On the morning when school officially started, even until six o’clock, when her mother had fully woken up, Hua Jie hadn’t fallen back asleep. She had stayed curled up next to her mother, her mind racing with wild thoughts.
She often thought, if only I could have done that back then. Now that she truly had such an opportunity, she realized there were so many things she wanted to change.
Her mother, dressed in her top, saw Hua Jie still snuggled in her quilt and pulled her up by the arm.
“Go to your room and get dressed. It’s your first day in high school. Don’t give your teachers the impression that you love to be late.”
Only then did Hua Jie scramble out of bed, pecked her mother on the cheek, and clattered back to her own room.
Her mother had been worried that her daughter might continue to be sullen as she had been during the summer holidays, but seeing her energetic spirit, she finally felt relieved.
From now on, her daughter would no longer be a middle school student, but a high school student, about to become a grown girl.
Hua Jie’s mother smoothed her hair, dressed, and while turning around, tucked in her husband’s quilt before getting off the bed to wash and brush her teeth.
…
The cold air made Hua Jie especially alert. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she looked at herself—her large eyes, praised by many since she was a child, were clear and spirited with distinct whites and blacks.
Her thick eyelashes, top and bottom, seemed like they were lined with eyeliner, outlining the contours of her eyes clearly, with a slight uplift at the corners. Coupled with perfect tear troughs, when she smiled, her eyes curled beautifully, and her lashes appeared even more curled—it was truly beautiful.
Because of her low blood sugar and blood pressure, her lips were pale. She bit her lips to turn them red, and the girl in the mirror instantly transformed into a charming little beauty with red lips and white teeth.
She shamelessly pecked a kiss on her reflection in the mirror.
With a beaming smile, Hua Jie indulged in a wide grin and squinted eyes.
It was already quite cold in the small northern town this September, and wearing just a camisole, she got goosebumps all over. She hurriedly rubbed her arms while quickly running back to her small room, hastily putting on clothes.
Now, most of her classmates lived in apartments, but her family had only just upgraded from renting to buying—a single-story house with a small courtyard on the north hill of Jinsong City, made possible by her parents’ total monthly earnings of less than two thousand yuan. They scrimped and saved, and finally spent twenty-three thousand yuan this year.
School started with morning self-study at 7:10. From her house to the school, she had to walk down over a thousand steps, then pass several streets… altogether, it would take more than 45 minutes.
She had to leave home by 6:20.
During breakfast, she looked around her humble but cozy home. In her previous life, she hadn’t managed to make a mark. This life, she wondered if she could change her own life and let her parents enjoy their blessings earlier.
After dinner, Hua Jie slid one arm into her school uniform sleeve while walking outside. Her pet dog, Huan Huan, wagged its tail and circled around her, nearly causing her to trip.
Her mother picked up Huan Huan by the nape of the neck and threw it inside the house, then picked up Hua Jie’s backpack to see her off.
“Come have lunch at Mom’s office.”
“Did you pack all your books?”
“Did you leave anything behind?”
Her mother’s repeated reminders, which sounded nagging to the younger Hua Jie, now felt touching.
Hua Jie instinctively reached for her phone, then remembered it was the year 2000, and she didn’t have one. She rolled up her sleeve to check her watch.
Pressed for time, she looped her arm through her mother’s and hurried out the door with a cheerful stride.
As she pushed open the courtyard door, her mother was just about to put the backpack on her when they saw the neighbor, Aunt Bian, also coming out.
“Is Little Hua going to school too?” Aunt Bian, plump and jovial, was the first to speak.
“Good morning, Aunt Bian,” Hua Jie politely replied.
“Sister-in-law is up early too.” Hua’s mother smoothed her daughter’s short hair and greeted the neighbor.
“Bian Hong also goes to school at this hour. Have to wake up early to make him breakfast,” Aunt Bian explained.
Then, behind Aunt Bian, the courtyard door opened again, and a tall, skinny teenager came out, pushing his bike and slinging his backpack over one shoulder, his expression cold as he met the gaze of the three women.
The taciturn boy hesitated before speaking:
“Aunt Hua.”
“Mhm.” Hua’s mother responded warmly, smiling affectionately.
Hua Jie remembered that on this alley lined with six small courtyards, the other five houses all had boys, ranging from one to six years older than her, totaling six neighbor boys—with the Bian family having two sons taking up two of those spots.
The boys on the street all did well in school, while Hua Jie, the only girl, lagged behind in her grades.
Bian Hong, closest in age to her, only a few months older, attended the same school as her senior.
The sunlight streamed through the alley, casting warm golden outlines around the boy.
Bian Hong smoothed his tousled hair, mounted his bike, and glanced back at his mom as if to say goodbye, ready to leave without further words.
