Graduation Party

Xia Yanchun ran off in a huff to chat with the other girls.

Shen Nian felt bored. Having nothing better to do, he slapped Ma Mingfan on the back—just because his hands were itching to do something.

"Boohoo, I'm being bullied."

"Wanna go to the school store?"

"Let's go, let's go."

On their way downstairs, they bumped into Chen Dong, so the group heading to the store became three.

The school store was packed. Most of the people there were class representatives coming down to stock up, buying large bags of items at a time. The drink fridges were already half empty, and the store owner hadn't even had time to restock.

Shen Nian generously treated them to a bottle of Pepsi each; anyone who wanted Coca-Cola had to pay for it themselves.

"Woohoo, ah—" Shen Nian took a huge gulp right after stepping out of the store.

A mouthful of ice-cold cola in the summer—anyone who could resist that refreshing feeling was truly a god.

"Sigh, we're really about to graduate." Chen Dong also took a sip.

"What, you can't bear to leave?"

"I'm a bit reluctant to leave you."

"Get outta here."

"Let's go, back to the classroom." Ma Mingfan came out of the store holding a cola, plus an extra bottle of sugar-free green tea.

"Oho, let me guess, is that for Liang Jing?" Shen Nian looked at him with realization. It seemed Hajima had finally figured things out.

"Yeah," Ma Mingfan didn't deny it, smiling faintly. "She gave me a bottle before, too."

"Alright, alright, alright."

"Alright my ass, don't get any crazy ideas."

"Guaranteed, I think there's absolutely nothing romantic going on between you two."

"Damn you!" Ma Mingfan felt like coughing up blood.

Shen Nian leisurely headed up to the classroom, peeled off the cola's wrapper, and asked Ma Mingfan to carry it back for him while he took a detour to the restroom.

After washing his hands and passing by the teachers' office, he noticed it was packed with teachers.

Today was quite special.

Some teachers even had a couple of small bouquets on their desks; it felt more like Teachers' Day than actual Teachers' Day.

Holy crap, I forgot to give Ms. Yan the specialty prawns.

Shen Nian just remembered. He repented, feeling he had let down Ms. Yan's nurturing grace. Next time the breeding pond was opened, he would definitely save ten pounds of prawns for Ms. Yan and deliver them to her personally, picking out the biggest ones.

By then, he would have already received his diploma. Even if he gave her cash, it probably wouldn't affect her teaching credentials, right?

As Shen Nian stood absentmindedly by the window, Yan Yuzhu, who was inside, saw him. She just narrowed her eyes, smiled, and nodded without saying a word or calling him into the office.

The classroom was noisy, so Shen Nian simply sat in his seat and watched Ma Mingfan play Naruto next to him.

"Damn, Super Kage Bro really has skills."

"Obviously."

"No way, I'm going to download it and play too. We'll 1v1. Disclaimer beforehand: no sending any emotes."

"Don't worry, I hate sending the head-pat emote the most."

"...?"

He didn't seem to be lying.

Shen Nian actually started downloading the game, but the classroom's internet speed was truly a bit slow. It got stuck after a few minutes of downloading, not to mention the updates required after installation. He probably wouldn't get to play it.

He didn't mind too much. His gaming addiction had passed long ago; he felt it still couldn't compare to playing a critically acclaimed AAA masterpiece.

Just as he was thinking about playing a fun game, Xia Yanchun sat down next to him and whispered, "The teacher is coming soon."

"Let her come. Is she going to confiscate my phone?"

"No, take this and hide behind the door. When the teacher opens the door later, pop the party popper." Xia Yanchun pulled a party popper out of a bag and stuffed it into Shen Nian's hands.

"You're actually asking me to assassinate the teacher? Then I'll have to go learn from JP Server Graves."

"What the heck are you talking about." Xia Yanchun was speechless.

"Doesn't that mean I have to keep standing behind the door?"

"The teacher will be here very soon. Otherwise, I can stand there. You can pop yours after I pop mine."

"Forget it, forget it, I'll do it." Shen Nian took the party popper and stood by the door like a thief.

He felt this was a bit unreliable. If the teacher pushed the door open too hard later, wouldn't he be exposed?

Besides, for this kind of surprise, the teacher had probably mentally prepared herself. Even if she hadn't experienced it, she must have seen videos of it.

After standing there for a short while, Shen Nian noticed approaching footsteps. The moment the front door opened, Shen Nian popped the party popper.

"Whoa!"

The not-so-loud explosion startled Su Kexi, who had just walked in. Wisps of ribbons and sequins slowly fell from mid-air, landing on top of Su Kexi's smooth hair.

