"So," Zhang Shutong thought for a moment, "I seem to get it."
"You had better really get it," Lu Qinglian said in a helpless tone.
"But it's already bought. Want to make an exception just this once?"
"I've already made exceptions several times. Return it or exchange it." Lu Qinglian glanced at his backpack. "Thank you for your kindness, but I have my own insistences too."
Maybe a similar conversation had taken place on the Weaver Girl line as well.
Otherwise, that paper box wouldn't have lain quietly on the shelf for so many years.
Zhang Shutong advised:
"Understanding is one thing, but there's nothing wrong with getting used to others' kindness, right?"
"I am a temple priestess."
They walked out of the teaching building. Under the night sky, before his eyes was Lu Qinglian's slender back.
A waterfall of dark hair flew in the wind, complementing that brief sentence, truly making it look incredibly cool.
Yet Zhang Shutong thought to himself, what does this have to do with you being a temple priestess? Even if giving a gift to a human host, he wouldn't say 'I am Ultraman,' even if every Ultraman would ultimately fly back to the M78 Nebula in solitude.
Fine, fine, he thought. Lu Qinglian was ultimately just a temple priestess, not a Giant of Light. She had a pair of long legs that made countless peers envious, yet she was no giant. What was more, it was evening right now, and she was still standing under the night sky, within the shadow of the teaching building.
"So I cannot get used to it."
When saying this sentence, Lu Qinglian's voice didn't have much rise or fall, merely stating a matter as commonplace as drinking water.
"A bit lacking in human touch."
"I think, on the contrary, that I've indulged you quite a lot already."
Although this sentence carried a hint of a smile, it truly gave off a feeling of taking advantage of someone. Zhang Shutong had known long ago that she was a black-bellied woman, so he treated it as if he hadn't heard anything.
The two crossed the quiet campus.
Their homes were in the same direction, allowing them to walk a stretch of the road together. Gratifyingly, Lu Qinglian's foot injury had finally healed, so there was no need to ride a bike to send her home anymore.
Zhang Shutong hadn't ridden a bike recently either; he had pretty much gotten used to running to and from school, greeting people while panting every morning, even if he would be disliked for smelling like sweat.
Fortunately, the sky was late, and there was no need for their footsteps to be too hurried.
They walked slowly on the way home.
Occasionally, a few groups of students could be seen, male and female. When turning past an alley, a couple was hiding inside kissing passionately. Zhang Shutong withdrew his gaze:
"Tomorrow is Christmas already. Time flies."
"It does fly." Lu Qinglian cast a glance as well. "Speaking like this, are you preparing to confess to someone?"
"Uh..."
He looked at Lu Qinglian in surprise. Even though he knew she was never of a puritanical character, but rather full of wicked humor, it still came as a shock:
"How could that be possible?"
"You've been emphasizing since very early on that Christmas is coming soon. As far as I know, many students celebrate Christmas like Valentine's Day."
"That's the Japanese way of celebrating it," Zhang Shutong corrected. "Our family is relatively traditional; we celebrate it as a reunion holiday."
"That's for the best." Lu Qinglian nodded. "A sentence you said just now made me a bit concerned. What do you mean by 'the gift' was bought long ago?"
"This..." Zhang Shutong didn't know how to put it either.
"Don't let the next sentence be: I had another dream."
"I told you I didn't have a dream."
"Oh, suit yourself."
"Actually, I really did have one recently," a whim struck Zhang Shutong as he changed his tune. "In the dream, you accepted the Christmas gift."
"Daydreaming," she said flatly. "Classmate Zhang Shutong, you..."
"Had better dream less about me?"
Lu Qinglian stood still, expressionless:
"Now I really begin to suspect your motives aren't that pure."
"Don't take it seriously," Zhang Shutong had quite a feeling of digging a pit for himself. "Though how are you so sure it's a lie?"
"After staying long enough with someone who likes to lie, one will always gain some wisdom. What do you think?"
"Where is that person?" Zhang Shutong looked left and right.
Lu Qinglian stepped forward.
He followed up in a few strides. They were an odd combination, but people on the street under the night sky had their own affairs; no one paid attention to them. On this day, even an apple was very busy—Zhang Shutong had already seen small carts selling Christmas Eve apples no fewer than five times.
Soon, the two walked to an open area. The lights brightened, and up ahead was noisy and crowded, with people squeezed against people, blocking the entire road.
"Probably some event. Let's take a detour." Zhang Shutong took a few glances.
They walked toward the direction of the commercial street.
Many shops were playing Christmas tunes, with a small Christmas tree placed at the entrance and snowflake-shaped paper cutouts stuck on the glass display cabinets. The festive atmosphere was often awakened by these places that were never prominent.
"Tomorrow at noon, Ruoping called you to eat. Are you going?"
"Actually, I've never quite understood why so many people get excited about Christmas."
"If you ask how grand it is, it's really not, but people need to find a reason first to convince themselves to do something, even if it's going wild once."
"Is that so." Lu Qinglian thought for a bit. "Okay."
