Just in Time Chapter 43
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 43 Xiaonian
Finally, in the second heavy snowfall of the winter, the first-year students faced their first-semester final exams.
The students, with their backpacks, were searching for their examination rooms and seats in various buildings. In some corridors, the windows were left open, allowing the snowstorm to pour in, causing the students in the corridor to shiver from the cold.
After each exam, there would always be someone comparing answers, wailing that they were doomed, their faces filled with worry as they feared a scolding at home. There were also those who seized the time to cram a few more questions, hoping to guess the right knowledge points, and those who were chasing and playing in the snow, not taking the exams seriously at all.
Before the last exam started, Yun Fang stood by the window in the corridor, looking down at the snow. The road in the middle was filled with purple-leaf plum trees, and the snow falling on the leaves was beautiful.
There was a fool wearing only a school uniform, hands in his pockets, walking towards the building. His whole body was about to freeze into a ball. Yun Fang’s gaze swept over him as he was about to return to the classroom, suddenly feeling that this fool looked familiar.
“Yi Chenliang!” He couldn’t help but shout.
He hadn’t called this name for almost half a month, and for a moment, he even felt a bit nostalgic.
Yi Chenliang, who had gone to the supermarket to buy a pen halfway, was very irritable from the cold. He impatiently raised his head, squinted his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see Yun Fang standing in front of the window on the fourth floor of the corridor, still holding a book in his hand.
“Where’s your coat?” Yun Fang asked loudly.
“I forgot to wear it!” Yi Chenliang looked up, the snow falling on his face was cool. He felt a bit silly standing there, but his feet seemed to have taken root, unable to move at all.
Yun Fang remembered that his examination room was in Building E, which was quite a distance from here. He took off his down jacket and threw it down from the fourth floor.
Yi Chenliang reached out and caught it squarely. The down jacket was heavy, and when he opened it, there was a copy of the first-year physics formula guide inside.
“Put it on and hurry back!” Yun Fang shouted at him.
Yi Chenliang didn’t say a word. He was indeed quite cold. He put on the down jacket, which was still warm inside, and looked up at Yun Fang.
Yun Fang waved at him, indicating that he should hurry up and leave.
So, he put his frozen hands into the pockets of his down jacket and walked forward with his head down. After a few steps, he took out two pieces of White Rabbit Creamy Candy from his pocket.
During the exam, Yi Chenliang stared at the two pieces of White Rabbit Creamy Candy and laughed for a long time.
A man in his thirties, and he was still eating White Rabbit Creamy Candy.
But on second thought, if Yun Fang loved to eat it, and he himself loved to eat it, there was no difference between him eating it and Yun Fang eating it. So, he unwrapped the candy wrapper, stuffed the candy into his mouth, and continued to do his exam while eating.
After the exam was over, they had to return to the classroom for a class meeting. Yi Chenliang returned earlier than Yun Fang, put the down jacket on Yun Fang’s desk, and went back to his seat in the last row.
Yun Fang, with his backpack, returned to the classroom and saw the neatly folded down jacket on the desk. He looked towards the back of the classroom.
Yi Chenliang was lying on the desk sleeping, wearing his own coat.
Yun Fang withdrew his gaze. Behind him, Qin Jun was wailing, wanting to compare answers with him, and Shen Zhouzhou also came up with a hopeful face.
Yun Fang took out his physics paper, “I can’t guarantee that all the answers are correct.”
“No problem, we don’t mind!” Qin Jun snatched the paper and called the people around to compare the answers together.
The classroom was noisy, and when Old Fang came in, it suddenly became quiet.
As usual, it was a long and boring class meeting. The students below were listless, and not many were listening seriously. It wasn’t until Old Fang said, “Happy New Year in advance!” that the students finally came to life, cheered, and started packing up to leave.
“Class representatives stay to clean up!” Old Fang shouted, “Be careful on the road! Don’t forget to do your winter vacation homework, I’ll collect it when school starts!”
Yun Fang put on his down jacket, reached into his pocket, and found that his White Rabbit Creamy Candy was gone. Instead, he found a small note.
On the note was a round-headed stick figure, with a dialogue box popping out aggressively: Thank you!
Yun Fang didn’t see any gratitude from the stick figure’s expression. Instead, he felt that he might want to fight with him more.
Yun Fang looked at the small note and laughed, “Eating someone else’s candy and still being so fierce.”
Just as Yi Chenliang walked out of the classroom door, he saw Yun Fang with his backpack.
