Eighteenth Years of Spring

第二十八年春

eighteenth-years-of-spring

Life (3)

Yu Hao's first time seeing Lu Huaizheng was during military training, and it wasn't a pleasant memory.


 Legend had it that the old campus of High School 18 used to be a graveyard, which made the students uneasy. Some said a madman, who used to be a male teacher at High School 18, was locked up in a small thatched hut on the back mountain. It was also said that a first-year middle school girl in a red dress had drowned in the green, shaded pond in front of the teaching building after being raped by that same teacher from the back mountain and then committing suicide. Anyway, there were all sorts of versions of the story.


 To calm the students' emotions, the school leadership applied to build a new campus. The dean of students at the time was named Jin Gang. He had been a soldier before and was decisive in his actions, so he immediately saw the matter through.


 Their grade happened to be there during the demolition and construction of the old and new campuses. For the half-month of military training, all the boys and girls were arranged in a single dormitory building. Due to the terrain, the exit was on the third floor of the dormitory. The girls lived on the first to third floors, which you had to go down to reach, while the boys lived on the fourth to sixth floors, which you had to go up to reach. The two sections were separated by an iron gate. A few days later, a group of migrant workers from the neighboring construction team moved in.


 It was supposed to be the evening of the last day of military training. Jin Gang had taken all the students to the auditorium to watch a military documentary. A girl in Yu Hao's dorm named Shang Qing had gotten heatstroke from standing at attention during the day and had been throwing up all afternoon. Jin Gang gave her special permission to go back and rest that evening and also had Yu Hao go to the infirmary to get some heatstroke medicine for Shang Qing. When she was delivering it, she stumbled upon a terrifying scene.


 Two dusty, burly men had originally climbed into Yu Hao's dorm room to steal things. But when they saw Shang Qing scantily dressed, her youthful figure alluring, they were overcome with lust. They quietly locked the door, rubbed their hands together, and walked towards Shang Qing, trying to coerce and entice her into cooperating.


 They were all seventeen or eighteen-year-old girls; how could they have ever seen something like this? Yu Hao hid in the corner, stunned for a few seconds, before turning and running. She ran to the third-floor dorm manager's office but found the auntie wasn't there. She then thought about running to the auditorium to get help, but realized it was too far. She was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. In her panic and helplessness, she saw Lu Huaizheng coming down from upstairs with two other boys, their hands in their pockets.


 Outside, the twilight was vast and hazy. The lights in the hallway were dim. She couldn't see his face clearly, nor was she in the mood to look.


 The three boys were talking and laughing as they came down the stairs. Their hair was still wet and dripping, as if they had just showered.


 Yu Hao felt as if she had suddenly grasped a life-saving straw. She rushed over in a panic and grabbed the arm of the person in the middle. But she had completely forgotten that they were only sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys at the time. How could they be a match for two migrant workers in their prime who worked on a construction site every day?


 The two friends beside him nudged Lu Huaizheng with their elbows, winking and teasing him ambiguously. Through the dim light, one of the boys actually recognized her. "Yo," he said, "isn't this Yu Hao, the one who sang on the rostrum on the first day of military training?"


 Yu Hao had been multi-talented since she was little. On the first day of military training, she was called up by the school leaders to lead the students in singing military songs.


 The girl stood on the rostrum in her camouflage uniform and military cap. The brim of the cap covered half her face, revealing a rounded chin, red lips, and white teeth. Her singing voice was clear and bright, and she was particularly likable.


 Lu Huaizheng's thoughts weren't as dirty as his two friends'. He actually thought Yu Hao might need something from him. With his hands in his pockets, he leaned down and tilted his head, trying to see her face, when he heard a sob-filled voice—


 "Two men broke into our dorm...my roommate is still inside."


 Yu Hao actually rarely cried. She was truly terrified that day, trembling uncontrollably, her voice shaking like a sieve.


 All three boys were stunned. They looked at each other, dumbfounded, understanding what had probably happened.


 Although the three of them weren't exactly good students, seeing a girl crying her heart out in front of them suddenly stirred a surging sense of masculine duty.


 Lu Huaizheng was the quickest to react. He said to the boy on his left, "Go get Jin Gang," then turned, grabbed Yu Hao, and took several large strides down the stairs.


 He still had his wits about him, not blindly playing the hero. He knew to get help.


 Yu Hao's dorm room was at the very end of the first floor. In the hallway, they could faintly hear intermittent sobs. She was so scared she went limp. Lu Huaizheng pulled her to the side of the wall. In the darkness, she heard the boy say to her softly.


 "You wait here. No matter what happens inside, don't come in."


