The sunflower

Missteps and Misunderstandings

Translation: "Missteps and Misunderstandings"

"What are you up to?" Yan Luo dialed Qing Ren's number.

"Putting on a face mask. What about you?"

"Just finished dinner. Dad just got back from his trip and is downstairs getting cozy with Mom. I ran up here to escape the mushiness."

"Ha, your parents are really like the model couple. Unlike my dad, who's never around when he's busy. Even when he's home, he's invisible, always out playing cards and never has time for us."

"It looks like it really was my dad who spoke to the principal about us being in the same class."

"I wish I were your dad’s daughter too, I'm so jealous," Qing Ren sat up from her bed and moved to the sofa to settle in for a long chat with Yan Luo, "He’s so busy yet he still remembers these things."

"Tomorrow is finally the weekend, and I wanted to learn how to ride a bike, but we still have to do military training."

"The bike can wait, I’ll teach you eventually. Oh, by the way," Qing Ren paused, "do you think Jiang Shaoqi likes you?"

"How could he? He likes you!"

"I recently read a romance guide that said if a boy always teases a girl, it might just be his way of getting her attention. Remember how Jiang Shaoqi has been bothering you since middle school? It looks like he’s been trying to get your attention."

"He bothers both of us," Yan Luo didn't buy into Qing Ren's theory, then suddenly remembered something, "And today, after you got punished in the morning and treated him so coldly at noon, he still went out of his way to buy you milk tea. It was probably to comfort you. Seems more like he likes you."

"But he bought two milk teas," Qing Ren contemplated, "Then I think he probably likes one of us, if what the book says is correct."

"Can we stop talking about him? He likes any pretty girl." Yan Luo was getting impatient with the topic of Jiang Shaoqi.

"But what Jiang Shaoqi said today, our astronomy club isn’t really a new club, is it? What if it disbands in less than a month?"

"It doesn’t matter." Clearly, Yan Luo wasn't very concerned about the club, "You joined because of the club president, and I'm just there to accompany you."

"You're wronging me there. The president may be handsome, but he's not my type. I joined for a relaxing time, all for you," Qing Ren feigned grievance, "The president said it’s just about watching the stars, something easy that I thought you’d like."

"Alright, I believe you."

"But seriously, the president is really handsome," Qing Ren couldn’t help but bring up the president again, "Generally, I think there are two types of handsome: one is the refined, scholarly type, and the other is the cool, aloof, dominant type."

"Oh? You’ve even come up with categories? Which type is he?"

Yan Luo was amazed, struggling with math formulas herself, but Qing Ren was an expert when it came to categorizing handsome guys.

"He's neither, or maybe a mix of both. He looks very dignified but not frail. His facial features are sharp, his eyes are deep, giving him a bit of a distant feel, not very approachable at first glance, but he’s very polite. So, he’s not my type. I prefer guys who are more approachable."

"That sounds like Jiang Shaoqi," Yan Luo teased her.

"Annoying, stop bringing him up. I'd rather become a nun than like him."

…The two chatted for forty minutes, shifting from clubs to Jay Chou’s new album, the latest idol dramas, and even analyzing the boys in their class… until they both started to feel sleepy and said goodnight.

On Saturday morning, while the freshmen still had to arrive early at school for training, the sophomores had the day off. Day students could stay home while boarding students were free to do as they wished on campus.

For Lu Cheng, Saturdays were reserved for video calls with his father, Lu Zhiyuan, who was in America. At 10 AM, which coincided with evening in New York, Lu Zhiyuan punctually initiated the video call system.

"Son," Lu Zhiyuan greeted Lu Cheng with a smile, his usually stern face slowly relaxing.

"Yeah," Luke also squeezed into the frame, Lu Cheng saw his brother, "Lu Yi, see your brother? Say hi."

"Hey, brother, when are you and mom coming home? I miss her." Lu Yi referred to their home in America.

"We'll be back for your birthday."

"That's in November, right? Great!" Lu Yi jumped up excitedly.

