After Qi Ying fiercely answered Fang Xu, she continued to pull the corner of his clothes and pulled him to the teaching building. She looked angry and fierce, not so much powerful, but even lovelier.
Ji Rang let her pull it and tore the lollipop open and put it in his mouth.
Strawberry flavor, very sweet.
As they were going up the stairs and walking to the corridor on their classroom floor, she stopped angrily and turned her head to see. Ji Rang squinted and smiled, with a lollipop in his mouth.
She also laughed, with smiling eyes, and asked him softly, “Is it delicious?”
Ji Rang sucked twice, “It’s okay, not as sweet as you.”
Qi Ying: “…”
Ji Rang: “…”
Why can’t he control his mouth?
Fortunately, the little girl didn’t care about it, she pursed her lips and said, “You don’t fight casually in the future, okay?”
He raised his head, her voice was soft and quiet, and she was pretty, with little bit of expectation in her eyes.
Ji Rang slowed his heart, then he used his index finger to poke the shallow dimples on her cheeks, “Why, will you dislike Laozi?”
She looked up at him and whispered, “No, you will get hurt in a fight.”
No one had ever told him that he was not allowed to fight because they were afraid, he would get injured. She completely trusted him to maintain his composure, and it cracked the wall in his heart he had built a long time ago.
It felt warm and painful.
He didn’t want the little girl to find out that he was embarrassed, so he deliberately had a sullen expression on his face: “I’m so amazing, don’t you know?”
“I know.” She nodded obediently, then retorted to him softly: “But no matter how amazing you are, you can get hurt.”
No matter how small it is, it will hurt.
Just like the general who was brave and martial, but he died on the battlefield.
Her big wet eyes blinked and were again full of expectation.
He could not bear to refuse, nor could he refuse.
So, he smiled and touched her little head: “Okay, I promise you.”
She laughed happily.
When the class bell rang, she waved to him, turned and ran towards the classroom. Her soft ponytail swayed gently behind her, with the light shining into the corridor, that bright and charming back seemed to have become his whole youth.
When he returned to the Class 9 classroom, Liu Yao was standing on the podium and preaching: “It’s going to be the monthly exam soon! You are still here with me! You are in the second year of high school, do you know? You think you are just a freshman, and still have a lot of time? As soon as this semester is over, you will be quasi-seniors, do you know what it means to be a senior?!”
As soon as he finished cursing, he saw Ji Rang slowly coming in from the back door of the classroom with a lollipop in his mouth. He became even angrier and slapped the blackboard brush: “There are some people! Just turning their head and making trouble for me! There are too few penalties? Just play basketball on campus. Do you think you are fighting for the Olympic championship? Do you know that too many penalties will affect the admission rate of the university?!”
Acting like he didn’t hear Liu Yao scolding him, Ji Rang sat on his seat, took out the textbook and opened it, holding his head and turning the pen, but his face couldn’t hide his smile.
Qu Dazhuang motioned to Liu Haiyang with his eyes: Why is Brother Ji stunned again?
Liu Haiyang replied with his eyes: Most probably because of his little fairy.
When school got over in the afternoon, Wu Rui ran to Class 9 classroom with his schoolbag on his back to block Ji Rang. When he saw him, he sternly said: “Classmate Ji! Why are you fighting again? We have to talk about it. Do you devote all your time to fighting instead of studying? Do you still want to go to college?”
Since he started tutoring him, he has faintly regarded himself as a little teacher to Ji Rang.
Seeing that Ji Rang was so impulsive and ignorant, he was so sad that he missed a bowl of rice at noon.
Ji Rang said, “I’m annoyed to see you first in grade now.”
Wu Rui pushed the black-rimmed glasses: “You have a hatred of learning psychology. It’s normal. I will counsel you in a while. Although learning is very important, the psychological condition cannot be ignored.”
Then Ji Rang was dragged by Wu Rui to the study room for half an hour to talk about “how to balance his mentality under the stress of intense study”.
