Chapter Five: Back to the Starting Point

  In September 2009, Jiangcheng No.2 Middle School welcomed a new academic year. The campus was bustling with people rushing to and fro, busy paying fees, registering, shopping, and adapting to the environment... They had youthful shyness and boldness, familiarity and numbness, all the characteristics of their grade were exposed on their faces. Su Yisu dragged her luggage slowly along the school path, looking around, and Su Yixin, who was following behind, finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted: "Su Yisu, are you here to study or to take a stroll? Can you walk faster?!

  Su Yi turned around slowly with a blank expression, but her eyes were exceptionally lively. "Su Yixin, it's just the beginning of school, what are you yelling about? Can't you be more steady and not ruin your senior brother's image?"

  "Image? Su Yisu, you actually told me about image?! First find your own image back before talking to me!" Su Yixin was so angry that she took three steps and then two, walking forward and grabbing Su Yisu's luggage. Without caring about anything, she threw it down and walked away with the luggage of both people. Su Yisu finally realized her mistake and chased after her, her short hair fluttering shoulder-high, "Hey, Su Yixin, where are you taking my luggage? My dorm is over there!"

  Under Su Yi's threatening gaze, Su Yishu quickly paid the fees and registered, then arranged her luggage. As the two of them were searching around for a place to stay warm and have a meal, Su Yishu received a call from Lin Wan.

  As soon as the call was connected, Lin Wan shouted on the other end: "Su Yisuo! Where are you? Didn't we agree to meet at Shan Ka La after it's all settled? Don't tell me you haven't finished yet! And did you tell Su Yixin what I told you?"

  "This... I forgot." Su Yisou silently lowered her head in self-reproach.

  Su Yixin saw her like that, probably also guessed what the situation was, and again used his old trick, snatching her phone and talking to Lin Wan in a flurry of words. After finishing, he pulled Su Yisuo out of school, not forgetting to scold her, "Su Yisuo, how can I say you're good? Why don't you see that you have no memory?"

  Su Yisu secretly made a face at him, humming in her heart, and didn't know what to say so she just didn't say anything.

  The Shan Ka La Li was also crowded, and Su Yi Xin and the others had to work hard to find Lin Wan and Jiang Ya Ling, who had already ordered food and were waiting. When they saw them, Lin Wan and the others scolded Su Yi Xin again, but Su Yi Xin was unusually calm, listening quietly without refuting a word, leaving the other two speechless, wondering: "Did this guy eat the wrong medicine today or what?"

  Su Yi smiled calmly, but didn't respond. It wasn't until Su Yusu suddenly raised her head and loudly exclaimed "Are you done yet? Hurry up and eat, I'm starving! Next, I declare, dinner is served!" that he finally spoke up and said "See, I knew it would be like this."

  "It is human nature to know what's wrong but not change." Su Yi shook her head and continued in a sour tone, only to be met with a slap from Su Yi Xin.

  While eating, Jiang Zuo suddenly remembered something and said to Su Yisou: "Tomorrow is Mo Zhilin's birthday, do you remember? He booked a private room at Yi Xin, do you remember? We're going to attend his birthday party, do you... remember?"

  "Uh-huh." Su Yisuo responded vaguely.

  "Mo Zilin? I don't know him?" Su Yixin furrowed her brow and asked.

  "Hey, Su Da Shuai Ge," Lin Wan said displeased, "aren't we allowed to have friends you don't know?"

  "Of course not," Su Yixin smiled and said, "I'm just curious."

  "He was our junior high school classmate, but we weren't in the same class in senior high, so naturally he didn't come over much. You weren't even studying in Jiang City during junior high, of course you wouldn't know him, what's there to be curious about?" Su Yi gave him a white eye.

  "Alright." Su Yixin rubbed his nose.

  After finishing dinner and wandering around for a while, the sky had already darkened, and the campus returned to its usual state, with no more daytime bustle, only the shouts of the ball court and the occasional laughter of passersby.

  After saying goodbye to everyone, Su Yisu walked towards the dormitory. Su Yisu, Jiang Jiaoling and Lin Wan were not in the same class, but their friendship had been continuous since junior high school, fortunately they all took the exam to the same high school. After the lights went out in the dormitory, Su Yisu lay comfortably on her bed, sometimes patting her thigh, sometimes rubbing her arm, thinking about the new life. It's already the second year of high school, and the third year is still far away?

  The next evening arrived as scheduled, Su Yisu had long been prepared to wait for Jiang Ya and Lin Wan to go to the meeting together.

  Through the noisy corridor, they finally found Mozilin's reserved room. The people who arrived first had already started playing and when they saw the three of them pushing the door open, without caring whether they knew each other or not, immediately rushed over and shouted: "Three beauties, you're late! You have to be fined with wine!"

  "Can we just skip the penalty wine?" Jiang Zuo's face showed a hint of difficulty. "How about we substitute it with tea instead?"

  Just as they were about to refuse, Mo Zilin, the protagonist of the party, came forward with a smile and replied, "Of course you can."

