Age of Legends

Chapter 195 Drink more hot water
The school bell rang in the afternoon, and the school building looked like ants leaving their nest from above as students poured out. Zhang Chen and Wang Shuowei came out of the classroom, and a group of boys were chatting and laughing in front of them. Wang Chen turned around, saw Zhang Chen and Wang Shuowei, and asked, "Are you going to the cafeteria for lunch?"

Wang Shuowei laughed, "Can you guys even eat the food in the cafeteria? Zhang Chen and I will eat out."

"You two can just keep being corrupt!" A group of people cast a disdainful look at them.

Li Jiajun glanced at Zhang Chen in the crowd. He had seen Zhang Chen and Shen Nuoyi studying together in the bookstore during the holiday before last, and had initially assumed there was something between them, which had left him heartbroken. Now it seemed that everyone was in the same boat.

Then everyone started chatting again, about how they were dying from doing test papers every day, who got into a fight and broke their contact lens in their eye, how the school notified both sets of parents, and all sorts of other gossip. It seems that these days, instead of doing test papers all day, it's more fun for them to be able to watch the slightest thing happening around them.

Another person said, "I feel like this is getting too much. I did so badly on the monthly exam. Sigh, even though I tried so hard..."

"Do you still have any entertainment activities? I don't even have time to play anymore."

"Me too. Now I watch 'Today's Talk' on the big TV in the cafeteria every day at noon, and then watch 'Emotional Mediation Room' when I get home in the evening to relieve stress!"

"Holy crap, I'm watching that too!"

"To be honest, I watch it too..."

"That ex-husband of mine..."

"Today's Talk" aired last year and immediately became one of CCTV's top ten highest-rated programs. The various cases featured in the program have indeed achieved the goal of popularizing legal knowledge among the general public, as well as deterring and warning against crime. It is now a program for the entire nation. It airs every day at 12:30 pm without fail and is also an official program that can be shown to all students on the large TV screen in the Yude canteen.

Jiang Rong finally finished producing "Emotional Mediation Room" at the end of the month, and it was launched on the provincial TV station on time, airing every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10 pm. Zhang Chen did not expect to hear the program from these high school seniors, nor did he expect that the high school seniors would be watching it in their spare time.

No, shouldn't you all spend your spare time reading novels and playing games instead of sitting around watching the drama unfold?

It seems that the essence of humanity is simply eating sunflower seeds and reading gossip.

The first three episodes seem to have been well-received; Jiang Rong has made a great contribution and will receive a bonus upon returning.

During mealtimes, everyone went their separate ways. Some people had regular groups, booking a table at a nearby small restaurant or eating in the cafeteria. Zhang Chen and Wang Shuowei belonged to two small groups and weren't used to joining larger groups. They had their own topics to discuss, things only the two of them talked about: their godfather Wang Bowen, Zhao Tao, and Chen Xuran—topics that most students wouldn't be able to discuss.

In my past life, there were no such messy interludes. In my past life, Wang Shuowei and I just spent our time in internet cafes after class, eating fried rice, and eventually wandering around Rongcheng looking for food, rushing back from evening self-study, or even skipping class because we couldn't make it back in time.

The two of them had completely fallen into depravity, ranking last in their class and looking down on everyone else. Once, when it was almost time for evening self-study, they were playing rock-paper-scissors in the hallway. The winner went up one step, and the loser went down one step, making it a close match. They were still going up and down the stairs during evening self-study. Finally, they were caught red-handed by the principal, who liked to appear in the back row of the classroom. The next day, they were made to appear on the podium and be publicly shamed, making them look like fools in front of the whole school.

But back then, heaven and earth were the most important things, so what if everyone thought I was a fool?

Having someone who can be there for you during those dark and dreary times, foolish and crazy, is something to be cherished. But as life goes on, everyone becomes normal and mature, and we never encounter that period of youthful recklessness again. When we occasionally see someone like that again, we might just be like the bystanders back then, saying "Idiot!" or "Fool!" or perhaps we can't help but force a smile as we turn away.

This time, Zhang Chen and Wang Shuowei went to the same Maoxuewang restaurant on Bilin Road. It was a bit far, and they had to take a bus. They didn't want to miss evening self-study and have to rush back, like a sudden battle. But Zhang Chen and Wang Shuowei still went. There was no other reason than that sometimes they just couldn't bear to miss that spicy and delicious taste.

Surprisingly, the roads weren't congested today, so we arrived at the Maoxuewang restaurant early. We ordered a plate of Maocai (a type of Sichuan hot pot) and ate it together, along with a bottle of soda each. Since we still had some time, we weren't in a hurry to take the bus. Instead, we walked towards Yude, still feeling full. When we were almost at the street in front of Yude, Wang Shuowei suddenly decided to go to the nearby audio-visual store to buy a pair of headphones.

