[173] Holding Hands

The next day, after the mathematics, physics, and chemistry exams were completed, Fang Changan returned to the classroom after dinner and found everyone in low spirits. Upon asking, he learned they had compared answers, and several people—including Wang Ke and Liu Bei—had gotten the penultimate physics question wrong.

Fang Dianqiu asked for his answer and once again confirmed that Liu Bei and Wang Ke had both fallen into the trap, missing this question worth a full ten-plus points.

Fang Changan advised, "No matter what, it's already in the past. Focus on reviewing well for tomorrow."

This was the truth, but a bout of depression could not be cured by a single comforting remark, and Fang Changan had no other options. Liu Bei would just have to rely on herself to adjust; in any case, she had County No. 1 High School as a fallback and wouldn't end up any worse than in her past life.

Wang Ke, however, definitely needed coaxing.

He quietly wrote a note to Wang Ke: "Briefly explain your problem-solving approach to me."

Wang Ke turned to look at him, tried hard to recall the steps for the penultimate question, and wrote them down briefly. After reading it, Fang Changan replied: "The high school entrance examination has grading criteria even more detailed than our usual tests, awarding points step by step. You'll get at least six or seven points for this question, and at most lose four or five. Don't worry, you only made a mistake in the very last step."

In fact, Wang Ke had thought of this earlier. Even before Fang Changan arrived, others had brought up this possibility, but she still felt uneasy. Hearing Fang Changan say it, she gradually felt reassured. After reading the contents of the notebook, she looked up at him, slowly relaxed her expression into a slight smile, nodded firmly, and went back to reading her book.

Fang Changan had the mind to also tell her the English composition topic, but alas, he truly couldn't remember it and had to let it go.

By the time he woke up the next morning, ate breakfast, and arrived at the examination hall, just as the proctor was holding the test papers and coming over to open the door, Fang Changan finally had a flash of inspiration and remembered the English composition topic.

However, it was clearly too late by then, so he could only sigh and walk into the examination hall to prepare for the test.

After the exam papers were handed out, Fang Changan looked at the English composition topic first and was somewhat pleasantly surprised to find he had remembered it wrong—it wasn't the topic he had just thought of... Thus, his mind instantly achieved equilibrium.

After finishing the test, he patiently checked his work again. Probably due to the final exam and the approaching submission deadline, one could distinctly feel the restless atmosphere inside the hall. Having checked three times and feeling confident, Fang Changan couldn't be bothered to drag things out here any longer, so he directly handed in his paper and walked away.

Stepping out of the exam room, he remembered that the school gates were still locked, so he wandered downstairs and soon discovered one person after another handing in their papers and coming out, all waiting inside the school for the gates to open.

Fang Changan's father, Fang Lujun, was waiting outside the main gate. Fang Changan waved at his old man through the iron bars. Fang Lujun walked up to the iron gate, giving Fang Changan the fleeting sensation of visiting his dad in prison, which amused him slightly.

After finally waiting for the gates to open, father and son returned to the shoe store together. Cong Rong was waiting at the entrance and, seeing her son approach, smiled and remarked, "The exams are over!"

Fang Changan also smiled and said, "They're over!"

Fang Lujun looked into the store and said to Cong Rong, "Inside, inside, people are waiting to pay."

At noon, after eating and taking a short nap, Fang Changan headed to school.

"Dang-dang-dang, dang-dang-dang-dang..."

Along the way, he hummed a tune whose lyrics he didn't even know, until near the school the words "the boy is going to the girl's final appointment" slipped out. He spat twice and muttered with amusement, "Bad luck!"

When he reached the classroom, Wang Ke had not yet arrived. Fang Changan joined in the chatting and comparing of answers, while some people had already begun discussing filling out their school choices.

At present, they still had to estimate their scores before submitting their choices. Fang Changan remembered that it wasn't until 2008 that scores would be released first before choices were submitted, making this process a true test of wisdom. For example, in his past life, Fang Changan had heard of a top student at Haitian Middle School whose score was one point higher than the admission cutoff for City No. 1 High School, but didn't dare to apply and could only miss out with regret.

As they were chatting, Wang Ke walked into the classroom accompanied by Liu Bei and Zheng Lili, sat down beside him, turned to look at him, and seemed as if she wanted to say something.

Fang Changan asked, "What is it?"

She shook her head instead, and after Fang Changan turned his head away, she quietly puffed out her cheeks.

A moment later, Fang Changan turned to look at her, and she offered a questioning gaze in return. Having no paper or pen on him, Fang Changan leaned closer to her and asked in a low voice, "Do you have plans this afternoon?"