Teenagers of this age, odd and awkward, were at the most difficult stage of adolescence.
“Just right, your little sister Hua Jie goes to the same school. Give her a ride,” Aunt Bian suddenly said enthusiastically, reaching out to grab her son’s backpack and waving Hua Jie over.
Hua’s mother was too embarrassed to refuse, but Aunt Bian insisted it was fine, even adding that boys have plenty of energy, so having Hua Jie with him wouldn’t be much of a burden.
Hua Jie looked towards Bian Hong, only to see the teenager unable to leave because his backpack was being pulled, his face slightly awkward.
His slender, phoenix-shaped eyes were a bit puffy from just waking up, yet they couldn’t hide his handsome features—his sharp eyebrows and high nose—complemented by his bold and youthful demeanor, which remained appealing even when he appeared lazy and impatient.
This was a charm unique to young boys.
The delicious essence of youth~
Hua Jie vaguely remembered a similar scene from her past life, but back then, she was a true teenage girl, naive and shy, her heart racing like a little deer at even a glance from the opposite sex.
In her memory, she had refused, rooted to the spot, absolutely unwilling to sit on the back seat of Bian Hong’s bike.
But now, standing here, she was inhabited by the soul of someone in her twenties, who particularly loved practicality.
Thinking that refusing would not only waste Aunt Bian’s sincere kindness but also mean carrying a heavy backpack and walking nearly an hour to school…
Without another word, Hua Jie walked past Bian Hong and, under his somewhat surprised gaze, boldly took a seat on the back of his bike.
Cheerfully.
Come on, little engine, kick off and dash~
…
Hua Jie was probably the first girl to sit on the back of the young man’s precious bike, a fact that must have been quite a shock to him.
He certainly hadn’t expected her to be so familiar.
“Thank you, Aunt Bian.” Once seated, Hua Jie didn’t forget to turn around and softly thank her, her eyebrows and eyes curving into a smile that revealed a dimple on one side, sweetness to the max.
Only then did Aunt Bian let go of her son’s backpack, switching to patting Hua Jie on the shoulder.
Bian Hong pedaled backwards for a moment, then pushed off the ground with his foot, and the bicycle moved steadily forward.
Hua Jie leaned back slightly and hurriedly reached out to grab the hem of his school uniform, pulling it so tight that the collar constricted around his neck, nearly causing him to pass out.
Bian Hong unzipped his jacket with one hand as the bike wobbled.
Hua Jie quickly let go, switching to gently holding onto the pocket on the side of his waist.
The young man remained silent throughout, his ears reddening.
Hua Jie didn’t point it out.
She leisurely sat on the back seat of her neighbor brother’s bike in the warm morning sun, gently swinging her legs, while waving back at her mother.
From a distance, Aunt Bian and Hua’s mother stood side by side, laughing:
“Daughters are better. That foolish son of mine left without saying a word, didn’t even look back. Look how affectionate a daughter is.”
“I actually envy you, sister-in-law. Everyone wants a son.” Hua’s mother sighed, but her eyes were filled with happiness as she watched her daughter.
Watching Hua Jie on the back seat of the bicycle, already so far away her face was unclear, she still vigorously waved goodbye to them, like a lively little hamster.
Aunt Bian watched with a smile, thinking to herself that perhaps it was a bit too enthusiastic.
…
…
How impoverished were her days in her past life when she stayed at home painting daily to make ends meet?
Hua Jie dared not even recall.
Enjoying the morning light and breeze, breathing in the dry, fresh air of a small northern town in autumn, she even began to find it incomprehensible why she had lived like a large rat in her previous life.
Was it just to scrape by?
Or was it because she was numbed day after day in the mundane descent, like flesh preserved in formalin, forgetting to struggle?
Casting those embarrassing memories behind, she tilted her face up like a sunflower, welcoming more light.
Merely sitting on the back of a bicycle going through crowds to school, she appeared as if she were sailing through storms, ready to conquer the entire Atlantic.
Many adults riding bicycles to work saw her enchanted demeanor and couldn’t help but yearn: Ah, the carefree days of youth, how beautiful they are.
Hua Jie thought the same.
As Bian Hong sped down a steep hill on his bicycle, Hua Jie almost screamed, but her last bit of rationality reminded her to try to act normal, and she held it back.
Approaching the school, she casually sat on the back seat of her neighbor brother’s bike, kicking her legs, her mood as buoyant as a freshly walked Husky.
After all, during the thirty-minute journey, she hadn’t exerted any effort.
The only discomfort was a bit of soreness in her buttocks.
She planned to ask her mother to make a cushion for her buttocks and tie it to Bian Hong’s back seat, which would be perfect.
As they rode along, more and more students carrying backpacks appeared on the road. In 2000, Jinsong City did not have the custom of parents driving their children to school.
