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The first exam was Chinese, and Zhuang Zi’ang was still lost in thought as the test papers were handed out.
After quickly scanning through to ensure there were no printing errors, he picked up his pen to write his name.
He had just written a dot when he suddenly paused.
This might be his last exam, and being overly compliant seemed too dull; he might as well let himself go a little.
In the name section, he wrote “Su Yudie” and noted his class as 23.
Not being sure of his student ID, he just wrote down his own.
The Chinese exam was not particularly difficult, but it required a lot of writing, which was a bit taxing on the hand.
When he reached the fill-in-the-blank section for classical poetry, he pondered the first line before “Wang Di’s heart in spring entrusted to the cuckoo.”
Zhuang Zi’ang looked up at the window; from this angle, he could just see the basketball court.
The wind rustled through the ginkgo trees, bringing down a few green leaves, fluttering like butterflies dancing in the air.
The beauty of their first encounter floated into his mind.
After a long moment, Zhuang Zi’ang withdrew his gaze and neatly wrote down his answers on the test paper.
“Zhuang Zi’ang dreams of butterflies.”
The examination hall was very quiet, with only the soft sound of pen tips scratching against paper.
For Zhuang Zi’ang, the difficulty of this exam was child’s play.
He answered each question almost without thinking, finishing them in a single sweep.
After completing the reading comprehension section, he moved on to the final essay question.
The prompt was simple; it provided only one sentence and required students to write an essay of no less than 800 words based on it.
“There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart, and death itself is secondary.”
This sentence is from “Zhuangzi: Tianzifang,” meaning the greatest tragedy for a person is the loss of free thought, while the death of the body is secondary.
For a teenager, this might not resonate deeply.
However, Zhuang Zi’ang was currently suffering from a terminal illness, nearing the end of his life.
His understanding of death far exceeded that of his peers.
After some simple brainstorming, he picked up his pen and began to write, his thoughts flowing like a stream.
“Life between heaven and earth is like a white steed passing a gap, fleeting and gone.”
“The morning mushroom does not know the end and beginning, and the cicada does not know the springs and autumns.”
“The well frog cannot speak of the sea, and summer insects cannot talk of ice.”
…
As he wrote, tears welled up in his eyes.
After all, he was not an ancient sage, and his views on life and death were not so broad-minded.
Thinking of never seeing his grandparents again and missing the lovely little butterfly broke his heart.
Zhuang Zi’ang finished his essay and gave it a cursory check; there were no omissions.
The other examinees in the hall were still hunched over, writing furiously.
After sitting quietly for a long time, an announcement came over the intercom, stating there were fifteen minutes left until the end of the exam.
Zhuang Zi’ang decisively grabbed his test paper, handed it in early to the supervising teacher, and then walked out of the exam room with great flair.
The supervising teacher frowned upon seeing the name on the test paper.
He couldn’t understand what the parents were thinking, giving their son such a name.
However, the student’s calligraphy was indeed pleasing to the eye.
Zhuang Zi’ang took out his phone and dialed Su Yudie’s number.
“Xiao Butterfly, where are you? I handed in my paper early.”
“Oh, you’re at the flowerbed waiting for me.”
Zhuang Zi’ang hung up and made his way to the flowerbed filled with hyacinths and wisteria.
This had become their usual meeting spot.
As Zhuang Zi’ang sat by the flowerbed, his vision suddenly went dark.
Warm hands covered his eyes.
A deep voice said playfully in his ear, “Guess who I am?”
“How childish are you?” Zhuang Zi’ang pulled Su Yudie’s hands away.
“Tch, that’s no fun; you’re not even cooperating,” Su Yudie pouted.
She took out a can of cola she had bought in advance and handed it to Zhuang Zi’ang.
Pulling the tab, it made a satisfying hiss.
The two clinked their cans together.
“Zhuang Zi’ang, I wish you all the best and hope you take first place,” Su Yudie shouted as she stood up.
