Chapter 50: Let the Love-Struck Fool Die p1
At eight in the morning, four buses were parked in a row at the entrance of No. 1 High School. The school had specially chartered these buses from the bus company for this mountain climbing activity.
The students of two classes would ride in one bus. If there were seats, they would sit. If not, they would stand. The bus ride from the school to Longwang Mountain was about half an hour.
The homeroom teachers of each class, all the physical education teachers of the school, the director of the first year of high school, and the teachers from the school’s activity promotion department all went along.
Each class’s sports committee member was even given a flag. The red flag had a bamboo handle, and the golden characters read “First Year () Class, Group Activity.”
After Kong Xiaoxu got it, he tried to wave it and shout, “First Year, Class Three, all students, listen to my command and charge up with me!”
There was also a red banner, which was held by a teacher. A student with a strong sense of curiosity opened it. “Seeking autumn and climbing high, exercising the body, tempering the will, I love the campus.” He took a look and then put it away.
“Forget it. Longwang Mountain is about 1000 meters above sea level. We’ll start from the north gate. It will take about three hours to reach the summit, and then we’ll go down from the west, which will also take at least two hours. If you want to be the first to plant the flag, you have to keep going. You’ll be exhausted.”
“I climbed it with my classmates in junior high. I went down at the dragon’s head. It was really tiring.”
“Kong Xiaoxu, why don’t you go up by yourself? Just make sure the flag of Class Three is the first to be planted.”
Kong Xiaoxu rolled up the flag and put it away. “I can’t do it alone. The homeroom teacher said that each class has to gather ten students first to be considered the first.”
With that, Kong Xiaoxu looked at Wu Junfeng.
“Don’t look at me. I’m really not good at physical labor,” he said, squeezing his eyes at Zhou Wanfeng.
“That’s only one. There are still eight more.”
“Forget it, forget it. What’s the point of competing for first? Let’s just enjoy the scenery and cultivate our minds. It’s so boring to ignore the beautiful scenery on the way just for the sake of speed. Don’t we still have to write a composition about mountain climbing? How are we supposed to write it if we just climb and don’t look?”
“Exactly. Forget it, Kong Xiaoxu. It’s a rare opportunity to go mountain climbing. Don’t think about competing for first. The school is always competing. And we have to be so competitive even for a group mountain climbing.”
Kong Xiaoxu sighed deeply. “I just hope we’re not the last.”
“Impossible. Do you think the other classes are better than us?”
“Exactly. Didn’t you see their backpacks and the plastic bags they were carrying? They’re all full of food and drinks. I even saw someone with a bedsheet just now. They’re probably planning a picnic.”
After finally suppressing Kong Xiaoxu’s competitive spirit, the students in the class were excited and lined up to get on the bus.
First Year, Class Three and First Year, Class Four were in the same bus.
The two classes were close, and the students all knew each other. They were shouting while they were lining up. “Does anyone want a seat? If you want one, come to the front.”
If it weren’t for the physical education teacher in the front, they would probably have all squeezed to the bus door, waiting to get on and take a seat.
“Kong Xiaoxu, you give the flag to Wu Junfeng. You go to the very front and run a little faster to help the girls in our class get a seat,” Jiang Chen was always good at being a good person. He had instructed Kong Xiaoxu to say that he was getting seats for the girls in the class, and now all the girls in First Year, Class Three were giving him a thumbs-up.
“Not bad, Jiang Chen. You have a big heart.”
With First Year, Class Three shouting like that, the boys and girls of First Year, Class Four were not dead and could hear.
“Did the boys of Class Four hear that? The people from Class Three are getting seats for the girls in their class.”
It was noisy. The physical education teacher would scold them from time to time, telling them not to be noisy and not to push forward. But it was useless. The line was slowly moving forward.
He shouted at the top of his lungs. The homeroom teachers of each class were all standing in the back. After they couldn’t control them, they completely let go.
The moment the bus driver started the engine, the bus shook and buzzed. When the students saw someone pushing forward, they all followed suit, and the formation completely broke. The physical education teacher was like a bare telephone pole, standing there, not daring to move.
He just watched as the students rushed past him.
The empty bus was completely full in a few seconds. Those who didn’t get a seat could only find a good spot by the window to stand.
“Yun Jingya, there’s a priority seat here. You can come and sit here,” a boy in the class who had gotten an orange seat by the window said, waving at the boarding Yun Jingya.
