The Creatures That We Are-Chapter 88: Elementary School
This content is taken from ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐ฏ๐ง๐ผ๐๐๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฆ
Chapter 88: Elementary School
Ten minutes later, Gao Yang stood at the gates to Yushan Elementary School, a little stunned. ๐ป๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ท๐๐๐ฃ๐ฆ๐.๐๐๐
He turned to Wan Sisi. โIs this...โ
โMy elementary school.โ Wan Sisi nodded with a smile.
โI studied here too!โ Gao Yang was taken aback. โIf you were a student here, how come I didnโt know you?โ
Wan Sisi smiled in lieu of a response.
The shop selling cold drinks by the school entrance was holding a marketing campaign. A person in an ice cream suit stood by the road attracting customers. They had a selfie stick in their hand and a signboard on their neck, which said, โTake a selfie for free ice cream cones.โ
Wan Sisi changed the subject by saying, โDo you want ice cream, Gao Yang?โ
โSure.โ
Wan Sisi quickly went up to the mascot and had two pictures with them. Then she returned to Gao Yang with two ice cream cones. โHere.โ
Gao Yang accepted the offer and took a bite. โItโs sweet.โ
Wan Sisi followed suit and said with her eyes curved, โYeah...itโs so sweet.โ
She then turned to the school entrance and said in a pleading tone, โIโd like to walk around in our old school, Gao Yang.โ fre(e)novelkiss.com
โWhy not? We have time.โ Gao Yang was feeling nostalgic as well. It had been years since he last came back.
The Yushan Elementary School wasnโt big. Past the running track claimed by weeds was an old classroom building covered in ivies. They walked into the first classroom on the first floor. The door lock had fallen off, and the wall was weathered with patches of discoloration. The desks were covered in dust. On the blackboard, Gao Yang could still make out the faint traces of everyday writings, and the chalk ledge had collected dust of different colors. It looked like the place hadnโt seen any visitors for quite some time.
โIs the school abandoned?โ Gao Yang had thought the school was empty because the students were on vacation, but it was clear to him now that the school had closed down.
Wan Sisi said a little sadly, โYeah, there are less and less children in the town, so the schools were consolidated, and Yushan closed down last year.โ
The setting sun of dusk cast the classroom in a lonesome wine red. A breeze swept through the window and ruffled Wan Sisiโs bang. She snuck a glance at Gao Yangโs profile; his eyes were gentle and distant.
Gao Yang turned to her, โLetโs go.โ
โAh, okay...โ Wan Sisi hurriedly looked away.
The two of them walked out of the classroom and back to the running track. Wan Sisi suddenly stopped walking to look at the wall beyond the track. It was missing a chunk, which made the part much shorter than the rest of the wall. Gao Yang remembered it well. Many students would take advantage of the shorter part to sneak out. On the other side of the wall was a small hill, and standing at its top was a large ginkgo tree.
โGao Yang.โ Wan Sisi turned around, her voice tinged with tentative hope. โDo you...really not remember me?โ
Gao Yang blinked. When he met eyes with her, he suddenly saw a rush of old, blurry memories in his head.
โAh!โ Gao Yang was surprised. โAre you...Liu Xiaoli!โ
...
That was a long, long time ago.
When Gao Yang was in his second year in elementary school, there was a bespectacled girl with overbite named Liu Xiaoli.
It was said that her father was a construction worker, and he died in an accident on a construction site when she was four. Her mother spent her days playing cards rather than doing anything productive or taking care of her, and her tuition hadnโt been paid for.
Liu Xiaoli almost always came to school in the same clothes. Because she didnโt have anything else to change into, a pungent odor followed her around. That, as well as her โuglinessโ, made sure that she had no friends in the class. The girls didnโt want to play with her, while the mischievous boys bullied her.
They put caterpillars in her pencil case, tore her homework to pieces, and hit her with rubber band slingshots. Once, a boy in class used the lighter he smuggled into school to burn her hair.
Unable to tolerate it, Gao Yang stopped the bully. He ended up getting beaten up by the boy and his friends.
The homeroom teacher called the parents to school, and it became a whole thing. The boys got scolded and were forced to write apologies.
After that, the boys in class stopped actively bullying Liu Xiaoli out of their fear of their teacher, but they started to ostracize Gao Yang and Liu Xiaoli in a less obvious form of bullying. They even paired them up and came up with an insulting jingle to mock them.
โGao Yang has an ugly wife! She smells bad and has an overbite!
Li Weiwei was in their class as well, and being Gao Yangโs childhood friends, she got dragged into the mess despite her being beautiful and quite popular.
After a brief struggle, Li Weiwei decided to take Gao Yangโs side.
That summer, the three of them were always hanging out together, and they had fun.
Once in a PE class, the three of them were excluded again, and neither the girls or boys allowed them to join their games.
Naturally opinionated, Li Weiwei pointed at the ginkgo tree on the hill beyond the wall and said, โLetโs have a race! To the top of the hill!โ
The three of them happily vaulted the wall and made it to the hilltop.
Gao Yang was the first, Li Weiwei the second, and Liu Xiaoli the third.
Li Weiwei and Gao Yang put their allowance together and used the pennies to buy the most beautiful box of sweets at a small shop in the neighborhood. It was a tin box printed with the drawing of the seven fairies, and inside were seven fruit gummies of different colors. Gao Yang and Li Weiwei each ate two, while Liu Xiaoli was given three. Liu Xiaoli ate two and didnโt have the heart to finish the last one. She hid it in her pocket.
Afterward, the three of them started talking about the future. About what they wanted to do and who they wanted to become.
Li Weiwei got another idea. She stood up with her hands on her hip and took out a crayon from her pocket. Then she picked up the three gummy wrappers on the ground. โLetโs write down our dreams and bury them under the tree. Then our dreams will come true!โ
โGreat idea!โ
Gao Yang and Liu Xiaoli clapped in agreement.
The three of them each wrote down their wish with a crayon and folded the wrappers. They then put the wrappers into the tin box and dug a small hole under the ginkgo tree to bury it, serious and devoted.
A few days later, Liu Xiaoli didnโt come to school. The homeroom teacher said that she had transferred out. It was in such a hurry that she wasnโt able to even finish the proper procedures.
Then Gao Yang found out from the adultsโ gossipping that Liu Xiaoliโs mother found her a stepdad with the surname Wan, and that they had taken Liu Xiaoli to Li City.
It hadnโt been long until Gao Yang and Li Weiwei moved to Li City as well, leaving Yushan Elementary School behind, along with their childhood promise. It ended up lost and forgotten in the passage of time.
The rush of memories left Gao Yang lightheaded. He stared at Wan Sisi. The girl with fair skin, orderly teeth, and clear eyes were night and day from the unkempt girl with an overbite. Her nervous, deer-like eyes, however, were the same as those of Liu Xiaoli.
โWhen did you realize it was me?โ Gao Yang asked. โAnd Li Weiwei too. Did you recognize her?โ
Wan Sisi nodded. โI recognized both of you on the first day of military training in our first year. But neither of you recognized me.โ
โYouโve changed a lot.โ Gao Yang smiled apologetically. โWhy didnโt you tell us?โ
โI donโt know.โ Wan Sisi tilted her head and smiled. โI was going to, but I couldnโt find the right time. Then I couldnโt find the right words.โ
Gao Yangโs heart was filled with a myriad of emotions. โItโs good to see you again.โ
โGao Yang, thereโs a question Iโve always wanted to ask you.โ Wan Sisi looked up at him. The nervousness in her eyes was replaced by determination.
Gao Yang pursed his lips. โWhat is it?โ