“You promised me that if you got first place, you’d agree to one thing,” Zhuang Zi’ang raised an eyebrow.
Su Yudie exaggeratedly crossed her arms over her chest. “You better not have any improper thoughts about me.”
Zhuang Ziang laughed heartily, “With what you have, I’m not interested in that at all.”
“You big idiot, you’re asking for trouble!”
“Wait, wait, I was joking! The cola spilled!”
The hyacinths and wisteria in the flowerbed bore witness to their joy.
Yet, this happiness was tinged with a note of sadness.
Although Zhuang Zi’ang had written Su Yudie’s name on the test paper, this monthly exam was just an internal school test, not very formal.
Even if he didn’t write his student ID, the teachers could easily identify him through his handwriting.
Being first in the grade was still within reach.
When mealtime came, the two had lunch together in the cafeteria, which was economical and quite tasty.
“Xiao Butterfly, I’m going to take a nap; do you want to come with me?” Zhuang Zi’ang asked nervously.
“What about your good buddy?” Su Yudie suddenly remembered Li Huang Xuan.
“Good buddy? What good buddy? I’m not really close with him,” Zhuang Zi’ang quickly replied.
After all, Li Huang Xuan couldn’t hear this, so it should be fine to say so.
Men tend to prioritize romantic interests over friendships.
Su Yudie smiled lightly and agreed to take a nap together.
“Xiao Butterfly, I’ve noticed you seem to do everything alone; don’t you have any friends?”
As they walked down the road, Zhuang Zi’ang voiced his inner doubts.
“Aren’t you my friend?” Su Yudie countered.
“Besides me!” Zhuang Zi’ang clarified.
“Then it’s probably because no one likes me!” Su Yudie shook her head.
Zhuang Zi’ang certainly didn’t believe that; how could such a beautiful and lovely girl not have anyone who liked her?
If she wanted to make friends, all the boys in the school would likely be lining up.
Suddenly, Su Yudie stopped in her tracks, tilting her head and staring directly into Zhuang Zi’ang’s eyes.
“Do you like me?”
Zhuang Zi’ang’s heart was jolted, and then it began to race wildly.
His cheeks involuntarily flushed.
After hesitating for quite some time, he finally gathered the courage to respond, “I like you!”
Su Yudie’s face lit up with a smile. “I do too.”
“What?” Zhuang Ziang’s heart raced even faster.
You like me too?
Are we confessing to each other?
“I mean, I really like myself a lot,” Su Yudie said, her eyes crinkling into crescent shapes.
Zhuang Zi’ang’s heart, which had just been racing, suddenly flattened into a straight line.
What a tease.
You can’t play with me like this.
When they reached the bottom of the apartment building, they ran into Grandma Liu, their landlord.
She greeted Su Yudie warmly, “Xiao Butterfly, are you here to play with Little Zhuang again?”
Su Yudie politely replied, “Hello, Grandma.”
Zhuang Zi’ang added, “Grandma Liu, we’re just going to take a nap for a while.”
“During the day, keep the noise down so you don’t disturb the neighbors,” Grandma Liu advised, lowering her voice.
“It’s not what you think!” Zhuang Zi’ang felt his face turn red.
Su Yudie looked up at the sky, pretending not to understand.
However, her delicate earlobes slowly turned red, making her look incredibly cute.
Grandma Liu, being an experienced elder, could tell there was something going on between them, but out of consideration for their shyness, she refrained from making any more jokes and walked away.
Once inside the room, Zhuang Zi’ang said, “You can take the bed; I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
“But I want to talk to you,” Su Yudie replied.
Zhuang Zi’ang had a sudden idea; he laid a mat on the floor next to the bed, creating a makeshift sleeping area.
This way, they could be in the same room and chat.
Su Yudie took off her shoes and climbed onto the bed, glancing down at the hard floor mat, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes looking at Zhuang Zi’ang.
“Since your spot is so hard, do you want to come up here?”