Respect for Mountains and Rivers

3

Jian Xin turned her body and glanced back at the bridge as she went around the corner to look for Xin Hua Bookstore. The boy's figure flashed past, leaving only the trace of the willow trees swaying.

His appearances were casual and his departures were traceless.

He might never know that his mere presence made the day special.

"I think today is the end of summer's heat." Xu Lu said beside her.

"Yes," Jian Xin said, "It's the end of summer's heat."

The hot summer finally ends.

Xu Zhengqing finally met her.

During the new student enrolment period, Xin Hua Bookstore was populated with newcomers who were flipping through books out of curiosity in a cramped space.

Jian Xin and Xu Lu were not interested in squeezing with the crowd, so they left after a quick glance.

On the road, Xu Lu was absent-minded. Jian Xin roughly guessed what she was thinking, but she didn't initiate a conversation.

It was only during dinner that Xu Lu casually asked: "Is your hometown He County, Jian Xin?"

Jian Xin said it wasn't.

It seemed Xu Lu found some common ground, she hastily said, "Neither is mine. I always lived in the dormitory, I remember you didn't live there in junior high, did you?"

"My parents are here," Jian Xin replied.

"Both of them?" Xu Lu asked.

Jian Xin nodded, "We moved here in the sixth grade."

Xu Lu looked at Jian Xin and inquired, "Did they move here specifically for your schooling?"

Jian Xin faltered for a moment with her chopsticks, she mumbled unclearly: "more or less."

"Oh," Xu Lu responded, prodding at the vermicelli in her bowl, she moved on, "Then you must have many friends. I don't have many friends here."

"Don't you have classmates from your hometown?" Jian Xin asked.

Xu Lu replied, "None are from our school, some are from the second high school."

Er Zhong is also a public high school in the county, but its educational resources and environment aren't as good as He Zhong, and it has more students studying art.

Jian Xing nodded.

Xu Lu asked naturally: "Were those people this afternoon your former classmates?"

Jian Xing said they weren't.

Xu Lu, with her eyes wide open, waited for Jian Xing to continue speaking.

Unexpectedly, Jian Xing had nothing more to say.

Xu Lu's face revealed a strong desire for knowledge, but also a self-awareness that she and Jian Xing were not particularly close which made her embarrassed to keep asking. For a moment, her expression was indescribably complicated.

Fifteen and sixteen are the transitional age from adolescence to adulthood. Everyone is eager to have an independent personality and thinking, but they have no choice but to fail in the face of their limited experience. Their all meticulous attempts are filled with profound implications.

In the evening self-study, arrive on time for class, the first day is all about grouping and reserving seats.

Jian Xing and Xu Lu are not tall, and when they entered the class it was already late, and Xu Lu was upset as she didn't have many good seat options left, her face turned pale with anger.

Jian Xing dragged her and sat her in a corner, slightly to the back.

Without a word, Xu Lu sat down, and after a while, she started to cry.

Jian Xing, a little confused, handed her a tissue and asked, "Where would you like to sit?"

Xu Lu twisted the paper and said nothing.

Without her speaking, Jian Xing didn't know what else to ask, so she remained silent.

There was a boy sitting in the front row near the window, his back against the wall, sitting in a rather casual manner. He glanced at Xu Lu and asked Jian Xing, "What's wrong with her?"

Jian Xing replied: "She doesn't really like this spot."

The boy seemed to disdain Xu Lu's behavior, glanced at her and laughed: "If you don't like it, come earlier, the class starts at five o'clock."

They had just come out of Xinhua Bookstore for dinner at half past five.

They really couldn't blame anyone else.

Jian Xing sighed softly.

Xu Lu, who originally just had teary eyes, cried even harder on the table when she heard what the boy said, her self-esteem challenged.

Together with the boy's casual sitting posture in the front row, the surrounding people thought Xu Lu was being bullied and kept looking over.

The boy turned pale instantly and brought his two male friends from the front row to change seats with Xu Lu and Jian Xing.

Xu Lu, although crying, got up immediately to change seats.

The class seating was chaotic. There were three rows in the middle and two on both sides, with some spaces in the back.

Except for the middle row, every other row had passage ways on both sides, convenient for moving around.

Moving from the third last row to the fifth row, although still on the side, made Xu Lu's complexion look a lot better. She also took out the candy she just bought from her pocket and gave it to the boy behind her.

She didn't even turn her head when she handed out the candy, just twisted her body to pass it to the boy.

Her posture was awkward, so was her approach to reconcile.