Hey, sure enough, the gap between people is still very large, and he really shouldn’t use one stick to measure all the firsts in all grades[1].
Not every kind of milk is called special[2].
Not every first ranker is like Fang Xu.
After the psychological counseling, Wu Rui took out the notes he had compiled based on his learning situation and pointed them to him: “You have completely mastered the basic items of mathematics, but the probability part is still a bit weak. I will sort out the question types about probability, so you can practice them and improve it. English vocabulary is no problem now. The composition part should be deepened, and more sample essays should be memorized.”
After making up the lesson, Wu Rui asked him: “The monthly exam is coming next week. What is your ideal ranking? Let us set a small goal first and make a dash towards it.”
Ji Rang remembered Fang Xu’s mocking and disdainful eyes when he looked at him.
He held the pen tightly and said coldly: “First rank.”
Wu Rui: “???”
I am tutoring you, but you want to replace me.
He coughed twice: “Well, classmate Ji, it’s not that I look down on you.” He moved aside for fear of the big guy hitting him, ready to run away, and then proudly said, “If you want to overtake me, then it’s still a bit difficult.”
Ji Rang: “…”
The first monthly exam of this semester was accompanied by a blooming spring season.
Because the big guy achieved very good results in the final exam last semester, the examination room was also much higher, and it happened that he was in the same examination room as Yue Li.
The little student Yue Li, who was very hardworking and studious but has a limited talent and IQ, did not feel ashamed of being in the same examination room as the boss.
Moreover, the other students in the entire examination room were afraid of Ji Rang and were even afraid to look at him. After all, he had just hit the senior in front of the teacher not long ago. But Yue Li was not afraid of him. When she leaned over to talk to Ji Rang, she felt the people around her looking at her secretly, and she was very proud!
You are all afraid, but I am not afraid. This is the advantage of being a girlfriend of the gangster’s woman!
She also cheered Ji Rang with a small fist wave: “Try to be in the same examination room with Yingying for the next exam!”
In the first examination room?
Someday he will go.
The exam lasted for two days. With the lessons learned from the last time, Ji Rang decided that if the answer was wrong this time, then there was that anxiety and tension, it was better to use that time to solve the problem.
Moreover, he was also thinking that as his high school career passes day by day, the number of exams will decrease again, and the chances for him to find Qi Ying for awards will become less and less in the future. He had to take advantage of the many exams and get more rewards.
After all, it will take a lifetime to collect as many as he wants.
When they reached the bus station after the test, as if nothing had happened, he asked, “Is the certificate prepared in advance?”
Qi Ying wondered if this person was obsessed with awards.
She thought for a while: “Should I change it for you this time?”
Ji Rang was fierce: “No, I want a certificate.”
There is no certificate of merit for other things.
She has to give whatever he wants.
It’s just like Aladdin and she is the genie.
Qi Ying was a little bit distressed. She felt that the particularity of the gift lies in its uniqueness. What’s the point of having a room of similar awards? After thinking for a while, she pulled at the corner of his clothes and said softly, “But I want to give you other things.”
The boss who had no principles at all under the offensive of the little fairy acting like a baby: “Okay.”
Within a few days, the monthly test results came out. Ji Rang lived up to the hard work of staying up all night to brush up questions for so long and finally got into the top 200 of the grade, ranking 172nd.
However, Qi Ying only advanced by two because of too little room for improvement, ranking seventh in grade.
Looking at the two names that were getting closer and closer on the score list, Ji Rang forcefully found it fateful, thinking: they both had seven in their ranks.
After school, he went to Qi Ying for a reward.
The boss didn’t think he was behaving as naive as a child now. He couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth turning up when Qi Ying came holding a black bag.
Obviously, the flowers in his eyes were already blooming, his voice was still tense, and he asked faintly: “What is it?”
Qi Ying said: “You stretch out your hand.”
He stretched out his hand.
Qi Ying put the reward in his palm and opened the bag.
It’s a small flowerpot, the soil inside is fresh and moist, and there is a smell of flower fertilizer.
