It was another Sunday, a day off.
To let the students rest well, the teacher did not assign any homework.
Brother Nan was an exception.
She was being supervised by her mother, reciting classical Chinese texts—meatballs for lunch if she memorized it, ensuring she was full, but only a single sour long bean if she didn't.
Classical Chinese literature and poetry were indeed Li Nan's weak point. This was mainly because she was lazy and always reluctant to memorize. Consequently, every exam was a matter of luck; if she happened to remember what was tested, she could get it right. Otherwise, she was out of luck.
At the same time, it was also a weak point that could easily be rectified.
Mother Zhao was furious. If the English teacher hadn't asked her to supervise, she would never have known that with the college entrance exams fast approaching, her own daughter still couldn't even fully recite the required texts!
So, Brother Nan was in trouble.
And every time she was being scolded, Big Orange, who was stretched out in a long line before the floor-to-ceiling windows to enjoy a ray of sunshine, would lift its head to lazily glance at her—this was the main source of damage Brother Nan absorbed.
At the same time, Zhou Li was not practicing with questions but sitting in a pavilion downstairs in the residential complex, looking over old test papers.
The air was very fresh.
For once, he had taken his phone with him. With earphones connected, he listened to light music, occasionally using his phone to look up information. The morning sun slanted through the leaves, its warmth gentle on his skin. Beyond the music, he could faintly hear birds chirping and cicadas singing, none of which was annoying.
An old man walked past unhurriedly, his hands clasped behind his back, a small loudspeaker at his hip playing Huangmei opera tunes. He paused when he saw Zhou Li, then turned and continued on his way.
The chattering aunties chose another pavilion.
Stray cats, meanwhile, were chasing and fighting each other, climbing trees to catch birds. The closest one lay next to Zhou Li, grooming itself.
Actually, none of these bothered him.
Suddenly, a DING-DONG sounded in his earphones. Zhou Li turned his head to look—the screen of his phone lit up—
Bro, I'm bringing you some cherries.
Soon, Zhu Shuang's figure appeared at the entrance of the stairwell. He was holding a colorful glass fruit plate in one hand and a small bag of cat food in the other. Instantly, all the stray cats paused their activities and turned to watch.
Zhu Shuang first set the plate beside Zhou Li. It was filled with cherries, bright red and glistening with droplets of water.
"They're very sweet," he said.
"Really?" Zhou Li picked one up.
"I'll leave you to it then. I'm going to feed the cats."
"Alright."
Zhou Li looked up as Zhu Shuang walked away. The cherries were indeed very sweet, without a hint of tartness, so he picked up another one.
Suddenly, he heard a burst of children's voices nearby—
"HEE HEE, didn't hit it down."
"I'll do it!"
"Let's just climb up and pick them!"
Zhou Li followed the voices and saw three children, no more than five or six years old, standing before a peach tree, trying to hit the peaches with a plastic toy golden cudgel.
Two little demons stood side by side, also craning their necks, watching the trembling branches with evident distress.
Zhou Li looked down at his papers. Within seconds, he pushed them aside, weighed them down with his phone, and walked over to gently ask, "What are you doing?"
Upon hearing him, both little demons looked his way. They didn't speak, but their eyes shone with hope.
"Trying to get peaches to eat," one of the children said.
"'They're too small to eat,' Zhou Li said, without looking at the little demons.
"'These wouldn't be good to eat even if they grew larger,' the tallest child explained, stealing a timid glance at Zhou Li.
"'Although that's true…' Zhou Li pondered for a moment, 'it's just that we humans don't like to eat them. But if they grow big, the birds can eat them. If they don't grow, then the birds will have nothing to eat.'"
"Oh..."
The children stared weakly at Zhou Li, looking a bit scared.
So Zhou Li tiptoed slightly, picked a low-hanging, tiny peach, and handed it to them. "'You can play with this one. How about we leave the rest, okay?'"
The children agreed. As they left, the tallest one even thanked him.
Zhou Li turned to go back, then heard another thank you.
The voice was simple and silly—it was Round Mouse.
Immediately, the mature voice of the gray cat sounded, "He can't hear you even if you thank him."
Sitting back down in the pavilion, Zhou Li swept a glance around. He saw Zhu Shuang, having poured the cat food, calling to the cats. However, the cats merely stretched their necks to stare at him without approaching.