Whether elementary or middle school students, they all carried their backpacks and walked to and from school with classmates.
Those living far away rode bicycles, but few, like Bian Hong, carried a young girl.
Even those who did carry someone usually carried someone of the same gender.
At this age, kids are sensitive and shy, curious yet rejecting of the opposite sex. Actions like a boy giving a girl a ride to school are practically tantamount to them dating.
Such blatant behavior inevitably attracts attention.
Passing students cast glances at Hua Jie and Bian Hong, and seeing Bian Hong’s tall, handsome figure alongside Hua Jie’s pretty and charming appearance, they couldn’t help but whisper ambiguously and laugh together.
Bian Hong was somewhat famous among his peers—good at studies, handsome, and a decent basketball player.
Many girls from his class and even other classes liked him; some stole glances during lessons, while others watched him play basketball after class.
Seeing Bian Hong giving a ride to an unfamiliar girl on the street, they couldn’t resist whispering to each other, their voices tinged with envy:
“Who is that?”
“Don’t know, she’s not in uniform, must be a freshman.”
“Is that puppy love?”
“That’s Bian Hong!”
“The shyest sophomore! The one who blushes for half an hour just from making eye contact with a girl!”
“And now he’s actually carrying a young girl!”
“You like Bian Hong, don’t you?” A female sophomore also spotted Bian Hong and Hua Jie.
“I do not, I didn’t, stop making things up.”
“You even gave him a gift before the holiday.”
“…” The girl couldn’t refute, her face tense with embarrassment. But no matter how much she denied it, the look in her eyes when she saw the girl on the back of Bian Hong’s bike couldn’t hide her confusion and sourness.
The girls’ conversations, tinged with envy or jealousy, drifted into Hua Jie’s ears with the autumn breeze.
In the past, she would have been so embarrassed that she’d jump right off the bike and avoid talking to Bian Hong for a while. But now, she sat steadily on the bike, smiling softly and with complete ease.
Looking up, she saw Bian Hong’s short hair fluttering, his school uniform collar coolly upturned, and his jawline more defined under his ear—a sign of growing up, his face lean and becoming rugged, yet still slender.
His eyes and expression were cool and slightly green, awkward and indifferent about how to interact with the world.
He was quite good-looking, filled with youthful vigor, no wonder he attracted secret crushes from female classmates.
The girls must surely be envious.
She smiled proudly, realizing she had missed such a moment of glory in her previous life!
If she had known how mundane and dull her future life would be, she would never have missed this rare opportunity to show off.
The breeze brushed her short hair; she reached up to tuck it behind her ear, and as she turned her head, she saw a male classmate in a school uniform riding his bicycle up to her, waving to Bian Hong.
“Hey.” Bian Hong glanced at his classmate. His grip on the handlebars was steady, and even though he was distracted, the bike didn’t wobble at all.
“Is that your sister?” The boy asked, looking at Hua Jie. He tried to seem nonchalant, but his eyes were bright as he took a keen interest in the young girl.
“…Yeah.” Bian Hong looked ahead, responding indifferently, but his ears quietly turned red.
“Hello there, little sister~” The boy grinned, looking into Hua Jie’s eyes as he greeted her cheerfully.
“Hello, big brother~” Hua Jie didn’t flinch or shy away, responding sweetly and confidently.
The boy was momentarily stunned, perhaps overwhelmed by her sweetness or her forthright demeanor, which was as bold as any boy’s. His handlebars wobbled, nearly causing him to topple over, but he quickly steadied himself by planting a foot on the ground. In that brief delay, Bian Hong had already moved ahead, leaving him behind.
Hua Jie laughed at the sight.
The boy behind, embarrassed, couldn’t help but chuckle as well.
When they reached the school gates, everyone on bicycles had to dismount and walk. Bian Hong slowed down to let Hua Jie jump off first before he dismounted and pushed his bike forward.
Though he spoke little, his attention to detail was evident.
“Bian Hong, are you tired?” Hua Jie asked as she walked beside him, tilting her head to look at him.
If faced with such sweet concern from a girl, if anyone could still claim they were ‘tired’… well, they must be quite extraordinary.
Clearly, Bian Hong was not that extraordinary; his face visibly reddened, and he awkwardly left behind a ‘not tired’ before striding towards the bike shed with his backpack.
Such a simple and kind young man, truly wonderful.
“Thank you, Bian Hong~” she said.
“Mhm.” Bian Hong didn’t turn back, just raised his right arm and swung it back in acknowledgment.
He was acting like a cool comic book young man, but thankfully, adolescent boys still have the right to be pretentious.
Hua Jie took a deep breath, happily swinging her arms as she walked to the classroom.
Isn’t youth wonderful? Isn’t learning fun?
Only puppies are still learning to paint, hmph!