Chapter 137: The Prodigy Next Door

After all, the two had been classmates for nine years and could be considered childhood sweethearts. After graduating from junior high, Dong Yanyan went to a broadcasting school, while Li Juan was admitted to a vocational school in another city to study accounting. During every winter and summer break, both felt a bit lonely. Their elementary school classmates had nothing in common with them, and among their junior high peers, they were the only two girls left. Thus, the two girls, just beginning to discover romance, grew close again. Over those four years, they shared many secrets and tacitly helped each other keep things hidden from their parents. Those four years were their honeymoon period—they talked about everything without reservation. It was a pity that after graduation, they each went their separate ways and lost touch.

Some people are like that: they can be great friends under specific times and conditions, but ultimately, their personalities clash, and in the end, they must go their separate ways.

"Uncle, Auntie, you're both home! Yanyan, when did you get back?" As soon as Li Juan walked in, she took off her down jacket and shook out her stylish short hair. Seeing Dong Yanyan actually holding a rag and tidying up the room, she couldn't help but laugh. "Did the sun rise in the west today?"

"You're annoying!" Dong Yanyan teased with a smile. "When did you get back?"

"Last night! You heartless thing, you didn't even come to see me first!" Li Juan rubbed her hands together and laughed, shivering. "It's freezing outside!"

"Li Juan is here, come up onto the kang!" Mom said with a warm smile. "You two chat in this room. Nannan, let’s go to the other room. Yanyan, stop cleaning for a second and go wash an apple for Li Juan!"

Dong Yanyan and Li Juan leaned against pillows on the kang, a small quilt draped over their legs, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder while listening to a portable cassette player.

"I have this PolyGram tape too," Li Juan said with an arched brow. "I also have a Beyond album. The boys in my class sing Wong Ka Kui’s songs really well. Hey, how many boys are in your class? We only have five; they’re like giant pandas. The civil engineering majors have more boys, but there aren't many handsome ones."

"We have sixteen, exactly half and half with the girls," Dong Yanyan said proudly. "But our school is small. There are only about three hundred students in total, and the campus is tiny—only three buildings. If our classmates want to go on dates, they have to go to nearby universities. But our teachers say that what is condensed is the essence. Fortunately, the school's location is good. It’s in the heart of the city, where every inch of land is worth gold, only ten minutes by car from the nearest commercial street and a ten-minute walk from the gymnasium. When we're free, we like to go there to hang out, fly kites, or play soccer. The space is big enough and quite beautiful."

Li Juan laughed when she heard this. "Then guess how many students are in our school? Over three thousand! It’s always so lively on weekends. I even joined two clubs. Our school's boys' dormitory building and the girls' dormitory building face each other, and when we're bored, we use binoculars to spy on each other."

"We don't need binoculars. The boys live upstairs and the girls live downstairs, separated by labs and classrooms. If someone opens a window and shouts, the whole school can hear. We call it 'hearing the roosters crow and the dogs bark at each other,'" Dong Yanyan laughed.

"Doesn't your school get really chaotic?" Li Juan asked curiously.

"Not really. Every night, the dorm supervisor checks every room and classroom, and most students are quite self-disciplined. Of course, there are those dating, but as long as they keep a low profile, the teachers don't really interfere," Dong Yanyan said, fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist with a smile.

Li Juan looked at her suspiciously, then at her bracelet, and feigned anger. "Did your boyfriend give you that? You heartless thing, you're already ditching me!"

"Keep it down! If my mom hears, I won't be able to enjoy the rest of the New Year!" Dong Yanyan covered her mouth, looking nervous. "Don't you dare tell anyone! I won't let it slip about you and 'you-know-who' either. Let's keep each other's secrets. So, how are things going with you two?"

"The same as always. We're still together. He sends his letters to your house, and then you pass them to me. Otherwise, if my dad sees them, he'll break my legs," Li Juan laughed.

Dong Yanyan agreed immediately, "No problem, but I get to read them too."

Indeed, everything here was still following the tracks of history, but Dong Yanyan knew it wouldn't last long. According to the butterfly effect, if she took the initiative to change things, some events around her would inevitably shift. Of course, this didn't include their secret arrangement, because she now also needed someone to share the joy of her own love. Leaving school and leaving Ren Jiaxuan made her feel a bit hollow. She wondered where he was out having fun right now. City kids were different from rural kids; they didn't just hibernate. Their vacations were filled with excitement—discos, bars, roller rinks, karaoke parlors. There must be plenty of chances for romantic encounters, right? She tried not to overthink it or let herself be anxious. Decades of life experience told her that the more you worry about gain and loss, the easier it is to lose everything. She didn't want to lose Jiaxuan; she had already discarded too much.

"Li Juan, have some fruit!" Mom came in with oranges and washed apples, and a moment later, she brought sunflower seeds from the east room. Li Juan grabbed a handful, cracked a few in rapid succession, and laughed, "Auntie, your sunflower seeds are bigger than the ones at my house. My mom walked around the market several times yesterday and couldn't find any large ones. Small seeds are tiring to eat."

"Mine were bought at the last market. There were many sellers then; this time there were hardly any," Mom smiled. "You've grown tall again. Compared to you, my Yanyan is half a head shorter."

Dong Yanyan smiled dismissively. Growing up, although her mother pampered her, she truly believed her own child was inferior to others' children. This Li Juan was what people called "someone else's child." But she wasn't angry. Ten years later, she would see. If nothing else, even though her relationship with her parents' home became very strained after she got married and had a child, she had done her best to help the relatives and friends on this side. She was never lacking in social grace. The elders in the family were always picky about the partners of her sisters and cousins, but none had anything bad to say about Xu Cheng. That at least proved she understood the ways of the world and knew how to manage a husband.

As for Li Juan, that little thorn, she fought with her mother-in-law at her husband's home and with her own parents at her maiden home; no one ever had a pleasant time around her. But there was a reason for that—she had been close to her grandparents since she was little, and her parents had treated them poorly. After the two elders passed away, her relationship with her family grew distant. Just like her, she couldn't even make it home twice a year.

Ten years of human affairs bring many changes. They say that liking to reminisce about the past is a sign of dissatisfaction with reality. For Dong Yanyan, having returned to the past and still reminiscing about the past, it just meant she couldn't get enough of living.