"How’s the SAT tutor I found for you? You need to prepare well, Stanford has tough admission standards." Lu Zhiyuan had the nanny take Lu Yi away, always concerned about Lu Cheng joining him in America after high school.

"I have a lot of schoolwork now, plus there’s the club stuff. Besides, I’m not sure about going to college in the US."

"Of course you must come here. You don’t need to take the gaokao. Just put school on the back burner, that club thing is a waste of time. Your mother is working hard in China taking care of you, just finish high school and come here, no more discussion."

"Got it, hanging up now."

"You…" Lu Zhiyuan wanted to say more, but the call was already cut.

The club is a waste of time, you must come to America, Lu Cheng replayed his father’s words, feeling a surge of frustration. Lu Zhiyuan never cared about his opinions; to him, 'father' was more a stranger planning his life than a parent. Yet, he had to admit his mother did have a hard time taking care of him and Lu Yi, who depended on her. With that in mind, he decided to complete the SAT course.

The second week of military training had begun, and each class started practicing for the closing parade. Each class marched past the reviewing stand in unison, shouting slogans in a loud and coordinated manner, under the scrutiny of the school leaders on the stand. Instructor Chen carefully rearranged the formation by height, grouping Cheng Lele, Yan Luo, Ding Meng, and Sun Wei together. This week’s focus was on marching. After explaining the key points, Instructor Chen had each row practice in turn.

"First row, attention! Begin marching!" At Instructor Chen’s command, Yan Luo’s row started their march.

"Politically sound, militarily proficient, exemplary conduct, strict discipline, effective support! One-two-three-four, one two three four!"

Their slogan was fine, and the four of them managed to stay more or less in a straight line, but Ding Meng turned the wrong way, resulting in everyone folding their left arms while he folded his right, and then his left hand hit Yan Luo’s right hand hard, fourteen times in fourteen steps…

Yan Luo endured the pain without a word, and after finishing, she raised her hand, "Report, Instructor, I request to switch places with Ding Meng to his right side!" It was just too painful.

"Granted!"

So Yan Luo and Sun Wei switched places, but it only took two steps before Sun Wei shouted.

"Instructor! Ding Meng is turning the wrong way! He’s going to break my hand!"

Sun Wei's outcry drew the entire class's attention, turning Ding Meng’s face red as he clenched the hem of his trousers, his head bowed in mortification, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

"Ding Meng, step out and practice alone. Remember, fold left arm, step out with right leg."

The entire class watched as Ding Meng marched alone, repeating several times but still turning the wrong way, his movements becoming more flustered with each attempt.

"Ha ha ha, this guy really can’t march, all his brains went to his studies. Look at what he did to me, all red." Sun Wei stretched out his right hand, laughing and making a spectacle of Ding Meng, with others joining in with their jeers.

"Enough laughing! Ding Meng, take a break, everyone else, get back in line and start practicing!" Instructor Chen directed the other students to begin practicing in rows, each row attempting to get it right before the entire class practiced together.

Instructor Chen: "Ding Meng! Get back in line, now we’ll all practice together!"

Sun Wei: "Report, Instructor, I firmly refuse to stand on Ding Meng’s left side."

Instructor Chen was in a quandary, he asked the class, "Who is willing to stand on Ding Meng’s left?"

A moment of silence fell over the class, followed by whispers. Ding Meng, head still lowered, seemed to overhear someone say, "Who would stand next to him and ask for trouble?" This made him even more distressed, his eyes beginning to redden.

"I will." Yan Luo moved to Ding Meng’s left side. She had initially just wanted to relieve her own pain but was outraged by Sun Wei’s lack of tact in public, feeling guilty for how uncomfortable Ding Meng looked and stepped forward voluntarily.

Ding Meng nervously looked up at Yan Luo, recalling how he had hit her several times during their first march. He hadn't expected her to be willing to stand beside him again; this act of kindness felt like being pulled back from the brink of a cliff.

"Good! Everyone’s ready! Now let’s begin practicing!" Instructor Chen led the troop in repeated drills, and although Ding Meng continued to turn the wrong way, Yan Luo remained silent.

