Along the way, the young man and woman simply ran in silence until they stopped at a deserted and lonely bus stop.
Su Xiangli had her back to Simon, which gave him a sense of déjà vu.
A city like glazed glass, a gloomy and hot late summer, a steel bus stop under the shade of trees, a boy in red and a girl in denim overalls, both close and distant.
Why does it feel like I'm watching an indie coming-of-age film? And I'm even the male lead.
Simon broke his absurd illusion, reaching out to turn Su Xiangli around. She had been looking down, but now she lifted her slender neck, gazing directly into his eyes. Her expression was cold, accentuating her pure face, delicate brows, long, thick eyelashes, and her small lips, which had a pink cherry glaze from lip balm.
Why is that coming-of-age film déjà vu getting stronger and stronger?
Simon was speechless. What he said next made him even more embarrassed: "I've tried it. That feeling, I don't get it with anyone else, only with you."
A dark brown bus pulled up beside them, its body blocking the irritating sunlight. The doors opened, no one got on, and so the bus silently drove away.
When the pale light once again fell upon the two of them, Su Xiangli's stern expression suddenly dissolved. She even narrowed her eyes, revealing a mischievous smile, "Oh, Great Lord, forgive the foolishness and ignorance of the person before you. Why does our bad boy Simon think I'm jealous?"
Simon then realized he had been pranked and immediately became angry and embarrassed. He cupped her face and began to rub it, strongly complaining, "Don't talk in that translated tone!"
Su Xiangli stammered, unable to speak, but only laughed loudly.
Simon was struck by her laughter and, feeling deflated, stepped back two paces, leaning against the bus stop sign. He looked at the wide, empty street, where only a few pedestrians and cars passed. "It seems we just missed a bus."
"Lu: It's a bit annoying to miss a bus."
"It's so early, I don't want to go home."
"Su: Going home just means more dance practice. It's better to walk around with you."
"Then I'll take you to see the Ninghu campus. Oh, by the way, has your admission letter arrived?"
"Lu: We absolutely must be in the same class."
"It arrived. It was sent last night. Ninghu Middle School, Junior High Department, Grade 7 (1) Class. What about you?"
"Su: Will we be in the same class?"
"Haven't checked yet." Simon took out his phone, opened his email, and sure enough, there was an email. "Same as you! We're even in the same class."
"Lu: That's great."
"Of course, there are only two advanced classes, so it's a fifty-fifty chance."
"Su: That's great."
Su Xiangli's words brought back a memory for Simon. When they were assigned to the same class at Chun Ya New Kindergarten, he had said something similar to her.
"Lu: Did I really say that? Or was it just an illusion."
"Su: I'm returning that line to you, hmph."
Su Xiangli gently stroked her left shoulder. It really didn't hurt at all anymore. She smiled at Simon and said, "From now on, you'll be my personal masseur! Remember to give me a massage every day."
Simon turned his head away, "No, that's too much trouble."
"You gave that Zhang Kexi a massage even though it was troublesome!"
"Huh? Are you jealous? No, how do you know his name is Zhang Kexi?"
"You're the one who's jealous!"
"You're jealous! Why would I be jealous?"
The two little kids mumbled "you're jealous" back and forth, walking side by side down the street, planning to go to the monorail station two blocks away, take a train, and then transfer to a high-speed train to Luoshan District.
Simon suddenly asked, "Do you have to practice dancing every day at home?" He was actually 100% certain. He couldn't tell before, but now, with his deep understanding of human anatomy, he could fully appreciate the hard work Su Xiangli put in behind the scenes.
"It's alright." Su Xiangli didn't answer directly. "Don't ask about my family matters. Let's talk about something else."
Simon could deeply understand the feeling of strenuous practice. Any skill requires both talent and effort. Even though he used insight points to learn knowledge, it only improved efficiency. In the learning space, it was always a painful hundred thousand hours, which is eleven years. This was no joke; it could truly drive a person mad.
What made Simon most disoriented was that his eleven years in the illusion were but an instant to others, and the sense of detachment from the world was terrifying.
However, he wouldn't feel superior because of this. After all, in the lonely world unseen by outsiders, everyone was actually undergoing torment.
Simon knew that while he deeply understood the pain of learning Su Xiangli endured, he couldn't comfort her. This was her own battle.
"Ahem, I agree."
Su Xiangli was puzzled: "Agree to what?" She suddenly smiled.
"Just to be your, uh, to give you massages, I agreed."
Su Xiangli feigned disappointment, "Thank you, but…"
"But what?" Simon felt a sense of shame, as if he was being led by the nose.
"But it seems we can't meet every day, and once we get to school… you can't possibly give me a massage alone in front of everyone, can you? Besides…"
"Simon: …"
Su Xiangli put her hands on her hips in dissatisfaction, "Hey, are you listening to me?"
Simon coughed, "The bus is here, let's get on."
They fell silent, changing the subject.
Su Xiangli said, "Zhou Ping also got into Ninghu, and he's in Class 1."
"His grades don't seem quite good enough, do they?"
"I heard he got help from his uncle. Oh, and Zhang Yingxuan went to Class 4. Even though it's also an advanced class, we're separated."
Simon laughed, "Maybe he can also find some relatives to help him transfer to our class."
At three in the afternoon, they finally arrived at Luoshan District. The journey, involving transfers from bus to high-speed train and then high-speed train to bus, was quite troublesome. For the last leg of the journey, they opted for free use of a personal mobility device.
This vehicle had only one spherical tire and was self-balancing. From behind, it looked much like a short, white block, with a rounded teardrop cross-section. The indentation allowed one to straddle it, and the handlebar grew from the tip of the teardrop, a long black rod, like a mug handle.
Although the mobility device looked a bit silly, when they rode it, a refreshing breeze, which somewhat carried away the summer heat, made it more pleasant than the air-conditioned coolness of a car, giving it a unique, comfortable feel.
On the wide street, they rode side-by-side through the sparse traffic. In a world without exhaust fumes, they were spared from getting dusty, making it quite joyful.
They rode more and more freely, entering a long tree-lined avenue. Here, there were two tracks, and short, slow-moving sightseeing trains moved unhurriedly. Simon was on one side of the tracks, Su Xiangli on the other. As a train passed, they both instinctively looked towards each other, obscured by the train, and only relaxed once the train had passed and they could see each other again.
They rode all the way to a train station platform, but nearby were large clusters of tall buildings.
On the platform, there was an inconspicuous electronic notice board: Ninghu Middle School Junior High Department.
It turned out they had already arrived at the school, and the train they had seen earlier was used by students to commute to classes.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"