During the weekend, before the students return to school in the afternoon, was the highest traffic for the milk tea shop. Zhu Tong is very busy in front of the cashier machine.
He was very skilled at using the cashier machine now, but he couldn’t stand the crowd, and his hand hardly stopped. Even the pudding sago made by Shao Ming, he could only savor half of it because he didn’t have any time to drink.
“Let me do it.”
Shao Ming suddenly stood beside him.
Just as Zhu Tong was about to say no, Shao Ming said again, “The milk tea won’t taste good when it’s cold.”
“…”
Zhu Tong glanced at the pudding sago next to him, and was reluctant to let it cool, so he could only compromise.
If he was only proficient in using the payment machine, Shao Ming was far better than him. He could skillfully use it without looking at it, and his speed was nothing to scoff at. He didn’t make a mistake once.
Zhu Tong exclaimed from the bottom of his hear.: “You are so fast.”
Shao Ming glanced at him from the side, smiled and said, “I won’t be fast in the future.”
Zhu Tong: “? Why?”
Shao Ming said, “I have been single for 18 years, but I am not single now.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
What does hand speed have to do with being single1This is a popular joke. It’s because single guys used their hands for masturbation, so their hand speed is fast.? Isn’t it because practice makes perfect?
He looked bewildered.
A girl in front of the counter understood in a second. She looked at Shao Ming who was checking out her payment, then at Zhu Tong who was still confused… She thought that the cup of milk tea she bought today tasted like dog food.
Zhu Tong noticed something else.
Shao Ming said he has been single for 18 years. So, he’s already 18 years old?
“You… when is your birthday?”
Shao Ming’s finger pressing the confirmation button suddenly paused, then turned his head and said, “Huh? Didn’t I tell you?”
Zhu Tong shook his head.
Shao Ming said casually: “My birthday on April 4th.”
Zhu Tong: “April 4th?”
Shao Ming said: “Well, is it easy to remember?”
His birthday was during… Qingming Festival.2There isn’t a major Chinese holiday specifically on April 4th. But, April 4th is associated with the Qingming Festival (also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day), which usually falls around April 4th or 5th, depending on the lunar calendar.
Zhu Tong was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to answer.
Shao Ming asked him again, “How about you?”
Zhu Tong subconsciously replied, “Mine is on June 6th.”
He heard that his mother specifically requested for the caesarean operation during this date, as it’s a lucky number3It’s on 6/6, and it’s lucky in China.
Shao Ming didn’t know what to think. After a while, he smiled and said, “It’s a good birth date.”
Zhu Tong’s breath stagnated for an inexplicable moment, and he moved closer to him, “Then…will you celebrate your birthday with me in the future?”
Shao Ming: “…”
Shao Ming finished processing the customer’s payment, but the milk tea wasn’t ready yet. Since he had some free time, Shao Ming tilted his head and said, “So, my boyfriend is already planning ahead? It seems like I’m not enlightened enough. I should prepare the engagement ring in advance. What style do you like?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Why didn’t this young man might as well say that he had already thought of their child’s name?
Oh yeah, both of them can’t give birth.
He couldn’t help being annoyed for a moment, looked at Shao Ming and said, “I’m serious.”
Shao Ming also said solemnly, “I am also serious, I really want to marry you now.”
“…”
Zhu Tong’s heart jumped in his ribcage.
At this time, a cup of packaged red bean milk tea was placed on the counter, and Lu Zheyu’s emotionless voice came from the side, “Can you two please flirt after work? We still have customers to serve.”
Shao Ming: “…”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Only then did Zhu Tong realize that he was in a milk tea shop, and so many customers were watching!
His face flushed, he quickly stood a step away from Shao Ming, and dragged the small cashier machine in front of him by the way, “Don’t disturb my work.”
Seeing that he wanted to bury his face in the machine, Shao Ming couldn’t stop a smile from forming on his lips. He pretended to be respectful, saying, “Roger that, Young Master.”
“…”
After working in the milk tea shop, the youths went back to school together.
Within two days, Shao Ming and the others went to A City to participate in the mathematics competition and got results. Seeing how happy the teachers were, it could be seen that the results in this competition must have been good.
