vrcanaries Chapter 25 Getting Angry
Chapter 25 Getting Angry
With Xiao Yunqing's help, the flyers were quickly distributed.
Song Huan took the thirty yuan from the shopkeeper, folded it, and stuffed it into his pocket.
Xiao Yunqing stood at the door, watching this scene without saying a word.
She didn't show any expression on her face, she just stared.
Song Huan walked over and opened her mouth.
"Little Cloud, I..."
Do you know what day tomorrow is?
She interrupted him abruptly, her voice icy cold.
Song Huan lowered her head.
"Know."
"You knew and you still came?!" Xiao Yunqing suddenly raised her voice, "You're willing to forgo tomorrow's exam for just thirty yuan?!"
Her eyes reddened.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she bit her lip to keep them from falling.
Then she turned and left.
Song Huan paused for a second, then quickly chased after him.
"Little Cloud!"
She walked quickly, her ponytail swinging behind her, without looking back.
Song Huan caught up with her and reached out to pull her, but she shook him off.
"Don't follow me!"
"Let me explain..."
"What's there to explain?" She stopped and turned to look at him. "Are you really that short of money?"
Song Huan opened her mouth.
"You've been sneaking out at night to hand out flyers for more than just a day or two, haven't you?" Xiao Yunqing looked at him, tears finally falling. "Do you even care about the exam? Do you... do you even care about me?"
She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, but the more she wiped, the more tears she shed.
"You promised you'd take the entrance exam for the top high school with me, but what about you?"
"You've been lying to me all along! All along!"
Song Huan stood there, watching her cry, feeling as if something was blocking her heart.
"Little cloud..."
"How much money do you want?" she interrupted him, her voice trembling with tears. "Is that stock you absolutely have to play with?!"
Song Huan fell silent.
He didn't know what to say.
He wanted to explain, to tell her that those stocks would go up in the future, to tell her that he just wanted to make money and have a better life in the future.
But seeing her crying like that, I couldn't say a single word.
Xiao Yunqing waited for a while, but didn't receive a reply.
"I hate you!"
She gave him one last disappointed look, then turned and left.
This time we walked very fast, almost running.
Song Huan stood there, watching her figure disappear around the street corner.
A cool night breeze was blowing.
He stood there for a long time.
……
When I got home, the living room light was still on.
Zhang Xuejuan was sitting on the sofa. When she saw him come in, she stood up.
"You're back?"
"Um."
"Why didn't you tell Xiaoyunduo you arranged to meet at the library today?" Zhang Xuejuan looked at him, her tone reproachful. "You made her come all the way to our house to find you, and then she spent ages looking for you."
Song Huan was stunned for a moment.
"She...she came by?"
"Yeah, she came around 8 o'clock, saying she wanted to study with you. I told her you went to see her, and she was stunned for a while. Then she said she wanted to meet at the library, so she ran out to find you."
Zhang Xuejuan shook her head as she spoke.
"That child, running out alone late at night. Didn't you see her?"
Song Huan remained silent for a few seconds.
"I ran into him."
"That's good," Zhang Xuejuan breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, go to sleep early, you have an exam tomorrow."
Song Huan nodded and walked towards her room.
He stopped at the door.
"mom."
"Um?"
"Did she...did she say anything to you?"
Zhang Xuejuan thought about it.
"They didn't say anything, just that we'd meet at the library. What's up?"
Song Huan shook her head.
"fine."
He pushed the door open, went in, and closed it.
Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling.
My mind is filled with the image of her just now.
Xiao Yunqing cried and asked herself, "Do you even care about me?"
He buried his face in the pillow.
He sighed.
……
The next day was exam day.
Song Huan got up early, packed her things, and went out.
He stood downstairs at his apartment building for a while.
At this time of day, she would usually be walking down the alley with her schoolbag on her back, her ponytail swaying, calling out, "Song Huan is going to school!"
Not today.
He waited for five minutes, but Xiao Yunqing still hadn't arrived.
This was the only time Xiao Yunqing was absent during her six years of elementary school.
He glanced into the alley; it was empty.
He sighed inwardly, then turned and left.
The exam will be held at the school.
Song Huan found her seat and sat down.
He looked around but didn't see that familiar figure.
I think she's in another exam room.
That's what he was thinking.
He'd been so busy making money these past few days that he'd forgotten to ask Xiao Yunqing if her exam venue was the same as his.
I did alright on the first Chinese exam.
The second math exam went alright too.
During his lunch break, he ate something quick at the school cafeteria and sat on the steps by the playground.
The sun was very strong, making me a little dizzy.
He watched the students coming and going; some were comparing answers, some were chatting, and some were making the most of their time to review.
But Xiao Yunqing was not among them.
English class in the afternoon, the last one.
After the exam was over and the papers were handed in, the bell rang.
Song Huan walked out of the examination room and stood in the corridor.
Then he saw Xiao Yunqing.
Xiao Yunqing came out of another examination room, head down, and walked towards the stairwell.
He quickly went over.
"Little Cloud!"
She paused for a moment.
She looked up and glanced at him.
Then continue walking forward.
"Xiao Yunqing!"
He changed his approach and quickly followed, "How did your exam go?"
She didn't say anything, and walked even faster.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she practically ran down.
Song Huan chased after them, but there were too many people, and he was squeezed at the back.
By the time he went downstairs, she had already blended into the crowd and walked far away.
The ponytail disappeared in a swish.
Song Huan stood there, watching the crowd come and go, feeling empty inside.
……
The next day, we took graduation photos.
A frame was set up on the school playground, and each class took turns going up to take pictures.
Class 3 of Grade 6 is in the second group.
When Song Huan arrived, the students were already standing together, chatting away.
He glanced around but didn't see Xiao Yunqing.
"Song Huan! Over here!" A male classmate waved to him.
Song Huan walked over and joined the line.
"Did you hear? The test was pretty hard this time," the boy muttered beside him. "I couldn't solve the last math problem. What about you?"
"good."
"What does 'not bad' mean? Did you get it right?"
Song Huan didn't answer and continued looking around.
Then he saw it.
Xiao Yunqing stood at the other end of the line, talking with several girls.
She was wearing a white dress today, and her hair was still tied in a ponytail.
The sunlight shone on her, making her look bright.
But her expression was indifferent, revealing nothing.
"Come on, everyone, stand in line!" the photographer shouted from the front. "Sixth grade, class three, look at the camera!"
Song Huan turned her gaze away and looked at the camera.
"Three, two, one, cheese!"
Click.
After the group photo was taken, the photographer called out, "Who wants to take a solo photo with their classmates? Come up here, I'll take your picture!"
Several students ran up, paired up, and struck various poses.
Song Huan stood to the side, watching them take pictures.
Then he looked at Xiao Yunqing.
He remembered that Xiao Yunqing had said before the exam that she wanted to take a picture with him alone.
Xiao Yunqing stood not far away, preparing to turn and leave.
A thought struck him.
"Xiao Yunqing!"
She stopped in her tracks.
He walked over.
"Shall we... take a picture?"
Xiao Yunqing looked at him.
His face was expressionless.
Then she turned around and left.
He didn't say a word.
Song Huan stood there, watching her walk away.
Her ponytail swayed back and forth as she quickly disappeared into the crowd.
The sunlight was still very bright.
But he found it a bit too bright.
"Song Huan," the boy from before leaned closer, "did you two have a fight?"
Song Huan did not answer.
He stood there for a long time.