The Restless Dreams of Adolescence (1)

Xia Yanchun had never really gotten along with Shen Nian.

Especially now, she found him more of an eyesore than ever. They were already in eighth grade, yet he was still as careless and boisterous as he was when they were kids, always trying to startle people for no reason.

Some boys would randomly perform air layups in front of girls for no reason.

Shen Nian, on the other hand, would randomly slap her on the shoulder and either run away immediately or make a funny face before bolting.

As if anyone actually wanted to play with him.

To put it nicely, it was childish. To put it bluntly, it was idiotic ADHD.

Today was Thursday, and they had PE in the afternoon.

In the blazing heat of summer, Xia Yanchun really hated PE class, especially when it was the first period of the afternoon.

Her seat was only separated from Shen Nian's by an aisle, and unfortunately, the students sitting directly in front of and behind her were also boys. Having PE meant she would have to smell their sweat for the entire afternoon.

"The teacher took a leave of absence. This period is for self-study. Please keep quiet and don't disturb others if you talk."

As the class monitor on duty for the week, Xia Yanchun had to maintain discipline. Otherwise, the class would lose points, and the homeroom teacher would have a talk with her.

The class quieted down, and the students who were talking began to whisper.

But that only lasted for a little while.

In a small-town school, the learning environment was never going to be that great.

"A couple days ago, I..."

"Holy crap, send me the link..."

"I have the resources here, I'll sell them to you cheap with a classmate discount."

"You're charging money from a classmate? Has your conscience been eaten by a dog? If it's more than two bucks, I'm not buying..."

The classroom gradually grew noisy again, and some people's voices grew louder.

Although Xia Yanchun didn't say anything, she kept her ears perked up, eavesdropping on Shen Nian's side of the conversation.

Links, resources... it didn't sound like anything good.

After thinking about it, she roughly understood what they meant and instantly felt grossed out.

They should just talk about this kind of stuff in private. To actually discuss it in the classroom without even trying to hide it...

Boys... ugh. Girls were the best. Girls were the most wonderful creatures in the world.

Although she was disdainful, Xia Yanchun didn't say anything.

She only stepped in to manage the discipline again when it got way too loud.

The study atmosphere in the class was practically zero.

In a class where the majority disliked studying, those who actually studied were the weirdos. Xia Yanchun felt that it was already quite a feat for her and Shen Nian to stay far ahead in their grades amidst this group of rowdy boys.

It was all thanks to her.

If she, acting like an older sister, hadn't constantly reminded Shen Nian to study hard, he definitely would have gone bad by now.

Xia Yanchun was certain of this. She nodded to herself, feeling a burst of joy in her heart.

However...

...she also had her share of older sister troubles.

...

The last class of the morning ended.

The classmates scattered in an uproar, rushing to the cafeteria, while Xia Yanchun waited for Shen Nian at the classroom door.

Both of them were day students and lived next door to each other. It would feel weird if they didn't go home together. Even though they didn't get along perfectly, she still waited for Shen Nian every day, and he would wait for her—unless they had recently gotten into an argument, of course.

"I'm so tired, I want to sleep." Shen Nian rubbed his face. "Let's eat out in a bit. My mom didn't cook anything this morning, she just left me a packet of pickled mustard greens."

"Sure." Xia Yanchun nodded, leaning forward curiously and looking sideways at him. "Do you have money?"

"Who are you looking down on? I have ten bucks, enough for a bowl of snail noodles with fried tofu puffs. Do you not have money?"

"I do. I have fifty."

"Your parents are so generous. My parents never give me bills that big."

"They're probably afraid you'll waste it. A fifty-dollar bill can last me two weeks. If they gave it to you, it wouldn't even last two days. It's definitely better to give it to you in smaller amounts."

"Haha, look at you, talking nonsense again," Shen Nian laughed it off.

Xia Yanchun couldn't be bothered to argue with him. Didn't she know exactly what kind of person he was?

If he was given his entire week's allowance all at once, he'd be begging her for snacks by Wednesday. He could blow half his money just on buying drinks.

Wandering into the market, Xia Yanchun ordered a bowl of non-spicy noodles. Lunch was usually a simple affair; eating too much or too spicy would make it hard to take a nap later.

The food arrived shortly. Watching Shen Nian scoop another spoonful of chili into his bowl, she couldn't help but complain.

"Eating so much chili, your face is breaking out in pimples."

"Where?" Shen Nian wiped his face.

"You'll get them if you eat that."

"Well, they haven't grown yet, have they? Besides, so what if I get pimples?"

"Heh, I don't care about you."

"Then why did you say anything?"

"..."

Xia Yanchun lowered her head and ate in silence.

Middle school ended at 11:40 AM, and it was only a little past noon by the time they finished eating.

On such a hot day, being out in the sun for even a little while could easily make you dizzy.

I should have brought an umbrella, she thought.

Feeling gloomy, Xia Yanchun paid the bill and walked back with Shen Nian, staying under the eaves of other people's houses to enjoy the shade along the way.

Suddenly, her hair was tugged. She didn't say a word, and the certain someone behind her only got bolder, twirling and playing with her ponytail.

"By the way, what were you boys talking about in class?" Xia Yanchun murmured, her lips moving without looking at Shen Nian.

"We weren't talking, I was studying hard."

"I sit right next to you... It was so loud, I almost wrote your name down for a penalty."

"Just talking about games and stuff, what else could it be."

"Wasn't it some links? Some resources?"

Xia Yanchun felt Shen Nian noticeably stiffen for a moment. He pulled his hand back and subconsciously smoothed his own hair.

"You must have misheard, right?"

"I definitely didn't mishear." Xia Yanchun let out a long sigh. "Don't go bad, you."

"What are you talking about? I didn't even do anything."

"Your face is completely red and you say you didn't do anything? I don't buy it."

"That's enough, Xia Yanchun. Say one more word and I'll punch you."

He was clearly flustered. Xia Yanchun hummed smugly.

The biology teacher had taught them that boys hit puberty a bit later, right around eighth grade.

At an age where they were both ignorant and curious about everything, it wasn't completely incomprehensible.

Xia Yanchun didn't say anything else and just walked with him the rest of the way.

Shen Nian stayed as quiet as a quail the whole time, which was quite amusing. It wasn't often you got to see Shen Nian blushing and shy.

They each went to their own homes and slept without another word.

The first period of the afternoon was PE.

Shen Nian didn't like playing ball sports. As soon as free time started, he went over to chat with those mushroom-haired boys.

Ever since this guy started eighth grade, it was like he had an awakening. He used to hang out with girls a lot, but now he preferred to dive into groups of boys and talk about weird things.

Do boys automatically start wanting to learn about these dirty things once they reach a certain age?

Xia Yanchun pouted, feeling slightly gloomy. She sat on a concrete ping-pong table, swinging her feet and enjoying the shade of a pine tree, passing the forty-minute summer PE class.

"Hey, want to go buy some water?" Shen Nian called out to Xia Yanchun.

"No, get some for me. I want a bottled water."

"Delivery fee is fifty cents. Remember to pay me later."

"Got it!"