By the end of December, waiting for someone in the strong northwest winds of Beijing wasn’t an easy task. It wasn’t long before Xiao Xian and Zhang Yiyi shamelessly ducked into the guard room, not for warmth, but because the winds were mixed with sand that painfully lashed their faces. They waited quite a while until the sky had completely darkened when Zeng Xuerou finally hurried over.
"The car is parked in the residential complex across the street. Student council work has been hectic, and Wang Ke’s reliability has been declining," said Zeng Xuerou, not one to complain, but today she couldn’t help herself. As it neared the end of the term, the school’s evaluations and select committee matters were mostly handed to the student council to sort out. Today was the final review day, and most of the work assigned to Wang Ke remained unfinished.
When the pair was sitting in the student council activity room organizing materials, Wang Ke even fell asleep.
"It’s so cold and right after training, and she still managed to fall asleep, just like me during math class," Zhang Yiyi complained. Math was her biggest headache; she would start fighting sleep as soon as she saw the math teacher’s face.
"I also find it strange. She wasn’t before. Lately, she’s been dozing off during several meetings," mentioned Zeng Xuerou. When she asked Wang Ke, she was told it was because the finals were close, and the revision was exhausting.
Zeng Xuerou’s car parked in the residential area was also covered in a layer of sand. It looked grimy. Just as the car started moving, someone darted out from the side of the road and blocked the way.
"President, and the cute juniors of the basketball team," said Qu Yang, who had just finished training. The wind was so strong that he couldn’t be bothered to cycle home and was lingering around the school gate intending to catch a taxi when he spotted Xiao Xian and the others walking together with the student council president. Such a combination was more eye-catching than discovering an "early romance." Zeng Xuerou was notoriously called the "Iceberg President" on campus, seldom mingling with anyone outside the student council.
Curious, he followed them for a bit, which led him to a surprising find.
"Whoa, I would have never guessed that a goody-two-shoes like you, Zeng Xuerou, would dare to drive illegally. Not even eighteen yet, and driving without a license; that’s breaking the law. How about this, tell me where you’re going, and give me a lift on the way," Qu Yang leaned on the car window, croaking cheekily like a frog.
Zhang Yiyi and Xiao Xian whispered to each other: "To think he’s the prince of the school, how can he be such a gossip."
"Stop making such a fuss, just get in," Zeng Xuerou said, expression stern, as she opened the passenger door. Qu Yang, elated with his trick working, tossed his backpack onto the driver’s seat. As he was about to step into the car, his foot hit the air. The private red car drove off into the murky night, disappearing instantly, leaving behind Zeng Xuerou’s sarcastic last words: "I forgot, I’m a minor. Even if I commit a crime, it’s as if I haven’t."
Qu Yang swore and cursed in the strong northwest winds until he was almost on fire. Then, remembering his wallet and car keys were all in his backpack, he embarrassingly slinked back to the guard room to call home for help.
"Ahaha, Xiao Rou, you’re so wickedly cunning, Qu Yang was totally dumbfounded. That expression of his, I should’ve snapped a photo," Zhang Yiyi laughed until tears streamed down her face as she hugged Xiao Xian in the backseat.
Xiao Rou? Zeng Xuerou’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel, her eyes flickering slightly.
After Zhang Yiyi’s laughter subsided, she flopped onto the front seat and picked up Qu Yang’s backpack.
"Yiyi, it’s not really nice to rifle through someone else’s backpack," Xiao Xian said, clearly understanding what Zhang Yiyi was up to.
"But this is Qu Yang’s backpack; I heard he’s so narcissistic, he carries around letters from female classmates who write him love notes. You forgot, Wang Ke! Found it, and there really is one," Zhang Yiyi pulled out an envelope with a huge pink peach heart at the flap, making everyone’s skin crawl under their thick winter clothes.
"Hmm, I’m going to read it out loud. Hey, don’t look at me with those eyes. If I don’t read it, then it’s fine. Just having a look won’t hurt. I won’t tell anyone," Zhang Yiyi said after coming across phrases like "dear," "you are my only one," and "your smile is brighter than the sun in August," before dry-heaving a few times.
"There’s a crossroad ahead, quiet down," Zeng Xuerou appeared to be prepared, pulling out a face mask and a pair of glasses, placing them on her nose bridge, and slowly merged with the traffic toward the crossroad.
"Xiao Xian, Xiao Rou, look quickly," Zhang Yiyi suddenly exclaimed, her voice alerting a traffic police officer at the crossroad who glanced over and started walking toward them.