Chapter 15: Absolutely Stunning

Their acquaintance actually dated back to the very beginning of seventh grade, and even after all these decades, he could still vividly recall the scene.

It was September 1st, a clear and sunny day.

Li Heng was carrying a pile of new textbooks, lining up to register for Class 125. The once noisy classroom suddenly fell into complete silence. The homeroom teacher and all the students’ gazes were fixed on the newcomer, Xiao Han, standing by the door.

He happened to be nearby and was deeply impressed, as if this outrageously beautiful girl had just stepped out of a radiant, colorful cloud.

At just one glance, like the other boys in the class, his heart was instantly illuminated, as if he had entered a fairy tale.

His blood suddenly surged, his mouth dried up, and inexplicably, a wave of nervousness swept over him.

Damn, she was stunning!

How could such a beautiful person exist in this small town?

That was everyone’s initial, instinctive reaction.

Xiao Han’s presence overshadowed the entire Class 125, rendering the rest dull and dim by comparison.

He still remembered clearly how the boys and girls in the class gradually mimicked her habit of propping her chin on her right hand during lessons, growing their nails, and even imitating her tone of voice.

Unfortunately, the goodwill Li Heng had slowly built up faded after the incident of fighting over a chair, causing their relationship to stagnate for a long time—neither close nor distant, hovering somewhere between stranger and classmate.

Xiao Han and Chen Zijing were both close friends of Yang Yingwen, and the three girls often ate together and strolled around, bonded by Yang Yingwen.

However, the relationship between Xiao Han and Chen Zijing was unusually complicated—there was academic rivalry as well as some private disputes. The phrase “both rivals and friends” best described their dynamic.

In the first semester of ninth grade, Li Heng and Xiao Han had briefly been deskmates for about half a month. When Chen Zijing from another class found out, she immediately demanded they be separated.

Already frequently at odds, Xiao Han tilted her chin arrogantly and deliberately provoked her: “What’s wrong? So insecure you’re afraid your boyfriend will fall for someone else?”

Chen Zijing didn’t bother to hide her feelings at all: “Not afraid, but better to keep an eye on you.”

Xiao Han was no pushover; she snorted and retorted coldly, “Always worried about this and that. You might as well just clip him to your waistband and carry him around every day. You’re the only one who treats him like a treasure. Look around—who else cares?”

Listening to their quarrels was enough to give anyone a headache. Eventually, Li Heng took the initiative to ask the homeroom teacher to change his seat.

Looking back now, those words and actions seemed so immature, yet that was exactly how youthful innocence passed by.

That was probably the most memorable period of his middle school years—romantic and fresh like a rose just blooming, filling the garden with intoxicating fragrance.

Many beautiful things seem like mere warm-ups to life’s grander events, but in reality, they are the ultimate finale. The middle school Xiao Han, the high school Song Yu—when he grew old and reminisced about his first half of life, he would sigh at how he had already met the two most dazzling women of his life in his youth.

He truly understood why Chen Zijing was wary of Xiao Han.

With a sweet voice, a healing smile, and the pure face of a first love, this girl was simply irresistible if she set her sights on anyone.

As many boys would say: her charm was unstoppable, even by the forces of fate.

But Xiao Han was a dual-natured person, her character ever-changing, sometimes sweet, sometimes sharp.

When she got angry, it was a mix of hatred and finality. Li Heng had suffered plenty from this side of her and was inherently reluctant to provoke her.

Just now, after greeting each other out of habit, their eyes met briefly in the air before tactfully looking away, as if they weren’t very familiar with one another.

Feeling the oddity, Wei Shiman covertly glanced at her daughter, then stared Li Heng up and down, tinged with a trace of disregard.

Seeing this, Li Heng was not surprised in the least.

They say clothes make the man, and his patched, worn-out rural outfit—complete with a bamboo hat, raincoat, and water-stained pants—was perfectly normal for a poor countryside boy of three years. But to the well-off Wei Shiman, it simply wasn’t presentable.

Especially with his straw hat, his raincoat stained with dirty water, and his Liberation shoes caked in yellow mud, looking like a tattered sack draped over him—if she could think highly of him, that would be a miracle.

The Xiao family didn’t farm; they usually bought rice to live on. Experienced Wei Shiman could immediately judge the quality of rice, so no matter how much Tian Run’e praised it, she didn’t linger and soon left.

Li Heng said nothing, but once the mother and daughter were gone, he comforted his own mother:

“Mom, if it doesn’t sell, never mind. Just cook it for me at home. I’m still growing and really craving plain white rice.”

Hearing her son’s plea for white rice, Tian Run’e didn’t scold him but sighed:

“Manzi, school’s about to start soon, and you and your second sister still don’t have enough tuition.”

In the past, Li Heng was carefree and never worried about tuition. To avoid chores, he would either stay in his room reading or carry a bucket to the river to catch fish and shrimp. Every school season, Tian Run’e would manage to scrape together the money for him.

He asked with concern, “How much is still needed?”

Tian Run’e said, “About thirty yuan.”

Li Heng looked down at the four bags of rice and instantly understood—his mother was calculating money based on selling the rice today.

Unfortunately, it seemed she hadn’t checked the almanac before going out; half the afternoon had passed, yet nothing was happening.

…

Elsewhere.

About twenty meters away, Xiao Han asked her mother, “Mom, is the rice really that bad? I think it looks pretty good.”

Wei Shiman replied, “It’s not bad, but there’s better quality rice available on the market today.”

Her husband was a picky eater, always choosing the best rice and vegetables.

After a few steps, Wei Shiman suddenly realized and turned to her daughter, asking, “Do you know him? Are you classmates?”

“Yeah.”

Xiao Han nodded, “We were in the same class for three years in middle school and went to the same high school.”

Wei Shiman was surprised, “He even went to high school?”

Xiao Han pursed her lips, “Mom, do you think they dress poorly and can’t afford high school?”

Wei Shiman had indeed thought so but never voiced it, instead asking curiously:

“To get into Shao City No. 1 High School, his grades must be quite good. Why haven’t you ever mentioned this person before?”

Xiao Han slightly curled her lips, “We’re not that close. Why would I talk about him?”

Wei Shiman, having not heard the name clearly earlier, glanced at her daughter and asked:

“There were only six students from your middle school batch who got into Shao City No. 1 High School, right? What’s his name?”

Xiao Han corrected her, “Seven, but one got in through connections.”

The ‘connection’ she referred to was Zhang Zhiyong, whose uncle-in-law was a middle school principal. Being part of the same education system, he had his own channels.