The audio-visual store is a product of this period, selling CDs, CD players, MP3 players, and various high-fidelity headphones. The one next to Yude Music Store is quite stylish, with many pillars, each housing four CD players connected to new headphones. You can test your headphones and CDs here.

Wang Shuowei loves listening to music, collecting various CDs and devices, and has a passion for buying headphones. This spendthrift is quite willing to spend money on these electronic products. Today, he heard that Sony's V900 headphones were released and available in Rongcheng, so he planned to buy one, and Zhang Chen was dragged in by him.

Wang Shuowei went in as if he had found his own world, and went to find CDs and ask the shop owner for test headphones.

Zhang Chen was allergic to the plastic smell in these industrial product clusters and didn't want to stay in a poorly ventilated room, so she said she would wait for him at the intersection downstairs.

As I strolled down the street, I saw the setting sun casting a reddish glow on the roadside, transforming the surrounding landscape.

Shen Nuoyi stood in front of a small jewelry store. She was accompanying Zheng Xue shopping. Zheng Xue liked buying these kinds of trinkets, and these days, such stores were springing up everywhere near schools. Some of the most famous were chain brands, claiming to be from South Korea and Japan, making a fortune. The store was full of young girls, and Shen Nuoyi probably felt it was too crowded. Zheng Xue, on the other hand, couldn't stay still when shopping in these kinds of stores and would often rush out just before class. Shen Nuoyi didn't want to spend too much time browsing with Zheng Xue inside, so she went outside and waited.

She was standing there, facing the sunset, her head down watching the ants by the drainage ditch, then her gaze wandered around before suddenly fixing on something.

Strangely enough, those who had been secretly watching her before all turned their heads away or pretended to lower their eyes and dared not look at her anymore as her gaze moved.

At the street corner in the setting sun, she and Zhang Chen locked eyes.

Shen Nuoyi's eyes, which were tinged with a blush by the sunset glow, showed a hint of panic and trembled slightly. However, unlike those who were looking at her, she did not avoid their gaze. Instead, she straightened up slightly and met Zhang Chen's eyes.

Even though he was facing the light, there was a deep and unfathomable look in his eyes.

Zhang Chen smiled. Actually, this situation was quite good. Her monthly exam results were out, and her grades were steadily improving. He hadn't wanted to put pressure on her before, hoping that she could maintain her stability and normalcy in the final stages of high school and not be influenced by him. Now it seemed that she hadn't been negatively affected at all; in fact, she had even improved. Given that, his decision not to disturb her at this stage was valid.

Just then, Wang Shuowei came out and saw Shen Nuoyi and Zheng Xue, who also came out of the jewelry store. They greeted each other and then approached one another.

"Yay! We ran into you two!" Zheng Xue said, linking arms with Shen Nuo.

"You've been shopping for another half hour!" This was Wang Shuowei.

"Bullshit, how could I have been shopping for half an hour! Shen Nuoyi didn't even wait long! Right, Nuoyi!"

Zhang Chen approached Shen Nuoyi, smiled at her, and said, "You did very well on the exam."

Shen Nuoyi, whose gaze had initially made Zhang Chen feel somewhat like a sinner, flickered her eyes and her expression changed slightly.

Zheng Xue chimed in from the side, "Yeah! Definitely! Shen Nuoyi absolutely dominated this time! My test score was just so-so... sigh..."

They chatted casually as they walked towards the main gate.

Zheng Xue and Wang Shuowei were still bickering, and before they knew it, they had fallen behind. On the other hand, Zhang Chen and Shen Nuoyi had caught up much faster and were walking ahead on the tree-lined path.

At that very moment, Shen Nuo spoke up: "I did well on this monthly exam because I was in a bad mood. I could only study hard to keep some of my worries from catching up with me."

After she finished speaking, she didn't look at him, but instead looked towards the playground next to the tree-lined road, trying hard to see the empty space there where no one was.

After a long pause, a voice came from beside me, "That's great. Keep it up. I hope you do well on your college entrance exam and have a bright future."

Zhang Chen suddenly felt empty beside him. He took a few steps and turned around. Shen Nuoyi was still standing in the same spot.

She stood there, her phoenix eyes fixed on Zhang Chen, her eyes slightly red, yet she held back, not uttering a single word.

What does it mean that you hope I do well on the exam and have a better future?

I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like you wished me a bright future, but that future doesn't seem to include you.
After a moment, Shen Nuoyi took a deep breath and said, "Zhang Chen, I want to eat steamed buns."

Zhang Chen, who was in front, waved his hand and said, "I haven't really felt like eating it lately, so I haven't gone to buy it. I'll buy it for you another day."

Even though she knew she was standing there, and although she wanted to turn around many times, Zhang Chen hardened her heart and didn't look back.

Back in the classroom, Shen Nuoyi slumped onto her desk, listless throughout the evening self-study session. Zheng Xue assumed she had started her period and kept getting her hot water.

(End of this chapter)