DBTHDCAR Chapter 19

“Ning Xiaobei, the homeroom teacher wants you to come to the office. Hey… wake up, don’t sleep!”

Ding Zheyang stood by Ning Xiaobei’s desk, pushing his shoulder hard.

It was the long lunch break, a rare chance for the kids to relax after a half-day of classes.

Fan Xia, who couldn’t sit still for a second, had already dragged “Long Hair,” “Squinty Eye,” “Fat Wintermelon,” and “Long Legs”¹playful schoolboy nicknames from the neighboring class down to the playground to kick a ball. A few girls sat in the corner, chattering about the latest stars in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Ning Xiaobei, like most of the classmates, had his head on the desk, dozing off.

Earlier, Ding Zheyang had run into the homeroom teacher, Teacher Qiu, in the hallway after using the restroom. The teacher asked him to notify Ning Xiaobei to go to the grade office later.

Ding Zheyang, usually one of the most obedient kids, entered the classroom and shouted loudly into Ning Xiaobei’s ear. But Ning Xiaobei was sleeping so soundly that no matter how he called, there was no response. Frustrated, he nudged him twice.

“What are you doing?”

Suddenly, Ning Xiaobei opened his eyes, staring straight into Ding Zheyang’s eyes.

Ding Zheyang felt two beams of cold, piercing light shoot from Ning Xiaobei’s pupils, slicing through the lenses of his glasses and stabbing his own eyes like knives.

“I… the homeroom teacher wants you to go to the office…”

Little Ding Zheyang froze, still just a kid. He took a half-step back, nervously hiding the hand that had just touched Ning Xiaobei’s shoulder behind his back.

“I… I’ll go first.”

Then, like his pants were on fire, he bolted out of the classroom door.

“Eh…”

Ning Xiaobei glanced around, realizing he was back in the dream world again.

It wasn’t surprising that he had been so harsh on Ding Zheyang just now. After all, in the real world, he had just learned that this guy had scammed his dad out of three million. Seeing the culprit appear right in front of him, it was only natural to be angry.

Ning Xiaobei walked into the boys’ bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. He looked up at the mirror, staring at the pale-faced, icy-eyed kid staring back at him, and slapped his cheeks hard.

Only when the faint pink blood returning to his cheeks gave his eyes a softer look did he manage a small smile at his reflection.

Finally, these were the eyes of a normal elementary school kid.

“Ning Xiaobei, are you daydreaming?”

He didn’t notice when Fan Xia appeared behind the sink, dripping sweat from a game of soccer, and now their reflections met in the mirror.

“Why are you doing that?”

Fan Xia said, then mimicked Ning Xiaobei, patting his own cheeks.

“My mom used to do this after washing her face, pat-pat-pat for a long time. When she did it, my dad said she was daydreaming. Why are you doing the same thing?”

You little brat… your mom was patting on toner, okay?

Having once done marketing for a cosmetics company, Ning Xiaobei was speechless.

No wonder your parents got divorced. Your dad’s a classic straight-man-type, and you’ve got the same level, no wonder you never had a girlfriend later.

Ning Xiaobei turned his head, lifted it high, and flared his nostrils at Fan Xia. He had no choice; the kid was already half a head taller than him. These past couple of days, Ning Xiaobei had been drinking a cup of milk every morning and evening, trying to catch up.

“Go wash properly. You’re stinking of sweat, and if you go to class like this, it’ll kill me.”

He said this, walked to the door, then seemed to think of something and turned back to add,

“You’d better try to lighten up your skin. All the girls in class are using those whitening face washes. I think Uncle Zhao can get one for you. Might help you a bit… coal miner.”

“Ning Xiaobei, go to hell!”

Fan Xia, hit by a sore spot,  flew into a rage.

“Back to you, hahaha…”

The thirty-year-old oddball who had just won the elementary school quarrel contest let out a hearty laugh.

No amount of washing could whiten him; Fan Xia’s deep brown skin was the genuine inheritance from his father.

To be precise, if Ning Xiaobei had seen Fan Xia’s father, Fan Jian, he might have thought Fan Xia was actually half a “Snow Prince.”

His grandmother played a major role in this: with her fair skin, she tried to rescue the old Fan family’s dark-skinned lineage from ruin, though only half successfully.

Turning on the tap, Fan Xia grabbed a red Shanghai medicinal soap and began scrubbing his hands.

He knew Ning Xiaobei was no ordinary elementary student. As the teacher said, he had a touch of germaphobia. Just looking at how neat his desk was, you could tell. Not like Fan Xia’s own desk, which was messy enough to run a small grocery shop.