"Not going, then that's fine... Okay?" Zhang Shutong was entrusted by someone, originally fully prepared to hear a negative answer from her mouth, yet who knew Lu Qinglian agreed this easily.
"Wait a second, why is Ruoping's popularity so good?" Zhang Shutong wondered. "The moment I said she called, you agreed?"
"It's just a meal." She said with a half-smile, "Or do you hope I treat you a bit specially?"
Zhang Shutong's face went dark:
"I mean you just said at school dismissal, about reliance and what not."
"Classmate Zhang Shutong, why do you feel that eating a meal is reliance?" Lu Qinglian said with a headache. "I occasionally wonder, in your eyes, should I say 'no' to everything?"
Isn't that the case?
Zhang Shutong grumbled in his heart.
Forget it, it was good as long as she agreed. That way, his mission could be considered accomplished.
Zhang Shutong pulled out his phone and replied "handled" to Ruoping. She had specifically requested him before school dismissal. He didn't quite understand either—for this kind of thing, asking Lu Qinglian directly in one sentence would do, so why insisted on going in a circle? The fact right before his eyes proved that he, as a middleman, indeed didn't play much of a role.
So Zhang Shutong added:
"She's going out of respect for you. Call her yourself next time."
While replying to the message, they had already walked to the end of the commercial street.
The surrounding lights gradually dimmed, and the buildings on both sides no longer obstructed their vision. This commercial street originally wasn't far from the mall, so looking from a distance, one could see the massive Christmas tree in front of the mall's doors.
"Want to go take a look?" Zhang Shutong asked. He remembered Lu Qinglian saying back then that the Christmas tree was very pretty.
It indeed was very pretty. The star at the top of the tree glowed with a dazzling light. A few days ago, he and Lu Qinglian had observed that Christmas tree up close on the mall's rooftop. Back then, it was already a scene of prosperity, and now that all the light strips wrapped around the tree were lit, it was practically like a lighthouse, the most eye-catching landmark on the entire island.
Based on past experience, if missed tonight, it would be hard to get close tomorrow, because some event frames would be set up around the Christmas tree.
And come Wednesday, the day after tomorrow, this lively scene would dissolve overnight like accumulated snow.
"No." Who knew this time Lu Qinglian refused again.
"Who was the one who said just now that one shouldn't say no to everything?" Zhang Shutong found himself increasingly unable to see through her mind.
"I've already seen it." Lu Qinglian withdrew her gaze, saying calmly, "Things already seen don't need to be seen a second time."
"Why?" Zhang Shutong asked in confusion. "Shouldn't you feel it's very pretty, so you'd want to go again?"
"Once there is a second time, there will be a third time; once there is a third time, there will be countless times."
Multicolored light flickered in her eyes. Lu Qinglian seemed to never linger on anything.
"You really are quite contradictory," Zhang Shutong said helplessly. "Then why did you agree so readily to go eat tomorrow?"
Maybe it could only be summarized as Ruoping being loved by everyone, to the extent that even a person with a cold personality like Classmate Lu loved her.
Zhang Shutong thought half-jokingly that if the one inviting her right now were Ruoping, maybe she would nod and agree.
Just then, his phone happened to chime. Probably Ruoping replying to the message. Zhang Shutong shook his phone with pretended seriousness:
"I misremembered just now. Ruoping asked you if you wanted to go by the Christmas tree to see..."
"Because it's the first time," Lu Qinglian interrupted, her voice very light. "Also, I am talking to you seriously. Don't interject."
Zhang Shutong, however, failed to understand her meaning once again:
"First time?"
"Eating a meal is the first time." She paused. "Yet at the same time it's also the last time. Is it very contradictory?"
Zhang Shutong was stunned, realizing that these words were not wrong.
It indeed was the last time. They were already in ninth grade and would graduate next year. Where they would spend next year's Christmas and with whom remained an unknown.
What could be confirmed, however, was that gathering together with a few best friends to have a lively lunch at a restaurant on the island was something that would never happen again.
This was the last Christmas they would spend on the island. To Zhang Shutong and his friends, similar Christmases had already been spent three times, so no one would calculate which time this was, much less would anyone think about whether this was the last time.
Yet there would always be someone who cared.
Just like picking a flower, someone counted the petals one by one—not because of how much she liked it, but simply because there were very few flowers in her world.
"The road ahead is still very long, you..."
"I know. So to me, things not exceeding three is a bit much as well. Long road or short road, it's enough just to see it."
"..."
Zhang Shutong really wanted to say that her words sounded very philosophical, but who would calculate the remaining days and the remaining road, directly and bluntly categorizing every single matter in life into the first time and the last time? Being naturally dorky was indeed being naturally dorky, yet this was Lu Qinglian's style—just like no one would go search online for "what day is Christmas," and then hold the answer from Baidu Baike wondering why anyone would get excited.
By the time Zhang Shutong came back to his senses, Lu Qinglian had already walked far ahead.
Silent the entire way.
Although their homes were in the same direction, they were ultimately not together, even not close. The remaining road required her to walk by herself.
