When I reached school, Mr. Li Wenhao was waiting for me like a crocodile waiting for its target. But I ignored him and went into the class. I sat on the first bench because the first class was math — which means it was Mr. Li Wenhao's class. The feeling of starting the day with a math class was pathetic, but I took out my notebook to write down the notes he was teaching.
After 40 minutes of class, it finally got over. Oh, thank God! Having math as the first class of the day is so exhausting.
Then there was a short break of about 20 minutes. Wang Ruoxi came and asked me, "Can we go to the canteen?"
"Yes," I said. "Of course, I'm so hungry."
Then we went to the canteen, but suddenly I felt like I needed to go somewhere — I had an important work.
"Wait, Zhao Shiza, we still have so many classes left. The day has just started!"
But I ignored whatever she was saying and just ran away. Running away is my childhood hobby, but now there was something more important than anything. I immediately went to the photo shop.
"Can you please make a photo frame of this photo? I need it today, within half an hour," I said.
The middle-aged uncle there replied, "Of course, kid. But you're here at this hour of school? Don't you have classes today?"
The moment he said that, I immediately turned my eyes away. He got it that I didn't want to answer.
He said, "Okay, it's fine, kid. Come after half an hour."
I nodded and went to the nearby convenience store to pass the half-hour time. There, I drank my favorite strawberry drink. While drinking it, the half hour passed, and I went to the shop again.
The moment the uncle saw me, he said, "Sorry kid, your photo frame will take four more hours."
I was like, "Are you for real?"
Now how much more do I need to wait? But still — it's for my dearest Cǎoméi xiānsheng (Xu Yuan). Anything for him.
Then I waited for 4 hours there, doing some chit-chat with the uncle. The 4 hours passed successfully, but it got too late — it was almost evening, around 4:20 p.m.
"Look, kid, your photo frame is completed. But can I ask you something?"
I hesitated but said, "Yes."
He asked, "Is this the famous actor from the drama industry, Xu Yuan? Are you having a crush on him?"
The moment he said crush, something broke inside me — because calling him my crush felt like disrespecting my love for him. He is my love, not a crush. But I didn't answer him. I just took a long breath so he understood that I didn't want to reply.
He said, "Okay, kid, no problem. Just pay the amount — it's 1200 yuan."
My eyes got bigger than usual. I knew it was too much, but for you — anything.
I paid the full amount. He said, "Have a nice day, kid."
I smiled at him and walked out of the shop holding the photo frame in my hands — almost hugging it. I knew I had spent half my pocket money on it, but it was totally worth it.
Then I kept walking on the road; it was a bit dark. I kept walking, then suddenly saw a group of four people wearing rugged clothes, looking like goons, talking to each other. I ignored them and kept walking, but suddenly one of the goons came in front of me, smiling mischievously.
"Hey, little one, give us the photo frame," he said.
"Why should I give you this?" I replied loudly. "It's just a photo frame — you have nothing to do with it!"
He smiled again, "That photo frame looks quite expensive, and we're goons — we want money. So after taking it from you, we'll resell it at a higher cost."
Then suddenly, he saw that the photo frame had Xu Yuan's photo, because it tilted a little. He laughed and said, "Isn't this the famous actor Xu Yuan? Now we'll get an even higher price for this — Xu Yuan's female fans will go crazy for it and pay any amount!"
I got angry and shouted, "No!" in a loud and clear voice. "I won't give you this at any cost!"
The goon smirked and said, "Okay, don't give it to us. We won't take it from you. Keep it for yourself. But what about us? You have to do something for us instead of this stupid photo frame."
I was like, "What are you saying? I'm a schoolgirl! I've already finished my pocket money — I have nothing left. What can I do?"
They smirked again, but this time, it was something darker than I thought. They came closer to me, staring from head to toe. After a few seconds of silence, one of them said, "We want you. This photo frame of that star actor is nothing compared to this cute little girl standing in front of us, fighting for this stupid frame."
I didn't deny it — but yes, I was scared. I could feel something bad was going to happen. They came closer, one after another. I took a step back, clutching the photo frame tightly. I closed my eyes so tight — I could feel them coming closer and closer to me now. I could feel their breath near me. I could feel one of their hands reaching for me as they said, "Don't be afraid, little one. We're not that bad…"