Chapter Two: An Unlucky Day

All night long, I was lost in the blissful dreams of yesterday with Chuchu, and for once, I actually slept soundly until daylight. With my backpack slung over my shoulder and the last traces of sleep still clinging to me, I wandered alone along the road to school. The morning air was laced with a biting chill, and I couldn’t help but start cursing that mischievous brat who had stuck a tack in my bicycle tire. Talk about bad luck—so early in the morning, not a single repair shop was open. I had no choice but to rely on the “number 11 bus”—my own two legs—and pretend I was just getting some exercise.

“Li Xiaobei!” As I was grumbling to myself, I suddenly heard someone call my name from behind. Turning around, I saw it was our class beauty, Lele. Lele was the kind of girl you could never tire of looking at, exuding a fresh, natural charm from deep within. I slowed my pace to let her catch up.

“Xiaobei, didn’t ride your bike today?” A faint scent of green apple drifted over as she spoke.

I shook my head slightly, still lost in thought about how to catch that wicked little brat, and kept walking forward.

“Xiaobei, I… can I ask you a question?” Lele said softly, keeping pace beside me.

“Uh, sure, I’m listening…” I kept my head down, walking on, but after waiting a good while, Lele still hadn’t spoken. Huh? I turned to look at her in surprise, only to see her eyes slightly reddened, her expression tinged with a subtle sadness. My heart skipped a beat and I quickly stopped walking. “Lele, what’s wrong?”

“Do you really hate talking to me that much?” Lele seemed to be struggling to hold back her emotions, pressing her lips together, which had turned a bit purple from the cold, and clasping her hands awkwardly in front of her.

“Lele…” The sudden turn of events left me at a complete loss.

“Hehe, just kidding! Why are you standing there looking so flustered? If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late!” Seeing my distressed expression, Lele suddenly burst out laughing. We walked on in silence for a while longer, until she seemed to make up her mind. Tilting her head up, she looked at me seriously. “Xiaobei, tell me—if… I mean, if a girl likes a boy who likes someone else, what should she do?”

Her question was like a tongue-twister, and it took my mind a moment to untangle what she meant.

“Uh, well… fate isn’t something you can force, right? If you like someone, you should let them know…” As I spoke, my face flushed red, and I couldn’t stop myself from remembering how awkward I’d felt last night, sitting beside Chuchu and struggling to speak. “Hehe.” I scratched my head, grinning foolishly.

Lele shot me a confused glance, then muttered to herself, “Is that so?”

The air between us grew a little strange after that, and Lele fell silent. The two of us walked down the empty morning street, unconsciously keeping a small distance between us.

In the end, it was Lele who spoke first. “Xiaobei, you really like Chuchu, don’t you?”

“Uh!” My face reddened again and I hurried to deny it. “No… not at all.”

Seeing my embarrassment, Lele’s lips curled into a mischievous smile. “Still pretending? Even a blind man could see it. They call you ‘Piglet Bei,’ and it suits you!”

“So… does Chuchu know?” Talking about another girl with a girl always made me uncomfortable.

Lele gave me a look of mock innocence, then quickly looked away. “I’m not Chuchu—how should I know?”

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

As we drew closer to the school, more and more students in uniforms hurried past us. Standing at the school gate, Lele suddenly leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “Piglet Bei, I’ll help you.” Then she shot me a strange smile and darted through the gates.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Haozi’s familiar voice called from behind me.

“Ah, nothing, nothing at all.” I rubbed my palms together and waved at Haozi, trying to act nonchalant.

Haozi eyed me suspiciously. “Really? Didn’t I just see Lele…?” He puckered his lips and made a kissing face. “Ahem, that’s a real betrayal of my sister, you know! Better bribe me, or else… or else…” With that, he took off running into the school.

“Haozi, you’re asking for it!” I shouted and dashed after him, but just as I reached the gate, the teacher on duty stopped me. “You there, come here a moment!”