The young girl blinked her eyes. "Going home, of course."

"Besides going home?"

Wang Ke shook her head.

Fang Changan smiled and said, "That's perfect. I've been in town for three years and haven't been around to explore. Let's go hang out this afternoon."

Wang Ke looked at him with her bright, sparkling eyes, hesitating slightly. Fang Changan urged, "Did you forget you said the other day how you wanted to thank me? Just accompany me to play."

The young girl was still somewhat hesitant, and her sparkling eyes seemed to carry a bit more vigilance: "Just the two of us?"

"Of course not. I'll ask who else wants to come along later."

Wang Ke nodded and said, "Then I'll go tell Wang Cheng and the other guy to go home first."

"Alright."

Fang Changan nodded and stood up to let her out. If Wang Cheng and his friend left first, Wang Ke would have to go home alone. However, her home wasn't very far away, and summer nights fell late, so there was no need to worry about safety. Ever since entering the third year of junior high, Fang Dianqiu walked both ways alone every single day, didn't she turn out just fine?

Besides, if worse came to worst, he—as a highly responsible youth of the five virtues—could always walk her home!

Wang Ke soon returned, sat down first, and whispered to Fang Changan, "Wang Cheng and the others said they can wait for me. The two of them are going to an internet cafe, and we can go play, then all go home together at dusk... What's wrong with you?"

"..."

Fang Changan sighed. "Internet cafes really are the root cause of corrupting the youth!"

"Huh?"

Wang Ke blinked in puzzlement. Both Wang Cheng and his friend were in regular classes, didn't study hard, and hadn't sneaked off to internet cafes just once or twice. She had never seen Fang Changan say anything about it before, so why was he suddenly feeling so heartbroken now that the entrance exams were over?

Since he couldn't very well chase Wang Cheng and the other boy back home, Fang Changan accepted the failure of his plan and asked instead, "Where are we going to play?"

Wang Ke said, "I'll listen to you."

Fang Changan thought for a moment and said, "There aren't many places to hang out in town that I know of. Mostly internet cafes, arcade halls, and places like that—we're definitely not going there. The rest... do you know how to play billiards?"

Wang Ke shook her head. "No."

"Then let's play that. I'll teach you."

Fang Changan said with great enthusiasm, "It's very simple. You'll learn as soon as you try."

"Mm."

Wang Ke nodded and asked, "Who else is going?"

Fang Changan first asked Fang Dianqiu, "Are you going to play later?"

Fang Dianqiu turned around and glanced at him. "Yes."

"I haven't even said what we're doing yet."

"I'm going whatever it is."

Fang Changan had originally thought having five or six people would be about right, but after asking around, even volunteers popped up, pushing the headcount into the double digits. Fortunately, before the group could expand any further, Cheng Mengfei arrived.

The noisy classroom quickly quieted down. Cheng Mengfei stood on the podium, looking somewhat melancholic for a moment, then beamed and smiled, "The exams are finished?"

Some people chuckled softly, and Cheng Mengfei also smiled, asking, "How do you all feel you did?"

"Not great."

"Pretty decent."

Some answered, while most remained silent. Cheng Mengfei smiled and said, "No matter what, the exams are already over. Take this time to relax properly. Everyone has worked hard this year."

The classroom fell silent.

"The three years of junior high have already passed. You are only fifteen or sixteen years old, and the rest of your lives are still very long. If you did well on the entrance exam, don't be arrogant; high school is a new beginning. Similarly, if you didn't do well, don't be discouraged, but don't brush it off either—learn your lessons. No matter which school you go to after summer vacation, even the best schools have poor students, and likewise, even the worst schools have people who make it into university."

Early in her pregnancy, Cheng Mengfei was already somewhat sensitive, and this was also the first cohort of students she had ever led. Looking at the students in the classroom—especially many she had brought up from Class 4 of the first year, watching them grow with her own eyes from naive, clueless children into young men and women—by the end, her voice was choked with emotion as she struggled to keep her composure.

Infected by her emotion, many girls in the class began to secretly wipe away tears, and even quite a few boys had tear-rimmed eyes.

Wang Ke was secretly shedding tears beside him. Fang Changan turned to look at her, and the young girl, noticing him watching, felt a bit embarrassed and hurriedly wiped away the teardrops with her hand, only to smear them even more.