She smiled so nicely and said softly: “This is the flower I planted.”
Ji Rang asked: “What flower?”
Her eyes were bright: “Hawthorn flowers[3].” She was afraid that he had never cultivated flowers before, and seriously taught him: “Hawthorn flowers are drought-resistant. Don’t water too much. When watering, you must water thoroughly without letting water pool around it, every month. It is enough to fertilize it once more. When it grows up, you can move it to a larger pot.”
Her slender fingers were dangling in the air.
Ji Rang listened quietly.
He did not expect that she would send him flowers.
While waiting for the bus, he took out his phone and searched its meaning.
Flower language of hawthorn flowers: Guard your only love.
When the bus came, the little girl waved to him and turned to get on the bus.
He held the small flower pot in one hand, and her soft hand with the other, and then pulled her into his arms and pressed her against his heart.
Many people around were watching, Qi Ying was embarrassed, and pushed him with a little hand: “What are you doing?”
He laughed, hugged her hard, let go of her, and said with a low smile: “When the hawthorn bears fruit, I will make candied haws for you.”
This time the monthly exam Haiyi’s overall average score has improved. In order to reward the students and to release the pressure in the spring, after finishing grading the papers of each subject, the teacher in charge of each class announced in the classroom: They were going to Hexi Mountain.”
Every year students had excitement boiling in their veins.
Hexi Mountain was a wild mountain with well-protected vegetation and ecology on the outskirts of Haicheng. It is famous for the Hexi Temple on the top of the mountain. A stream flowed from the top of the mountain to the foot of the mountain. It is rumored that it used to be the habitat of white cranes, but now except for a few white cranes in the Hexi Temple, there are no cranes in the wild.
Some students asked excitedly: “Can we have a picnic?”
The teacher said: “Yes, there is a picnic camp midway through the mountain, but having a picnic is very troublesome. You have to prepare pots and pans for food. If you want to have a picnic, you can prepare yourself in advance.”
There are also those who don’t want to climb the mountain: “Can we just play in the water at the foot of the mountain?”
The teacher said: “Anyway, you can gather at the point anyway, the route is from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, and the activity content is planned by yourself.”
Hexi Mountain was the outing resort that the government had built in the past two years. The safety measures are well done. Every section has security guards. There was no need to worry about safety issues. Basically, every school spring outing will choose to go there.
Although many students had followed their parents there during the holidays, but the atmosphere is different when the school organizes the outing.
In the following week, they spent most of their spare time discussing the spring outing.
Some classes were really ready to have a picnic, some wanted to climb the mountain as a competition, and some said that Hexi Temple is very good at granting wishes and thus they wanted to climb to the top of the mountain to make a wish.
Both Qi Ying and Yue Li were the types who didn’t like sports. They planned to go out and watch the mountains and water, and just eat snacks. After school the day before the spring outing, they met at the supermarket and bought a lot of snacks. When they gathered at school the next day, their school bags were all packed.
The school arranged buses to directly take all the students in a dozen classes to the parking lot at the foot of the mountain.
Then each class was called, and the safety instructions were emphasized. After passing the free ticket gate and entering the mountain, the students were allowed to move freely.
Several teachers guarded the ticket gate to prevent disobedient students from running around.
As soon as Qi Ying and Yue Li went up the first step and stood by the small water pool watching the fish, Qi Ying received a call from Ji Rang asking where she was. After asking, he found them within a few minutes.
As soon as Yue Li saw him, her face got bitter.
It was superfluous to make it clear that the boss wanted to date the little fairy.
Yue Li consciously called the classmates who sat in the seat behind her: “Where are you Xiaohe? Wait for me!”
Qi Ying watched Yue Li run away with regret. Ji Rang had no backpack, and was wearing a simple sportswear and a black baseball cap. He was tall, handsome and stylish.
Many girls were peeking at him.
Qi Ying asked: “Why don’t you have a backpack? What will you eat later?”
He reached for the schoolbag on her back, his thin lips under the brim of his hat curled up with a smile: “Eat yours.”
