SYLM Chapter 7
by VolareChapter 7 Saving Seats
At ten o’clock in the evening, the evening self-study bell rang on time.
Ending a day’s study journey, the students put on their winter school uniforms, took precautions to keep warm, and prepared to go home with unfinished homework.
Some parents who picked up their children after evening self-study would wait at the school gate at ten o’clock every night, including Jiang Zhen Zhen’s parents, so she always packed up very quickly.
But tonight, before leaving, Jiang Zhen Zhen wanted to encourage her good friend Chen Lu, who had presented a math problem on the blackboard for the first time, but when she walked to the third row by the window, where was Chen Lu’s shadow?
……
Jiang Zhen Zhen patted Fu Yi Wen, who was burying her head in tidying up her desk in the fourth row, wanting to ask where Chen Lu had gone, but the person who was patted was startled, almost screaming.
“Oh my god, I thought someone was patting me, you scared me! Hey, Zhen Zhen, why haven’t you left yet? Your mom should be waiting for you at the gate, right?”
“Yeah, she should be here.” Jiang Zhen Zhen glanced at the clock on the wall as she asked, her tone a little anxious, “Where’s Lu Lu?”
“Oh, she said she’s going to her grandma’s house tonight and has to catch the last bus, so she left directly from the back door after the bell rang. What’s wrong? Do you need her for something?”
“It’s not a big deal, I just wanted to tell her that she explained that problem on the blackboard really well tonight.”
“Hahaha, well, take a look, see who taught her!” Fu Yi Wen grinned, taking a woolen hat from her bag and putting it on her head as she spoke.
Seeing Fu Yi Wen’s happy face, as if she had misunderstood something, Jiang Zhen Zhen opened her mouth wide, looking incredulous, “You taught her? You persuaded Lu Lu to present on the blackboard?”
Of course, Jiang Zhen Zhen knew that Fu Yi Wen usually explained problems to Chen Lu, but she didn’t think anyone could persuade Chen Lu to present on the blackboard, unless Chen Lu was willing to do it herself.
Sure enough, as soon as the question was asked, Fu Yi Wen curled her lips, and a gossipy expression immediately appeared on her small round face with freckles:
“Hey, I don’t have that ability, it still has to be our Teacher Gu!”
“…Teacher Gu?”
Another surprise, Jiang Zhen Zhen’s eyes widened even more, “Lu Lu, she doesn’t really like—”
Glancing at the classmates who hadn’t left yet, Jiang Zhen Zhen realized it was inappropriate and stopped talking, returning to the topic: “Forget it, let’s not talk about that. How did Teacher Gu persuade Lu Lu?”
“Well…she didn’t say anything.”
“Didn’t say anything?”
“Yeah, she just kept staring at Lu Lu, staring her into doing it, isn’t that amazing?”
“…”
—
Bus station.
In front of the bus stop sign, exhaled streams of white mist dissipated in the air. Almost all those who rushed to wait for the bus were high school students who had just finished evening self-study. Everyone shrank their necks and stomped their feet back and forth, trying to resist the cold.
In the crowd, frozen red fingers pulled up the mask, and Chen Lu’s long eyelashes, covered with frost, flickered as she stared at the direction the bus was coming from.
When she left the school gate just now, she saw her good friend Jiang Zhen Zhen’s mother waiting at the school gate as usual to pick up Jiang Zhen Zhen, and they even greeted each other.
The voices of students discussing topics about homework and exams came from her ears one after another.
The pocket of her school uniform contained a small stack of liberal arts papers, one of the few times Chen Lu hadn’t finished her homework during evening self-study and had to take the papers home to do.
Tonight, she used the first half of the evening self-study to study math.
She even presented a math problem on the blackboard.
Snowflakes fluttered in the sky, dancing in the dim light of the street lamps, and finally silently landed somewhere, unable to escape the fate of melting.
Slowly approaching headlights gradually illuminated the icy road surface, and the bus arrived.
Chen Lu was in the front of the line, one of the first few to board the bus. After getting on, she subconsciously glanced out the window from the corner of her eye, and just happened to see someone running all the way from the direction of the school gate towards the bus stop, hurriedly lining up at the very end of the boarding queue.
That familiar magnolia red paired with white clothing, the person was none other than Gu Wan Jun.
……
As soon as the evening self-study bell rang, Gu Wan Jun was originally going to wait for the bus directly, but when she reached into her pocket after leaving the classroom, she realized she didn’t have her house keys. She had to run all the way to the fourth-floor office to get them, and then run downstairs to catch the bus.
Fortunately, she made it.
But it looked like she would have to stand the whole way.
Looking at the countless, uniform winter school uniforms in front of her, Gu Wan Jun pulled her scarf down slightly, adjusted her breathing, and exhaled white mist at a frequency much higher than her companions. She probably hadn’t exercised recently, and these few steps had almost made her lungs burst.
More students who had just left the school gate gradually joined the line behind her.
After getting on the bus, Gu Wan Jun thought about finding a place with a railing to stand easily. She had just walked two steps inside when a hand suddenly reached out from a seat and grabbed her arm.
In the dim light and crowded conditions inside the bus, Gu Wan Jun subconsciously wanted to break free, but then a familiar voice came. Gu Wan Jun took a closer look and saw that the person holding her was Chen Lu.
“Teacher, you can sit here.”
As Chen Lu spoke, she picked up the stack of liberal arts papers used to save the seat from the window seat next to her.