Seeing Fang Changan still staring at her as if making fun of her, she felt both shy and indignant, yet inexplicably felt a sweet sensation blossoming in her heart. She couldn't help smiling, then felt it was even more comical to be crying and laughing at the same time, so she quickly tried to hold it back while resentfully kicking him under the desk. The lingering sorrow of parting faded quite a bit.

Seeing everyone growing sentimental, Cheng Mengfei hurriedly collected her emotions and smiled, "There is no banquet in this world that doesn't come to an end. There will be chances to meet again in the future. Besides, you've graduated and grown up—this is a good thing."

"I know some of you students have QQ accounts and even set up a QQ group. Those without accounts can apply for one later. As the internet becomes increasingly popular in the future, keeping in touch will only get easier. As the saying goes, 'With a bosom friend afar, a distance near or far makes no difference.'"

Restraining her emotions, Cheng Mengfei chatted casually for a few more moments, then continued, "Everyone can go home now. Rest up and relax for a few days, and come back to school before nine o'clock on the morning of July 2nd to estimate your scores and fill out your school choices."

"You can also think about which school to apply for over the next few days."

After she finished speaking, she paused, standing on the podium as she slowly gazed at each and every naive face of the children below, as if trying hard to memorize them all, and as if she wanted to say more. In the end, she simply remained silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Alright, that's all. Everyone, go home."

No one moved.

Cheng Mengfei smiled and said, "Then Teacher will leave first."

She lifted her foot and walked out of the classroom door. Fang Changan let out a soft breath and stood up.

"Stand up!"

It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, yet this unexpected standing up seemed even more uniform than during any ordinary class every day.

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher!"

"Thank you, Teacher!"

The shouts weren't particularly loud, and some even cried out different things, but it didn't detract from the genuine emotion at the moment of parting. Cheng Mengfei was momentarily stunned, and tears instantly welled up and rolled down. She covered her mouth and waved her hand, signaling everyone to sit down, and then walked out of the classroom.

She might walk into this classroom again in the future, but she would no longer see these faces. Correspondingly, these current students would also step into classrooms anew and watch one teacher after another walk away down the hall.

Yet, it would never be this exact moment again.

"Wait for me a moment."

Fang Changan first said to Wang Ke, then poked his head into the doorway of the adjacent office. Seeing that Cheng Mengfei had regained her composure and was looking at him with a mix of annoyance, amusement, and helpless resignation—probably thinking he was just a little kid yet still coming over to worry about her—she found it somewhat funny.

Without going in, Fang Changan waved cheerfully and said, "Teacher Cheng, I'm heading out!"

Before Cheng Mengfei could reply, he returned to the classroom. Most of the classmates were already walking out, and seeing him return, many greeted him and waved goodbye.

"Goodbye, Monitor!"

"Goodbye!"

Just as he was about to return to the classroom, he heard someone shouting from behind: "Changan!"

Turning around, he saw Fang Changfen walking over, clearly here to fetch Fang Dianqiu. Although they had consciously brought things home prior to the middle school entrance exams, quite a bit was still left behind, and worrying that his daughter wouldn't be able to carry it all easily, Fang Changfen had driven a three-wheeler to pick her up.

Fang Changan exchanged greetings and went back inside the classroom to call Fang Dianqiu. Fang Dianqiu seemed to have just remembered that her dad was coming to pick her up, and said with some embarrassment, "I completely forgot... Then I won't go play with you guys. You go ahead."

Then she asked Liu Bei, "Do you have a lot of things? Why don't you come with me?"

After entering the third year of junior high, Fang Changan learned from Fang Dianqiu that Liu Bei's home was right next to Majiagou, just two villages apart, so the two of them sometimes walked home together along the same route.

Liu Bei still had quite a few books and bedding left at school. Hearing this, she hesitated for a moment and said, "Then I'll head back with you."

There were only three boarding female students going out to play, and with those two leaving, only Wang Ke remained. After saying that, they both looked at Wang Ke. Fang Changan said, "You can't catch a ride home right now anyway. Why don't you drop your bicycle off at my mom's place first, and you can leave directly from there after Wang Cheng and the others finish surfing the net?"

Wang Ke hesitated for a moment and nodded.

There were only two billiard "halls" in town. Fang Changan sent Zhou Yifei and the others ahead first, while he accompanied Wang Ke back to the dormitory to fetch her things. Now the dormitory was completely empty. Entering a girls' dormitory for the first time, Fang Changan saw scraps of paper and trash everywhere, with nothing much to look at.

Still, seeing him follow her inside, Wang Ke felt somewhat strange and told him, "You go call Wang Cheng first."

