Once We Lived in Nanjing

Bai Yang was sprawled out on his desk, feeling drowsy.

It was odd that he slept better in the classroom than at home. At home, he had a bed and blankets; here, he just had tables and chairs, along with the noisy chatter of classmates. Yet, at this moment, the security he felt came precisely from the crowd around him. Only when he was under the bright sun, amidst the bustling traffic of the downtown area, among his peers, could he sense that the world was still functioning normally. Compared to the tense and oppressive atmosphere at home, as if it were on the verge of some doomsday collapse, the pressure of the college entrance exams seemed trivial.

If someone told Bai Yang right now that his problems had been solved, that all he needed to do was concentrate on the college entrance exams, that would have been an immense relief.

That's why Bai Yang had refused Uncle Zhao's suggestion to take a year off from school. Zhao Bowen proposed that Bai could take part in the college entrance exams next year and didn't need to attend school for now. But Bai declined without a second thought. For him, going to school wasn't a burden but a chance to catch his breath.

Anyway, the teachers no longer bothered with him.

From morning reading time, Bai Yang could sleep until school let out at noon. Nobody disturbed him, except for He Leqin.

He had no idea how Uncle Zhao had negotiated with the school authorities, but whether it was the homeroom teacher or the subject teachers, they stopped interfering with Bai's class naps and daydreaming, even excusing him from assignments. Every time they saw Bai Yang, there was a hint of pity and sorrow in their eyes. The homeroom teacher would often take Bai to the office, grasp his hand, and earnestly tell him that life is short, and not to take study results or college entrance exam scores too seriously. "Green hills cannot be burned; they will regrow. You must take care of your health, and if you have any difficulties, don't hesitate to contact us..." As if Bai Yang were a terminally ill patient, with not much time left.

"Little Bai Yang, they all say you're severely depressed," He Leqin embraced Bai's shoulders after class, lowering his voice, "What's going on?"

"What severe depression?" Bai Yang frowned.

"Some say you've been diagnosed with severe mental illness, but you are a fighter who, despite your condition, insists on attending classes," He Leqin explained. "It's so touching, Little Bai Yang. I propose you to win the 2019 Touching China Personality of the Year."

"Bai Yang, are you okay?" Yan Zhihan also came over, "Are you really feeling unwell somewhere?"

"Holy shit." Bai Yang was dumbfounded, "Where did these rumors come from?"

"Somebody from the class next door saw your dad and a few people looking for Teacher Liu in the office, all wistful and sorrowful. They thought you had been in a car accident or something," He Leqin said.

"It's you who's had a car accident," Bai Yang retorted while secretly cursing his father for the nonsense he was stirring up again.

"If it wasn't a car accident, then it must be some terminal illness diagnosis," He Leqin continued, "That's why they say you have depression, because you've been off lately."

Bai Yang felt like cursing. What a mess of baseless allegations. Good news stays within the walls, bad news spreads a thousand miles. Gossip spreads faster than anything else in school. With excess energy not spent on academics, students grab at shadows, starting rumors. If Bai Yang found out from whose big mouth this nonsense originated, he'd kick that person's ass hard.

"Don't believe in rumors, don't spread rumors; the internet is not above the law. Waiting for the roundabout, thanks." Bai Yang yawned, "I just lack sleep."

"You sure you're okay?" He Leqin was still worried.

"I'm fine."

"Then that's too bad." He Leqin shook his head, "It's a pity, I already told people you were severely depressed and had attempted suicide by jumping off buildings multiple times."

"It's definitely you, you treacherous kid!" Bai Yang furiously wanted to kick his ass.

"What time did you go to bed last night?" Yan Zhihan asked.

"I got into bed after one, didn't fall asleep until after three."

Bai Yang's insomnia had been getting worse, especially since he learned that his room was the same room as BG4MSR's, that essentially they were living in the same space. Bai Yang started dreaming, and he couldn't say they were nightmares. In his dreams, he would open his eyes and see a vague dark shadow sitting at the edge of the bed. The shadow was motionless and silent, and although it had no eyes, Bai knew it was staring at him.

Despite the twenty-year gap, Bai seemed to still sense the girl's presence. When he sat in his room in the dead silence, it felt as if there was someone else's breath rising and falling in the air.

"I'm going to sleep," Bai Yang laid back down, "Wake up your emperor when school ends; we'll dine together with my two loyal subjects."