 After speaking, he casually grabbed a mop from the corner and tried to push the door open, only to find it had been locked. He rattled the lock forcefully. The sounds inside seemed to get louder. Lu Huaizheng suddenly kicked the door and yelled, "What are you doing in there! Open the door!"


 The sobbing inside suddenly stopped. Shang Qing whimpered twice more, as if begging the person outside to save her.


 "I said open the door!"


 Lu Huaizheng suddenly lowered his voice and roared. Then he rolled up his sleeves and started pounding on the door, following up with a few loud kicks.


 After a flurry of hard kicks, he said to the other boy, "Go wait outside and block them off. Don't let them escape through the window."


 By the time he kicked the door open, the two men inside were hastily getting dressed, preparing to climb out the window. He knocked them off the windowsill with a single blow from the mop handle.


 Seeing they couldn't escape, the two men steeled themselves for a fight to the death. He also gave it his all, grappling with them tenaciously. Although his reflexes were sharp, he was ultimately outnumbered. He was young and not as strong as the burly men, and he was knocked to the ground in a few moves. He then grabbed one man's leg and used the few fighting techniques his father had taught him to lock the man's leg down. Pinning one was already a struggle, and the other man took the opportunity to punch him hard in the face, one fist after another.


 Lu Huaizheng cursed inwardly, 'Damn it, don't hit people in the face! Didn't your mother ever teach you that?!'


 But he was really tough. He refused to let go of the leg, no matter what, adopting an attitude that no one was leaving today.


 Not until Jin Gang rushed in with some guys. He had been a soldier and knew some martial arts from a young age, so he dealt with people quickly and efficiently. Despite his bulky build, he was agile and decisive, tying the men up in just a few moves. Only then did Lu Huaizheng let go of the leg. He completely relaxed and fell backward onto the floor, panting heavily. Lying there, he looked at Jin Gang with a sidelong grin. "You finally showed up."


 It was probably from that moment on that Jin Gang developed a special feeling for Lu Huaizheng, thinking that the ruthless streak in him was very much like his younger self. He threw down his stick, squatted to check Lu Huaizheng's injuries, and after confirming there was no serious damage, he patted his shoulder and said, "Get up. You did well today. I'll have the school commend you in a public announcement tomorrow."


 The boy lay on the ground, shamelessly saying, "Forget the public commendation. Just let it count against my next demerit when I mess up."


 "I don't have time for your nonsense. If you're not getting up, just stay there."


 Only then did the boy curse, "Damn, I would if I could. My back's about to break from being kicked."


 Jin Gang was just about to scold him, 'You brat, don't push your luck,' when Yu Hao appeared out of nowhere and quickly helped him up.


 The moment the cool touch met his arm, Lu Huaizheng was startled. He hadn't expected the girl to be so perceptive. Pushing himself up from the floor, he sat up, crossed his long legs, and with a face full of blood, he stretched his shoulder blades while looking at her, a corner of his mouth lifting into a grin.


 "Thanks."


 After that incident, Lu Huaizheng and his group of boys proposed to the school leaders that the girls should move upstairs while the boys would live on the first floor, so at least no one could climb in again. Jin Gang hadn't expected this bunch of usually thoughtless kids to actually know how to protect the girls. He was thoroughly moved. So much so that he would later mention it from time to time to future students, "There was a grade of senior students who were especially good, they really knew how to protect your senior female students. They were the most united grade I've ever taught. Who's like you lot, bullying girls all day? So childish!"


 The military training ended, and less than a month later was the school's basketball tournament. Lu Huaizheng single-handedly scored forty points for Class Eight. As a result, all the girls from Class Eight were in an uproar, scrambling to give him water and hand him towels. He grabbed the front of his jersey and roughly wiped his face with it, accepting nothing but the water. Then he hunched over, his gaze returning to the court, watching intently. From time to time, he would tilt his head back to take a couple of swigs of water, and sweat would trickle down the smooth lines of his neck and into his blue jersey.


 Later, someone started it—saying Lu Huaizheng was good at basketball, had a great personality, and was handsome—and they started joking around, calling him the "school prince." He wasn't embarrassed at all. He'd even joke back, "You've got good taste."


 Not long after the military training ended, Shang Qing wrote a letter and entrusted Yu Hao to give it to Lu Huaizheng. Since that day, she and Lu Huaizheng hadn't seen each other again. Even if they happened to pass each other on campus, she rarely took the initiative to say hello.


 Yu Hao found it strange. "Why don't you give it to him yourself?"


 Shang Qing lowered her head, her fingertips tightly gripping the letter, but she didn't speak.


 She didn't dare. Plus, the incident had just happened, and she was afraid to go directly to his classroom to find him, fearing it would cause gossip.