After a careful look, Zhu Shuang noticed some chicken breast scraps on the ground. He then turned and walked away.
Zhou Li chuckled.
There were plenty of overzealous homeowners in the neighborhood who not only spent money feeding stray cats but also engaged in one-upmanship:
Who's secretly feeding them Royal Canin, making them stop eating my Gold brand?
Who's secretly giving them meat, and so much of it, as if some of us can't afford it?!
Hmph! Freeze-dried? That's just going too far!
As a leading cat-feeding enthusiast in the community, Zhu Shuang definitely couldn't swallow his pride.
Zhou Li had once asked Zhu Shuang about it. Zhu Shuang had explained that this was the new era of 'communal cat-raising.' It saved expenses, eliminated worries about cats destroying furniture, negated the need to clean litter boxes, meant no shedding, and didn't compromise the tactile pleasure of petting them. He declared it was the future mainstream trend.
Sure enough, Zhu Shuang came back down quickly.
This time, he returned with dried fish.
Zhou Li put on his headphones and started reviewing his test questions. The cat lying next to him observed him for a long time before finally sauntering over. It pawed at the edge of the fruit plate, sniffed the cherries, and then stared at him.
"MEOW…"
So Zhou Li offered it a cherry.
After eating it, the cat didn't ask for more but instead lay down on its side next to Zhou Li, continuing to lie there.
Before long, Zhu Shuang returned, this time bringing him an ice pop.
Zhou Li and Li Tongzhuo thus formed a stark contrast.
「The next day, Monday.」
When Zhou Li arrived at the classroom, Li Nan hadn't come yet. The other members of the Wuyan Group, however, had already swept half of it. Zhou Li picked up a broom to join in, but a female classmate stopped him, saying that too many people would just make it crowded and that they didn't need that many for sweeping the classroom.
Zhou Li then put down the broom.
Soon, Li Nan arrived. She had arrived fairly early, but unfortunately, the other students had been even earlier. Brother Nan wore a helpless expression. "It's the last week already! I just wanted to sweep the floor for once, but you guys didn't give me a chance!"
"'Let's take out the trash,' Zhou Li said.
"'I guess that's the only option now,' Brother Nan said, grimacing. 'Sigh, I've been taking out the trash for two whole semesters.'"
The other students quickly swept the trash to the back of the classroom. It was mostly dust and paper scraps, along with those little plastic tear-strips from wrappers. Brother Nan eagerly ran over and took the broom. It wasn't that she disliked labor; she just didn't want to get up early.
Zhou Li took the dustpan, and the two of them coordinated to gather the trash.
Truth be told, they weren't any more efficient than one person working alone.
The paper scraps and plastic bits were swept into the dustpan. A few stubborn lines of dust remained after several swipes, so Brother Nan employed the Dust Disappearance Technique.
"'All clean!' she declared. 'No need to sweep for the rest of the week!'"
"Let's go."
Zhou Li picked up one side of the garbage bag, and Brother Nan picked up the other. They slowly made their way towards the school entrance.
To the left of the school gate was the garbage disposal area. It had an opening connecting to the outside of the school. When the trash piled up, someone from outside would come to clear it. Of course, this opening also had a locked gate.
Brother Nan, knowing the routine well, led Zhou Li up the steps. Looking at Zhou Li, she called out, "One, two, three!"
On "three," they both heaved, flipping the garbage bag over. The paper scraps and dust poured out. Immediately after, Brother Nan grabbed the empty garbage bag and banged it against the concrete edge a few times—THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!—to shake out any remnants. And with that, the job was done.
"The college entrance exam is coming up soon, Zhou Li. Are you nervous?" Brother Nan asked.
"Not nervous."
"You have such a good mindset."
"Still not as good as yours," Zhou Li said.
"Of course!"
Li Nan was reminded of the time when she first became desk mates with Zhou Li. Mother Zhao had told her that Zhou Li wasn't in good spirits. She suspected it might be due to academic stress leading to mental strain and had asked Li Nan to look out for him. However, when it came to mental fortitude, Brother Nan rarely admitted defeat. Yet, after encountering Zhou Li, she sometimes found herself thinking she had finally met her match.
Once back in the classroom, Brother Nan conscientiously began to review her notes—Zhou Li's notes, of course.
This was because her own notes, of which she used to say, "As long as I can understand them, who cares how neat they are?" were now utterly incomprehensible, even to her.