"Understood," He Leqin replied, "Then this servant takes his leave."

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Bai Yang really slept until school was out, but the more he slept, the sleepier he got, the more he slept, the more confused he became, his brain never quite waking up. He was half-dragged out of the school gate by He Leqin and Brother Yan, where they found a place on Lanqi Street to eat soup dumplings.

He Leqin ordered three tiers of buns—one tier of crab roe dumplings and two tiers of xiaolongbao—plus three bowls of pork bone soup. Six o'clock after school was the dinner rush hour; the restaurant was full of students. Bai Yang, He Leqin, and Yan Zhihan found a seat near the entrance. He Leqin patted Bai Yang on the shoulder. "Wake up, how can you still be so sleepy after a whole day?"

"Because I am a superhero," Bai Yang said. "Don't look at me just as an ordinary student during the day, but at night..."

"You're still an ordinary student," Brother Yan said.

"At night, I transform."

"I know!" He Leqin interrupted. "You become Underwear Superhero!"

"That's right, at night I transform into Underwear Superhero, righting wrongs and roaring at injustice, roaring and then just keep walking," Bai Yang said.

Three high school students at one table, the topic naturally shifted from mobile games to gossip.

Bai Yang, He Leqin, and Yan Zhihan were each more gossipy than the last, especially Brother Yan, who knew everything about everyone in their grade. For instance, the class beauty and her boyfriend broke up again because her parents went to the school, or the class socialite who changed three boyfriends in the past year, each uglier than the last, and then there was that scumbag from a certain class who got called out on Baidu Tieba and campus billboards for not paying back his debts. Yan Zhihan excitedly started to spill the beans about someone's secret, whispering conspiratorially, "Do you guys know? That somebody from the class next door is actually..."

Wow—

Bai Yang and He Leqin gasped.

"I'm not finished yet, what are you wowing about?"

"Keep going." Bai Yang and He Leqin were all ears.

"Actually—I'm so hungry, why haven't our soup dumplings arrived yet?" Yan Zhihan suddenly remembered they hadn't eaten yet and turned to call out, "Waitress! Why haven't our soup dumplings arrived?"

Probably because the restaurant was too crowded, the owner neglected their table. Yan Zhihan decided to go to the counter to hurry them up.

She got up and moved her chair a bit to make way for a waitress in black who was wiping down a table. Bai Yang and He Leqin stayed seated, watching Brother Yan navigate through the tables and diners to the counter to talk to the owner. The girl gestured toward Bai Yang and nodded, then headed to the kitchen.

A moment later, she emerged carrying three high stacks of steaming dumplings. Yan Zhihan gave her two companions a self-satisfied eyebrow wiggle.

"Comrades, dinner is servi—Ah!"

Brother Yan was passing between two tables when she suddenly exclaimed.

Bai Yang and He Leqin were startled; they saw Yan Zhihan trip over a mop handle sticking out from beneath a table, losing her balance and lurching forward, the steaming soup dumplings in her hands flying out toward them.

Bai Yang and He Leqin reacted in opposite ways. He Leqin backed away, trying to escape the path of the uncontrollable xiaolongbao falling down, while Bai Yang got up and lunged forward, stretching out his hands, trying to catch the falling steamers from midair, but someone's reflexes were even quicker; a hand shot out, accurately catching the bottom steamer, then quickly restacked them in order, all within less than a second. When Bai Yang and He Leqin regained their senses, they saw that very hand steadily holding the three stacked steamers, suspended above the table.

Yan Zhihan was suspended above the floor, nearly hitting her head on the edge of the table—that would've raised a big lump for sure—but someone caught her at the last second, pulling her back with immense strength.

The young waitress in black steadied Yan Zhihan, then bent over to gently place the soup dumplings on the table, moving gracefully, like any ordinary girl, yet her agility a second ago was unbelievable.

The three of them stood there dumbfounded.

The waitress, apron tied around her waist, picked up and neatly arranged each of the three steamers one by one, leaving the dumplings intact. She raised her head and looked straight at Bai Yang, who suddenly felt a heart palpitation. That pair of light brown eyes held an arrow-sharp glint, piercing through his muddled brain, as if seeing right through him. His befuddled brain felt as if it were doused with cold water, immediately clearing up. The girl lowered her head, withdrew her gaze, and flicked her short hair behind her ear with her finger, smiling gracefully at them:

"Ah, do you want some chili oil?"