Also, Uncle had said that Xiaobei wasn’t healthy and couldn’t handle dirt. So Fan Xia had started paying attention to personal hygiene, making sure to wash properly after every activity before returning to class. Unlike “Long Legs,” who never washed his hands after using the bathroom.

Fan Xia walked back from the bathroom to class, sniffed his uniform to confirm there was no trace of sweat, and returned to his seat.

“Hey, where’s my boss?”

Looking at the empty seat next to him, Fan Xia asked in puzzlement. Then he noticed Ding Zheyang’s seat in front was empty too, and class was starting in ten minutes!

“You want to know? I’ll tell you.”

The class’s most devoted fangirl and gossip queen, Wang Qingyu, leaned in mysteriously and winked at him.

Wang Qingyu was a chubby little girl, solid and cute. Her grades were average, but she was enthusiastic and reliable; the little leader among the girls in class.

She claimed that her name was a combination of the great beauties Joey Wong, Brigitte Lin, and Maggie Cheung. Her parents had given her that name so she could chase idols, it was a heaven-sent mission.

A talent like Wang Qingyu would later become a fansite admin. With plenty of pocket money, she bought a dozen or more popular magazines each month and had access to all kinds of idol-tracking resources. She often coordinated with fangirls from other classes (back then they weren’t even called fans) and could frequently learn gossip that others didn’t know.

“Spill it,”

Fan Xia said impatiently.

“I want to watch Jet Li’s new movie, 《The Lion in the Western Regions²Jet Li’s The Lion in the Western Regions refers to the 1997 Hong Kong martial arts film Once Upon a Time in China and America .》”

Wang Qingyu knew Fan Xia’s family ran a video rental store and also rented tapes externally. At that time, most Hong Kong and Taiwanese films didn’t screen in official theaters. The only way to see the latest movies was to rent the tapes.

Of course, they were mostly pirated. Back then, there was little copyright awareness; pirated movies, novels, and even pop music cassettes were everywhere.

Fan Xia’s dad had some real connections. Whenever a new Hong Kong movie came out, he could immediately get a copy, which was why his business did so well.

“Monday next week, you’ll have it,”

Fan Xia said, waving his big hand briskly.

Although Fan Jian wasn’t a great dad, he wasn’t completely indifferent either. About every two weeks, he would take Fan Xia out for a meal to strengthen their father-son bond. Asking Dad for a tape was an easy matter.

“Our school may be shabby, but the principal is somewhat capable. You know No. 1 High School? This year, they gave our school three guaranteed admission spots.”

Wang Qingyu held up her chubby fingers and made a “three.”

“With these three guaranteed admission slots, you can enter the middle school section of No. 1 High School without taking the entrance exam. The homeroom teacher specifically called the top student and the ‘forever second place’ in for this reason.”

Wang Qingyu said this and sighed.

“Ah, it’s really nice, being guaranteed admission. Ordinary people like us can only go to Fourth Middle, which is connected to a market. It’s not just noisy, it’s full of all kinds of people, and the security is terrible…”

Fan Xia fidgeted in his seat.

He had known about Ning Xiaobei aiming for No. 1 High for a while. But graduation was still months away, why were they talking about guaranteed admission now?

If Xiaobei really got into No. 1 High without taking the test, what would he do? They had only just made up, and now they would be separated?

“Hey, Fan Xia, are you even listening to me?”

Wang Qingyu chattered on for a while, realizing that Fan Xia wasn’t paying attention at all. He had his head down, lost in thought, so she angrily patted the desk.

Fan Xia could only lift his head listlessly.

“Do you know who the top three students in our grade are?”

“Ning Xiaobei.”

“That’s the first. And the second and third?”

“Isn’t knowing the first enough?”

Fan Xia widened his eyes and said firmly.

“The second is Ding Zheyang, and the third is Zhuang Li from Class 2.”

Mentioning Zhuang Li, Wang Qingyu couldn’t help snorting.

Just as Wang Qingyu was the girls’ leader in their Class 4, Zhuang Li was the leader of Class 2’s girls. One idolized Leslie Cheung, the other admired Alan Tam. Using modern words, they were mutual rivals, constantly at odds.

What made Wang Qingyu even more frustrated was that Zhuang Li managed both her fangirling and her studies successfully, while Wang Qingyu herself could only stay mediocre…

“Anyway, these guaranteed slots should go to these three students. I just saw Zhuang Li head to the teacher’s office too.”

Wang Qingyu waved her hand impatiently, finished speaking, and returned to her seat.