I froze, glaring at Haozi who was pulling faces at me from a distance, then walked over reluctantly.

“Your student card,” the teacher said with a smug smile that made me uneasy. I searched all over, but my student card was nowhere to be found. “I swear I brought it,” I muttered to myself. Maybe I lost it on the way. Just my luck—when things go wrong, even cold water gets stuck in your teeth.

“Teacher, I lost my student card,” I said, trying my best to look like a well-behaved child and hoping for some leniency.

“Lost it? Why not lose yourself while you’re at it? That excuse is so old. Go register your name and class at the reception office!” He pointed behind him and turned away.

“Acting so high and mighty…” I cursed inwardly and trudged into the reception office.

“Over here!” The old man inside didn’t even look up, just tossed me a wrinkled attendance sheet. I picked up the pen, filling in my class, but as I was about to write my name, a thought flashed through my mind: none of these teachers know who I am anyway—I could write any name and they’d never know! Delighted by this stroke of genius, I carefully wrote Haozi’s name instead. That’s what brothers are for, right? Haozi, you can take the fall for me this time.

I returned to the teacher on duty and reported, “Teacher, I’ve signed in.”

He gave me a long look, making sure there was nothing else to nitpick, then waved me on. “Don’t let it happen again. Go on.”

Relieved, I glanced up at the electronic clock on the wall. Oh my god! Class was about to start in less than a minute, and our first period was with Old Man Duan—the strictest teacher around. Being late was not an option! I dashed toward the classroom, not even bothering with a polite “goodbye.”

Luckily, I made it just in time. As the bell rang, I burst into the classroom, panting. Catching a glimpse of Haozi dozing in the back row, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself, then hurried to my seat.

Chuchu wasted no time, spreading her hands and coldly uttering a single word: “Book.”

“Book?” It took me a moment to realize what she meant, and I hurried to dig through my bag. “Uh, Chuchu, I’m really sorry—I forgot to bring it…” My heart sank.

Chuchu’s glare could have killed.

“Piglet Bei!” In an instant, her murderous right hand landed on my left arm.

“Ah!” I let out a yelp, and Chuchu tried in vain to cover my mouth. Suddenly, I was the center of everyone’s attention.

“Li Xiaobei, please stand up.” Mr. Duan’s voice was icy. “Answer my question.” He was still bitter about not catching me late, and now, given the chance, he wasn’t about to let it slide.

“Uh… uh, what’s the question? Chuchu!” I nudged Chuchu with my foot and whispered, but she just shrugged, looking pleased with my predicament. Idiot! Doesn’t she realize we’re in this together now? I glared at her, fuming. This was not the time for payback—now we were both doomed. With nothing else to do, I kept my head down and stayed silent.

Sure enough, Mr. Duan turned to Chuchu. “Zhang Chuchu, you answer.”

Chuchu’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.

“Yes, you. Don’t just stand there—answer.” Mr. Duan seemed to sense something and stepped down from the podium, rapping on her desk. “Zhang Chuchu, where’s your textbook?”

Chuchu glanced at me, then mouthed something silently. Her right hand struck my thigh, hard.

“Mm!” This time I managed not to cry out, and kicked her back lightly as a reminder that we were still in class.

“Both of you, sit down. See me in my office after school,” Mr. Duan said impatiently, waving us down before returning to his lecture.

“Piglet Bei, you’ve ruined me,” Chuchu pouted, putting on a pitiful face. “You’ll have to buy me McDonald’s tonight as compensation.”

“Ah! I’m innocent!” I protested. “Chuchu, dearest… Chuchu, beautiful…”

“Hmph, it’s no use begging. Even if you called me ‘Grandma Chuchu’—wait, don’t call me that! Anyway, you’re not getting out of this McDonald’s treat!” Chuchu said, pulling my textbook over. “Move the book closer—I can’t see.”

“You never pay attention in class anyway…” I muttered under my breath, then turned to gaze out the window at the unchanging scenery, slowly drifting off into a dream.