Thursday afternoon after school.
The sky is no longer a pure blue, but covered with thick clouds, a mix of white and gray.
Sunlight weaves through the clouds, casting dappled light and shadow onto the campus.
Chen Siyu nudged Jiang Ning: "The big supermarket outside school has opened, and tonight there’s a circus performance at the entrance, with horses and monkeys. I heard if you’re selected from the audience, you can ride the horse and play with the monkeys for free!"
Geng Lu: "At noon, you can enter a raffle when buying sothing at the supermarket, with a chance to win various prizes, including a coupon to ride the horse and play with the monkeys."
Chen Siyu: "I know, I know, soone from our class won!"
"Who?" asked Geng Lu,
"Dan Kaiquan," Chen Siyu ntioned the na.
"Such good luck, but unfortunately... the circus has nothing to do with us, we have evening self-study."
"Sigh..." Chen Siyu sighed, "I hope the circus is still there after school."
"Jiang Ning, have you seen a circus before?" Chen Siyu asked.
"Never seen one, but I’ve watched many troupe performances," Jiang Ning said, "In the past, when there was a funeral in the village, we had to invite a troupe to perform various acts."
It was an ordinary account, but to Chen Siyu, it was astonishing: "You’ve seen a troupe before?"
"I have," Jiang Ning answered, what’s so surprising about this?
He continued, "I’ve watched them often."
In their town, troupes are very popular, costing a few hundred bucks per performance. During a funeral, the host often invited two or three troupes to perform alternately, drawing half the village to watch.
"Watching them often!"
The young Chen Siyu, on her first trip back to the village for a funeral, saw a troupe featuring a stripper performing pole dance in public, which opened a whole new world for her and her sister!
Thus, she developed a stereotype.
But Chen Siyu didn’t know that this was due to so hosts spending extra money to hire such an act to make the event more engaging, which was exceedingly rare.
Recalling those intense scenes made her cheeks flush, unable to look Jiang Ning in the eye, ’He actually watches that stuff all the ti, I must quickly tell my sister to update her opinion of Jiang Ning!’
...
In the back row.
Dan Kaiquan fiddled with the raffle ticket. At noon, seeing the supermarket’s grand opening and discounts, he went to buy a bottle of shampoo.
His luck exploded during the raffle, winning the circus ticket.
Surrounded by envious gazes, Dan Kaiquan felt like the Child of Destiny, the chosen one.
Yet, as the excitent settled and calmness returned, he looked around and found no girl to share his joy with.
’This must be the greatest loneliness in the world...’ thought Dan Kaiquan in his heart, feeling desolate.
Unconsciously, he thought again of Bai Yuxia, no, Lan Zichen.
"Quanzi, what’s up?" Guo Kunnan strolled the back row, and when not flirting, he preferred hanging out with his buddies.
"lancholy." Dan Kaiquan had a mix of unbalanced emotions.
His words revealed his unwillingness to Guo Kunnan, who comforted him: "We must learn to let go."
Reflecting on his long dating experience, Guo Kunnan concluded: "If you can’t have it, let it go."
Although insightful, Dan Kaiquan couldn’t accept it.
Dan Kaiquan: "I just can’t give up."
The more he invested, the higher the sunk cost, feeling like a gambler unable to turn back, torn apart in this gamble of love.
Dan Kaiquan was wallowing in sorrow.
anwhile, Wang Longlong in the row was browsing QQ Space, where he saw Pang Jiao post a selfie with a peace sign; he instantly liked it and comnted:
"Great photo."
This is social finesse, and Wang Longlong did it skillfully.
After posting, he realized soone comnted even quicker, it turned out to be Lu Qiqi: "You’re beautiful."
Lu Qiqi, the photo-editing master of class 8 and a trendsetter on QQ Space, made Pang Jiao ecstatically laugh out loud, while her seatmate, Liu Chuandao, reading a book, grimaced in agony.
Pang Jiao replied to Lu Qiqi: "Thanks, one day you’ll be as pretty as ."
Lu Qiqi’s mouth twitched; should the day co where she’s disfigured, she would still be prettier than Jiaojiao.
Dan Kaiquan was trapped in his sorrowful emotions, unable to shake it off for quite a while, feeling like a fish out of water, suffocating.
He asked Brother Ma: "Should I give up?"
Ma Shicheng was the most decisive figure in their back row. Dan Kaiquan, although rebellious, asked Brother Ma for guidance when stuck at a crossroads.
Ma Shicheng: "Don’t rush, there’s still hope."
In an instant, a glimr of hope lit up in Dan Kaiquan’s heart, filled with surprise, his voice even turned timid:
"What do you an?"
Dan Kaiquan’s heart pounded wildly, as even the astute Brother Ma suggested he had hope; did it not an he still had a chance to turn things around?
He stared at Brother Ma intently, holding his breath, not wanting to miss a beat.
Ma Shicheng pointed to the raffle ticket in his hand: "Don’t rush, there’s still a chance; tonight the circus has your act, we’re waiting to see you perform with the monkeys."
...
Liu Chuandao escaped the Demon Cave to the back row to breathe so fresh air.
Duan Shigang ca over to chat: "Chuan Dao, last ti you got a junior girl’s number at the sports ground, how’s it going?"
That evening during self-study, he and Liu Chuandao went girl-hunting at the playground, where Liu Chuandao bet that he’d get any girl in three days.
If not, he’d owe Duan Shigang a cigarette, and Duan Shigang picked a very wild girl, and now that the three days were up, he was waiting for Liu Chuandao’s cigarette!
Liu Chuandao: "Hey, with my height, standing tall at six-foot-sothing, how can I not enchant her?"
Duan Shigang: "Let’s see your skills."
Liu Chuandao imdiately took out his phone, "I’ll confess right in front of you."
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