  "Haha, still good old classmates." Jiang Xue Ling giggled and took the tea cup handed over by someone beside her, drinking it all in one gulp. She had thought she was being bold and carefree, but unexpectedly fell into that person's trap. The next second, she immediately made a sour face and shouted: "Ow... beer..."

  Su Yisu and Lin Wan also did not escape the fate of being forced to drink, Mo Zilin had already been pushed to the back by that group of rowdy boys, wanting to help but couldn't squeeze in. Lin Wan seeing no way out, could only take over the wine cup, gulped it down in one go, fortunately she wasn't someone who can't hold her liquor... After finishing the drink, she smiled brightly while holding the wine cup, the girls beside her squeezed up and walked away with her in a friendly manner.

  Only Su Yisou was left at the door, when a boy shouted: "The wine continues to come!" Soon another glass of wine was handed in front of him. Su Yisou resignedly picked up the wine glass and smelled it, but the smell that came rushing over wasn't wine, it seemed like tea instead. Who is helping me? Su Yisou secretly scanned the surrounding people, but didn't find any familiar faces.

  Forget it. She drank it all in one gulp.

  "Good!" As the tea went down his throat, the crowd of people who had gathered finally dispersed.

  The view in front of her finally opened up a bit, and Su Yisuo unexpectedly caught sight of a familiar figure standing in the crowd, smiling at her.

  "Ah? Shen Beichou, you're here too." She excitedly walked up to greet him. This childhood friend she had known since elementary school was exceptionally talented and had taken the middle school entrance exam in his second year of junior high, successfully enrolling in Jiangcheng Middle School in the city center. From then on, he suddenly jumped from being a classmate to becoming an upperclassman to Su Yisou and others. Even though Su Yisou later also attended Erzhong in the city center, due to various factors they had never met again, and she hadn't expected to run into him here.

  Shen Beiqiu smiled and said, "Yi Su, it's been a long time. Mo Zilin is my cousin, so I'm also here."

  "You're just a few months older than me!"

  Shen Beiqiu smiled faintly, "That's also Big Brother."

  Su Yisuo was already shocked with his eyes wide open, "Unbelievable? I'm only finding out about this explosive news now?"

  "There's a lot you don't know."

  "What else don't I know?"

  "For example..."

  "For example?"

  Shen Beiqiu just smiled and didn't answer.

  Mo Zilin was pulled away by his classmates again while they were talking, Shen Beiqiu looked at Jiang Yaoting and Lin Wan who had already fully joined in the fun with Su Yisou, turned around and said to Su Yisou: "I'm not familiar with those people either, I believe you can't fit in either? You've never liked this kind of occasion, why don't we sit down and chat instead, after all, the main event hasn't started yet."

  "Just as I had hoped." Su Yisu nodded in delight. Indeed, Shen Beiqiu still understood me after all.

  "What's your phone number? I don't have yours."

  "Oh, I'll call you." Upon hearing this, Shen Beiqiu took out his mobile phone and was about to dial the number.

  "Susu was surprised, 'Huh? You have my number, why haven't I seen you contact me?'"

  Shen Beiqiu just smiled.

  The two of them chatted about their recent situations, and then talked freely about everything under the sun. They didn't feel even a bit awkward despite being apart for so long. As they sipped tea and laughed together, the others had already formed groups of three to five people and were having a great time. Suddenly, Mo Zilin shouted loudly in the midst of the crowd, "Brother-in-law, come over quickly, I need your help!!"

  "Here!" Shen Beiqiu gave Su Yisuo a wry smile and then squeezed into the crowd.

  Su Yisuo looked at Jiang Zhan and Lin Wan, who were completely absorbed in the game, and shook her head helplessly. She really didn't know how she became close friends with these two people, their personalities were completely incompatible. Su Yisuo still had no intention of joining them, and out of boredom, picked up the dice cup on the table to think about how to play, but as she played, she felt more and more that there was a gaze following her from behind. However, when she turned around to scan each person, she didn't find anything unusual, everyone was immersed in the game atmosphere, no one had time to pay attention to her. Su Yisuo shook her head, maybe it was just an illusion.

  Just as she was having fun playing alone, another group of people also took the game to*, although it was just a simple dice roll, but required the loser to find an unfamiliar opposite sex in the scene to flirt with.

  "Ah, how can you do this! Clearly we were partners in cheating!" A fashionable and slightly wild young man struggled against the tide, but ultimately lost to the concerted efforts of several others.

  "Admit defeat and hurry up, don't let us look down on you!"

  He suddenly went crazy, but his mouth corner secretly revealed a sly smile.

  His companion didn't notice his slightly raised corners of his mouth, but only urged: "Find the target, go quickly!"

  He adjusted his clothes and slowly walked towards the girl who seemed a bit lonely and different in his eyes.

  Su Yisu felt someone approaching and immediately lifted her head, a strange face appeared in front of her. She frowned slightly, imperceptibly took a step back, and asked: "Do you have something to ask, classmate?"

  Across the crowded noise, the boy's mouth slightly raised, softly replied: "Hello, my name is Jiang Fengchen, Mo Zilin's classmate. I don't know what your name is, can we be friends?"