There were eight columns in total, and they were in the two columns near the windows. When Luo Qingqing sat there, she created a big gap between their desks, drawing a clear line to remind both of keeping their distance, sort of like the “38th parallel” that grade-schoolers loved to use. This childish action was almost laughable for Chi Tang. Yet another thing she did not care about. She laid her desk down by You Yu’s, not an inch between them.
Finally, it was peace for Chi Tang. The distraction from behind was gone for good. Chi Tang heaved in relief. Her new deskmate, unlike her previous one, did not like chatting with the front row neighbors. She was busy studying very quietly.
Chi Tang knew beforehand that she was serious about her studies, but only after sitting next to You Yu did she discover that this person is the real deal. She only raised her head once when she moved over and went on to complete her notes and practice questions. Chi Tang realized that she could not comprehend what the notebook filled with formulas and solutions by her side.
Sitting there, it seemed as if the classroom was way quieter. She felt her mood brighten up a little.
Outside the window, it had started to rain once more. Raindrops fell onto the leaves of an old ginkgo tree. Temperatures did not lower even with the rain, and it was still uncomfortably sultry. The fans in class spun lazily. Unfortunately, the seat experienced no wind, so Chi Tang rolled up her sleeves and placed her forearms on the cool tabletop.
Old Fang rambled on with his lesson. He had left the two poems from before to lecture together in this one lesson, so the class had to go back and learn it.
He taught them “A Lane in the Rain”; a girl like a bouquet of lilac, who wanders along the solitary lane in the rain.
Perhaps Old Fang was an artsy one in his younger days. He had a thing for this type of work and read it with extra passion. Chi Tang was already bored from his recital, so when he started explaining the symbolism and writer’s crafts and intended impact and so on, she wanted to sleep even more.
All the sleepiness missing from her nights popped up inappropriately.
When the dismissal bell finally rang, the students dozing off came back to life. Chairs and tables dragged along the floor; some went to the toilet, some hydrated while others chatted. The footsteps and chatter echoed in the hallway outside.
She lay on her arms, worn out.
These days she had dreamt every night- strange, chaotic dreams. Although she would forget all of them once the morning comes, this uncomfortably beaten feeling in her dreams seemed to stretch into reality.
Chi Tang could hear, with her eyes closed, the sound of pen scratching paper beside her.
Shh, Shh. That was the rhythmic sound of You Yu writing.
You Yu has set her pen down on the table. Very softly, she heard the rufflings of paper flipping.
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