Chapter 0009

Summer days were long. The sun had already risen at six o’clock, shining through the thin clouds, the sky bright and clear, not yet hot.

Gu Yan scanned the street. Locust trees lined both sides, and breakfast stalls were steaming, quiet and busy.

The breakfast stalls near the school were already crowded, mostly with students coming for morning self-study. Among the crowd, he saw a few familiar faces: Song Yang, Goudan, and another classmate named Zhao Jing, occupying a small square table.

Song Yang happened to look up and meet Gu Yan’s gaze, then waved at him. As he waved, Goudan and Zhao Jing also noticed him and waved. Someone came with a tray to ask for their table, but Goudan pressed down on his small stool and waved the person away.

Goudan shouted across the crowd, “Come quickly, it’s crowded now, there won’t be any seats later…”

Gu Yan made an OK gesture, ordered a basket of steamed buns from the vendor, and went to sit with them.

The buns were served quickly, probably because the vendor didn’t want to wash dishes, they were served directly on a plate lined with a plastic bag. Song Yang and the others’ soy milk bowls were the same, the hot soy milk poured directly into bowls lined with plastic bags. The two slurped heartily. Perhaps eating together made the food taste better, Gu Yan took a bite of the bun, and it was surprisingly good.

They chatted while eating.

“I heard you were chosen to participate in the Jingrun Cup math competition.”

The phrase “chosen” sounded strange. Gu Yan lowered his eyes and took a bite of the bun, asking, “Who told you that?”

Song Yang patted Goudan’s shoulder. “Don’t we have a math class representative here?”

Goudan, who was slurping soy milk, choked and shrugged. “Get your paws off me…”

Goudan put down his bowl. “I saw your academic analysis at Old Math’s, it’s also impressive. I think winning a prize is pretty much guaranteed.”

Gu Yan pondered the word “also,” which implied a comparison, meaning there was at least someone equally strong. He looked up at Goudan, who was sitting opposite him. “The registration deadline is this week. I guess the school wasn’t specifically waiting for me to transfer, right? Logically, there should have been a candidate already…”

Song Yang chimed in, “It was originally Older Brother Ze, who can beat him in terms of grades…”

Gu Yan asked again, “Then why did it change?”

Song Yang tore off a piece of fried dough stick and hummed for a while without giving an answer. Zhao Jing, who had been quiet, spoke up, “Not sure about the specifics, maybe it’s Older Brother Ze’s personality, he’s not very obedient, the school might be afraid of changes…”

Goudan and Song Yang nodded with their mouths full.

On their way back to school, Goudan suddenly exclaimed and turned to ask Gu Yan, “Did Bai Ling give you yesterday’s papers?”

Gu Yan quickly searched his memory. “What papers?”

Goudan hissed. “The classic competition problems Old Math specifically collected for you. He asked me to give them to you before evening self-study yesterday. When I came back, I needed to use the bathroom urgently, so I gave them to Bai Ling at the door and asked her to put them on your desk.”

Seeing Gu Yan’s confused frown, Goudan gasped. “No way…”

Back in the classroom, Goudan asked Bai Ling. Bai Ling was certain, turning around to demonstrate. “There was no one in the back when I came back, so I put the papers directly on the desk like this.”

Song Yang glanced back and asked his deskmate, “Are you sure you put them on Gu Yan’s desk?”

“Yes… I put them like this…” Bai Ling suddenly covered her mouth and stopped talking. “Did I put them in the wrong place…?”

Lu Ze’s desk was empty. The four looked at each other for a few seconds, then turned to the trash can by the back door.

As soon as they entered the classroom in the morning, they saw four people huddled around a trash can. Soon, Song Yang popped his head out and shouted, “Which unlucky bastard ate spicy strips in the classroom!”

Several crumpled and then flattened test papers were spread on the desk. Gu Yan was staring at them, questioning his life. He had been working on the last big problem for a long time without getting the answer.

There were a few scribbled steps in the blank space next to it. After getting a result, the handwriting was so messy it looked like doodles. But when Gu Yan plugged the result in, damn it! It was correct!

Gu Yan looked through the papers again and noticed something was off.

He had always thought Lu Ze was just doodling on the papers out of boredom. After a closer look, he discovered a pattern. This guy wasn’t just playing around. The basic questions, the ones you knew how to do at a glance, were left blank. The difficult and challenging ones, the important conditions were marked with pen, and there were a few scribbled steps next to them, seemingly careless, but the results were all correct.

The back door creaked open. Gu Yan turned his head. Lu Ze had returned from the bathroom or somewhere, hooked his chair with his foot, sat down, pulled down his cap, and lay down, still looking like the world had nothing to do with him.

His opinion changed in an instant. Gu Yan had a quirk. If someone was all talk and no show, no matter how sophisticated their act, in his eyes, they were just a poser. If anyone dared to show off in front of him, he would definitely call them out. But if they were truly capable, that was different. Was that posing? That was fucking high-end human performance art!

——

Lu Ze arrived a bit later than usual today. When he entered, there were already three or four people lined up at the counter. A girl asked, “Why is there a different person at the counter today?” She glanced at the person who had just entered and immediately pursed her lips and stopped talking.