“Ah, and don’t forget the videotape!”

“Got it. So annoying.”

After hearing that, Fan Xia got even more frustrated and leaned over the desk.

On the desktop, the faint marks of the boundary line he had carved with a small knife on the first day of last semester were still visible, though by now neither of them paid it any attention.

Since Ning Xiaobei wasn’t around, Fan Xia boldly spread out and took up most of the desk.

“Boss… I don’t want to be apart from you…”

He wanted to be best buddies forever, just like Uncle and Uncle Ning.

The thought that they would separate in just a few months made his chest tighten. Even if they could still keep in touch later, Ning Xiaobei would eventually be like all those old classmates at school, never sticking to him like glue again. He wouldn’t be able to eat at Ning’s house anymore, and he wouldn’t be able to tug at Ning’s cat’s tail.

A pang of sadness hit young Fan Xia’s heart, and his eyes started to mist over.

“What are you doing? Move over a bit.”

While Fan Xia was still moping, Ning Xiaobei hurried in with the class bell, pushed him gently aside, and pulled out the textbooks for the upcoming lesson from the desk cubby.

“You… you’re back.”

Fan Xia obediently drew his arms back, a little embarrassed, turning his face away.

“Are you unwell? Did you cry?”

Seeing the red corners of his eyes, Ning Xiaobei was genuinely shocked.

“R-ridiculous. I just took a good nap and yawned. Cry? Me? Who could make me cry?”

Fan Xia would never admit that he shed tears for Ning Xiaobei, and he hurriedly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Oh, then quickly pull out your textbooks. Next class is homeroom teacher’s.”

Ning Xiaobei didn’t suspect a thing.

“Boss…”

Fan Xia thought for a moment, then couldn’t help asking Ning Xiaobei, “Just now, when homeroom teacher called you, was it about the guaranteed spot at No. 1 High School?”

Although his voice was low, Ding Zheyang, sitting in front, still heard it. He didn’t dare turn around, only widened his eyes and pricked up his ears, straining to listen.

“Yeah, the teacher said I could get it.”

Ning Xiaobei also noticed Ding Zheyang sitting right in front of him. His whole back stiffened, wishing his ears could swivel to the back of his head.

“But…”

He grabbed Fan Xia by the shoulder, leaned close, and whispered in his ear, “I’m not going to take the guaranteed spot.”

“Why?”

Fan Xia was shocked and couldn’t help blurting it out.

The first class bell had already rung, and although Teacher Qiu hadn’t come in yet, the classroom was quiet. Fan Xia’s sudden shout startled everyone.

Especially Ding Zheyang in front. He was sitting perfectly straight, but he had been secretly listening to the whispers from behind. Fan Xia’s outburst made him feel like his ears were about to explode.

“Because… I’m going to give that spot to you.”

Ning Xiaobei glanced forward and lowered his voice even more. “I’m planning to take No. 1 High School’s independent admission exam. With my level, it won’t be a problem anyway.”

He patted Fan Xia on the shoulder. “Go for this spot. I’m counting on you.”

Me?

A guaranteed admission spot… for me?

Fan Xia never expected that someone like him would ever be connected to those words.

He looked at Ning Xiaobei’s serious face and couldn’t help but wonder. Could it be that he really had the potential to be a top student too?

………………

Author’s Note:

What to do, ever since descending from Sheshan, little Fan Xia has been crying at the drop of a hat. He’s turning into a dark-skinned Lin Daiyu³Lin Daiyu is a famous melancholic character from Dream of the Red Chamber, hahaha.

Ding Zheyang needn’t worry. He’s still just an elementary school kid… hasn’t done anything serious yet…

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『dapotaturs note』

Playful Schoolboy Nicknames:

• 长毛 (Cháng Máo) → “Long Hair”
  • 长 = long
  • 毛 = hair/fur
• 斜眼 (Xié Yǎn) → “Squinty Eye”
  • 斜 = slant/oblique/squint
  • 眼 = eye
• 胖冬瓜 (Pàng Dōngguā) → “Fat Wintermelon”
  • 胖 = fat
  • 冬瓜 = winter melon (often used affectionately or humorously for a chubby person)
• 长脚 (Cháng Jiǎo) → “Long Legs”
  • 长 = long
  • 脚 = leg/foot

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• 1
  playful schoolboy nicknames
• 2
  Jet Li’s The Lion in the Western Regions refers to the 1997 Hong Kong martial arts film Once Upon a Time in China and America
• 3
  Lin Daiyu is a famous melancholic character from Dream of the Red Chamber