It was still quite early before the schedule meeting time, so after leaving Station TW, Tang Nuan drove toward A High.
Ever since high school graduation, Tang Nuan hadn’t returned to school. Even though it had been seven years, when she walked on that street in front of her school gate, Tang Nuan felt like she was walking back in time. Tang Nuan parked her car by the gate, locked it, and walked into the school grounds.
The school had been given a face-lift; it looked newer and cleaner than when she was a student there. Since it was a weekend, the school was practically vacated other than the group of boys playing basketball on the field. The general structure of the school hadn’t changed. There was a fountain greeting her when she walked through the gate, on her left side was the field, on her right side was a very small garden, and the building in front of her was filled with classrooms.
Tang Nuan didn’t walk into the classrooms but raised her head to look at the third floor. Through the clear window, she felt like she could see her young self and Song Qingchun wearing the same school uniform wiping the windows with cloths.
She was not one to live in memories, and she thought she had already forgotten many things, but standing there, she realized that she remembered many things with greater clarity than she thought.
“Tang Nuan, my dearest Tang Nuan, can you please show me your language homework, pretty please…”
“Tang Nuan, I just bought the newest magazine, do you want to borrow it?”
“Wow, Tang Nuan, is this my birthday present? I love it…”
Tang Nuan raised her hand to wipe away the mist at the corner of her eyes. She walked around the classrooms to head toward the larger field at the back school. The memories of the place all surged back at her.
During Sports Day, for the hundred meter sprint event, she remembered the loudest voice from the crowd was Song Qingchun cheering her on. “Go Tang Nuan! Go Tang Nuan!”
After self-study, they would have dinner at the canteen and the field would be filled with laughter between her and Song Qingchun. “Tang Nuan, look, your breast grew bigger again.”
During physical education class, she would hide under the tree with Song Qingchun, sharing girly secrets, “Tang Nuan, I’m telling you this in confidence. Yesterday, I received another note from Brother Yinan.”
As Tang Nuan walked away from the field, tears continued to fall from her eyes. When she passed the lake, she could see her younger self being accosted by a boy one year senior from her, asking her to go the internet café with him. She refused, but he didn’t leave her be. Just as she fretted with anxiety, Song Qingchun suddenly burst into the scene to pull on her arm. She pulled her along, knocking the boy out of the way, warning him, “Tang Nuan already said she’s not interested in you, don’t you understand English? If you dare hassle her anymore, I tell my brother about it!”
One Christmas before the library building, Song Qingchun in a red dress held two pom-poms in her hands, teaching her how to dance. “Perfect, that’s perfect. Tang Nuan, you’re a natural dancer!”
The canteen on Thursday would be filled with students. Song Qingchun squeezed her way to the forefront, but she only managed to grab one chicken leg. With a pout on her face, she told her, “What should we do? There’s only one… So be it, Tang Nuan, here. It’s that time of the month for you, so you need the extra nutrients.”
Inside the small garden behind the classrooms, she was crying like a child. Song Qingchun ran over in a hurry and squatted down to flash several bank notes before her. “Tang Nuan, don’t cry. It’s just a wallet, right? What is there to cry about? We can share my allowance! Don’t cry.”