Chapter 55

He Ping's home is in Nanguan, but the Experimental Primary School where he attends is in Xiguan. Xiguan is the cultural and educational district of Qingshan City, home to the city's best middle schools, primary schools, and kindergartens. Anyone with some economic means and connections would send their children here to study, and He Ping's father, He Xiangdong, was no exception. The Experimental Primary School where He Ping studies is the best primary school in Qingshan City, so much so that the word "best" is not even necessary. Every year, countless parents lead their children to try to get in, often pushing and shoving to do so.

The distance from home to school is not short. At the speed and stamina of a primary school student, including rest stops along the way, it takes at least forty minutes, which is a conservative estimate. Therefore, He Ping usually commutes between home and school by bus. Even by bus, with its frequent stops, it takes at least thirty minutes. For the He Ping of the past, the time on the bus was extremely boring, but now, He Ping is quite interested in observing the surroundings.

Qingshan City, how many years has it been since he last came back? In his previous life, after moving with his mother, he never came back to Qingshan. For him, this place is his hometown, but ironically, his memories of this place are not as vivid as those of his mother's hometown. Everything here feels both familiar and strange to him now. It's no wonder; at his age, his life revolves around the areas near his home and school, and he has never been to other places.

The bus slowly circled around the clock tower in the city center, and He Ping's gaze drifted towards Beiguan and Dongguan. Beiguan is the location of many administrative and public institutions, cold and solemn, forming a stark contrast to Nanguan. Dongguan, on the other hand, is mainly a residential area with concentrated and affordable housing, somewhat similar to the suburban areas of Jingcheng where he bought a house in his previous life. Nearly half of Qingshan's population lives there, and it has a different charm compared to other areas.

The bus circled the clock tower and drove onto Xidajie. Here, He Ping is relatively familiar. He hasn't been to Beiguan and Nanguan many times, but Xiguan is where he spends most of his time. The school, bookstore, hospital, and cultural center are all here, making the cultural atmosphere very strong. On the streets, the number of students is more than half, and the vitality and energy are significantly higher than in other areas.

"Experimental Primary School! Experimental Primary School! Passengers getting off, please use the rear door!" The ticket seller's shout interrupted He Ping's reminiscence. In this era, there were no coin or card payment systems on buses, at least not in Qingshan. There was no voice announcement system either, and the ticketing and announcements were entirely the responsibility of the ticket seller. Now, thinking about it, He Ping is quite impressed by those ticket sellers. During peak hours, the buses are so crowded that there's no place to stand, yet they can still accurately remember who hasn't paid.

The destination has arrived. He Ping got off the bus with the other students wearing the same school uniforms and walked towards the gate of the Experimental Primary School, which bears a plaque with the name "Experimental Primary School." It is said that these characters were personally written by a leader. The He Ping of the past didn't understand, but now, the four characters in clerical script do have a certain charm, indicating that the person who wrote them had considerable skill.

Entering the school, He Ping slowed down. The surroundings were familiar yet strange to him. The question was, which direction should he go next? If he remembered correctly, his class was 6-1. He could find it by searching floor by floor, but even if he found the right classroom, where should he sit? One question after another made He Ping almost want to turn around and go home. However, at that moment, a figure in front of him stopped him in his tracks.

It was a girl's back, wearing a different color of the same style of school uniform as He Ping. She was slightly shorter than him, with a slender but developing figure. Her hair was tied into a simple ponytail, swaying left and right as she walked, which was quite interesting. This figure made He Ping feel a sense of déjà vu.

"Zhao Yuke!"

This name came out of He Ping's mouth again, but this time he wouldn't make a mistake. The girl in front of him, with a look of a typical fresh and clean girl, was the class monitor and class beauty of his class, and also his current desk partner. Most importantly, she was the object of his secret crush and first love, though he never confessed. In fact, he never had the chance to confess before he transferred schools.

Hearing He Ping's voice, the figure stopped, turned around, and upon seeing He Ping, she first showed a relieved expression, then pouted, looking angry. However, this anger on her face had no real power and instead made He Ping feel a sense of cuteness. Zhao Yuke, of course, didn't know what He Ping was thinking. She said with a slightly angry tone, "He Ping! What's wrong with you? How dare you skip class, and for a whole morning!"

He Ping smiled bitterly. Zhao Yuke was almost exactly as he remembered. She was a kind girl, and perhaps because of her role as class monitor or the influence of her father, a police officer, she had a strong sense of justice. In her view, skipping class for a whole morning was a serious mistake that needed to be strictly criticized and must not be repeated!

He Ping smiled indifferently and walked up to her. Before she could react, he continued walking. His indifference made Zhao Yuke a bit stunned, but she quickly caught up to He Ping and continued lecturing him about the dangers of skipping class. He Ping, of course, paid no attention, as he realized that seeing Zhao Yuke, the girl he once longed for, made him feel more relaxed. He found that her place in his heart wasn't as high as he had imagined.

However, going to the classroom with Zhao Yuke saved him the trouble of finding the classroom and his seat. On the way, it seemed like He Ping was leading, but in reality, he was following Zhao Yuke. They arrived at the 6-1 classroom, and He Ping just placed his backpack on his desk. Before he could sit down, a voice sounded beside him, "Bro! You're finally here! What happened this morning? You don't know, the teacher was really mad!"

He Ping turned his head, and a chubby, comical-looking boy appeared beside him. Seeing this person, He Ping's face softened, and he smiled, "Dong Xiaoniao! Why didn't you come to find me this morning and at noon?"

[PS: First update of the day!]

Page break for ads

Page break for ads end