The boy chuckled, sat upright, and poked Xu Lu, "Do you have anything else to swap?"

Xu Lu sniffled and turned her head to ask, "Do you want a grape-flavored one?"

The boy stared at her and said, "No, I just want to see your face."

The boy's gaze was straightforward, as were his words. Xu Lu's face turned red instantly, she almost snatched back the candy in his hand.

The boy leaning against the wall laughed for a while.

The boy who was forced to move from the fifth row to the back had a complex mood. He also poked him and said, "Stop laughing, Le ge. I'm the one who lost the most, okay?"

Just as they were talking, a man walked in who was very tall, looking to be about 1.9 meters, very thin, wearing a black modified Zhongshan shirt, and wearing glasses.

His height was a bit extraordinary, and as soon as he walked in, the originally noisy class suddenly became quiet.

A brave one voiced out, "This must be genes from a beanstalk, right?"

The whole class burst into laughter.

Jian Xing sat in the inner position, propped up her head and smiled a little.

Xu Lu was so shocked that she forgot to continue blushing, and leaned close to Jian Xin to whisper, "It's really tall, feels even taller than Xu Zhengqing."

The smile on Jian Xing's lips receded a bit at the sound. She glanced at Xu Lu, quickly took back her gaze and nodded, uttering a light "Hmm".

"The beanpole can't compare to my solid body." After everyone had laughed enough, the man picked up a piece of chalk and, talking and writing at the same time, inscribed three flamboyant characters: Xu Changlin.

The bold one chimed in again: "He certainly is tall."

Underneath, laughter erupted again.

Xu Changlin didn't get angry, but with a cheery smile broke off a piece of chalk and, very accurately, threw it at the bold student's* head, saying, "Now, it's your turn. Come on up and introduce yourself."

This time it was others' turn to thump the tables and whistle.

The bold one was indeed bold, with no hesitation he went up on stage, bowed seriously, and then wrote his name on the blackboard.

"Hello everyone, my name is Chen Xi."

Just a name, and there was already a reaction from the crowd.

Jian Xing had an impression of Chen Xi, he was their class's top student.

Chen Xi was quite talkative and made a good start. With the applause of the crowd, he returned to his seat.

Once Chen Xi had settled down, the class gradually quieted down.

Who would be next?

Xu Changlin stood at the last row, glanced carelessly to the left and pointed in a direction, "You go."

It was the one who had made Xu Lu cry.

His name was Lin Youle.

Lin Youle was also quite talkative, but compared to Chen Xi, he was a bit more casual. After he spoke a few words, Xu Changlin pointed at a few more people.

Everyone then realized that these people were all those who had just thumped the tables and whistled, and suddenly their opinion of Xu Changlin changed.

Perhaps this is how adults show their authority.

"Next, shall I just call out the student numbers?" Xu Changlin said, "After all, I don't recognize any of you."

Just as he spoke, there was a knock at the door.

Jian Xing, from her position, couldn't see who it was at first glance. She wasn't particularly interested, but somehow heard someone say, "It's Xu Zhengqing."

Jian Xing looked up, and a figure in white walked in.

As a new student, Xu Zhengqing had a natural ease about him.

He naturally called out, "Mr. Xu, may I borrow a box of chalk."

Xu Changlin responded just as casually, "Alright, since you're here, why don’t you introduce yourself before you leave."

Xu Zhengqing couldn't help but laugh, but he didn't refuse either.

He walked up to the podium confidently, saw several names on the board, and used half a piece of chalk to write down his own name.

It was in regular script.

So beautiful that everyone couldn't help but whisper to each other.

"Hello everyone, I am Xu Zhengqing, from Class 1," Xu Zhengqing picked up a box of chalk and said, "If anyone needs chalk in the future, you can come to me."

He was about to leave after speaking.

Xu Changlin called out, "Hold on."

Xu Zhengqing responded with a "Huh?"

Lin Youle laughed and shouted, "Brother Xu, you should respond with 'yes sir'."

"It’s been 393 years, Brother Lin." Xu Zhengqing's voice carried a hint of laughter.

Lin Youle fell silent and began applauding.

With a neither light nor heavy kick, Xu Changlin said to Xu Zhengqing, "Give me a number."

Xu Zhengqing asked, "Range?"

Xu Changlin said, "Sixty-five."

Xu Zhengqing replied casually, "Then I’ll choose three."

After speaking, he didn't linger anymore and seemed to be in a hurry to get chalk for his class.

The moment he left, Xu Changlin pointed at the roster and landed on the third line, "Number three, Jian Xing?"