Fang Changan curled his lip, went to the boys' dormitory to find Wang Cheng and his friend, and the four of them rode their bicycles toward the shoe store together. Wang Cheng and the other boy turned off halfway to go to the internet cafe, while Fang Changan led Wang Ke to the shop and parked the bicycles in front of the door.

"Hello, Auntie."

Over the past two years, Wang Ke had also bought shoes at the shop. Cong Rong had always remembered this pretty girl, though they hadn't met for two months. Seeing her appear at the shop door so abruptly, she was stunned for a moment before hurriedly welcoming her inside, smiling as she said, "Haven't seen you in a while, you're getting prettier and prettier."

"Auntie, I won't go inside."

Wang Ke felt a bit embarrassed and secretly glanced at Fang Changan, signaling him to speak.

Fang Changan said, "Mom, help us keep an eye on the bikes. We're going out to play; a bunch of classmates are waiting."

Cong Rong looked the two of them over, the smile on her face blooming like a flower—extraordinarily gentle and kind. Without even asking where they were going, she said, "Alright, alright, go play... Do you have money on you?"

"I do!"

Fang Changan waved a hand and led Wang Ke toward No. 1 High School. Wang Ke softly said, "Auntie, then we'll head over first!" before following him away.

Cong Rong acknowledged them, standing outside the shop entrance and watching the backs of the two figures walking away against the slanting sunlight for quite a long time before returning inside to sit down.

"Where is it?"

"In the alley ahead, turn north."

"Oh."

The two walked into the alley, went to the very end, and made another turn before finally seeing a shabby sign that read "XX Billiards Club" hanging in front of a courtyard—the characters were so faded they were barely legible. Entering through the gate revealed a courtyard with a shed set up inside, and beneath the shed stood billiard tables. Zhou Yifei, Liang Jingyu, Tang Shuai, and the others were already playing.

Zhou Yifei was playing against Tang Shuai. Seeing them enter, he explained, "We opened two tables. We'll open another table once these people finish playing."

Fang Changan nodded, offering pointers and commentary from the sidelines, instructing Wang Ke on how to aim and apply force. After waiting a while, some people finished and left, and he opened another table, taking turns playing.

This billiard parlor was undoubtedly shabby, and even the billiard tables weren't level, but nobody cared anyway. The other billiard room was indoors, but it was much smaller than this one, featuring only two tables and combined with an arcade, so this place had become their only option.

Wang Ke played her first game against Liang Jingyu. Liang Jingyu knew how to play and didn't need teaching, so Fang Changan stood on Wang Ke's side, teaching her how to aim and exert force.

Billiards wasn't hard to pick up, and Wang Ke had decent athletic coordination. She soon sank her first ball and was endlessly delighted. Fang Changan watched with amusement, and the young girl immediately noticed, turning back to scold him playfully: "What are you laughing at? If you've got the guts, you play. Can you even do it?"

Without a word, Fang Changan walked over, took the cue stick, performed a trick shot by sinking a ball in one stroke, and then clapped his hands, standing aside with his accomplishments unheralded and concealed. However, he heard Liang Jingyu, who had been aiming for a long time over on the other side, stomping his foot and shouting, "What are you doing? I haven't even shot yet!"

"Uh... sorry, didn't notice."

This time, it was Wang Ke's turn to giggle secretly on the side.

The afternoon at this hour was actually a bit hot, but the group was having a great deal of fun. Unawares, the red sun sank westward. Fang Changan checked the time and said, "That's about it. Let's wrap it up for today."

Zhou Yifei still hadn't had enough and protested, "We've got nothing to do anyway, what's wrong with staying a bit later?"

Liang Jingyu said, "Wang Ke has to go home."

"Oh... then you guys go ahead, I'll play a bit longer."

Tang Shuai asked Liang Jingyu, who hesitated and said, "I'm heading back too, we've played for a long time."

Naturally, Tang Shuai followed suit, leaving only Zhou Yifei and Lu Wei behind to keep playing. Fang Changan went to settle the bill: two yuan per hour for three tables, but since one table was started quite late, the total charge came to twenty yuan—Zhou Yifei and Lu Wei would naturally pay for the games they continued to play themselves.

Tang Shuai and Liang Jingyu insisted on splitting the bill, but Fang Changan smiled and said, "Forget it, it's not expensive. Consider this a rare splurge for me as your monitor, you can treat next time."

The others naturally agreed, but Tang Shuai still insisted on paying. Liang Jingyu intervened, "Oh, come on now, just treat next time, it's not like we won't see each other ever again."