Qi Ying silently clutched his fingers, calculating whether there was enough food in the bag.
Ji Rang was almost killed by her little greedy expression.
Mountain climbing was a tiring task. The enthusiasm at the beginning gradually fell under the stone steps that could not be seen till the end. All the way, students sat down and spread their blankets and started snacking.
Qu Dazhuang was also there, and they found a place with a gentle slope to play poker. Seeing them, he greeted enthusiastically: “Brother! Come and play cards!”
Ji Rang chuckled: “Didn’t you fucking vow to climb to the top of the mountain yesterday to make a wish for getting into college?”
Qu Dazhuang: “I figured it out. It’s better to work hard than to worship God. I’ll start studying hard when I go back tomorrow.”
All around people laughed, Ji Rang tilted his head to look at Qi Ying next to him, and asked her in a low voice, “Are you tired?”
She shook her head and asked softly, “Does the temple on the mountain really grants wish?”
Ji Rang didn’t believe in all of this, so he thought about it and said, “If you are sincere, it will be better.”
She held the corner of his clothes, her eyes sparkling: “I want to go up and make a wish.”
He laughed: “Okay, let’s go up.”
So, the two began to climb the mountain.
The more they climbed up, the fewer people they saw climbing. Most students stopped when they reached the picnic camp halfway up the mountain. The stone steps hidden under the towering trees were quiet and far-reaching. Every time they went up a step, the mountain breeze was cooler.
Qi Ying was panting with exhaustion, but when she thought that she had climbed up step by step, she felt sincere and spirited, and she plucked up the courage to continue.
Afterwards, not even a single figure could be seen.
Only Ji Rang stayed with her.
He didn’t seem to be tired at all, and he still had the strength to tease her, “Call me ge, and I will carry you up.”
Qi Ying was ashamed: “Don’t tease me!”
Halfway through, they stopped several times to drink and eat. It was approaching the afternoon when they finally saw the ancient temple hidden in the mountains.
Hexi Temple was actually not big at all, and the incense smell was also not very strong. There was a pond in front of the temple, the surface of which was covered with lotus leaves, and indeed there were white cranes playing in the water.
Qi Ying was so happy. After teasing the cranes for a while, she went to light incense, kneeling obediently in front of the golden Buddha statue, holding the incense silently and said: Buddha, thank you for sending the general back to me, please be sure to bless him with safety and health.
Ji Rang was watching from the side. Although he didn’t believe this, it didn’t prevent him from being willing to do anything with her.
After worshiping the Buddha, the two of them strolled around in the temple again. The temple is not big, and it took no more than ten minutes to look around.
It took time to go down the mountain, and they have to gather later, so the two got ready to leave.
When they walked out of the courtyard, a monk was sweeping the floor. Ji Rang avoided him, but the broom in the monk’s hand ran straight under his feet as if it had eyes.
Ji Rang felt as if the monk deliberately engaged him.
He didn’t have a good temper with outsiders, so he stopped, and asked, “What do you want to do?”
The monk did not stop sweeping the floor, but said with a smile: “Little general, don’t be so hostile.”
Ji Rang felt that the monk was ill, so he pulled Qi Ying and left.
Qi Ying stood there blankly, looking at the monk, and asked in a low voice, “Little Master, what did you call him?”
The monk looked up, with a smile on his eyebrows, very gently: “This little general died young in his last life. He killed too much. In this life, he is full of hostility. The little benefactor should look after him.”
Qi Ying’s eyes were red.
She bowed to the monk and said: “Thank you little master, I will.”
After the salute, she pulled at Ji Rang’s clothes corner: “Salute to the little master and thank him.”
Ji Rang sneered: “Feudal superstition!”
Qi Ying’s voice was soft: “This is polite.”
The juvenile had unruly eyes.
But there were always weaknesses.
He bent down and bowed to the monk.
[1] He was angry with all first rankers because of Fang Xu but now thinks it is wrong.
[2] I think it is a brand in China.
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