We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"Xie Shu, Hagi Bai, shall we go feed the cats?"

After dinner, Chen Qiuhe put her hands in her pockets, tilted her head and spoke to the two of them, her tone carrying a hint of relaxed joy.

Li Mubai nodded. A long winter vacation had passed, and he wondered if the cat was still alive.

"Go." Xie Shu slightly raised his eyes, his voice light and calm.

"Let's go!" Chen Qiuhe immediately smiled.

Deng Yi watched the three figures leave silently from a distance. After hesitating for a while, he finally gave up the idea of ​​secretly following them.

Halfway there, Chen Qiuhe suddenly clapped her hands, as if she had remembered something important and said:

"Oh dear, I suddenly remembered that I haven't finished looking up the vocabulary in my English reading comprehension. Aren't we supposed to go over the test paper tonight? Why don't you guys go this time? I'll head back now."

Before Li Mubai and Xie Shu could respond, Chen Qiuhe hurriedly turned and ran towards the classroom.

Um--

"Squad leader, shall we go?" Li Mubai turned to Xie Shu beside him and asked.

"Mmm," she responded softly.

The two walked side by side to the place where they used to feed the orange cat. Things had changed; the cat's bowl was now dirty and sat quietly in the corner.

"Do you want it wiped clean? I have some wet wipes." Xie Shu handed over a packaged wet wipe from his pocket.

"Okay, thank you, class monitor." Li Mubai reached out and took it, then squatted down and began to clean carefully.

He took out the cat food can, shook it, and it made an empty sound; no cat appeared.

Li Mubai opened the jar and slowly poured the cat food into the bowl.

"Did the cat run away?" Xie Shu asked softly.

"may be."

Li Mubai wasn't sure if the cat had moved to a different place or if the place had reopened. He could only wait and see if the food was still there to find out.

On the way back to the classroom, the evening breeze, carrying the last chill of winter, brushed against my cheek. Xie Shu suddenly asked another question:

When you feed stray cats, have you ever thought about adopting them?

Li Mubai paused slightly in his steps.

I've thought about it, but my family's financial situation doesn't allow it. My parents don't like pets, and...

"Every cat has a different personality. Some cats may be born to love being strays, while others may be better suited to foster living," Li Mubai replied.

Although February is still winter, temperatures have already begun to rise, especially in the south, where the weather is often sunny.

As the sun set, it cast long shadows of the two of them.

The boy lowered his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the road stretching forward beneath his feet.

The girl glanced at him briefly, then quickly looked away and continued walking quietly forward.

As Xing Yi passed by Class 1, who was doing practice problems at the classroom door, he suddenly stopped writing, subconsciously looked up at the classroom, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, Xing Yi, isn't that your goddess?" His deskmate nudged him with his elbow and teased him mischievously.

"Get lost, get lost, I'm focused on my studies." Xing Yi immediately looked away.

A wave of impotent rage washed over him, and only studying could offer him some solace. "Why can't arts and sciences be ranked together?" he wondered.

Ring ring.

The crisp bell rang, signaling the start of evening self-study.

"Everyone, please study on your own during the first evening self-study session. We'll go over the test paper in the next session." Teacher Li gave the instructions from the podium, her gaze sweeping across the classroom before finally settling on Li Mubai.

She gently tapped on Li Mubai's table, signaling him to come out with her.

It was like a Monday evening study session for Chinese, but this time only he was the only student in the office.

"Li Mubai, I've seen your joint exam results this time, and there's still a lot of room for improvement." Teacher Li said bluntly as soon as he entered, but there was no reproach in his tone.

"Yes." Li Mubai lowered his head.

"Where do you find it difficult in your English learning?" Teacher Li pulled up a chair and sat down, asking patiently.

"Uh—I can't remember the vocabulary well, and I don't understand grammar very well either."

"If you have trouble memorizing words, try memorizing this first."

Teacher Li took out a stack of printed and bound papers from the drawer. The papers were neatly printed with English words and their Chinese definitions, followed by blank squares.

"Do you have any classmates who are good at English?" Teacher Li asked.

Wang Rui's English grades were average, Chen Qiuhe's were about the same, and who came after him?

"The class monitor has good English grades," Li Mubai replied.

"Memorize half of this table each day. After you finish memorizing it, look at the English text, cover the Chinese translation, and write the Chinese translation in the blank squares."

Li Mubai glanced at it; there were twenty words on one side.

"The next day, find another notebook and have someone help you with dictation during your break. Then bring it to me before evening self-study every Tuesday," Teacher Li instructed carefully.

"Teacher, can it be just anyone?"

"Ask whoever is available for help. Of course, you can also ask Xie Shu. When I'm not around, you can ask her for grammar questions."

"Okay, teacher."

"By the way, don't tell any of your classmates about this vocabulary list except the one who helps you with the dictation. I want to see how well you do."

……

I took the vocabulary list back to the classroom, and now the English teacher was practically feeding me! I was being used as a guinea pig, but hopefully it would be somewhat useful.

"Mu Bai, Li Mu Bai, what did Teacher Li give you?" Chen Qiuhe asked curiously as soon as evening self-study ended.

"They gave me a stack of draft paper."

"Draft paper? Let me see it."

"Watching everything will only harm you," Li Mubai said, stuffing the watch into his desk.

Seeing that he was hiding, Chen Qiuhe became even more certain that he was hiding something. She waved her hand and said:

"Forget it, I'm not watching anymore."

Seeing Chen Qiuhe turn back, Li Mubai began to think about how to bypass the other students' notice and find Xie Shu for dictation.

Xie Shu should have brought his phone, right...?

Back in his dorm room, he washed up, went to bed, turned on his phone, and typed a message in the WeChat chat interface.

He pinched his chin in thought, then unconsciously lingered on the delete key on his phone.

After hesitating for a long time, with a little nervousness in his heart, he clicked send.

Li Bubai: "Class monitor, Teacher Li gave me a vocabulary memorization list today, and I need to find a classmate to help me with dictation every day. Are you available?"

The waiting time was long. He kept putting down and picking up his phone, wondering why there was still no reply and guessing that the other person might not have brought their phone.

Hey.

He quickly picked up his phone.

Okay, Yan Shu sent a message wanting to continue the spark, but Xie Shu hasn't replied yet.

He replied briefly to Yan Shu, and just as he was about to turn off his phone, a WeChat message suddenly popped up at the top of his screen.

Solitudo: "Okay, when do we start?"

Li Bubai: "Is the day after tomorrow okay?"

Solitudo: "Okay, is it during the break between dinner and evening study?"

Li Bubai: "Yes, if it's convenient for you, class monitor."

Solitudo: "Okay."

Seeing that Xie Shu agreed, Li Mubai's tension vanished instantly. He breathed a long sigh of relief, and his phone vibrated again.

Solitudo: "Do you have any other problems with English?"

Li Bubai: "Yes."

Solitudo: "For example?"

Li Bubai: "I don't understand the grammar."

Solitudo: "Okay, then tell me about the grammar issues during club class tomorrow, and I'll take a look."

Li Bubai: "Won't this interfere with your studies?"

Solitudo: "It's alright."

Li Bubai: "Thank you, class monitor."

Solitudo: "You're welcome, get some rest [moon emoji]".

Xie Shu sent him a moon emoji on WeChat, which was similar to the one on QQ, and he replied with a moon emoji in return.

Turn off your phone and close your eyes.

In the darkness, he was wide awake, his mind replaying the chat log from earlier. Speaking of which, Yan Shu often told him to "get some rest."

A letter? A memorial?