“Oh, oh, oh,” a strange laugh came from the bus.
Yun Jingya pulled on Wang Feili and turned to wave at Zhou Wanfeng. “Wanfeng, over here, over here. There’s a window here for some air.”
“Thank you, Yang Ya. I bought some snacks. I’ll give them to you later,” Wang Feili and Zhou Wanfeng stood next to Yun Jingya. A moment later, Jiang Chen squeezed over, panting. “The two door gods from Class Four were blocking the way. They almost squeezed me off.”
The homeroom teachers of Class Four and Class Three were standing below the bus, watching the situation. Basically, the teachers would all sit in the last bus.
“Hey, hey, which class are you from? Why are you on this bus?” a student from Class Four said, seeing that the person who had come up looked a little unfamiliar. He was not from his class, and he hadn’t seen him in Class Three either.
“I’ve already told the teacher that I’m taking this bus. Come on, make some room. I’ll give you two sweet dates,” a very familiar voice came from the front door. The moment Jiang Chen heard it, he stood on his tiptoes and looked up. “Lu Qing?”
“Jiang Xiaochen, come and give me a hand,” it was indeed Lu Qing, waving through the gap.
Lu Qing was carrying a large red plastic bag and a backpack. Both were bulging. In the red plastic bag, you could see all kinds of fruits: bananas, cucumbers, tomatoes, pomegranates, oranges, pears, and even a large yellow melon at the very bottom.
Jiang Chen took it and opened it. “Oh my,” he said. “Did our big brother rob a fruit shop?”
“There was even more than this originally. I gave some to my classmates. Otherwise, how could I have carried it all?” Lu Qing had given a lot to his classmates. He had even given some to the girls in the class who had given him snacks before.
He had a very good memory and hadn’t missed a single one.
“Where’s Jiang Yi? Why isn’t he here?”
Lu Qing and Jiang Chen came to Zhou Wanfeng. They heard the driver shout, “Everyone, stand properly! Find a handrail and hold on! The bus is about to move!”
The homeroom teacher of Class Three waved at the driver. All the students below had gotten on. He indicated that they could start driving.
Click. The front and back doors were locked. The bus lurched, and a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” arose. The standing people swayed and quickly grabbed something to steady themselves.
Lu Qing was about to take off his backpack when the driver started driving. He was standing on both feet, his hands not holding anything. With a lurch, his whole body fell to the side. Just as he was about to shout, “Jiang Xiaochen, save me…”
Suddenly, a hand was placed across his chest, stopping him like a cable. After leaning forward, he was suddenly thrown back. Lu Qing was about to curse the driver.
He only felt a hand on his back, pressed firmly against his heart.
Lu Qing was steadied.
Jiang Chen was being pulled by Wang Feili, but Wang Feili did not have Zhou Wanfeng’s composure and arm strength. The two of them were pulled and dragged, and they fell to the ground with a thud.
The bus only stabilized after it was on the road.
From the corner of his eye, Lu Qing stole a glance at Zhou Wanfeng’s profile. She was now looking at the scenery outside the window, as if she didn’t care about what had just happened at all.
But Lu Qing couldn’t. At this moment, his chest was like it had a live rabbit in it, kicking wildly.
“Zhou Wanfeng, thank you just now. Do you want a sweet date? They’re washed,” he said, taking out a few large and plump dates from his pocket.
Zhou Wanfeng shook her head, her gaze on Yun Jingya. She noticed that she was unusually quiet today, her brow slightly furrowed as if she had something on her mind, and she was even in a daze.
Being rejected, Lu Qing simply stuffed the dates into Jiang Chen and Wang Feili’s hands. “You guys have them.”
The bus was swaying. Jiang Chen fixed Lu Qing’s backpack with his feet and asked, “Jiang Yi is not here?”
“He’s not here. The school’s competition group has training. He’s gone to class.”
Jiang Chen looked at the fruits and muttered, “That’s a pity. Jiang Yi loves to eat fruits.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve left a lot for him in his desk.”
Lu Qing pretended to look at the people in the bus. He glanced at Zhou Wanfeng several times. He saw that she had one hand in her pocket and the other holding a handrail. She was wearing a pair of sneakers. The way she had tied her shoelaces was very special, the opposite of how people usually did it.
The half-hour journey to the north gate of Longwang Mountain was over. They gathered in their class groups. Kong Xiaoxu waved the flag of First Year, Class Three and called for his classmates to gather.
