was gone too, and with shorter hair, he looked even more spirited, revealing the delicate features he had inherited from his mother, Madam Wang.
Amid the full bloom of youthful vigour, two parts maturity had been added; the aura of a university student was after all different from that of a high schooler.
The person was still the same person, yet somehow not; once seated in the fried skewer shop, Li Mengjiao kept turning her head frequently.
“If you want to look, then look openly; do not keep sneaking peeks at this young master!”
As soon as Wang Shuang spoke, that familiar punchable vibe returned in an instant; Li Mengjiao set down her fried skewer and thumped Wang Shuang’s shoulder, “Your skin is too thick; why would I look at you; do you think you are handsome?”
To be fair, Wang Shuang was indeed quite handsome.
Especially after going to the magic city for university, without a charisma magnet like Xie Qian standing beside him for comparison, and in a school with a preponderance of girls, Wang Shuang received no small amount of attention.
During that week of military training, Wang Shuang had gotten quite a few invitations to “make friends”.
After military training ended, not counting those with unspoken crushes who had not revealed them, there were several girls who openly showed interest in Wang Shuang, mostly second- and third-year seniors at that.
What was wrong with the big sisters wanting to nibble on tender grass?
Each sister had her own charms; as a playboy, he ought to respond positively to the sisters’ affections… Wang Shuang did not.
Wang Shuang was terribly busy, alright.
University did not mean letting loose; pursuing just 60 marks to pass was the goal for some students, and Wang Shuang had once thought that way too; but now Peng Guoqing was gnashing his teeth to become Wang Shuang’s junior, and Wang Shuang dreaded that if this fellow really got into the same school as him, only to find his senior slacking off miserably upon arrival, how embarrassing would that be!
On one hand, he had to strive to make a good showing; on the other, he had to send texts and calls every day to maintain friendships; he was also deeply invested in the establishment of Tianjiao’s magic city office; Wang Shuang had no time to respond to the seniors’ affections.
Hearing Li Mengjiao question his handsomeness now, in the past, Wang Shuang would have retorted out of defiance by flaunting his horde of admirers; perhaps he had matured, or for some other reason, today he did not do so.
“Whether I am handsome or not, I know myself; I do not need your validation.”
Wang Shuang said this while dashing his head coolly, infuriating Li Mengjiao into howling, “Stop posing; I do not want to eat your dandruff in my fried potatoes!”
“Handsome people do not get dandruff.”
Wen Ying could not help but chuckle.
With Wang Shuang there, the little group regained its lively buzz.
Wen Ying missed the days when Wang Shuang and Li Mengjiao bickered daily.
With Wang Shuang gone, the little group had felt a massive void. Peng Guoqing seemed to fill it, but Peng Guoqing and Wang Shuang were ultimately different; Peng Guoqing was no one’s stand-in, and he could never truly replace Wang Shuang.
But there were only six months left; the little group would reunite in the magic city soon; thinking this way made even the fried potatoes in her mouth taste better.
Wen Ying had just thought of Peng Guoqing when he came panting and rushing over.
Seeing Wang Shuang, Peng Guoqing froze.
Wang Shuang patted the stool beside him: “Little Peng junior, come sit.”
Peng Guoqing huffed and grudgingly accepted Wang Shuang’s overture.
“When did you get back?”
“Of course today.”
Back today, and straight to the provincial key school’s gate to report in; this Wang fellow’s thieving heart was undying, still vying for favour with him!
Peng Guoqing immediately turned to Xie Qian with his good news: “Teacher Liang just told me; my end-of-term scores are out; she said I got 474 marks!”
“Hm?!”
Wang Shuang’s reaction was even bigger than Xie Qian’s, “You actually scored 474; were the end-of-term questions especially easy this time?”
See, the one who understood slags best was not the top student, but another slag.
Slag Wang had once improved his scores bit by bit too, and was especially sensitive to marks; when Peng Guoqing first transferred to Rong City, forget 474; all subjects combined could not scrape 300 marks; he was a true slag through and through.
Now Peng Guoqing was nearly brushing 500.
The gaokao was still months away; could this fellow truly make a comeback?
“Why could I not score 474; were you not a graduate of the provincial key yourself; since when were our school’s end-of-term exams ever especially easy!”
Peng Guoqing was so angry he wanted to fight Wang Shuang.
Wen Ying was surprised too, “Your scores came out so quickly; Teacher Liang truly cares about you; she must have marked one paper right after you finished each exam.”
Peng Guoqing’s mood at this moment was truly exhilarated.
Of course Teacher Liang was good to him; Teacher Liang praised his great progress; Teacher Liang believed he could absolutely get into a 211!
This time, even Xie Qian did not knock Peng Guoqing, “474 marks; not bad.”
Wang Shuang’s gaokao score of nearly 600 had been dismissed by Xie Qian, yet Peng Guoqing’s mere 474 earned approval; Wang Shuang wanted to voice his discontent, but the words stuck in his throat and he swallowed them.
Wang Shuang suddenly realised; Xie Qian’s attitude differed because he held different standards for him and Peng Guoqing; how could he demean himself by comparing to Peng Guoqing!
Wang Shuang shut his mouth.
Li Mengjiao, munching fried skewers, praised Peng Guoqing’s good scores and urged him to keep it up.
For instance, over the next three days, Wen Ying and Li Mengjiao could sleep in; Peng Guoqing still had to persist in diligent study.
“Come, come; have a few more fried potatoes to recharge.”
Li Mengjiao greeted him warmly; Peng Guoqing reached for the skewers, but suddenly remembered his errand to Xie Qian was not just to share the joy.
“Teacher Liang said she wants to talk to you.”
“To me?”
Xie Qian echoed the question; Peng Guoqing nodded vigorously, his eyes full of pleading: “Right now; Teacher Liang is still at school; she said to chat about my studies; can you go listen?”
It was normal for a teacher to talk studies with a parent; talking to another student, that was unusual.
Xie Qian roughly knew what Teacher Liang wanted to discuss and agreed after a brief think.
“Alright; where is Teacher Liang; I will go find her now.”
Peng Guoqing gave the location; Xie Qian stood, and Peng Guoqing moved to follow, but Wen Ying yanked him back.
“Did Teacher Liang require you to be there?”
“Well, she did not say…”
“Then let Xie Qian go alone.”
Wen Ying’s tone was certain; Peng Guoqing sat back down dubiously, “I do not need to go?”
On an ordinary day, with Peng Guoqing’s emotional intelligence, he could have handled it; today, he was simply too elated to think straight.
Wang Shuang chuckled, “Your Xie Dad is going to your parent-teacher conference; what are you going for, to hear Teacher Liang scold you?”
“Pah; Xie Qian is your dad…”
“If he were my dad, that would be grand; then I would not need to strive; after all, with a dad that smart, he would arrange everything for me.”
“Well, he could be my dad too; I have known him longer; our father-son bond is deeper!”
The two bickered in the fried skewer shop over who got to be Xie Qian’s son, making Wen Ying laugh so hard she wanted to slap the table; Li Mengjiao’s face was pure disdain.
Ugh; she had thought Wang Shuang had matured; turns out he was still the same rascal!
But that was for the best; Li Mengjiao felt no trace of the half-year’s estrangement towards Wang Shuang.