“Let’s go back together.” Yun Fang cleared his throat, “It’s on the way.”
Yi Chenliang picked up his backpack and followed him.
Today happened to be Xiaonian, and the various stalls selling New Year’s goods on the street were very lively. The supermarket in front was playing lively and festive music, and even though it was still snowing, it didn’t reduce the liveliness at all.
(t/n: Xiaonian refers to one of the days from the 23rd to the 25th of the twelfth lunar month.)
There were many students on the bus going home, people were crowded, and Yun Fang and Yi Chenliang came out a bit late, thus there were no seats, they could only be squeezed to the back door. Yi Chenliang was holding onto the pole, Yun Fang was pulling the ring, and there were still students constantly coming in from the front door.
Yun Fang simply stood at the place where the back door was getting off, reached out and pulled Yi Chenliang down. Yi Chenliang hadn’t stood firm yet and the bus started, he stumbled and bumped into the glass door, but was quickly caught by Yun Fang.
The bus was crowded and stuffy, the two of them with their backpacks were facing each other, and there were still people persistently squeezing towards the back. Yun Fang was bumped hard and directly squeezed Yi Chenliang onto the bus door.
Yun Fang’s hand was holding the pole on the bus door, barely standing firm. The two of them were almost face to face, close enough to count each other’s eyelashes.
“There are too many people.” Yun Fang tried to move back, but the back was packed full, he couldn’t move at all.
Yi Chenliang hummed in response, he was almost completely encircled by Yun Fang, and he lowered his eyes uncomfortably.
Yun Fang was wearing a thick scarf, half of his face was buried in it, and a layer of mist quickly formed on his glasses, making it impossible to see Yi Chenliang’s expression.
“Yi Chenliang.”
“Hmm?”
“Help me pull down the scarf.” Yun Fang turned his neck uncomfortably.
Yi Chenliang reached out and pulled it down for him, revealing his mouth, and quickly lowered his eyes again.
Yun Fang took a breath, “Stop avoiding me.”
“I’m not avoiding you.” Yi Chenliang’s gaze fell on his lips, then moved away.
The mist on the glasses gradually dissipated, revealing Yun Fang’s deep eyes, “Every time I want to find you, I can’t find you.”
Yi Chenliang calmly said, “What do you want to find me for?”
“Can’t I find you if there’s nothing wrong?” Yun Fang was equally calm.
Yi Chenliang closed his mouth, drooping his eyelids and not responding.
“Don’t be angry.” Yun Fang lowered his voice, “Shall I buy you some more White Rabbit Creamy Candy?”
Yi Chenliang looked up at him, “It’s you who likes to eat it!”
“If I like it, doesn’t that mean you like it?” Yun Fang continued to coax him, “When we get off the bus later, there’s a stall selling cotton candy and candied haws next to the residential area. I’ll buy you two big ones.”
Yi Chenliang looked at him speechlessly, “Are you coaxing a child?”
“I’m coaxing myself.” Yun Fang smiled at him, “Or do you want to coax me back?”
As expected, Yi Chenliang didn’t make a sound.
The two of them squeezed all the way and finally got off the bus. There was an old man selling cotton candy and candied haws at the entrance of the residential area. Yun Fang bought a soft cotton candy and picked a thin and crispy candied haw.
He handed the cotton candy to Yi Chenliang.
The snow was getting heavier, and it was hard to tell which was whiter, the snowflakes or the cotton candy. Yi Chenliang hesitated for three seconds before accepting the cotton candy. He took a bite in the heavy snow, and it was sweet.
Yun Fang suddenly remembered that he was actually easy to coax.
When he was in his teens, if someone could give him a piece of candy, he could be happy for a long time–if someone could be a little nicer to him, he would easily approach them with a wave of their hand.
Just like when he first carried Yi Chenliang home, Yi Chenliang cautiously and curiously approached him, making a face as he helped him pick up water.
He thought that being a little distant would make Yi Chenliang feel at ease, but he forgot that the Yi Chenliang in front of him had not experienced so much malice and change in the world. Even if he found out that he had been deceived and abandoned, he would only wait helplessly in place.
That bad guy beckoned, and he would approach again.
Yun Fang opened his arms in the snow, “Come for a hug?”
Yi Chenliang looked at him suspiciously, hesitated for a while, but still stepped forward and hugged him, saying unhappily, “What are you doing?”
The bad guy rubbed his hair hard and said with a smile, “Apologizing to Xiao Yi.”