 After that day, she had also run into Lu Huaizheng on campus. With the blood washed from his face, his handsome and refined features were exceptionally striking. He passed by her with his arm around a friend's shoulder, laughing and talking with the boys around him, looking particularly dazzling.


 Shang Qing was shy and introverted. Her parents were farmers, and she had a brother ten years younger than her. Her mother said that if she didn't get into a good university after high school, she shouldn't waste time and should go out to work and earn money to save up for her brother's bride price. She had low self-esteem since childhood; forget Lu Huaizheng, she had barely even spoken to ordinary boys. She wasn't like Yu Hao, who was beautiful and poised, came from a wealthy family, and could be a bit arrogant and cold without anyone daring to offend her.


 If she was cold to people, they said she was pretentious; if she was friendly, they said she was trying to suck up to others. She had learned this lesson well in middle school.


 Shang Qing pulled the envelope back, murmuring softly, "Maybe I should just forget it."


 After saying that, she was about to return to her seat when Yu Hao called out to her. "Give it to me. I have to go to the teacher's office later, it's on the way."


 Shang Qing hesitated again and again, but in the end, she placed the envelope on the corner of Yu Hao's desk, said thank you, and left.


 Yu Hao had to go to the teacher's office to pick up homework after the second period, so she took the letter with her. When she passed by the entrance to Class Eight, she asked someone to call Lu Huaizheng out.


 And then the boys of Class Eight went wild.


 Having exchanged her military uniform for a school uniform, Yu Hao lost a bit of her sharp aura. Her features appeared softer and brighter. She wore her hair in a high ponytail, looking refreshed and elegant. When she spoke to people, she would lean forward slightly, her voice like a trickling stream—not coquettish, but like a clear, sweet spring, very pleasant to listen to. Legend had it that Yu Hao had a cold personality, and that she was already famous in middle school for her outstanding grades, constantly performing in arts festivals and winning awards left and right. Her parents were both professors at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, a family of intellectuals. She had underperformed on her high school entrance exam and was placed in High School 18. The line of boys who chased her in middle school was already long enough to be counted by the handful, like bunches of chives.


 Seeing her in person was better than just hearing about her. She didn't seem as cold and aloof as the rumors claimed. She looked like a very gentle girl, with mild eyes and a clean aura.


 Lu Huaizheng was leaning back in his chair, chatting idly with someone. When he heard the commotion, he turned around with a puzzled expression and saw Yu Hao standing there properly.


 He stared at Yu Hao for a moment before standing up and slowly sauntering to the classroom door. He was still banged up at the time; a small square of white gauze was taped to his temple, partially hidden by his bangs. Leaning against the doorframe, he looked down and gave her a lazy, roguish smile. "Lookin' for me?"


 Yu Hao didn't even look up at him. She just shoved the letter into his hand and turned to leave.


 When she got back to her classroom, Shang Qing eagerly came over to ask, "Did he take it?"


 Yu Hao gathered the homework to hand it out, nodded, and said, "He took it."


 Only then did Shang Qing leave, relieved.


 A few days later, Shang Qing came to find her again, looking anxious. "I saw him eating with the boys from Class Eight in the cafeteria today. Why is his forehead still wrapped in gauze? Do you think he'll be scarred?"


 How would Yu Hao know? She wasn't a doctor. Before she could answer, Shang Qing stuffed another note into her hand. "This is my grandpa's secret family recipe. It can remove scars. Please help me give it to him. Such a handsome face can't be scarred."


 Yu Hao agreed. She took the note, looked at Shang Qing, and said, "This is the last time."


 Shang Qing nodded vigorously.


 The second time Yu Hao went to find Lu Huaizheng, he was leaning against the railing in the hallway, shooting the breeze with a few other boys. Yu Hao didn't call out to him. Instead, she stood straight by the window, waiting for him to finish talking.


 But by the time they finished talking, the class bell rang. The boys scattered like birds and beasts. Lu Huaizheng also pushed himself off the railing and only then did he casually notice her. He rubbed the tip of his nose, walked over, and asked with a smile in his eyes, "Waiting for me?"


 Yu Hao hummed in acknowledgment and handed him the note in her hand.


 Lu Huaizheng looked down. A pair of hands was held out in front of him. The palm lines were clear and clean, the fingers slender and long like spring onions. A note lay in the palm, fluttering gently in the wind.


 The class bell came to an abrupt stop. The noisy classroom suddenly fell silent. A fragrant scent of osmanthus drifted in on the wind, along with a few well-timed, rising and falling coughs from inside that were filled with ambiguity.


 Both of them were eye-catching figures, and soon, some gossip started to spread. After that, Shang Qing never asked her to deliver anything again.

Eighteenth Years of Spring

Eighteenth Years of Spring

Chapter 3 - Life (3)

VermilionInk