Chapter Thirty-Two: Happy Friday!

... Shu+ke+ju ...

After delivering the newspapers, Dong Yanyan returned brimming with anticipation, eager to see the effect of the bag of sunflower seeds she had left behind. To her surprise, upon entering the dormitory, she was greeted by a cold, locked door.

“Where did everyone go so early in the morning?” she muttered as she unlocked the door, only to find the floor littered with sunflower seed shells.

Then she noticed a note taped to the door:

Fifth Sister, we've gone out for a run! Be sure to wait for our triumphant return!

Morning exercise? Dong Yanyan couldn’t help but laugh. She recalled that there had indeed been a day when the entire dormitory woke up early for a jog, bursting with energy as they left, only to return exhausted and disheveled. The next morning, not a soul ventured out again.

The only collective morning run in their four years at vocational school, and she had missed it—a little regret lingered in her heart.

As she swept up the sunflower seed shells, she sighed wistfully.

*

Another Friday arrived, and with it, the long-awaited autumn basketball tournament. The students were all excited, Dong Yanyan included. Though she couldn’t take the court herself, she was just as exhilarated cheering from the sidelines, especially when rooting for the boy she liked.

The sports committee member, Leng Haoyang, had drawn a lucky lot. Dong Yanyan always thought her classmates had been truly farsighted in choosing him for the committee; the boy’s luck never failed. No matter the outcome of the games over the past four years, his hand had never faltered when drawing lots.

So—

Born of the same roots, why so eager to scorch each other? The first match was against their brother class—Distribution Class.

For four years, Teacher Chen had favored Distribution Class a bit more. According to Leng Haoyang, "They’re the children of the real mother; we’re the stepchildren."

Their own class had two matches scheduled for three o'clock in the afternoon. With no classes on Friday afternoons, Dong Yanyan and her friends took their assigned places early, first watching the matches between the Audio Class and the Broadcasting Class before their own turn arrived. According to school tradition, engineering classes held an advantage over liberal arts classes in sports competitions. As Teacher Guo said, engineering students had both developed minds and strong bodies—only lacking the handsome boys and beautiful girls of the Broadcasting Class, who seemed little more than pretty ornaments.

But when two engineering classes faced off on equal footing, things became much more exciting.

Their own class lineup: Leng Haoyang, Lin Feng, Zhang Lei, Song Mingcheng, and Liu Qiang.

Xu Cheng sat on the bench; he was the sort whose agility and coordination never quite measured up. He was fierce when it came to snatching the ball, but too clumsy—he could easily trip and fall. Dong Yanyan felt a pang of concern, worried Lulu might have inherited this trait, so as soon as Lulu entered kindergarten, she enrolled her in sensory integration classes to build her coordination from an early age.

Both the boys’ and girls’ teams won their first matches—Dong Yanyan knew this, yet experiencing it again in person, she was swept up by the energy of the crowd. When the whistle signaled the end of the match, she was moved to tears. Before she could rush forward to embrace Lin Feng and the others, the girls on the team were already high-fiving and hugging their teammates.

This left her a little disappointed. Glancing back unintentionally, she caught Teacher Chen’s gaze, excitement and approval shining through his usually reserved expression—a clear sign that he was genuinely thrilled by his class’s victory.

As Dong Yanyan wondered, he jogged over to pat Leng Haoyang’s shoulder and say a few words, leaving Leng Haoyang grinning from ear to ear.

Then, as was customary, Teacher Chen turned to the Distribution Class, offering encouragement not to lose heart.

At least for now, he seemed to treat everyone fairly.

Dong Yanyan found comfort in this: it was just that the other class’s students performed better academically, were more obedient, and knew how to win the teacher’s favor, so he put them first. That was understandable—the students in her own class weren’t any less intelligent, just a bit more playful. A little effort would go a long way.

The troublesome Xu Cheng still had to take make-up exams every semester; no wonder the teacher didn’t warm to him.

Lost in her thoughts, Dong Yanyan noticed her classmates laughing as they made their way back to the classroom. As class president and campus heartthrob, Lin Feng and Song Mingcheng were quickly surrounded by a gaggle of girls. Leng Haoyang and Zhang Lei had girlfriends fussing over them, handing them water and wiping their sweat, clearly enjoying themselves. Only poor Liu Qiang was left alone, so Dong Yanyan kindly offered him her bottle of mineral water.

Back in the classroom, everyone was still buzzing with excitement.

Dong Yanyan watched them from the back of the room with a gentle smile. For her, being able to quietly observe her former classmates, see their young faces laughing, was a kind of profound happiness.

*

That evening, the class’s first weekend party began under the guidance of the entertainment committee member, Yang Lili. The classroom desks and chairs were arranged in circles by dormitory, and the blackboard backdrop—designed by Du Xinmeng—was edged with cloud patterns, vibrant balloons and flowers, and in the center, bold letters spelled out: Happy Friday!

Dong Yanyan envied girls who could paint, able to capture the beauty in their hearts with a brush. She herself could only imitate others, unable to create anything original. She especially loved Du Xinmeng’s portraits of elegant ladies and cartoon characters; she adored them. Yang Lili danced beautifully and choreographed well; Xiaohan had studied vocal music since she was young, so her singing far surpassed Dong Yanyan’s amateur abilities.

She envied so much, all things she missed in her own childhood. What talents did she have? From childhood, her mother believed reading was the only proper pursuit and forbade her from learning anything else, even going so far as to ask her teachers not to let her participate in school performances, fearful it would distract from her studies. She knew her parents’ intentions were good; even if their choices lacked vision, it was simply because their outlook hadn’t kept pace. How could she blame them?

But was it too late to start now? Her eyes sparkled at the thought. She was keeping up with her studies, so she should be able to spare some time for a hobby class. The city library offered all sorts of interest classes, not expensive—she should ask about them someday!

“Yanyan, it’s your turn!” Gu Xiaohan laughed, nudging her back to reality. Surely not—her act was scheduled so early?

She took out her props—a soft drink bottle and a coin—and stepped to the front, placing them on the chair by the podium. When Liu Qian appeared on the Spring Festival Gala years ago, he sparked a nationwide craze for magic tricks—even children were swept up, Lulu included. Lulu loved watching “Wisdom Tree” on the children’s channel, and Dong Yanyan had learned a few simple tricks from Green Bubble.

She first untied a red string from her wrist, straightened it, tied a tight knot, then another, and under everyone’s gaze, tied yet another. With a sudden pull, the string snapped straight—all the knots were gone!

... Shu+ke+ju ...