Chen Lu’s action completely exceeded Gu Wan Jun’s expectations, but with people in front and behind her, Gu Wan Jun had no reason to refuse. She suppressed the shock in her eyes, smiled, and said thank you, then stepped over Chen Lu and sat in the window seat inside.
……
The bus started again.
The weather was cold and the roads were slippery, and the entire bus was packed with people, so the driver had to be extra careful when driving.
Outside the window, snowflakes fluttered and the cold wind raged. Inside the bus, the dim light cast shadows on everyone, and the sound of clothes rubbing against each other could be heard incessantly.
When her breathing returned to a normal frequency, Gu Wan Jun loosened her scarf and turned her head to look at Chen Lu.
Two minutes ago, she would never have imagined that she would meet Chen Lu on the bus, let alone that this person would save a seat for her.
The warm-toned light outlined the smooth profile of the young girl. Thinking of how confidently and generously this person had presented a math problem on the blackboard during evening self-study, Gu Wan Jun curved the corners of her lips. She leaned forward slightly and asked in a voice that only the two of them could hear:
“Do you also take this bus home?”
“Yeah.” Chen Lu turned her head to look at Gu Wan Jun when she heard this, then quickly turned back, looking straight ahead.
“How did you know I take this bus?”
“I saw you from the bus window after I got on.” Chen Lu answered truthfully. Although she was still looking straight ahead, she tilted her head slightly towards the window so that Gu Wan Jun could hear her clearly.
“So you saved a seat for me?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.”
Gu Wan Jun’s tone was still gentle and calm, making Chen Lu feel a tingling sensation in her heart. She subconsciously turned her head to look and sure enough, met those peach blossom eyes with an undisguised gentle smile.
The liberal arts papers in her school uniform pocket were crumpled. Chen Lu withdrew her gaze and replied calmly, “You’re welcome.”
……
Thinking of what Zheng Wei had said about Chen Lu’s family situation, Gu Wan Jun had always wanted to find an opportunity to have a good chat with Chen Lu, but the bus was crowded and noisy, and it didn’t seem like a place to talk about these things.
Such a good opportunity for conversation, what should she say?
Gu Wan Jun lowered her eyes and stared at her toes, her brain working rapidly, thinking about topics. Suddenly, the bus braked sharply, the people on the bus were thrown forward by inertia, and the aisle was crowded with people. Many people were staggered by the sudden stop and almost lost their balance!
Out of a teacher’s sense of responsibility, Gu Wan Jun’s first reaction was not to protect herself, but to subconsciously reach out and press down hard on Chen Lu, who was sitting next to her, to prevent her from hitting her head due to inertia.
However, to Gu Wan Jun’s surprise, Chen Lu, who was being protected by her, also reached out her palm to block the back of the seat directly in front of her at the first moment, with her palm facing the direction of her forehead.
Their eyes met, and they both saw the shock in each other’s eyes.
Gu Wan Jun, who reacted first, wanted to say something, but the next second, Chen Lu suddenly frowned slightly, clearly taking a breath of cold air.
“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t stand steady and stepped on you, are you okay?” In the aisle, a tall and strong male high school student who was holding onto the handrail apologized to Chen Lu repeatedly.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Lu shook her head gently and said calmly, “It’s okay.” Gu Wan Jun then realized that the person in front of her had been stepped on.
Two slender eyebrows furrowed together immediately, and Gu Wan Jun held Chen Lu’s shoulders and asked with concern, “How are you, are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” Chen Lu shook her head.
“Really okay? Don’t force yourself.”
“Really okay.”
“I should have sat in the seat outside.”
“It’s the same no matter who sits there, it’s okay.”
“…”
Listening to Chen Lu’s calm tone, Gu Wan Jun was stunned for a moment. She suddenly realized why Chen Lu had asked her to sit inside.
Looking at the girl’s thin face in front of her, and thinking of the hand that had wanted to protect her just now, Gu Wan Jun felt a surge of emotion and heartache. She took out a wet wipe from her bag and handed it to Chen Lu, asking her to wipe her shoes.
After receiving the wet wipe, Chen Lu did not wipe her shoes immediately, but put the wipe in her pocket, saying that she would have to walk on snowy roads after getting off the bus later, so she would wipe them together after getting home.
Hearing Chen Lu say this, Gu Wan Jun did not object, but her worry and concern still lingered in her eyes.
Gu Wan Jun subconsciously looked down, but with just this one glance, she suddenly felt that the white shoes on Chen Lu’s feet, which were imprinted with half a black footprint, looked familiar.
Wait, it couldn’t be that much of a coincidence, right?
……
Recalling that little episode on the bus this morning, Gu Wan Jun’s expression was slightly stunned, and she felt a little incredible. She tentatively asked:
“Did you take the earliest bus to school this morning?”
“Yeah.”
“Then did you accidentally get stepped on this morning?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Lu’s lips moved slightly, and finally she nodded lightly: “Yeah.”
“…”
The suspense was finally over.
It turned out that there really was such a coincidence.
Gu Wan Jun’s expression showed a bit of embarrassment, and she quickly apologized softly: “I’m sorry, I must have been the one who stepped on you this morning.”
“Yeah, I know, it’s okay.”
“You know?” Gu Wan Jun raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Yeah, I recognize your red scarf.”
“…So when you helped me at the entrance of the teaching building, you recognized me as the person who stepped on you on the bus?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
Gu Wan Jun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. In addition to the awkwardness, she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of fate she and Chen Lu had.
……