Lu Qing was in the Class Three line, not caring about his own class at all.
The homeroom teacher, Xu Lei, once again emphasized the things to pay attention to. Do not climb trees, and do not take unknown routes. There would be a teacher waiting at the summit, and they would gather at the west gate at 4:30 in the afternoon.
“Don’t forget the time. We’ll gather at the west gate at 4:30 in the afternoon. The bus will also be parked at the west gate. There will be no bus to take you back on the way back.”
With that, the mountain climbing activity officially began. Kong Xiaoxu led the way with the flag.
Lu Qing, Jiang Chen, and the others were not in a hurry. Yun Jingya clearly had something on her mind. After giving some snacks to the boys who had helped to get her a seat, she was quiet and not very talkative.
Zhou Wanfeng had not brought anything today. Her hands were empty. After getting off the bus, she saw the food and drinks that Lu Qing had brought. She directly reached out and took his backpack, and put it on herself.
Lu Qing’s mouth formed an “O.” He kicked Jiang Chen hard. “Look at Zhou Wanfeng. She’s so considerate. You eat my food, you drink my drinks, and now you’re being picky about carrying something. And you’ll be the one who eats the most later.”
Wang Feili helped to carry a few of the backpacks.
“Don’t you see how heavy this melon is? Let’s just find a place to cut it open and eat it after a while.”
“Alright. Let’s go a little further and find a place.”
Zhou Wanfeng’s steps were light. She walked straight up to Yun Jingya and asked in a low voice, “Are you not feeling well today?”
Yun Jingya shook her head. “No, I’m fine today. That hasn’t come either,” she said, leaning closer to Zhou Wanfeng and smiling.
But she did have something on her mind. When she had called home, Auntie Zhang had said that her grandmother was sick. In the end, she hadn’t even been able to talk to her grandmother.
Yun Jingya stole a glance at Zhou Wanfeng, pursed her lips, and hesitated for a moment. “Wanfeng, I still want to know what happened in the study that day. Can you really not tell me?”
The route to the summit was well-designed. It was all stone steps, leading all the way to the top.
The texture of the stone steps was uneven, so they were non-slip even when it rained. The slope and height were just right, and you could walk up as if you were taking a stroll.
Zhou Wanfeng stared at Yun Jingya with a blank expression, then lowered her eyes and jumped up two steps, leaving Yun Jingya behind.
Yun Jingya knew that she had been rejected again.
But she was a little anxious this time and chased after her. “Wanfeng, please, please tell me. I promise I can control my emotions and I won’t be anxious.”
“You’re already anxious,” Zhou Wanfeng said, walking forward with her head down. “Since you want to know, why don’t you go and ask your mother? With her personality, I don’t think she would hide it from you.”
Yun Jingya followed closely, her brow furrowed. In the end, she still said, “It was Grandma who said it. She told me to believe what you said, and not to believe what anyone else told me, even if it was my mother.”
Zhou Wanfeng’s footsteps faltered. She stopped and turned to look back, her eyes filled with sarcasm. “Your grandmother told you to believe my words?”
Yun Jingya was two steps below her. She took a breath and nodded heavily.
“Then you tell me first, why is your mood off today? Don’t say you’re fine. My eyes are not blind. I can see for myself,” Zhou Wanfeng said, glancing at Lu Qing and Jiang Chen, who were chasing after them from behind. She turned and continued to walk forward, but this time, she was not taking two steps at a time.
Yun Jingya continued to follow, looking at Zhou Wanfeng’s back, and said a beat later, “Grandma… is still angry with Mom. I want to mediate between them. This is the first time I’ve seen them angry for so long,” Yun Jingya subconsciously did not want to say that her mother had made her grandmother sick with anger and had also moved out.
She felt that if Zhou Wanfeng knew, she would not go back to the house at South Lake Mansion in the future. The thought of it made her very sad, so she kept it from her. As long as her mother went home and coaxed her grandmother, the matter would be over. In the future, Wanfeng would still go home with her on the weekends.
“What’s wrong with you two? You’re walking faster and faster. Yun Jingya, are you racing with Zhou Wanfeng?” Lu Qing said, sitting on the steps and shouting up at them. He was tired.
Their group had started late, and the main group was in front.
“Zhou Wanfeng, Yun Jingya, stop walking! There’s a pavilion here! Let’s get rid of some of the fruit! It’s too heavy,” Jiang Chen said, carrying a red plastic bag and swinging it.