Rebirth: Growing Up Together

After singing happily for a while, Yu Yu went to the bathroom and Lin Wanzhou rushed to play Xu Cheng's guitar.

“You haven’t learned it…”

Lin Wanzhou put her hands on her waist and said, "Humph, he plays the piano very well, let me try."

“And they are not common…”

Xu Cheng handed her the guitar and taught her the basic postures and techniques.

Lin Wanzhou imitated what Xu Cheng had done just now, sitting on the chair and crossing her legs in a very formal manner.

"It's heavier than I thought... Well, Mr. Xu, please come and teach me quickly."

Xu Cheng said seriously, "There are a lot of theoretical knowledge to learn when playing guitar... Put the ball of your thumb on the sound hole, pluck the strings from the outside to the inside, pluck the strings lightly and pull them deep, and the rhythm of playing is also very important. Guitar beginners like you can try to beat the rhythm with your feet. When you start practicing, use the rhythm of three pluckings and one pulling. After you become proficient, you can try using more different rhythms, five pluckings and one pulling, nine pluckings and one pulling..."

The more Lin Wanzhou listened, the more puzzled he became. "Oh, that's too complicated. Just teach me how to play the song... Um... can you play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?"

Eh? Why does this sentence sound so familiar?

"Yes, I will teach you to play a simple melody. It will be much easier without the chords."

Xu Cheng walked around behind Lin Wanzhou, put his arms around her, and placed his fingers on the guitar in front of Lin Wanzhou.

"1 1 5 5 6 6 5..."

Xu Cheng smelled the faint fruity scent on Lin Wanzhou's hair. Because they were too close, some of the fluffy hair tickled his neck, making him feel itchy.

It was inevitable that their hands would touch each other. In order to facilitate guidance, Xu Cheng sometimes simply held her little hand.

Lin Wanzhou was so focused on her studies that she didn't seem to realize any of this. She had already memorized the score of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by heart and knew the simple finger-picking techniques, so she could easily play a simple melody.

Yu Yu, who had just returned from the restroom, saw the two people from the side from behind. The guitar in her field of vision was completely blocked by Xu Cheng's body. She stood there in a daze.

What did I see?

Why did they suddenly hug each other...

Such an intimate look...

Should I just leave... or go back to the bathroom... or pretend I didn't see it... or...

I really want to die...

After school on Monday, Xu Cheng followed Lin Wanzhou to Teacher Zhu’s office and gave Teacher Zhu the MP3 recording of their singing.

Teacher Zhu kept nagging, "Studying hard and getting good grades will be the best gift you can give me...", but it can be seen that she was actually very touched.

When Xu Cheng came out of the office, it was already evening with the sky full of rosy clouds. He walked straight towards the school gate when the corner of his clothes was suddenly pulled.

Turning back, he looked at Lin Wanzhou in surprise, "What's wrong?"

"Are you in a hurry to go back? I don't want to go home yet..." She said with a look of disappointment in her eyes, "I want to have a good look around the school. Maybe there will be fewer opportunities like this in the future..."

Hearing this, Xu Cheng looked up at the campus. Under the fiery red sunset, it seemed to be coated with a layer of blazing gold.

"It doesn't matter. Let me go for a walk with you..."

"Hehe, Xu Cheng is the best."

The two children strolled together in the campus where they had studied for six years. When Xu Cheng took a closer look, he found that the campus scenery was both familiar and unfamiliar. Willow trees, peach trees, cherry trees, ginkgo trees...

There are horsetail grasses in front of the teaching building, the basketball court with potholes on the cement floor, several large tires with weeds growing behind the cafeteria, and next to the leaky carport, there is a broken blackboard that once had a big fish drawn on it...

An indescribable emotion surged in Xu Cheng's heart, especially with Lin Wanzhou's company.

They sat down on the empty playground lawn and threw their schoolbags aside.

The clouds were burning red, the sunlight from the western sky was pouring down slantingly and warmly, and the edges of the green grass were dyed orange.

Xu Cheng's shoulders suddenly sank, and Lin Wanzhou leaned her head on his shoulder, her warm breath spraying on his ears.

“Is it difficult to return to school after graduation?”

"If you want to come back, you can come back and have a look if you have the chance."

Xu Cheng couldn't help but think of his elementary school. It seemed like he had never been back there since graduation. He could only guess what the place had become through the fence.

Lin Wanzhou babbled, "Hmm... I always feel like I haven't finished elementary school enough..."

"I want to see the cherry blossoms in the spring and the ginkgo trees in the fall. I also want to go to the cafeteria with Xu Cheng to get food, snatch your chicken leg, and run to the library with you during lunch break..."

"Silly boy, we can do those things in junior high school, right? If nothing unexpected happens, we will still be in the same junior high school, so we won't be separated."

Lin Wanzhou sat up straight and looked at Xu Cheng seriously, "No, I want you to promise me that we will be together in junior high school, high school, and college... By the way, Xu Cheng, for college... do you want to go to Qinghua or one of the top 100 universities?"

"I'll take whatever exam you take, okay?"

"whee."

Lin Wanzhou stretched out his index finger and scratched the tip of Xu Cheng's nose. "Since you are so well behaved, I will sing a song for you, but you are not allowed to laugh at me!"

"just sing."

“The river of time flows into the sea”

“Finally we went our separate ways”

“No port”

“It’s a permanent stay”

……

"There is one in my mind"

“The intersection where the phoenix flowers bloom”

“There are my most cherished friends.”