Before Shen Nian's party popper had even finished its show, several other boys and girls crowded around, popping their party poppers with a series of bangs.

"You guys! I just washed my hair today!"

"Hahahaha!"

"You! You..." Su Kexi felt like she was about to drop some tears. She quickly opened her eyes wide, afraid that if she blinked, her eyelashes would get wet.

However, no matter how she tried to hide it, her reddened eyes were still very obvious.

After Shen Nian sat back in his seat, Su Kexi stood at the podium. Without saying a word, she plugged a USB drive into the computer and played a slideshow.

The screen showed photos recorded from various activities: a group photo of the sports meet relay team, scenes from the New Year's Eve gala performances in their freshman and sophomore years, peace signs at award ceremonies, and class basketball games secretly organized by the students. Various images scrolled by, covering everyone. Even the students who rarely spoke had a few pictures.

The background music kept changing, from Jay Chou's "Sunny Day" to "The Wind Rises," then to "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies," and "The Most Beautiful Sun." The most fitting segment of each song was chosen, maxing out the emotional atmosphere...

The classroom slowly quieted down from its previous noisiness. The more emotional girls were already secretly wiping away tears along with Su Kexi.

Youth was meant to be free and unconstrained.

Shen Nian looked for his own pictures and found only two: one of him receiving a special prize, and another of him acting as the student representative during the 100-day countdown pledge. It turned out both had been recorded.

Your boy looked insanely handsome.

Good job, teacher. I'll give you ten pounds of prawns later, too.

"What's wrong, moved to tears?" Shen Nian propped up his face and looked at Xia Yanchun, whose eyes were red next to him, asking with a chuckle.

"Yeah... aren't you touched?"

"I am, I'm just not showing it. Actually, I'm also really reluctant to say goodbye in my heart. After all, these were the three most youthful years of our lives."

"Mhm."

Xia Yanchun really wanted to lean on Shen Nian right now, but there were too many people around, so she had to hold it in for now.

So she leaned on Li Shiyan instead, feeling sad together with her.

After the video finished playing, Su Kexi had also composed herself.

"Alright, alright, why the bitter faces? Shouldn't you be happy now that exams are over?"

"It's because you started off by using your ultimate move, teacher," a girl replied.

"What ultimate move? I just wanted to let you guys reminisce about the youth of these past few years."

"Boohoo, we can't bear to leave you, teacher."

"If you can't bear to leave, then come back and visit often. The school will always welcome you all."

"Uh, teacher, I can't bear to leave you, not the school."

"Then come back and visit me. I will always welcome you all!"

"Okay!"

Perhaps the class representatives had discussed this activity in advance. Some students sneaked out of the classroom and called over all the subject teachers. Every time one came in, they popped a party popper. The classroom floor was covered in colorful, sparkling sequins.

Some of the subject teachers were homeroom teachers for other classes, but they still found time to drop by, completing their final routine as subject teachers.

Some subject teachers sat down to chat with the students in the class, eat some snacks, and watch the students' talent shows. Finally, they received a couple of beautiful little bouquets and took group photos with the students as a memento. Perhaps someday in the future, when they look at these photos again, they will recall the frustrations, the joys, and the peaceful moments of the past three years...

Shen Nian took photos with all of his subject teachers. Even though he didn't know if he would ever dig them out to look at in the future, it felt like something would be missing if he didn't take them.

"Shen Nian, come here for a second." Yan Yuzhu waved at him.

"What's up, Miss?"

Yan Yuzhu held out her slightly pink palm and said with a grin, "Where's the local specialty you promised me?"

"I'm so sorry, Miss, I completely forgot. I'll contact the Want Want headquarters tonight and have them transfer half of their company shares to you."

"You actually have that much power?" Yan Yuzhu asked in disbelief.

"Fun fact: the Want Want Group has never officially denied that I am one of their shareholders."

"Half of their shares is way too much."

"Alright then, I guess I'll have to settle for the next best thing and just buy you a case of Want Want Milk," Shen Nian said with a completely serious expression.

"Pfft, hahaha, how can you say that with such a straight face?"

"A teacher who can play along with my jokes with a straight face isn't too bad either."

Yan Yuzhu giggled, thoroughly amused by Shen Nian.

She finally understood why Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun had gotten together.

Outstanding young men and women are always drawn to each other. Grades are one aspect, but personality is another. With Shen Nian's sense of humor, whether in high school or college, he would absolutely be among the boys most popular with the opposite sex.