There was a streetlamp at the entrance of the residential area. The two stopped their footsteps under the streetlamp.
She nodded casually as a farewell.
Zhang Shutong waved his hand too.
"Classmate Zhang Shutong, stopping speech just because of a Christmas tree." She said nonchalantly, "You really are a bit childish."
"Think whatever you want. I'm very sad that the gift wasn't given out."
"Better not cry out loud when sleeping." She used a perfunctory tone for coaxing a little boy.
"Actually, that gift was bought by my mom," Zhang Shutong said suddenly.
Lu Qinglian, however, was not surprised. Instead, she had an attitude of having expected it long ago:
"Still making excuses even now. I shouldn't have believed you when you said you got it."
"Really don't want it?" Zhang Shutong confirmed once more.
"Really don't want it." Lu Qinglian knitted her brows slightly.
Hearing this, Zhang Shutong put down his backpack. Under the dim yellow streetlamp, he bent his body down and unzipped the backpack.
Lu Qinglian was helpless against his actions:
"You really are..."
"Hold this."
The backpack was still filled to the brim by that rectangular box, yet Zhang Shutong straightened his body and handed an apple wrapped in a gift box before her:
"This one was bought by me personally. Doesn't count as a gift."
The streetlamp cast his extended arm into a shadow, connecting the shadows of the two on the ground.
"Bought long ago again?" Lu Qinglian lowered her eyelids, looking at that apple. "Or is this a backup plan you prepared?"
"No. Earlier on the commercial street, who told you to walk too fast? Besides, I originally wanted to treat it as a Christmas gift, but Ruoping said apples don't count, so I gave up later."
Zhang Shutong added:
"Just an apple, shouldn't count as a gift. I suppose on past Christmas Eves you haven't accepted anyone else's Christmas Eve apple either. Barely counts as a first time. Unless another condition pops up, even harsher requirements should be satisfied now."
Zhang Shutong shrugged, mimicking her words:
"Classmate Lu Qinglian, 'I'm not so melodramatic as to be like this.'"
Zhang Shutong could give this improvised line full marks; it truly was cool.
Five seconds later, feeling the cold wind blowing across his face, he said helplessly:
"Please, give some face for the sake of our cooperation. My arm is aching from holding it up."
"What if I keep not taking it?" A faint smile hung on the corner of Lu Qinglian's lips.
Before Zhang Shutong could speak, Lu Qinglian lightly lifted the apple out of his hand.
"Classmate Zhang Shutong, 'I'm not thick-skinned to this extent either.'"
She mimicked with full flavor as well.
"You really are quite narrow-minded."
"Ran into a sticky male student."
Zhang Shutong indeed couldn't out-talk her either. He slung his backpack on:
"Going now. Happy Christmas Eve."
"Mm, Happy Christmas Eve," Lu Qinglian said softly.
The streetlamp left her figure behind in place.
...
On Tuesday morning, Zhang Shutong was awakened by a burst of cheerful music.
"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way..."
He thought to himself, damn jingle bells, can't it let him sleep a bit more? But this music played on loop, demonic sounds pouring into his ears for a time. Zhang Shutong could endure it no longer; sitting up with a cold face, he covered his ears in resistance. But this song was played by his mom, so Tongtong dared to be angry yet didn't dare to speak out.
He let out a sigh and went to wash up in his pajamas. Just as he squeezed out a segment of toothpaste, the woman jumped out from behind him, slipping a Santa hat over his head.
"Ta-da! Merry Christmas!"
Mom was full of vitality.
"Merry Christmas," Zhang Shutong said while rinsing his mouth.
Mom didn't give him time to clear his head, pressing further on the side: "How are your gifts prepared?"
Zhang Shutong nodded on the surface, thinking in his heart that Mother's news was too outdated—out of six gifts, four were revealed as early as last weekend, one couldn't be given out no matter what, and one was preparing to be given today.
Mom said:
"Do your best."
"Mm, mm, do my best."
Zhang Shutong nodded perfunctorily.
"I'm not coming back tonight."
"Oh, this busy?"
"No, going off-island with your dad for Christmas. Coming back on the first boat tomorrow morning. Are you going?"
Zhang Shutong stopped his toothbrushing hand.
"...Not going."
Hey, hey, can you not be this romantic? He protested silently in his heart:
"Mom, a bit cruel."
"I knew you wouldn't go. Anyway, you're spending it with those few friends. It's not that your dad and I aren't taking you, but that you aren't taking us, so the two of us have no choice but to seek another destination."
Speaking as if she were the victim:
"Alright, alright, I'll leave a bit early today. Mwah~"
Mom patted the pom-pom on his head.
Zhang Shutong smiled helplessly:
"Have fun."
"Have fun."
Mom waved her hand.
Zhang Shutong still ran to school.
Yesterday his backpack held a shoebox; today it held a necklace.
Zhang Shutong recalled Xu Zhiruo's words—she said the eldest young lady was a person who liked surprises. Then he'd prepare a big surprise for her.