Old Ge was fumbling with the cash register, his tone not very pleasant. “What, you’re not happy with an old man like me as the cashier?”

Seeing Lu Ze, Old Ge breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re here, you take over, this high-tech stuff is too much for this old man.” He squeezed past the counter and leaned against the wall.

Lu Ze took the scanner and reached into Old Ge’s bulging pocket.

Old Ge exclaimed and quickly covered his pocket, but it was too late. A small glass bottle of alcohol was pulled out by Lu Ze.

“I’ve told you many times, you can’t drink while taking medicine.” He raised his thin eyelids, his expression indifferent.

Old Ge shrank his neck and sighed. Getting old, being controlled by the young.

He flung his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, and walked out angrily.

Old Ge’s wife had passed away early, and his son was abroad all year round. He opened this small supermarket not to make a lot of money, but just to have people coming and going, which was better than being alone all day.

The store was almost empty when the infrared sensor at the door beeped, announcing a customer.

Gu Yan peeked into the counter through the shelves. No one. Just like last time, an old man was lying in a recliner near the wall, listening to the radio.

He casually grabbed a bag of bread and went to the counter. The small door on the wall wasn’t completely closed, and he could see a figure inside through the gap.

He was wondering whether to shout like last time when a slender hand pushed the door open. Lu Ze looked out with his head slightly tilted, his other hand still buttoning his shirt, as if he had just changed.

Gu Yan’s mind suddenly froze. He waved awkwardly with one hand, then felt embarrassed and lowered his head, pushing the bread forward. “Check out.”

The scanner beeped. “Five yuan.”

Gu Yan paid, took the bread, and sat down at the long table by the wall, taking a few bites before going to the shelf and grabbing a bag of biscuits.

“Check out.”

Lu Ze scanned the biscuits.

Two minutes later, Gu Yan appeared at the counter again with a bag of toasted bread. “Check out.”

Lu Ze leaned on the counter and didn’t move.

The midday sun shone brightly, illuminating his face.

One looked like he had something to say, the other looked like he was saying “spit it out,” it was quite amusing. In the end, they didn’t exchange a word.

The scanner beeped, and Gu Yan took the toasted bread and sat back down.

When Gu Yan appeared at the counter again with a bag of crispy noodles, Lu Ze’s indifferent face showed obvious impatience. He pushed the noodles aside.

“Not selling, this store refuses all waste.”

Gu Yan raised his chin stubbornly. “I can finish it!”

Lu Ze narrowed his eyes slightly.

The sun shone through the window, casting shadows of the characters “baihuo” (general merchandise) spelled out in tape onto the long table by the wall.

The usually deserted table had several items on it today. Lu Ze sat on the side with his arms crossed, looking at Gu Yan with his cheeks puffed out.

“I said I can finish it, what are you looking at!” Gu Yan took another bite of bread, his cheeks even fuller, his words muffled.

He chewed a few times and swallowed hard. A lump of bread stuck in his throat, feeling like he was swallowing cotton. Gu Yan mentally slapped himself. Serves you right, you idiot!

As for why he came to Qingkou again, Gu Yan couldn’t really say. He felt awkward about the competition. If Lu Ze’s grades were worse than his, he would feel at ease, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case at all. Lu Ze was at least as good as him.

Moreover, he had gotten the qualification as soon as he transferred, and Gu Huaiyuan knew about it immediately. The reason wasn’t hard to figure out. With the long-standing friendship between Gu Huaiyuan and Principal Xiang, it was a favor they were happy to do. Although ultimately it was because his grades were indeed good, Gu Yan still felt awkward, even a sense of unearned victory.

This mouthful of bread almost choked Gu Yan. He pushed the food aside and, based on the rule that you can’t be killed in a harmonious society, crossed his arms and said defiantly, “I can’t finish it.”

Lu Ze looked at him with disdain, snorting softly, and got up to leave.

Gu Yan also stood up. “Why aren’t you participating in the Jingrun Cup?” Two little people in his head argued fiercely, but couldn’t reach a conclusion. He gritted his teeth and asked the question directly.

Lu Ze, who had already turned around, paused, then looked at Gu Yan, his slightly furrowed brows showing confusion.

“Did your ancestors sell salt?”

“Huh?”

“So nosy!”

Gu Yan knew he was being nosy, but since he had already asked, he might as well go all the way, rather than keep wondering.

Lu Ze walked ahead, and Gu Yan followed behind like a tail, nagging.

“This competition is very prestigious, you should know, right? Others can’t even participate even if they want to, and your grades are not bad…”

Lu Ze was annoyed by his nagging and turned around to tell him to get lost.

Suddenly, he felt something under his foot. He looked down and saw half a footprint on his white sneakers, showing how hard the step was.

Gu Yan was still giving his impassioned speech. “There’s a first come, first served rule. I haven’t submitted my registration form yet. If you want to participate, I’ll give you the spot, I don’t want it.”

“Finished?”

“Finished.”

“Doesn’t your foot hurt?”

Gu Yan wiggled his toes discreetly, his body straight, his aura strong. “It hurts.”