“… There are more than 30 students participating in the competition in the city, and most of them were wiped out in the preliminary round. The remaining ones participated in the semi-finals and achieved results. There are a total of four students in the city, and our school has two…”
Before he finished speaking, the smile on Shi Wenshu’s face couldn’t be suppressed.
“Okay, I know which two they are.”
“Looking at Lao Ban’s smile. It’s so wide. I bet both of them came from our class.”
“Shi-laoshi, just tell us right away! It must be Study God and Lu Lao’er, right!”
Shi Wenshi no longer stalled and said, “In this math competition, our class’ Shao Ming achieved first place with the highest score overall, winning the first prize with a bonus of 5000 yuan. And, student Lu Zheyu secured the second prize with a bonus of 3000 yuan. Let’s give them a round of applause.”
“Fuck, it really is the two of them. Study God even take first place!”
“You can always trust Study God, the man at the top of the food chain!”
“Lu Lao’er has a natural relationship with the number two. Even the awards he got were all second place prizes, hahaha.”
The students applauded one after another, and the whole class turned to look at the two people at the back of the classroom with pride.
Someone shouted loudly, “Lao Ban… no, Shi-laoshi, shouldn’t we celebrate such a big achievement for the two of them?”
Shi Wenshu laughed and said, “You all just returned to school for two days, and you want to go out again?”
Class 3’s headteacher simply understood his students’ playfulness.
The student who spoke was also thick-skinned, “How can it be? We simply want to celebrate their heroic deeds.”
Shi Wenshu was happy himself and didn’t want to dampen the students’ spirits. However, he couldn’t compromise on principle. “As long as they agree, celebration is fine, but we’ll do it over the weekend. Dinner is allowed, but no alcohol and no nightclubs. The self-study session on weekend night is canceled, and you can return a little later.”
There was a burst of cheers in the classroom, feeling that Shi Wenshu was a peerless teacher.
Zhu Tong stared at the cheerful atmosphere in the classroom in a daze.
Shao Ming squeezed his hand under the table and said, “What are you thinking?”
He was thinking on how both Shao Ming and Lu Zheyu are amazing.
Zhu Tong turned his head and said, “I wonder if I should celebrate for you too.”
Shao Ming raised his eyebrows and said, “How do you want to celebrate for me?”
Zhu Tong thought for a while. “What do you want?”
Shao Ming blurted out, “Want me to list them all?”
“…”
Zhu Tong couldn’t help blushing. “I’m serious with you.”
Shao Ming pretended to think again.
Does he want something? Of course he does.
He wanted Zhu Tong to get well soon.
He casually glanced at Zhu Tong for a moment, then leaned over and said, “Then how about you send me a photo of yourself?”
Zhu Tong: “?”
What does Shao Ming want his photo for?
Shao Ming added, “A picture of you when you were a child.”
“…”
Although he didn’t know why, Zhu Tong didn’t refuse. He smiled and said, “Then I have to go back and look for it.”
When he was young… the thing is, he didn’t take many photos since he was a child. Plus, the photos taken before were not carefully saved, and he didn’t know if they could still be found.
Seeing that he had begun to think seriously, Shao Ming’s heart was so soft that he couldn’t help but pat his head.
Zhu Tong was puzzled by this pat.
Shao Ming didn’t speak anymore, his thoughts began to drift away.
He liked to see Zhu Tong’s eyes full of him. He wanted to be with Zhu Tong for the rest of his life.
What Zhu Tong didn’t want to tell him, even if he didn’t ask, he couldn’t help but care.
Including his last time secretly asking Luo Suo about his ‘past’, actually, the questions were all trivial matters that didn’t matter much. He asked, and that was that. But after asking Luo Suo, he also inquired about Lu Zheyu. Judging from the context before and after, if Luo Suo hadn’t blurted it out due to his lack of guile at the time, he probably would have been asked the same question.
He wondered, ‘Why did he ask about that?’
Most likely, Zhu Tong was simply curious. In return, it made Shao Ming curious about Zhu Tong’s past too.
In Zhu Tong’s life history, hospitals were always mentioned. Under what circumstances could he have saved the childhood photos that he still possesses?
He started to imagine what Zhu Tong looked like as a child, which made it difficult for him to concentrate on the lecture. He manually adjusted his face to look at the blackboard, instead of stealing glances at Zhu Tong.