Everyone had brought their bicycles. They rode out of the courtyard and headed off first. Fang Changan bade them farewell and walked slowly back with Wang Ke.

Wang Ke said, "If I had known, we would have ridden our bikes over too and met up at the store."

Fang Changan smiled, "It's fine, we can just walk slowly."

Wang Ke softly murmured "Mm" and walked slowly side-by-side with him.

The two of them had just been having fun, and with graduation imminent, there weren't many restraints between them. Yet at this moment, they suddenly both fell silent, without feeling any of the awkwardness usually associated with silence when spending time with someone. Instead, they felt an inexpressible, faint sentiment lingering in their hearts.

Past this alleyway lay the main street in front of No. 1 High School, bustling with traffic and noise. Yet this ordinary, mundane, somewhat shabby alley seemed to possess an inexplicable, magical ability that isolated all unwanted outside distractions from the world. Between heaven and earth, there were only the two of them within this narrow alley, walking toward an unseen, distant future.

"Changan, brother."

When they reached approximately the middle of the alley, Wang Ke suddenly called out softly. Fang Changan turned to look at her. Her bright, sparkling eyes gazed at him with a hint of shyness and trepidation. "What if... what if I can't get into City No. 1 High School?"

Fang Changan stopped, turned to look at her, and Wang Ke stopped as well, gazing up at him. After locking eyes for two seconds, Fang Changan smiled, raised his hand, and gently pinched her vibrant, pretty cheek: "There's always university!"

When Fang Changan raised his hand, Wang Ke instinctively shrank back a little, but immediately endured it, letting him pinch her cheek. Only then did she take a step back, her sparkling eyes looking at him with a mix of bashful annoyance and faint joy. Giving him a slightly exasperated glance, she turned and continued walking forward.

"You have to have faith in me, and you have to have faith in yourself. Look at Shen Xiaomo—she sat with me for a year, and we haven't seen each other for two years, yet I still remember her."

Fang Changan followed along beside her, shamelessly citing examples, "You sat with me for two years; even if we don't meet for all three years of high school, I definitely won't forget you. Besides, the county isn't far from the city. Even if we're in different schools, I'll definitely go visit you often."

"Besides, we haven't even estimated our scores yet. Have confidence in yourself, and the two of us will go find Shen Mo together at City No. 1 High School."

The young girl turned to look at him and nodded vigorously.

Someone was riding a bicycle toward them from ahead. Fang Changan leaned closer to Wang Ke to make room for the rider, reaching out to gently brace her back so she wouldn't brush against the damp wall and stain her clothes.

Wang Ke noticed this small detail. Once the bicycle had passed, she walked on with her head lowered, the corners of her mouth secretly curling into a sweet smile before she hurriedly reined it in.

"This alley is a bit narrow." Fang Changan made small talk.

Wang Ke softly replied, "Mm."

Fang Changan continued walking close beside her. Seeing her cast her gaze downward in bashful modesty, brilliantly peerless, and walking straight ahead, he quietly moved his right hand to the side until it brushed against the girl's delicate, soft hand.

He touched it once.

He touched it a second time.

Then, he gently held it.

Wang Ke had never imagined he would dare to be so bold. Her body stiffened slightly, and she almost forgot how to walk. Not knowing what to do and feeling her mind go almost blank with a sudden fog, she simply pretended nothing had happened and kept walking forward.

After taking a few steps, she looked ahead along the alley, stealing a glance sideways at Fang Changan. She saw him turning his head to look at her, a smiling, beaming expression on his face—part triumph, part joy, and even more filled with a tenderness that wrapped around her the moment their eyes met.

The young girl, who hadn't yet celebrated her fifteenth birthday, felt her heart skip a beat. In an instant, even the tips of her ears felt burning hot. Already shy by nature, she was even more embarrassed under his gaze. She could no longer pretend that the hand he was holding wasn't her own, so she struggled slightly and timidly, wanting to pull her hand out, yet not daring to exert any force, as if using the slightest bit of strength might push Fang Changan away.

Fang Changan said softly, "I know this isn't good, but I couldn't help it. Don't be mad. Once we get out of the alley and onto the street ahead, I'll let go, okay?"

Wang Ke still didn't dare look at him, nodded slightly, and fearing he wouldn't notice, softly murmured, "Mm."

Neither of them spoke another word. Like an elderly couple in their eighties out for a stroll, holding hands, trembling slightly, moving at a snail's pace, they walked slowly onward.