Chapter 58: Strange Groan

The lotus wind sends the fragrance, and the bamboo dew drops clear.

A small test comes silently and seems so insignificant compared with the high school entrance examination and the college entrance examination.

Xu Cheng finished the questions casually, and then began to stare at the steel and wood desks and chairs, listening to the rain hitting the glass outside, or looking at the female invigilator sitting at the front of the classroom.

She was wearing flesh-colored stockings on her legs and twitchy sandals on her feet.

Aren’t you afraid of affecting our exams?

In short, everything ended without any memorable moments. The day after the exam, the students returned to school to take graduation photos, get their diplomas, and announce the official end of their elementary school career.

Because he was going to take graduation photos, Xu Cheng wore the Experimental Primary School uniform today, a transparent white shirt with a bright red scarf on his chest fluttering in the wind.

Seeing Li Qiuyang standing by the corridor railing in a daze, Xu Cheng walked over and patted him on the shoulder, "How did you do in the exam, Li Qiuyang?"

Li Qiuyang stared at the sky in a daze and answered irrelevantly, "Do you know why it rained during the exam yesterday?"

"why?"

Li Qiuyang sighed, "This is a description of the environment, foreshadowing the tragic fate of the characters."

Xu Cheng was stunned. This boy...when did he become so eloquent?

However, seeing this childhood friend being so emo, he kindly comforted her, "Don't be too sad. Even if you don't pass the score line of No. 3 Middle School, your dad can help you get in by recharging your account. Maybe we were classmates in junior high school."

"Ah, that's true... but I always feel that it's not as exciting as the exams I took myself."

"Nonsense, the guaranteed bonus for the kryptonians is not as good as the lucky ones who can save up their energy in one shot."

In the classroom, everyone was busy filling out the yearbook. Since Lin Wanzhou was a popular girl in the class, she had to fill out more copies. A thick pile of papers was piled on the table. She was slurping some snacks with relish while writing down blessings in a flamboyant manner.

"What are you eating? It smells so good. Give me one."

"Here." Lin Wanzhou took one out of her schoolbag and waved it in front of his face.

"What is this?"

“Chicken feet.”

"...???"

There were also a lot of yearbooks given by classmates on Xu Cheng's desk. Although the chance of everyone contacting each other in the future was basically zero, he still helped fill them out carefully.

Lin Wanzhou suddenly handed over a light blue yearbook and pointed at a column on it and asked in confusion, "Xu Cheng, what do these measurements mean?"

"Cough cough cough..."

Which naughty kid gave this to you? You are here to cheat or attack me, right? ! !

"Just leave it blank. This is personal privacy. Don't write anything."

"Oh." Lin Wanzhou agreed, turned away, and turned back after a long while, "Xu Cheng, why don't you buy a yearbook? I really want to write for you."

"What are you going to write to me? Your name is Lin Wanzhou, you are 12 years old, blood type O, Taurus, you like pink, Grain Rain happens to be your birthday, your hobby is eating, your specialty is playing the piano..." Xu Cheng spoke a lot of words straight out of his mouth, "I already know all this, right?"

"Hehe, you know me very well...but..."

"I still want to write you a graduation blessing!"

Lin Wanzhou stared at Xu Cheng intently, which made him feel uneasy.

"But I didn't buy that yearbook...why don't you write for me in your own copy and I'll put it under my desk later."

Lin Wanzhou also bought a yearbook, which was very exquisite. The cover was made of embossed cardboard with beautiful patterns such as rainbows and balloons.

"Of course not, what's the point..."

Lin Wanzhou pinched his chin with his hand, and finally a good idea came to his mind.

"How about I write it on your clothes? Emmm...how about here."

She pointed to the breast pocket of Xu Cheng's shirt.

"Da Me!" Xu Cheng immediately refused, "That guy is too much of a brat. I don't want that."

"What do you mean by spirited young man? I'm sure I wrote it well!"

"impossible."

"Let me write, let me write..." Lin Wanzhou kept grabbing Xu Cheng's waist.

"Ouch, it's itchy..." Xu Cheng couldn't resist Lin Wanzhou, so he tugged at his shirt and said helplessly, "Write it, write it."

"whee."

Lin Wanzhou happily picked up the carbon pen and started writing on Xu Cheng's shirt. She didn't control the strength very well, and the tip of the pen sometimes crossed his chest, making Xu Cheng feel tingling all over his body, and...

"Ah~"

A rather enchanting cry emanated from Xu Cheng's seat.

"not me……"

"This is not me..."

Xu Cheng explained palely, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Lin Wanzhou's face also turned red. She was so focused on writing that she ended up writing about something strange...

It wasn't intentional...

Fortunately, the naive children didn’t quite understand the hidden meaning of that strange cry. They just looked at Xu Cheng curiously and then continued with what they were doing.

Class leader Jiang Yulu also came to the rescue in time and asked everyone to go out and gather for photos.

Because of their similar heights, Xu Cheng and Lin Wanzhou lined up in the same row. She glanced at Xu Cheng from time to time, and after thinking for a long time, she finally spoke.

"Xu Cheng, I'm sorry..."

Lin Wanzhou felt filled with guilt for causing Xu Cheng to be so embarrassed.

Xu Cheng didn't say anything, but just roared wildly in his heart:

Forget it! Forget it!

Seeing that Xu Cheng still ignored her, Lin Wanzhou blushed and pulled Xu Cheng's arm, "If you are still angry, can't I ask you to write it back? Really..."

???

"Cough cough cough..."

Stop your heartbeat!