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Chapter 14 – Snow night
Before the final exam, there was a New Year’s Day party. Before New Year’s Day, the school leaders issued a notice not to allow the New Year’s Day party, saying that the exam was about to take place which would affect students’ learning but this notice had unexpectedly caused a lot of opposition.
Under the joint venture of all the classes, the regulations were finally relaxed. The first and second-grade students organized the class New Year’s party on their own and set aside time for self-study in the evening.
The headteacher of the second class was as generous as his name and arranged for them to be free in the last two class period of the afternoon.
Students were assigned tasks such as buying a snack, leading everyone to tidy up the desks and create a space for the stage, and who would take part in the talent show.
Even if there was only one evening time for self-study and only a room as big as a classroom, that year’s New Year’s Day party was still very exciting.
Chi Tang felt that the atmosphere of the New Year’s Party would be very good. Because of the snow again, the campus was pure white, not only their class, but the entire teaching building was full of excitement.
Both Chi Tang and You Yu were moving their table and moved the table to the position by the window. It was rare for You Yu to put all of her test papers, workbooks, and extracurricular exercises away. She did not race against time to study.
She even asked Chi Tang: ” Are you going up to sing later?”
“Don’t sing.” Chi Tang answered without thinking.
She didn’t like group activities. These evenings would let her participate. It was okay to sit and watch. She was not happy to go on stage and always felt ashamed.
You Yu had some regrets. She had heard Chi Tang hum occasionally and thought she hummed very well. It would be better if she sang a song completely and seriously.
“Do you sing?” Chi Tang asked back.
You Yu shook her head: “I can’t sing.”
The sky outside darkened, and the people who went to buy snacks came back, carrying large bags and small bags, and began to divide the table one by one. Some people were laughing and clamoring to divide a small cake and two more oranges.
Hei Pi was carrying a big bag of oranges and like a miser, he refused to give others extras, yelling: “No, no, I’ve calculated the number, and if I give you extras the classmates who are behind will have anything!”
That day they were a little bit noisy, and the teachers treated it as if they hadn’t heard, so the mobile phone could be taken out openly. Chi Tang was listening to a song, watching the snow slowly getting smaller outside the window.
Their table was moved to the corner. Hei Pi reached them last. Chi Tang heard his voice and saw Hei Pi picking up oranges from the bag and whispered, “You are the last one, and there are two more oranges. I’ll give you one more.”
After speaking, he immediately took the bag and turned, and ran to distribute the other things. Chi Tang glanced at the extra orange, but there was no reaction, and You Yu also subconsciously took another look.
Chi Tang took the orange and handed it to her: “You can have it.”
You Yu shook her head: “No, I have one. It’s enough.”
It was at the busiest time and the show hadn’t started, everyone was wandering into the classroom, and a man suddenly appeared at the door of the classroom.
The man looked to be around forty or fifty-year-old, his face was swarthy from the wind and sun, and he wore a thin dirty padded jacket and shabby green Jiefang cloth shoes full of mud and water.
Fengchen stood there, out of tune with the classroom. Looking at so many laughing students, the man was a little at a loss, but he quickly saw something, his expression turned fierce and angry.
Chi Tang found that his gaze was beside him, while You Yu pressed her lips tightly, her face was a little pale, and she did not have the emotion of lightness and happiness that she had just now.
“You girl!” The man spoke in a dialect and strode into the corner Chi Tang and You Yu were sited in. He raised his hand and grabbed You Yu’s hand, trying to pull her out.
Chi Tang subconsciously grabbed You Yu’s arm. The loud sound of the desk being dragged and the sudden situation made the noisy classroom quiet instantly, and everyone looked at them.
“What happened?”
“Who is that?”
“It’s You Yu’s father, right?”
The man grabbed You Yu hard and said, “You come out with me and go home with me. Who told you to come here to study!”
You Yu held down the desk, trying to get away from his grip, “I won’t go back, I’ll just study here.”
Her tone was still calm, but when facing this man, the tremor in her voice was obvious.
Smack The man slapped her unceremoniously.
“Follow me!”
Chi Tang reacted, picked up the book, and smashed the man in the arm, shouting, “Let her go!”
She broke the silence in the classroom. Hei Pi and a few other tall boys hurried over, and stepped in front of You Yu and Chi Tang, trying to separate the man, “Uncle, right? It’s not good to beat people!”
There was a lot of chatter in the classroom, and a few girls rushed out, probably to inform the teacher.
The man was stopped by a few boys and yelled very unhappily: “I am her father. I want her to go back and she will go back. She secretly ran to study here and refused to go back for most of the year. I found this place after sitting in the car for a few days. I’ll take her back! Get out of the way!”
A few people pushed and shoved, a little unable to stop this strong man. Seeing him pushing away Hei Pi and trying to grab You Yu, Chi Tang suddenly kicked the table down, pulled You Yu, and ran outside.
“What!”
“Oh, hit someone–“
It was dark outside, and the hallway was full of classmates. Some came to watch the excitement when they heard the commotion, and some still didn’t know what happened. Chi Tang pulled You Yu through these people and ran down the stairs.
You Yu remained silent, letting Chi Tang drag her forward in a daze. She heard the yelling of her classmates and heard what her father was saying but couldn’t listen.
In her mind, she returned to that summer. She was admitted to Nanlin No. 1 High School and went home and said that she wanted to go to school.
But her father said that she should marry at her age and would not let her continue studying.
She begged her father, telling him that the school was willing to give her free tuition and accommodation fees. There were teachers in the high school who were willing to give her two thousand yuan and would not spend the family money, but her father still did not agree.
He beat her, took the two thousand yuan, and prevented her from leaving home. If she went to school, no one would be there to take care of the home and no one would be there to take care of her brother. If the family had no money, they could still get a bride price when she married.
Her teacher said that she was very smart, and she would make a difference if she continued to study. She also wanted to go and see outside, so at that time she went to the teacher and borrowed two hundred yuan. She left home for the first time on an impulse and came to this strange city with tension and yearning.
She thought that all difficulties could be overcome, as long as she was not afraid of hardship, she could continue to study.
“This is the first time I see you cry.”
Chi Tang had stopped. She had taken You Yu to the back of the school’s old teaching building, which was very remote and had a very small and broken pavilion.
She stopped and realized that You Yu didn’t make a sound, but there were tears on her face.
Chi Tang had never seen You Yu cry. She was always silent, stubborn, and serious. She didn’t care about the exclusion, the rumors, and the harsh words of her classmates. She was always doing her own thing. Chi Tang didn’t know what to say and put her hand in her pocket irritably.
She found a chubby orange in her pocket. It was too sudden just now, and the orange that she was going to hand You Yu was stuffed into her pocket. She thought about it, took out the orange, peeled it, divided it in half, and gave her half of it.
“Let’s eat oranges.”
You Yu’s tears were still streaming silently. She took the orange but didn’t move. After a while, she closed her eyes, raised her hand and wiped it, and then stuffed the orange into her mouth.
On that cold snowy night, the orange in her mouth was cold but very sweet.