"Yan Luo... sorry... your hand..." Ding Meng looked at Yan Luo’s reddened hand, feeling very apologetic.

Yan Luo smiled, "It’s okay, don’t worry about it, just keep practicing."

After countless attempts, Ding Meng finally corrected his turning, aligning his steps with everyone else. On the last day of military training, Class 1’s parade went smoothly, and Instructor Chen awarded Yan Luo an A. After the parade disbanded, everyone rushed to the first-floor hall to check their club activity locations.

Yan Luo and Qing Ren couldn’t find their names on the Astronomy Club list but spotted Jiang Shaoqi’s name instead.

Yan Luo: "Are you sure you filled out the Astronomy Club’s registration form?"

"Absolutely, I filled it out right in front of the club president, it’s so weird, maybe they missed a page?" Qing Ren looked through the list several times, bewildered.

"Damn! It’s really weird! We’re on the Mountaineering Club’s list instead! The club room is in the annexe of the small auditorium, Room 105." Yan Luo pointed to the Mountaineering Club’s list, right above the Astronomy Club’s.

Qing Ren: "This is a bolt from the blue, how can this be?"

"Obviously, we need to go to 105 to figure this out."

Room 105 was already crowded with sophomores who were old club members and freshmen who were new members. Wu Wei asked everyone to find a seat and sit down. Lu Cheng leaned against a table in the middle, looking towards the door; he was waiting for them. As expected, it wasn’t long before Yan Luo and Qing Ren hurried in, clearly upset.

"It was him, he was the one at the Astronomy Club table, holding the registration form when I filled it out, I thought he was the Astronomy Club president..." Qing Ren pointed at Lu Cheng, puzzled.

Yan Luo immediately realized the mix-up, she told Lu Cheng, "We made a mistake, we don’t want to join the Mountaineering Club, goodbye." She turned to leave, thinking it was better to not join any club at all.

"How could there be a mistake? This student filled out the registration form by hand, and I confirmed at the time whether she wanted to join my club." Lu Cheng smiled as he handed the registration form to Qing Ren, the backlight from the window illuminating his face.

"You’re lying, I thought you were the Astronomy Club president when I said that, and besides, we joined to watch stars, not whatever your club does." Qing Ren hurriedly defended herself.

"I’m not lying, isn’t mountain camping also about watching stars? Let me introduce myself again, I’m Lu Cheng, president of the Mountaineering Club."

Lu Cheng raised his eyebrows proudly, other club members cheered, encouraging Qing Ren and Yan Luo to stay.

"President Lu’s method of recruitment isn’t exactly honorable, we’re not interested, goodbye."

Yan Luo was still determined to leave, no matter his excuses, what could he do if I don’t want to stay? Qing Ren followed behind Yan Luo like a little tail.

"After you join, you’ll be next term’s vice presidents, isn’t it unwise to leave?"

Lu Cheng stepped in front of Yan Luo, closer than when he had seen her from the third floor, this time he clearly saw her delicate features, her pupils were a deep brown.

"We don’t like climbing, don’t like eating and sleeping outdoors, don’t like being exposed to the wind and sun, that’s all there is to it." Yan Luo looked up defiantly at Lu Cheng.

"What if I make an exception? Other than the first welcoming activity, I’ll allow you two not to participate in any other club activities." Lu Cheng smiled as he asked.

But Liu Jiangyang, a sophomore old club member, immediately questioned, "That's not right, President, the Mountaineering Club has never had such a rule. All members must participate in activities, you can’t be without principles like that."

"Then why don’t you take responsibility for recruiting two more?" Lu Cheng’s implication was clear, to bring two more girls.

Liu Jiangyang waved his hand, "Fine, fine, principles can’t fill your stomach, we’ll do as you say."

The other male students had no objections to Yan Luo and Qing Ren not participating in activities.

Yan Luo and Qing Ren looked at each other, such a good deal was not to be missed. Qing Ren asked, "President, are you serious? You won’t go back on your word?"

"Everyone here heard it, how can I go back on my word? I’ll emphasize again, not participating in activities applies only to girls, no discussion for the boys."