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Zhuang Zi’ang tore off a piece of tissue and stuffed it up his nose before heading to Zhang Zhiyuan’s office to ask for a leave slip.
Without a second thought, Zhang Zhiyuan approved it.
“Teacher Zhang, why don’t you sign a few extra slips for me? To avoid bothering you all the time,” Zhuang Zi’ang suggested, pushing his luck.
“Alright, that’s not a bad idea. Who came up with it?” Zhang Zhiyuan said, signing three slips in quick succession.
His handwriting was much neater than Teacher Li Junan’s.
Since Xiao Butterfly had the ability to imitate handwriting, it was better to avoid troubling their dear teacher as much as possible in the future.
“Zhuang Zi’ang, I want to try all the delicious foods, from one end of the street to the other!”
Standing at the entrance of the snack street, Su Yudie declared boldly.
Zhuang Zi’ang nodded with a smile.
Not only would he go out to eat with her, but he would also gladly face any challenge alongside her.
At the first stop, Zhuang Zi’ang bought a large handful of lamb skewers, asking the vendor to generously sprinkle them with chili and cumin.
Xiao Butterfly then asked her classic question: “Coke or Pepsi?”
This time, Zhuang Zi’ang chose Pepsi.
After a tough week, he wanted something sweet.
The two of them sat on the marble steps, unabashedly tearing into the lamb skewers without a care for their manners.
Spicy food has a peculiar trait: you can’t stop eating.
Once you pause, the heat rushes up quickly.
Xiao Butterfly’s cheeks turned red as she sweated on her forehead, blowing air through her lips.
After downing nearly half a can of ice-cold Pepsi and burping, she felt a bit better.
Zhuang Zi’ang watched her with a smile.
Such unrefined behavior was something Lin Mu Shi would never do.
That’s why Lin Mu Shi could never be as endearing as Xiao Butterfly.
A beautiful girl who remains down-to-earth is bound to be irresistible to boys.
Su Yudie lifted her head and gazed at the blue sky, suddenly raising her arms and shouting, “Wow, the world is so beautiful!”
In the past, Zhuang Zi’ang would have laughed along with her.
But now, it felt as if a heavy stone weighed down on his heart.
It was hard to imagine that this was a girl who had lost her parents at a young age, lived with her grandmother, and was also suffering from an illness.
She was always so positive and optimistic, bringing joy to those around her.
“Xiao Butterfly, where did you go this past week?”
Zhuang Zi’ang’s question seemed to carry an air of knowing.
After his conversation with Teacher Li Junan on the rooftop, he could easily guess that Xiao Butterfly needed to undergo treatment.
This past week, she had likely spent it with hospital beds and medication.
“I went out to have some fun!” Su Yudie said with excitement.
“What did you do for fun?” Zhuang Zi’ang didn’t press her.
He had no intention of telling Xiao Butterfly that he had spoken with her homeroom teacher and knew about her situation.
Sadness was best kept in his heart; it was much better to embrace happiness every day.
“I went to a really fun place and met a lot of new friends,” Su Yudie replied excitedly.
“Every day, I could lie back and watch the sky, not having to do anything. I slept really well at night.”
“I almost didn’t want to come back because I was having so much fun.”
…
Xiao Butterfly chattered on, her laughter ringing like clear bells.
Listening to her vivid descriptions, Zhuang Zi’ang almost believed her.
His eyes glistened with emotion as he followed up on her words, “Then why did you come back?”
“I missed you, big dummy!” Su Yudie poked his forehead playfully.
“Did the place you went to have a garden and butterflies? ” he asked.
“Of course! The butterflies there were beautiful, with all sorts of patterns on their wings.”
“Did you lose the peach blossom in your hair?”
“The peach blossoms have wilted, silly.”
…
The two of them chatted back and forth.
Xiao Butterfly’s eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky.
Zhuang Zi’ang tried hard to forget his sadness, seeking joy in her carefree spirit.
After resting for a bit, they began their culinary adventure again, devouring fried potatoes, stinky tofu, egg pancakes, candied fruit, frozen milk tea, and watermelon juice…
They were truly like starving ghosts reincarnated.
With their bellies full and rounded, they finally felt satisfied and headed to the riverside to soak up the sun.
Zhuang Zi’ang lay on the grass, with Su Yudie’s head resting on his stomach, listening to the soft gurgling sounds inside.
Her braid was smooth and black, exuding the scent of shampoo.
He couldn’t help but play with it, fiddling absentmindedly.
The warm sunlight bathed the ground, and a gentle breeze rustled the willow trees by the bank.
The air was filled with the fragrance of fresh grass and soil.
In that moment, it felt like a scene from a dream.
Zhuang Zi’ang took out his phone and scrolled to a video of him feeding cats in the park over the weekend, showing it to Little Butterfly.
“Huzi is still so domineering, stealing food like it’s nothing; cheese and pudding don’t stand a chance against him,” she said, watching with great interest.
“I heard from the sanitation lady that you’ve been feeding them for three months now,” Zhuang Zi’ang mentioned.
“Yeah, three months; it feels quite short,” Su Yudie casually replied.
“Yeah, three months; it feels quite short,” Zhuang Zi’ang echoed, his voice tinged with uncontainable sorrow.
Xiao Butterfly’s absence this past week had deeply impressed upon Zhuang Zi’ang a painful truth.
If two people in love find that one must face death, it is the one who lives that suffers the most.
The one who dies escapes all; everything ends.
But the one who lives must endure the endless agony of grief and longing.
Although he learned from Teacher Li Junan that Little Butterfly was also ill, it likely wasn’t as severe as his own condition.
The remaining days would feel like counting down on his fingers.
“By the way, do you remember our promise?” Zhuang Zi’ang pulled out the folded monthly exam paper from his pocket.
“Did you really get first place?” Su Yudie asked, her eyes wide with excitement.
“No, I got last place,” Zhuang Zi’ang chuckled.
He swiped his phone screen, pulling up the score sheets for Classes 9 and 15.
Deng Haijun scored first in the grade, while he was ranked one thousand seventy-five.
“Why do you have all zeros?” Su Yudie exclaimed in surprise.
A glance at the open exam paper showed scores that were astonishingly high.
Zhuang Zi’ang pointed to the name within the sealed section: “Because of you.”
Su Yudie’s eyes widened; it dawned on her that her name could be written so beautifully.
“Big dummy, why did you write my name?”
“I missed you, and my hand just wrote it without my permission,” Zhuang Zi’ang replied, his eyes filled with affection.
“Well, since you didn’t get first place, our promise doesn’t count,” Su Yudie pouted playfully.
“Why not? If you add up my total score, it’s two points higher than Deng Haijun’s,” Zhuang Zi’ang quickly argued.
“I don’t care! You got all zeros, so it doesn’t count.”
“If you play dirty, I might have to resort to force.”
Zhuang Zi’ang suddenly flipped over, reaching his hands under Su Yudie’s arms, tickling her sides.
Su Yudie was very ticklish and immediately curled up, struggling and laughing breathlessly.
The two of them rolled around on the grass, carefree like three-year-old children.
“Okay, okay, okay! Big dummy, let me go!”
Xiao Butterfly laughed until tears streamed down her face, pleading for mercy.
Zhuang Zi’ang finally stopped, letting her lean against him as he brushed off the grass and leaves from her hair and clothes.
Once Su Yudie caught her breath, she looked up and asked, “What do you want me to do?”
Zhuang Zi’ang affectionately ruffled her hair: “I want to take you somewhere called Nanhua Village.”