The Healing Sunshine (一厘米的阳光)

Chapter 6.3 - The Little Thought in My Heart (3)

It so happened that one month before final examinations, her Chinese orchestra team had a competition to participate in. Jǐ Yi, therefore, had no choice but to study and rehearse at the same time.

In fact, during this period, not only the Chinese orchestra but also the dance group, the symphony orchestra, and the school's athletes needed to participate in various competitions. However, most of the people did not really study. The special-talent students of Fuzhong historically had always been particularly excellent in their respective areas of expertise. Winning first place was the norm, and they easily obtained the baosong slots that would recommend them for direct admission into university.

Consequently, the existence of students who studied assiduously like Jǐ Yi was absolutely rare and weird within the orchestra team.

When she had finished rehearsing and tidied and packed up, she was planning on returning to her classroom to continue studying.

All of a sudden, a girl, a junior schoolmate, came running in with a strange expression on her face. "Jǐ Yi, there's someone looking for you outside the main gates of the school."

Outside the main gates?

With puzzlement, Jǐ Yi walked out of the school. There, she saw the students who were on duty at the main gates discussing in whispers amongst themselves the four cars that were splayed out in front of the school's front entrance. It was not strange for cars to be parked in front of Fuzhong High School, but the drivers of these cars were all young boys, and also, the four cars were parked end to end in a straight line. It truly was difficult not to notice. Furthermore, those people were simply too notorious. They were all from that infamous work-study reform school.

The people in work-study reform school were mostly students still under the age of majority, but their former schools had been unable to keep them in check. They more or less had committed crimes of some sort, but those had not been serious enough for them to be placed into a reeducation-through-labour centre. Hence, the difference between that school and Fuzhong was like hell and heaven.

This was especially so in 2001, when ruffians like these ones, who gave such a display of force, were still uncommon.

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She recognized that inside one of the cars was Nuannuan's boyfriend, Xiao Jun, as well as his buddy who frequently hung out with him, Fu Xiaoning.

"Xixi." Fu Xiaoning always spoke very gently, without any obscenities or cusswords ever slipping in to what he said. In fact, he seemed even more well-mannered and civilized than some of the poor-performing students of Fuzhong High School. "We're not looking for you for anything special. Just wondering, do you know where Nuannuan is?"

"Xixi, come. It's too sunny over there. Come over here to talk." Xiao Jun was not a very talkative person, but he was courteous to her.

It was the end of the school day, when all students were dismissed, and there were people coming and going. The Fuzhong students who were trying to avoid those several cars all turned to look at her.

Now that it was nearing the end of June, the weather was already very hot. In this moment, as she stood beneath the sun, she genuinely did not know what she should do. If she did not step outside, these people would continue blocking the school's gates. If she did go out to them... She did not want to take even a single step out of the gates.

"What's wrong?" Fu Xiaoning walked toward her.

Instinctively, she wanted to retreat, but then out of nowhere, a figure was standing in front of her, shielding her. It was Class Prefect, who had heard reports of what was going on here and hurried over. Class Prefect had always been someone who carried the revolutionary ideals of coming against the degenerate parts of society, so he especially disliked these people.